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Guiao: Much assessment in aftermath of Gilas slide

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE FIBA World Cup 2019 bid of the Philippine men’s national basketball team was put in jeopardy after it lost to Iran, 78-70, in a key Group F qualifying match on Monday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The loss sent Gilas Pilipinas to its second straight loss in the qualifiers, following its defeat at the hands of Kazakhstan on Nov. 30 also here in Manila, to slide down to fourth place with a 5-5 record and at risk of missing the World Cup bus altogether with two games left in its schedule in the qualifying stage.
It is a situation that had Gilas coach Yeng Guiao ruing missed opportunities and moving to call for much assessment of how the handling of the national team could be enhanced.
“We’re disappointed not just about the match but for the whole window. For a while there we thought we had a really good chance of winning the game. For the most part of the game we were holding on to a small lead and we were on the verge of breaking out. It just did not happen for us in the end,” said Mr. Guiao, who saw his team falter in the end against Iran and slump to the tough defeat.
“As good as these players are, you know if a team is mature or not. It’s going to show in the way you play your game under pressure and I felt when we were under pressure, our maturity didn’t show and that’s a function of time together and seeing and experiencing adversity, which we didn’t have enough of,” the Gilas coach said in the postgame press conference.
Given where they are now, Mr. Guiao said much assessment should be made between now and the sixth and final window of the qualifiers in February next year.
He went on to underscore that having the national team have more time together in training would go a long way in the nationals’ cause and so does naming a more permanent stable of players to make up the team.
“Certainly time together is going to help but I’m not sure if that is totally within our control, on being able to have extra time to play together. I’m not sure we can do something about it. It’s really up to the PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) and the SBP (Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas). If they give us time, then that’s going to be very helpful,” Mr. Guiao said.
“I was actually suggesting that once and for all we name who the national players are and not keep naming a pool every time there is a competition. Let’s keep the number to 15 and support them with time together and international exposure. We’re in that stage now where there’s really a crossroad looking into the future and making that assessment. I think I have to discuss this with our basketball leaders,” he added.
But despite their road to the World Cup becoming narrower, Mr. Guiao is not losing hope of still getting the job done.
“I still feel this is a good team. Our chances are slimmer now going to the World Cup but I still feel we can do it,” Mr. Guiao said.
As per tournament format, the top three teams in each of the two merged groupings advance to the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China.
Australia is on top of Group F with a 9-1 record, and is already assured of a spot in the World Cup, followed by Iran (7-3) and Japan (6-4).
The Philippines are to play Kazakhstan and Qatar in away matches in the sixth window in February.

Consistency in evolution


GUS ALBOR says he is an apolitical artist. But when asked why he called his ongoing exhibition — on view at the Ayala Museum until Feb. 10 — Territory, he said it pertains to the Philippine-China dispute over the Spratly Islands.
“It’s got a double meaning. I’m very much affected by the issue of Spratly and the West Philippine Sea. I made a piece that discusses this concern or issue and it was my piece at the Venice Biennale in 2015. So far that’s my strong political work,” he told BusinessWorld at the sidelines of the exhibit’s opening on Nov. 26.
There are no works in the exhibition that explicitly show his political stand on the Spratly Islands, because, as he said, that piece was presented at the Art Biennale in Italy.
Besides, Mr. Albor, who is primarily and strongly associated with abstract and minimalism works, said: “I’m apolitical. It’s art for art’s sake.”
ARTIST’S CHOICE
Territory occupies the first and third floors of the Ayala Museum and features oil on canvas paintings, mixed media works, paper-based illustrations, large-scale sculptures, and some installation art that show his partiality towards subdued colors (like brown, gray, and black) and conform to his style as an artist, minimalist. For the exhibit which he curated, he chose works he made from 1969 until 2018.
The artist said he arranged his works — on loan from collectors and from his personal collection — based on “my intuition and the relationship between the year and the images. It’s difficult,” he said.
While the artist chose what works to include in the exhibit, the words in the exhibition notes were not his, and he said he didn’t like some of it. There was a sentence that said “Albor’s oeuvre requests not to be tied to the American minimalists…”
“No it’s not my words, in fact I don’t like that line because minimalist art is not American, it’s more Asian, actually. I contradict the statement because it wasn’t based in my interview. I don’t like the writing,” he said.
Ayala Museum senior director Mariles Gustilo, calling Mr. Albor one of the country’s top abstract artists, said he has shown “consistent output of non-objective” themes and that his style is of “thematic parallel” with the museum’s founder, the pure abstract artist Fernando Zobel de Ayala.
While Mr. Albor, a recipient of the CCP 13 Artists Awards in 1976, is primarily known for his abstract minimalist works, there is a wall at the museum’s third floor that is dedicated to his portraits. Was it just a period in his career as an artist? He said no. “I can create portraits tomorrow if I want to. I like portraits also. It’s not just a phase.”
Mr. Albor called his exhibition of close to 200 works a “confession.” He said in a statement, “I expect them to see the evolution and how I explore my field; how I explore and experiment.”
He said he found his voice “through the years and from studying in art school.”
He studied Music and Fine Arts at the University of the East and received a British Council grant to go to the West Surrey College of Fine Art. His works have been shown in Germany, Italy, Japan, and France, among other countries. — Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman

Focusing on the art of Baguio

FORMERLY THE Diplomat Hotel, the Dominican Hill and Nature Park in Baguio City was recently repurposed to serve as an art gallery. Outside the building were installations by National Artist Kidlat Tahimik, while inside was a showcase of other installations, sculptures, and paintings by local artists like Maela Jose, whose huge mandala-inspired canvas that hung at the ground floor of the once grand hotel.
Designed by Fr. Roque Ruaño (who also designed the University of Santo Tomas’ Main Building), Dominican Hill was originally a retreat house (from 1913 to 1915), and then it became a school called Colegio del Santissimo Rosario (from 1915 to 1918), and then a hotel. Now, it is a heritage site that has been owned by the City of Baguio since 2005, and, as mentioned, was used as a temporary art gallery to host the art exhibition Kulay ng Siglo, which was an activity in the first ever “Entacool” event.
Following Baguio City’s conferment in 2017 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a Creative City, specifically when it comes to crafts and folk arts, the launch of the “Entacool” festival cements Baguio as center for creative pursuits and it is also a step toward sustaining the UNESCO designation.
The “Entacool” festival, which ran on Nov. 10-18, had a series of art exhibitions, workshops, fashion shows, and talks, among others. There was also a photo exhibit by Baguio artists, including National Artist Benedicto Cabrera, featuring scenes of the picturesque city. On view at Bell House in Camp John Hay, the exhibit runs until Jan. 6.
WHAT IS ENTACOOL?
“Entacool” comes from two words: “entaku,” a Cordillera term meaning “let’s all go” and “cool,” which is what the Summer Capital of the Philippines is known for being.
“Entacool” literally means we should go to Baguio and see the cool arts it has in store for us.
A partnership between the Baguio local government, the Department of Tourism (DOT)-CAR, Tourism Promotions Board, UP Baguio, and Baguio Arts and Creative Collective Inc., “Entacool” aims to become an annual festival with the goal of raising public awareness about Baguio’s creatives and creativity.
Baguio is usually associated with the Panagbenga Festival, a flower festival which is celebrated every February. Back in the 1980s, the city was known for the Baguio Arts Festival, but it wasn’t sustained.
Now, the organizers and stakeholders involved in “Entacool” want the new festival to hold its ground and not suffer the same fate as its predecessor. Its objectives and rationales, among others, are to build the image of Baguio as a creative hub, celebrate local culture, and to provide avenues for inclusive growth for the creative industry.
MAKING ART COUNTS
To see the importance of arts and culture for inclusive growth, the city of Baguio is planning on mapping its art industry. So far, what the city has done is to locate where the art and crafts hubs are. According to Creative Economy Development Council of the Philippines founding member Paolo Mercado, who talked about the importance of industrializing creativity during the festival, Baguio’s centers of artistic flow are concentrated in Session Road and Asin Village.
Baguio’ artistic culture revolves mostly around woodcarving, silver craft, weaving, and tattooing. The UNESCO website said there are 56 local institutions in Baguio that are directly devoted to the art sector, totalling a gross receipt of $1,113,258 million.
But Baguio City councilor Mylen Yaranon said that the city, with a total population of 350,000, doesn’t have the data on the number of its artists and it hasn’t mapped out yet the impact of arts on the city’s society.
She said there are many unregistered artists in Baguio and they want to encourage them to join labor unions so that they can be part of a better bargaining discourse and agreement. One of the goals is to upgrade their crafts to become more than the usual pasalubong pieces like keychains and ref magnets.
The idea of a clear and well-structured art industry will encourage and engage the community members to become the both innovators and entrepreneurs, which, Mr. Mercado said, will lead to inclusive growth. He pointed to Indonesia’s Pekalongan City, which was the first UNESCO Creative City in Southeast Asia in 2014. Called the Batik City, Pekalongan produces handmade batik (dyed cloth) items that have gone from traditional to high fashion products, which help sustain the city’s economy.
THE ART OF COMMUNING WITH NATURE
While the first “Entacool” was only a week-long celebration, the festival also launched another first, a forest bathing activity, which anyone can do at any time.
Inspired by the Japanese concept shinrin-yoku or a visit to a forest for relaxation, forest bathing at Camp John Hay among its famous pine trees, just means communing with nature. Forest bathing is free for all, but the LGU will put a cap on the number of trekkers who can do the four-kilometer walk at one time. The ramble can be done in less than two hours depending on how fast one walks.
When inside the trekking area, one doesn’t only hear the rustling of the leaves and the chirping of the birds, but the calming melody of bamboo wind chimes made by local artist Edgar Banasan, which he installed permanently in eight stations.
Because the intention of forest bathing is to be one with the trees, the birds, and the insects inside the forest, trekkers are discouraged from talking to each other and from using their gadgets. The health benefits of forest bathing are the lowering of one’s blood pressure and stress levels, and the improvement of mood, which, in turn, can boost the flow of creative juices. In Baguio, creativity and inspiration aren’t rare. — Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman

PBA Governors’ Cup finals series rolls off today at MOA Arena

AFTER being off for a fortnight to give way to the World Cup campaign of the national team, the best-of-seven Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ finals series between the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok and Alaska Aces rolls off today at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Set for 7 p.m., Game One of the finals will see the last two teams standing in the season-ending PBA tournament go for an early series lead and set the pace in the proceedings.
Magnolia has been steady all tournament long, finishing joint second with an 8-3 record at the end of the elimination round before eliminating Blackwater Elite in the quarterfinals and dethroning erstwhile defending champions Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings in their best-of-five semifinals, 3-1.
Best Import candidate Romeo Travis is leading the Hotshots with averages of 22.7 points, 15.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists.
Guard Paul Lee has been adding 17.3 points and 3.2 assists while backcourt mate Mark Barroca has been good for 13.1 markers and 3.5 dimes.
Ian Sangalang is the other Magnolia player scoring in double digits with 10.9 points a game to go along with 5.1 boards with do-it-all guard Jio Jalalon providing 9.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.8 assists.
As a team, Magnolia is averaging 102 points a game in the Governors’ Cup while allowing opponents just 94 points in 16 games to date.
“I think the series will be an exciting one. It’s going to be a battle of execution between us and Alaska,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero as he looked ahead of their series with the Aces.
EQUALLY STEADY
Alaska, for its part, has been equally steady, joint second with Magnolia at the end of the elimination round at 8-3 and then got the better of long tormentors and powerhouse San Miguel Beermen in the quarterfinals.
It then survived a tough challenge from the Meralco Bolts in the semifinals, 3-1.
Import Mike Harris is leading a balanced Aces attack with 29.8 points, 21.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists.
Chris Banchero is averaging a near double-double of 15.8 points and 8.7 assists while Vic Manuel is chipping in 15.9 points.
Simon Enciso is also in double digits for Alaska with 11.2 markers per game.
The Aces are posting similar numbers as those of the Hotshots, averaging 102 points in the tournament while allowing 96 points to opponents.
“Magnolia is a tough team to play and we have to play better against them in the finals,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton in the lead-up to the finals.
In their lone encounter in the elimination round, Magnolia topped Alaska, 83-73, with Messrs. Travis and Jalalon leading the charge.
The about-to-start finals series between Magnolia and Alaska marks the first time that the teams are meeting in the championship since the 2009-10 Philippine Cup finals where Magnolia, then playing under Purefoods, swept Alaska, 4-0. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Allianz, MSI shortlisted for Malaysian car insurer

ALLIANZ MALAYSIA Bhd. and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. have been shortlisted to proceed to the next round of bidding for AmGeneral Insurance Bhd., in a deal that could value Malaysia’s second-biggest car insurer at about $800 million, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The two parties will need approval from the Malaysian central bank before formally starting detailed negotiations with AmGeneral’s owners, the people said, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. There’s no certainty the discussions will result in a transaction, according to the people.
Kuala Lumpur-listed AMMB Holdings Bhd. owns 51% of AmGeneral, while Insurance Australia Group Ltd. holds the remainder. A deal may include a bancassurance agreement, which would give the right to distribute insurance products through AMMB’s branch network, the people said.
The transaction could provide a road map for Prudential Plc and Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., which have been also considering cutting stakes in their Malaysian insurance units. The government has been seeking more local investment in the industry, though central bank governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said in August that foreign insurers will be given flexibility and deadlines for compliance will be case-by-case.
Representatives for Allianz Malaysia and AMMB declined to comment. A spokesman for Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, which is a unit of Tokyo-listed MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc., also declined to comment. A spokeswoman for IAG said the company has nothing to disclose at this time.
AmGeneral is the second-biggest auto insurer in Malaysia with a market share of 15%, according to its website. It ranked fifth in the overall Malaysian general insurance market as of the first half of 2018.
The company has more than 4 million policyholders and a network of 7,000 agents and dealers marketing products under the AmAssurance and Kurnia brands. AmGeneral underwrote 1.52 billion ringgit ($365 million) of gross premiums and earned 255.5 million ringgit in net income in the financial year ended March, according to the insurer’s annual results. — Bloomberg

PLDT closes deal to acquire minority stake in Multisys

PLDT logo
PLDT, Inc. said on Tuesday it has completed the acquisition of a minority stake in information and IT solutions provider Multisys Technologies Corp.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the telecommunications giant said it has closed the P1.6-billion deal with Multisys on Monday.
“Upon the approval by the Philippine SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) of the capital increase of Multisys, PLDT will own a total equity stake of 45.73% in Multisys through a combination of new and existing shares of Multisys,” it said.
PLDT Chairman, CEO and President Manuel V. Pangilinan earlier said its investment in Multisys would position the company as one “with core software development capabilities.”
He also had told reporters last month the deal would help PLDT in improving its offers in its Enterprise business.
“They’re in a next-stage development, so they need a big brother like us to provide the funding because we’re supplying P1.6 billion of new capital into the business… We’re happy to do that. And the synergies between Multisys and Enterprise group, whether it’s the Alpha or MSMEs, (is a good thing), because you can work with them in creating bespoke solutions, or bespoke platforms, to specific companies,” Mr. Pangilinan had said.
In its website, Multisys said it helps small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and has experience in web and mobile development, e-government, cybersecurity and enterprise resource planning.
PLDT posted a 26% decline in its attributable net income during the nine-month period to P16.27 billion, dragged by the accelerated depreciation of P4.5 billion related to its network assets.
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. — Denise A. Valdez

Real Madrid’s Luka Modric wins 2018 Ballon d’Or, breaks Messi-Ronaldo decade-long dominance

PARIS — Real Madrid’s Croatia midfielder Luka Modric was named winner of the 2018 Ballon d’Or on Monday, breaking Cristiano Ronaldo’s and Lionel Messi’s decade-long hold on the prestigious award.
Juventus forward and 2017 winner Ronaldo came second, while Atletico Madrid and France striker Antoine Griezmann came third.
Paris St. Germain’s France forward Kylian Mbappe, who also collected the Kopa award for the best under-21 player, was fourth, with Barca forward Messi finishing fifth.
Olympique Lyonnais’ Norway striker Ada Hegerberg won the inaugural Ballon d’Or for women’s football, having led her side to the Women’s Champions League title, scoring in extra time in the 4-1 win over Vfl Wolfsburg in the final.
Modric, 33, helped Real Madrid win a third successive Champions League title in May and also captained Croatia to their first World Cup final, being named player of the tournament despite his side losing 4-2 to France.
“It’s a unique feeling. I’m happy proud and honoured, I have a lot of emotions right now, it’s hard to describe in words,” said Modric, wearing a tuxedo as he collected the award from presenter and former France forward David Ginola after a glamorous ceremony at the Grand Palais in Paris.
“It’s a big pleasure to be here among all these players. I am still trying to realise that I have become part of a group of exceptional players to win the Ballon d’Or throughout history.”
DIFFICULT START
Modric, who joined Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012 for a reported €40 million ($45.40 million), was criticized in his debut season at the Bernabeu and named the worst signing of the year in a poll by newspaper Marca.
But the diminutive playmaker began to demonstrate the quality he had shown at Spurs when Jose Mourinho deployed him in a deep lying role in Real’s midfield rather than the attacking role he had been given at the start of that campaign.
Modric said the positional change, which was first suggested to him by Harry Redknapp at Tottenham, transformed his form.
“The change of position helped me a lot in my career. I used to play more offensively. When I dropped back, I was able to read the game better and show my creativity,” added Modric.
He is the first Croatian to win the Ballon d’Or and also picked up FIFA’s ‘The Best’ award in October.
The Ballon d’or, voted for by journalists and organized by French magazine France Football, has been dominated by Barcelona’s Messi and Ronaldo, first when he was at Manchester United and subsequently with Real Madrid, since 2008.
The last player to lift the award apart from the Argentine and Portuguese, who have won it a joint-record five times each, was Kaka in 2007 when the Brazilian played for AC Milan.
The Ballon d’Or was first presented in 1956 and partnered with soccer’s world governing body FIFA as ‘The Best’ award from 2010 to 2015, until becoming its own entity again. — Reuters

Billionaires, Blockchain, and art collide in Miami

ADAM LINDEMANN tends to have pretty good timing.
He sold a group of radio stations for about $200 million just before the 2008 financial crisis, more than tripling his investment. A painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, which he bought for $4.5 million in 2004, sold for $57.3 million two years ago.
Now the son of late billionaire George Lindemann, who made a fortune in cable television and gas pipelines, was hosting a conference during Art Basel Miami Beach to explore how the blockchain, his latest obsession, can transform the art world.
“Everyone is talking about blockchain, but no one really understands it,” said Mr. Lindemann, 57, referring to the technology that supports Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. “This is the right time to think about art and tech.”
His half-day event, “The Art of Blockchains,” took place on Dec. 4, just as the world’s top galleries and collectors gathered for the biggest contemporary art fair in the US, with more than $3 billion of works up for grabs.
Blockchain technology has been a hot topic in the art market because of its potential to disrupt the opaque trade, and give confidence to collectors who worry about buying fakes. Start-ups like Verisart already use it to register works and trace their provenance, verifying authenticity and ownership. Another firm, Codex, is working on an application that will allow auction bidders to pay with cryptocurrencies. Others offer fractional ownership of art through tokenized shares that minimize costs by bypassing traditional intermediaries.
Mr. Lindemann’s conference — one of at least a half-dozen blockchain-related events to be held around Art Basel — brought together art and tech people in his orbit, including philanthropist Nicholas Berggruen. The keynote conversation was to feature Mr. Lindemann and Jim McKelvey, who helped found payments firm Square Inc. with Jack Dorsey.
Emmanuel Aidoo, head of distributed ledger and blockchain strategy at Credit Suisse Group AG, was to discuss the business of art and technology with art dealer Marc Glimcher and Dan Long, co-founder and chief executive officer of Artblx Inc., an art blockchain platform.
Lisa Phillips, director of the New Museum of Contemporary Art, was to lead a conversation about how art institutions view blockchain, with panelists including Stuart Comer, media curator at the Museum of Modern Art, and artists Leo Villareal and Simon Denny.
NEW WORLD
Mr. Lindemann, who owns the Venus Over Manhattan art gallery in New York, said he’s an investor in several blockchain start-ups including Artblx, which predicts the technology will upend the art world and create a new one.
“The blockchain will completely change the market,” Mr. Lindemann said. “If this works, we can see millions more participants.”
Still, there are plenty of hurdles.
A blockchain is only as trustworthy as the data comprising it, said conference speaker Nanne Dekking, founder and CEO of Artory. “It doesn’t make information better and it should only be used in a public registry by trusted partners.”
Christie’s used the Artory Registry for its evening auction on Nov. 13, when Edward Hopper’s Chop Suey sold for $91.9 million to become the most expensive artwork recorded on a blockchain.
Concerns about accuracy can be eased if living artists cryptographically sign off on their works, Mr. Dekking said, creating an immutable and time-stamped record on the blockchain.
Overcoming fundamental cultural differences between the art and tech worlds will be another challenge.
“It’s a bad marriage,” said Mr. Lindemann, who will seek to bridge the divide by focusing on something both share — creativity.
The conference was to address how blockchain technology can influence the art-making process. Kenny Scharf, who came to prominence as a street artist in the 1980s alongside Mr. Basquiat and Keith Haring, was to be on hand creating an original work composed of more than 100 parts.
“Every attendee will get a piece,” Mr. Lindemann said. “It’s a metaphor for blockchain: It’s meant to be shared.” — Bloomberg

Europe set to challenge dollar’s dominance

THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU) is set to unveil plans for challenging the dollar’s dominance in global markets, including energy, as it seeks to strengthen the international role of its currency and become more independent from the US amid a widening rift in transatlantic ties.
The EU must develop “a full range of trustworthy interest rate benchmarks” in financial markets, and a fully integrated instant payment system, according to a draft set of initiatives due to be released later this week by the European Commission. The bloc’s executive arm will also explore the possibility to further develop the role of the euro in foreign exchange markets.
The commission’s plans are aimed at mitigating the so-called “exorbitant privilege” of the US dollar, which allows Washington to force global compliance with its foreign policy goals, including by the EU.
“There is scope for the euro to develop further its global role and achieve its full potential, reflecting the euro area’s political, economic and financial weight,” the commission said in the draft obtained by Bloomberg.
HEDGING TRANSACTIONS
The proposed measures include using the euro as default currency in energy contracts agreed between EU member states and third countries, as well as the creation of euro-denominated price benchmarks for crude oil. While the proposals aren’t binding legislation, their potential adoption by the bloc could upend the global energy market.
According to a separate memo also obtained by Bloomberg, the commission’s recommendations will reduce the risk of “disruption of energy supplies” due to the actions of “third countries.”
The commission will also seek to make hedging transactions in euros more attractive. This could be achieved by requiring a greater number of contracts to be cleared through central counterparties, it said, citing past success with creating liquid markets for such products through measures introduced after the financial crisis.
Finalizing the reform of scandal-ridden financial benchmarks could also help “increase the attractiveness of trading and pricing euro-denominated instruments,” the commission said. On top of that, officials will help foster “a fully integrated instant payment system” to reduce reliance on foreign providers of card and online payments, it said.
‘WAKE-UP CALL’
The commission’s effort to develop the euro’s international role reflects growing calls in countries such as France and Germany for the EU to also adopt tools that will allow it to pursue its foreign-policy goals with less recourse to an unpredictable US ally.
“Recent extraterritorial unilateral actions by third country jurisdictions like in the case of re-imposed sanctions on Iran, together with recent challenges to the international rules-based governance and trade are a wake-up call regarding Europe’s economic and monetary sovereignty.”
The EU is the world’s largest importer of energy in the world, as its annual import bill averages more than €300 billion ($341 billion) per year, according to the memo.
A euro-denominated reference oil contract “could be used as an underlying asset for financial contracts, such as derivatives, that provide the necessary risk management tools for market participants,” according to the draft.
The pricing could be based either on existing production fields in the European Economic Area, or matched to physical properties in a “typical” barrel in the EU crude oil import basket.
The plans come in parallel with ongoing discussions on how to set up a so-called special purpose vehicle that will facilitate payments including for Iranian oil. Allowing transactions with Iran to go through will help the EU economy and businesses grow more independent from the dollar and the US economy, officials say.
Still, efforts to set up such a vehicle are facing several unresolved issues, including finding a location for the operation and a way to reassure banks interacting with it that they will be shielded from the risk of exclusion from the US financial market. — Bloomberg

Extension of Iglesia ni Cristo’s telecom franchise gets Senate OK

THE Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading the bill extending the franchise of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) to operate a private telecommunications service in the country by another 25 years.
The Senate had adopted House Bill No. 7753, which allows the INC to operate “private telecommunications or electronic communications services” within the Philippines, and between the Philippines and other countries.
The measure was approved with 20 affirmative votes, zero negative vote, and no abstention.
The bill amended Republic Act No. 7255, which has also extended the franchise of Iglesia ni Cristo for 25 years in 1992. The religious organization was originally granted franchise under Republic Act No. 4339 in 1965.
The Senate inserted a new provision in the measure directing the INC to create employment opportunities and to allow on-the-job training in its operations.
The bill requires the INC to apply for a renewal or extension of its franchise five years before its expiration date. The franchise may be revoked if the INC fails to operate its telecommunications operations continuously for two years.
Bulacan Rep. Florida P. Robes, principal author of the bill, has said that the INC needed the private telecommunications network for the religious organization’s efficient interconnection and exchange of information. It is also being used for to disseminate its biweekly preachings nationwide and even abroad.
The bill also directs the INC to secure a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity as well as necessary permits for the construction and operations of its telecommunications systems or facilities from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
Under the franchise, the INC cannot use its stations or facilities for “obscene or indecent transmission, or for the dissemination of deliberately false information or willful misrepresentation, or assist in subversive or treasonable acts.”
The INC should also extend its services in unserved areas and in typhoon-prone areas in the Philippines to be determined by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) in coordination with the NTC.
It is also mandated to upgrade its equipment in compliance with the Republic Act No. 10639 or the Free Mobile Disaster Alerts Act. — C.A.Aguinaldo

Japan stays on top with Philippines hot in pursuit in world cup cricket event

JAPAN maintained top spot on the table after defeating South Korea, as the Philippines returned to the winner’s circle by defeating Indonesia.
The Philippines won the toss and elected to bat against Indonesia in the opening match of the day. The decision was rewarded as Philippines’ captain Jonathan Hill combined classy placement along the ground with proficient use of the slog sweep to clear the rope on six occasions, before eventually holding out at deep mid-wicket for 62 (31).
At that stage, Philippines looked set for a huge total however the bowling of Indonesia’s Anjar Tadarus (5/32 off 3.5) saw the score go from 116/3 to 133/9 in the space of four overs. The Philippines 10th wicket partnership saw them all out for 156.
In response, Indonesia were off to a flying start at 36-0 after three overs before two quick wickets to Philippines bowler Surinder Singh in the fourth over saw both openers dismissed. When the score was at 57/4, it appeared that the Philippines had the game in control.
It was then that Kirubasankar Ramamoorthy (56 off 43) and Ahmad Ramdoni (28 off 34) combined for an 83-run partnership when Ramamoorthy was bowled on the last ball of the 18th over, with Indonesia still requiring 17 off the last two overs. A tight over from Grant Russ (1/25 of 4) saw Indonesia needing 11 off the last over and it was Singh who was thrown the ball. Singh did the job for the Philippines ending up with his impressive figures (2/14 off 4) and more importantly ensuring a Philippines win by 3 runs.
The afternoon match saw Japan notch up their third win of the tournament by defeating Korea by six wickets.
The two teams faced off with Korea wanting to make amends for their defeat in the East Asia Cup last September, and were confident after winning the toss and choosing to bat.
The Korean top order all looked threatening with Raja Shoaib (15 off 15), Kim Dae Yeon (19 off 22) and Mudassir Iqbal (28 off 25) all contributing nicely. However, spin twins Makoto Taniyama (3/18 off 3) and Tsuyoshi Takada (2/23 off 4) bowled intelligently and backed up each other in the field, each taking high catches off the others bowling.
At 7/95 after 14 overs Korea were in danger of not batting their overs, but Muhammad Nadeem (34 off 18) came to the rescue once again to lift his side to 145/9 at the halfway stage.
No side had successfully chased down a target, so Japan needed to buck the trend and Taniyama (41 off 24) started in fine style before edging behind. Japan fell to 70/3 in the 10th over, before captain Masaomi Kobayashi (75 off 42) took control of the match. His partnership of 75 in 42 balls with Arata Ueda (22* off 18) won the game for Japan and included three sixes and lost balls in successive deliveries.
Kobayashi brought up his half-century off 29 balls, making the scores level in the process, before edging behind and leaving Tomoki Ota to crash the winning boundary with 16 balls to spare.

Henares tops PNSA’s Benchrest rifle championship

DANBY Henares displayed nerves of steel to capture the gold medal in the Philippine National Shooting Association (PNSA) benchrest rifle quarterfinals championship recently at the Marine Range in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.
Henares, the assistant team manager of the San Miguel Beermen in the Philippine Basketball Association, posted a leading 737 points on 62-of-75 shooting from the bullseyes to defeat Binggy Lopez and Nick Lagustan.
“I was able to find tune my equipment before the competition and it helped me get a 62-of-75 centershots (bullseyes),” said Henares, one of the country’s highly-respected benchrest rifle practitioners.
“The equipment we used is currently evolving and the new shooters are coming with all the new technology that makes the competition tighter,” Henares added.
After Henares’ gold medal performance, the competition went so tough Lopez and Lagustan as both shooters ended up tied with 725 points for the second place so they needed to settle it with a tiebreaker.
Lopez was down seven points after two shooting cards but came back in the last card to secure the silver medal by winning the tiebreaker of the competition organized by the PNSA.
Lagustan then settled for the bronze medal.
The sport of Benchrest Rifle shooting requires a shooter to hit a 1 mm target at 50 meters. They are allowed to use high power scopes and they are given 75 shots to complete the event.

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