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WESM operator wants to impose fixed market fee

THE operator of the country’s wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) is asking regulatory approval for a fixed market fee charge amounting to P0.0135 per kilowatt-hour (/kWh) to be used for its operations as well as those of its governance arm.
In its application with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines, Inc. (IEMOP) said the fee is to be shared with the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC), which will get P0.00414/kWh or 30.67% of the total.
The remaining 69.33% or P0.00936/kWh will be the share of IEMOP. The fixed market fee will cover the entities’ budgetary requirements.
“This will provide better certainty in terms of availability of funds for intended programs and projects, as well as some degree of flexibility, to be better equipped to face the challenges of a highly dynamic electricity market,” the market operator said.
“A fixed market fee charge is likewise beneficial to the stakeholders, as it enables them to consider such charge in their financial planning and promote efficiency in their operations, particularly on the aspect of spending, which will ultimately benefit the consumers,” it added.
IEMOP said the fee was calculated based on the projected generation metered quantities for 2019 for Luzon and Visayas generation companies, and the aggregate projected budgetary requirements of PEMC and IEMOP for next year.
The entities are projecting a budget of P1,116,620,000 for 2019 to cover, among others, personnel services, maintenance and other operating expenses, capital expenditures and project enhancements. Of the amount, IEMOP accounts for P774.17 million while PEMC’s share is P342.45 million.
The fixed market fee charge is to be imposed on all power generation companies registered in the WESM based on their actual generation in kilowatt-hours.
IEMOP, a non-profit, non-stock corporation, said the filing of its application is pursuant to Sec. 30 of Republic Act No. 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA). The provision states that the “cost of administering and operating the wholesale electricity spot market shall be recovered by the market operator through a charge imposed on all members,” provided that such charge is filed and approved by the ERC.
The market operator likened its application to ERC’s approval of rate-based applications, particularly of private utilities and electric cooperatives, where price and rate caps are imposed which consider the recovery of efficient expenditure and appropriate returns, as well as incentives for good performance.
“These are translated to fixed rates that are charged to their respective customers or customer classes for a defined regulatory period,” it said. — Victor V. Saulon

RFM earnings rise in Q3 on strong sales

RFM CORP. grew its attributable profit by 10% during the third quarter of 2018, as the strong sales of its ice cream, pasta, milk, and flour managed to offset the higher prices of raw materials during the period.
In a regulatory filing posted after trading hours on Friday, the listed firm reported a net income attributable to the parent of P232 million from July to September, higher than the P210 million posted in the same period a year ago. The uptick followed a 10% rise in net revenues to P3.49 billion during the quarter.
This pushed RFM’s attributable profit to P757 million for the nine months ending September, 5.43% higher year-on-year, driven by an 11.21% increase in revenues to P9.8 billion for the period. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) meanwhile rose by 8.57% to P1.37 billion.
The nine-month performance translates to an earnings per share of 2.17 centavos, higher than last year’s 2.06 centavos.
The Concepcion-led company attributed the higher sales to its flagship brands: Selecta for ice cream and milk, Fiesta and Royal for pasta, and White King for mixes. It noted that the combined sales from the three brands improved by 11% during the nine-month period, while institutional sales of flour and buns went up by eight percent.
RFM’s other products include Sunkist Orange Pulp and Vitwater.
“The strong topline growth was able to offset largely the impact of higher raw material costs and softening prices of flour,” RFM President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Ma. A. Concepcion III said in the filing.
RFM’s flour business has been affected by the weakening peso, as it imports the wheat it uses to make flour from the United States, Canada, and Australia, among others. The company said last July that it is investing P240 million to enhance the quality of flour it produces to offset further price pressures.
The food and beverage firm is also strengthening its ice cream business, investing P1.1 billion to expand its current capacity. The investment is expected to support the growing demand for more ice cream over the next four years.
It is also deploying more freezers in sari-sari stores and local groceries to bring the Selecta brand closer to more Filipinos.
Given RFM’s nine-month performance, Mr. Concepcion said they expect to achieve double-digit growth in terms of revenues for full-year 2018, while net income could grow by single digit. The company is banking on the start of the midterm election period, as well as the boost in sales during the Christmas holiday.
Incorporated in 1957, RFM also engages in non-food businesses, including barging services and leasing of commercial or office spaces for its operating divisions.
Shares in RFM were unchanged at P4.79 each at the stock exchange on Friday. — Arra B. Francia

Nothing in life is permanent, not even dermal fillers

WE LOOK for evidence of the passage of time in clocks and calendars, but we really need look no further than at our own faces in the mirror. Every passing day is etched onto our faces, seen in fine lines and wrinkles. But while we cannot reverse time, as of yet, we can at least reverse its effects on our faces through the use of dermal fillers.
Earlier this month, Merz Pharma, the international health care company that deals in technologies used in aesthetics and dermatology, held a talk on dermal fillers. A panel made up of doctors Wilson Ho, Gio Dimayuga, Gerald Sy, and Gaile Robredo Vitas talked to dispel some myths about dermal fillers and to educate possible consumers on risks of the procedure.
At its core, the procedure is easy. Deficiencies on the face’s structure, such as gaunt, sagging cheeks, can be remedied by injecting a substance into them. Aside from filling in cavities, the procedure has been used to enhance features such as lips, the cheekbones, and the nose. Unfortunately, potential end-users have seen depictions in popular culture of people who have had too much work done, resulting in puffed-up, swollen features. Dr. Ho credits these botched jobs to the use of permanent fillers, that are sometimes made with unsafe substances such as paraffin, oil, or even cement.
The doctors on the panel collectively advocated the use of dermal fillers made of hyalauronic acid (HA) and calcium hydroxylapatite (CHA), which Merz produces. According to Dr. Ho, hyalauronic acid is naturally occuring within the body, found in tissues with one of its functions being to lock in water within the body. As for calcium hydroxylapatite, it is a naturally occuring mineral, found, for example, in bones and teeth.
Dr. Vitas said that different fillers are used for different purposes. “It depends on where you want to put it,” she said. Most of her patients, she said, elect to have fillers placed in their lips, chin, and nose, with some men opting to have them placed on their jawlines to create a more powerful and masculine jaw. For the lips, she said, “You don’t want a filler that’s too hard, or too bumpy, and lumpy.”
For other parts of the face, something more robust is needed. She then points out that she has fillers in her own face: on her temples and mid-cheeks. “Good fillers, when done correctly, on the right patient, by the right doctor, will look very natural.”
Dr. Ho then pointed out the same fillers in his own face; they were used on his temples, tear troughs, cheeks, and chin. He talked about how the procedure can be very simple, if done correctly. “Go run… go to kiss your boyfriend. No problem. Drink wine,” he said of the things that you can do after what he calls a “lunchtime” procedure.
But before you go rushing out to have your face filled, bear in mind that these procedures need to be done correctly, and by a professional.
CHA and HA fillers will last for about 12 to 18 months. The doctors say that the substances can also work as a collagen stimulant, so the next time one doesn’t need to fill the cavity with the same amount. It’s the excess filling that leads to the puffed-up face that becomes the butt of jokes about botched-up procedures.
Another thing one needs to watch out for is the promise of permanence. Earlier procedures — and by early, we mean the 1800s — promised users permanent effects with the injection of paraffin and silicone into the body, leading to complications in the long run. Such promises are outdated, and Dr. Ho reminds us: “Permanent filler, permanent problem.” In life and in the body, change is constant, and putting something hard, rigid, and potentially harmful into your face is perhaps tantamount to going through life with emotional baggage. Weight loss and weight gain would look awkward next to permanently puffed-up lips and cheeks, just like how a bad memory can alter otherwise good circumstances.
“The thing is — what kind of thing in your life is permanent?” Dr. Ho argued. “Nothing is permanent.” — Joseph L. Garcia

Melissa to release extensive new collection in 3 batches


DIFFERENT activities require different footwear and the shoes not only have to be comfortable but stylish too. This month Melissa launched the Melissa Family collection, a wide range of shoe styles for various lifestyles — and in this case, the shoes are not just comfortable and stylish, but sustainable, waterproof, and fragrant too.
The entire collection will be released in batches until February 2019.
Established in Brazil in 1979, Melissa uses Melflex, its flexible and hypo-allergenic patented technology, on staples designs such as sandals, flats, sneakers, and heels.
“We talk about family, but we want to secure the essence of Melissa’s DNA inspired by three moods: nostalgia, crew & the cool, and the diverse ’90s,” Joy Cortez-Dauz, brand manager of Tykes Trading, Inc., Melissa’s exclusive distributor in the Philippines, was quoted as saying in a press release. “Through this collection, Melissa Philippines hopes customers experience and establish this connection with our new releases.”
The collection includes the Melissa Lance which are bicolor ballerina flats; the Melissa Slim Sandals which are sling-back sandals adorned with bows; and the Melissa Ugly Sneaker which was inspired by the chunky shoes popularized in the 1990s. In addition, designer Jason Wu showcases a new style with the Melissa Kate, ballerina flats designed for warm weather; and strap sandals called the Melissa Hailey.
Aside from the new shoe styles, Melissa will be launching tote bags and backpacks in monochrome and nude colors in November.
“We saw the category of women who collect shoes and bags. We might as well enter into the category where we can tap both (markets),” Ms. Dauz told BusinessWorld, shortly after the collection’s launch on Oct. 24 at the Manila House Private Club in BGC, Taguig city. “The thought is for them to wear the shoe and pair it with the bag.”
Ms. Dauz said that the store’s signature sweet smell has always been part of bringing back the nostalgic atmosphere.
“When you think back to candy scents, you think of your childhood. That’s what we try to imbibe in our shoes. When you smell bubblegum, you smell candy. Hopefully we bring back those memories,” she said.
For information, visit www.melissaphilippines.com. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

PSE to introduce app for local small investors

THE Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) will be launching a mobile application to maximize participation from local small investors during initial public offerings (IPOs) by December, according to a top official.
PSE Chief Operating Officer Roel A. Refran said the app will make sure local small investors can fully exercise the 10% allocation they have for IPOs.
PSE’s listing rules state that at least 10% of the entire IPO should be allotted to local small investors. Issuers must also prioritize subscriptions for this group.
“We’re already testing that this month. By December, I’ll be happy to show it to you… This is for IPOs only,” Mr. Refran told reporters on the sidelines of a forum in Makati on Oct. 19.
Mr. Refran said the app will be available for use by next year, since no companies are expected to brave the market until the end of the year.
With the app, investors can submit their subscription forms for IPOs. The PSE is also working on automating the payment process. For now, investors will still have to pay through banks and present a reference number generated by the app.
The mobile app is in line with the PSE’s efforts to encourage more participation from small investors, which could further boost market liquidity. In September, the bourse operator secured approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to amend the Consolidated Listing and Disclosure Rules, increasing the maximum subscription of local small investors to P100,000 from just P25,000 previously.
The revised rules will also allow the PSE to increase local small investors’ subscription cap for IPOs exceeding P5 billion. The “clawback” or “clawforward” mechanism can also be applied in the event of over or under-subscription in their 10% allocation.
The PSE has also ordered issuers to provide an appropriate distribution mechanism to support the participation of small investors nationwide.
In a separate memorandum earlier this month, the PSE also ordered companies seeking to conduct a follow-on offering to provide a price range — instead of the current practice of indicating only the maximum price — to better guide small investors on the possible changes in the final offer price.
“The objective of the Exchange is to protect small investors by informing them that pending final determination of the offer price, they should be guided by the disclosed price range in any transaction prior to the price-setting date,” the PSE said.
The PSE’s Stock Market Investor Profile showed that less than one percent of the country’s population invest in the stock market, counting only 868,810 stock market accounts in 2017, albeit rising by 12.4% from year-ago figures. Retail and institutional accounts accounted for 96.9% and 3.1%, respectively.
The PSE said it is conducting more market education initiatives to encourage both local and foreign individuals to invest in equities. — Arra B. Francia

Davao chocolate makers target int’l trade shows

By Maya M. Padillo and Carmencita A. Carillo
Correspondents
DAVAO CITY — The recently-concluded 5th Davao Chocolate Festival saw a growing number of chocolate makers preparing to raise the industry’s profile in international trade shows.
“We will start here with the Davao Chocolate Fest, then we will go Pacific and the international chocolate festivals. We want them to partner,” Val D. Turtur, executive director of the Cacao Industry Development Association of Mindanao (CIDAMI), said in an interview.
Mr. Turtur said the industry is aiming to eventually join the Salon du Chocolat, the biggest annual trade fair of the global chocolate industry.
There are currently almost 100 chocolate makers in the Davao Region, mainly in Davao City, composed of small home-based enterprises, medium-sized firms and corporations.
Among the most successful and well-known brands is Malagos by the Puentespina Group of Companies, which is both a cacao producer and chocolate maker.
Its chocolate products have won several international awards while its cacao beans were recognized as one of the best 50 in the world out of 166 entries at the 2017 edition of the Cocoa Excellence Programme in France.
Mr. Turtur said the sector’s growth has been driven by an increasing demand for chocolates in the domestic market.
“Its not just the Europeans or Americans, but also Filipinos, especially Davaoeños,” he said.
The Davao Chocolate Festival, held at SM City Ecoland the weekend of Oct. 19 right after the Kakao Konek 2018, gathered cacao growers, chocolate processors, and chocolate artisans.
“We are happy to see familiar faces as well as new ones as we launched this year’s edition of choco fest. This has become one of the most anticipated celebrations by our shoppers, partners, and friends in the community,” said Maria Lynette Angala-Lopez, SM City Davao manager.
Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has declared Davao City the chocolate capital of the country and Senator Cynthia A. Villar, chair of the chamber’s committee on agriculture, has committed to support Davao’s declaration through legislation.
“Hopefully the (joint) resolution will be approved. Sen. Villar has not given us a time line, but she said she will do her best to have the resolution approved within this year,” Mr. Turtur said.
He said the growth of the chocolate sector is good for the cacao industry because demand prods farmers to increase production.
At the Kakao Konek, the yearly convention of the cacao industry, Ms. Villar encouraged growers to venture into agri-tourism and develop a training center while working on better farm productivity.
“On top of improving their production, maybe cacao farmers can also venture into agri-entrepreneurship, agri-tourism and agri-related training by establishing their own farm school or learning center, specializing in cacao,” Ms. Villar said.
She noted that there is a big opportunity for the industry with global demand for cocoa products expected to reach between 4.7 million to 5 million metric tons (MT) by 2020 while the supply shortfall is projected at one million MT.
“If we want to supply the gap in the global demand, the industry should meet the Department of Agriculture’s goal of increasing production by 40% to 100,000 MT of dried cacao beans by 2022,” she said.
At the same time, Ms. Villar did acknowledge that current production levels of about 10,000 MT are not sufficient to meet domestic demand.
“Farmers have to strengthen the local cacao industry first before the industry can aspire to become regionally and globally competitive,” she said.

A US collector is selling 20,000 dresses as a vintage market booms


COUTURE COLLECTOR Keni Valenti got his start in fashion in the late 1970s, after being fired as a busboy at Studio 54 in New York. “I’m fired from there, I go down to the Mudd Club, I take a quaalude and have some drinks, and I wake up locked in a cage with a crazy woman in roller skates and petticoats,” he recalls. “Her name is Betsey Johnson, and she says, ‘Come home with me, I’m starting my own label and I want you to help me.”
From there, Valenti became a designer, stylist, and ultimately a collector of vintage fashion — nearly 20,000 pieces in total, he says. He used the archive as a resource for designers to comb through, and models and socialites could borrow the dresses (or rent them.) Clients have included Celine Dion, Kate Moss, and Victoria Beckham. “I’m not a vintage dealer, I’m a fashion extravaganza,” he says.
That might sound like hype, but Valenti, who turned 60 in August, has spent the last decade doing everything he can to elevate fashion beyond its status as mere apparel.
In a move that he says was the brainchild of the late art dealer Holly Solomon, Valenti opened up a “fashion gallery” in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood in 2011 in an attempt to position his clothes as actual artwork. “We put the clothes on mannequins and sold them as art,” he says. “I told people they can put them in their living room, or put them in plexiglass on display.”
Eventually, he converted the project into a 501(c)3, which he says was exhausting. In 2015, Valenti bought a house in Joshua Tree, Calif., intending to move his entire collection to California and start anew.
But in yet another turn of fate, Valenti was contacted by the online retailer Bluefly.com, which asked if he’d be willing to put his entire collection up for sale. “I said, ‘Hey, it’s time to share it with the world,’” he says, and so the sale kicked off last week with an online offering of more than 200 items and an “exhibition” of the clothes at Phillips auction house in New York. If it goes well, he’ll continue selling the remainder of the 20,000 in batches.
“I’m pricing it all to sell,” he says of the clothes, which include a $695 beige Halston caftan, a 1980s-era dress by Yves Saint Laurent on sale for $3,200, and a $3,500 evening gown by Givenchy. “We’re testing the waters.”
A VINTAGE SURGE
Coincidentally or not, the sale of Valenti’s collection coincides with a surge in vintage apparel sales. In the past four years, prices per lot in the vintage apparel category have increased by more than 100%, according to data provided by Invaluable.com, the digital platform that represents more than 5,000 bricks-and-mortar auction houses.
“From 2014 to 2017, we’ve seen staggering growth in the sale of designer fashions offered on the Invaluable platform,” says Andrew Gully, Invaluable’s director of communications. In that period, total lots offered by auction houses using Invaluable’s platform were up more than 180%, and the total hammer price was up by a stunning 400%.
This year, Gully says, the total hammer is up a further 26% over 2017, and “there are two traditionally high-volume months remaining.”
INVESTMENT POTENTIAL
Valenti, for his part, has a narrower view of the market, given that he’s operating (largely) at the highest end. At that tier, regular buyers have to compete with all of the fashion brands, which are “creating their own museums,” he says.
“And then you have celebrities like Kate Moss. I said [to her]: ‘You have all the money in the world and every designer who will make you clothing; why would you want to wear vintage? What’s wrong with you?’” says Valenti. “And she said, ‘I can’t wear new clothes, because if, for instance, I wear Dior, then the people at Givenchy will hate me. So I’d rather wear vintage.”
Even so, Valenti cautions that the brands that are current are the same as the vintage brands that are doing well. Vintage Balenciaga sells for a lot of money, as does vintage Chanel, and so does vintage Gucci (“This whole Gucci thing is hilarious,” he says of the recent Gucci boom), but vintage Bill Blass doesn’t fare nearly as well. “A Bill Blass suit from the 1980s that I could have sold in the 1990s for $1,800 will now only command $1,000,” Valenti says. “No one knows what it is — people forget.”
Extrapolating from that, Valenti says that the investment-potential fashion items deviate based, well, on fashion. “It’s all up and down, depending on the pendulum of fashion,” he says.
For Valenti, all the sales on Bluefly could very well represent a significant return on investment. “I’ve found stuff on garbage cans in New York,” he says. “I don’t know if people still do it today, but people would put clothing on tops of garbage cans for people in need — I found a Balenciaga evening gown in Chelsea that way.”
Valenti also bought in more traditional places — sample sales, from designers’ studios, and so forth — but he seems to relish the truly unusual finds. “I found a Chanel suit under a bridge in Fort Lauderdale, where a bunch of people were selling stuff on blankets,” he says. “You never know.” — Bloomberg

Trader expects self-sufficiency in coffee crop to be possible soon

HENRY & SONS, a coffee trader, said that it expects self-sufficiency to be possible in the Philippine coffee market as the industry strives to improve both volume and quality.
In an e-mail interview, Henry & Sons president and chief executive officer Michael Harris Conlin said: “In the next five years, we see the local coffee industry engrossed with increasing not just the quantity but the bean quality as well. There is a current push for expanding our research into coffee planting, harvesting and processing with the goal of further elevating the flavor and quality of our coffee produce.”
“The country’s self-sufficiency in coffee is, for us, the ultimate dream, and if we work our hardest, we’re positive it can come to fruition in the nearest possible future. It helps to remember that we were once a major producer in Asia, exporting as much as $100 million worth of coffee beans annually. If not for the problems besetting our producers then, we would not have lost our niche in the global market,” Mr. Conlin added.
Henry & Sons launched the Foundation for Sustainable Coffee Excellence (FSCE) in November 2016. FSCE aims to improve the coffee industry’s quality standards to make it once again a prominent source of quality beans.
Among FSCE’s programs is the Beans within Reach program which seeks to encourage farmers to produce a better-quality bean by matching them with global buyers.
Another program is the Cup to Seed which funds livelihood programs and post-harvest facilities. For youth training and educational assistance toward the youth, FSCE’s corresponding program is called Coffee for Great Minds.
“We want to be able to support a methodology that is science-based yet practical for farmers to apply. Our aim is for this methodology to be publicly-available, launched, campaigned, and passed on to Filipino farmers on a nationwide scale so that farmers, their families, and coffee businesses can benefit from it. This is in support of our goal to strengthen current agricultural practices and bridge the gap whenever necessary,” Mr. Conlin said.
“Our programs have us working closely with the farmers. We’re here to show and convince them that the better they take care of their trees and their processing of the beans, the higher the price they can command. This is their, and our ticket to getting into the international market,” Mr. Conlin said.
Mr. Conlin noted that Benguet is one of the best places to grow Arabica coffee in the country because of its high elevation.
“We remain hopeful that coffee producers will have mastered practices that help them yield crops with better cup scores in five years’ time. The industry could also benefit from having these systems replicated on a wider scale,” Mr. Conlin said.
According to Mr. Conlin, Henry & Sons sees a higher need for knowledge and technical training all through the production chain from farm to barista.
“Education and skills training will be at the forefront as these are your first consumer point of contact. If new improvements in the beans are not translated into a good cup, quality suffers when it reaches that part of the service cycle. The accessibility of tools coupled with a desire to innovate will surely allow coffee businesses to expand their coffee experiences and direct it towards promoting Filipino coffee, making it more world-recognized,” Mr. Conlin said.
“Innovating from a farmer’s standpoint, improving from the ground up, is the kind of direction we need to take as this will be most beneficial not only to the farming communities but to the front-end barista profession. As for business performance, we predict favorable outcomes and continued prosperity in the coming years not only because of our commitment to quality and the sustainable practices we put in place, but also because of the positive returns granted by the progressive impact our advocacies helped generate in the local coffee trade,” he added.
Henry & Sons backs The Giving Cafe, a coffee shop where proceeds help the coffee growing communities of La Trinidad to promote sustainable farming. The company will soon launch its food and beverage pop-up Giving Cart at a Metro Manila train station, Mr. Conlin said. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

Megawide Construction Corp.

By Jochebed B. Gonzales
Senior Researcher
SHARES of Megawide Construction Corp. continued seeing demand last week as the company carries out its P2-billion buyback program, which according to traders, boosted investor confidence on the stock.
A total of 27.43 million Megawide shares worth P477.62 million were traded at the exchange last week from Oct. 22-26, data from the Philippine Stock Exchange showed.
Megawide shares closed at P17.58 apiece on Friday, up 3.5% week on week. Year to date, they were down by 1.8% from the Jan. 3 closing price of P17.90.
“The company is accumulating its shares. If you notice, the price of MWIDE (Megawide’s ticker symbol) shares came from a low of P14.02 each early this month to where it is now, at the P17-level,” said Jeng T. Calma, trader at A&A Securities, Inc., as she attributed the rise in the company’s stock price to the buyback.
“From an investor’s point of view, the buyback means the company is supporting its stock. That gives confidence to the investor,” Ms. Calma added.
“The buyback is a huge boost to investor confidence,” UPCC Securities Corp. equities trader Aristotle D. Reyes, Jr. said in agreement.
“The primary reason for the buyback is that the price is already cheap and the company wants to make the most out of it, but it also shows the company’s concern for investors and its stock price,” he said, noting the buyback helps stabilize the price of Megawide shares amid a sell-off sentiment in the listed market.
In its latest disclosure, Megawide said it bought back 20.39 million shares at P16.76 apiece on Oct. 23. The company has appropriated P2 billion for its buyback program.
Fundamentally, Mr. Reyes noted that apart from the usual construction business, new recurring revenue streams were added to Megawide’s portfolio such the operations and maintenance of government projects.
“This gives MWIDE steady income along the way, unlike construction business income which is volatile and cyclical,” he said.
Last July, GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. — a joint-venture between Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure Ltd. and Megawide — opened a second terminal at the Mactan Cebu International Airport, which caters solely to international flight carriers.
Meanwhile, the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) — operated by MWM Terminals, Inc., a consortium between Megawide and WM Property Management, Inc. — is scheduled for inauguration on Nov. 5.
The country’s first “landport” is expected to improve passenger movement between Metro Manila and Cavite by connecting buses, taxis, jeepneys, and in the future, the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) South Extension, in one portal.
“Right now investors are thinking what’s next for MWIDE… [Although] we need to see first the performance of PITX,” said UPCC Securities’ Mr. Reyes. “But since it’s a government project, most likely it will give huge income.”
He also said trading volume at the exchange was weak due to lack of catalysts. Still, there’s demand for Megawide, Mr. Reyes said.
“For MWIDE, it’s quite healthy. There’s net foreign buying for [four] consecutive days. Maybe because of the PITX opening, they’re speculating it’s a very good addition to the company.”
Mr. Reyes pegged Megawide’s support and resistance at P17 and P18, respectively.
A&A Securities Ms. Calma gave Megawide’s support at P16 and resistance, at P18.

The gift of health


HEALTHY OPTIONS has launched its annual holiday collection — themed “A Christmas Story” — which features five grocery packages, new personal care products, and a selection of customizable gift sets.
The collection is divided into three sets: Gifts of Christmas Past, Gifts of Christmas Present, and Gifts of Christmas Yet to Come.
The Gifts of Christmas Past consists of five packages: a gourmet basket with an assortment of beverages, snacks, and cooking ingredients; the family feast gift box which includes easy-to-cook food items; the gluten-free gift box which contains 13 gluten-free products; the vitality gift box which contains high-fiber and high-protein food items; and the low-sodium gift box with low-sodium snacks, beverages, and grains and mixes.
Personal care products — all of which are new releases for the holiday season — are offered as part of the Gifts of Christmas Present. These include Giovanni travel kits with volumizing and moisturizing hair and body products; Giovanni Ultra-moist hydrating shampoo, conditioner, and body wash; Makes 3 Organics soaps and body balm; and Derma-E body care which are cruelty-free hair and skincare products.
For a personalized gift, Gifts of Christmas Yet to Come provides a selection of sparking grape juices, non-alcoholic wines, organic wines, tea and biscuits, nuts and trailmixes, chips and crackers, chocolates and cookies, pasta and sauces, and beauty products which can be mixed and matched.
Healthy Options Director of Brand Marketing Pam So-Suarez told BusinessWorld at the launch on Oct. 18 at the Shangri-la Plaza mall branch that the products, which are sourced from abroad, are divided into packages which are made to suit preferences of their different customer segments.
Aside from the gift packages, limited edition wicker basket hampers and the gift cards with denominations of P500 and P1,000 are also for sale.
For Ms. Suarez, what makes the gift special is the giver is thinking of the recipient’s well-being. “You can receive a box from somewhere else, but I don’t think it has the same kind of message. That’s the best gift that you can give — the gift of health,” she said.
Healthy Option’s A Christmas Story collection is available starting November. For information, visit www.healthyoptions.com.ph. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Max’s to open 3 stores in Visayas before end-2018

DAVAO CITY — Max’s Group, Inc. (MGI) is opening three new Max’s restaurants in the Visayas before the end of the year as part of its expansion outside Metro Manila.
Arianne Ross B. Pombo, MGI trade marketing manager for Visayas and Mindanao, said the new branches will be in Robinsons Galleria in Iloilo City, Robinsons Galleria in Cebu City, and SM Ormoc City.
“Nationwide, there are 196 active stores and we still have store openings for the rest of the year,” Ms. Pombo said in an interview during the launch of Max’s new product, the spicy fried chicken, at SM Lanang Premier here.
For Mindanao, she said expansion plans are still being assessed.
“In Mindanao, I can’t say yet if there will be new openings (soon)… still in the pipeline,” she said, adding that Max’s Restaurants in Mindanao “are doing well.”
There are currently eight branches in Mindanao consisting of two in Davao City, and one each in the cities of Zamboanga, Butuan, Tagum, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, and Pagadian.
MGI, which also owns other restaurant brands such as Pancake House, Yellow Cab Pizza, Krispy Kreme, Jamba Juice, Teriyaki Boy, and Dencio’s, opened 21 new stores in the first six months this year. — Maya M. Padillo

Mapping technology seen helping PCA improve tree count

THE Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) is seeking to adopt mapping technology to improve its estimates of coconut production per region.
“We’re trying to develop a proposal to be able to provide all the coconut farmers and producers, a map of the tree count in a given area to facilitate regional comparisons,” Department of Agriculture (DA) Minimum Access Volume (MAV) Secretariat Executive Director Clint D. Hassan said in an interview.
Mr. Hassan was initially designated as DA’s Director for Information and Communications Technology Service by President Rodrigo R. Duterte, but was transferred to the MAV department in early October.
Mr. Hassan said that the problem with not having an actual count of coconut trees is unreliable data.
“Lots of people are complaining about the low copra price, but the farmer is not assess the market for whole nuts and fruit,” Mr. Hassan said.
According to Mr. Hassan, when PCA was separated from the DA by order of President Benigno C. Aquino III, the agency lost its technological support.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol has said that he wants to revive the coconut and rubber industries via livelihood and loan programs to farmers affected by low market prices.
“The livelihood programs could include processing husks into materials for Greenhouse Farming which needs a lot of coco coir and coconut shells processed into charcoal briquettes or other industrial uses,” Mr. Piñol said in a social media post.
“What is needed to intensify coco coir production for export is the establishment of processing facilities and disinfection equipment like an irradiation machine which only the government can afford,” according to Mr. Piñol.
Mr. Piñol has also instructed the PCA to draft a five-year road map to rehabilitate and revive the industry which has been hit by low copra prices, delays in the implementation of the replanting program and the failure to explore other income opportunities in the coconut industry. The PCA was also instructed to allocate P10 million for the drafting of the Coconut Industry Road Map, for the benefit of an estimated of 25 million people directly and indirectly depending on the industry for livelihood. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

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