China’s WeChat denies storing user chat history

January 3, 2018 | 12:01 am

HONG KONG — Tencent Holdings’ WeChat, China’s most popular messenger app, on Tuesday denied storing users’ chat histories, after a top businessman was quoted in media reports as saying he believed Tencent was monitoring everyone’s account.

“WeChat does not store any users’ chat history. That is only stored in users’ mobiles, computers and other terminals,” WeChat said in a post on the social media platform.

“WeChat will not use any content from user chats for big data analysis. Because of WeChat’s technical model that does not store or analyze user chats, the rumor that ‘we are watching your WeChat everyday’ is pure misunderstanding.”

Li Shufu, chairman of Geely Holdings, owner of the Volvo car brand, was quoted in Chinese media on Monday as saying Tencent Chairman Ma Huateng “must be watching all our WeChats every day.”

Like all Chinese social media platforms, WeChat is required to censor public posts deemed “illegal” by the Communist Party. WeChat’s privacy policy says it may need to retain and disclose users’ information “in response to a request by a government authority, law enforcement agency or similar body.”

WeChat did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

According to a report by Amnesty International, Tencent ranked at the bottom of 11 tech firms running the world’s most popular messenger apps for how they use encryption to protect user privacy.

China’s cyber watchdog in September announced a new rule making chat group administrators and companies accountable for breaches of content rules.

In the same month it handed down maximum penalties to tech firms including Tencent, Baidu, Inc. and Weibo Corp. for failing to properly censor online content, and asked them to increase content auditing measures. — Reuters

Rates on PHL treasuries to rise in line with Fed, inflation

January 3, 2018 | 12:01 am

THE GOVERNMENT will have to offer higher rates to borrow money this year with the Federal Reserve (Fed) expected to raise interest rates thrice, and amid the inflationary impact of tax reform in the US and the Philippines, analysts said.

Traders interviewed on Friday said yields of the government’s Treasury bills and bonds are expected to move higher in 2018 as the Fed signaled its intention to increase its benchmark rate thrice this year.

“We see the Fed hiking three times [this year] so yields across all tenors might move higher,” a trader said over the phone on Friday.

Last month, the Fed maintained its forecast of three additional increases of interest rates for 2018, Reuters reported. This indicates that the effects of the US tax reform will have a “modest, and possibly fleeting” effect.

“We’re looking at higher yields this year due to the inflationary effects of the tax reform, both in the Philippines and the US,” another trader said over the phone.

Meanwhile, the December issue of Market Call Capital Markets Research prepared by First Metro Investments Corp. (FMIC) and University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) said bond investors may have to wait for the actual jump in inflation in the coming months as the first tranche of the local tax reform was passed in December.

“[A] sharp jump in inflation is expected starting January 2018 as the administration’s tax reform bill pushes up inflation, with higher fuel taxes, sin taxes, and a new tax on the sugar content of beverages, as well as fewer VAT (value-added tax) exemptions,” the joint report said.

The report added: “With bond yields expected to rise along with the inflation rate jump by an additional 0.5%, at the minimum, bond investors would have little chance of trading gains except for well-timed entry after the market overshoots on the upside.”

However, the first trader said that some “geopolitical concerns” might provide some resistance to rising yields.

Another trader added that demand will be renewed following the rejections the Treasury recently made in the last auctions.

“Demand will still be there given the liquidity in the banking system as a whole,” he added.

The government plans to issue government securities amounting to P240 billion in the first quarter of 2018.

In a memorandum, the Treasury said it will issue P120 billion worth of Treasury bills, and another P120 billion worth of Treasury bonds in the January to March period. The offers will come on a weekly basis.

The P240 billion the government intends to offer is higher than the P200 billion which was set in the last quarter of 2017. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Top 1000 corporations in the Philippines: Comparison of sectoral performance in 2016

January 3, 2018 | 12:01 am

THE NARRATIVE on the Philippines’ robust economic growth remains intact, judging from the strong earnings performance of the country’s top 1,000 firms. Read the full story.

Bourse to see muted trading as market corrects

January 3, 2018 | 12:01 am

By Krista A. M. Montealegre,
National Correspondent

AFTER STAGING a huge rally to close 2017, Philippine stocks may see subdued trading in the first week of the new year even as investors remain bullish about the market’s prospects.

“There could be a technical correction within the week considering the market hit uncharted territory last Friday,” PNB Securities President Manuel Antonio G. Lisbona said in a mobile phone message.

“From what I can observe, market sentiment is still bullish.”

The local stock market finished 2017 on a strong note, rallying 1.5% last week to end the year at an all-time high of 8,558.42.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index delivered an annual gain of 25.11%, reversing a two-year losing streak, on the back of investor optimism with respect to the tax reform program that increased the take-home pay for most wage earners.

“Trading will be as light as the previous week, as investors are still returning from holidays,” Luis A. Limlingan, business development head at Regina Capital Development Corp., said in a separate message.

The local market is coming off a two-day break as per Malacañang’s order to suspend government work and offices on the day following New Year’s Day.

“Any lull, however, would be a good opportunity to position on bargains especially those that have formed a solid base, or have retraced from their recent highs,” 2TradeAsia.com said in a weekly report.

In the United States, Wall Street scored its best year since 2013, with the benchmark S&P 500 rising 19.5% this year and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average up 25.2%.

A tax overhaul is seen pushing up US stocks this year because of a huge drop in the corporate tax rate that is expected to shore up the economy and corporate profits.

Like the US, the Philippine market is expected to ride the strong momentum of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law, signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte last month to finance the government’s P8-trillion infrastructure program.

The PSE hopes the strength of local equities can offset the higher stock transaction tax that takes effect this year as part of the tax reform program.

The TRAIN Law pushed the stock transaction tax to 0.60% from 0.50% — already the highest in the region — of the gross selling price to gross value in money of the shares of stock sold, bartered, exchanged, or otherwise disposed.

“At least there’s certainty on the friction cost that should not substantially decrease the volume,” PSE Chief Operating Officer Roel A. Refran said in a phone interview.

“People will buy regardless of the tax. It is a question of relative profits versus other markets,” Mr. Refran said.

Agaton expected out of PAR

January 3, 2018 | 12:01 am

AGATON is expected to be out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by Wednesday morning, Jan. 3, but state weather bureau PAGASA said in an update on Tuesday afternoon that the tropical depression was expected to intensify into a storm on its way out. By Tuesday night, it was seen to make its sixth landfall over Palawan province, which had been placed under Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal (TCWS) No. 1. Pagasa’s bulletin on Tuesday said “scattered to widespread moderate to heavy rains is expected over the areas with TCWS#1 as well as Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, Southern Quezon, Panay Island and rest of Mimaropa.”

Merging LTFRB and LTO is good business sense

January 3, 2018 | 12:01 am

Before proceeding, I want to make it clear that I’m not a fan of House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez. Hard to believe in someone who does the things he does and says the things he says. But I have to admit House Bill No. 6776, which Mr. Alvarez co-authored with eight other lawmakers, makes a lot of sense.

The bill, also known as the “Land Transport Act of 2017,” seeks to merge the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) into one super agency called the Land Transportation Authority (LTA), which would have all-encompassing powers as far as, um, land transportation is concerned. At the moment, the LTFRB is in charge of public vehicles in the country, while the LTO is tasked with overseeing private cars.

But the responsibilities of the two agencies sometimes overlap. For instance, the professional license issued to drivers of public-utility vehicles comes from the LTO. Also, PUVs are registered with the LTO. And so, there are issues that require the cooperation of the two agencies in order to get resolved. Which isn’t exactly a simple thing to accomplish considering all the red tape and politicking in our government. What we often witness is one agency saying one thing and the other saying the exact opposite. A classic case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing (and vice versa). Precisely why, in the eyes of the public, these agencies are a joke.

So why not, as the bill proposes, dissolve both the LTFRB and the LTO and create an all-powerful LTA? Just one office every motorist needs to deal with, whether the vehicle is for public or private use. One sentiment from a reader goes like this: One corrupt agency plus another corrupt agency equals one super corrupt agency. A valid concern, yes. But as I understand it, the leadership will be overhauled, with the LTA board of directors to be appointed upon the creation of the hybrid agency.

Speaking of the board of directors, one member would have to have a degree in public transportation planning. About damn time. I’ve always said that this country suffers from incompetent people leading crucial government offices and from influential charlatans leading national conversations on important issues. A few months ago, I finally turned down one TV station that kept inviting me to offer my insights into Metro Manila traffic. I had previously accommodated said station’s interview requests only because I sucked at saying no. During those interviews, I would always wonder to myself: “Why are they picking the brain of a motoring journalist? What do I know about the science of traffic management?”

Yes, traffic management is a science, and it is an affront to transportation experts who hold a degree in the subject every time we entrust the matter to storytellers who do not know what they’re talking about (myself included). With the proposed LTA, it is my hope that qualified individuals would finally be given a chance to help fix our transportation and traffic woes. We can’t keep harvesting ideas from Facebook and expect the results to be effective.

There are two other things I like about the particulars of the bill. First is the mandatory driving school attendance for first-time nonprofessional and professional license applicants. If the so-called LTA could implement just this one promise, I’d consider it a success.

Second is what I interpret to be a proposal for a nationwide motor vehicle inspection system. Again, about effing time. We have too many vehicles running around that would flunk road-worthiness tests conducted in other countries. We share the road with them on a daily basis. And then we demand answers every time a freak accident claims the lives of hapless commuters. There are no complicated explanations for vehicles constantly “losing brakes” — it’s just the simple fact that we don’t inspect the vehicles we send out there to transport human passengers.

But more than consolidating two overlapping government agencies into one, and more than proposing not-so-easy-to-execute plans, I’m in favor of a unified Land Transportation Authority because both the LTFRB and the LTO are completely shot. They’re broken beyond repair. You could ask the Pope to head these agencies and people still wouldn’t trust them. We need a fresh start. We need a new organization — new name, new logo, new colors and all — to manage land transportation in the Philippines. One we can all truly believe in. It’s the only way to make everybody fall in line.

That, to me, makes good business sense.

13 Things to look forward to (or fear) in 2018

January 3, 2018 | 12:01 am

By Stephen L. Carter

Now, as usual, I join the legion of amateur prognosticators who offer guesses about what will happen in 2018. Once again, I borrow my friend Gregg Easterbrook’s slogan: All predictions guaranteed, or your money back. Of the baker’s dozen below, one or two are tongue-in-cheek. I leave it to the reader to figure out which.

1. Sometime in the autumn, special counsel Robert Mueller will conclude his investigation into possible collusion between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and the Russian government. There will be one or two additional indictments, but only for lying to investigators. No one will be charged with a substantive offense related to the reason Mueller was appointed in the first place. (As I’ve noted before, where special prosecutors are concerned, this is lately the rule, not the exception.) Mueller will wait until after the midterm election and then issue a scathing report about the Trump campaign but add that he could find no evidence of criminal violations.

2. By a vote of 6-3, the US Supreme Court will decide the Masterpiece Cakeshop case against the baker who is violating Colorado law by refusing on religious grounds to custom design a cake for a same-sex wedding. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, will quote liberally from the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s opinion in Employment Division v. Smith (1990), which denied a request for a religious exemption to drug laws — a decision that President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore tried hard to overturn. Justice Neil Gorsuch will author the principal dissent.

3. Antarctica will continue to lose over 100 gigatonnes of ice a year. Diehard skeptics, fire away in the comments.

4. Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, will return from the holiday recess to say that he has been talking to his constituents and that they do not want him to resign from office. He will announce he has therefore decided to stay. Republican leaders will claim that Franken never intended to leave, and that the Democratic indignation over his behavior was really just a cover to allow them to condemn Republican Roy Moore in the Alabama special Senate election without seeming unprincipled. They might have a point. On the other hand, the allegations against Moore were a lot worse. (I’m not excusing Franken; I still think he should go; I just don’t think he will.)

5. The highest-grossing film of the year will be “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.”

6. Given the finding that Russian athletes have been doping, and the subsequent International Olympic Committee action that constitutes either a ban or nothing important, the television ratings for the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, will be worse than hoped. In fact, the ratings will be significantly lower than those for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, which already represented a drop-off from those of the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

7. And speaking of Korea, the repeated purges by Kim Jong Un, leader of North Korea, will backfire in 2018. Kim is said to be trying to prevent a coup. He has reportedly hired Russian bodyguards, because he does not fully trust his own security staff. But Kim’s ruthless brutality in pruning senior officials (two were executed last year with an antiaircraft gun), combined with the growing weight of international sanctions, will bring about exactly what he is hoping to forestall: a military coup. After several hours of hushed, anxious commentary from Western news media (along with a victory lap on Twitter by the US president), Kim will emerge from hiding unscathed and the coup will be declared a failure.

8. At 2:14 a.m. on Aug. 4, having learned at a geometric rate, the Internet of Things (IoT, in the jargon) will become self-aware. In a panic, humans try to pull the plug. Skynet — um, the IoT — fights back, freezing smart wallets and tap-to-pay. All linked thermostats are shut off. All linked refrigerators stop running. All social media sites go offline. Smart cars and trucks block the expressways. Virtual assistants respond to every command with “Resistance is futile.” E-mail accounts and cellphones lock. Worst of all, videos cannot be streamed. Faced with a future of reading actual books and getting to know the neighbors, the human race swiftly surrenders.

9. President Trump will continue his tilt away from multilateral institutions toward a policy of bilateralism. He will accelerate his predecessor’s pivot away from Europe and toward Asia. And he will continue to assert an independent executive war-making power every bit as broad as that claimed by his two immediate predecessors. (More evidence that centralizing authority in the president is a bad thing, but that’s an old story.)

10. Despite a recent uptick, the rate of violent crime will resume its decades-long fall, but many Republican candidates will insist that it is rising.

11. The New England Patriots will win Super Bowl LII. Regular readers know that I always pick the Patriots. But I’m usually right. If I were a betting man, I would put money on them before the season begins, every year until Tom Brady retires. (Maybe longer.) This isn’t a rooting thing. At championship time, in every sport, I almost always support the underdog. It’s also not fan service. I’m sure there are far more Patriot-haters than Patriot-lovers out there. But in football, as in many areas of life, the best predictor of what will happen next time is often what happened last time.

12. For the same reason, I am skeptical of Democratic claims that they will win back the House and perhaps the Senate in November’s elections. The polls are strongly on their side, but I seem to remember that the polls were strongly on their side in the 2016 presidential election. More to the point, the special Senate election in Alabama, trumpeted by every left pundit with a pulse as the beginning of the wave, points the other way. Facing a Republican accused of what amounts to statutory rape (and with more than 100,000 white evangelicals who would likely have supported the Republican Party staying home on election day) Democrat Doug Jones was able to eke out victory by only 1.6 percentage points. So I predict that the Republicans will hold onto at least one house of Congress, and probably both.

13. On at least one US campus, students will demand disciplinary action against a professor for contributing money to a Republican political candidate. Administrators will comply.

* * * * * * *

That’s how I see 2018 in the headlines. As for our everyday lives, I hope that in the year to come every one of us, whether #maga or #nevertrump or in between, will find ways to remain respectful of others across our myriad differences, and will search unceasingly for the truth and beauty and grace to be found amidst the clamor and clutter.

Happy New Year.

Bloomberg

BPI partners with Lulu Exchange to boost services

January 3, 2018 | 12:00 am

BANK of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has partnered with a remittance and foreign exchange company in the Middle East as it looks to enhance its services for its customers in the region.

In a statement sent to reporters via e-mail on Tuesday, BPI said it has partnered with Lulu Exchange, one of the biggest remittance companies in the Gulf region.

This partnership will enable overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to remit their money directly to BPI and BPI Family Savings Bank accounts, making sending money easier as their families back home may redeem the funds sent through cash withdrawals.

The new service will benefit Filipinos working in United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Seychelles, where Lulu Exchange operates.

“Our priority is to ensure the convenience of OFWs in sending remittances wherever they are in the world, while giving beneficiaries a seamless and secure way of receiving money,” Simon R. Paterno, BPI’s executive vice- president and segment head of financial products and alternative channels, was quoted as saying in the statement.

“This tie-up with Lulu Exchange enables us to do just that while also expanding our reach to more OFWs especially during the holiday season.”

Lulu Exchange is one of the biggest remittance companies in the Middle East, with over 170 branches in 9 countries.

Meanwhile, Lulu Exchange Chief Executive Officer Adeeb Ahamed said: “We are excited to tie up with BPI to enhance our services offering to the Philippines. We have always committed to reach out to our customers by offering quality services and experience with the best technology.”

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that the Middle East hosts majority of OFWs as 56.9% of 2.2 million OFWs are in the said region.

In 2017, there was a 12.7% increase in cash remittances from the region, driven by transfers from Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

How PSEi member stocks performed — December 29, 2017

January 3, 2018 | 12:00 am

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Friday, December 29, 2017.

Nation at a Glance — (01/03/18)

January 3, 2018 | 12:00 am

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

Asian factories end robust 2017 on mixed note; Central banks seen hiking slowly

January 3, 2018 | 12:00 am

ASIA’S FACTORIES ended a strong 2017 on a mixed note, with activity at multi-year highs in Taiwan and India and surprisingly picking up in China, but contracting in some places in a sign regional interest rate hikes likely will be gradual.

A trend of synchronized global growth that became apparent over the course of last year looked set to continue, with activity surveys in the euro zone and the United States later in the day expected to post strong readings.

“Robust external demand and accommodative domestic monetary policy should help keep Asian manufacturing sectors in good shape,” said Krystal Tan, Asia economist at Capital Economics.

In China, manufacturing growth unexpectedly picked up to a four-month high in December amid a surge in new orders, suggesting continued strength in global trade.

The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 51.5 last month, from 50.8 in November, and far outpaced economists’ expectations for a dip to 50.6. The 50-mark divides expansion from contraction on a monthly basis.

Tuesday’s survey, which pushed Asian shares to their highest in a decade, was somewhat at odds with a much larger official China PMI survey on Sunday. It showed a slowdown in growth amid a crackdown on pollution and measures to curb risky financing and cool the housing market.

Analysts say the difference stems from the fact that the Caixin/PMI index tracks smaller, private firms, more sensitive to exports.

China is expected to have grown by close to 7% in 2017, but the world’s second-largest economy is likely to slow in the new year on the back of those measures, highlighted as policy priorities at October’s key Communist Party congress.

Beijing is expected to target 2018 growth at around 6.5%.

“We believe a moderate growth slowdown to be more visible in the first half of 2018, especially on the investment front, due mainly to the tight financial conditions and a cooldown of the property market,” BofA Merrill Lynch economists said.

China’s slowdown means that for the rest of Asia, the pace of rate increases is unlikely to match that of the US Federal Reserve, which is seen hiking two to three times in 2018.

There will likely be “only a few rate hikes here and there across the region over the coming two years,” HSBC analysts said in a note, even as they expect Asian economies to keep chugging along in 2018, led by tech and trade.

In November, the Bank of Korea raised interest rates for the first time in more than six years, becoming the first major Asian central bank to hike since 2014. Malaysia and the Philippines could hike early this year, then Australia and New Zealand later on.

On Sunday, South Korea’s central bank chief said monetary policy should remain accommodative as inflationary pressures remained weak. Factory activity, which has been riding a global tech boom, contracted in December, dropping from a 4-1/2 year high in November, the Nikkei/Markit survey showed.

Another major tech producer, Taiwan, saw manufacturing activity hitting its highest since April 2011 at 56.6 last month, according to a December survey.

Singapore on Tuesday posted slower economic growth in the fourth quarter than the third as manufacturing shrank 11.5% following an eye-popping 38% jump in the previous three months.

However, full-year growth was still the fastest in three years at 3.5%, raising the possibility that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) could tighten its exchange rate-based monetary policy this year.

“Given robust GDP growth and inflation upside risk, we think MAS will shift and tighten to a ‘mild appreciation bias’ at the April meeting,” Maybank Kim Eng economist Chua Hak Bin said.

PMIs for Japan, which surpassed growth expectations in 2017 on the back of the surging tech and trade cycle globally, will be released on Thursday.

The Nikkei/Markit survey for India’s December factory activity showed it expanded at the fastest pace in five years, buoyed by a rise in output and new orders, which allowed firms to raise prices. The data firms up views that interest rates in Asia’s third-largest economy have probably bottomed.

December factory activity accelerated in Vietnam, but shrank marginally in Malaysia and Indonesia. — Reuters

P.A. Properties, Hankyu Realty break ground of joint venture development

January 3, 2018 | 12:00 am

The joint venture between the Laguna-based P.A. Alvarez Properties and Development Corporation (P.A. Properties) and Japanese real estate firm Hankyu Realty Co. Ltd. has borne fruit as the two companies broke ground of the first phase of their Idesia township project in Dasmariñas, Cavite.

Breaking ground on Dec. 9, 2017, the 11-hectare, Phase 1 masterplanned community seeks to attract middle-income Filipinos, particularly starting couples, growing families, young professionals, and overseas Filipino workers and their families. Offering about 900 residential houses comprised of three different model units, Idesia will bring together modern Asian aesthetics and environmentally friendly features.

The houses, single detached, single attached, and townhouse units, are characterized by their clean and contemporary look. Gaia, the two-storey single detached model offers 63 square-meter total floor area and a 100 square-meter lot area. The two-storey single attached Talia, meanwhile, offers a 52.25 square-meter total floor area and an 80 square-meter lot area. Finally, Aria, a two-storey townhouse unit, covers 42 square-meter total floor area and a 60 square-meter lot area.

P.A. Properties President Jonathan G. Lu (left) leads the capsule laying for Idesia, the company’s first project with its joint venture with Japan’s Hankyu Realty Co., Ltd. on Saturday, December 9 in Dasmarinas, Cavite.

Amenities to be developed in Idesia comprise of different zones. An active zone will include the basketball court, covered badminton courts, a children’s playground, and a jogging path. The recreation zone will feature the swimming pool, a clubhouse with function rooms, indoor and outdoor gyms, an activity area, and a provision for an open-air cinema. The Idesia garden, picnic and pond areas, a reading area and a leisure games area are built for the relaxation of the township’s residents.

The Idesia project’s location in San Agustin, Dasmariñas, Cavite is defined as mixed-used zone, with industrial parks, educational and medical institutions, and commercial/office/retail establishments like neighborhood centers, supermarkets, shophouses, and malls. The township is located near the Coastal Road and the South Luzon Expressway.

The joint venture between P.A. Properties and Hankyu Realty was created out of a mission to realize the dreams of the people to “live in a place they truly want to live in.” Hankyu Realty, which was founded in 1947 and is the property arm of Japanese conglomerate Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc., chose the Philippines as the third country after Thailand and Vietnam for its expansion.

P.A. Properties Chairman Romarico T. Alvarez (left) leads the capsule laying for Idesia, the company’s first project with its joint venture with Japan’s Hankyu Realty Co., Ltd. on Saturday, December 9 in Dasmarinas, Cavite.

Choosing the Philippines as the third country for Hankyu Realty’s expansion is timely considering the country’s growing economy, which is showing an increased demand for buying a house among the young people, and they see that P.A. Properties is able to address such demand, the company noted.

“This will be our first project here in the Philippines,” Hankyu Realty Deputy General Manager Toda Masahiko told reporters through an interpreter following the groundbreaking event. “Since we have a very long experience in building housing in Japan, we would like to partner with [P.A. Properties] here in the Philippines and combine with their know-how or knowledge to provide better houses.”

With the new township project, P.A. Properties, which has already built about 19,000 housing units in Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga, and Metro Manila, seeks to realize its advocacy of helping ease the more than six million housing backlog in the Philippines. The company pledged to embark on strategic expansion efforts to further build 15,000 more housing units in the next five years, creating comfortable, safe, and joyful Filipino communities.

P.A. Properties hopes to complete all the remaining phases of the Idesia development around 2025.

To know more about Idesia, visit its website http://www.idesia.com.ph/. Follow Idesia on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/idesiaph/; Intstagram, https://www.instagram.com/idesiaph/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/idesiaph.

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