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Okada asks bourse to step in as Tiger Asia readies ABG takeover

JAPANESE gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada is asking for the Philippine Stock Exchange’s (PSE) intervention in the pending takeover by Tiger Resort Asia Ltd. (Tiger Asia) of listed firm Asiabest Group International, Inc. (ABG).
In a letter sent to the PSE on Sept. 13, representatives of Mr. Okada said the public should be informed about the ongoing ownership tussle concerning Tiger Asia before it entered into a share purchase agreement with a group of ABG shareholders for the purchase of P646.5 million worth of ABG shares.
“ABG, as a publicly listed company, should make a full disclosure of its impending sale transaction with Tiger Asia, particularly that there is a legal controversy on Tiger Asia’s authority to enter into such transaction, in view of Mr. Okada’s ownership and control thereof,” according to Mr. Okada’s lawyers.
The transaction comes amid an intra-corporate suit filed by Mr. Okada against Tiger Asia, Tiger Resort, Leisure, and Entertainment, Inc. (TRLEI), and their respective directors and officers at the Parañaque Regional Trial Court Branch 258 for his supposedly illegal removal as a shareholder and director of TRLEI.
TRLEI is the operator of integrated resort and casino Okada Manila in Entertainment City.
Mr. Okada was removed from his positions in Tiger Asia, TRLEI, and Japan’s Universal Entertainment Corp. (UEC) back in 2017 after his arrest by the Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption for corruption-related offenses. This came after his removal as director of Okada Holdings, Ltd. in May 2017 for alleged fraudulent actions.
Okada Holdings is a firm founded by Mr. Okada in 2010 to hold his family’s shares in UEC. It currently owns 68% of UEC, which owns 99.99% of Tiger Asia. In turn, Tiger Asia owns 99.99% of TRLEI.
Mr. Okada’s representatives said he had regained control of Okada Holdings. With this, he said the acts of the would-be directors of Tiger Asia lack authority as Mr. Okada — who owns a 34.41% beneficial interest in Tiger Asia and TRLEI — will “never agree to such transaction.”
“In this regard, may we respectfully request your good office to order ABG to do a full disclosure of its share purchase transaction with Tiger Asia in order that the public will be fully informed, and Mr. Okada will be able to take the necessary steps to protect his interests in Tiger Asia,” Mr. Okada’s camp said in a letter.
The gaming tycoon warned that he would file the appropriate criminal, civil and administrative cases against those responsible for entering in the share purchase agreement.
In response, ABG said after trading hours on Wednesday that it could not submit a disclosure on the matter as it might violate proper procedures on ongoing cases.
“ABG cannot submit a disclosure on the foregoing case that may appropriately apprise the investing public of the same without transgressing the rule on sub judice which restricts any person, including the PSE, to comment and disclose matters pertaining to the judicial proceedings in order to avoid prejudging the issue, influencing the court, or obstructing the administration of justice,” the company said.
It, however, noted that shareholders were presented with documents duly authorized by Tiger Asia and UEC, which confirmed the regularity of the transaction. — Arra B. Francia

Danish kitchen company KVIK opens shop in the Philippines

TO MANY people, the kitchen is a working space where messes are to be made. To some, the kitchen is the home’s beating heart, where the household makes important connections.
KVIK (pronounced like “quick”) is a Danish furniture company that’s been around for about 30 years. While the company manufactures bathroom furniture and closets, one of its highlights are kitchen cabinets and countertops, as presented during the opening in its first store in the Philippines, in SM Megamall in Mandaluyong, on Sept. 18.
The Nordic countries, including Denmark, are known for their combining a communion with nature with a highly sophisticated lifestyle. The result is a design aesthetic that is unobtrusive and highlights functionality. This is proven in the natural wood veneers combined with KVIK’s quiet, minimalist aesthetic.
Thorkild Madsen, KVIK’s Key Account Manager, told BusinessWorld during the opening, “You can go to Italy, and they also have great design. But what I think is what makes Danish design more famous around the world is more [about] the functionality that’s been there — that it has to work as well.”
Iain Flitcroft, Managing Director of KVIK in Thailand, added, “A kitchen is a working environment, so it’s not a museum piece.” He emphasized the evolving role of the kitchen in the home: while it’s essentially a working space, children now do their homework on the island, while one of the parents works on preparing food, and another one checks their e-mail in the same space. “It needs to fulfill its purpose; it needs to reflect the lifestyle of the homeowner.”
KVIK offers 10- and 25-year guarantees, as well as an installation and maintenance services.
Meanwhile, Messrs. Flitcroft and Madsen highlighted the sustainability features of the company, such as gaining environmental certifications on every aspect of the supply chain, using quality recycled lumber for particle-board components, reducing carbon footprints during shipping, and heating the factory in Denmark (which produces 1,000 kitchen a week) with the company’s waste products.
Speaking about how the Danish concept fits into the Philippines, Mr. Flitcroft said, “People are more and more aware of international brands and international design concepts. As the market develops like that, the taste develops. The market moves towards understated elegance, minimalism; away from the ostentatious.”
“People can see that less is more.”
KVIK is located on the fourth floor of SM Megamall. — Joseph L. Garcia

SC sides with oil firms in P3-B tax case vs BIR

THE Supreme Court (SC) has denied the petition of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to compel Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and Petron Corp. to pay their alleged delinquent tax liabilities as the tax collector deemed as invalid the oil firms’ tax credit certificates (TCC).
In the 26-page decision promulgated on July 9 and signed by then Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, the SC denied the BIR’s petition over its claim of more than P3 billion from Pilipinas Shell and Petron for alleged unpaid excise taxes.
It upheld the previous decision of the Court of Tax Appeals for Pilipinas Shell in 2007 and Petron in 2010, which validated the issued TCCs, saying the two could not have excise tax deficiencies for 1998 and 2002 as they “have validly paid for and settled their excise tax liabilities using the transferred TCCs.”
“The Court’s aforementioned findings in the 2007 Shell Case and 2010 Petron Case are conclusive and binding upon this Court in the petitions at bar. Res judicata by conclusiveness of judgment bars the Court from re-litigating the issues on TCCs’ validity and respondents’ qualifications as transferees in the case,” the decision read.
The decision also said that the BIR violated the rights of the oil companies to due process because of its failure to observe the proper procedure for unpaid taxes.
The 1998 and 2002 collection letters issued by the BIR for the year 1992 to 1997 are not sufficient to collect any tax deficiency, it said.
The 1998 collection letters demanded Pilipinas Shell and Petron to pay delinquent tax liabilities amounting to P1,705,028,008.06 and P1,107,542,547.08, respectively, while the 2002 collection letter sought from Pilipinas Shell the amount of P234,555,275.48 in unpaid excise tax liabilities. The letters claimed that the two only partly paid for the excise tax as the TCCs were invalid.
According to the Tax Code, as cited by the decision, the collection of unpaid taxes could only be done through summary administrative remedies such as distraint and/or levy of taxpayer’s property or judicial remedies through filing of a criminal or civil case against the delinquent taxpayer.
Although the BIR intended to pursue summary administrative remedies with warrants of garnishment and distraint and/or levy following the collection letter in the case of Pilipinas Shell, the SC found out that there were no assessments issued against the oil companies prior to the collection letters.
“The BIR’s power to collect taxes must yield to the fundamental rule that no person shall be deprived of his/her property without due process of law. The rule is that taxes must be collected reasonably and in accordance with the prescribed procedures,” the decision read.
The decision also cited Section 318 of the 1977 National Internal Revenue Code, which states that the BIR has five years to assess companies after they filed their tax returns and that no court proceeding should begin after the expiration of the prescribed period.
The oil companies filed their returns for the covered years 1992 to 1997. The period would have prescribed from 1997 to 2002.
“Without valid assessment, the five-year prescriptive period to assess continued to run and had, in fact, expired in these cases . . . Resultantly, this also bars petitioner from undertaking any summary administrative remedies, i.e., distraint and/or levy, against respondents for collection of the same taxes,” the decision stated.
It also said that “none of petitioner’s collection efforts constitute a valid institution of a judicial remedy for collection of taxes without an assessment, and any such judicial remedy is now barred by prescription.”
Pilipinas Shell and Petron sold oil and fuel products on different occasion during 1988 to 1996 to Board of Investment (BoI)-registered entities, which used TCCs issued in their names for purchases. To proceed with the payment, the entities made deeds of assignment to transfer the TCCs to the oil companies.
The Department of Finance (DoF) approved the deeds of assignment. Pilipinas Shell and Petron then sought the DoF’s permission to use the TCCs for their excise tax liabilities. The department then issued tax debit memoranda (TDMs) addressed to the BIR allowing the companies to settle their taxes.
The oil companies used the TDMs to pay for their excise taxes for the years 1992 to 1997, which the BIR accepted.
The 1998 collection letters stated that the oil companies had been paying part of their excise tax through TCCs that bear the name of other companies, which is a violation of Rule IX of the BoI rules and regulations.
The BIR also insisted in the petition that Pilipinas Shell and Petron were not qualified transferees of the TCCs as they were not suppliers of domestic capital equipment or of raw material and/or components to their transferors. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

After disastrous 2017, French wine makers cheer ‘incredible’ 2018

By Elin McCoy
Bloomberg
IN SAINT-EMILION, at Chateau Corbin, wine maker Anabelle Cruse-Bardinet is exuberant about this year’s harvest. Spring frosts devastated her vineyard last year, as they did to many other chateaux in Bordeaux, and she made no wine at all. “We are going to make an incredible vintage in 2018,” she e-mailed. “We had a dry and sunny summer, giving grapes good concentration and very ripe tannins.” It was the hottest July since the great vintage of 1947.
Fall is wine harvest season in the northern hemisphere. Most vignerons in France are smiling, thrilled that 2018 isn’t a repeat of miserable 2017, when they harvested the smallest crop since World War II, no thanks to massive frosts, violent hailstorms, and scorching heat waves. (Surprisingly, the quality of the grapes that survived was outstanding in many places, including Bordeaux).
This year, besides winning the World Cup, France is also one of the big winners in the global harvest sweepstakes. I’ve e-mailed wine makers and trade organizations in France’s major regions to get the latest updates. The farther north you go, the better the grapes look.
Since harvest won’t finish until next month, everyone is keeping eyes on the sky — and smartphone weather apps. Here’s the outlook from various regions in France:
ALSACE
This cool, northeastern region had one of its earliest harvests in history, and is on track to make great wines. “Vintages like this one can be counted on one hand,” says Jean-Frederic Hugel of well-known Famille Hugel winery, where harvest began on Sept. 5. “The wines will be rich, with a lot of concentration, and spells of cooler weather maintained bright acidity. And it will be a generous vintage with good production.”
The sole worry was the very dry conditions during the summer’s heat, but just enough rain fell to keep the vines going.
In the past few years, Alsace pinot noir has become “a thing,” and examples from 2018 should be stunning.
BORDEAUX
Twice a day, Château Mouton-Rothschild’s managing director, Philippe Dhalluin, checks in with Meteo-France, the national meteorological service, for details on the local weather forecast in Pauillac. On Sept. 10, his pickers began harvesting merlot; for cabernet, Dhalluin estimates a start around the end of the month or the first week of October. “Everything looks perfect so far,” he says.
Not all parts of Bordeaux were equally lucky this year. Gavin Quinney of Château Bauduc points out that one of the worst hailstorms in recent memory battered vineyards at the end of May and struck in Sauternes and parts of Graves on the day France won the World Cup. For others, a soggy, warm June encouraged the spread of mildew, which can result in serious grape loss.
Still, the overall crop in France is rebounding 25% over 2017, according to the French agricultural ministry. For wine consumers, this is very good news.
Just don’t expect prices to go down. This is still Bordeaux we are talking about.
BURGUNDY
For many growers here, harvest started three weeks early, thanks to marvelous weather during the growing season that boosted ripening. Picking early is a boon to wine makers who worry about when the inevitable fall rains will begin. Most wine makers are happy, especially when it comes to the whites, which Laurent Drouhin of Joseph Drouhin says have floral and fruity flavors. The super-hot, dry summer saved the day after a humid spring that threatened mildew, and rain at the end of August kept acidity in the grapes.
In Chablis, Julien Brocard of Jean-Marc Brocard winery says the taste of the unfermented grape juice is immensely pure. When it comes to reds, says Paul Wasserman, whose family company, Le Serbet, handles dozens of top Burgundy producers, this will be a darker, riper vintage with good structure. The Côte de Beaune had better conditions than the Côte de Nuits, where two hailstorms caused substantial damage.
CHAMPAGNE
Enthusiasm is high, with such grower comments as, “I might not see another one like this in my lifetime!” For the fifth time in the last 15 years, picking started in August and is almost finished. Early ripening also reflects the way climate change is altering the growing season.
The Taittinger family reports that the ripeness levels mean richness and lush aromas in the wines. Early morning temperatures of only 32°F ensured good acidity in the grapes, too. And the quantity is big enough — perhaps 10 million bottles more than last year — to allow vignerons to rebuild their depleted stocks of reserve wine, according to Thibaut Le Mailloux at trade organization Comité Champagne. These are essential in creating top-quality, non-vintage house blends.
Hubert de Billy, the fifth generation to run famous Champagne house Pol Roger, sums up 2018 this way: “After talking with my father Christian, born in 1928, we have never seen such a remarkable harvest in terms of both quality and quantity. After 1988, 1998, and 2008, the years ending in “8” truly keep on rocking.”
LOIRE VALLEY
Optimism reigns. Wine trade organization InterLoire collected grape samples from all the region’s various appellations such as Muscadet, and predicts wines of “excellent quality.”
The weather tale here is pretty much the same as elsewhere in France: sun, no rain, and high temperatures that accelerated ripening. Best of all, after two difficult years with small crops (and lots of worry), most vignerons will produce significantly more wine. Sadly, because of rainy, humid weather in June, some organic producers that don’t use preventative chemical sprays lost a lot of grapes to virulent mildew.
RHÔNE VALLEY
In a weird turn of events, the harvest in the northern part of the Rhône started before it did in the south. Vignerons began picking reds in early September, about seven to 10 days earlier than usual. The region’s trade organization, Interprofession des Vins Côtes du Rhône and Vallée du Rhône, reports “the vines are in excellent condition.” That’s despite burning sun and super-dry conditions.
In 2017, 371 million bottles of Rhône wines were sold; 2018 will produce much more. Quality looks very good, especially in the north. In the latest Rhône hot spot, Crozes-Hermitage, Laurent Combier of Domaine Combier is “anticipating a bright future for the wines.”
PROVENCE
Don’t worry about the region’s popular rosés. This year is another good vintage, and you’ll have plenty to pick among next summer, though rain (and some hail) hit a few unlucky growers. Harvest started at the end of August, which is early but not a record, explains Patrick Leon, wine maker and manager at Château d’Esclans, the maker of ubiquitous Whispering Angel rosé. Leon predicts that the wines will be fruitier, with less tart acidity and slightly lower alcohol than those of 2017, which means we can just drink more.

Focused approach needed for efficient cybersecurity in PHL

By Denise A. Valdez
ALTHOUGH THE Philippines may have a lot of work to do to ensure cybersecurity, one of the best ways to begin is by clustering data to easily identify assets that need intensified safeguarding, consulting firm McKinsey & Company said.
In an email interview with BusinessWorld, McKinsey Philippines associate partner Boris Van said the Philippines has “a lot to catch up on,” despite cybersecurity being a global concern among firms.
“Learning how other countries are tackling these challenges and collaborating with other governments/cyber agencies to counter cyber-attacks is important,” he said.
McKinsey Singapore associate partner Aman Dhingra said companies must have a change of perspective regarding ensuring cyber safety, moving instead to a more focused approach to what is most important in a company’s set of assets than just “throwing money at a problem.”
“Rather than starting with technological vulnerabilities (say, the insufficient patching of servers or routers), they should first protect the most critical business assets or processes (such as customer credit card information),” he said.
“Already, many large institutions have implemented multiyear programs to classify corporate data so they can focus cybersecurity efforts and policies on their most critical information assets,” Mr. Dhingra added.
KNOW WHERE TO SPEND
He said usually half of the data assets of companies are not “mission critical” — therefore, firms must learn to identify the cyber risks per set of information and direct efforts to ensuring security of the crucial data. He noted doing so may reduce cybersecurity costs by 20%.
“We surveyed 45 of the top 500 companies globally and found that more security spending does not lead to high risk management maturing — some companies spent huge sums, but were not necessarily protecting the right information assets. Therefore, it is important to know where and how much to spend,” he said.
He added, “Applying the same cybersecurity controls to all assets creates extra effort and expense. Vital assets should be protected more strongly than less important ones.”
Mr. Dhingra also said taking a more proactive than reactive stance against cyber criminals may be more effective in dealing with an ever-evolving threat.
“Companies can thwart hackers more effectively if they understand how they behave. Leading companies…maintain up-to-date intelligence on cyber criminals’ capabilities and intentions — and sometimes even their identities,” he said.
Mr. Van said ensuring data privacy is becoming more and more tricky now that digital data is increasing its value, the distinction between work and private devices is starting to blur, data sharing is becoming more open among businesses and their clients, and cyber criminals are growing more gimmicky.
“Professional cybercrime organizations, political ‘hacktivists,’ and state-sponsored groups have become more technologically advanced, in some cases outpacing the skills and resources of corporate security teams,” he said.
He noted that the passing of the national identification system law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte last month is “a major opportunity but will also naturally expose more citizen data online.”
“The key is to rapidly be secure without slowing down the adoption of technology/digital initiatives,” Mr. Van said.
Mr. Dhingra said while inadequate preparation may risk the leak of important business information, excessive and misplaced data security efforts could also hamper the conduct of work in a company.
“Companies need to make cybersecurity a broad management initiative with a mandate from senior leaders in order to protect critical information assets without placing constraints on business innovation and growth,” he said.

Security Bank raises $300M via five-year fixed rate note facility

SECURITY BANK Corp. raised $300 million through a senior unsecured note drawdown to expand its funding base and extend term liabilities.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday, the listed lender said it raised $300 million from its five-year senior unsecured fixed rate notes which carry a coupon of 4.5%.
The capital raising activity marked the bank’s maiden drawdown from its $1-billion medium-term note program established last month.
The transaction is expected to be settled on Sept. 24 and will be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.
The notes are expected to have an issue rating of Baa2 with debt watcher Moody’s Investors Service, a notch above the minimum investment grade.
“Proceeds of the notes will be used to extend term liabilities, expand funding base, improve liquidity gaps [and] fund investment and other general corporate purposes,” Security Bank said in the disclosure.
The offering was 3.7 times oversubscribed, fetching tenders totalling $1.1 billion. About 73% of the order book was allocated to Asia and 27% in Europe, the bank said.
By investor type, 55% were allocated to global fund and asset managers, 20% to insurers and the rest to banks, private lenders and other investors.
Citigroup, CLSA, MUFG and UBS are the joint bookrunners for the transaction.
The offshore bond offering came after road show meetings conducted by Security Bank in London, Hong Kong and Singapore earlier this month.
In April, the lender raised P5.8 billion through long-term negotiable certificates of time deposit, above the initial P5 billion it intended to offer.
Local banks have been conducting various fundraising activities ahead of tighter risk management requirement by the central bank which will take effect next year under the international Basel 3 standards.
Last month, Bank of the Philippine Islands raised $600 million through a drawdown from its $2-billion note program, which fetched a 4.25% coupon.
Philippine National Bank and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. have also tapped the foreign debt market this year, raising $300 million and $150 million, respectively, from their own medium-term note facilities.
Security Bank booked a net income of P4.3 billion in the first semester, down 18% a year ago primarily due to a continued decline in trading gains.
Shares in Security Bank closed at P169 apiece on Wednesday, down P6 or 3.43% from the previous day’s finish of P175 each. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Cal-Comp Technology says expansion still on despite deferred IPO

THE local unit of Taiwan’s New Kinpo Group said it remains on track with its expansion plans in the Philippines despite the postponement of its P6.77-billion initial public offering (IPO).
Cal-Comp Technology (Philippines), Inc. said in a statement issued Wednesday that it had decided to defer its IPO temporarily due to current market conditions and investor sentiment.
“We believe that deferring our IPO will better realize the value of our company for our shareholders and for the investing public. We will resume our IPO at an appropriate time in the future depending on overall market conditions,” the company said.
The local stock market has been tracking a sharp descent in previous days due to several conditions such as the ongoing trade war between the United States and China, the weaker peso, and fears of rising inflation. The onslaught of typhoon Ompong — international name Mangkhut — during the weekend further dampened sentiment as investors feared the inflationary effects of its damages in Northern Luzon.
The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index has once again entered bear territory after closing Wednesday’s trading at 7,221.23, or 20% lower than its peak of 9,078 last January.
Cal-Comp Technology filed a registration statement at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the sale of 378.07 million shares at a maximum price of P17 each last July. The corporate regulator approved the filing earlier this month, passing it on to the PSE for the final go signal.
Proceeds of the IPO would have been used to build two new facilities in Batangas, adding 48,000 square meters of manufacturing space for the company. The company also planned to enter into land leases with the First Philippine Industrial Park, Inc. for a property spanning 300,000 sq.m.
The funds to be raised would have also allowed the company to acquire new assembly equipment, upgrade existing facilities, and pour in more investments for research and development.
“Despite this deferment, our growth and expansion plans in Philippines remain on track. We will continue to invest in the Philippines, bringing more business to country, hiring and training more local talents, and introducing our innovative products to the Philippine market,” Cal-Comp Technology said.
Fellow IPO hopeful Del Monte Philippines, Inc. also deferred its stock market debut last June, citing volatile market conditions. The food manufacturer had already secured clearance from the SEC and PSE when it decided to postpone its P13.5-billion fundraising activity.
Meanwhile, San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc.’s P142-billion follow-on offering is still on the table for the fourth quarter of this year. This will be the largest capital raising exercise in the PSE’s history should the transaction push through. — Arra B. Francia

Chinese actress has high hopes for her Bordeaux vineyard

SAINT-EMILION, FRANCE — A Chinese film star got her hands dirty Tuesday to kick off the harvest at her Bordeaux vineyard, which she aims to propel into the ranks of top estates as demand for French wines grows back home.
Zhao Wei, also known as Vicky Zhao, bought the Chateau Monlot in the Saint-Emilion region of southwest France in 2011, part of a wave of Chinese buyers snapping up parcels in recent years.
“I want to make Chateau Monlot a grand wine, emblematic of the Bordeaux vineyards,” said Zhao as she snipped bunches of grapes outside the 17th century castle, built on land that once belonged to King Louis XIII.
Her chances of success may be better than most: She has teamed up with Jean-Claude Berrouet, a legendary wine maker known for his years at Petrus, one of the most prized Bordeaux reds in the world.
The Monlot domaine produces around 35,000 bottles each year, sold in France but also exported to Canada, China, Japan, and Singapore.
“I started drinking red wine after I stopped drinking sake and whiskey, because it’s better for your heart — it’s about the only thing I drink now,” she said.
Chinese buyers have purchased around 160 estates in the greater Bordeaux area over the past several years, accounting for about 3% of the region’s vineyard acreage.
Other high-profile enthusiasts include Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of the e-commerce giant Alibaba, who bought in 2016 the Chateau de Sours, a little-known estate that nonetheless boasts an 18th century castle and produces 500,000 bottles a year. — AFP

Virtual chemistry table to provide new learning experience for science

THE MIND MUSEUM, in partnership with the country’s leading chemical supplier BASF Philippines Inc., launched the first virtual chemistry table in the Philippines.
The installation of the virtual chemistry table is aimed at providing a new experience for science education.
“In 2050, we will be more than 9 billion people. You can just imagine our challenges we have right now at 7 billion. We all know that our resources are finite. There will be pressure on energy, food production, and quality of life,” BASF Philippines managing director Ronald P. Mercado told BusinessWorld at the launch on Aug. 16, citing a United Nations report about global challenges.
“We need the children now. They are the ones who will find solutions. The earlier we engage them in science and technology, the chance of getting more solutions is higher,” he added.
According to BASF Philippines corporate affairs manager Michelle Santos, the company continuously finds ways to promote science education through their social engagement programs.
“We want them (children) to see that science is fun and engaging,” Ms. Santos said.
Developed by South African company Formula D Interactive, the virtual chemistry table gives children and guests the chance to explore various chemical reactions without the risk of dangers in the laboratory.
“When we do it in the lab, there are many other precautions that we have to think about such as proper equipment and safety,” Mikee Estorga, education officer at The Mind Museum, told BusinessWorld.
The virtual chemistry table located at the museum’s Atom gallery is equipped with circular disks labeled with substances. When the disks are placed on the table, descriptions about the substance will appear on the screen. When two disks are placed on the table, the two substances virtually combine to create and show the corresponding reaction.
“It was designed to have disks with patterns at the bottom. The patterns are being read by infrared camera. It interprets and displays the content of the specific card that was put on the table. When the cards are mixed together, it can also display the reaction and show what could happen to the two substances,” Ms. Estorga said. “The new experience of it is what we give our audience, but the learning is the same.”
BASF Philippines Inc. has also extended efforts for science education outside Manila by sponsoring 400 kids to witness educational shows and workshops in the Mind Mobile which is currently stationed in Cebu.
The Mind Museum is located at JY Campos Park, 3rd Ave, Ta- guig city. It is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Banks crowd week-long term deposits ahead of rate hike

BANKS SWARMED the week-long deposits offered by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) yesterday and shied away from longer tenors under the facility ahead of an expected rate hike next week.
Total tenders for the term deposit facility reached P87.249 billion, well above the P70 billion the central bank offered but down from the P93.128-billion bids a week ago.
However, around 70% of the offers went to the seven-day tenor, while the longer instruments were barely filled despite the lower amounts on the auction block. The BSP even rejected some placements and accepted only P86.699 billion on Wednesday.
Bids for the seven-day deposits reached P60.324 billion, almost double the P38.001 billion received a week ago to surpass the P40 billion which the BSP has offered.
Despite this, rates sought by bank inched higher to the 4.215-4.45% range. This led to a 4.3884% average yield, climbing from 4.3744% fetched a week ago.
Demand for the 14-day tenor slumped to P17.44 billion, down from the P44.949 billion tenders put forward by market players and barely filling the P20 billion up for the taking.
The BSP even opted to reject some bids and only accepted P17.09 billion as they capped margins to an average of 4.4339%, versus last week’s 4.4224%. The Sept. 19 exercise saw some banks asking for returns as high as 4.5%, the ceiling rate set by the central bank.
The 28-day papers was also met with weaker appetite. Offers reached P9.485 billion from P10.178 billion last week to barely occupy the reduced auction volume set at P10 billion. The central bank even thumbed down some tenders and took in only P9.285 billion.
On the flipside, average yields settled lower at 4.4754% from 4.4824% last week.
The TDF is currently the central bank’s main tool to capture excess money supply in the financial system. The weekly auctions of short-term papers are meant to usher market and interbank rates within the 3.5-4.5% range.
The BSP slashed auction amounts this week as they saw a smaller surplus in unused cash currently held by banks. Central bank officials said financial firms chose to deploy the money in greater lending activities as well as in buying foreign currencies, leaving smaller amounts left idle in their vaults.
For his part, BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo also said last week that less excess cash meant that is actually welcome news as it meant that the economy is able to “make fuller use” of domestic money to support economic activity.
Banks also scaled down TDF placements ahead of a scheduled rate-setting meeting by the central bank on Sept. 27. Market players expect the BSP to raise rates by another 50 basis points (bp) following BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr.’s commitment to a “strong monetary action” after inflation surged to a fresh nine-year high in August.
Another rate hike on top of the 100bp cumulative increase this year would bring TDF yields — and eventually, market rates — to its highest point since the weekly term deposit auctions started in June 2016. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

Cebu Landmasters uses up IPO proceeds

CEBU Landmasters, Inc. (CLI) reported that it had fully used up the P2.15 billion raised after the company’s initial public offering (IPO) last year, bringing its land bank of properties to almost a million square meters.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday, the listed property developer said around 70% of the funds went to the acquisition of land. Majority of the properties are located in Mindanao at 41%, while 33% are in Visayas and the 26% balance are in Cebu.
“Cebu Landmasters is committed to the fast turnaround strategy of the company. We have developed 420,573 sq.m. of our land bank after IPO. We now have 52 projects in various developments and we’ve already expanded to eight key cities in VisMin,” CLI President and Chief Executive Officer Jose R. Soberano III said in a statement.
The Cebu-based firm now has a total of 52 projects in various stages of construction located across Cebu, Mandaue, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Bacolod, Dumaguete, Iloilo and Bohol.
Among CLI’s recent projects is the P3.6-billion Astra Centre, a mixed-use property located on a 1.2-hectare lot in Mandaue City, Cebu. Astra Centre will house residential towers, office spaces, a boutique mall, and hotel carrying the Radisson RED brand. The company looks to finish the first phase of the project in the fourth quarter of 2021.
CLI is also scheduled to launch a new mixed-use project and business district in Davao City in the following months.
The company expanded its net income by a third to P826 million in the first six months of 2018, as revenues surged by 45% to P2.6 billion. CLI targets to continue its growth momentum for the rest of the year, aiming for a full-year net income of P1.7 billion on the back of P5.3 billion in revenues.
To further support its expansion, CLI raised P5 billion from the issuance of corporate notes in July. The capital will be used to finance properties in Cebu, Dumaguete, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro and Davao, among other sites.
Shares in CLI gained 1.6% or seven centavos to close at P4.45 each at the stock exchange on Wednesday. — Arra B. Francia

UK duchess Meghan backs cookbook to help project set up after deadly London fire

LONDON — Meghan Markle, Britain’s Duchess of Sussex, has lent her backing to a new charity cookbook to help funds for a community cooking project set up in the wake of London’s Grenfell Tower fire disaster in which killed 71 people.
The Hubb Community Project was created last summer by women seeking somewhere to cook fresh food for their families and friends following the blaze which engulfed the 24-storey social housing block in west London.
The new book, Together: Our Community Cookbook, a collection of 50 recipes from the diverse users of the communal kitchen at the Al Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Center, will be used to allow the project to expand and open for up to seven days a week.
“I immediately felt connected to this community kitchen; it is a place for women to laugh, grieve, cry and cook together,” Meghan, who first visited the kitchen in January and has made other private visits since, wrote in a foreword.
“Melding cultural identities under a shared roof, it creates a space to feel a sense of normalcy — in its simplest form, the universal need to connect, nurture, and commune through food, through crisis or joy – something we can all relate to.”
Meghan’s support for the project is her first solo venture since becoming a member of Britain’s royal family after marrying Queen Elizabeth’s grandson Prince Harry in May.
The Grenfell fire was Britain’s deadliest fire on domestic premises since World War Two and there was criticism that the authorities were slow to provide new permanent accommodation for many of the survivors.
One of the contributors to the book, Munira Mahmud, 34, said she and her friends had approached Al-Manaar to ask if they could use the kitchen there and the Hubb project — hubb means love in Arabic — arose out of it.
“Last summer, we were placed in a hotel and I had no kitchen to cook for my family,” Mahmud wrote. “It was very emotional for me to get in the kitchen. The moment I started cooking I was in tears. I didn’t know why though. I was just excited to be back in the kitchen again.
“Word started to spread — the mums from my son’s school came along and they told their friends, too. Soon there were women from different cultures all cooking, swapping recipes, talking and laughing together.”
The duchess is photographed on the front of the book helping out and Mahmud said the royal had been happy to join in.
“She wore an apron,” she wrote. “I can’t believe I made her wash rice! After we said that we could only use the kitchen twice a week due to funding, she mentioned, ‘How about sharing your recipes with other people?’. And that’s how it happened.”
Meghan was to host an event at Kensington Palace, where her home with Harry is located, on Sept. 20 to launch the cookbook with the Royal Foundation administering proceeds from sales to the Hubb project. — Reuters

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