Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube
Home Blog Page 11560

Budget chief flags smaller national tax share for local governments

By Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
Reporter
THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT may have to reduce local governments’ take in national taxes should the Supreme Court, in a final ruling, stand pat on a bigger revenue base for these units’ “just share,” Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said last week.
Mr. Diokno cited the need to ensure the fiscal deficit remains manageable amid higher spending on state infrastructure and social services and a bigger Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) for local governments.
“Worst case, i-invoke namin ’yung unmanageable public sector deficit. Gagawin namin (We will make it) 30%… of the total (national government tax collections) which is approximately equal to the current system,” Mr. Diokno said in an interview on Wednesday last week.
According to section 284 of Republic Act No. 7160, or the Local Government Code, the President can reduce the IRA to 30% in the event of an unmanageable public sector deficit, from 40% currently.
The high court released a decision in July, ordering the “automatic release without further action” of local governments’ “just share” of internal revenues that includes all national government taxes, including collections of the Bureau of Customs — not just of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, as practiced currently — and that the national government should implement the ruling prospectively.
The national government filed a motion for reconsideration in August as it sought to keep its fiscal position intact.
The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the government’s motion.
In the wake of the court decision, state economic managers had considered devolving more national government programs such as conditional cash transfers for the poorest of the poor, farm-to-market roads and local health care programs, although they doubted the capacity of some local governments to take on this additional burden.
The government has programmed its fiscal deficit at 3.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 and three percent in 2020-2022.
State economic managers have cautioned that complying with the Supreme Court decision and keeping the IRA at the current proportion would push the fiscal deficit to four percent of GDP and may, in turn, threaten the investment-grade standing of Philippine debt which the country bagged and has maintained since 2013.
Complying with the Supreme Court decision is estimated to cost the national government an additional P195 billion, on top of the P522.75 billion in national tax share allocated to local governments this year.
“We cleared that (IRA stand) with the President. He said (of bigger fiscal deficit proportion to GDP) ‘not during my watch,’” Mr. Diokno recalled.
Under the current IRA scheme, local governments will get P575.52 billion next year, to be divided among provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays, depending on size of the population and land area.
IRAs are automatically appropriated every fiscal year, based on internal government revenues three fiscal years prior. Local governments are mandated by law to allocate 20% of their annual IRA shares to development projects.
While the national government has been goading local units to be more financially independent, IRAs have so far been most local governments’ main source of funds for programs and projects, although they have the authority to impose local levies like real property tax, business tax, and fees for services.

Transport dep’t to submit NAIA rehab proposal this week for NEDA approval

By Denise A. Valdez
Reporter
THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) plans to submit to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in the next few days the unsolicited proposal of the “super consortium” to rehabilitate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), months after the group bagged original proponent status (OPS).
Asked for an update on the consortium’s NAIA rehabilitation proposal, Transportation Undersecretary for Planning Ruben S. Reinoso, Jr. said the department received late last week the updated submission from the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).
“We’re evaluating MIAA submission. (We received it) just last Friday. We’ll try (to give it to NEDA) before New Year,” he said in a text message on Monday.
Last September, the government awarded the consortium of seven of the country’s top conglomerates — dubbed as a “super consortium” or “NAIA consortium” — OPS for its proposal to rehabilitate and expand the country’s main air service gateway.
The group consists of Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc.; AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp.; Alliance Global Group, Inc.; Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp.; Filinvest Development Corp.; JG Summit Holdings, Inc.; and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., with Changi Airports International Private Ltd. as technical partner.
Transportation Undersecretary for Aviation Manuel Antonio L. Tamayo told reporters on Friday that the proposal was “with MIAA” which was “doing the final project evaluation report, and it is due to be submitted on or before 3 p.m. this afternoon to DoTr.”
“And then from DoTr, sa amin mabilis lang ’yan eh [it will be quick from our end]. Pagka [If] everything is complete… we’ll send it to NEDA,” Mr. Tamayo said.
The group’s rehabilitation proposal covers the expansion of the existing terminals and building new taxiways at NAIA.
It originally included construction of a third runway, but the DoTr opted to remove this segment and instead have it as an option for expansion.
PASSENGER CAPACITY BREACHED
Mr. Tamayo noted that, after the consortium bagged OPS in September, MIAA found “many” “technical” issues in the proposal that needed to be reviewed. “I can’t reveal the details, pero marami pang nakitang issues [but there were several issues seen]. It’s more about the project details. Technical.”
Mr. Tamayo said the consortium’s proposed timetable puts a Swiss challenge in the second quarter of next year, while construction is targeted to begin by September.
The group’s original submission in February was for a P350-billion, 35-year contract to rehabilitate and expand NAIA.
It eventually had to trim costs to P102 billion and the concession period to 15 years after comments from the DoTr.
The development of NAIA is seen as a solution to decongest the airport, which accommodated 42 million passengers last year, way beyond its 30.5 million capacity.
The consortium targets to expand annual capacity at NAIA to 47 million in two years and further to 65 million in four years.

Elections could hinder fiscal reforms — Nomura

THE 2019 MIDTERM ELECTIONS could pose some risks to fiscal reforms being pursued by the administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, analysts at a global bank said, as the fate of succeeding tax measures will depend on the outcome of the polls.
Nomura economists have flagged politics as one of their biggest concerns for the Philippines next year, saying the outcome of the May 13 elections will determine the fate of reforms in the next 18th Congress.
“The mid terms will likely pose some uncertainty to the prospects for fiscal reform through the rest of President Duterte’s administration,” the Japan-based bank said in its Asia 2019 Outlook published earlier this month.
In May, Filipino voters will have to fill 12 of the 24 Senate seats and fill all of the seats at the House of Representatives, as well as posts for provincial governors, mayors and other local government officials.
Nomura pointed out that it now seems “unlikely” that the second package of the tax reform program put forward by the Department of Finance will be signed into law before the elections, as lawmakers will have to end their sessions early to make way for the campaign period which starts on Feb. 12.
Package two, which aims to reduce corporate income tax rates and revamp the existing scheme for tax incentives and other fiscal perks, recently hurdled the House of Representatives and is now under Senate deliberation.
“This implies that the remaining packages will also face further delays,” Nomura said.
“In that scenario, the pace at which related legislation can be passed will depend on the outcome of these elections, i.e., whether President Duterte’s allies win and he retains his ‘super-majority’ in Congress.”
The difficulty with which the first of up to five planned tax reform packages was approved in both legislative chambers had sowed doubts that Mr. Duterte, whose popularity has remained relatively intact in opinion polls, otherwise had enough political clout to push his reforms in Congress.
The Executive has been pushing for the passage of other tax packages in order to rake in more revenues to finance the administration’s aggressive infrastructure spending plans.
Nomura noted that lawmakers look less interested in pursuing tax reforms despite being backed by the President.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III had told taxmen during the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s 114th anniversary in August that “… there is now more political resistance to succeeding tax reform packages” with the “proximity of elections.”
“Tax policy, as we know, is never the best way to be reelected,” Mr. Dominguez had said.
Nomura, in its report, cited “signs of reform fatigue as the implementation of Package 1 led to some public backlash and the perception that it contributed to this year’s surge in inflation.”
“Given the political cycle, we doubt that legislators will push to expedite the legislative process before May, hence pushing out further the passage of subsequent packages, particularly if President Duterte has less support in Congress after the elections.”
On the other hand, Nomura has acknowledged that the elections will give a one-time boost to consumption as candidates spend for their campaigns, as observed in past election years.
The bank sees gross domestic product growth surging to 7.1% in 2019 from a projected 6.3% this year, before scaling back to 6.8% by 2020. If realized, this would mean that the state’s 7-8% growth target for 2019 would be doable, even if the official 6.5-6.9% goal for 2018 will be missed. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

SM Prime upbeat on mall business

SM Prime Holdings, Inc. has 72 shopping malls in the country. — BW FILE PHOTO

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
SM Prime Holdings, Inc. remains upbeat on its shopping mall business, noting that the country is not facing an oversupply of malls yet.
SM Supermalls Chief Operating Officer Steven Tan called the retail sector “very vibrant,” citing the shopping mall’s shift to being a more experiential place.
“It’s more exciting now more than ever. I was asked if there was a surplus already, but no we’re still enjoying. For example, SM North EDSA is 99% occupied. I don’t really see that as it poses a threat or a problem,” Mr. Tan said in an Dec. 7 interview on the sidelines of the opening of the North Towers, a new segment of the company’s SM North EDSA mall in Quezon City.
For instance, Mr. Tan said the company included an “experience zone” in the newly-opened North Towers to give shoppers a place to hang out.
“It’s not your usual mall where people go shopping, it’s really more like hanging out. There’s a lot of restaurants, we created an experience zone, lots of games,” Mr. Tan explained.
North Towers is an expansion of SM North EDSA, making it the country’s second largest mall next to SM Mall of Asia. It is one of the 72 SM malls in the Philippines, the latest of which is located in Eastern Visayas called SM Center Ormoc. The company also has seven malls in China.
The property unit of country’s richest man Henry Sy, Sr. plans to end the year with 9.6 million square meters of retail space across its local malls. By 2019, the company targets to have 10.5 million sq.m. of gross floor area in the country, further increasing it to 10.8 million sq.m. in 2020.
The listed firm’s expansion is now geared toward the provinces, as it seeks to take advantage of the economic growth opportunities in the regions.
“Our expansion program should allow us to sustain double-digit growth over the next three years. The growth will be driven by malls and residential operations complemented by our other businesses,” the company said in a presentation posted on its website.
SM Prime’s shopping mall unit contributed 58% of its revenues in the first nine months of 2018, following by the residential business at 34%.
The company booked a net income attributable to the parent of P23.44 billion in the first nine months of 2018, 17% higher than the P20.05 billion it made in the same period a year ago. Gross revenues meanwhile went up 15% to P74.56 billion during the nine-month period.

Magic on the ice


FOR THOSE who have made it a holiday tradition to watch skating shows during the Christmas season, they will find that this year they can watch one show which combines magic, acrobatics, and figure skating.
The show — Steve Wheeler’s Magic on Ice — opened on Christmas Day at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City, and has performances until Jan. 1.
The US touring production has entertained “millions of viewers” in the continental US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia since it started more than 15 years ago.
“[The show] is a fusion of art forms,” Mr. Wheeler, the show’s producer and resident magician, told the press on Dec. 20 at the Novotel Araneta Center.
Mr. Wheeler shared that he started performing magic when he was very young (“around nine or 10 years old”) and around the time he was playing ice hockey.
“Then as a teenager, I got the idea, well, why don’t I take the magic that I have and combine it with my love for the ice and big productions and create something that’s never been done before? That’s the start of Magic On Ice,” he explained.
The show, which has toured more than 200 cities including Seoul and Abu Dhabi, started as a 10-minute act and was a part of another show. In the beginning there were six people in the act, then “it grew and grew, and just became bigger and bigger,” he said.
Now, the show is one-and-a-half-hours long and features a company of 21 performers including Mr. Wheeler’s wife, Tracey Wheeler (who also serves as one of the show’s producers), and Estonian champion and four-time Olympian Maria Sergejeva on ice.
It will also showcase 23 different acts, from grand illusions to skating numbers.
Aside from breathtaking magical performances and the beauty of figure skating, Mr. Wheeler said they also put in a lot of effort to involve the audiences in the show itself.
“At one part of the show, we’re going to invite children to come up on stage and perform with us,” he said.
“It’s not a kids show but the kids love it [likely because] kids have a fascination with magic,” he added.
The Magic on Ice team spends four months preparing for the show, a feat that seasoned lighting director Emilio Morgia (who did the lighting for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino) said is unheard of in the industry.
“In other shows we only spend weeks preparing,” he said.
Also joining the technical team are John Fox (director), Glenn Grayson (music director), and Tim Clothier (illusion and scenic).
Steve Wheeler’s Magic on Ice runs until Jan. 1 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. Tickets are available at www.ticketnet.com.ph or call 911-5555 for more information. Ticket prices range from P190 (General Admission) to P2,335 (VIP). — Zsarlene B. Chua

Young author publishes a children’s book on adoption

TWENTY-ONE little girls aged four to six, dressed in lovely Sunday dresses, sat in two rows of small chairs facing the windows at the lecture room for another Saturday of reading sessions with 18-year-old Alexis Lopez at the White Cross Orphanage in San Juan city. But today was different. Aside from reading various children’s books, Ms. Lopez read her self-published children’s book to the little girls for the first time.
Volunteering since Grade 8, Ms. Lopez has been conducting reading sessions and theater workshops with the same group of little girls in the orphanage every two weeks.
Aside from actively volunteering, Ms. Lopez’s passion for writing inspired her to write a story on adoption. Her self-published book, Jodie’s Journey, tells the story of a young orphan who lives in St. Mary’s Orphanage, with her friends being her only family. Jodie’s life unexpectedly changes when she learns that she will be moving to Spain to live with new parents.
The children’s book contains both English and Filipino versions of the story, features illustrations by Ray Sunga.
The inspiration for the story came from one of the little girls in Ms. Lopez’s theater workshop. “After one of my theater workshops, I heard that one of the girls that I was teaching was going to move to Spain to be adopted and live with a family there,” Ms. Lopez told BusinessWorld after the reading session at last week’s book launch.
“I thought about how there was no story written about adoption yet,” she said about inter-country adoption. “I think that when we read about characters in books who go through something similar as us, it makes us feel reassured. So, I thought that maybe in writing this book, I’d help these children be able to transition more smoothly to their new lives in their new homes.”
INTER-COUNTRY ADOPTIONS
According to White Cross Orphanage executive director Mely V. Reluya, inter-country adoptions are applicable to receiving countries such as the US, Canada, Italy, and Spain.
There are accredited agencies who facilitate the matching with foreign parents who require clearances from their governments.
“Their documents will be sent to the Philippines. A panel will review their report, specially the psychological evaluation, to check if they are prepared and emotionally ready to take care of the child,” Ms. Reluya told BusinessWorld in a mix of English and Filipino.
Ms. Reluya further explained that when foreign couples may only suggest the preferred age of the child whom they wish to adopt. She said that prospective parents aged 47 years old and below are advised to adopt children aged one to two years of age, while older prospective parents are advised to adopt older children. In addition, the couples should also provide a legal guardian in case of emergencies.
After a child is matched to a family through the Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB), the policy-making body for inter-country adoption, the child will be sent a “welcome album” with photographs of their future family members, relatives, and their house. A social worker will orient the child about his/her future family and relatives.
NOT ALONE
Ms. Lopez has already distributed her book to three other orphanages in Metro Manila including Hospicio de San Jose. She plans to distribute the book to orphanages in various regions in the future.
“I want to be able to bring the book to more orphanages in the country so that each child that gets adopted gets to read the story and see that they are not alone,” she said about the intention to deliver the book to its target audience — orphans — directly. She has no intention at the moment to distribute the book commercially.
The young author hopes that her young readers understand that “their feelings are normal and in what they’re going through, they have people to support them.”
“The best stories can be found around you and the people you are surrounded by. The stories that I like to write are about people and real experiences of hope, optimism, and perseverance,” Ms. Lopez said before leaving the lecture room to join the little girls for their morning snack. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

AEV allots up to P60-billion capex for 2019

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
ABOITIZ EQUITY Ventures, Inc. (AEV) is looking to allocate up to P60 billion to fund the expansion of its power, food, banking, land, and infrastructure businesses in 2019.
“We haven’t finalized yet…but (2019 capital expenditures) would probably be in the range of P50 to P60 billion,” AEV Chief Financial Officer Manuel R. Lozano said during a round table interview in Taguig City last week.
The 2019 capex is lower than the P77 billion AEV has committed to spend in 2018. Mr. Lozano noted the company has only spent about three-fourths of this budget, since some projects have spilled over to 2019.
“(The) bulk (of capex) will be for power, but now we already have Apo Agua for water, that’s gonna be big also. (AboitizLand) has several projects that we started. So I think now you’re going to see a little bit more from the other subsidiaries,” Mr. Lozano said.
Apo Agua is AEV’s bulk water project in Davao City worth about P13-14 billion. It was designed to have a capacity of 347 million liters per day, making it the largest bulk water project in the country. The facility also comes with a 2.5-megawatt hydro-electric power plant.
The bulk water project is scheduled to start operations in 2021.
For its power unit, AEV is looking at more renewable energy projects at the local front while also exploring opportunities abroad.
“We really want to look at more projects in the solar side. There’s a lot of opportunities there. We’re bringing guys who understand hydro, solar, and wind… at least get them moving in 2019,” Mr. Lozano said.
The AEV executive also said the company is upbeat on potential projects in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Myanmar.
“In Vietnam, they have a lot of solar, wind projects that we’re looking at. And Indonesia all kinds, from geothermal, to solar, to hydro, so we’d like to see where we can do things.”
Meanwhile, AboitizLand, Inc. also has some projects lined for its nationwide expansion in 2019. Mr. Lozano said the property developer is looking at new township developments in Cebu and Davao, alongside some land banking efforts.
AboitizLand has recently opened The Outlets at Lipa, a 9.3-hectare commercial, lifestyle, and leisure development in Batangas. The property opened with 25% of its total gross leasable area of about 27,000 square meters leased out, with more to tenants to expected to locate there in the first quarter of 2019.
To finance its 2019 capex, Mr. Lozano said they are planning to file a shelf registration for about P30 billion worth of retail bonds at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Our plan is to do a shelf, get it already started next year, and then depending on our investments we can either do a bigger offering later in the year or in 2020… The shelf lasts for three years, so I think P10 billion a year on average is not unreasonable especially since we’re still growing a lot of our business,” Mr. Lozano said.
AEV is also expected to close a $579-million (around P30.6 billion) loan from several banks by the first quarter of 2019. This will finance its acquisition of GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd. Co. and GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. from the Ayala group.
“But we’re going to hedge some of it. We’re trying to match it with the cash flows from the company as well. It’s a dollar borrowing, the only question is how much do we hedge to peso,” Mr. Lozano said.
AEV booked a net income of P17.3 billion in the first nine months of 2018, nine percent higher year-on-year, on the back of a 21% uptick in gross revenues to P135.25 billion.

Etihad seeks to attract more tourists to Abu Dhabi

By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter
ETIHAD AIRWAYS, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said it is hoping to attract more tourists to visit Abu Dhabi as part of its 15th anniversary celebration.
In an e-mail interview earlier this month, Etihad country manager in the Philippines Yarub Obaidalla said the airline wants to attract more visitors to the UAE capital and maintain the high demand for flights connecting to the Philippines.
“As we celebrate our 15th anniversary and refreshed our brand to ‘Choose Well,’ we would like to invite more guests to experience Etihad and the amount of choices available to personalize their experience. We are currently focusing on providing our guests with different choices and creating personalized experience for each of them,” Mr. Obaidalla said.
While the company doesn’t plan to increase the number of flights to the Philippines anytime soon, he said demand for flights to the country remains strong.
Etihad currently offers a total capacity of 1,648 seats in its twice daily flights between Manila and Abu Dhabi.
In its goal to attract more tourists from all over the world, Etihad’s destination management division Hala Abu Dhabi is arranging stopover trips in the emirate for passengers in long-haul flights.
“As part of this programme, guests receive free premium accommodation and can take advantage of 2 for 1 offers on sights and activities around the city… We want our guests to visit and experience our home,” Mr. Obaidalla said.
Other activities offered by Hala Abu Dhabi are golf stopovers and city stopovers.
“Abu Dhabi is a destination where style and sophistication are apparent everywhere. The city is home to world renowned attractions including the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Ferrari World, Yas Marina, the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and Warner Brothers World to name just a few. These world-leading initiatives are a great reason for guests to break their journey in Abu Dhabi,” Mr. Obaidalla added.
For visitors with a Philippine passport, a visa would be required to enter Abu Dhabi. But its government allows Etihad to arrange visas for visitors by filling out a form on its website. The airline will then send a soft copy of the visa through e-mail which can be printed and presented at the airport.
“With the support of Abu Dhabi airports, guests with an onward travel can avail a 48-hour visa to discover the unique city tours with Hala Holidays. This presents the opportunity for travellers to enjoy Abu Dhabi regardless of the short layover,” Mr. Obaidalla said.
He added, “Hala Holidays can curate an itinerary to experience all the beautiful attractions around Abu Dhabi. A short 6-hour stopover can be organized to include a visit to the recently opened Louvre and still leave you with ample chance to rest and refresh for your connecting flight.”

Christmas cheer at Jesus’ traditional birthplace of Bethlehem

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Filing past a 16-meter Christmas tree in Manger Square, visitors from all over the world made a Christmas Eve pilgrimage to Bethlehem, the town revered as the birthplace of Jesus.
The Palestinian town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is enjoying its busiest Christmas in years, with hotels nearly fully booked and the security situation relatively calm.
Lines of pilgrims squeezed through a narrow sandstone entrance to the Church of the Nativity to visit the grotto where Christian faithful believe Jesus was born.
“This place is wonderful. I feel like the real Christmas (is celebrated) here,” said Joseph Ahlan, a pilgrim from Malaysia.
Maria Moeva, a visitor from Bulgaria, said she could feel “all the passion of the people who are here to celebrate the birth of Christ.”
The acting Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, led an annual procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and later celebrated Midnight Mass in the Church of the Nativity, originally built in the 4th century.
In Manger Square, visitors were entertained by choirs singing carols, bagpipe players, and a Palestinian scouts’ marching band.
While the security situation has eased since a wave of Palestinian knife and car-ramming attacks in 2015, Israeli roadblocks and a six-meter Israeli-built concrete separation barrier that snakes around the town are still part of the Bethlehem vista.
Palestinians see the barrier as a land grab, in territory they are seeking as part of a state of their own. Israel, which captured the West Bank in a 1967 war, says the fences and walls it has erected help prevent Palestinian attacks. — Reuters

MWSS asks Razon-led venture to withdraw case

METROPOLITAN WATERWORKS and Sewerage System (MWSS) has asked the joint venture led by port and casino magnate Enrique K. Razon, Jr. to withdraw a case against the state agency and release water to a concessionaire if he wants the dam-and-power project to proceed.
The Wawa River-New Montalban Dam project involves the construction of an 82-meter dam to help mitigate flooding in the area, aside from its 500 MLD (million liters per day) capacity to augment water supply for the east zone concession area, MWSS said in a statement scheduled for release on Wednesday.
MWSS Administrator Reynaldo V. Velasco said the joint venture between Mr. Razon and businessman Oscar I. Violago had proposed to undertake the project. He previously said the water source would release 80 MLD to Manila Water Co., Inc., the concessionaire for Metro Manila’s east zone.
Mr. Velasco said a pending case on water rights had previously been filed against MWSS by Mr. Violago, who used to own the franchise for the project, thus hampering the dam’s development. He said Mr. Razon had since acquired an 82% stake in the project, leaving the former owner with 18%.
“So I told Mr. Razon, i-settle natin ‘to kasi kung hindi n’yo i-release ‘yung 80 MLD na kailangan ng Manila Water at hindi n’yo i-withdraw ‘yung kaso — no go. (So I told Mr. Razon, let’s settle this because if you don’t release the 80 MLD that Manila Water needs and if you don’t withdraw the case — no go.),” Mr. Velasco said.
The need to find a new water source for Manila Water comes as the company fully used up and even exceeded its 1,600 MLD allocation from Angat dam. Company officials had said that demand in the east zone runs as high as 1,630 to 1,640 MLD. It fills up the deficiency by getting water from La Mesa dam, which was not designed for that purpose. It projects demand within its concession to grow by 40 to 50 MLD yearly.
“A joint venture company owned by [Messrs. Vialago and Razon] has submitted to MWSS a Letter of Intent to undertake the project through a public-private partnership scheme,” the agency’s statement said.
The Wawa River-New Montalban Dam project is among the medium-term sources being eyed by MWSS, which is tasked to source water for Metro Manila’s east and west zone water concessionaires.
“So the basis of your study, submission of ancillary proposal, will hinge on your withdrawal of the case against us,” Mr. Velasco said.
He said although there was no formal response yet from Mr. Razon, there was already an “understanding” on the settling of the issue.
“But I’m just waiting, siguro (maybe) after the New Year,” he said.
Mr. Velasco said the public-private partnership calls for MWSS to acquire a stake in the project.
Asked about the size of the stake MWSS would take, he said the final number would depend on the outcome of a feasibility study, which is set for completion by February or March next year.
He said the dam project has a power component, and that the Razon group had presented it to the MWSS board. He said the businessman would not be involved in the project if it did not have a hydroelectric power component.
“Ang gusto n’ya power (He wants the power component),” Mr. Velasco said.
Aside from the Wawa dam project, the other medium-term water projects identified by the MWSS are the Kaliwa dam with a 600 MLD capacity; Laguna Lake with 500 MLD; Sumag River with 188 MLD; and Tayabasan River with 175 MLD. — Victor V. Saulon

Trump asks 7-year-old boy if he’s ‘still a believer’ in Santa

WASHINGTON, DC — President Donald Trump asked a seven-year-old boy if he still believed in Santa Claus while taking calls from children on Christmas Eve.
“Are you still a believer in Santa? ’Cause at seven it’s marginal, right?” Mr. Trump said while he and First Lady Melania Trump answered telephone calls from children following the Santa tracker operated by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD.
“Happy Christmas. You just take care of yourself and say hello to your family, OK? Say hello to everybody. OK, thank you,” Mr. Trump said in an exchange in which only his side could be heard by reporters.
The event took place on Monday night at the White House, where Mr. Trump is staying for the holiday after scrapping plans to travel to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida because of a partial government shutdown.
Mr. Trump told reporters after talking to the children that there was “nothing new to report” on the federal funding lapse triggered on Saturday after he and congressional Democratic leaders failed to reach agreement over money Mr. Trump wants for a US-Mexico border wall.
On Monday, the third day of the shutdown, there was a US market rout, with the S&P 500 plunging almost 3% to end at a 20-month low. It was the worst final session before the Christmas holiday on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Mr. Trump and the first lady later headed to Washington National Cathedral to attend a Christmas Eve service.
Every year on Christmas Eve, hundreds of volunteers staff telephones and computers “to keep curious children and their families informed about Santa’s whereabouts and if it’s time to get to bed,” according to NORAD, a US-Canadian agency that keeps watch over North American airspace for possible attacks.
NORAD’s tracking site stems from a Dec. 24, 1955, call made to the organization’s predecessor from a child seeking information on Santa’s whereabouts. — Bloomberg

Security Bank sees growth in lending as rates stabilize

By Karl Angelo N. Vidal, Reporter
SECURITY BANK Corp. expects its lending business to continue growing as the central bank is seen to take a pause in its interest rate hike cycle amid normalizing inflation.
“We expect loan growth to continue while nonperforming loan (NPL) ratios will remain healthy,” Security Bank Retail Banking Segment Head Ma. Cristina A. Tingson said in an e-mail interview.
She added that the lender does not expect the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to increase its benchmark rates further as headline inflation is seen to decelerate.
Earlier this month, the central bank kept its interest rates unchanged at a nine-year high range of 4.25-5.25%, marking the end of five straight tightening moves this year.
The BSP said the recent headline inflation readings “indicate signs of receding price pressures as constraints on food supply continue to ease,” adding that price increases will return to below four percent, within the 2-4% target band of the government.
“The latest market outlook on the inflation in the Philippines is that this will decrease. Most recently, gasoline prices have decreased. Same with the price of rice. So it looks like inflation will normalize, i.e., go back to its normal path,” Ms. Tingson said.
The official added that the market “still has the capacity to absorb increases in interest rates” even as the BSP as well as other central banks have been in a rising benchmark rate cycles.
“[W]e still see robust growth in consumer loans while delinquency levels remain manageable.”
Security Bank’s third-quarter net profit climbed 5% to P2.25 billion from a year ago on the back of a surge in consumer loans and deposits.
During the said period, consumer loans grew 48% year on year and accounted for 19% of total loans. Security Bank said asset quality remained “healthy” even as its NPL ratio climbed a tad to 0.7% as of end-September from 0.6% in the previous quarter.
The lender said it is growing its retail lending to be its third business pillar, complementing its strengths in the wholesale banking and financial markets businesses.
To support this growth, Ms. Tingson said Security Bank will continue to “enhance the banking experience” for its customers across all channels.
Security Bank shares closed at P154.50 apiece on Friday, slipping P2.50 or 1.59% from its previous finish.

1...11,55911,56011,561...14,250Page 11,560 of 14,250
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube