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Trade gap widens in January

The Philippines’ trade deficit in goods widened in January as exports decline while imports increase.
Preliminary data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the January trade deficit at $3.756 billion, higher than the $3.752 billion deficit in December 2018 and $3.163 billion in January 2018.
Merchandise exports receipts during the month was $5.279 billion, 1.7% less than the $5.373 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the country’s import bill grew by 5.8% to $9.035 billion in January from last year’s $8.536 billion.
Japan is the Philippines’ top export market for the month with a 16.8% market share at $884.95 million followed by the United States’ 15.8% share at $833.87 million and Hong Kong’s 12.2% share at $645.17 million.
Meanwhile, China was country’s top source of imports with a 22.2% share to total imports at $2.01 billion followed by South Korea’s 8.7% share at $789.56 million and Japan’s 8.7% share at $789 million. — Lourdes O. Pilar

We can be Sheroes

The time has come. Today we will no longer wait, and instead start to take charge. Today we will learn of our value, instead of believing that we deserve less. This is what every modern Filipina needs to realize — that it all starts with her.
Let’s face the facts: Filipinas represent 40% of the Filipino workforce and over 70% of secondary school graduates. While women today are better educated and have more access to finance, they have not adequately protected themselves. Thus, the risk of financial loss remains high as they still face the perils of economic, social, and natural shocks. The Filipina, an essential part of our economic progress, remains at a disadvantage without the right tools and coverage to pave her way to financial freedom.
Such was the reality that we at InLife (Insular Life), the country’s first and largest Filipino insurance company, wanted to change once and for all. As we recognized the power of women in community and nation-building, we partnered with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, to create a movement called InLife Sheroes.
Be Empowered
InLife Sheroes is an advocacy that empowers every woman to become self-reliant and financially independent. And while there are many organizations to date whose mission is to empower women as well, InLife Sheroes offers something new to the table: women economic empowerment, because we believe this is a powerful catalyst in our nation’s progress.
And so we’re calling us Sheroes—the women who have the power to build families, friendships,  careers, community, and the nation. We believe that great things happen when Sheroes from all walks of life unite in their goal to uplift their lives and the lives of their loved ones through their skills, hard-work, and sacrifice. That’s why we haven’t just put together a program with solutions that answer women’s needs.   We’ve also started a movement that equips Sheroes with financial knowledge and support that will empower them to do the good they want to do.
Be Savvy
At the core of our initiatives is our intent of empowering through education. Online, you’ll find a safe space where women can gain necessary knowledge and wisdom to enable them to live wealthier, healthier, and more fulfilled. While you can find almost anything on the internet, our site holds content intuitively curated by women who know exactly what women want: Financial Literacy, Health and Wellness, Women Specific Solutions, and Connection to Business and Social Networks. In this community, we talk about love, family, health, career, finance, and everything in between. Through meaningful conversations, we will raise women up, enabling every Shero to get the most out of life.
Additionally, there will be workshops and seminars on personal finance, women-specific health and wellness concerns, investing, wealth creation and preservation, estate planning, entrepreneurship, and more. Meanwhile, a network for start-up women entrepreneurs will be established so that our Sheroes will have access to skill development, mentoring, and B2B financial loans.
Be Part of the Community
All these will be available today. The best part? All you have to do is to sign up. So, sign up at www.inlifesheroes.com .Be part of the movement. Take charge. Be a Shero. Because your time has finally come.
The Advocates
There’s strength in numbers, and we mean that in more ways than one! As our movement gains ground, let’s hear from the advocates whose support has strengthened our platform to raise financially empowered Sheroes.
“Insurance, pre-need and health maintenance products tailor-fitted to the specific needs of women are some of the integral solutions to the difficulties that the Filipino woman faces due to the prejudices against her gender. I am more than delighted to learn that InLife has undertaken a project that is the first of its kind in the insurance industry…[bringing the country] one step closer to achieving true financial inclusivity.”

  • Dennis B. Funa, Commissioner, Insurance Commission

“To date, most insurers have not focused on truly assessing the risks women in the Philippines face at different life stages and how to properly cover them. An initiative like InLife Sheroes empowers women in the Philippines by giving them access to risk mitigation coverage, the tools they need to survive any financial, physical and social disruption, thus enabling them to grow as entrepreneurs and professionals.”

  • Henriette Kolb, Manager, Gender Secretariat, International Finance Corporation

“The Filipina is my inspiration for InLife Sheroes. She is a unique human being as she is an expert in multitasking, she does not divide time and love, she multiplies them, she fights for causes she believes in and turns obstacles into opportunities.   She listens to her head as well as her heart…she walks in when everyone else walks out…. Her ingenuity, diskarte and intuition are unflappable.”

  • Nina D. Aguas, Executive Chairman, Insular Life

SHE INSPIRES
In the spirit of women uplifting other women, InLife Sheroes – She Inspires introduces its pioneering circle of influencers who bring with them their own stories and experiences, advice and mentorship, to encourage future Sheroes along their journey toward financial empowerment.
Amina Aranaz Alunan
Elevating Filipino artistry and empowering young designers
Amina Aranaz-Alunan is the creative mind behind the eponymous fashion accessories brand Aranaz and the founder of the country’s first specialized design college, SoFA Design Institute.
Since 1999, the luxury fashion house has been elevating Filipino artistry and craftsmanship in the international market, staying true to its core commitment of promoting local artisans and handmade products. Meanwhile, the School of Fashion and the Arts (SoFA) Design Institute was established in 2007 to empower young designers to pursue their dreams in the creative arena here and abroad.
Sherill Ramos Quintana
Redefining beauty and wellness product line, the Filipino way
Ten years ago, at the brink of launching her venture, the bank holding her life savings and capital suddenly closed down, subsequently resulting to losses for Sherill. Fortunately, with an unwavering spirit and proceeds from life insurance purchased many years prior, she was able to establish Oryspa, the pioneering rice bran-based health, beauty, and wellness line.
Inspired by the women entrepreneurs who stood as her mentors as she established her brand, Sherill pays it forward by encouraging more women to take charge of their financial well-being just as she had many years ago.
Rose Fres Fausto
Multiplying the financial intelligence quotient
Investment banker turned full-time homemaker, Rose Fres Fausto, shares her financial skills through her books, website, social media channels, weekly columns, and insightful talks.
Anchored on financial intelligence quotient (FQ), Rose’s fqmom.com simplifies the principles of behavioral economics as she tackles financial literacy in women-specific scenarios through articles, podcasts, and videos on financial well-being and purposeful parenting and relationships.
Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation
Alleviating poverty through micro-finance
Founded in 1984 as a non-government organization aiding women and poverty alleviation efforts, Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF) now serves almost 400,000 clients. The foundation has 130 branches in Batangas, Laguna, Palawan, Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Samar and Leyte.
Encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit in women from rural communities, NWTF primarily provides Grameen-based micro-financing and developmental services through its two core projects: Dungganon and Kasanang. The former provides training and credit so that women can start or maintain their own small businesses. Meanwhile, Kasanang provides low-interest, individual loans to help rural and urban entrepreneurs acquire business assets and capital.

Inflation, tax perk jitters weigh on FDIs

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez
Senior Reporter
FOREIGN direct investment (FDI) net inflows fell short of expectation last year after five straight months of decline from 2017 amid rising prices and jitters due to planned changes to tax perks.
FDI net inflows ended last year at $9.802 billion last year, down 4.4% from the $10.256 billion received in 2017, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Monday.
Foreign Direct Investments in the Philippines
It was the first drop of such inflows in three years.
The amount is also lower than the $10.4 billion net inflows which the central bank expected for the full year, which would have otherwise been a fresh record high.
In a statement, the BSP said net inflows settled at $677 million in December alone, 4.8% lower than the $712 million received in the same month in 2017. This marks a sustained year-on-year drop in FDIs since August.
The lower FDIs came as equity investments plunged by more than half that month, with net inflows at $132 million versus $312 million a year ago. December saw gross placements at $161 million, countered by $29 million in withdrawn capital. In contrast, investments amounted to $334 million the prior year, partly offset by $22 million in outbound capital.
Reinvested earnings fell to $61 million in December from $65 million the previous year.
Providing some respite were foreign parents’ lending to their Philippine units which rose by 44.7% to $484 million from $335 million.
For the entire 2018, equity capital inflows dropped by a third to $2.267 billion. On the other hand, reinvested earnings roughly steadied at $859 million from $863 million while debt placements grew 11.3% to $6.676 billion from $ 5.996 billion.
The central bank said bulk of the FDIs went to manufacturing; financial and insurance; real estate; electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply; as well as arts, entertainment and recreation.
Nabil Francis, president of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, cited factors behind the seeming reluctance of foreign businesses to make long-term bets in the Philippines.
“The decline in FDIs may be attributed to the continuing uncertainty over TRABAHO bill and risks to peace and order in certain areas of the country, which may discourage investor confidence. On the other hand, manufacturing challenges and challenging Internet connectivity… persist,” Mr. Francis said in a mobile phone message.
“The Philippines is also one of the countries in ASEAN which has a relatively higher number of non-working holidays, which also has an impact on the operational costs of businesses.”
In September, the House of Representatives approved House Bill No. 8083, or the proposed Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities (TRABAHO) Act, which gradually reduces the corporate income tax rate to 20% from the current 30% by two percentage points every other year starting 2021.
This will come alongside a uniform scheme for tax incentives that will replace various types granted by investment promotion agencies and likewise put a cap on the number of years in which a company can enjoy such perks. This reform has been flagged as a major risk by businesses.
Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at the Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc., said investors likely retreated to “careful sidelines” last year, largely because of escalating trade tensions between the United States and China.
“Another factor is the level of prices last 2018. Inflation rose to unexpected levels that has temporarily hampered positive perception about the health of the Philippine economy,” Mr. Asuncion said when sought for comment.
Equity capital came mainly from Singapore at $935.62 million, followed by Hong Kong ($270.19 million), Japan ($218.91 million), China ($198.68 million) and the United States ($160.43 million), according to BSP data.
However, Mr. Asuncion painted a better picture for 2019.
“With expectations that inflation will continue to decline and that the trade issues between the world’s biggest two economies probably seeing a resolution soon, thus potentially resulting to a better trade environment and global growth perception, UnionBank’s Economic Research Unit expects that Philippine FDI will recover its momentum from 2017.”
The BSP sees FDI net inflows reaching $10.2 billion this year.
John D. Forbes, senior advisor at the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, said reforms are key to jump-starting big FDI flows.“Probably, more reforms will be needed, such as the PSA amendments, reducing business costs for manufacturing and allowing new mining investments, before the amount goes up to $15-20 billion,” Mr. Forbes explained, referring to amendments to the 82-year-old Public Service Act. — with Reuters

Malacañang watches as budget impasse simmers

MALACAÑANG on Monday said President Rodrigo R. Duterte was ready to veto questionable provisions in the P3.757-trillion national budget for this year, even as it hoped both chambers of Congress would resolve their differences soon.
The leadership of the House of Representatives and of the Senate continued on Monday to trade allegations of post-ratification changes to delayed 2019 national spending plan.
In a Monday news briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said the president “will exercise his power to veto if he feels that indeed the budget to be given to him does not conform with the Constitution; otherwise, he will sign it into law.”
Sought for comment about the continuing tiff between the two legislative chambers, Mr. Panelo said: “I’m sure they will agree — the House and the Senate — dahil nag-uusap naman sila eh (because they talk to each other).”
“From what I hear, they’re talking to agree. Hindi ko lang alam kung kailan mangyayari ‘yun (I just don’t know when that will happen),” he added.
While he said Mr. Duterte “hasn’t told me anything about what he intends to do”, Mr. Panelo said: “Siguro — kung (Maybe, if) I will have my educated guess — the President will persuade para matapos na ‘yang ano nila (to resolve both chambers’ differences). But knowing members of Congress, they always… agree eventually.”
The government has been operating on a reenacted budget since 2019 began that leaves new projects unfunded. That adds to worries about overall economic growth this year, which will see a 45-day public works ban ahead of the May 13 elections and weather disturbances next semester.
The Duterte administration has been pushing increased state spending — especially on infrastructure and social services — to prod gross domestic product (GDP) growth to a sustained faster 7-8% annual pace until it ends its six-year term in mid-2022 from 6.3% in 2010-2016.
The first two years of the administration saw GDP growth average 6.45%.
The House on Monday sent the 2019 general appropriations measure to the Senate for signature of Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III before it can be transmitted to the Office of the President.
“We intend to send this to the palace this afternoon and copies for the Senate have already been sent to Senate,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rolando G. Andaya, Jr. of Camarines Sur’s 1st district said in a briefing, Monday.
But Mr. Sotto on Monday maintained that the Senate will not transmit the 2019 national budget to Malacañang for enactment if the House were to insist on realignments it allegedly made after both chambers of Congress ratified the measure.
“It’s simple. Whatever is approved, that should be the enrolled copy. It cannot be changed. It’s clear. We will be violating the Revised Penal Code, we will be violating the Constitution if we change anything after we have ratified it in both Houses,” he told reporters.
“When we see differences from the version we ratified, we would not transmit it to the President. And I will tell the President that this is not what we passed,” he later added.
Mr. Sotto had said in a radio interview that he received reports from the Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office (LBRMO) that the House realigned P79 billion in the national budget, a move that was not agreed on by the bicameral conference committee that harmonized conflicting provisions of the House and Senate versions.
Mr. Andaya countered by claiming the Senate had realigned P75 billion in the national budget after the measure was ratified.
Mr. Andaya said the House merely exercised its prerogative to “itemize” lump-sum items, while Mr. Sotto said: “The Senate did not touch anything, contrary to what the House Appropriations chairman is saying…”
“I have the assurance of the chairman of the Committee of Finance (Senator Loren B. Legarda), the assurance of the LBRMO and even Senator (Panfilo M.) Lacson (a vice-chairman of the Finance committee) that we did not touch anything after we ratified it on the floor.”
The Senate chief said further that “[t]he possibility is really looming now that there will really be a reenacted budget if the (House) would not revert to the original (measure) that we passed.”
“By July, we can make changes or we can pass a supplemental budget for the rest of the year.” — Arjay L. Balinbin, Camille A. Aguinaldo and Charmaine A. Tadalan

Saudi oil minister says no OPEC+ output policy change until June

NEW DELHI — Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih said on Sunday it would be too early to change OPEC+ output policy at the group’s meeting in April and that China and the US would lead healthy global demand for oil this year.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies such as Russia — known as the OPEC+ alliance — will meet in Vienna on April 17-18, with another gathering scheduled for June 25-26. Mr. Falih said the group was unlikely to change its output policy in April and if required would make adjustments in June.
“We will see what happens by April, if there is any unforeseen disruption somewhere else, but barring this I think we will just be kicking the can forward,” Falih said.
“We will see where the market is by June and adjust appropriately,” Falih said after a meeting with Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi.
OPEC member United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Sunday it would continue to meet its obligations to cut supply under the producer agreement.
“We will continue to deliver on the OPEC & Non-OPEC commitment for voluntary production adjustments until the global market is re-balanced,” Minister of Energy and Industry Suhail al-Mazrouei said on Twitter.
On Jan. 1, OPEC+ began new production cuts to avoid a supply glut that threatened to soften prices. The group agreed to reduce supply by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) for six months.
Sources recently said the most likely scenario is that the current supply cuts will be extended in June but much depends on the extent of US sanctions on OPEC members Iran and Venezuela.
OPEC’s share of the cuts is 800,000 bpd, to be delivered by 11 members — all except Iran, Libya and Venezuela, which are exempt.
For Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, Mr. Falih said output in April was expected to remain at this month’s level of 9.8 million bpd. “Aramco is finalizing their April allocations today or tomorrow so we will know more on Monday. But my expectation is that April is going to be pretty much like March.”
Mr. Falih said total global oil demand is set to grow by around 1.5 million bpd this year.
“If you look at Venezuela alone you would panic, if you look at the US you would say the world is awash with oil. You have to look at the market as a whole. We think 2019 demand is actually quite healthy.”
In Venezuela, suffering from a political and economic crisis, oil exports have plunged 40% to around 920,000 bpd since Washington slapped sanctions on its petroleum industry on Jan. 28.
On the other hand, production in US hit a record of more than 12 million bpd in February.
The International Energy Agency last month left its demand growth forecast for 2019 unchanged from January at 1.4 million barrels per day.
Mr. Falih said Chinese demand was breaking records month after month and estimated the country would breach 11 million bpd this year.
He also said that along with China and the US, India’s expanding economy was driving global oil demand growth.
After the meeting, India’s oil minister said he wanted Saudi Arabia to play an active role in keeping oil prices at a reasonable level as rising prices affect the Indian economy.
He also invited Saudi Arabia to partner with India in building strategic oil reserves and further invest in India’s refining and Petrochemical sectors. — Reuters

Megaworld to spend P20B for township

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
MEGAWORLD CORP. will be spending P20 billion over the next 10 years to develop its newest township in Cainta, Rizal, as the property giant targets to have a total of 30 townships under its portfolio in the next two years.
Tycoon Andrew L. Tan’s listed real estate firm unveiled on Monday Empire East Highland City, a mixed-use estate to be developed in partnership with 82%-owned subsidiary Empire East Land Holdings, Inc. (ELI).
Located along F. Felix Avenue in Cainta, Highland City will cover 24 hectares of land that previously housed a steel mill factory before it was acquired by the Megaworld group. It will offer a mix of residential condominium, mixed-use towers, a lifestyle mall, retail areas, a church, and a park.
The first phase of development will include the Highland Mall, which is set to have a gross floor area of 58,000 square meters (sq.m.). Megaworld targets to open the mall by the end of 2020.
Meanwhile, ELI will build 38 residential towers in the township catering to the mid-income market, banking on the strong demand for condominium units in Cainta.
“We saw that there is still a big demand for residential products in this area. Most of the properties here have been developed into horizontal developments already, so with the lack of land in the area, we saw that there is no other way but to go vertical,” Megaworld Chief Strategy Officer Kevin Andrew L. Tan said in a press briefing in Eastwood City on Monday.
Mr. Tan noted that Cainta has a population of about 400,000 people, adding that a lot of remittances from overseas Filipino workers are spent in the area.
The township will also have Highland Park, an 8,000-sq.m. green and open park that will house retail areas and a 500-seating capacity church. Land development for the township will start in the second quarter of this year.
Highland City is Megaworld’s 24th township, following the launch of The Hamptons Caliraya in Cavinti, Laguna last year.
“We have plans for more townships this year. I really think we can take it up to 30 townships in the next two years,” Mr. Tan said, although declining to give more details on the locations of the next townships.
Mr. Tan noted that public transport and infrastructure projects are now a top consideration for when they build townships.
“That’s why we are evolving a lot of our townships to be able to accommodate that,” Mr. Tan said, citing how Megaworld’s Uptown Bonifacio development in Taguig will be the first township that is mass transit-oriented. The company has proposed to build a two-kilometer monorail called Skytrain that aims to connect Uptown Bonifacio to MRT-3 Guadalupe.
Shares in Megaworld jumped 1.65% or nine centavos to close at P5.54 each at the stock exchange on Monday.

Stockholders approve Now Corp. equity restructuring

LISTED TELECOMMUNICATIONS firm Now Corp. said its stockholders approved its equity restructuring plan, which is aimed to erase its accumulated deficit.
“At the Special Stockholders’ Meeting of Now Corp. held on Mar. 8, the stockholders unanimously approved (the) Company’s equity restructuring plan by reducing the par value of the common shares of stock of the Company and by applying the resulting additional paid-in capital to eliminate its accumulated deficit,” the company said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday.
The Velarde-led company is reducing the par value of its common shares to 70 centavos from the current P1. This will decrease its authorized capital stock to P1.502 billion from P1.12 billion, which will be divided into 2.06 billion common shares.
This restructuring is expected to erase the company’s deficit of P389.789 million, based on an earlier disclosure in January.
Now Corp. must now seek the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission for the amendments in its Articles of Incorporation.
In the same Monday disclosure, the company said it is putting on hold its plan from last year to increase its authorized capital stock within the range of P600 million to P700 million, as it proceeded with the conversion of advances made by shareholder Velarde, Inc.
“Only the conversion into equity of Velarde, Inc.’s advances in the amount of P264 million based on the adjusted conversion price range between P1.50 and P1.70 per share as well as the listing of additional shares resulting from the said conversion are approved and affirmed for implementation,” it said. “The contemplated increase in authorized capital stock…is deemed set aside.”
Now Corp. stockholders agreed in June 2018 to increase the company’s authorized capital stock in connection with the conversion of advances made by Velarde, Inc.
Meanwhile, the company also announced on Monday it has partnered with outdoor advertising firm Digital Out-of-Home Philippines (DOOH PH) for its connected electronic billboard to be distributed in the coming months.
“Having a reliable broadband connectivity that provides guaranteed speeds and available 24/7 is key in pushing our content to all our electronic billboards in Metro Manila…. Partnering with Now Corp. and its affiliates as a broadband and content provider in delivering the promise of pushing live content to all our billboards is another breakthrough in a changing world of consumer advertising,” DOOH PH President Alvin Carranza was quoted in a statement as saying. — Denise A. Valdez

DMWAI aims for completion of mixed-use project by 2021

D.M. WENCESLAO & Associates, Inc. (DMWAI) on Wednesday started construction of its mixed-use development, Parqal, within its flagship Aseana City project in Parañaque City, targeting its completion by 2021.
“We’re building office buildings, condos, retail, but this is one of the first developments, at least in this area, that’s committed to public space,” Delfin Angelo C. Wenceslao, chief executive officer of DMWAI, said during the groundbreaking ceremony for Parqal.
Parqal, whose name is a combination of “park” and “kalye,” is located on a five-hectare property occupying two blocks between Diokno Avenue and Macapagal Boulevard. It will have a gross floor area of 78,000 square meters (sq.m.) spread across nine independent four-storey buildings, which will be devoted to office and retail space.
“As you look around all the developments, not just in the Philippines, but in Asia, globally, livability is one of the major themes. We’re committed to this project not just because of the commercial value of it, but more so because of… how it promotes walkability, and connectivity in our urban developments,” Mr. Wenceslao said.
DMWAI will implement sustainable building practices at Parqal, as it aims to secure four to five star rating Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence (BERDE) certification from the Philippine Green Building Council.
“What we’re building here is a mixed-use experience that will be located in the greenway of Aseana City. Originally, the concept here is it will provide green space, a lot of public space for the residents, office workers the visitors of Aseana City, but of course we want to take advantage of the area by providing retail offerings, as well as other commercial activities,” Julius M. Guevara, vice president for corporate planning of DMW, told reporters after the ceremony.
More than half or 60% of the whole area is dedicated to lush green spaces, and recreational facilities.
The open areas will have canopies made up of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), which would allow sunlight to still penetrate the roof but reduce heat. The company said this will still allow trees to grow even under the roof.
Mr. Guevara said Parqal is expected to attract families living in nearby areas such as Pasay, Manila and Cavite, as well as those occupying residential condominiums in Aseana City. Its proximity to the airport also makes it attractive for tourists.
“We would want to have a mix that would be attractive to those that would visit Aseana City and one thing that we would want is that we’re located in the Entertainment City… We would want to round that off by providing entertainment that would draw the family to visit the area,” he said.
“We’re very close to the airport. That would attract international travelers in the area and we want to provide a retail mix that would address their retail needs,” he added.
Parqal is just a stone’s throw away from DMWAI’s flagship Aseana City, which features projects such as Aseana One, Aseana Two, Aseana Three, and MidPark Towers.
“If you take a look at it holistically you could the entire vision for Aseana where you have a lot of high grade office spaces, premium residential condominiums, complemented by a very upscale retail and mixed-use experience on the very center,” Mr. Guevara noted.
Earlier this year, DMWAI said it is allotting P4 billion for capital expenditures after seeing a double-digit growth in 2018 due to strong demand for properties in the Bay Area. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

AG&P now focusing on Philippine expansion

By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-Editor
AFTER ITS overseas foray, Filipino firm Atlantic Gulf and Pacific Co. (AG&P) is once again looking at the Philippines as an attractive site to provide its services as it plans to take part in local industrial projects with its skilled workers from its plants in Batangas.
“We wanted to take advantage of our decades of experience working for international projects and bring those to bear domestically and also to refocus AG&P domestically again,” said AG&P Chief Executive Officer Joseph M. Sigelman in an interview last Feb. 28.
“So we’re very excited. We’re working at big projects now in petrochemical, refining, power and now we’re also getting into infrastructure — transport infrastructure -— so airports, roads and so on as we move forward,” he added.
Through its manufacturing plants in Batangas, AG&P has provided modular business solutions for international projects in industries such as construction, mining, oil and gas, including a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in India.
“We’re not historically a civil works company. We generally deal with steel and electrical and so on, but where we have gaps we’re partnering with companies and approaching this collaboratively to bring a holistic solution to things,” Mr. Sigelman said.
AG&P, which has been operating for 119 years, has two manufacturing yards in Batangas: a 100-hectare facility with designated areas for assembly and shops for fabrication, and a 50-hectare leased waterfront property within the Philippine Ports Authority site. The two sites are 8.7 kilometers apart by land, and 6.8 kilometers by sea.
In 2016, AG&P invested P1.5 billion in advanced technologies, equipment and highly advanced automation. The upgrade allowed the company to offer capacity of up to 60,000 metric tons of structural fabrication, 600,000 dia-inch of piping fabrication and up to 125,000 MT of assembly, making the yards one of the largest facilities in the region.
AG&P is now hiring 5,000 skilled workers in addition to its more than 2,000-strong work force, to support its re-entry into the domestic heavy industry construction market. It is looking for engineers, welders, painters, cutters, fitters, electrical and instrumentation experts among others, to execute a broad range of services.
About 4,000 of the new workers are being hired for work on a petrochemical plant in Batangas. It is one of the largest employers in the province, having hired at least 3,800 workers between 2016 and 2018.
Mr. Sigelman said although the company has existed for more than a century primarily as a construction company, it has evolved through the years. It has retained its construction business, while growing its gas logistics business.
“On the construction side first, the modularization became a key element of our business. Since 2010, we sold and executed about over $1 billion worth of contracts with respect to modularization,” he said.
“With construction, one of the key drivers for us had been international growth — petrochemicals, refining and so on, oil and gas, mining, internationally. But then, even though AG&P for decades and decades had been the largest construction company in the Philippines, for the prior decade or so we had largely spent our time focusing internationally albeit using our yards south of Manila to build the modulars and send them abroad,” he added.
AG&P projects in countries such as Australia and United States used components built in the Philippines, where economic growth has been growing, Mr. Sigelman said.
Among the overseas projects is an LNG import terminal in Karaikal Port, Puducherry, India that will provide industries and communities access to cleaner, cheaper fuel. AG&P has a major investment in GAS Entec Co. Ltd., a specialist Korean gas engineering company focused on small- and mid-scale LNG infrastructure.
“We’re proudly Filipino, and from our perspective, this is probably the most exciting time for infrastructure. The country is going through a renaissance. It’s going through a transformation not just in terms of modernizing but expanding and also fundamentally changing the nature of industry, all at the same time. And so we’re absolutely privileged to be playing a part of that,” Mr. Sigelman said.

Avida’s Makati project targets ‘younger’ and ‘wiser’ millennials

AVIDA LAND Corp. is targeting young professionals and millennials with its latest project Makati Southpoint.
Ayala Land Inc.’s mid-range brand recently launched Avida Towers (AT) Makati Southpoint — a three-tower residential condominium development located on an 11,000 square meter (sq.m.) lot along Chino Roces Avenue in Barangay Bangkal.
“Our target market is the younger and the wiser,” Avida Land Business Area Head for Metro South Properties Reginald D. Alabe said during a media briefing on Feb. 27.
“We conducted a study with McCann and they found out that today 59% are below 30 years old, and the median age today is 23. Majority of the workforce is still below 30 years old. The same study found out that the workforce of the Philippines, major income earners are between the ages of 25 and 39,” he added.
Jonathan Fabricante, Avida Land Head of Innovation and Design Group, noted these young, working millennials are now looking to own their own homes, as part of their transition into adulthood.
“Millennials when they buy units, they realize they’re mostly at work… In the end, they realize they just need a space that is just right size, enough to sleep comfortably, with a good address, near places of work, malls, hospitals, entertainment areas, very walkable and easy to drive to,” he said during the same briefing.
To cater to the millennial market, Makati Southpoint offers units that are “just right” for their needs.
“For a mid-affordable development, it’s the right size with sensible amenities… We are designing it to complement the lifestyle of the millennials — fast-paced, round-the-clock lifestyle of young professionals,” Mr. Fabricante said.
The first tower of Makati Southpoint will have 924 residential units, 247 parking units and 10 retail units. The project will have a grand central lobby for all three towers.
For the first tower, unit sizes range from 23.3 square meters (sq.m.) for studio and junior one-bedroom to 38.2 sq.m. for one-bedroom. Prices start at P4.4 million for studio to P8.5 million for one-bedroom.
Mr. Fabricante said the units at Makati Southpoint are efficiently planned and well-thought out. Model units are available for viewing at the Avida Land showroom on the second floor of Glorietta 4 in Makati City.
Makati Southpoint’s amenities include a clubhouse, indoor gym, children’s play area, swimming pool, kiddie pool, a jogging path and a linear park.
“(Makati Southpoint) has collaborative spaces — a huge area with a lot of seats and tables where people can do group study, meetings. It’s a conducive place to hang out with friends and family, an extension of their living space,” Mr. Fabricante said.
The development also incorporates sustainable design features, such as rainwater harvesting, and sensor-controlled hallway and podium parking lights. Units will have water-efficient toilet fixtures, LED lights, and low solar heat gain glass windows.
Mr. Alabe noted Makati Southpoint’s location is a main selling point as it is “within three kilometers of eight major office buildings, seven schools, six commercial areas, six spaces for arts and culture, five hospitals and places of worship.” Aside from Makati central business district, it is easily accessible from EDSA, South Luzon Expressway, Pasay and Manila. — Cathy Rose A. Garcia

Filinvest Land to launch P30B worth of projects

FILINVEST LAND, Inc. (FLI) will be launching P30 billion worth of projects this year, as it maintains a positive outlook for the property sector.
This is almost double the P16 billion worth of projects FLI unveiled in 2018, according to a company statement issued on Monday.
“Our outlook on the property sector remains positive, with our 37% year-on-year growth in reservation sales in 2018. We continue to focus on the more stable end-user market in the residential sector,” FLI Chief Executive Officer and President Josephine Gotianun Yap said in a statement.
FLI’s residential projects primarily cater to the affordable and middle-income markets through the Futura and Aspire brands.
The listed firm’s positive outlook comes amid a four percent increase in its net income in 2018 to P6.08 billion, versus the P5.83 billion it posted in 2017. Revenues, meanwhile, grew by 10% to P22.21 billion, mainly due to a 27% increase in rental revenues to P5.61 billion.
“We allocate significant resources toward growing our recurring rental income business, which is on track to meet our target of contributing 50% of FLI’s net income,” Ms. Gotianun Yap said in a statement.
The company ended 2018 wth a gross leasable area (GLA) of 712,000 square meters (sq.m.) across 31 office and retail developments. It further has a pipeline of 21 projects that will add 500,000 sq.m. of GLA, in line with its target to have 1.6 million sq.m. in GLA by 2023.
FLI’s office developments are located mainly in Northgate Cyberzone-Filinvest City in Muntinlupa; Filinvest Mimosa+ Leisure City in Clark, Pampanga; and in Cebu City.
The company develops mixed-use estates alongside its parent, Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC). FLI owns 20% of the 244-hectare Filinvest City in Muntinlupa, and is also responsible for the industrial, residential, offce, and mall projects in the 201-hectare Filinvest Mimosa+ Leisure City in the Clark Special Economic Zone.
It is also partly developing industrial and logistics zone Filinvest Gaia New Clark City, which covers about 288 hectares with FDC.
On its own, FLI’s townships include 306-hectare Havila, 677-hectare Timberland Heights, and 60-hectare Manna East in Rizal, as well as Ciudad de Calamba in Laguna and City di Mare in Cebu.
Shares in FLI dropped 1.99% or three centavos to close at P1.48 each at the stock exchange on Monday. — Arra B. Francia

Construction on St. Luke’s Davao to start mid-2019

By Vincent Mariel P. Galang
Reporter
CONSTRUCTION ON the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Davao City is expected to start by mid-year, according to its president and CEO.
“In the middle of this year, we’re going to start construction in Davao City. Why we chose Davao because we got a good deal in Davao and we’re going to put up a facility because our market survey tells us that there is potential for serving a lot of people from Davao,” Dr. Arturo S. De La Peña, president and chief executive officer of St. Luke’s Medical Center, told BusinessWorld in a recent interview.
“Looking also at the number of patients coming from Mindanao, so we’d rather bring the hospital, the expertise, and the technology in Davao,” he added.
The new facility will rise within Ayala Land, Inc.’s waterside estate Azuela Cove in Lanang, Davao City. The 12-storey medical center will have 250 beds, expandable to 350 beds depending on demand. It is expected to open by 2022.
The Davao facility will be the first St. Luke’s Medical Center to operate outside of Metro Manila.
For St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City, Mr. De La Peña said they are planning a new building for diagnostics, operating rooms, and the like.
“Ginawa ito [This was made], more than 60 years ago, and then it was expanded depending on the needs of the hospital… When you design a particular hospital now you will have to take into consideration patient flow, and touch points. Dapat [It should be] patient friendly, but in here because it was expanded in batches, hindi maganda ‘yung patient flow [patient flow is not good]… Meron kang [You have a] test, doon pa sa isang [still there in the other] building. Hindi isang diretso [It’s not linear],” he said.
“We’re going to redevelop this. At the back of this hospital, we’re going to build a new building. Ililipat naming lahat du’n ‘yung mga [We are going to transfer] diagnostics, operating rooms, and so on and so forth, and once that has become operational, ito ire-refurnish [this will be refurnished]… traffic flow will be redesigned,” Mr. De La Peña added.
However, he said the redevelopment of St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City is still in the planning stage.
“We are now doing the concept design for Quezon City, and by second week of March, we might finish the concept design, which we are going to present to the construction committee, and once that is approved, we will begin construction,” Mr. De La Peña said.

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