Ayala Land Premier (ALP) is launching the second tower of its luxury residential project in Davao City within the year, after seeing strong demand for the first tower where it generated P2.6 billion in sales.
The luxury unit of Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) said on Wednesday that it managed to sell out the first tower of The Residences at Azuela Cove during its launch last May 12. The 21-storey seaside property features 70 units spanning 181 to 196 square meters (sq.m.) priced at around P36.7 million. It also has two penthouse units at P80.8 million each. — Arra B. Francia
Hong Kong — Asian equities rose Wednesday on bargain-buying after the previous day’s battering, but investors remain anxious as the threat of a China-US trade war hangs over markets.
Shanghai and Hong Kong bore the brunt of the sell-off Tuesday after Beijing warned it would retaliate in kind to Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese goods, amounting to much of its exports to the US.
The standoff follows weeks of fruitless talks between the world’s two biggest economies, with the White House accusing China of a string of unfair practices including cyber-theft and forced technology transfers that are hurting American jobs and companies.
Tuesday’s developments surprised many traders who had characterised Trump’s protectionist rhetoric as part of a strategy to get a better deal from China.
Trump senior economic aide Peter Navarro continued the forceful language Tuesday by saying China had more to lose from a trade war because it shipped more to the US.
He also maintained the administration was acting “to defend the crown jewels of American technology from China’s aggressive behaviour”.
Navarro said the White House was open to talks but warned: “The fundamental reality is talk is cheap. Delay is expensive.” OPEC in focus
Still, traders stepped back in to pick up beaten-down equities Wednesday.
Hong Kong was up 0.8 percent after dropping 2.8 percent Tuesday, while Shanghai ended up 0.3 percent — a small dent in the previous day’s 3.8 percent loss.
Tokyo ended 1.2 percent higher while Sydney gained by a similar percentage, Singapore added 0.7 percent and Seoul put on one percent. There were also gains in Wellington, Taipei and Bangkok.
In early European trade London rose 0.8 percent and Frankfurt gained 0.5 percent, while Paris put on 0.2 percent.
“Markets are faring much better as investors’ emotions have tempered, but in general, markets remain in wait-and-see mode,” said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at OANDA. “Clarity is power but given the lack thereof, it’s a struggle to get back in the saddle as a sense of once bitten, twice shy continues to permeate.
“The spoils of trade war have attracted bargain-hunting but completely trusting the markets in the aftermath of yesterday’s meltdown is bordering on too soon, too quick as sentiment remains very apprehensive.”
Rakuten Securities Australia chief operating officer Nick Twidale added: “Markets are preparing for further downside whilst hoping that the latest salvos from the Trump administration prove to be another ‘negotiating’ tactic.”
The dollar clawed back early losses against the yen but analysts warn it is still likely to face further pressure as investors look to the Japanese unit as a point of safety in times of turmoil.
The euro faced more selling following dovish comments about monetary policy from European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi, while the pound was also down against the dollar.
Eyes are turning to OPEC’s crucial meeting as Saudi Arabia pushes, along with non-member Russia, to raise an output ceiling that has supported oil prices for 18 months.
The two major producers are facing stiff opposition at the June 22-23 gathering from nations that have benefited from the increased revenues.
“It does seem like an increase is coming,” said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader. “The question is, can such a move be achieved in order to balance the interests of OPEC’s customers like the US and India while still holding the cartel together as a functioning group?” — AFP
IRC Properties, Inc. bagged original proponent status from the Makati government for its proposed $3.7-billion intra-city mass transport system within the city.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday, June 20, IRC said Makati City has accepted its proposal for a joint venture that seeks to establish and operate the Makati Mass Transport System.
The IRC-led consortium includes international partners, namely Greenland Holdings Group, Jiangsu Provincial Construction Group Co. Ltd., Holdings Ltd., and China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd.
The consortium looks to construct an 11-kilometer intra-city railway system with eight- to 10 stations at no cost to the government. — Arra B. Francia
Del Monte Philippines, Inc. (DMPI) posted a net profit of P2.6 billion in its fiscal year ending April, on the back of P27.6 billion in sales mostly from the Philippine market.
In a statement issued Wednesday, June 20, the local unit of listed canned fruit manufacturer Del Monte Pacific Limited said sales performance this year showed a compounded annual growth rate of 7.9% from 2015, where it delivered P22 billion. — Arra B. Francia
By Sam L. Marcelo Associate Editor, High Life
To celebrate Pride, BusinessWorld is bringing out an article first published in December 2013 about Tegan and Sara’s first and (to date) only concert in Manila. Excerpts from BusinessWorld’s interview with the twins — who are both gay — are also being published for the first time. While this conversation took place in November 2013, the Quins’ answers remain relevant. Listen to Tegan and Sara as they talk about how a country’s attitude toward sexuality affect where they tour, whether people in the public eye have a responsibility to come out and be more visible, and the propriety of using the stage as a venue to lobby for LGBTQ rights.
Since the time of the interview, Tegan and Sara released Love You To Death, their eighth studio album, and established the Tegan and Sara Foundation, an organization that fights for health, economic justice and representation for LGBTQ girls and women. [This article was published in BusinessWorld on December 20, 2013] Tegan and Sara Quin
Asymmetric haircuts were everywhere when Tegan and Sara Quin made a two-day stop in Manila for their first-ever concert in the Philippines. A meet-and-greet with the Canadian twins, organized on the night before their November show, approached boy-band levels of barely contained giddiness. Upon arriving at Greenbelt 5’s Fashion Walk, the Quins were welcomed by tears, requests for hugs and kisses (graciously granted), and camera flashes going off at a blinding rate.
“We show up at this gigantic, beautiful mall and there are hundreds of people screaming and cheering. There’s police and security. They take us backstage and I’m like, what the fuck is going on right now?” said Tegan during a lull in the Quins’ two-hour set in the NBC Tent. “We were like the Backstreet Boys for, like, a minute. We’re like gay One Direction.” FREAKS, GEEKS, AND QUEEN BEES
The sisters Quin — both 33, both lesbians — are changing the face of mainstream music. Heartthrob, their seventh studio album, has landed on several “Best of 2013” lists collated by influential music publications such as NME, SPIN, and Rolling Stone.
Their breakthrough pop record has allowed the twins to perform with the likes of Taylor Swift and Katy Perry, perfectly coiffed queen bees with millions of fans (Twitter popularity comparison: Taylor Swift, 37,000,000+ followers; Katy Perry, 48,000,000+ followers; Tegan and Sara, 383,000+ followers).
They were also invited to the recent Billboard’s Women of the Year awards, where they honored Pink with a cover of “Just Like A Pill.” The Quins showed up in suits and walked the red carpet in Doc Martens. Soon after, they were spotted in New York’s Madison Square Garden — a prestigious venue with a capacity of 18,200 — backing Macklemore in “Same Love,” an anthem for equality.
The self-described awkward geeks — lady-loving ones, at that — have finally been granted a place at the popular table, to the delight of fans who see themselves in the twins and share their victories.
“Heartthrob really opened up that door for us,” said Tegan in an interview that took place in the middle of their Asian tour, which had dates in Malaysia, the Philippines, China, and Hong Kong.
Visiting places for the first time can be tricky for gay artists like them. Tegan admitted they declined a previous offer to go to Malaysia because its laws criminalize homosexuality (Malaysia also issued a fatwa against tomboys in 2008. According to a Reuters report, the Islamic council decreed that tomboyish behavior and lesbian sex are forbidden in Islam): “We felt really uncomfortable about going to a country that didn’t respect gender politics but things are changing.” Sara Quin — Photo: Sam Marcelo
“It would be a lie to say that it [a country’s attitude toward LGBT] hasn’t, in the past, impacted where we traveled or where we toured. A big part of that was safety,” said Sara. “When we were considering, say, China five or six years ago, it just didn’t feel right. Now, it feels completely different. We don’t feel any sort of nervousness and that’s indicative of change — while it hasn’t reached the legislative level yet, I do believe that socially, it’s there.”
Tegan, who was nodding along to Sara’s mile-a-minute monologue (both twins are capable of Aaron Sorkin-like hyper-articulation), jumped in: “We also don’t want to punish the fans. We’re invested in exploring more territories. First and foremost, we are musicians and we want to bring our music to as many places as possible.” SMALL GESTURES
When Tegan and Sara started as a duo in 1999, there was no hiding their “difference.” Their music video for “The First,” a spoken-word-esque single from the album This Business of Art, opens with a hedgehog-haired Tegan remarking “This is kind of a boys’ set. Did you know we were girls?” and Sara following up with “Where are all the flowers and shit?”
In the early days of their career — at a time when same-sex marriage wasn’t legal anywhere and Ellen DeGeneres had yet to become the darling of daytime TV — the Quins were open and matter-of-fact about their sexuality. There was no fanfare about it, being gay was like being twins or being Canadian. “We had to accept right away that people were going to know about who we were and we were fine with it,” said Tegan.
“There’s a privilege and a freedom in being ourselves,” Sara added. “I am constantly inspired by the strength of our audience. These are normal people with normal jobs and normal lives who have the strength to come out and be visible. It’s the smallest gesture on our part to be there with them and to stand with them.”
Although the twins are vocal about LGBT rights, they have no desire to shame or bully closeted celebrities into supporting the cause and flying a rainbow flag. “I feel really sad for people who are unable to come out but I think that whatever’s keeping them in the closet — whether it’s safety or vanity or whatever — that’s their battle, not mine,” said Sara. “Although, on a personal level, I do think that if you’re not in danger of getting hurt, it’s important for the LGBT movement to be visible and to be out.”
Their slow climb to fame has allowed the Quins to get used to the idea of being gay icons, roles that were thrust upon them by a queer community desperate for its own heroes. “At 18, 19, 20, I don’t know that I would have been as comfortable with people wanting to talk to us all the time, take photos of us all the time, hug us and kiss us all the time. There was a little bit of coolness — we were still figuring it out. Cognitively, we weren’t even adults yet,” said Sara. “Fame can be such a distortion of ourselves but we’re so fully cemented in who are as people now that…”
“It’s different,” Tegan said, finishing the thought for her sister. Tegan Quin — Photo: Sam Marcelo THE STAGE IS A SACRED PLACE
On Nov. 25, hardcore T&S fans were lined up in front of NBC Tent as early as 6 a.m., more than 12 hours before doors opened. Taguig City transformed into a mini Isle of Lesbos, prompting one concert-goer to comment on the abundance of “ladies in plaid.”
About a third of the way into the 21-song set, Tegan shed her jacket and exposed her tattoo-covered arms. Older than Sara by eight minutes, Tegan hammed it up that night, playing to fans who held up signs with statements like “Tegan and Sara saved my life.”
There was a bit of banter, a lot of rocking out, and no soapboxing.
“We’re very conscious of the fact that people buy our records and tickets to our shows to hear music. We tell this funny story of our parents going to see U2 in the late ’80s and coming home and complaining about Bono being too political onstage, especially out of context. He was talking about Irish politics and everybody was, like, ‘what the fuck’,” said Tegan during the interview.
“Our job is to play music. Although the music that we’ve written isn’t political, the foundation of who we are is very much so — being women, being out, being assertive and writing our own music is a political statement. Every time we step out on stage is a political statement. When I look out into our audience, I see a lot of people who need direction — and they want us to speak for them. We do our best.”
The peso slid against the dollar anew on Wednesday as investors were still wary about the trade tension overseas amid the decision of the local central bank to raise its interest rates.
The local currency ended Wednesday’s session at P53.48 against the greenback, four centavos weaker than the P53.44-per-dollar finish on Tuesday.
The peso opened the session stronger at P53.33. It rose to as high as P53.31, while its intraday low stood at its closing rate of P53.48.
Dollars traded declined to $650 million from the $733.7 million tallied the previous day.
Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at UnionBank of the Philippines said the local unit slid against the dollar on the back of the continued market concerns over the trade spat between the United States and China.
In a Reuters report, US Presient Donald J. Trump threatened to impose a 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods, a response to Beijing’s decision to slap Washington with levies on $50 billion worth of US goods.
Meanwhile, a trader noted that the local unit closed “relatively flat” despite being “generally stronger” within the session ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) rate decision.
The local monetary unit raised its benchmark rates by 25 basis points effective June 21. BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla said the rate-setting Monetary Board decided to hike as inflation expectations “remain elevated” this year.
“We’re also seeing more volatility in the exchange rate, which potentially adds to the dynamics on inflation that we need to be careful about,” Mr. Espenilla said.
Last month, headline inflation accelerated to a fresh five-year high of 4.6% from the 4.5% logged in April. However, this was lower than the 4.9% expected by the market. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal
By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) raised rates on Wednesday, June 20, following a similar move in May in a bid to arrest future inflation and keep local yields competitive.
The Monetary Board raised policy settings by another 25 basis points (bp) during their fourth review for the year. Rates now stand at 4% for the overnight lending rate, 3.5% for the overnight reverse repurchase rate, and 3% for the overnight deposit rate.
The decision came as inflation expectations “remain elevated” for 2018, BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. said during Wednesday’s briefing.
The BSP also tightened rates by 25bp during their May 10 meeting. Back then, policy makers saw the “timely increase” in benchmark yields “will help arrest” possible second-round effects, as it would temper inflation expectations.
Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez on Wednesday said the proposed regional wage hike is “dangerous” for the economy because companies may be forced to lay off their employees to cut labor costs.
This wage hike may also have a negative impact on the prices of basic commodities in the market, he added.
“Medyo dangerous po ‘yon,” Mr. Lopez said in a press briefing at the Palace. “Kung i-pwersa natin yung malaking increase, baka mabawasan ang employment.”
The official likewise noted that if there is going to be an increase in workers’ wages, it should be “minimal only”.
“Kung ako tatanungin, sana wala na lang,” he said. “Mandated wage hike is dangerous. ‘Di lahat wage earners. Kung tataas ang wages, tataas ang presyo ng mga bilihin. ‘Di lang wage earners ang tatamaan kundi lahat.”
According to Mr. Lopez, the better way to increase workers’ wages is through “skills training”, making workers more competitive in the labor market.
“Panawagan ko sa labor, gawing kooperatiba lahat ng actions natin,” Mr. Lopez said. “Para mas maraming investors, wag nating takutin ang investors. At pakita natin may industrial peace. Ang mga Pilipino willing magtrabaho, masipag, magagaling, gusto pang mag training, kasi yun po ang importante eh. Generation of jobs at magtraining tayo bawat isa. Para marketable tayo bawat isa. Doon tataas ang sweldo natin.” — Arjay L. Balinbin
The microinsurance industry saw increases in its total premium production and number of people covered in the first quarter, the Insurance Commission (IC) said.
Data based on reports submitted by the microinsurance providers to the IC showed that the industry’s total premiums collected in the January to March period rose 23.39% to P1.78 billion, up by P337 million from the P1.44 billion logged in the same period last year.
Broken down, the mutual benefit associations (MBA) garnered the highest premium contribution amounting to P1.05 billion last quarter, 58.76% or more than half of the entire market share.
The life sector collected P547.94 million in premiums, 30.77% of the market share, while non-life insurers were able to produce P186.49 million or 10.47% of the total market share.
“We are pleased that the microinsurance industry continues to make its mark in the insurance industry,” Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa was quoted as saying in the statement sent to reporters on Wednesday. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal
The Philippines would lead in terms of marriage equality should it legalize same-sex marriage, New York City-based human-advocacy group Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.
The HRW’s comments were released on the same day the Supreme Court (SC) held its first oral arguments on a petition by LGBT rights advocate Atty. Jesus M. Falcis III to legalize same-sex marriage in the country and declare unconstitutional Executive Order 209 (Family Code) of the 1987 Constitution, a first for the high court.
“If the Supreme Court rules that the provisions of the Family Code are unconstitutional and permits same-sex marriage, or the national legislature enacts a law allowing same-sex marriage, the Philippines will join Taiwan at the forefront of Asian countries with marriage equality,” said Ryan Thoreson, a researcher from the HRW’s LGBT rights division.
“Beyond the Supreme Court hearing, the recognition of same-sex partnerships has gained considerable steam in the Philippines,” Mr. Thoreson said. — Dane Angelo Enerio
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Assistant Secretary Epimaco V. Densing III on Wednesday said the government is looking into a possible “soft opening” of Boracay by the first week of September, a month before the six-month closure period of the island destination lapses.
“At least prior to the closure , we have discussed at least the first week of September but we’ll have to discuss the definition of soft opening,” he told senators during the Senate hearing on Boracay’s environmental woes.
Mr. Densing also clarified that the schedule of the soft opening was not binding as specific conditions on the rehabilitation had to met before lifting the closure.
Senator Cynthia A. Villar, chair of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources, said the committee would be conducting a monthly hearing to monitor the progress of the rehabilitation of Boracay.
For his part, Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon believed that the rehabilitation would be completed until the first week of September but hoped the minimum reforms were placed.
“The reforms that are being instituted, certainly, will not be finished by that time but at least, the minimum requirements that meet environmental standards will be in place. On the long-term, we propose and the chair has agreed for a single authority to manage Boracay,” he told reporters. — Camille Aguinaldo
TOP JAPANESE BANKS have expressed their interest in participating in the Philippines’ return to the yen debt market following their meeting with the Finance department in Tokyo.
In a statement sent to journalists yesterday, the Department of Finance (DoF) said that Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III met with officials of Daiwa Securities Group Inc., Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Nomura Holdings Inc., Mizuho Financial Group, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC), where all have expressed interest of the upcoming bond issuance.
“We can expect a strong demand. And of course, now the investors are looking for places to invest. Now for samurai bonds, there will be strong demand,” Daiwa President and Chief Executive Officer Seiji Nakata was quoted by the DoF as saying.
“We are right behind you, so no need to worry,” he added.
MUFG Deputy Chairman Saburo Araki meanwhile said: “We are extremely supportive of the bond issue…We are very excited and pleased for the inauguration or possible issuance.”
He added that Japanese investors have “strong confidence in the Philippines now and into the future,” citing the “good relationship” between both country’s leaders.
The government eyes to offer about $1 billion worth of yen-denominated securities by September or October. It has already started to secure necessary approvals from regulators here and in Japan, and has already conducted an economic briefing on Tuesday led by the country’s economic managers, the central bank Governor, and other Cabinet officials.
According to the DoF, the upcoming samurai bond float will be the ninth offered by the Philippines, but will be the first without any guarantee from a Japanese institution.
The previous sale of yen-denominated notes was in 2010 when the government raised 100 billion yen in 10-year papers through private placement, fetching a 2.32 percent coupon.
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation guaranteed 95 percent of the issuance through its Market Access Support Facility — which was established to assist Asia’s developing countries in accessing international capital markets following the global financial crisis of 2008.
No guarantee fees would mean lower financial costs for the Philippine government, the DoF said. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
