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Leonard’s 45-point night lifts Raptors past Jazz; Blazers beat Kings

LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard scored a career-best 45 points — including 19 in the third quarter — and gathered six rebounds to help the Toronto Raptors defeat the visiting Utah Jazz 122-116 Tuesday night.
It was a career-best 14th straight game in which Leonard has scored at least 20 points.
Pascal Siakam scored a career-best 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who won their second game in a row.
Norman Powell added 14 points off the bench for Toronto.
Reserve Jae Crowder scored a season-best 30 points for the Jazz in the opener of a four-game road trip. Utah lost for the third time in five games.
Derrick Favors added 21 points and nine rebounds for Utah. Donovan Mitchell notched 19 points, Rudy Gobert had 16 points and nine rebounds and Ricky Rubio contributed 14 points and eight assists.
The Raptors led by as many as 12 points in the third quarter and took a 10-point margin into the fourth.
They extended the lead to 12 on consecutive layups by Delon Wright earlier in the final period.
Rubio’s 7-footer reduced the lead to seven with 6:38 to play. Siakam’s layup and free throw with 4:44 to go had the Raptors back up by nine, but Crowder nailed consecutive 3-pointers to pull Utah within four with 4:06 left.
Leonard sank two free throws and then a layup to push the lead to 113-105.
Rubio’s free throw got Utah within four with 56 seconds to play. Siakam made two free throws to increase the margin to six with 23.5 seconds remaining.
Mitchell missed a 3-point attempt, and Fred VanVleet sealed the outcome with a free throw.
The Raptors were ahead 26-24 at the end of the first quarter after leading by eight.
Favors, on a layup, and Mitchell, on a 14-foot jumper, concluded the first-half scoring and gave the Jazz a 53-51 lead. Toronto’s largest lead in a closely contested second quarter was four points, and Utah’s biggest margin was three.
The Raptors started the second half with three 3-pointers — two by Siakam and another by VanVleet — to take a 60-53 edge. The advantage reached 67-57 after Siakam hit another 3-pointer with 8:07 to play in the third quarter.
Powell completed the third-quarter scoring with a 3-point shot, and the Raptors led 95-85.
NURKIC, BLAZERS BEAT KINGS IN OT
Jusuf Nurkic had a monster game, and the visiting Portland Trail Blazers rallied from a nine-point deficit with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to pull out a 113-108 overtime victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night.
Nurkic scored 24 points, grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds and also had seven assists, five steals and five blocked shots for the Blazers, who closed the fourth quarter on an 11-2 run.
Damian Lillard collected 25 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Seth Curry came off the bench to produce a season-high 18 points for Portland.
Buddy Hield scored 27 points and Nemanja Bjelica contributed 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Kings, who trailed by 14 points at halftime but stormed back to lead 101-92 with 3:10 remaining in regulation.
Lillard hit three free throws and a jumper to give Portland a 108-105 lead in the extra session. CJ McCollum’s jumper made it 110-105, and he followed with a layup to up the lead to 112-105 with 1:04 left.
The Kings missed 15 consecutive field-goal attempts before Bogdan Bogdanovic (19 points) made a 3-pointer with 23.4 seconds remaining to cut the gap to 112-108. Nurkic split a pair at the line for a 113-108 lead with 13.6 seconds on the clock.
Nurkic (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Curry (15 points) led the way as Portland raced to a 64-50 lead at the half. Hield had 19 first-half points for Sacramento.
JOKIC’S TRIPLE-DOUBLE HELPS NUGGETS SINK KNICKS
Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 15 assists and 14 rebounds, Malik Beasley scored a career-high 23 points off the bench, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the New York Knicks 115-108 on Tuesday night.
Jokic notched his third triple-double this season and the 19th in his career.
Paul Millsap scored 16 points in his second game back from a broken toe to help the Nuggets win their third straight.
Luke Kornet had 19 points, Kevin Knox scored 18 and Enes Kanter had 17 for the Knicks, who have lost eight in a row.
Emmanuel Mudiay finished with 15 points in his first game in Denver since the Nuggets traded him to New York last season.
Millsap and Beasley helped turn a two-point deficit into a win with an early surge in the fourth quarter. Mason Plumlee tied it at 84 with a dunk. Millsap hit a short jumper, Beasley hit two of his five 3-pointers and Millsap hit another step-back shot to give the Nuggets a 94-87 lead.
The game stayed close throughout the third quarter. Denver tried to take control with six straight points to lead 72-69 midway through but New York responded with a 9-1 run. It was tied late when Kanter hit a layup to give the Knicks an 84-82 lead heading into the fourth quarter. — Reuters

Dubov is World Rapid Chess champion

GRANDMASTER (GM) Daniil Dmitrievich Dubov (born April 18, 1996 in Moscow) won the $60,000 first prize (approximately P3.15 million at the World Rapid Chess Championship by posting a score of 11/15 with seven wins, eight draws and no losses.

FIDE World Rapid Championship (sponsored by King Salman of Saudi Arabia)
St. Petersburg, Russia
December 26-28, 2018

Final Top Standings
(Rapid Ratings)
1. GM Daniil Dubov RUS 2723, 11.0/15
2-5. GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE 2786, GM Hikaru Nakamura USA 2844, GM Vladislav Artemiev RUS 2812, GM Magnus Carlsen NOR 2903, 10.5/15
6-17. GM Alireza Firouzja IRI 2412, GM Yu Yangyi CHN 2758, GM Anish Giri NED 2739, GM Sergey Karjakin RUS 2774, GM Tigran L. Petrosian ARM 2676, GM Anton Korobov UKR 2740, GM Maxim Matlakov RUS 2690, GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda POL 2683, GM David Anton Guijarro ESP 2708, GM Alexander Grischuk RUS 2732, GM Dmitry Jakovenko RUS 2731, GM Pavel Ponkratov RUS 2650, 10.0/15
Total of 206 Participants
Time Control: 15 minutes for the entire game with 10 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1
Dubov’s great performance was a bit of an upset — his 2723 Rapid Rating put him at a starting rank of no. 25. The top 5 seeds were:

Magnus Carlsen NOR 2903

Hikaru Nakamura USA 2844

Vladislav Artemiev RUS 2812

Vladimir Fedoseev RUS 2810

Levon Aronian ARM 2802

Remember this game from the 2017 World Cup?

Dubov, Daniil (2666) — Artemiev, Vladislav (2692) [B98]
FIDE World Cup 2017 Tbilisi (3.2), 10.09.2017

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 h6 8.Bh4 Be7 9.Qf3 Nbd7 10.0–0–0 g5 11.fxg5 hxg5 12.Bg3 Qc7 13.Bb5 g4 14.Qe2 e5 15.Nf5 axb5 16.Nxb5 Qc6 17.Nbxd6+ Bxd6 18.Nxd6+ Kf8 19.a3 Ne8 20.Nf5 Ra4 21.Be1 Ndf6 22.Ng3 Nxe4 23.Rd8 Be6 24.Bb4+ Rxb4 25.axb4 Nxg3 26.Qxe5 Ke7 27.Rhd1 Rxh2 28.b5 Ne2+ 29.Kb1 Qc4 30.Rxe8+ Kxe8 31.Qb8+ Bc8 32.Qxh2 Nc3+ 33.bxc3 Qxb5+ 34.Kc1 Qg5+ 35.Rd2 Qa5 36.Rd4 Qg5+ 37.Kd1 Qf6 38.Qc7 Qf1+ 39.Kd2 Qxg2+ 40.Kc1 Qf1+ 41.Rd1 1–0
Dubov acknowledged that he did not want a draw as the match would go into rapid tiebreaks where Artemiev would be the favorite. He had to play to win but in standard chess Artemiev had better technical skills, so the only alternative was to go for a complicated struggle, which was why he lashed out with 13.Bb5 even though he had no special preparation.
Here in St. Petersburg Dubov showed strong play over the whole board, correctly adapting himself to the needs of the position. This crucial win over Wang Hao in the penultimate round shows this characteristic.

Wang, Hao (2782) — Dubov, Daniil (2723) [D78]
FIDE Wch Rapid St. Petersburg (14.3), 28.12.2018

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 c6 5.d4 d5 6.Nbd2 0–0 7.0–0 a5 8.b3 Ne4 9.Bb2 Bf5 10.Nh4 Nxd2 11.Qxd2 Be6 12.f4
White has a very good score with this line, something liike 6 wins 1 draw out of 7. His attack based on the threat of f4–f5 has usually proven to be very strong.
12…Nd7
The obvious 12…f5 to prevent f4–f5 has not proven to be effective. After 13.Rac1 Nd7 14.Qe3 Bf7 15.cxd5 cxd5 16.Nf3 Nf6 17.Ne5 Ne4 18.Rc2 a4 19.Rfc1 axb3 20.Qxb3 Bxe5 21.dxe5 Qa5 22.Bd4 White had the advantage. Wen, Y (2617)-Darini,P (2523) Bandar e Anzali 2017 1–0 44.
13.f5 gxf5 14.Nxf5 Bxf5! 15.Rxf5 e6 16.Rff1 f5 17.cxd5 cxd5 18.Rac1 Nf6 19.Bf3 a4 20.Qe3 Qd7 21.Rc2 axb3 22.Qxb3 Rac8 23.Rfc1 Bh6 24.Rxc8 Rxc8 25.Rc5
Wang Hao is himself a very strong rapid player. Before the start of round 14 he was just half a point behind the leaders Yu Yangyi and Dubov and obviously was trying to squeeze all he can out of the position. This backfires on him.
25…Bf8 26.Rb5 Rc7 27.Rb6 Ne4
With the idea of Ne4–d2(or d6)-c4.
28.Bxe4 fxe4
Alarm bells are ringing now. Not only does Black have the c-file but the f-file is also open and his king is all alone.
29.Kg2 Bg7 30.Rb5
Wang Hao has clearly lost the thread of the game. Black now finishes very strongly.
30…Qf7 31.Rb6 Bh6
Whereas White was wasting time with his useless rook moves Dubov has repositioned his pieces and now threatens …e3 or …Be3 targeting the White king.
32.Qd1 Be3 33.Qf1 Qh5!
Now threatening either …Rc2 or …Rf7 with a winning position.
34.Rxe6 Rc2 35.Kh1 Rxb2 36.Re5 Qf7 37.Rf5 Qe6 38.Re5 Qd7 39.Qf6 Rb1+ with unavoidable mate. 0–1
The reigning classical chess world champion Magnus Carlsen was of course the big favorite to win, considering that he is the no. 1 ranked player in the world in classical, rapid and blitz (and don’t forget that in 2014 he was the world champion in all formats), but he spoilt his tournament with losses in the first two rounds to GM Adam Tukhaev and IM Shamsiddim Vokhidov. Never heard of them before? That’s the point. In the second day of rapid play he lost once again, this time to GM Alexander Zubov of the Ukraine. That meant that Carlsen was playing catch-up for the entire tournament and it is to his great credit that he finished tied for 2nd half a point behind Dubov, although tiebreaks relegated him to 5th place.
Another favorite is Hikaru Nakamura, rated no. 2 in the world in rapid chess and a legend in the online chess servers. He lost two games though to Nepomniachtchi and Tigran L. Petrosian and even a closing 3.5/4 burst could not overtake Dubov. His tactics though were still a joy to watch.

Nakamura, Hikaru (2746) — Sargissian, Gabriel (2689) [A06]
FIDE Wch Rapid St. Petersburg (13.7), 28.12.2018

1.Nf3 d5 2.b3
Similar to Georgia’s top player Baadur Jobava, Nakamura has taken to playing b3, especially in quickplay games, with the idea of retaining pieces to give full scope to his tactical genius at getting the most of his pieces in the middlegame.
2…Nf6 3.Bb2 Bg4 4.e3 e6 5.d3 Be7 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 0–0 8.g3 a5 9.a4 Bb4+ 10.c3 Bd6 11.Bg2
We are out of the opening now and Nakamura starts kingside operations. Watch!
11…Nbd7 12.0–0 Qe7 13.Qe2 c6 14.Nd2 Rfe8 15.e4 dxe4 16.dxe4 Ne5 17.f4 Bc5+ 18.Kh2 Ned7 19.e5 Nd5 20.Rf3 Qf8 21.Ne4 Be7 22.c4 Nb4 23.f5 exf5 24.Rxf5 g6 <D>
POSITION AFTER 24…G6
Now it begins.
25.e6! gxf5 26.exd7 Red8
[26…fxe4?? 27.Qg4+ followed by mate]
27.Qh5
With the idea of Nf6+ Bxf6 Bxf6 and wins
27…f6 28.Qxf5 Qf7 29.Bxf6 Bxf6 30.Nxf6+ Kg7 31.Rf1 Qe7 32.Qxh7+ 1–0
I thought that Peter Svidler might be a dark horse to win this championship as he is a native of St. Petersburg and he usually does well in front of a hometown crowd. He was among the leading group after 9 rounds but got hit with a couple of brilliancies in the latter rounds. Here is one of them.

Svidler, Peter (2753) — Andreikin, Dmitry (2725) [A30]
FIDE Wch Rapid St. Petersburg (10.5), 27.12.2018

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 b6 3.g3 Bb7 4.Bg2 g6 5.0–0 c5 6.e3 Bg7 7.d4 0–0 8.Nc3 Ne4 9.Ne2
The most common move here is 9.Bd2, but as in the Nakamura game above, when you are going for a win you strive to retain pieces in the opening so that you will have more wood behind your attacks.
9…Nc6 10.Nf4 e6 11.Re1 f5 12.d5 exd5 13.Nxd5 Ne7 14.Nf4 Qc7 15.a4 g5 16.Nh5 g4 17.Nh4 Ng6 18.Nxg7 Nxh4! 19.gxh4 Kxg7 20.Qc2 Rf6 21.b3 Rh6 22.Bb2+ Kf7 23.Bxe4 Bxe4 24.Qc3 Rg8 25.a5?
If he had seen the threat Svidler would have played 25.Qe5 although after 25…d6 26.Qg3 Qe7 27.Rad1 Rgg6 followed by …Rxh4 Black is still winning.
25…Qxh2+! 26.Kxh2 Rxh4+ 27.Kg3 Rh3+ 28.Kf4 Rf3+ 29.Ke5 Rg6 0–1
Andreikin threatens mate with either …d6 or …Re6. There is no defense.
Now for something interesting, during the first day of play an interviewer asked Dubov what time control he preferred. The surprising answer was:
“I can say what I hate most. I actually hate rapid. Normally a classical game is a serious game — you prepare, you kind of need to sleep at night, you need to be in a very good physical shape. Blitz is exactly the opposite — you don’t care at all. You can be drunk, you can dance all night, whatever happens — you just need to be lucky and it will work. In rapid it’s not that you don’t care at all, but still it’s kind of not exactly a serious type of chess. I normally don’t know — should I party all night or should I sleep all night? Should I do Grischuk style and think with whom should I sleep all night and such stuff. I don’t know!”
So, the current World Rapid Champion hates Rapid chess. Something to think about.
 
Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.
bobby@cpamd.net

Lakers to LeBron

“We are not just one player,” second-year forward Kyle Kuzma declared in the aftermath of the Lakers’ victory over the weekend. It was a significant development, to be sure, and not simply because they prevailed against the very Kings who tormented them just three days earlier with an emphatic comeback. Consider: It marked the first time in three tries that they won without top dog LeBron James in the lineup, as good an indication as any of their growth. It’s especially noteworthy in light of the fact that his teams hadn’t triumphed in the last 16 matches he missed.
Considering that James figures to still be out for the foreseeable future due to a groin strain, the Lakers need to keep pushing. It certainly helps that they’re confident, as much a function of their youth as of their immediate past experience. So integral is he to their system that his sidelining cannot but be disruptive. On the other hand, it’s likewise a grand opportunity for the otherwise-overlooked supporting cast to take a central role. And against the Kings, it managed to do so. Brandon Ingram, second overall pick in 2016, proved particularly productive in the crunch, spearheading the offense with heady decision making.
That said, the Lakers are clearly a work in progress. Ingram’s starring role against the Kings, for instance, came at the expense of Lonzo Ball, second overall pick in 2017; the latter was compelled to ride the pine as he took over ballhandling chores. Admittedly, head coach Luke Walton’s constant shuffling from game to game is reflective of the uneven roster of the purple and gold; key figures perform overlapping roles even as other facets deemed crucial to success in the age of advanced metrics are left wanting.
Which, in a nutshell, is why the Lakers will ultimately go only so far as James can take them. That’s they’re solidly in the playoff picture as opposed to scrambling in lottery territory is due in large measure to his efforts. They’re bucking preseason prognoses because of him, and they’ll harbor prime postseason placement also because of him. Any injury he suffers is disappointing at best and devastating at worst. They may indeed be more than just one player, but that one player is who’s driving them most.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

Investor caution greets new year

By Arra B. Francia
Reporter
VOLATILITY that rocked the bourse in 2018 will likely persist this year, as the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies and fears of a recession in the United States continue to make investors skittish.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was battered by headwinds in 2018 — from inflation that accelerated to a nine-year high of 6.7% in September and October to the trade spat between the US and China affecting billions of dollars’ worth of goods from both sides.
“We attribute the year-to-date underperformance of Philippine equities to a combination of rising global yields, desynchronized global growth and accelerating domestic inflation,” according to a Philippine Equity Strategy report of BDO Nomura Securities, Inc.
Elevated inflation dampens consumer spending, which has otherwise been a key strength of the overall economy.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell 12.76% year-on-year to 7,466.02, leading to an 8.17% annual drop in total market capitalization to P16.15 trillion.
Citing forecasts of major investment houses, PSE President Ramon S. Monzon has said the main index could end 2019 at 7,600-8,400. “We got the outlook of three big investment houses, BDO (Nomura Securities, Inc.), Wealth (Securities, Inc.), Metrobank (Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co.) They were forecasting the PSEi to be anywhere from 7,600 up to 8,400. I hope magdilang anghel sila (their projections will come true),” Mr. Monzon told reporters in Taguig City on Dec. 18.
Asked on his expectation for the year ahead, PNB Securities, Inc. President Manuel Antonio G. Lisbona said expects 2019 to be just “slightly better” than 2018.
“2018 marked the end of low interest rates. Our biggest challenges for 2019 will be the effect of rising rates (especially if the increases are higher than expected), the effects of the trade war between the US and China — which doesn’t look like it will be resolved soon and is actually escalating given the US’ call to stop using Huawei and ZTE equipment,” Mr. Lisbona said in a mobile phone message.
Unicapital Securities, Inc. Technical Analyst Cristopher Adrian T. San Pedro said separately that he expects the PSEi to mirror developments of global markets, which had swayed with volatility in 2018.
“Moving forward we are going to experience more volatility than last year as we continue to monitor developments in foreign markets, particularly in the US because of the threat of an impending bear market due to recession shocks in the medium term,” Mr. San Pedro said in an e-mailed reply to questions.
Mr. San Pedro said the PSEi may rally in the short term due to a seasonal increase in stock prices in January.
Expectations of slower inflation may also lift the stock market this year. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) projects inflation to have decelerated within the 5.2-6% range in December, which if realized would be the slowest since May 2018’s 4.6% or July’s 5.7%. The Philippine Statistics Authority will report December inflation data on Jan. 4.
“Beyond a possible moderation in the BSP’s monetary policy stance… slower inflation should reduce margin pressure on inflation-sensitive stocks. We see inflation as less of a risk for equity investors versus this time last year, and we turn more positive on consumer stocks,” BDO Nomura said in its report.
The May 13 mid-term elections are expected to boost spending this semester, providing an added lift to overall first-half economic growth.
Still, the results of the congressional and local elections may cause some political shocks, according to Unicapital’s Mr. San Pedro.
Despite the expected volatility, PNB Securities’ Mr. Lisbona said long-term investors will have an opportunity to further increase their portfolios.
“In terms of support, we are looking at 7,000 as primary support but we don’t discount the market going to 6,600 if [interest] rate increases accelerate unexpectedly,” Mr. Lisbona added, while declining to give a 2019 year-end forecast.

Analysts’ December inflation rate estimates (2018)

INFLATION likely eased further in December as fuel and food costs continued to ease, analysts said in a BusinessWorld poll, even as some flagged that a spike in demand during Christmas may have buoyed prices. Read the full story.

Analysts’ December inflation rate estimates (2018)

Poll bares outlook of slower Dec. inflation

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez
Senior Reporter
INFLATION likely eased further in December as fuel and food costs continued to ease, analysts said in a BusinessWorld poll, even as some flagged that a spike in demand during Christmas may have buoyed prices.
A poll among seven economists yielded a median estimate of 5.7% for last month, which if realized will be slower than November’s six percent and would mark the second straight drop in headline inflation. The rate likewise falls within the 5.2-6% estimate range given by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) last week, but would be higher than the 2.9% clocked in December 2017.
Analysts’ December inflation rate estimates (2018)
“Food prices probably declined the biggest. However, the Christmas demand also might have continued the upward pressure on food prices,” said Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at the Union Bank of the Philippines.
Mr. Asuncion gave a 5.7% estimate, which he deemed “still elevated”, to factor in the seasonal increase in prices as demand surges over the holidays when Filipinos indulge in Christmas and the New Year feasts.
The Philippine Statistics Authority is scheduled to report December inflation data on Friday.
November inflation eased from a nine-year-highs 6.7% in September and October, with central bank officials noting that prices have peaked and should be on the way down into this year.
Prices have risen by an average of 5.2% so far in 2018, matching the full-year forecast of the central bank but still hovering above an official 2-4% target range.
The BSP said a “continued decline” in petroleum and food prices will drive commodity prices down, together with the P1 rollback in minimum jeepney fares in Metro Manila, as well as central and southern Luzon.
A slightly stronger peso versus the dollar also helped reduce import costs of goods from abroad.
Michael L. Ricafort, economist from the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), pointed out that global oil prices have lately been hitting their lowest point in over a year despite production cuts announced by oil-producing nations.
Alvin P. Ang, economics professor at the Ateneo de Manila University, noted that Christmas-related activities may have also bumped up costs for household furnishings, restaurant and communication, which all form part of the consumer basket used to measure year-on-year inflation.
Most of the economists polled shared the view that the worst may be over for inflation, with more growing confident that the rate will return to below four percent this year.
“Inflation has indeed peaked already and has started its easing trend, especially if the rice tariffication and other non-monetary measures to improve local food supply and lower local food prices are implemented and become effective in further lowering inflation,” RCBC’s Mr. Ricafort added, referring to an impending law that will impose a regular tariff scheme on imported rice from the current quota system and which is expected to slash retail prices of the staple by P7 per kilogram and overall inflation by 0.7-0.8 percentage point.
He said he now expects inflation to move back on target as early as the end of this quarter.
BSP officials have grown more confident about cooler prices in 2019 with receding world crude prices and with food supply normalizing. The Monetary Board slashed its 2019 inflation forecast to 3.2% from 3.5% in its Dec. 13 meeting.
But not everyone is convinced.
HSBC Global Research economists said prices could still pick up. “[C]ore prices remain elevated on both a yearly and sequential basis, which suggests building demand-side pressures on inflation. Near-term inflation risks remain tilted to the upside, given a scheduled increase in excise taxes on 1 January 2019.”
Excise taxes on fuel will rise by another P2 per liter this year, on top of the P2.50/liter increase on Jan. 1, 2018 as Republic Act No. 10963, or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act, took effect.
The central bank kept interest rates unchanged last month, capping five consecutive hikes in 2018 that brought the benchmark rate ti a nine-year-high 4.75%.
Some analysts believe the BSP can keep monetary policy changes on hold for now, although others cited the need to keep local yields competitive through further rate increases.
The BSP will review policy settings for the first time this year on Feb. 7.

Tax bureau moves to address businesses’ VAT concerns

By Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
Reporter
THE 90-DAY deadline for processing value-added tax (VAT) refund claims now covers the actual payment of the amount, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said.
This means that businesses and individuals claiming valid VAT refunds can get the cash payment from the BIR within 90 days.
Revenue Regulation (RR) 26-2018, signed by Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III and BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay on Dec. 1, amended existing implementing rules and regulations of the VAT provisions under Republic Act No. 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN) that took effect a year ago.
The new regulation states that: “[t]he 90-day period to process and decide shall start from the filing of the application/claim for refund up to the release of the payment of the VAT refund… Provided that the claim/application is considered to have been filed only upon the submission of the official receipts of invoices and other documents in support of the application as prescribed under pertinent revenue issuances.”
Previously, the 90-day timetable ran up to the date of approval by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue or by his authorized representative of the recommendation report on the application of VAT refund claims, with the applicant not necessarily receiving the encashed VAT refund within that period.
The rule applies to zero-rated sales of goods or properties, zero-rated sale of services and all other claims for VAT refunds or credit of input tax.
The new regulation also said that the rule takes effect immediately.
“That’s good news for the taxpayers and more in keeping with the requirements of the TRAIN. We expect to see continuous improvements in the VAT refund system to show Congress that BIR is complying with the requirement of having an enhanced VAT refund system,” P&A Grant Thornton’s Tax Advisory & Compliance head Eleanor L. Roque said in a mobile phone message yesterday when sought for comment.
TRAIN — among several other adjustments in the tax system — shortened the processing time of VAT refund claims to 90 days starting 2018, from 120 days previously.
The new regulations also provided that all pending VAT refund claims as of Dec. 31, 2017 should be fully paid in cash by Dec. 31, 2019.

Quezon City kicks off 2019 with tax relief

THE QUEZON CITY government kicked off the new year by announcing relief for real property and business tax payers.
Specifically, the local government suspended a real property fair market value (FMV) hike until after 2019, is offering an amnesty for real property tax delinquencies, as well as exemption from audit of 2016, 2017 and 2018 books of account for those that pay 2019 business taxes that are at least 30% more than their 2018 payment.
The move comes amid elevated headline inflation and four months ahead of the May 13 local elections.
REAL PROPERTY TAX HIKE SUSPENDED
Ordinance No. SP-2778 Series of 2018 — signed by Mayor Herbert M. Bautista on Dec. 6 — states that collection of real property taxes based on SP-2556 Series of 2016 that raised Quezon City FMVs is “hereby suspended for two years, from the periods of 2018 and 2019”, ordering continued use of the lower 1996 FMVs.
The city government said that the ordinance was issued “to temper the effect of the significant increase in the prices of commodities on residents of Quezon City…” noting that inflation reached nine-year highs in the latter part of 2018.
The 2016 ordinance increases the FMVs of residential, commercial and industrial real properties by 400-733.33%, consequently raising tax payable by real property owners by 39-131%. New assessment rates, however, were cut to five percent for residential and 14% for commercial and industrial lands in order to temper the impact of FMV increases.
The updating of real property FMVs was planned in 2016 but was left unimplemented after the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order in favor of petitioners Alliance of Quezon City Homeowner’s Association, Inc. The high court lifted the injunction on Sept. 18 last year.
The city last adjusted FMVs in 1995, even as RA 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991, requires adjustments every three years. This requirement is largely ignored, as local officials are elected very three years as well.
The city government projects an additional P700-million revenues in the first year of FMV hike implementation. Latest data from the Finance department’s Bureau of Local Government Finance showed that Quezon City contributed the most to total Metro Manila revenues in 2017, accounting for P15.161 billion of the National Capital Region’s P77.099-billion collections. Quezon City’s biggest tax source in 2017 was business tax with P9.204 billion followed by real property tax with P3.431 billion.
REALTY TAX AMNESTY
Ordinance No. SP-2779 Series of 2018, approved on Dec. 12, grants Quezon City residents condonation of payment of interest, surcharges, fines and other penalties on unpaid real property taxes on lands, buildings and machineries — except for those that have already been auctioned off, are being settled under compromise or similar agreements, and those with pending cases with the Quezon City Board of Assessment Appeal or in any regular court of law.
This amnesty, covering unpaid real property taxes up to 2018, runs from Jan. 1 to Oct. 30, 2019.
EXEMPTION FROM AUDIT
Ordinance SP-2780 Series of 2018, approved on Dec. 14, exempts those who have local business taxes payable in 2019 that are at least 30% more than the previous year from inspection and examination of their books of accounts “and other pertinent documents” covering calendar years 2016, 2017 and 2018.
This local business tax amnesty does not cover those with pending cases in courts of law or in administrative offices in relation to their business records.
The local law “shall make things easy, trouble-free, uncomplicated and simplify the procedure involved in payment of business taxes and… contribute to speedy, prompt facilitation of business permit and license renewal” and “will significantly… lessen the task of the employees of the Quezon City Treasurer’s Office whose invaluable time, effort and energy could be utilized and focused of other endeavors and activities geared towards revenue collection and mobilization.” — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

PCC leniency program rules take effect this month

THE Philippine Competition Commission’s (PCC) rules on its leniency program will take effect later this month, after the final version was published last week.
PCC Commissioner Johannes Benjamin R. Bernabe said the new rules were approved by its board, and will be effective 20 days after its Dec. 29 publication in two local newspapers.
“Hopefully, once people become familiar with the leniency rules, they will come forward,” Mr. Bernabe said in a phone interview last week.
The PCC is pinning hopes on its leniency program to speed up its preliminary inquiries and investigations on cartels.
Under the leniency program, the PCC offers whistle-blowers immunity from suit or reduction in fines in exchange for information and evidence about the reported anti-competitive agreement.
However, the ring leader of a cartel can only be granted a reduction of administrative penalties but never immunity to criminal liability.
Before any adjudication can start, applicants for the program will first have to apply for a marker which is seen to encourage cartel participants to compete against each other in providing information.
“A marker is necessary to protect an entity’s place in the queue for applicants under the Leniency Program and allows the entity an initial period of thirty (30) days within which to gather and submit information and evidence,” read the PCC-signed version posted on its website.
The applicant of the marker system must submit information on the alleged anti-competitive agreement; on the affected product(s); on the affected territory; the duration of the alleged anti-competitive agreement; and the reasons why the entity is eligible under the leniency program.
The PCC will also require information on the nature of the alleged anti-competitive agreement and information on any past leniency applications with the PCC and other competition authorities outside the Philippines in relation to the alleged anti-competitive agreement.
The PCC noted that the grant of leniency benefits is also conditional, hinged on the “continuing, full, and genuine cooperation” with the finality that has been reached in any and all cases initiated by the PCC in relation to the reported cartel.
Those found violating terms with the PCC will be stripped of the grant of a full immunity or declined a lower fine.
Those who will be found to have provided false, misleading or malicious information, data or documents will be fined with an amount not less than the penalty imposed on the violation of the entity complained of.
The leniency program is provided under Republic Act 10667 or the Philippine Competition Act of 2015. — Janina C. Lim

Fruitas eyes P2-B IPO by late 2019

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
FRUITAS Holdings, Inc. (FHI) plans to push through with its P2-billion initial public offering (IPO) by the second half of 2019 to finance its aggressive store expansion.
FHI Chief Financial Adviser Calvin F. Chua said the fund-raising activity will support the company’s plan to grow at a clip of 150 to 200 stores annually.
“We’re looking to have an IPO sometime second half of next year… The proceeds will be used for store network expansion and upgrade of our facilities, and potential acquisitions. So we’re looking to further grow inorganically,” Mr. Chua said in an interview during the company’s media event in Quezon City earlier this month.
Established in 2002 with a single cart in Manila, FHI has since grown its network to about 950 stores across more than 20 brands, including Fruitas, Johnn Lemon, Juice Avenue, The Mango Farm, Jamaican Pattie Shop, Friends Fries, and The Mango Farm, among others.
Mr. Chua said the company has a bias for food brands when looking at inorganic expansion since it already manages several beverage brands.
“(It should be) something that we can grow fast. We get a lot of offers to takeover, but first of all we look at if it’s something that can be grown fast, and something that can be open to all classes of income. Kasi all of our products right now, it can serve all income classes,” Mr. Chua explained.
Once realized, this store expansion would double FHI’s store network in the next five years.
The company led by businessman Lester C. Yu further intends to grow its food park business, with three more potential sites in Metro Manila. FHI currently operates three food parks in Quezon City, namely 150 Maginhawa Food Park, Le Village, and Cascades.
Mr. Chua said they are also planning to expand the food park business to provinces near Metro Manila, noting that the company has an advantage since its brands already have some kiosks in several provinces.
“I think if you look at what we have it’s very different from a typical food park, plus we can bring our own brands. Our brands alone would serve as anchor tenants already. And because we are tenants ourselves, they trust that we will take care of them as tenants. That’s our unique selling point,” Mr. Chua explained.
FHI has engaged First Metro Investment Corp. and BDO Capital & Investment Corp. as the underwriters for the issuance.
Mr. Chua said the company generated P1.15 billion in revenues in 2017, translating to a net income of P173 million.
“This year we’re looking to grow strong double digit (in terms of revenues)… hopefully more than 20%,” he said, while adding that FHI is on track to beat last year’s net income for 2018.

Strong demand for condos, worker dorms seen this year

YOUNG professionals and employees of offshore gaming companies are expected to continue fueling the robust demand for residential condominiums and dormitories this year.
Colliers International Joey Roi H. Bondoc, manager for research at Colliers, said that employees of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) and local professionals who are working in the central business districts (CBD) are looking for more residential units in the fringe areas of CBDs like Makati, Ortigas, and Fort Bonifacio.
“Colliers believes that a mix of demand from offshore gaming employees and local professionals is helping sustain the Metro Manila residential market, partly driving demand for other segments such as dormitories that cater to professionals and students,” he told BusinessWorld via e-mail.
The worsening traffic in Metro Manila is pushing young professionals to look for living spaces near CBDs.
For 2019, Colliers is expecting more residential condominium units and dormitories to be launched to cater to this demand.
“We believe that the demand for worker dormitories remains underserved. The need is also rising due to the worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila,” Mr. Bondoc said.
“Over the next 12 months, Colliers expects a more aggressive launch of worker dormitory projects especially in the Manila Bay Area to cater to growing number of employees in the business district as well as employees from the Southern Luzon provinces of Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas looking for halfway houses,” he added.
As offshore gaming companies expand outside of Metro Manila, particularly in Cebu, Pampanga and Laguna, residential projects in those areas will likely benefit.
Meanwhile, the luxury condominium market shows no signs of slowing, with Colliers noting it has “attractive rental yields in the region; relatively low prices; and sustained demand from affluent Filipinos, foreign investors, and offshore gambling firms.”
“The luxury market in the country’s capital is relatively small but demand has been stable over the past few years. The projects being leased out or sold to the secondary market continue to receive strong demand… The pent-up demand encourages mid-income condominium developers to scale up and construct high-end projects in emerging business districts such as the Manila Bay Area,” Mr. Bondoc noted.
However, Colliers said rising interest rates could dampen demand, particularly from the mid-income market.
“Rising interest rates which could dampen low to mid-income residential demand over the next 12 to 24 months. We believe that a volatile interest rate environment should entice local developers to be more open to partnering with foreign firms to develop horizontal and vertical residential projects,” Mr. Bondoc said. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Trina Solar mulls foray into minigrid business in PHL

By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-editor
TRINA Solar Energy Development Pte. Ltd. is looking at entering the minigrid business in the country and has tapped the services of lawyers to study the details of a regulation being drafted by government agencies covering the so-called “distributed power.”
“It’s actually a good market to penetrate. So that’s something that we are looking into. There are certain legal things that we need to abide with because I think for you to do that, I think you need to be certified to sell electricity,” said Junrhey Castro, Trina Solar country manager, in an interview after the company presented its plan in the Philippines.
“So there’s an RES (retail electricity supply) process. You need to be RES — there’s a certificate that you need to obtain,” he said, referring to the license being issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on entities that plan to sell electricity to “contestable” customers or those whose average monthly consumption in the past year reach a set threshold.
A minigrid or a microgrid acts as a single controllable grid and can connect and disconnect from the national grid to enable it to operate in both grid-connected or island mode. It has clearly defined boundaries.
“That’s a good part of the business and we’ve been looking into that. Actually what we have done is we’ve worked with another company who’s doing that business specifically. Though we are only supplying equipment to them. And we are giving technical advice, that’s already a good kickstart for us for that market,” Mr. Castro said.
“The grid is a big issue and if you can deliver products, services, basically the idea of that business is you become a utility provider on a small scale, a mini utility provider on the small scale,” Mr. Castro said.
For now, the company is looking into partnerships with local entities for projects that will give it a headstart in the minigrid business.
“We have to build a local company, where of course you have to abide with the 60-40 rule,” he said, referring to the limitation under Philippine laws that limit the ownership stake of a foreign entity to 40%.
Mr. Castro said it has started the process of creating a new company, which will have to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“We have hired a legal lawyer to look into the technicalities of the draft and how we can penetrate into that market so we’re still on a discussion with them,” he added.
In the near term, Trina Solar is targetting to install 5-6 megawatts (MW) of solar rooftop energy systems in Filipino homes each year as it sets its sights on the local residential market.
“We have quite a bit of aggressive target in the Philippines,” Mr. Castro said. “Usually we are given the task of at least 10% market share.”
Mr. Castro, who is also Trina Solar senior sales head for Australia and Southeast Asia, said the installation would cover both residential and commercial market segments, and distributed as “a few kilowatts here and there.”
Trina Solar, which describes itself as a global leader in total energy solutions, recently launched its Trinahome solutions brand that focuses on residential consumers. The parent firm has previous projects in the Philippines but mostly industrial scale development.
Mr. Castro said Trinahome is a “plug and play” residential solutions that come with warranties and backed by an internationally bankable supplier.

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