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ALI developing estate in Misamis Oriental

By Carmelito Q. Francisco
Reporter
AYALA Land Inc. (ALI) has started developing the Habini Bay, a 526-hectare estate within the towns of Alubijid and Laguindingan in Misamis Oriental, which is envisioned to become a “new center of trade and commerce” in the Northern Mindanao region.
Enrique B. Manuel Jr., ALI assistant vice president and Habini Bay estate head, said the project will help position the company as a leading property developer in Mindanao.
“We are hopeful that we will bring in inclusive growth by providing jobs and opportunities for the Midanaoans in the area,” Mr. Manuel said in an e-mail to BusinessWorld over the weekend.
The key components of the estate are an industrial park that will be managed by ALI subsidiary Laguna Technopark Inc., residential units, a business terminal, commercial spaces, seaport, and a technical school.
The company said the local government of Laguindingan, home of the region’s main airport, will also build its municipal center within the complex.
“Amid natural landscapes and inviting coastal views, it is likewise strategically connected to the Laguindingan airport and will offer a diverse mix of developments to create new lifestyle options and business opportunities,” the company said.
The property was acquired by ALI’s parent firm, Ayala Corp., in the 1960s and part of it was donated to the government for the Laguindingan International Airport.
“Habini Bay will likewise have pedestrian and bike-friendly roads to encourage a healthy modern lifestyle in an integrated and sustainable estate that Northern Mindanaoans can proudly call their own,” the company said.
It is ALI’s 4th major project in Mindanao, with two others in Davao City and one in Cagayan de Oro City.
ALI partnered with the Floirendo-led Anflo Management and Investment Corp. for the Abreeza complex in Davao and the Centrio mall in Cagayan de Oro. It is also developing the 25-hectare township Azuela Cove in Davao, a joint venture with the Alcantara Group.

Drake and Lamar lead but women shine through in Grammy nods

LOS ANGELES — Rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake led Grammy Award nominations on Friday, but Cardi B, Lady Gaga, Brandi Carlile and American newcomer H.E.R helped make it a female-dominated line-up for the year’s top prizes in the music industry.
Ten-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Ariana Grande, and Camila Cabello were among the biggest snubs in top categories that were dominated by hip-hop and R&B.
Canada’s Drake, the most-streamed artist of 2018, won eight nominations, including album of the year for Scorpion, and both song and record of the year for his single “God’s Plan.”
Five of the expanded eight nominees in the album of the year race were women — Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy, Janelle Monae’s Dirty Computer, folk singer Brandi Carlile’s By the Way, I Forgive You, country singer Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour, and newcomer H.E.R.’s self-titled H.E.R.
Rapper Post Malone’s Beerbongs & Bentleys and the soundtrack to hit movie Black Panther, which was produced by Mr. Lamar, round out the album of the year field.
Mr. Lamar, the first rapper to win a Pulitzer Prize for music, Drake, Cardi B, and Carlile also garnered nominations for record of the year.
The Recording Academy, whose members choose the Grammys, this year expanded to eight from five the number of nominees in the top four categories — record, song and album of the year, and best new artist — to allow a more diverse line-up.
The Academy also expanded its membership and set up a diversity task force after an uproar over the low number of female nominees, winners, and performers on the televised ceremony in January.
Six of the eight best new artist nominees on Friday were women, including H.E.R., Chloe x Halle, British pop star Dua Lipa, and Bebe Rexha.
Cardi B, coming off a phenomenal year, Lady Gaga, actor Donald Glover’s music moniker Childish Gambino, and country-pop star Maren Morris each had five nominations overall
Lady Gaga’s nominations came mostly from her single “Shallow” with actor-director Bradley Cooper from their movie A Star is Born, which won five Golden Globe nods on Thursday.
In the biggest snub, Ms. Swift, one of the world’s most successful singers, was shut out of the major awards, getting just one nomination in the pop category for her best-selling album Reputation.
Ms. Grande, who on Thursday won Billboard’s Woman of the Year accolade, and Cuban-born Ms. Cabello were relegated to two apiece in the pop album and pop single categories. Beyonce had to make do with just three, all of which she shared with husband Jay-Z — music video “Apeshit,” R&B performance “Summer,” and urban contemporary album Everything is Love.
The Grammy Awards will be handed out at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Feb. 10. — Reuters

Citadines Bay City Manila targets smart travellers

By Zsarlene B. Chua
Reporter
SINGAPORE-BASED The Ascott Limited continued to expand in the Philippines with the opening of the third branch of its apartment hotel brand Citadines.
The 212-room Citadines Bay City Manila is located at the corner of Diosdado Macapagal Avenue and Coral Way in Pasay City. The new hotel adds to the company’s portfolio which includes Citadines Millennium Ortigas and Citadines Salcedo Makati.
Meant for the “smart and practical travellers” the new Citadines property has rooms and serviced apartments ranging from 35 square meters (sq.m.) to 50 sq.m. Its amenities include a fitness center, a 25-meter swimming pool, a kiddie pool, a pool bar, a running path and spa.
“This is [the company’s] first Bay Area property and is the ideal jump off point to discover or rediscover Manila,” Daniel Wee, country general manager for The Ascott Ltd. Philippines, said in his remarks during the Nov. 28 opening.
Citadines Bay City Manila is targeting short-stay guests. Rennan John Reyes, the property’s residence manager, said they expect short-stay travellers to account for 80% of its bookings.
The hotel has 146 rooms under the Studio Deluxe and Studio Deluxe Twin categories. The 32-sq.m. hotel rooms will feature either a queen-sized bed or two twin-sized beds.
There are 66 rooms under the Studio Premier and One-Bedroom Premiere categories, which are designed for longer stays since these are equipped with kitchens and washer-dryer units.
Currently, less than half of the rooms are open. According to Casey Faylona, The Ascott director of sales and marketing, the hotel is expected to be fully operational by April.
EXPANSION PLANS
In July, The Ascott announced its partnership with real estate developer Cebu Landmasters Inc. to manage a total of 1,600 units in Bacolod City, Cebu City and Davao City by 2022.
The Ascott website showed there are six more Citadines hotels in the pipeline. Citadines Cebu City, which will have 200 rooms, is set to open in the first quarter of 2019.
The company will also be opening Citadines Paragon Davao and Citadines Bacolod City in 2021. Citadines Greenhills Manila will begin operations in 2022, while Citadines Benavidez Makati and Citadines Roces Quezon City will open in 2023.
Aside from the Citadines brand, The Ascott will also open three Somerset properties in Cebu and Makati City (Salcedo Village and Valero) in 2021.
This will bring the total number of Somersets to six, joining Somerset Alabang, Millennium Makati and Olympia Makati.
Mr. Faylona also said a new Ascott brand will also be introduced to Cebu City by 2021 — the Lyf by Ascott a co-living concept with 153 “social apartments.”

MRC Allied to boost solar energy generation capacity

MRC Allied, Inc. targets to add 42 megawatts (MW) from solar power plants to its portfolio in 2019, as it boosts its solar energy generation capacity.
MRC President and Chief Executive Officer Augusto M. Cosio, Jr. said on Monday the expansion will include the establishment of a 12-MW solar plant in central Luzon.
“That’s mostly in rice-producing areas. Because we see an opportunity in helping agribusiness, and making food prices more stable especially since last year the theme was really inflation,” Mr. Cosio told reporters in Makati City.
The remaining 30MW will be from the proposed acquisition of a solar power plant in Leyte. Mr. Cosio said the company is already a minority owner of the facility, but is negotiating to hike its stake.
The capacity expansion is part of the MRC’s plan to add 100MW in its portfolio in the next two years. The company is set to invest $1 million per megawatt for this program.
Meanwhile, the company disclosed on Monday that it has signed a memorandum of agreement with Edward Marcs Philippines, Inc. (EMPI) for the design, supply, delivery, construction, installation, testing and commissioning of its 550 kilowatt-peak (kWp) grid-tied solar PV rooftop project for two rice milling plants in Northern Luzon.
The listed firm earlier said that it will invest P34 million for the project.
Aside from energy projects, Mr. Cosio said he is also looking at tapping the company’s property assets.
“One of the visions that we have is making self-sustaining communities, smart communities. There are properties that we can develop together… There are so many possibilities in the ESG (environmental, social, and governance) space that can be explored by small players like us,” Mr. Cosio said.
Mr. Cosio noted the company has “a few hundred hectares” of land in Cebu and Leyte, which they could use for solar projects.
MRC booked a net loss of P26.11 million in the first nine months of 2018, due to the lack of revenue-generating businesses during the period. It also incurred expenses to support the requirements of Menlo Capital Corp.
The company is currently raising P1 billion through private placement, where it is selling about 1.43 billion common shares from its unissued and unsubscribed authorized capital stock. This will be used to fund the firm’s energy projects in the future.
Shares in MRC dropped by 3.61% or 1.5 centavos to close at 40 centavos each at the stock exchange on Monday. — Arra B. Francia

Gov’t makes full award of T-bills

THE Bureau of the Treasury borrowed P15 billion as planned at its Treasury bill auction on Monday. — WIKIPEDIA.OGP

THE government made another full award of the Treasury bills (T-bill) it auctioned off on Monday, with the rate of the shortest tenor declining a tad, ahead of the policy meeting of the US and local central banks.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) borrowed P15 billion as planned at its T-bills auction yesterday, with total bids amounting to P23.549 billion, lower than the P29.28 billion tallied at last week’s offering.
Broken down, the Treasury accepted P4 billion as planned for the 91-day papers, out of the P7.65 billion offered by banks and other financial institutions. The average rate declined by 4.4 basis points (bp) to 5.35% from the 5.394% quoted in the previous offer.
The government also made a full award of the 181-day debt notes it placed on the auction block, borrowing P5 billion as planned versus total offers amounting to P8.525 billion. The average yield rose 3.9 basis points to 6.344% from last week’s 6.305%.
The BTr likewise fully awarded the 364-day bills, accepting P6 billion out of the total bids at P7.374 billion. Its average yield climbed 7.8 bps to 6.585% from the 6.507% tallied in the previous auction.
Based on the PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service Reference Rates prior to the auction, the three-month, six-month and one-year papers were quoted at 5.587%, 6.299% and 6.617%, respectively.
National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon said the BTr once again saw “very good” results of its auction as rates continue to narrow.
“We [saw] also that rates have also continued to narrow given the expectation that BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) might take a pause,” Ms. De Leon told reporters Monday.
In a BusinessWorld poll conducted last week, all but one of the 12 economists said that the central bank will take a breather and keep its benchmark rates steady as inflation is seen to go down evidenced by the most recent print.
Prices of basic goods and services grew 6% in November, slower than the nine-year high of 6.7% booked in October and September, driven by slower price increases in food and non-alcoholic beverages.
“Obviously for the BSP, it’s really more that they would be taking a pause during their last policy meeting this Thursday,” Ms. De Leon added.
The central bank’s Monetary Board has raised interest rates by a cumulative 175 bps since May, with the latest tightening last month, to rein in inflation and price expectations.
Aside from this, Ms. De Leon said market participants factored in the global growth slowdown as well as the less hawkish stance of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) regarding their policy tightening cycle.
On Friday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard suggested that the US central bank should delay the expected rate hike until January as the current level of its rate “is about right,” reinforcing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s statement last month that the current federal funds rate is nearing neutral levels.
Meanwhile, a bond trader said the results of yesterday’s auction were within expectations as rates only moved sideways.
“The yield on the 91-day papers only declined a bit. Generally, it still moved sideways. It’s not really significant,” the trader said in a phone interview.
Looking ahead, she added the market may continue to see the sideways movement of the T-bill rates until yearend.
The Treasury is raising P270 billion from the domestic market this quarter through auctions of securities, offering P180 billion in T-bills and another P90 billion in Treasury bonds. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Ex-Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham says his lawsuit is settled

LOS ANGELES — Guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and his former Fleetwood Mac bandmates have settled a lawsuit he filed after he was axed from a tour, the musician said in a television interview that aired on Saturday.
Mr. Buckingham, a key member of the British-American band with hits such as “Don’t Stop” and “Go Your Own Way,” did not disclose the terms of any settlement agreement, but he expressed little hope of rejoining Fleetwood Mac.
“I’m pretty much figuring that I won’t,” Mr. Buckingham told CBS News.
Mr. Buckingham filed a civil lawsuit in October in Los Angeles Superior Court, accusing other members of the band of breach of contract and saying the dispute stemmed from a clash between the planned 2018/19 Fleetwood Mac tour and his wishes to play some solo dates.
The settlement was reached a couple weeks ago, Mr. Buckingham, 69, told CBS News.
“We’ve all signed off on something,” he said.
Mr. Buckingham did not describe the terms of the settlement and Reuters could not immediately obtain a copy of the agreement.
Representatives for Mr. Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac could not immediately be reached for comment.
Fleetwood Mac, which first formed in 1967, has been plagued by behind-the-scenes romantic and creative tensions among its members and a shifting lineup over the years. — Reuters

Developer plans to turn Davao’s Times Beach into a lifestyle hub

DAVAO CITY — Homegrown YHEST Realty and Development Corp. and YHES Inc. are awaiting the government’s final plan for the coastal road here before making its pitch for the development of Times Beach into a “lifestyle hub.”
Times Beach, a public area in Matina Aplaya, is currently lined with some restaurants and karaoke houses.
Frederick H. Yuson, president of both companies, said they are eyeing to develop a four-hectare complex in the area into an event center and lifestyle hub with restaurants and hotels.
“It is a beach amusement-type concept. It will be very exciting and we will be sharing it with you soon,” Mr. Yuson told BusinessWorld.
The project, he stressed, will depend on the ongoing coastal road project.
“If we lose the shoreline because of the coastal project, we have to redesign. We’re still contemplating what’s the best thing for that, maybe an event center or a food complex,” Mr. Yuson said.
“It is hard to invest something now… We would like to synchronize with the whole plan on the coastal project,” he added, noting that they are coordinating with Department of Public Works and Highways before finalizing the design.
The P19-billion Davao City Coastal Road project is a 35-kilometer (km) highway that stretches from Bago Aplaya in the city’s southern suburb to R. Castillo Avenue in the downtown area.
The Bago Aplaya-Times Beach segment is part of the government’s 2018 infrastructure program. — Maya M. Padillo

PLDT closes IFC’s $40-M investment in Voyager

INTERNATIONAL Finance Corp. (IFC) and IFC Emerging Asia Fund has completed their $40-million investment in Voyager Innovations, Inc., according to the tech company’s parent PLDT, Inc.
PLDT told the stock exchange on Monday the finalization of IFC’s equity investment in Voyager effectively reduces its shares in the unit to below 50%. However, PLDT will remain the largest single shareholder in Voyager.
“This completes the $215-million fund-raise into Voyager Innovations that includes $175 million from KKR and Tencent Holdings, Inc. announced earlier,” the telecommunications giant said.
Last month, PLDT completed the $175-million investment of Chinese tech company Tencent and investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) into Voyager.
PLDT Chairman, CEO and President Manuel V. Pangilinan earlier said the fresh funds will be enough to facilitate the expansion of Voyager within the next two to three years. After which, PLDT will again seek more investors into Voyager.
Voyager is the PLDT unit that handles its mobile wallet PayMaya Philippines, Inc. and mobile remittance brand Smart Padala, online loaning platform Lendr, and free mobile browsing app Freenet.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — D.A.Valdez

BSP likely to hold fire on rates — Fitch

THE central bank will likely keep rates steady this week but may still push on with fresh rate hikes by 2019, Fitch Solutions said in a report.
Fitch Solutions Macro Research said they see the Monetary Board holding fire on interest rates on Thursday, putting an end to five consecutive tightening moves since May. This is in line with market expectations that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will finally have the scope to keep benchmark rates unchanged following hikes worth 175 basis points (bp) in total.
“We believe that the BSP’s 25bps hike in November was a preemptive move to the US Fed’s likely 25bps hike in December. Combined with the recent decline in crude oil prices, this is likely to provide room for the BSP to remain on hold in December, barring any global risk-off event,” the Fitch Group unit said in a report published yesterday.
Inflation dropped to six percent last month from a nine-year peak of 6.7% in September and October, assisted by a sharp drop in world crude prices and food costs. Authorities said this illustrates a “decreasing trend” in the inflation rate, with the month-on-month pace even posting a 0.3% decline to mark the first drop since a steady ascent since the year opened.
Still, Fitch said the central bank can still consider raising rates anew next year, contrary to the view of economists surveyed for BusinessWorld’s poll that the tightening cycle has come to an end.
While inflation has dropped sharply in November, inflation is still well above the 2-4% target band of the BSP and merits more intervention.
“The continued high inflation rate informs our expectation for the BSP to resume its tightening cycle in 2019, with 50bps worth of rate hikes over the year, aimed at bringing prices down to more manageable levels,” the report read.
Prices of widely-used goods have increased by 5.2% from January-November, just below the central bank’s 5.3% forecast for the full year although well above the 2-4% target. Next year, inflation is expected to decelerate to 3.5%, pulled down by the expected drop in rice prices as well as base effects.
Last week, BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. has flagged the need to “pay close attention” to rising core inflation, which zoomed to 5.1% from 4.9% in October, noting that policy makers will remain “vigilant” to price pressures.
The key policy rate at 4.75% is the highest in nearly a decade. Fitch Solutions sees this rising to 5.25% by end-2019. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

CPG expects more sales at Batulao Artscapes project

By Mark Louis F. Ferrolino
Special Features Writer
CENTURY PROPERTIES Group, Inc. (CPG) has pre-sold 477 vacation homes worth P2.94 billion in Batulao Artscapes, its first residential tourism estate in Nasugbu, Batangas.
Batulao Artscapes is a 142-hectare development dubbed as an‚ “artventure‚” community and livable art park. The first phase of the project, comprising 36 hectares, will offer about 2,247 homes.
Tim Hallett, president of Century Properties Leisure and Hospitality, Inc., said the construction of the first phase is already in full swing with the first batch of homes targeted for completion early next year.
Mr. Hallett said the value of the houses has appreciated since it was unveiled to the market in December 2017.
The Polygonal Successions unit, designed by Eduardo Calma, for instance, initially offered at around P4 million, is currently being sold at P6 million in the market.
Other available home units for the phase one include Hedera Home by Kenneth Cobonpue, Tranche and Facet Homes by Budji+Royal Architecture+Design, Adaptation II by Studio Libeskind Design, and Daphne Skin Home by Daphne Guinness.
Mr. Hallett said the construction of a five-storey condominium, consisting of 500 units, is ongoing. Units range from 24 square meters (sq.m.) and 48 sq.m. in size.
Amenities of Batulao Artscapes include bike and jogging trails, man-made beach, wellness hotel, clubhouse, floating chapel, sports park, food park, art park with pavilions and a maze, and various open parks.
The estate will also host four Revolution Museums by Pritzker Prize-winning architects: Christian de Portzamparc for the Revolution Museum of Design and Architecture, Jean Nouvel Design for the Revolution Museum of Visual Arts, Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie Architects for the Revolution Museum of Art and Technology, and Tange Associates for the Revolution Museum of Performing Arts.
Mr. Hallett said the company is positioning Batulao Artscapes as a destination that will inspire people to have fun and invest in property.
“Batulao Artscapes is a unique celebration of active, meditative, creative and festive attractions. It is a development like no other, grounded in natural beauty, shaped by the arts and informed by design. For the first time, you can own a home in an art park, in what would otherwise only be a weekend getaway someplace else,” he said.
The Antonio-led property developer plans to launch early next year the second phase of the project. It will cover six hectares, dedicated for affordable homes.
Mr. Hallett noted that further developments in Batulao Artscapes will depend on what the market wants and needs in the future.
Meanwhile, Mr. Hallett is optimistic that further improvements on infrastructure will help drive Filipinos to settle away from the metro.
The property developer noted that it would take a 1.5 to two-hour drive to Batulao Artscapes from Makati City via four access points: Daang Hari Road towards the Nasugbu-Kaybiang Tunnel, the Star Tollway to Tanauan Exit, the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), and Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX).
The firm also said that the estate will be less than an hour away from Tagaytay once the Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas Expressway is completed in mid-2022.

Ralph Breaks the Internet narrowly defeats Grinch in sleepy pre-holiday weekend

LOS ANGELES — Disney’s Ralph Breaks the Internet topped a quiet weekend at the US box office, marking the third straight win for the animated sequel. It earned $16.2 million in its third week of release, generating $140 million since it opened over Thanksgiving.
Another cartooned adventure almost gave Ralph a run for its money. Illumination and Universal’s The Grinch pocketed $15.2 million in its fifth outing, marking a decline of just 15%. Based on the Dr. Seuss classic holiday tale, The Grinch has made $223.5 million in North America and $322.4 million globally.
A series of holdovers rounded out the top five as studios largely sat out the pre-holiday frame. Moviegoing will get a boost next weekend when Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Mule, and Mortal Engines hit theaters. That will kick off a competitive Christmas race as Mary Poppins Returns, Aquaman, and Bumblebee enter the fray the following weekend. Aquaman got a head start overseas, launching in China this weekend with a massive $93.6 million.
Creed II landed in third place with $10.3 million in its third outing. Its domestic total now sits at $96.4 million. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald nabbed fourth, picking up another $6.8 million this weekend. That takes its North American tally to $145 million.
Rounding out the top five is Bohemian Rhapsody, drumming up $6 million to bring its Stateside haul to $173.6 million. — Reuters

BIR shutters Mann Hann chain, Hennan’s Bohol resort

THE BUREAU of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Monday said it has shuttered the operations of the popular Mann Hann restaurant chain and Hennan Resort in Panglao, Bohol for underdeclaring sales.
In a statement, the BIR said it has “temporarily suspended/closed” 18 branches of Mann Hann which are operated by three companies Lim Keng Hua Foods Corp., Shin Mann-Hann Corp., and MH Capital Foods Corp. for underdeclaring 2017 sales.
Lim Keng Hua Foods underdeclared last year’s sales by 120% or P98 million, while Shin Mann-Hann and MH Capital underdeclared sales by 244% or P138.73 million and 148% or P92.9 million, respectively.
The BIR said the three companies failed to comply with the requirements set out by the BIR in its 48-hour notice and five-day VAT compliance notice.
Meanwhile, the BIR said it shuttered Bohol Hennan Resort, Inc. last Nov. 27 for violations of the tax code, including underdeclaration of its sales.
The BIR found that Bohol Hennan underdeclared its sales by 42% or P324.04 million in 2016, 34% or P312.17 million in 2017, and by 38% or P199.59 million in first semester of 2018.
Under Section 115 of the Tax Code, the BIR can suspend or close the business operations of a taxpayer for a period of not less than five days for failure to: (1) register; (2) issue VAT official receipts or sales invoices; (3) file correct VAT returns; or (4) pay the correct VAT.
BusinessWorld tried to reach the companies for comment but to no avail as of press time. — V.M.Villegas

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