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Century Properties to launch P2.8-billion Batangas project

By Arra B. Francia
Reporter
CENTURY Properties Group, Inc. (CPG) is set to launch its second affordable housing project, where it expects to generate P2.8 billion in sales over the next three to five years.
The Antonio-led property developer said it will unveil Phirst Park Homes Lipa in Batangas by the second half of this year. The 20-hectare property offering around 1,800 units will be developed in three phases, with the first phase to include about half of the total housing units.
CPG is targeting first home buyers for the project, specifically those with a household income of around P30,000 to P60,000 monthly.
Eighty percent of the total housing units will be townhouses, in order to cater to the more affordable segment. Amortization can go for as low as P9,000 monthly for a 40-square meter townhouse.
Amenities will include a village clubhouse, swimming pools for adults and children, an open-air cinema, and playgrounds. The playground will feature spaces for traditional Filipino games such as piko, patintero, taguan, tumbang preso, and holen. This is in keeping with CPG’s concept of a home-in-a-park experience for Phirst Park Homes Lipa.
The community will also have an outdoor gym, basketball court, bike lane, hiking area, and jogging path.
So far, the company has already built a welcome pavilion for residents. CPG President for the Affordable Housing Segment Ricky M. Celis said the company is now bidding out the land development contract for the project.
“Within the year we expect to have substantial land development already. By first quarter of next year is when we’ll see house construction to start,” Mr. Celis told reporters on the sidelines of the project’s launch in Batangas .
For the house construction, Mr. Celis said the company is looking at tapping listed engineering firm Megawide Construction Corp.
The Lipa development is CPG’s second affordable housing project to-date, following Phirst Park Homes Tanza in Tanza Cavite. Mr. Celis said they have so far seen strong demand for the product.
“(Sales are) very good. As of May actually we already sold out phase one. Now we’re going 20% into phase two. So that’s actually two years ahead of schedule,” he said.
CPG’s entry into the affordable housing segment is part of its plan to have a diversified source of income in the following years. To further grow the unit, the company is partnering with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. for the incorporation of Phirst Park Homes, Inc. (PPHI).
PPHI is set to have an authorized capital stock of P5 billion. Under the 60-40 joint venture, CPG and Mitsubishi will be spending P10 billion over the next five years for the launch of 15 projects. These projects are slated to bring in P57 billion in sales for PPHI.
The joint venture company’s incorporation is now pending approval from the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC).
“If it goes according to PCC’s timeline, we expect approval by August na,” Mr. Celis said.
Once CPG and Mitsubishi secure clearance for the joint venture, Mr. Celis said the Phirst Park Homes brand will now be owned by the partners.

What we learned from Everything is Love

NEW YORK — Jay-Z and Beyonce late Saturday released Everything is Love, a surprise album after years of speculation that they were working on a joint project.
The album — which came two years after Beyonce revealed Jay-Z’s infidelity through lyrics — again offers plenty of tidbits into the lives of music’s most famous couple.
Here are some highlights:
• No love child — Jay-Z shot down rumors that he has an illegitimate child. Aspiring rapper Rymir Satterthwaite has alleged for years that he is the superstar’s son due to his mother’s purported fling with the then little-known Shawn Carter in 1992.
“Billie Jean in his prime / For the thousandth time / The kid ain’t mine,” Jay-Z raps on “Heard About Us,” referencing Michael Jackson’s classic song about a paternity case.
Jay-Z and Beyonce’s six-year-old daughter Blue Ivy separately makes an appearance on the album and says “hello” to her twin siblings Rumi and Sir, who turned one on Thursday.
• Recovered from infidelity — Everything is Love, as the title implies, speaks much about the strength of their marriage after highly public troubles.
Beyonce on her 2016 album Lemonade revealed infidelity by Jay-Z, who apologized a year later on his own album 4:44.
On the joint album’s boisterous closer “Lovehappy,” the two say that they have patched up.
“You did some things to me / You do some things to me,” Beyonce sings with brass in her voice. “But love is deeper than your pain and I believe you can change.”
• Angry at legal action — Jay-Z vents frustration several times on the album about legal action against him. Most recently the Securities and Exchange Commission ordered the rapper to testify as part of an investigation into his sale of his Rocawear clothing line.
On “Nice,” Jay-Z denounces the subpoena and suggests he is being targeted because he is a successful African American, wondering why he did not face such scrutiny in his earlier life as a Brooklyn drug dealer.
“Time to remind me I’m black again, huh? / All this talking back. I’m too arrogant, huh?”
Later on the album he professes his innocence in disputes with authorities — so often known by their agencies’ acronyms — as he raps: “I pass the alphabet boys like an eye test.”
• No to Super Bowl — Jay-Z appeared to confirm a report that he turned down an offer from the National Football League to perform at this year’s Super Bowl, the most watched event on US television.
Jay-Z is an outspoken supporter of Colin Kaepernick, the now-unemployed quarterback who stirred a nationwide discussion by kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.
He alludes to the racial imbalance in American football, where team owners are almost entirely white and players mostly African American.
“I said no to the Super Bowl / You need me, I don’t need you,” Jay-Z raps.
“Every night we in the end zone / Tell the NFL we in stadiums, too.” — AFP

Work on LRT-1 Cavite extension to start in Oct.

THE average daily ridership at the Light Rail Transit Line 1 has gone up by an annual 3% to 459,400 passengers per day during the first quarter of 2018. — LIGHT RAIL MANILA CORP.

LIGHT RAIL Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) operator Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) said it expects to begin the construction of the first phase of the Cavite extension project by October.
“The first package, konti na lang ang natitira [very little is left]. So we can start on October. Kasi binigay na yung right of way nila eh [Because the right of way has already been given],” LRMC Operations Director Rodrigo P. Bulario told reporters on Monday.
Mr. Bulario said less than 5% of the right of way for the first phase needs to be obtained.
As part of its concession agreement with the Department of Transportation (DoTr), LRMC will extend LRT-1 from Baclaran station to Bacoor, Cavite. Eight stations will be built as part of the extension: Redemptorist, NAIA Avenue, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Santos, Las Piñas, Zapote and Niog.
The construction of the 11.7-kilometer railway is divided into three packages, the first one covering the first five stations from Redemptorist to Dr. Santos in Sucat.
LRMC President and Chief Executive Officer Juan F. Alfonso told reporters in May that the construction of the Cavite extension will take four years.
HACKATREN
At the same time, LRMC launched a crowdsourcing program to encourage information technology (IT) specialists to propose ways to improve the customer experience at the LRT-1.
In a press conference in Taguig, LRMC head of Information Management and Technology Randy S. Sac bared the details of the hacking marathon called “Hackatren,” organized in partnership with the Hub of Innovation for Inclusion (HiFi) of the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde (DLS-CSB).
IT students and professionals are invited to form teams of three to four members, who will pitch a digital solution to make the commuting experience of passengers “more enjoyable and efficient.”
Mr. Sac said LRMC will work with the top three winners to put their proposals into reality, with the help of HiFi.
Aside from this, the three winning teams will also win a cash prize of P100,000, P50,000 and P25,000 each.
Mr. Sac noted the goal of the initiative is to find out what passengers experience during their commute and find solutions that they may adopt to improve the train system.
Interested participants may sign up for the competition until June 30, which is also the “Pre-Hack Day” of Hackatren. The top 15 teams will be invited to the actual Hackatren event on July 14 and 15, on which the winners will also be announced.
LRMC is the consortium of Ayala Corp., Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp., of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd.
Metro Pacific Investment Corp. is one of three Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group. — Denise A. Valdez

Incredibles 2 shatters records with heroic $180-M US opening

LOS ANGELES — The opening weekend of Incredibles 2 was, well, incredible.
The Disney-Pixar movie flew to a record-breaking launch of $180 million in 4,410 North American locations, easily landing the superhero sequel the best debut of all time for an animated film. That title was previously held by fellow Pixar sequel Finding Dory, which bowed with $135 million in 2016.
Incredibles 2 also landed the eighth-biggest domestic opening of all time, and surpassed 2017’s Beauty and the Beast ($174.6 million) for the best debut for a PG-rated film.
Overseas, where it has opened in 26% of the international market, Pixar’s 20th film collected $51.5 million, bringing its global total to $231.5 million.
With 14 years since the original film, 2004’s The Incredibles, enthusiasm has been strong for the follow-up, and it seems that audiences and critics alike were not disappointed. The film boasts a coveted A+ CinemaScore, as well as a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“The film shows the drawing power of the superhero genre, whether in the live action or animated realm,” box office analyst Paul Dergarbedian said. “The combination of the Pixar brand and Disney’s perfectly executed marketing and distribution strategy made the film an instant classic and a box office juggernaut.”
Disney’s head of distribution, Cathleen Taff, attributes the massive opening to pent up demand for another Incredibles film, along with positive word of mouth. It also helps that it’s been a while since a family film has hit multiplexes, she added.
“We’re so thrilled,” Taff said. “Brad and team put together a great film that delivers something for everybody. It was the perfect storm.”
Incredibles 2 picks up directly following the events of the original film with the Parr family members attempting to balance having a normal life with their superpowers. Holly Hunter, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Vowell, and Samuel L. Jackson reprise their voice roles, while Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Keener, and Sophia Bush voice new characters. Brad Bird returned to write and direct the sequel.
Incredibles 2 should set Disney back on track after Solo: A Star Wars Story disappointed earlier this summer. The expensive Star Wars film has had difficulty gaining traction at the box office since launching with $103 million over a four day weekend. Though every previous Disney-released Star Wars adventure has managed to fly past the $1 billion mark, Solo is struggling to cross $400 million.
Disney doesn’t exactly need to break a sweat, however. Incredibles 2 scored the third biggest opening of 2018, meaning the three best debuts of 2018 all belong to the Magic Kingdom. Disney-Marvel titles Black Panther ($257.7 million) and Avengers: Infinity War ($202 million) secured the No. 1 and 2 spots.
Also opening this weekend was Warner Bros. and New Line’s Tag, which targeted a debut of $14.6 million in 3,382 theaters. The R-rated comedy — starring Ed Helms, Jake Johnson, Jon Hamm, and Jeremy Renner — is based on a Wall Street Journal profile about a group of grown men who play a longstanding game of tag.
Attendees seem satisfied, giving the film a B+ CinemaScore and 74% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
New Line’s latest title, Game Night, opened earlier this year with $17 million — a solid start given the film’s $16 million price tag. As of this week, the Jason Bateman/Rachel McAdams dark comedy has pocketed $117 million globally, including $69 million domestically.
The final wide release, Superfly, got a head start by opening on Wednesday. Sony’s remake of 1972 blaxploitation classic Super Fly pocketed $8.4 million in 2,220 locations during the five-day period. Well-known music video helmer Director X took the reigns on the $16 million project, which only began production in January and finished in time for its June release.
The film features all new songs written by rapper Future, who co-produced along with Joel Silver. Superfly stars Trevor Jackson, Jason Mitchell, Michael Kenneth Williams, Lex Scott Davis, and Jennifer Morrison.
The original 1972 Super Fly, starring Ron O’Neal and directed by Gordon Parks, was hugely profitable at the box office with a $30 million gross from a $500,000 budget. While the film became a cult hit, its soundtrack composed by R&B legend Curtis Mayfield became even more popular and ultimately outgrossed Super Fly’s box office earnings.
Ocean’s 8 managed to steal the No. 2 spot in its sophomore frame, picking up another $19.5 million in 4,145 locations. The female-fronted heist spin-off had a series-best opening last weekend with $41.5 million. Its domestic tally currently sits at $79 million.
In fourth is Solo: A Star Wars Story with $9.3 million. In four weeks, the tentpole has made $193 million at the domestic box office.
Rounding out the top five is another superhero sequel, Deadpool 2, which scored $8.6 million in its fifth outing. To date, 21st Century Fox’s blockbuster starring Ryan Reynolds has amassed $294.5 million domestically. — Reuters

Adopting green products for a sustainable lifestyle

By Romsanne R. Ortiguero
THE burdensome cost of electricity is pushing more households to adapt sustainable living through the use of energy-efficient products in homes.
“The Philippines has the highest per kilowatt hour (kWh) rate in Southeast Asia so it’s not just because you want to jump in the bandwagon of sustainable living; it’s more of a necessity because electricity is so expensive. When people choose to live green or do energy-saving stuff, it is because they want to save money,” Philippine Geogreen, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Liza Crespo told BusinessWorld in an interview.
Latest data from the Department of Energy shows that the Philippines’ power rates continue to be the highest in Southeast Asia with P7.49 per kWh rate for commercial users and P8.90 per kWh for households.
Recognizing that more Filipinos want a green lifestyle but have limited ways to do so, Philippine Geogreen, Inc. — distributor of sustainable and environmentally responsible building products for the construction industry — recently launched a pop-up store in Powerplant Mall in Makati City.
“In our first few years, we just focused on commercial and industrial facilities, and this is the first year that we’re focusing on the residential. We have this residential showroom because we wanted them to be able to appreciate the products and to get know more about it,” Ms. Crespo said, explaining that energy-efficient products are gaining more interest among households especially since energy efficient products are not as expensive as before.
Among those featured in the pop-up store are Solatube Daylighting Systems, a tubular daylighting device that captures the sun’s rays through its dome, which is then directed down its tubes, and then delivered throughout a room.
Another is the Haiku fan of Big Ass Fans, which has the ability to circulate huge volumes of air for both small and big spaces with only an operating cost similar to turning on a light bulb.
The pop-up store also features the Atmospheric Water Generator, a device that extracts water from humid ambient air, which then renders water potable through multiple stages of filtration.
“We source the world for the best green products, and that’s what we basically brought here,” Ms. Crespo noted, adding that these top-notch products have won Green Awards.
“When we inspected the products, we wanted to make sure that the warranties are good. We’re all about longevity because that also goes hand in hand with our concept of sustainability; because if you use a product that is only good for three years, you would throw that in a landfill, and that’s not biodegradable so it’s not really good for the environment. For us, we look at the long-term,” Ms. Crespo said.
In next few years, Ms. Crespo hopes the Philippines would be able to catch up with the most environment-friendly countries in the world.
“Slowly, people are getting into it, and they’re finally seeing the light in going green. We still have a long way to go honestly, but we’re getting there. Like now, the products are more available and accessible to a lot of people, and all these other technologies are easier to purchase. I think we’re slowly starting to catch up. I’m hoping that this kind of awareness will pick up in the next few years,” she noted.
“We’re hoping that we bring it down to the mid-level that’s why we’re working with our suppliers to make it more accessible to everyone,” she added.
To encourage more people to use green products, Ms. Crespo said the government could start giving incentives or get tax rebates, similar to what is done in other countries.
“I hope that eventually, the government will look at it as an important thing to do in order to encourage people to go green,” she said.

Treasury bills partially awarded as rates rise ahead of BSP meet

THE GOVERNMENT partially awarded the Treasury bills (T-bills) it offered on Monday, rejecting all bids for the shortest tenor, as the market awaits the policy decision of the local central bank.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) opted to make a partial award of the short-dated securities, raising just P8.356 billion out of the P15 billion it intended to borrow yesterday.
Investors placed P22.36 billion in bids, slightly lower than the P24.08 billion offered a week ago but still above the planned borrowing.
Broken down, the Treasury rejected all bids for the 91-day tenor. Tenders from banks amounted to P6.52 billion, above the P5 billion the government offered yesterday.
Had the government proceeded with a full award, the three-month debt papers could have fetched an average rate of 3.49%, 16.7 basis points higher than the 3.323% logged the previous auction.
Meanwhile, the government awarded P4 billion as planned from the 182-day securities. The offer was oversubscribed as tenders reached P7.106 billion. Still, the average yield climbed 5.2 basis points to 3.766% from the 3.714% quoted at the auction last week.
The 364-day papers were meanwhile also partially awarded as the BTr borrowed just P4.356 billion out of the P6-billion program, even as the offer was oversubscribed, with bids reaching P8.733 billion. The average rate on the papers went up 3.3 basis points to 4.357% from the 4.324% posted last week.
At the secondary market before the auction, the three-month papers were quoted at 3.8783% while the six-month tenor fetched 4.2446%. The yield on the one-year T-bill, on the other hand, was at 4.3191%.
At the close of trading, the 91-day T-bill rallied to fetch a lower yield of 3.29%, while the 364-day papers saw its rate climb to 4.321%. The 182-day T-bill’s rate was steady.
After the auction, Deputy Treasurer Erwin D. Sta. Ana said the government decided to reject all bids for the three-month debt papers as investors asked for yields higher than the secondary market.
“The rates were actually higher than secondary market and it’s also higher than the initial guidance from our [eligible dealers]. We felt like it’s not reflective of current market levels,” Mr. Sta. Ana told reporters yesterday.
He added that the BTr partially awarded the one-year securities since the bureau “didn’t want to have at least a drastic increase in the rates.”
“It’s not just about us controlling it but we’re also looking at the submissions, whether it’s higher than the offer size and the secondary market rates. We felt we have to cut it at [that] level.”
The Deputy Treasurer likewise noted that investors are awaiting for the policy decision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Wednesday.
In a BusinessWorld poll, six out of 10 economists expect the BSP’s rate-setting Monetary Board to stay on hold in its June 20 meeting amid signs that inflation may be slowing.
Last month, headline inflation accelerated to a fresh five-year high of 4.6% from the 4.5% logged in April. However, the May inflation print was slower than the 4.9% expected by the market.
“We think the market is actually waiting for the results of the Monetary Board meeting this week. And of course, the hawkish comments of the [US Federal Reserve] last week had some bearing on the bids,” Mr. Sta. Ana added.
The Federal Open Market Committee raised its benchmark rates by a quarter of a percentage last week following a similar move earlier this year and amid improved economic conditions in the US.
In a phone interview, a trader said there was mixed reaction from investors.
“Possibly the BTr found the bids for the 91-day papers too high that is why they made a full rejection,” the trader said.
“On the demand side, we saw steady demand from investors. I guess ganoon na talaga ang demand (that’s how demand really is),” the trader added.
This quarter, the Treasury is holding two auctions per week — one for T-bills and another for Treasury bonds — to reflect increased borrowing requirements, as it is set to raise P325 billion via the domestic market in the period.
The government plans to borrow P888.23 billion from local and foreign sources this year to fund its budget deficit, which is capped at 3% of the country’s gross domestic product. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Manila Water unit gets franchise for Pangasinan town

A UNIT of Manila Water Co., Inc. has received on Monday a “notice to proceed” for its proposal to provide water and septage services in the town of Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan province with the passage of a municipal ordinance on the matter, the parent said.
Ayala-led Manila Water told the stock exchange on Monday that its wholly owned subsidiary Manila Water Philippine Ventures, Inc. (MWPV) had been granted the local franchise through Municipal Ordinance No. 2018-10, Series of 2018.
The total capital expenditure for the project is estimated at P730 million.
“The project is expected to be operational by 2019,” Manila Water added.
The franchise covers the provision of water supply and the improvement, operation, maintenance management, financing, and expansion of water supply facilities, and the provision of septage management in Sta. Barbara.
“The Municipality of Sta. Barbara is immediately adjacent to the Municipality of Calasiao in the Province of Pangasinan, where Manila Water has a Concession Agreement with the Calasiao Water District,” Manila Water said.
The company said the franchise granted to MWPV is for a term of 25 years with an assumed billed volume of 16.6 million liters per day (MLD) by the end of the franchise period.
The Sta. Barbara franchise comes after Manila Water and its consortium with MWPV won in April the right to operate the Bulakan water district in Bulacan province. The project is expected to require a capital expenditure of P400 million over a 25-year contract period.
The project is estimated to deliver a billed volume of 16 million liters per day by year 25.
In April, Manila Water said its consortium with MWPV had been awarded a similar project in the municipality of Balagtas in Bulacan.
The Balagtas project requires a budget of P400 million over a 25-year contract. It is expected to deliver a billed volume of 22 million liters per day by the 25th year.
On Monday, shares in Manila Water slipped 2.55% to close at P26.70 each. — Victor V. Saulon

Apple partners with Oprah for original content push

APPLE INC. unveiled an original programming partnership with TV star and producer Oprah Winfrey, the iPhone maker’s biggest ally so far in a battle with Netflix Inc., Google and Amazon.com Inc. over the future of online video.
The company said the agreement with Winfrey is a multi-year content partnership in which the two will “create original programs that embrace her incomparable ability to connect with audiences around the world.” The projects will be released as part of “a lineup of original content from Apple,” the company added in a statement on Friday. It didn’t say how much it’s paying, or when the material will be released.
Apple will fund all the projects, which could include scripted TV series, unscripted programming and film, according to a person familiar with the matter. Winfrey will do some on-camera work and will retain ownership of all the programs, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing details of the pact.
Winfrey recently renewed her deal to run the OWN TV network through 2025, and her contract gives her flexibility to work for other companies. She is precluded from appearing on-camera for other cable networks.
Other outlets have sought Winfrey’s services, but she hasn’t had conversations about producing series for any other streaming companies, the person said, noting that Winfrey was drawn to the idea of working for Apple in particular.
The Cupertino, California-based technology giant has been working on several TV show and movie deals for an online video initiative. It earlier struck agreements for shows produced by Steven Spielberg, another starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, and a drama series featuring basketball player Kevin Durant. On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that Apple is nearing a deal for a full-length animated movie.
The Winfrey partnership is the company’s highest-profile video tie-up to date. Once the host of the most-watched daytime talk show in the US, Winfrey has extended her influence across almost every sector of the media business. She is chief executive officer of OWN, which she owns with Discovery Inc., a contributor to CBS’s weekly news magazine 60 Minutes, and an actress and producer of films and TV shows.
Technology giants Apple, Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Amazon, and Netflix are vying to lure top Hollywood talent like Winfrey away from more-established entertainment companies, and draw viewers to their own digital services. Netflix has been the most aggressive, signing deals with US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Glee creator Ryan Murphy, and Scandal producer Shonda Rhimes. Amazon recently teamed up with Get Out filmmaker Jordan Peele.
While Netflix and Amazon have a history of producing hit shows, Apple is just getting started. The company plans to start rolling out its first original content videos in 2019, Bloomberg News recently reported.
Apple has been one of the biggest sellers of other companies’ shows and movies through its iTunes store, so it has existing ties to the entertainment business, mostly through executive Eddy Cue. While it faces stiff competition from Hollywood studios and big-spending digital streamers, Apple’s large reservoir of cash and the popularity of its devices have ensured the company can get a meeting with anyone in the entertainment business.
The iPhone maker has yet to tell its partners how it plans to distribute the new video content. While Netflix distributes its original content through its website and apps on all consumer devices, Apple has mostly kept its digital services wedded to the company’s iPhones, iPads, Macs and TV streaming box.
So far, beyond documentaries about musicians, Apple has released only two video series: Carpool Karaoke and Planet of the Apps. Both are distributed through the Apple Music app, but the shows were commissioned before Apple hired TV industry veterans Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg last year to build an in-house studio. They got about $1 billion to spend in their first year. — Bloomberg

BDO Unibank partners with Bank of Fukuoka

BDO UNIBANK, Inc. has partnered with a Japanese regional bank to help Japanese firms enter the Philippine market.
In a regulatory filing on Monday, the Sy-led lender said Bank of Fukuoka, Ltd. (BoF), Japan’s third-largest regional bank, has chosen BDO as its partner-bank in the Philippines.
The partnership, which was sealed through a memorandum of agreement, is aimed to service BoF’s clients who wish to expand their businesses or put up shops in the country.
BDO noted the deal is the first time a Japanese regional bank (JRB) in the Kyushu region is partnering with a Philippine lender.
Founded in 1942, BoF has 170 branches and representative offices in Dalian, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Bangkok, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and New York.
BDO earlier inked partnerships with Awa Bank, Ltd., Chiba Kogyo Bank, Ltd., Daisan Bank, Ltd., Hokuto Bank, Ltd., Joyo Bank, Ltd., Juroku Bank, Ltd. and Shonai Bank, Ltd. in August 2013 “to support Japanese mid-tier companies and [small and medium enterprises] interested in operating in the Philippines.”
The local bank also signed a deal with commercial lender Aozora Bank, Ltd. in May 2016.
“These JRBs are serving as conduits of their clients which are currently doing business in the Philippines or eyeing the country as their next business hub,” BDO added.
The partnerships were considered a byproduct of the previous memorandum of understanding signed by BDO with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation “promoting the development and strengthening of a framework to support Japanese mid-tier companies as well as SMEs through JRBs.”
BDO also has an established and fully staffed Japan Desk dedicated to market and service Japanese firms operating in the country and service the retail requirements of customers there.
BDO’s net profit was little changed in the first quarter at P5.9 billion, slightly higher than the P5.8 billion it booked the same period last year.
Shares in the Sy-led bank lost P2 or 1.47% to close at P134 apiece on Monday. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

MRC Allied eyes power generation for LNG facility

MRC Allied, Inc. may choose to participate only in the power plant component of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility that it is studying to build with a foreign partner, its top official said.
“We are given an option to just be part of the [power] generation,” Gladys N. Nalda, MRC Allied president and chief executive officer, told reporters after the company’s annual stockholders meeting on Monday.
However, she said the company remains open to joining the “entire chain,” which would include an import terminal, regasifying facility, power generation and a distribution pipeline.
“The capacity is big and the partner is big so we are looking into the feasibility — checking the place, looking at the costing, the suppliers… It’s something that needs to be studied for a long period of time,” Ms. Nalda said.
She declined to disclose the target capacity and location of the power plant because of a non-disclosure agreement that the company signed with its Chinese partner.
“Hypothetically, if I’m going to say yes, probably somewhere in Luzon because of logistics — kasi currently meron kami Luzon (because we currently have presence in Luzon),” the company official said.
In November last year, MRC Allied signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China Energy Engineering Corp. Ltd. (CEEC) “to confirm that both parties have an interest in exploring the possibility of investing, constructing, developing and operating [LNG] projects in the Philippines.”
It described CEEC as a foreign company based in Beijing, China, which is engaged in the business of exploration, development and construction of energy projects.
Also in the same month, MRC Allied signed a separate MoU with Guangdong Power Engineering Co. Ltd. (GPEC) to explore LNG projects in the country.
Ms. Nalda said she was hopeful that by the end of the quarter, the company would be able to disclose “something more concrete.”
MALL PROJECT
MRC Allied is also targeting within the year to install solar rooftop panels, with a capacity of 4 megawatts (MW), on a number of malls operated by Xentro Mall Developer Inc.
“But we will go back to the table with them if they could give us more sites,” she said, adding that the four malls that were presented for solar rooftop installation would not be enough to reach the company’s target capacity.
She said Xentro Mall is asking for a lower project cost, which MRC Allied could agree to if given more solar capacity to build.
Ms. Nalda also said that the company is targeting to commission within the year “not less 20 MW” of its 60-MW solar project in Naga City, Cebu.
MRC Allied, which diversified from property to energy development early last year, plans to invest between P80 billion and P100 billion in 10 years to achieve its aspirational goal of putting up 10,000 MW of power capacity.
On Monday, shares in the company slipped 1.59% to close at P0.62 each. — Victor V. Saulon

More non-BPO firms driving demand for office space

A GROWING number of non-business process outsourcing (BPO) companies is driving demand for office space in Makati City and other business districts.

Frabelle Corporate Plaza
Being a LEED-certified building, Frabelle Corporate Plaza will highlight energy saving features such as VRF air-conditioning.

A study by real estate services firm Leechiu Property Consultants showed consumer and manufacturing firms took up 183,056 square meters (sq.m.) of new offices offered in 2018. BPO and related companies continued to dominate, taking up 40% or 357,999 sq.m. of the total new office space.
“That kind of demand clearly demonstrates how our economy is growing,” Kei Tiu Laurel-de Jesus, Frabelle Properties Corp. (FPC) managing director, was quoted as saying in a statement.
FPC hopes to capture a piece of the action with its high-end, 16-storey Frabelle Corporate Plaza in Salcedo Village, Makati City.
“Due for completion in September, Frabelle Corporate Plaza is attracting inquiries from firms currently benefiting from the Philippines’ sustained growth and seeking the conveniences of doing business from Makati, the country’s prime business district,” the company said.
The building is allocating eight floors for offices with a typical floor plate of 835 sq.m., and the rest for parking, a top floor with an events hall and the ground floor for retail.
Ms. Tiu Laurel-de Jesus noted that local chefs, homegrown enterprises and brands have expressed interest in opening establishments at the street-level retail area.
The Frabelle Group, FPC’s holding company and one of the country’s largest fishing and food companies operating in Asia, South Africa, Europe and the US, will have offices in the building.
Leechiu Properties Senior Manager Jeff Ocampo noted prime office towers such as Frabelle Corporate Plaza that offer both exclusivity and efficiency are hard to find in Makati.
Located on Tordesillas Street corner Bautista Street, Frabelle Corporate Plaza has a LEED silver certification and multiple telco providers. It will also have four elevators and 100% backup power.

Cryptocurrencies to perform worse as they get bigger

LONDON — Cryptocurrencies are not scalable and are more likely to suffer a breakdown in trust and efficiency the greater the number of people using them, the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) said on Sunday in its latest warning about the rise of virtual currencies.
For any form of money to work across large networks it requires trust in the stability of its value and in its ability to scale efficiently, the BIS, an umbrella group for the world’s central banks, said in its annual report.
But trust can disappear instantly because of the fragility of the decentralized networks on which cryptocurrencies depend, the BIS said.
Those networks are also prone to congestion the bigger they become, according to the BIS, which noted the high transaction fees of the best-known digital currency, bitcoin, and the limited number of transactions per second they can handle.
“Trust can evaporate at any time because of the fragility of the decentralised consensus through which transactions are recorded,” the Switzerland-based group said in its report.
“Not only does this call into question the finality of individual payments, it also means that a cryptocurrency can simply stop functioning, resulting in a complete loss of value.”
The BIS’ head of research, Hyun Song Shin, said sovereign money had value because it had users, but many people holding cryptocurrencies did so often purely for speculative purposes.
“Without users, it would simply be a worthless token. That’s true whether it’s a piece of paper with a face on it, or a digital token,” he said, comparing virtual coins to baseball cards or Tamagotchi.
The dependency of users on so-called miners to record and verify crypto transactions is also flawed, according to the BIS, requiring vast and costly energy use.
It has issued a series of warnings this year after an explosive rise in cryptocurrency values attracted a wave of followers.
Agustin Carstens, general manager of the BIS, has described bitcoin as “a combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster”.
The BIS has told central banks to think hard about the potential risks before issuing their own cryptocurrencies.
No central bank has issued a digital currency, though the Riksbank in Sweden, where the use of cash has fallen, is studying a retail e-krona for small payments.
The BIS also said in its annual report that effective regulation of digital coins needed to be global, targeting both regulated financial institutions as well as companies offering crypto-related services. — Reuters

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