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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.

How PSEi member stocks performed — December 4, 2018

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Monday, December 4, 2018.
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Philippine Stock Exchange’s most active stocks by value turnover — December 4, 2018
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Assessment

“Gilas holds off Iran to give World Cup bid a boost.’ Had the head and lead ready with seven minutes left… then found myself backspacing and backspacing some more… ”
Thus read part of my Face book post on Monday night as I sat at the media tribune of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The post was prompted after seeing national team Gilas Pilipinas collapse in the end game against Iran in their key Group F match and slump to a 78-70 loss.
The defeat was telling as it dropped the Philippines to fourth place in the grouping with a 5-5 record and is now at risk of missing the World Cup bus altogether with just two games left on its plate in the qualifiers.
As per tournament format, only the top three teams in the two merged groupings advance to the 2019 Basketball World Cup in China.
The Philippines currently sits behind Australia (9-1), Iran (7-3) and Japan (6-4) in the standings in Group F.
More telling in the defeat of Gilas at the hands of Iran was the manner with which the nationals lost.
They were up there in the match and actually had the Iranians on the ropes, especially with big men Rouzbeh Arghavan and Meisam Mirzaei already fouled out with still a lot of time in the fourth period.
But instead of charging ahead, Gilas regressed, falling to one too many miscues and failing to capitalize on the opportunities presented to it to win the game.
Interestingly, the same could be said in its last game against Kazakhstan on Nov. 30 where the Philippines lost, 92-88.
In the aftermath of the shutout of Gilas in its home stand in the fifth window of the qualifiers, coach Yeng Guiao underscored the need to assess thoroughly the Gilas program, particularly on having a permanent national team which will have ample time to prepare and have international exposure.
Doing so, Guiao said, would afford sustainability and stability of the program moving forward.
“As good as these [Gilas] 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,” Guiao said in the postgame press conference after the game versus Iran as he underscored his point for an assessment.
Seeing how it went for Gilas in its last two matches, this space surely supports the call for another assessment of the national team.
It was surely an eye-opener.
I mean, the tournament was already in the fifth window and yet the steadiness you would expect from the team was not there.
Of course, along the way there were a lot of things that had happened, foremost of which was the infamous brawl with Australia in July that resulted in majority of Gilas being suspended for numbers of games and pushing the team to make a myriad of changes.
But still, playing at home and for the most part at a good position to come away with victories, one just could not help but feel that we missed out on our chances and would love to have those back.
Whether the Philippines gets to qualify in the 2019 World Cup remains to be seen but no doubt the called-for assessment has to happen.
Such would go a long way not only in the qualifiers but more so in the future tournaments that the nationals will be competing in.
Make this happen. Laban Pilipinas!
 
Michael Angelo S. Murillo has been a columnist since 2003. He is a BusinessWorld reporter covering the Sports beat.
msmurillo@bworldonline.com

Mixed signals

Fred Hoiberg was doomed to fail from the start. It certainly didn’t help that he latched on to the Bulls’ head coaching position under the weight of great expectations. The previous occupant of the hot seat was no less than the highly regarded Tom Thibodeau, and president of hoops operations John Paxson and general manager Gar Heard, who handpicked him for the job, expected him to do better. They plucked him from Iowa State, impressed with the success of his pace-and-space system and figured he could make it work for the red and white.
Needless to say, Hoiberg was gung-go and confident that he would live up to billing. There was just one problem, however. He didn’t have the right personnel at his disposal. Instead of players placing a premium on movement in pursuit of the best-possible shot at the most opportune time, he took charge of a cacophony of veritable black holes who preferred to dribble the air out of the ball and compete on their own terms. He asked for the right people, got anything but from Paxson and Heard, and was thus forced to compromise.
Hoiberg changed his outlook. He didn’t want to, but he was forced to. Outwardly, he continued to preach the very principles that endeared him to his employers in the first place. Unfortunately, practical considerations coupled with mixed signals painted him in a corner. He managed to last three full seasons and change with the Bulls, with his roller-coaster ride reflecting as much his failings as those whose orders he had to follow. At times, he was asked to preside over tank jobs in an apparent rebuild. At others, he got the impression that a playoff berth took precedence.
So, yes, Hoiberg underperformed, and to the point where a different voice needed to be heard. That said, the timing is suspect at best. He could have been given the pink slip before the start of the season, when a fresh perspective would have received the benefit of training camp. Instead, he got it after a predictable swoon borne of injuries to vital cogs had the Bulls scraping the bottom of the barrel. In his place is erstwhile assistant Jim Boylen, who, at the very least, can count on a healthy foundation-for-the-future Lauri Markkanen from here on.
In any case, the Bulls don’t look headed anywhere else but the lottery. In firing Hoiberg, Paxson, and Forman gave the impression that they’re out to win. Indeed. Everyone should be. The question is when, and if they know what’s good for the cause, it should be then and there and not here and now. Given the utter dominance of the usual suspects, the middle is precisely where they don’t want to find themselves in. And yet the middle is where they seem to be casting moist eyes on. Too bad.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

Refreshed, re-imagined:Bentley Manila showroom opens in BGC

Text and photos by Kap Maceda Aguila

A CAR showroom isn’t, and shouldn’t be, solely about selling cars, and premium luxury marque Bentley Motors subscribes to this way of thinking.
Averred Bentley Manila managing director Christopher Chan: “The brand is not just about cars… It’s also a lifestyle, and our showroom should mirror that lifestyle through a comfortable space for customers.”
Concurred the Bentley Motors Asia Pacific director Katya Zavialova: “The showroom should draw you in to spend time with the brand.”
Carving out a reputation for both opulence and heightened performance since its inception in 1919, Bentley has always looked after all facets of its image which, again, extends beyond the actual vehicles the company makes. “Through the years, the brand has epitomized luxury, innovation and excellence. In keeping with these values, the world-class showroom bears sophisticated design and effortless elegance, showcasing a space with a bespoke and uniquely British feel,” said the company in a news release.
Bentley’s new Manila showroom in Bonifacio Global City is bright and inviting — illuminated by sunlight filtering through its glass walls. It is cool and comfortable within the 250-square-meter-plus space, which can accommodate three cars. Bentley Manila also showcases the re-imagined corporate identity initiated by the brand two years ago, and which it rolled out starting 2017.
“Before, there used to be a lot of wood,” explained Ms. Zavialova to BusinessWorld. “We’d have wooden floors, green walls, green furniture… It just needed a refresh or uplift.” There’s nothing facetious about the facelift either, as the executive maintained it’s about “taking the brand into the 21st century.” At the “configuration area” is a white round table with four swivel chairs. Swatches of leather and other materials adorn a white display panel, while a flat-screen TV hangs from a light-hued wooden panel. Adjacent to this space is a lounge which allows the customers to do some reading while perhaps sipping on some coffee or even whisky. A wood-framed cabinet displays Bentley lifestyle items such as branded shirts, jackets, caps, luggage, and other paraphernalia.
As one would correctly guess, this deliberate refresh means relevancy to a new generation of wealthy, discriminating and younger car buyers — which actually reflects not only a planned direction, but one which is already happening.
Bentley is not averse to the use of technology when it can enhance the experience. For instance, tablets have made their way onto the scene of the point of sale. Again, change doesn’t come for its own sake. There’s always good reason and rational thinking behind it.
What makes a Bentley a Bentley will never be sacrificed — such as the tactile experience afforded its customers in pursuit of customized perfection. “Traditional Bentley comes in via a bespoke configuration area which is regularly updated to make sure we showcase all our samples. The digital aspect is in using the configurator, although [we want to make it about] touching, feeling, smelling,” underscored Ms. Zavialova.
NEW CONTINENTAL GT CONVERTIBLE
Meanwhile, Bentley last week took the wraps off the all-new Continental GT Convertible, which further bolsters its reputation for designing and producing much-coveted grand tourers. Said Bentley Motors chairman and chief executive Adrian Hallmark in a news release: “We have been building luxury Grand Tourers since the company was founded in 1919 and, as we approach our centenary year, the Continental GT Convertible joins a highly acclaimed range — arguably the strongest and most technologically advanced portfolio of products the world has ever seen in one luxury brand.”
Powered by a 6.0-liter W12 engine mated to a dual-clutch eight-speed transmission, the convertible accesses 626hp and 900Nm to post a standstill-to-100kph time of 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 333kph.
The British automaker revealed the tailored convertible roof can be deployed or stowed in just 19 seconds even with the car moving at speeds of up to 50kph. “This transforms the Continental GT Convertible from a luxurious coupe into an open-top grand tourer at the touch of a button. Seven different fabric hood colors are available, including an authentic tweed finish for the first time.”
The vehicle introduces new features within, such as a more advanced, fully digital, driver-focused instrument panel and Bentley Rotating Display — the latter predicated on a 12.3-inch touch screen housed in a three-sided unit, which revolves from pure veneer to reveal either a touch screen or three analog dials.
Mr. Chan anticipates the Continental GT Convertible to be available locally late in the third quarter of 2019.

This is the new Porsche 911

WHILE there were not many details supplied regarding the eighth-generation Porsche 911 — the 992 — which was introduced at the ongoing Los Angeles Auto Show, information made available points to a more powerful and “digitized” car. This means that complementing the new 911’s expectedly evolutionary styling are major changes beneath the sheet metal. Here are key features of the 992:
• Porsche Communication Management now has a 10,9-inch touch screen panel integrated into the dashboard, evoking the instrument layout of 911s from the 1970s.
• Online navigation feature of Porsche Communication Management relies on swarm data.
• “Road Trip” app provides information on curated routes, hotel and restaurant recommendations, and points of interest; “360+” app functions as a personal lifestyle assistant to 911 owners; “Impact” app calculates the financial contributions that Porsche customers can pay internationally certified eco-preservation projects — wind, hydro and solar power, and forest protection among them — to offset their CO2 footprint.
• Wet mode comes as standard. The function detects water on the road, preconditions control systems, and warns the driver about it. The warning and brake assist systems also detect potential collisions with moving objects and initiate emergency braking if necessary.
Porsche 911 2
• Night Vision Assist uses a thermal imaging camera to assist the driver when visibility is poor.
• Adaptive cruise control can keep the car’s distance from the vehicle it is following. It works in stop-and-go traffic, too.
• A front end that’s 45 millimeters wider, door handles that pop out electrically (but remain flush when not needed), deep recess between LED headlamps that evoke early 911s, a wide variable-position rear spoiler, and a full-width light bar define a redesigned body that’s mostly made up of aluminum.
• Wider wheel housings arch over the 20-inch front wheels and 21-inch rear wheels.
• Carrera S and all-wheel drive Carrera 4S propelled by turbocharged flat-six engine that makes 30hp more — or 444hp — than that in the 991.2 which the 992 replaced. Credit here goes to better injectors and a revised layout for the turbocharger. The engine is matched to an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.