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US, Japan, India, Australia in talks to establish alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative

SYDNEY — Australia, the United States, India and Japan are talking about establishing a joint regional infrastructure scheme as an alternative to China’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative in an attempt to counter Beijing’s spreading influence, the Australian Financial Review reported on Monday, citing a senior US official.

The unnamed official was quoted as saying the plan involving the four regional partners was still “nascent” and “won’t be ripe enough to be announced’ during Australian Prime Minister Turnbull’s visit to the United States later this week.

The official said, however, that the project was on the agenda for Mr. Turnbull’s talks with US President Donald Trump during that trip and was being seriously discussed.

The source added that the preferred terminology was to call the plan an “alternative” to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, rather than a “rival.”

“No one is saying China should not build infrastructure,” the official was quoted as saying.

“China might build a port which, on its own is not economically viable. We could make it economically viable by building a road or rail line linking that port.”

Representatives for Mr. Turnbull, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Trade Minister Steven Ciobo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, asked at a news conference about the report of four-way cooperation, said Japan, the United States, Australia, and Japan, Australia and India regularly exchanged views on issues of common interest.

“It is not the case that this is to counter China’s Belt and Road,” he said.

Japan, meanwhile, plans to use its official development assistance (ODA) to promote a broader “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy” including “high-quality infrastructure”, according to a summary draft of its 2017 white paper on ODA.

The Indo-Pacific strategy has been endorsed by Washington and is also seen as a counter to the Belt and Road Initiative.

First mentioned during a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s to university students in Kazakhstan in 2013, China’s Belt and Road plan is a vehicle for the Asian country to take a greater role on the international stage by funding and building global transport and trade links in more than 60 countries.

Mr. Xi has heavily promoted the initiative, inviting world leaders to Beijing in May last year for an inaugural summit at which he pledged $124 billion in funding for the plan, and enshrining it into the ruling Communist Party’s constitution in October.

Local Chinese governments as well as state and private firms have rushed to offer support by investing overseas and making loans.

In January, Beijing outlined its ambitions to extend the initiative to the Arctic by developing shipping lanes opened up by global warming, forming a “Polar Silk Road”.

The United States, Japan, India and Australia have recently revived four-way talks to deepen security cooperation and coordinate alternatives for regional infrastructure financing to that offered by China.

The so-called Quad to discuss and cooperate on security first met as an initiative a decade ago — much to the annoyance of China, which saw it as an attempt by regional democracies to contain its advances. The quartet held talks in Manila on the sidelines of the November Association of Southeast Asian Nations and East Asia Summits. — Reuters

Duterte: Chinese bases on disputed sea were built as shield from possible US attack

By Arjay L. Balinbin

BEIJING’S military bases in the disputed South China Sea were built to defend China against any attack by the United States, President Rodrigo R. Duterte said.

“The Chinese bases are not intended for us. The contending ideological powers of the world or the geopolitics has greatly changed. [The bases] are really intended against those who the Chinese think would destroy them, and that is America,” Mr. Duterte said during his speech at the 20th Founding Anniversary Celebration of the Chinese Filipino-Business Club on Monday evening, Feb. 19.

According to the President, the Philippines is not part of the conflict between China and the US.

”Then why would I go there with my navy, soldiers, police and everything? We will be slaughtered,” he said. “I will not commit the lives of the Filipinos only to die unnecessarily. I will not go into a battle which I can never win.”

Despite that, the President said his administration will still assert the Philippines’ claims in the disputed sea.

“In front of Ambassador Zhao Jianhua, I tell you, we will insist. But what would be the components of our demands and our insistence? Well, we can only be diplomatic. We can only be talking on friendly and civilized terms. We cannot go there…and start waving our rifles. We cannot do that today. It is unrealistic. It cannot be true,” he said.

Responding to his critics who claim that his administration is “not doing enough” to address China’s growing militarization in the disputed waters, Mr. Duterte said: “What were they doing during their time? Why did they not start building things there… structures that China is building now?”

“Now, I admit that China is building structures and military bases. But are those intended for us? You must be joking.”

The President likewise mentioned that there is an ongoing discussion between the two countries on a possible joint exploration in the South China Sea.

“When I can talk to them, why should I fight? China is willing to talk. As a matter of fact, there are ongoing negotiations for a joint exploration. Can you beat that?”

Mr. Duterte also clarified that the Philippines is still on good terms with the US in spite of the fact that the Filipino nation “is now veering towards China.”

“Let us be very clear on this. We are on good terms with America, special terms… We maintain good relations with the US. We have this RP-US defense deal, [and] we honor it.”

With the existing US-Philippines defense alliance, Mr. Duterte noted that the Philippines cannot even “enter into another military alliance with any other country.”

“And if you look at it very closely, it would appear that there’s really a divide… The war now is on trade, not territory. That’s why I said geopolitics is always changing,” he said further.

PCC nullifies Uy-led Udenna’s takeover of 2GO shareholder

By Krista A.M. Montealegre,
National Correspondent

THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) nullified Udenna Corp.’s takeover of a Dutch company that owns a majority stake in Negros Navigation Co., Inc. (Nenaco), the parent company of 2GO Group, Inc., for failure to notify the antitrust body of the $120-million deal.

In an en banc decision released on Monday, the commission found Udenna’s acquisition of KGL Investment Cooperatief U.A. (KGLI) shares in KGL Investment B.V. (KGLI-BV) satisfied the P1-billion threshold, ruling that the parties should have informed the PCC of the transaction.

The deal between holding firm of businessman Dennis A. Uy and KGLI is the first to be voided by the country’s anti-trust body for non-notification. Both companies were also slapped with a penalty of P19.6 million, equivalent to 1% of the value of the merger transaction.

“The law is clear: an agreement consummated in violation of the competition law’s compulsory notification requirement shall be fined and is considered void,” the PCC said.

Under the Philippine Competition Act (PCA), parties to the merger and acquisition deals above P1 billion are prohibited from consummating their agreement until 30 days after providing notification to the commission.

The PCC launched a review of the transaction after receiving a letter complaint from Negros Holdings & Management Corp. (NHMC) in December 2016.

NHMC is owned by the Tagud family, who was locked in a court dispute with the group of Mr. Uy over the ownership of 2GO. The entry of Udenna and Sy-led SM Investments Corp. into the logistics firm prompted Sulficio Tagud, Jr. to retire both from the management and the board of 2GO last year.

At the time of the transaction, KGLI-BV owned 39.71% of KGLI-NM Holdings, Inc. (KGLI-NM), a key shareholder of Nenaco, which in turn owns 88.31% of 2GO, according to the latest regulatory filing of the listed firm.

The Udenna-KGLI deal will only be valid if the proper notification is filed with and cleared by the regulator, PCC Spokesperson Attorney Mercedes B. Torrijos said in a phone interview.

In its investigation, the PCC’s Mergers and Acquisitions Office (MAO) found that Udenna bought the entire shareholdings of KGLI-BV through a share purchase agreement dated July 28, 2016, and the deal consummated as reflected in a deed of transfer dated Aug. 19, 2016.

Udenna and KGLI initially sought to be excused from notification, claiming that the buyout satisfies the “size of person test,” but not the “size of transaction test” required under the PCA and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR).

MAO’s investigation, however, found that the transaction met the threshold based on both tests.

The PCC argued that the aggregate annual gross revenues in, into or from the Philippines, or the value of the assets in the Philippines of Udenna exceeded P1 billion at the time of the transaction. The parties also admitted that the acquisition involved the entire shareholdings or 100% of KGLI-BV.

“It’s one thing for transactions to be found as anti-competitive during the review. It’s another thing when businesses evade the legal requirement of notification in the first place,” PCC said.

“This is a reminder for companies to comply with the Philippine Competition Act, including filing a sufficient notification prior to consummation of a merger that meets the thresholds,” PCC said.

The PCC order was signed by Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan as well as Commissioners Johannes Benjamin R. Bernabe and Amabelle C. Asuncion. Commissioner Stella Luz A. Quimbo concurred with the imposition of the administrative fine, but disagreed with the decision to void the transaction.

Ms. Quimbo noted that under the PCC’s IRR, how the void penalty will be applied, implemented and monitored in the context of the Udenna-KGLI case is debatable and the current guidelines on the void penalty and the infrastructure to implement the same are insufficient.

“The suspension of the void penalty will not set a dangerous precedent because of the specificity of the factual milieu,” Ms. Quimbo said in her dissenting opinion.

“What is dangerous is for the Commission to impose a void penalty, merely because the law ‘plainly’ requires so, without regard to the Commission’s obligation to apply the law in consonance with its legislative intent, and without regard to the current state of rules on implementing the void penalty,” she added.

In a statement, Udenna Vice-President for Corporate Affairs Adel A. Tamano said the company has “sufficient basis” to challenge the PCC decision either by filing a motion for reconsideration with the PCC, or through a petition to the Court of Appeals.

Udenna cited the argument of Ms. Quimbo that imposing the void penalty is “arguably a surplusage” since “there is no continuing direct harm to the market by the subject transaction that the void penalty needs to prevent.”

Udenna is currently weighing its options, including submitting to the PCC decision and filing a notification to the government agency.

“Udenna believes that the decision to declare the transaction void and at the same time impose a penalty of P19.7 million was unduly harsh and uncalled for, particularly considering the interest of the Udenna Group’s many stakeholders and the decision’s effect on business,” Mr. Tamano was quoted in a statement as saying.

“Udenna is confident that its acquisition of the shipping holding company remains assured considering that it has paid the agreed consideration and its counter-party is still committed to the consummation of the transaction,” Mr. Tamano said.

SM Prime recurring profit up 16%

NEW MALLS and sales of residential properties continued to drive SM Prime Holdings, Inc.’s earnings higher in 2017.

In a statement issued Monday, SM Prime said recurring profit grew 16% to P27.6 billion, after a 14% increase in consolidated revenues to P90.9 billion. The company attributed the growth to higher rental revenues from malls opened in the last two years, alongside the solid sales take-up of residential units in 2017.

Overall operating income, meanwhile, went up 15% to P40.6 billion in 2017, against the P35.3 billion posted in the previous year.

“SM Prime continues to benefit from the sustained overall economic progress of the Philippines that resulted to higher spending power for most Filipino families. This translated to consistent growth of our key businesses that include higher rental revenues of our malls, increased residential units sales and growing contribution of our other business segments,” SM Prime President Jeffrey C. Lim said in a statement.

SM Prime operates in four business units, namely malls, residential, commercial, and hotels and convention centers.

Revenues from mall operations were up 9% to P53.2 billion, while rental income gained 11% to P45.3 billion. This was fueled by rising contributions from new malls, specifically SM City San Jose del Monte, SM City Trece Martires, SM City East Ortigas, SM CDO Downtown Premier, S-Maison at Conrad Manila, SM City Puerto Princesa, and SM Center Tuguegarao Downtown.

SM Prime said same-mall sales growth, or sales derived from malls that have been open for more than a year, was consistent at 7% across all mature malls.

By the end of 2017, SM Prime had a total of 67 malls covering a gross floor area (GFA) of 8 million square meters (sq.m.) in the Philippines, and seven malls in China with a GFA of 1.3 million sq.m. Operating margins from these malls stood at 53%.

On the other hand, the residential business under SM Development Corp. (SMDC) saw revenues climb by 18% to P30 billion for the year. Operating income also increased 24% to P8.9 billion for the period. This was attributed to construction accomplishments from projects launched from 2013 to 2016, including Shore Residences and Shore 2 Residences in Pasay City, Air Residences in Makati City, and Fame Residences in Mandaluyong City.

The same projects allowed SMDC to post a 4% increase in the number of units sold for the year, to 17,259 units from 16,670 in 2016.

Reservation sales further rose 21% to P57.8 billion for the period.

Meanwhile, revenues from commercial properties grew by 12% after SM Prime opened FiveE-Com Center. Hotels and convention centers’ top-line added 49% with the opening of Conrad Manila, pushing the two segments to a combined growth of 32% to P7.9 billion in terms of revenues. Operating income from commercial and hotels and convention centers also surged 35% to P3.6 billion.

SM Prime is expanding its office space inventory at the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City, adding a combined GFA of 320,000 sq.m. from the opening of ThreeE-Com and FourE-Com Centers in 2018 and 2020, respectively.

The hotels and convention centers arm, meanwhile, has six hotels with more than 1,500 rooms, four convention centers, and three trade halls under its portfolio.

Shares in SM Prime gained 15 centavos or 0.42% to close at P36.25 apiece at the stock exchange on Monday. — Arra B. Francia

Dominguez backs Landbank move to acquire controlling stake in PDS

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez,
Senior Reporter

FINANCE Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III is backing the move of the Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) to acquire the majority stake in the country’s fixed-income exchange, saying that the local stock market operator has taken too much time for the buyout.

Mr. Dominguez said he is keen on getting Landbank to own a majority stake at Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. (PDS), saying that five years is too long a time for the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to carry out the acquisition, to the detriment of long-overdue capital market reforms.

“It has been five years,” the Cabinet official told reporters recently. “They (PSE) promised me then end of February, now it’s March. I’m afraid to meet them because it might be postponed again.”

“It’s very important for us… We want to develop this market — it’s not going to get developed when every time we talk to people who wants to buy it, they postpone it, so we might as well do it ourselves.”

The Landbank board approved on Jan. 23 the acquisition of at least 66.67% common shares of PDS, subject to a final offer price and timetable.

Currently, Landbank owns 1.56% of PDS through the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP).

The state-run bank is pursuing the buyout parallel to PSE’s own steps which started in 2013, as it eyes to merge the country’s equities and fixed income bourses. Since June last year, the PSE has signed share purchase agreements with the BAP; Whistler Technologies Services, Inc.; Investment House Association of the Philippines; The Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co.; FINEX Research and Development Foundation, Inc.; San Miguel Corp. and Tata Consulting Services Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd., giving the PSE a 61.03% total stake in PDS.

The Philippine Competition Commission approved the agreements in November.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initially rejected the PSE-PDS merger in 2016 after denying the local bourse’s request to be exempted from an ownership cap. Under the section 33.2 (c) of the Securities Regulation Code, the government only permits a maximum of 20% industry ownership and 5% individual ownership of an exchange.

However, SEC is allowed to grant exemptions to industries and individuals to acquire more than the law permits, provided that the control “will not negatively impact on the exchange’s ability to effectively operate in the public interest.”

Landbank is requesting a similar exemption, bank president and chief executive officer Alex V. Buenaventura has said.

Mr. Dominguez said the acquisition of PDS will “certainly move the capital market ahead,” aligned with a government-wide strategy unveiled in August 2017.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Bureau of the Treasury, the Department of Finance, and the SEC rolled out an 18-month road map meant to deepen the local debt market, with the goal of providing an alternative source of financing for corporates, especially for long-term borrowing for big-ticket infrastructure projects.

“We are forced to do this… It’s not a priority for us but if the private sector cannot do it and we see the need for the improvement in the capital market, we will do it,” Mr. Dominguez added.

Ayala-led Manila Water acquires stake in Thailand-based firm East Water

MANILA WATER Co. has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire an 18.72% stake in a publicly listed water supply and distribution company in Thailand, the Ayala-led company told the stock exchange on Monday.

Metro Manila’s east zone water concessionaire said the stake in Eastern Water Resources Development and Management Public Co. Ltd. is the company’s first point of entry in Thailand as part of the its expansion in Southeast Asia.

“Manila Water marks another milestone in its regional growth, as it establishes its presence in Thailand through East Water. We recognize the opportunities this new market presents for us, and we are eager to share the technical expertise and service quality which Manila Water has developed over the last twenty years,” said Fernando Zobel de Ayala, president and chief operating officer of Manila Water.

“From the conglomerate perspective, Ayala sees this development as a strategic entry point into Thailand,” he added.

Mr. Zobel de Ayala, who is also Manila Water board chairman, said with Manila Water leading the way, “we hope to leverage our various capabilities to enlarge our footprint in the country.”

Manila Water said the Thai company provides raw and tap water supply services in the eastern region of Thailand, the country’s main industrial area and home to various heavy industries, including automotive, electronics and petrochemicals.

It said East Water provides raw water supply to three provinces, holds concession contracts to operate in 11 locations, and provides water service to several industrial estates. These areas cover 13,285 square kilometers, which is almost as large as the Calabarzon, the region made up the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon.

Ferdinand M. dela Cruz, Manila Water president and chief executive officer said: “Our entry into the Thailand water space aligns squarely with our internationalization strategy, with focus in Southeast Asia.”

He said East Water presents “great potential” as its future growth would come from the Eastern Economic Corridor, the Thai government’s initiative to further develop the country’s eastern seaboard into a leading economic zone in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Manila Water will finance the acquisition through a combination of internally generated funds and bank debt.”

The Ayala company’s foray into Thailand comes after it embarked on bulk water and concession projects in Vietnam. It also conducted pilot projects in Bandung, Indonesia for a non-revenue water reduction program and in Yangon, Myanmar for leakage reduction.

On Monday, shares in Manila Water rose 1.09% to close at P27.70 each. — Victor V. Saulon

UnionBank to deactivate magnetic cards in March

UNIONBANK of the Philippines is set to deactivate all magnetic stripe cards by the end of March in line with the industry’s migration to the microchip-based bank cards.

In a statement, UnionBank called on its automated teller machine and debit cardholders to claim their Europay Mastercard Visa (EMV) chip enabled cards as the bank will deactivate all its magnetic stripe cards by March 31.

The Aboitiz-led lender also called on its customers who hold Unified Multi-purpose ID Cards of the Government Service Insurance System and Quick Cards of the Social Security System equipped with magnetic stripe to claim their new cards.

“We encourage all our customers to [switch] to EMV before March 31, 2018… Doing so will help them avoid any inconvenience in the future, especially with the eventual phaseout of non-EMV transactions,” Dennis L. Matutina, executive vice-president for channel management of UnionBank was quoted as saying in the statement.

The bank’s card upgrade is months ahead of the June 30, 2018 deadline set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for banks and credit card issuers to shift to EMV technology.

The BSP originally set a January 2017 deadline when it ordered EMV upgrades in 2014.

Mr. Matutina said EMV have several features that make them more secure than the old cards which use magnetic stripes to store data.

EMV cards, the current global standard for financial transactions, are more equipped to ward off fraud, identity theft and other malicious activities.

Apart from this, switching to EMV chip-embedded cards will ensure smooth transactions once used abroad, as most countries have already adopted the said technology.

UnionBank added that it has been issuing EMV cards since the third quarter of 2016. — K.A.N. Vidal

Arellano Lady Chiefs NCAA champs anew

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE Arellano Lady Chiefs are back-to-back National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women’s volleyball champions after taking Game Two of their best-of-three finals with the San Beda Lady Red Spikers in straight sets, 25-13, 29-27 and 25-15, yesterday and complete a sweep of the series.

Banking on their collective grit, poise and experience, the Lady Chiefs took everything that was thrown their way by their opponents and rose above them to march to another title and celebrate in front of their fans at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

The Lady Chiefs started like a house on fire, racing to an 8-2 advantage by the first technical timeout of the opening set before turning it to a 16-9 cushion midway into the frame.

From there Arellano was not to be stopped as it completed the first-set rout with a 9-4 blast the rest of the way.

In the second set it was San Beda’s turn to go on a fast start, outscoring Arellano, 5-1, in the early goings.

The Lady Chiefs tried to rally back but they still found themselves trailing by the first break, 8-5.

The Lady Red Spikers would maintain control of the set even as the Lady Chiefs inched closer to stay ahead, 16-14, by the second technical knockout.

Arellano tied the count at 18-all only for San Beda to respond with a 4-2 run after to take a 22-20 advantage.

The Lady Chiefs tied the score at 24-all but San Beda still had chances to salvage the set.

Unfortunately for the Mendiola-based Lady Spikers they could not hold off the tide that Regine Arocha and the rest of the Lady Chiefs brought after to go two sets down.

Having gone all the more confident in its “dig-deep” showing in the set prior, Arellano sped to an 8-0 lead to start the third frame.

It stretched the gap to 16-4 by the second technical knockout and practically coasted along to the title thereafter.

Arocha, named finals most valuable player, and Jovielyn Prado led Arellano with 15 points apiece.

Andrea Marzan had eight points while Mary Anne Esguerra had seven for the Lady Chiefs, who won all of their games in Season 93 except for one.

“We’re happy with this championship. It shows that our program is growing and bearing fruits. That the support and trust and given to us by the admiration is paying off,” said Arellano coach Obet Javier in the postgame press conference.

San Beda, meanwhile, was paced by Cesca Racraquin’s 13 points with Maria Nieza Viray adding eight points.

The loss ended for San Beda what was a groundbreaking season for the team in the NCAA this year that had it barging into its first finals appearance.

Team LeBron rallies to beat Team Stephen

LOS ANGELES — Team LeBron upstaged Team Stephen, 148-145, in the NBA All-Star Game Sunday in a thrilling duel that featured spectacular plays at both ends of the court by the game’s premier players.

Team LeBron staged a second half rally and then got the defensive stops they needed late to win the mid-February classic under the new selection format after trailing by two points at the half.

Playing-captain LeBron James finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to lead all scorers. Cleveland Cavaliers James was also named MVP of the game for the third time in his career.

This year the league decided to go to a new format for picking the teams to try and make the games more competitive and it worked.

Under the new format, James and Stephen Curry, the top two all-star vote-getters, got to pick their teams from a pool of 22 available players. The first four picks had to come from the list of all-star starters.

Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant tallied 19 points and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George delivered 16 points for Team LeBron.

Toronto Raptors DeMar DeRozan and Portland Trail Blazers Damian Lillard each scored 21 points while Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves tallied 17 points and 10 rebounds for Team Stephen. — AFP

Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone downs Yancy Medeiros in the opening round

AMERICAN welterweight fighter Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone trumpeted his return to winning in a grand way, making short work of opponent Yancy Medeiros via a technical knockout in the opening round of their headliner at “UFC Fight Night 126” yesterday in Austin, Texas.

Lost in his previous three fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) entering the match, Mr. Cerrone (33-10) halted his longest career losing streak by stepping up and taking the challenge by Mr. Medeiros (15-5) head-on in a competitive, albeit short, fight held at Frank Erwin Center.

The protagonists immediately got it going in the opening round, trading solid blows and kicks to the body.

Mr. Cerrone though would find an opening as the round reached the windup.

After breaking from a tie-up with a minute left, Mr. Cerrone caught his opponent with a big right hand.

He got Mr. Medeiros once again moments later which proved to be the start of the end as the latter dropped to the canvas and received more punches from Mr. Cerrone before referee Herb Dean stopped the fight with 4:58 left in the round.

The win was the first for Mr. Cerrone since December 2016 while Mr. Medeiros saw his three-fight winning streak come to an end.

“A finish was what I and Yancy were going for. And I did just that,” said Mr. Cerrone after the fight.

Meanwhile in the co-main event, heavyweight Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis knocked out Marcin “Tybur” Tybura in the third round to get back on the winning track as well.

Mr. Lewis (19-5) was all over Mr. Tybura (16-4) in the third round, connecting with telling blows that eventually took a toll on the latter.

A crisp combination by Mr. Lewis sent Mr. Tybura down the mat one last time, and seconds later the referee stopped the contest.

“That is the way I fight, That is the way I do things,” said Mr. Lewis after, referring to the power he showed to finish off things.

In other fights at UFC Fight Night 126: Cowboy vs. Medeiros, lightweight James Vick beat Francisco Trinaldo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 and 29-28), welterweight Curtis Millender defeated Thiago Alves by knockout (knee) in the second round, featherweight Brandon Davis downed Steven Peterson by UD (30-27, 29-28 and 30-26), and lightweight Sage Northcutt beat Thibault Gouti by UD (29-28, 29-28 and 29-28).

In the Philippines, Cignal TV, the country’s foremost direct-to-home (DTH) company, is the home of the UFC after the two groups agreed to an extensive deal that will see the UFC beamed on various platforms. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Shazwan and Barredo ready to defend Prima Pasta Open titles

MALAYSIAN Shahrul Shazwan and national player Sarah Jane Barredo will defend their respective singles open crowns starting this week in the 11th Prima Badminton Championships at the Powersmash Badminton Court in Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City.

Shazwan, the last year’s men’s open singles winner, will return and prepare for the longest and most prestigious badminton tournament in the country sanctioned by the Philippine Badminton Association and affiliated with the Philippine National Ranking System.

But Shazwan will be facing a daunting task in defending his title this year as 2016 Prima Pasta open singles champion Michael Kevin Cudiamat, R-Jay Baquiran Ormilla, national players Ross Leenard Pedrosa, Lanz Zafra and Arthur Salvado, among others, are going to challenge him for the title.

“I’m no longer part of the national team so my goal in this tournament is to get even with the Malaysian (Shazwan) if ever I will face him because he beat me last year. I’m also willing to prove myself that I can still play,” said Cudiamat.

Last year, Shazwan beat Ormilla in the men’s singles open finals while Barredo outplayed fellow national player Airah Mae Nicole Albo also in the women’s open singles championship of the annual tournament organized by Prima Pasta Chairman Alex Lim.

Crowdsourced travel

IT USES a crowdsourced itinerary — that’s the main idea behind AXN Philippines’ newest travel show, Adventure Your Way, which started airing on Feb. 8 on the Sony Network channel.

Hosted by Atom Araullo, every week the show poses two Philippine destinations on its dedicated Facebook page and asks visitors to vote on which experience Mr. Araullo will do.

On a post dated Feb. 12, the show put “Torpedo Boating” up against “Inter-island Ziplining” in Samar and asked fans which activity would appeal to them more. A casual inspection of the comments showed “Torpedo Boating” to be the more popular choice.

“I think it comes with the times as well, we felt that it was a good opportunity for us to combine the TV platform as well as the online platform,” Armi Malaluan, director and business head for Sony Pictures Television Philippines, told BusinessWorld during the show’s launch on Feb. 1 at Cities Events Place in Quezon City.

In its pilot episode, which aired on Feb. 8, Mr. Araullo was taken to Cebu where he went skydiving for the first time as well as trekking to the less well-known Tinubdan falls. On the second episode, Mr. Araullo went to Sagada to visit the Blue Soil hills. The activities were suggested by the show’s viewers

“The crowdsourcing helps a lot because it gives suggestions wherein there are adventures that are not even in our options… [because of this] it’s more exciting than what we used to do,” Ms. Malaluan explained.

She described the 30-minute show as “spontaneous” and “actually engages the audience.”

“It’s not like a full-scripted production show,” she said.

Aside from airing every Thursday at 8:30 p.m., Adventure Your Way also uploads its videos on its Facebook and YouTube pages.

“Now, on a local production we are encouraging viewers to be more engaged. We can’t just say ‘we’re TV so we’ll stick to TV’ — we also want to attract the younger audience by being on social media,” Ms. Malaluan said, adding that more of the network’s productions will be utilizing social media more and more.

Adventure your Way airs every Thursday, 8:30 p.m., on AXN. AXN is available on Cablelink ch. 38, Cignal ch. 121, Destiny Cable ch. 49, Dream Satellite TV ch. 20, G Sat ch. 51 and SkyCable ch. 49 (HD is on 247). — Zsarlene B. Chua

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