Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube
Home Blog Page 12502

Ginebra San Miguel Q1 income nearly doubles

GINEBRASANMIGUEL.COM

GINEBRA SAN Miguel, Inc. (GSMI) said higher sales volumes of its flagship brands had driven growth in its first-quarter net income, which nearly doubled to P255.47 million from P129.41 million in the same period last year.
The hard liquor unit of San Miguel Corp. told the stock exchange that consolidated revenues in the first three months rose by 24% to P6.4 billion.
Ginebra San Miguel and Vino Kulafu are the company’s flagship brands.
The company said its “solid results” arose from “focused marketing and selling programs that strengthened its brand equity, along with efforts to manage costs.”
Operating income during the period grew by 58% to P478 million.
“2017 was a significant year for us, as we registered higher volumes for the fourth straight year. Our flagship brand’s campaign, ‘Ganado sa Buhay’, was received well by consumers,” said Eduardo M. Cojuangco, Jr., GSMI president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
“Towards the end of 2017, we launched a new campaign, ‘Ginebra Ako’, which is currently driving growth. We remain committed to lead the industry and position ourselves to deliver long-term growth for many years to come,” he added.
GSMI reported a net income of P602 million in 2017, a surge of 67% from 2016 and the highest in the last seven years. Consolidated revenues during the year hit P20.9 billion, up 12% from the previous year because of higher sales volumes.
The company said it is looking to expand its product portfolio “to deliver more profitable and durable growth in the years ahead.”
It launched last year two new gin variants, namely: GSM Blue Flavors Gin Pomelo and GSM Blue Flavors Margarita. The two are aimed at the younger market. It also reintroduced Añejo Gold Medium Rum, which it describes as a moderate-strength rum product.
GSMI is the maker of gin brands, Ginebra San Miguel, and other liquor products, including GSM Premium Gin, GSM Blue, GSM Blue Flavors, Antonov Vodka, Vino Kulafu, Don Enrique Tequila, Añejo Gold Medium Rum and Primery Light Brandy.
On Friday, shares in the company rose 6.52% to close at P20.75 per share. — Victor V. Saulon

PHL inches up in Internet speed

By Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo, Reporter
FIXED line and mobile Internet speeds in the Philippines increased in April from the same period last year, but still lagged behind global standards.
Ookla LLC released its Global Speedtest Index for April 2018. In the Philippines, mobile download speed was at 14.01 megabits per second (Mbps), up from 9.71 Mbps last year. Upload speed was at 5.99 Mbps against 5.19 Mbps. The country also increased in ranking from 98 to 96 out of 126 countries, although still below the global average of 22.61 Mbps for download speed and 9.10 Mbps for upload speed.
Meanwhile, broadband download speed was at 17.62 Mbps, up from 10.84 Mbps last year. Upload speed was at 15.27 Mbps compared with 8.82 Mbps in April last year . The Philippines increased in rank from 93 to 83 out of 135 countries but still fell below the global average speeds of 45.07 Mbps for download speed and 21.93 Mbps for upload speed.
Countries which registered the highest mobile speed are Iceland (65.90 Mbps); Norway (64.56 Mbps); and Qatar (56.95 Mbps).
Those that had the highest fixed line speed are Singapore (174.94 Mbps); Iceland (162.43 Mbps); and Hong Kong (141.05 Mbps).
The tests involve at least 670 unique results for mobile and at least 3,333 for fixed broadband in a country.
Ookla is an Internet testing, data, and analysis company based in Seattle, USA.

Singapore seeks clarification from Malaysia on high-speed rail link

SINGAPORE — Singapore has requested clarification regarding Malaysia’s position on a high-speed rail link between the two countries, a minister in the wealthy city-state said on Friday, following media reports its neighbour had decided to cancel the plan.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad this week said he was cancelling the project to link the capital, Kuala Lumpur, with Singapore. He said Malaysia would talk to its southern neighbour about any compensation it had to pay.
“We have informed the Malaysian government that Singapore is continuing to incur costs on this project as it awaits Malaysia’s clarification,” said Singapore transport minister Khaw Boon Wan.
If Malaysia terminated the project, Singapore would study the implications and exercise its rights, including any right to compensation for expenses incurred, under their agreement, he said in a statement.
“We still believe that a high-speed rail link between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur would be in our mutual interest, economically, as well as in terms of the friendship and mutual understanding of our two peoples,” he added.
While Singapore continued to support the project, it would only be tenable if Malaysia was also supportive and willing to fulfil its end of the agreement, added Khaw, who is also the coordinating minister for infrastructure.
On Friday, Malaysia’s finance minister said the project was terminated for now, but could be revisited in the future.
The project, valued by analysts at about $17 billion and set to have been completed by 2026, would have cut travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to about 90 minutes from four or five hours by road now.
Mahathir estimates Malaysia could cut almost a fifth of its $250-billion national debt and liabilities by scrapping such big projects. — Reuters

Canada defense minister calls Trump tariff action `insulting'

Canada’s top defense official said the Trump administration’s decision to levy tariffs against the country’s steel on national security grounds was “absurd,” but wouldn’t impact the neighbors’ defense relationship.
“To consider Canada a national security risk to the U.S. is ridiculous and absurd,” Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan, a retired army lieutenant colonel, told Bloomberg News Friday on the sidelines of a security forum in Singapore. “I find it quite insulting, especially for somebody like myself who served alongside the U.S.”
Sajjan said that Canada’s security ties with the U.S. have been forged over a century of cooperation, from World War I to the conflict in Afghanistan. He was speaking after Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced the U.S. would levy new duties on metals imports from the European Union, Mexico and Canada on national security grounds, ending temporary exemptions.
Sajjan was in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual Asian security conference where he may cross paths with U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis. Trump’s willingness to upset traditional U.S. alliances and his abrupt changes of mind on key issues is creating an undercurrent of anxiety at the gathering, which would otherwise be focused on security challenges from North Korea to a rising China.
Trump already raised doubts about the future U.S. commitment to Asia by pulling the U.S. out of a giant Pacific trade pact in one of his first acts as president. The agreement was seen as a hallmark of U.S. engagement with Asia under the prior administration and a buffer against China’s rising clout. Then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter in 2015 called it more strategically important than having another aircraft carrier battle group in the Pacific.
On Thursday, Trump also renewed his threat to walk away from the North American Free Trade Agreement, after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced retaliatory tariffs. “The United States will agree to a fair deal, or there will be no deal at all,” Trump said.
“We are hopeful that this trade issue can be resolved, because it’s not going to benefit any of our nations,” Sajjan said. “Our trade is linked into our economy and our economy is very important to our national security, which is something I agree with the Trump administration on.” — Bloomberg

Atari co-founder Ted Dabney dead at age 81: reports

San Francisco — Atari co-founder Samuel “Ted” Dabney, who helped create hit video game “Pong,” has died at the age of 81 at his Northern California home, according to reports.
His death was announced Saturday in a Facebook post by a friend, Leonard Herman.
“RIP dear friend,” Herman wrote of San Francisco-born Dabney.
“Your legacy will live on a long time!”
The New York Times on Thursday cited confirmation from Dabney’s wife that her husband died on May 26 from cancer.
Electrical engineer Dabney and Nolan Bushnell founded Atari in June 1972 and began shipping “Pong” arcade machines later that year, according to the company’s website.
The game was a digital spin on table tennis, with players using joy sticks to slide on-screen paddles to serve and return balls represented by squares of light.
“Pong” became a sensation and coin-operated machines could be found in pubs, bowling allies, and shopping malls, as well as arcades.
California-based Atari and Pong have been credited with helping lay the foundation for the multi-billion dollar video game industry existing today.
“Ted Dabney, who we lost on Saturday, designed the incredible, true genius circuit behind ‘Computer Space’ and ‘Pong,’ which truly and directly has its beautiful tendrils in every pixel you will ever see,” video game designer and industry icon Jonathan Seamus Blackley said in a tweet from his official account.
“Think of him today, and thank him.” — AFP

Final Fruit-ier: Thailand sends smelly durian into space

Bangkok, Thailand — It’s one small step for Thailand, one giant leap for Southeast Asia’s smelliest fruit.
Thailand plans to shoot durian into orbit to test its durability in a project that could see the staple “king of fruits” consumed in zero-gravity conditions.
“In the future we want astronauts to be able to eat Thai food,” said a spokesperson for Thailand’s Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA).
“We want to see whether there are any physical changes after it returns to earth, for example it might get smaller, or cracked.”
The sticky snack is eaten across the region and is both famous for its popularity and infamous for its pungent smell, prompting bans on durians in hotel rooms, elevators and airplane cabins.
The fruit’s reputation raises questions about how it will be received inside such close confines as a spaceship.
But the test, carried out with an organisation that has yet to be named publicly, will use a dried and vacuum-sealed version of the fruit, which packs much less of an odour.
Liftoff is scheduled for July, when packages of durian will be sealed, placed in a box and rocketed into space for five minutes.
Different kinds of Thai rice will also make the daring journey.
Advances in technology and the growing number of countries sending their citizens into space have enriched astronauts’ controlled cuisine with new flavours.
And with Asia catching up with more established space programs, menus are diversifying.
The pickled dish kimchi boldly went where few fermented vegetables have gone before when a South Korean astronaut brought it with her in 2008. — AFP

Japan flags new suspected North Korea sanctions breach

Tokyo — Japan said Friday it had reported to the UN a suspected sanctions violation by North Korea involving a ship-to-ship transfer, days after Tokyo said another suspected breach had been flagged.
The incident is the sixth time this year Tokyo has reported a cargo transfer involving a North Korean vessel, in violation of sanctions over Pyongyang’s banned nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, a foreign ministry official said.
A Japanese military escort ship spotted the North Korean tanker alongside a vessel named MYONG RYU 1 of unknown nationality in the East China Sea on May 24, the ministry said in a statement.
“The (Japanese) government strongly suspects they were transferring goods, which is banned under UN Security Council resolutions,” it said.
The ministry identified the North Korean tanker as the SAM JONG 2, one of the vessels denied international port access by the UN Security Council.
On Tuesday, Tokyo said it had reported a similar case involving a North Korean-flagged tanker and a small vessel, which appeared to be flying what “seemed like” a Chinese flag.
Pyongyang is subject to a series of UN sanctions, including one prohibiting all member states from facilitating or engaging in ship-to-ship transfers of goods to or from North Korean-flagged vessels.
Tokyo’s claims come amid a flurry of diplomatic activity ahead of an expected summit between the North’s leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump next month. — AFP

Global stocks rise amid Italy relief; treasuries slip

Stocks headed for a positive end to a tumultuous week in which political developments in Europe and escalating trade tensions roiled markets. Treasuries edged lower and the dollar was steady.
The Stoxx Europe 600 gauge gained, led by banks and basic-resources stocks. Italy’s benchmark index jumped the most in four months as populist parties surged to power, bringing to an end a three-month political deadlock. S&P equity-index futures also advanced, signaling a higher U.S. open as President Donald Trump’s administration pushes ahead with tariffs on imports of metals from its key trading partners.
German bunds led a drop in core European bonds as a risk-on mood took hold, though Italian debt gained. Spanish assets shrugged of uncertainty surrounding the future of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, with the nation’s bonds and stocks rising in early trade.
Investors remain optimistic that threats of more international tariffs will not materialize into an all-out trade war between the U.S. and its key partners, while the latest developments in Italy also provide some well-needed relief within Europe. The focus on Friday shifts to the latest U.S. jobs report, with payrolls expected to rise and the unemployment rate seen holding at the lowest since 2000.
Oil was steady as rising U.S. output overshadowed a surprise decline in crude stockpiles, with traders also focused on whether Saudi Arabia and Russia will boost production.
Terminal users can read more in Bloomberg’s Markets Live blog.
These are some key events to watch this week:
The U.S. employment report for May is due Friday. It’s the last before the June Fed meeting. Automakers report May U.S. sales the same day. Also Friday: some onshore Chinese stocks join MSCI Inc.’s global indexes. On Saturday U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross will travel to Beijing for more talks with Vice Premier Liu He on topics including ZTE Corp. and trade.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.8 percent as of 8:51 a.m. London time. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index rose 0.7 percent. Italy’s FTSE MIB Index climbed 2.8 percent, the largest increase in more than 16 weeks. Spain’s IBEX Index increased 1.1 percent, the biggest climb in eight weeks. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced less than 0.05 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 Index climbed 0.4 percent.
Currencies
The euro fell less than 0.05 percent to $1.1692. The British pound decreased 0.1 percent. The Japanese yen fell 0.4 percent to 109.23 per dollar, the largest fall in more than two weeks. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced less than 0.05 percent.
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries gained one basis point to 2.87 percent. Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 1.263 percent. Italy’s 10-year yield dipped 15 basis points to 2.641 percent, the lowest in a week. Spain’s 10-year yield decreased eight basis points to 1.425 percent, the lowest in more than a week. Germany’s 10-year yield increased three basis points to 0.37 percent, the highest in a week. Japan’s 10-year yield increased one basis point to 0.048 percent.
Commodities
Gold advanced 0.1 percent to $1,299.17 an ounce. West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 0.1 percent to $66.97 a barrel. Brent crude gained less than 0.05 percent to $77.57 a barrel. — Bloomberg

Cavs feel ‘robbed’ after Warriors win NBA Finals opener

Oakland — A controversial video review foul reversal left Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue feeling “robbed” after the Golden State Warriors ripped the Cavaliers 124-114 in overtime in Thursday’s NBA Finals opener.
Stephen Curry scored 29 points, Kevin Durant added 26 and Klay Thompson had 24 to spark the defending champions to victory despite LeBron James scoring a playoff career-high 51 points in defeat.
“To do what he did tonight and come out robbed, it’s just not right,” Lue said.
A physical, heated and emotional game marked the start of the fourth finals in a row between the teams and the eighth in a row involving James, who echoed Lue’s theft theme.
“There were some plays that we had taken away from us,” James said. “We’re in the fight now. They got a great taste of it tonight.”
The crucial moment came with 36.4 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter as Durant was whistled for a charging foul that was overturned on video review into a blocking foul on James, giving Durant two free throws he made to lift the Warriors level at 104-104.
“I read that play just as well as I’ve read any play in my career, maybe in my life,” James said. “I seen the play happening. I was outside the charge line. I stepped in, took the contact. It’s a huge play.”
Lue said James was clearly outside the line so the play never should have been reviewed, much less reversed.
“For our team to come out and play their hearts out and compete the way we did, man, I mean, it’s bad,” Lue said.
“It has never been done, ever, in the history of the game. And then tonight in the finals on the biggest stage, when our team played well, played our ass off, man, it ain’t right. It ain’t right.”
Referee Ken Mauer defended the choice to review the call.
“We had doubt as to whether or not James was in the restricted area,” Mauer said. “It was determined he was out of the restricted area but he was not in a legal guarding position prior to Durant’s separate shooting motion. So we had to change it to a blocking foul.”
Golden State coach Steve Kerr said he had seen such a reversal “not often, but I’ve seen it a couple times.”
Durant said he had a block-charge reversal in the regular season.
“I knew once it was 30 seconds to go that they could review that situation,” Durant said. “I knew he was late on the drive and I knew I had my man beat and he came over a little late. So when they called the charge I was surprised, but I’m glad they reviewed it.”
Smith misses opportunity
After play resumed, James hit an inside shot and Curry answered with a 3-point play but Cleveland’s George Hill made a free throw to pull the Cavs level at 107-107 with 4.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
When Hill missed the second free throw, Cleveland’s J.R. Smith grabbed the rebound. But instead of trying for a winning layup, he moved away from Durant at the hoop and the game went into overtime.
“We got lucky,” Kerr said. “He could have taken a shot, but he dribbled out. I guess he thought they were ahead. We got lucky.”
Lue said Smith thought the Cavs were ahead but Smith said he thought the game was tied and was trying for a final shot.
“Kevin was standing right there. I tried to bring it out and get enough space to maybe get a shot off,” Smith said.
“I thought we were going to take a timeout because I got the rebound. I’m pretty sure everybody didn’t think I was going to shoot it over KD.
“If I thought we were ahead, I would have just held on to the ball and let them foul me.”
Durant, who had three blocks, said, “If he had tried to put a layup up, I had a good chance to contest it.”
One last incident
Golden State opened overtime with a 9-0 run and the Cavs never had a chance. But with the outcome not in doubt, Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson made a flagrant foul on a last-second shot and was taunted by Draymond Green, who had the ball shoved in his face for his trouble as teammates kept them apart.
“It wasn’t really a verbal altercation,” Green said. “Nothing really. It is what it is. Life goes on.”
Curry and James were talking during a break to review the incident.
“It’s going to happen. There’s going to be chatter,” Curry said. “We’ve gotten very familiar with each other over the last four years. At the end of the day it’s a bunch of nothing.” — AFP

Koreas hold high-level talks ahead of Trump-Kim summit

Seoul — North and South Korea held high-level talks Friday to discuss their ongoing efforts to improve ties ahead of a landmark meeting between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.
The North-South discussions were originally scheduled for earlier this month but were abruptly called off by Pyongyang in response to a joint US-South Korea air force drill.
But a day after “Max Thunder” ended May 25, the North’s leader Kim had a surprise summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the border truce village of Panmunjom — their second, following a historic first meeting in April.
The two Koreas agreed to hold more meetings throughout this month to carry out the agreements reached between their leaders at the April summit, according to a joint statement released following Friday’s talks.
A round of general-level military talks will be held on June 14 to discuss ways to ease tensions and a Red Cross meeting to plan a reunion for war-separated families is scheduled for June 22.
Officials from the two sides will also meet on June 18 to discuss the prospects of fielding a joint team for the Jakarta Asian Games in August.
The two Koreas formed the first-ever unified Korean Olympic team, a joint women’s ice hockey squad, during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
The current rapprochement on the peninsula was triggered by the games, to which the North sent athletes, cheerleaders, and Kim’s sister as an envoy.
The high-level meeting comes as a flurry of diplomacy is underway to lay the groundwork for a historic June 12 summit between Kim and Trump.
Kim’s right-hand man, Kim Yong Chol, is set to deliver a personal letter from Kim to Trump Friday following talks in New York with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, which made what the US diplomat called “real progress” towards the planned summit in Singapore.
Simultaneously, Kim met Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Pyongyang and said the North’s “will for denuclearization of the Korean peninsula still remains unchanged and consistent and fixed”, the state-run KCNA news agency said. — AFP

World on brink of trade war as US slaps tariffs on allies

Paris — The world’s largest economies stood on the brink of all-out trade war as the EU, Canada and Mexico drew up retaliatory measures to Washington’s stinging steel and aluminium tariffs that came into effect on Friday.
Washington angered its major allies by slapping duties of 25 percent and 10 percent on imports of aluminium and steel.
The measures had actually been decided back in March, but at the time US President Donald Trump gave Canada and the EU — the biggest sources of foreign aluminum and steel respectively for the US — a grace period until May 31.
On Thursday, however, Trump announced that those exemptions were not being extended, and his decision immediately drew furious responses from Canadian President Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron.
“These tariffs are an affront to the long standing security partnership between Canada and the United States,” said Trudeau, as Ottawa hit back with retaliatory duties on US imports worth up to Can$16.6 billion (US$12.8 billion).
EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker said the 28-nation bloc “will announce in the next coming hours counter-balancing measures” in response to the US action.
Brussels has previously threatened to slap tariffs on US products including bourbon, motorcycles and blue jeans.
‘Not at war’
But the EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini insisted Friday that the EU was “not at war with anyone”.
The European Union was “a peace project, including on trade”, Mogherini said.
Nevertheless, European leaders are fuming.
French President Macron told Trump in a telephone call that the tariffs were “illegal” and said Europe would respond in a “firm and proportionate manner”.
And speaking to reporters, Macron described the US move as “a mistake in many ways because it responds to existing international imbalances in the worst way — by breaking up and creating economic nationalism.
“And nationalism is war. That’s exactly what happened in the 30s,” Macron said.
In Berlin, Chancellor Merkel said the measure “risks touching off spirals of escalation that in the end hurt everyone”.
Mexico, too, said it would impose retaliatory duties on a variety of US goods, including steel and a host of agricultural goods, including pork, apples and various cheeses.
The unprecedented trade tensions are souring a gathering of the so-called Group of Seven or G7 underway in the coastal mountain resort of Whistler, Canada, normally a scene of compromise and trade promotion.
“I’ll be stating very clearly our disagreement with the actions they’ve taken,” Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau told reporters ahead of the meetings.
“I have every expectation that our other allies around the table will express the same sentiments.”
Limited impact on GDP?
The prospect of a global trade has roiled financial markets this week, too, even if they were back in positive territory on Friday.
Berenberg Bank economist Holger Schmieding argued that the direct impact of an US-EU trade war would actually be rather small in terms of gross domestic product.
“Even if the US were to levy a 25-percent tariff on car imports from the EU, the direct damage to be shared largely between US consumers and EU exporters would be equivalent to 0.08 percent of EU GDP,” he calculated.
Nevertheless, “the uncertainty about future trade and Trump’s contempt for international rules can deal a significant blow to business confidence especially in trade-oriented nations,” the expert said.
“The most likely outcome… could be protracted negotiations during which both the US and the EU lock horns but do not take ever more dramatic headline-grabbing protectionist steps,” Schmieding said.
The World Trade Organization’s former chief, Pascal Lamy, also said the damage would likely be limited in concrete terms.
“We have to keep things in proportion,” he said on the French radio station, France Info. He estimated that the economic impact of the tariffs would amount to “a very small part of trade flows as a whole”.
But he saw as “a very worrying development” Washington’s justification that the measures were needed for reasons of national security.
That was “completely grotesque,” Lamy said. — AFP

EU ‘not at war with anyone’ on trade: Mogherini

Brussels, Belgium — EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Friday said the bloc was not in a trade war with anyone but would defend its interests, hours after the US slapped punishing metals tariffs on Europe and other close allies.
“The European Union is not at war with anyone… the EU is a peace project, including on trade,” Mogherini said at a joint press conference in Brussels with the visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
“We believe in global free fair trade and we will continue to do so,” Mogherini told reporters.
“Having said that, clearly the EU has to defend its interests,” she added.
Mogherini said the EU had prepared its counter-measures against the US, including a tit-for-tat threat of duties on a whole range of products including cranberries and bourbon whiskey.
She said the EU will also launch a dispute settlement procedure against the United States at the World Trade Organization, a legal process that could take years.
“This doesn’t mean the United States are not our closest partners and friends. Allies they (will) stay,” she said after a first round of talks with China’s Wang.
“We work very closely with the US on most issues from security .. to international foreign policy issues and this will continue to be the case,” she said.
In a veiled warning, Wang warned Washington to abide its commitments to avoid a separate US-China trade war as a 50-strong US delegation held talks in Beijing.
“We always honour our words and we expect that our partners keep their word as well,” Wang said.
The US delegation is laying the groundwork for a weekend visit by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to finalise a fragile trade truce announced earlier in May. — AFP

1...12,50112,50212,503...14,238Page 12,502 of 14,238
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube