PSE looking into delisting PTT

September 4, 2018 | 12:03 am

THE Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) is looking at possibly removing Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (PTT) from the roster of firms listed on the local stock market, following the company’s repeated violation of disclosure rules.
The bourse operator said in a statement on Monday that the telco operator has yet to comply with structured filings since 2004, which includes quarterly and audited annual financial reports.
In addition, the PSE cited several instances when PTT did not adhere to the timely disclosure of material information, such as failure to disclose issuance of shares to three companies, penalties imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as legal proceedings regarding corporate rehabilitation.
“It seems that the Exchange’s disclosure rules were blatantly disregarded by PTT. Our team is now evaluating if these multiple disclosure violations warrant the delisting of PTT from the roster of listed firms of PSE,” PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Monzon said in a statement.
The PSE’s statement was in response to PTT officials’ pronouncements last week, where PTT Chief Operations Officer Miguel Marco A. Bitanga said the PSE should lift the trading suspension implemented on the company’s shares since Dec. 4, 2009.
“Whether from a perspective of compliance to the PSE or based on purely economic/market driven benefits, there should be no reason why the company should be prevented from bringing the publicly traded shares into play again, and eventually raising capital to fund future plans, both within and outside of the fixed broadband space,” Mr. Bitanga was previously quoted as saying.
The PSE, however, stands firm that PTT did not comply with such requirements.
“PTT has not submitted compliant structured reports (i.e., quarterly and audited annual reports) since 2004. Accordingly, the company will remain under involuntary trading suspension until it completes its submissions. The company’s declaration in its press release totally surprised us considering we had previously met and informed Mr. Velasquez about these several violations,” Mr. Monzon said, referring to PTT Chief Executive Officer James G. Velasquez.
The PSE has since sent a formal letter to the company informing them of these violations.
“The Exchange has always impressed upon listed companies its rules on fair, accurate, complete, and timely disclosure of material information. This rule applies to all listed firms, even those under trading halts or suspensions,” Mr. Monzon added. — Arra B. Francia

Relationships the focus in the 4th Argentine film fest

September 4, 2018 | 12:02 am

THE MOVIES in this year’s edition of the Argentine Contemporary Cinema will revolve around relationship — family, friends, acquaintances, and dreams that are yet to unfold.
Now of its fourth year at the Film Development Council of the Philippines’s Cinematheque Center Manila at 855 Kalaw Ave, Ermita, Manila, the festival will run from Sept. 6 to 10.
The following films will be screened:
• Showroom, directed by Diego Peretti. The film tells a story of a man whose only goal is to live in a capital city again.
• Inseparables. A relationship arises between Felipe, a multimillionaire, and a young unemployed Tito.
• Vino para robar (To fool a thief). Rival thieves work together on a complex robbery of a bottle of wine.
• Me casé con un boludo (I married a dumbass). The story of actors who fall in love on a film set and immediately get married. After the honeymoon,the actress realizes that she’s married an idiot that she mistook for his fictional character.
• El Ultimo Elvis (The last Elvis). An Elvis impersonator is forced to take care of his daughter and has to choose between his dream of being Elvis and his family.
• Los Guantes Magicos (The magic gloves). A man enters the strange business of importing magic gloves.
The six films will be shown at the Cinematheque Centre Manila, with regional showings at Cinematheque Centre Davao and Iloilo.
For details call (02) 256-9908 loc. 131 or visit www.fdcp.ph, www.facebook.com/FDCP.ph, and www.facebook.com/ArgentinaEnFilipinas.

Mobile app launched for Idesia home owners

September 4, 2018 | 12:02 am

The Hi+ app is for Idesia property owners and buyers.

A PROPERTY company has introduced a one-stop home information portal for home buyers and owners at Idesia Dasmariñas in Cavite.
Idesia Dasmariñas, a joint venture of P.A. Alvarez Properties and Development Corporation and Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Properties Corp., features 900 housing units ranging from single detached homes to townhouses.
The company launched Hi+, a one-stop home information portal, where customers can put information about their Idesia properties. Users can check the app for buyer’s account information, document compliance, payment history and status, construction updates, and occupancy and move-in dates and status.
Users can also chat directly with Idesia Customer Care Representatives regarding any questions or concerns about their units. They can also send the required documents through the app.
The Hi+ app can be downloaded on Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
Targeting starting families and young professionals, Idesia Dasmariñas will have gyms, swimming pools, lounge areas, jogging paths, a basketball court, bike lanes, children’s playground, pocket gardens, WiFi hubs, and other amenities.

FWD Philippines rolls out custom insurance product

September 4, 2018 | 12:02 am

FWD LIFE Insurance Corp. (FWD Philippines) has launched a line of customizable protection plans to better serve the needs of its clients.
In a statement on Monday, FWD Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Grimes said the insurer has rolled out the custom plans named Set for Tomorrow.
“The coverage amount and period can be customized to any personal situation and budget,” Mr. Grimes was quoted as saying in the statement.
“Our aim is to make real and substantial protection accessible to everyone.”
The insurance product has three variants that address the different needs of a family should the unexpected happen.
The Short Term Cover is an “affordable term life plan” that provides life insurance coverage between five and 10 years.
Meanwhile, the Income Protector product ensures families to sustain their lifestyle should the breadwinner pass away.
On the other hand, the Estate Protector is a whole-life plan that provides life insurance coverage until 120 years old.
“Set for Tomorrow caters to Filipinos from 18 to 70 years of age, from young urban professionals to retirees,” Mr. Grimes said. “With very basic social security, many professionals have an enormous protection gap.”
Aside from this, the insurer also launched an online calculator dubbed as “Cali” to guide people in finding the right variant, protection amount, coverage period and payment terms to match their preferences and abilities.
The insurer said the Set for Tomorrow plans are now available through its financial planners. It will also soon be available at Security Bank Corp. branches, FWD Philippines’ bancassurance partner.
FWD Philippines launched its commercial operations in September 2014. Last year, it booked a total premium income of P4.55 billion, almost 50% higher from the premium profit it logged in 2016.
FWD is the insurance business arm of investment group Pacific Century Group and is present in Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Japan. — KANV

2 electric cooperative associations criticize Leviste’s planned microgrids

September 4, 2018 | 12:02 am

By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-editor
TWO of the country’s biggest associations for electric cooperatives have called on the franchise committee of the House of Representatives to think twice before allowing an entity led by Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings, Inc. to build minigrids in popular tourist destinations.
In a statement, National Association of General Managers of Electric Cooperatives (Nagmec) and Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (Philreca) expressed “grave concern” over Solar Philippines’ plan, calling it underhanded and a death sentence to their members.
The associations, through their heads, were reacting to a statement from Solar Philippines President Leandro L. Leviste on his plan to build minigrids in 12 remote towns in the Philippines.
Nagmec and Philreca claimed that Solar Philippines was applying for a national franchise through its minigrid project. They also said the House Committee on Franchises “reportedly scheduled to pass” the franchise for plenary deliberations on Monday (Sept. 3).
Nagmec President Sergio C. Dagooc said Solar Philippines “slyly and wisely chooses these locations in tourism-promoted locales because establishing a power distribution footprint there is always good for public and press relations.”
He said the company’s “underhanded efforts are beginning to bear fruit with the reported impending passage” of the national franchise in the House.
Sought for comment, Mr. Leviste said the microgrids are under a new company he formed called Solar Para sa Bayan, not Solar Philippines.
“Our first operations include towns such as Paluan, Occidental Mindoro; Dumaran, Palawan; Claveria, Masbate; and Calayan, Cagayan; which have been considered so commercially unviable they have not even been served by electric utilities and their requests for service ignored for decades,” he said via e-mail.
Mr. Leviste, whose mother is Senator Loren B. Legarda, said the company is complying with all legal requirements.
“Lastly, it is worth emphasizing that under the Constitution, no franchise shall be exclusive, and the franchises of electric utilities all explicitly state they are non-exclusive. We therefore hope that both private companies and electric cooperatives will join in the common mission of bringing reliable and affordable electricity to the Filipino people who have so long aspired for better service,” Mr. Leviste said.
However, Mr. Dagooc said “any effort on electrification done without government subsidy is not sustainable because the consumers stand to pay the very expensive true cost of electrification.”
He said only the electric cooperatives sustained rural electrification for close to five decades now “because the government subsidized the cost.”
He challenged Solar Philippines and other private entities to prioritize remote, underserved locations first if they were sincere about supplying power to the countryside.
Meanwhile, Philreca President Presley C. De Jesus asked whether the government was being selective and prone to unduly favoring for profit groups in their push to enter the power sector.
“There are existing rules and issuances on electrification that electric coops follow,” Mr. De Jesus said. “Are its rates approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)?”

Skyrocketing London rents attract overseas landlords to housing market

September 4, 2018 | 12:01 am

THE U.K.’s struggle to secure a favorable Brexit deal may be giving Prime Minister Theresa May a headache, but it’s making London’s battered buy-to-let market attractive overseas again.
Foreign-based landlords owned 12% of the homes rented out in the capital at the end of the first half, up from 7% last year, according to a report by Hamptons International. A falling pound has made it cheaper for overseas investors to buy homes using their local currencies, and many have been lured by a red-hot rental market that’s still at record levels.
“I was convinced rents would drop as people fled the U.K. after the Brexit vote — in fact, everyone was expecting Armageddon,” said Agus Marcos Blanco, a 39-year-old pharmacist in Barcelona who shelved plans to purchase a London property immediately after Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016. Now, with rents having stayed buoyant, he’s looking for a buy-to-let investment in the U.K. capital.
It’s not an entirely rosy picture for foreign landlords. By some measures, growth in the rental market has cooled or even declined. According to the latest available data from the Office for National Statistics, rents in the capital slipped 0.3 percent in July from a year earlier.
Falling home values could easily wipe out any rental yields earned by landlords, as Britain’s housing market grapples with the impact of Brexit and rising interest rates. U.K. home prices fell 0.5 percent in August from a month ago, the biggest monthly drop since 2012, Nationwide Building Society said Friday.
Still, the jump in foreign interest is a boon for London’s real estate market as many domestic buyers have turned away after being priced out.
The imbalance between supply and demand in London has pushed average rents to 1,615 pounds ($2,100) a month, according to Homelet, the U.K.’s largest tenant-referencing company. That’s the highest since it began collating the data in 2011 and 72 percent above the country-wide average of 937 pounds per month.
Juan Guerrero, head of foreign-exchange trading at Banca March SA in Madrid, estimates the pound could bounce back as much as 15% against the euro if the U.K. negotiates a successful EU divorce deal. A home worth the London average of 483,000 pounds costs a European buyer 537,500 euros at the current exchange rate, and would be worth around 70,000 euros more after such a rebound.
While the pound has rallied in recent days as the prospect of a no-deal Brexit has appeared to diminish, some forecasts have the U.K. currency sliding toward levels versus the euro last seen in 2009. That would mean rental returns would be worth less when converted back to a landlord’s own currency.
Marcos Blanco, who has bid an undisclosed amount for a two-bedroom apartment in Bow, East London, is undeterred by the prospect of a further drop in sterling. “I think all the negative news has been factored in, and the only way is up,” he said. “Time will tell.” — Bloomberg

Crazy Rich Asians still top of N. America box office

September 4, 2018 | 12:01 am

LOS ANGELES — It has been another crazy good weekend for rom-com Crazy Rich Asians, which topped the box office for a third straight weekend amid a pretty good summer for North American theaters overall, industry watchers said Sunday.
The Warner Bros. film, with its mostly Asian cast, took in an estimated $22.2 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period, dropping just 10% from the previous weekend, box office tracker Exhibitor Relations said.
The film’s estimated take jumps to $28 million when Monday’s Labor Day holiday is included.
The adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s best-selling novel, starring Michelle Yeoh, Henry Golding, and Constance Wu, follows an American economics professor as she meets her super-rich boyfriend’s family in Singapore in a story about the clash of love, family and great wealth.
Crazy Rich also helped boost the summer box office to what Hollywood Reporter called a “spectacular year-over-year recovery,” with domestic revenue expected to be up 14% over last summer.
Warner Bros. meanwhile scored another hit with shark-thriller The Meg, in the No. 2 spot again with takings of $10.5 million. Jason Statham stars as a rescue diver trying to save scientists trapped in a submarine being attacked by a huge, prehistoric shark.
In third spot was Tom Cruise adventure film Mission Impossible — Fallout from Paramount, which took in $7 million. Globally, the action blockbuster has earned $649 million, the best performance of any of the MI films to date.
Fourth went to MGM’s new Operation Finale, at $6 million. Oscar Isaac plays an Israeli Mossad agent who tracks Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann (Ben Kingsley) to the Buenos Aires suburb where he is living under a false name.
And in fifth was Searching from Sony, at $5.7 million. Written and directed by filmmaker Aneesh Chaganty, it tells the story of a Korean-American man’s desperate effort to find his teenage daughter after she goes missing in California. It stars John Cho, Michelle La and Debra Messing.
Rounding out this weekend’s top 10 were: Christopher Robin ($5 million); Alpha ($4.5 million); The Happytime Murders ($4.4 million); BlackkKlansman ($4.1 million); and, Mile 22 ($3.6 million). — AFP

PLDT denies seeking compromise agreement with DoLE

September 4, 2018 | 12:01 am

PLDT, Inc. denied on Monday reports it is seeking a compromise agreement with the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) on its dispute over regularization of employees of the telecommunications giant’s service contractors.
“PLDT has not sought a compromise agreement and is pursuing a fair and just resolution of this case on the basis of the 31 July 2018 decision of the Court of Appeals which substantially altered the pertinent orders of the DoLE,” the company said in a statement.
PLDT noted it was granted by the Court of Appeals (CA) on July 31 an injunction on the DoLE order demanding the company to issue regular employment status to more than 7,000 of its service contractors.
It noted the CA agreed that “the DoLE’s appreciation of evidence leaned in favor of the contractor workers, and that the Secretary had ‘lost sight’ of distinctions involving the labor law concepts of ‘control over means and methods,’ and ‘control over results.’”
The July 31 order of the appellate court said the DoLE was being speculative in its order versus PLDT, and the order had no substantial evidence.
In response, the DoLE said last month it will file a motion for reconsideration through the Office of the Solicitor General to argue its case.
“While it is true that there are functions or activities that may be contracted out, our position is that (they) should be contracted to a legitimate contractor,” DoLE officer-in-charge Assistant Secretary Benjo Santos M. Benavidez said then.
But PLDT noted it still has a motion for partial reconsideration with the appellate court concerning the regularization of its workers doing installation, repair and maintenance (IRM) services.
“PLDT argued that the fact-finding process contemplated by the Court’s remand order is not actually part of the visitorial power of the DoLE (i.e., the evidence that will need to be assessed cannot be gleaned in the ‘normal course’ of a labor inspection) and is therefore outside the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Labor,” it said.
PLDT also questioned the CA ruling, which appears to conclude all IRM jobs are “irregular,” noting the law allows some of these jobs to be “project-based” or “seasonal” in nature.
“Assuming the CA will affirm the remand, PLDT argued that instead of the DoLE it should be the National Labor Relations Commission — a tribunal with more comprehensive fact-finding powers — that should take over to determine whether the jobs are in fact IRM, and if so, whether they are ‘regular’ or can be considered ‘project- based’ or ‘seasonal,’” it added.
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

Interest rate hikes in store for Thailand, Indonesia

September 4, 2018 | 12:01 am

THE OUTLOOK for interest rates in Southeast Asia’s two biggest economies is upward even after mixed inflation data on Monday.
In Thailand, rising food and energy costs boosted inflation to 1.6% in August, the highest in almost four years, adding to the case for the Bank of Thailand to deliver its first rate hike since 2011.
The policy rate of 1.5% is now below inflation, making the economy only the second one in Southeast Asia, alongside the Philippines, to have a negative real interest rate.
Separately, data showed consumer price growth in Indonesia was little changed at 3.2% last month. While that’s well within Bank Indonesia’s (BI) 2.5-4.5% target band and should offer some respite to policy makers, the rupiah’s slide to a two-decade low against the dollar will put pressure on the central bank to hike rates for a fifth time this year.
Nomura Holdings, Inc. economist Euben Paracuelles sees both central banks hiking rates this year. Inflation isn’t the “main driver of BI’s policy decisions at the moment” and the subdued figures don’t change his forecast of another increase at the September policy meeting, he said.
Nomura’s base case is also for a 25-basis-point increase in the Bank of Thailand’s policy rate on Sept. 19, although recent comments from Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob have lowered the probability. Veerathai said in an interview on Aug. 29 that the central bank doesn’t face immediate pressure to tighten monetary policy like other emerging market peers.
Indonesia’s rupiah has slumped more than 8% against the dollar this year, while the Thai baht is down 0.4%. — Bloomberg

How ‘fragile’ is the Philippines?

September 4, 2018 | 12:00 am

How PSEi member stocks performed — September 3, 2018

September 4, 2018 | 12:00 am

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Monday, September 3, 2018.

Philippine Stock Exchange’s most active stocks by value turnover — September 3, 2018

Duterte apologizes to Obama for 2016 insult

September 3, 2018 | 10:04 pm

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter
PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte has apologized to Barack H. Obama Jr. whom he had frequently criticized in his past remarks, even calling the former US president at one point a “son of a whore.”
“Well, then it would be appropriate also to say at this time to Mr. Obama that you are now a civilian and I am sorry for uttering those words,” Mr. Duterte said in his remarks during his meeting with the Filipino community in Jerusalem on Sunday night, Sept. 2. Mr. Duterte is in Israel for a state visit.
It will be recalled that in 2016, before his departure to attend the ASEAN summit in Laos, Mr. Duterte remarked “son of a whore” when asked about Mr. Obama’s flagging the human rights situation in the Philippines amid the government’s drug war. He later said the expletive was not directly aimed at Mr. Obama, as video recordings would bear him out, he noted, although reports asserted the contrary.
But despite his apology, Mr. Duterte in Jerusalem also recalled: “[Mr.] Obama in public, in a press briefing…he was talking about me….He castigated me about human rights.”
“If you have qualms, if you have complaints against me, go to the United Nations. File your complaint there and ask for a hearing,” he added.
“Kaya…nagalit ako sabi ko (That’s why I got mad), ‘P________, Obama you can go to hell. You son of a _____.’ Sinabi ko ‘yan (I said that) because he was not a civilized person anyway,” he continued.
But he explained that “it was just a plain ‘talkatese,’” adding, “We have learned our lessons very well. Nag-ano tayo — nagkakaintindihan tayo (We now understand each other).”
He also said that “being a president,” Mr. Obama “ought to know the basic rules.”
“You do not criticize, especially if it is a problem of the country that you are criticizing. You do not know anong solusyon mo (what your solution is),” he added.
Mr. Durterte also said he has already “forgiven” Mr. Obama. “I have forgiven you just like ‘yung lahat ng mga girlfriend ko noong binata pa ako (I have forgiven all my girlfriends when I was young),” he jokingly said.
In the same speech, Mr. Duterte said he is in good terms with the current US President, Donald J. Trump, whom he first met at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Da Nang, Vietnam, in November last year. Mr. Trump visited the Philippines the same month to attend the ASEAN-US Summit and East Asia Summit in Manila.
“Trump is a good friend of mine,” he said, adding that he gets confused with the treatment he gets from Mr. Trump and his predecessor.
“Here is one guy, president, and another, president. I cannot understand you. Two presidents — [one is] praising you and [the other] one is condemning you,” he said.
Last month, a US defense official cautioned the Philippines against from buying submarines from Russia, prompting another of Mr. Duterte’s anti-American rhetoric.
Mr. Trump’s Cabinet officials, Secretary of State Michael Richard Pompeo, Defense Secretary James Norman Mattis, and, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Louis Ross, Jr., then wrote him a letter asking the Philippine government to purchase US military equipment like “upgraded surveillance and aircraft system such as Bell combat utility helicopters and ScanEagle, Gulfstream and Cessna 208 aircraft” for the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
However, Mr. Duterte was not impressed with the offer. “Prove to me first that you are in utter good faith,” he said in his speech in Davao City on Aug. 23 in response to the letter from the US.
Agence France-Presse has reported that Mr. Duterte is also in Israel to seek new sources of military hardware and to nail down protections for overseas Filipino workers.