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Trade woes, Russia tensions pressure emerging stocks, FX

LONDON — Emerging stocks struggled higher and currencies were mixed on Thursday amid mounting concerns over trade tensions and a worsening diplomatic row between Britain and Russia.

MSCI’s broader emerging market index climbed 0.1% higher, but the gains masked diverging performances across major bourses with Asian equities across export-oriented economies such as Taiwan and Malaysia suffering.

Concerns over possible trade wars came to the fore again after the administration of US President Donald Trump pressed China to cut its trade surplus with the world’s largest economy by $100 billion.

Solid global trade in recent years has been a driver for sustained and broad-based economic growth, lifting many markets to record highs and with emerging markets have been some of the best performing assets in recent months.

“The main risk that could undermine this positive outlook for emerging markets is the potential for full-scale trade wars,” said Rabobank strategist Piotr Matys.

“That would definitely undermine prospects for the emerging markets. Another risk factor is the faster pace of tightening of the Fed.”

Market expect at least three hikes over the course of the year from the US Federal Reserve, and rinsing US interest rates will push up borrowing costs for emerging markets.

Meanwhile, the premium demanded by investors to hold emerging market hard currency debt over safe-haven US Treasuries has risen steadily over the week, adding 11 basis points and revisiting a near-four month high.

Rising diplomatic tension between London and Moscow after an attack with a nerve agent on British soil could also cast a shadow.

Prime Minister Theresa May pointed the finger firmly at Russian President Vladimir Putin as she outlined retaliatory measures in parliament on Wednesday. This was followed by more harsh condemnation from the U.S. at the United Nations while the European Union and NATO also backed Britain.

For the most part Russian markets seemed to shrug off the developments. Stocks gained and the rouble firmed against the dollar by 0.4 percent, though this followed three days of losses for the currency.

“The market seems to be aware that it’s going to be potentially difficult for the West to penalise Russia for allegedly trying to poison a former Russian spy,” said Rabobank’s Matys. “There are no signs of panic.”

But Russian dollar-bonds showed signs of pressure despite clawing back some of Wednesday’s losses. The average yield premium demanded by investors over U.S. Treasuries rose to as much as 173 basis points — its highest level in 2018.

Meanwhile, currencies suffered in Turkey and South Africa — two economies seen as sensitive to US interest rate moves — despite the dollar treading water.

Turkey’s lira weakened 0.4 percent and hit a fresh 3-1/2 month trough.

“It’s mainly driven by domestic factors: persistently high inflation, widening current account deficit,” said Matys, adding some though the economy had overheated at a time when interest rates were not sufficiently high. — Reuters

SMC core profit up 11% in 2017

By Krista A. M. Montealegre,
National Correspondent

SAN MIGUEL Corp. (SMC) chalked up a double-digit growth in recurring earnings last year on the back of the strong performance of its traditional businesses coupled with the positive results of its power and oil segments.

In a statement on Thursday, the diversified conglomerate reported its   recurring profit grew by 11% to P54.7 billion last year from P49.4 billion in 2016.

The core income excludes the impact of foreign exchange translation and the one-time gain from the sale of its telecommunications business last year.

San Miguel has been refinancing its dollar-denominated debt to temper foreign exchange losses, as the peso continues to weaken and interest rates go up.

The higher earnings was supported by a 21% improvement in consolidated revenues to P826 billion from P685 billion, as sales across all businesses improved.

San Miguel Brewery, Inc. realized a 17% uptick in net profit to P20.7 billion from P17.7 billion due to favorable economic conditions and strong marketing and integrated sales initiatives. Revenues rose 17% to P113.3 billion from P97.2 billion, following a 13% growth in volumes to 260 million cases.

Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. sustained its recovery for the fourth straight year, with net income rising 67% to P602 million from P361 million. Revenues reached P20.9 billion, up 12% from 2016, as sales volume increased by a tenth to 27.7 million cases, driven by double-digit growth of flagship brand Ginebra San Miguel and Vino Kulafu.

Favorable selling prices, a better sales mix, and lower costs for some major raw materials pushed the earnings of San Miguel Pure Foods Co., Inc. by 16% to P6.9 billion from P6 billion in the previous year.

San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Group rode on the continued growth in its Australian operations and higher sales from its glass, metal and plastics businesses to boost revenues by 17% to P32.1 billion from P27.4 billion.

SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. saw its net income “significantly increase” to P8.2 billion on the back of lower unrealized forex losses and a 6% growth in revenues.

Petron Corp. enjoyed a 30% expansion in net profit to P14.1 billion from P10.8 billion as a result of its focus on high-value segments and robust sales volumes from both domestic and Malaysian operations.

Meanwhile, SMC said its board of directors on Thursday approved the company’s subscription to the $650 million in redeemable perpetual securities to be issued by its subsidiary SMC Global Power.

The diversified conglomerate told the stock exchange the amount will be used by SMC Global Power “to partially finance the acquisition of the Masinloc power assets.”

The issuance follows the approval on Feb. 23 by the Philippine Competition Commission of SMC Global Power’s acquisition of the equity shareholders of the 630-megawatt (MW) Masinloc coal-fired power plant in Zambales.

In December last year, SMC Global Power reached a share purchase agreement with the two equity holders of the power plant’s owner, Masin-AES Pte. Ltd., in a deal worth $1.9 billion.

Shares in SMC lost 70 centavos or 0.5% to close at P140.50 apiece on Thursday. —with Victor V. Saulon

Revolution Precrafted expands into Myanmar

REVOLUTION Precrafted Properties Philippines, Inc. has secured a $1.2-billion deal to build residential projects for Myanmar’s KT Group, as the company sets its Asian expansion.

In a statement issued late Wednesday, the supplier of prefabricated structures said it has signed a non-exclusive agreement with the KT Group to build residential units for the latter’s mixed-used riverfront estate called the Okkyin City in Yangon.

Okkyin City is set to house a sports hotel, retail and commercial components, a school, student accommodations, among others. Under the deal, Revolution Precrafted will deliver 36-square meter (sq.m.) and 23-sq.m. prefrabricated units to KT Group, which the company looks to complete in three to six months.

“Myanmar is an emerging economy with 53 million people. We want to take advantage of this sizable market and make it a cornerstone of our regional expansion, especially now that the country is also opening itself to global trade and investments,” Revolution Precrafted Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jose Roberto R. Antonio said in a statement.

KT Group is a private firm in Myanmar with core interests in real estate and property development. Since its establishment in the 1950s, the company has managed to expand its investments in the energy, trading, investments and agriculture sectors, also widening its footprint to include Bangalore, India and Kunming, China.

“The people of Myanmar are looking for a new approach when it comes to their homes.   They are looking for personalized spaces that are sophisticated, functional, but affordable. We are very excited to partner with Revolution Precrafted, the leading maker of elegant, branded prefabricated homes in the world,” the statement quoted KT Group Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Kyaw Thaung as saying.

Revolution Precrafted is also in talks with the KT Group for the development of the company’s other properties in Yangon. It noted that the partnership with KT Group will allow it to enter other markets in the Indochina region.

Prior to the Myanmar project, Revolution Precrafted has also entered into a $3.2-billion deal with Dubai’s Seven Tides International, where it will supply prefabricated condominiums and hotels for nine out of the latter’s 300 artificial islands off the coast of Dubai.

Locally, the company is expanding its footprint through the $1.1-billion Batulao Artscapes project in Nasugbu, Batangas where it will supply and construct 8,250 houses, and the $345-million Revolution Flavorscapes that will feature 7,100 houses in Pampanga.

Established in 2015, Revolution Precrafted is bullish on growth prospects as it targets to be present in 20 countries in the next 24 months. The company is also mulling the conduct of an initial public offering in Singapore or Europe two years from now. — Arra B. Francia

DoubleDragon targets P3-billion sales from Fort Bonifacio hotel

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter

DOUBLEDRAGON Properties Corp. targets to book P3.01 billion in sales from its Hotel101 project in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

The listed property developer unveiled Hotel101-Fort to investors late Wednesday, putting the hotel’s 609 rooms worth P4.95 million each up for sale. The 33-storey hotel will be built on a 1,224-square meter lot in Fort Bonifacio, touted as the country’s rising financial district next to Makati central business district.

The sale of the units will fund the construction of the hotel, which is due to start within the year.

“For the Hotel 101, it’s a very unique business model because we pre-sell the units during the construction period. So it’s low capex on our part, because the proceeds of the selling activities actually fund the construction,” DoubleDragon Chief Investment Officer Hannah M. Yulo said during the a press launch for the hotel in Taguig City on Wednesday.

Once the hotel starts operations, DoubleDragon will remit 30% of the rooms’ gross revenues to their owners, providing investors a steady stream of income. The company will then oversee the management and day-to-day operations of the hotel.

Hotel101-Fort forms part of DoubleDragon’s plan to have 5,000 rooms under its hospitality portfolio by 2020. Of this, 4,000 will carry the Hotel101 brand, while the remaining 1,000 will have the Jinjiang Inn brand.

The hotel is one of four projects under the Hotel101 brand, with the other three in Manila, Boracay, and Davao City currently in different stages of construction.

Asked on how the ongoing cleanup of Boracay will affect the company’s project there, Ms. Yulo is confident it will not delay construction.

“I believe its a six-month cleanup and so we’re still in the planning and design stages so that also takes time on finalizing our plans and securing the permits, so it wouldn’t delay construction,” Ms. Yulo said.

DoubleDragon is currently in the planning stages of Hotel101 Resort-Boracay, which is expected to be the country’s largest hotel in terms of room count at 1,001.

This comes amid the government’s plan to shut down the entire island between June and September to give the Department of Tourism and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources enough time to rehabilitate the island. President Rodrigo R. Duterte had earlier tagged Boracay as a “cesspool,” prompting authorities to conduct the cleanup.

The company looks to open the Boracay hotel by 2020. “In fact, it’s very good for us when it reopens because we’re going to come back with a stronger, more world-class island,” Ms. Yulo said.

DoubleDragon grew its consolidated net income by 71.8% to P2.53 billion in 2017, with recurring revenues surging to P1.31 billion from P347.6 million in 2016 as the company benefited from higher rental revenues.

Shares in DoubleDragon dropped 4.63% or P1.65 to close at P33.95 apiece at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday.

HOOQ launches first original series, more in the pipeline

VIDEO-ON-DEMAND services have steadily moved on from just being distributors of content to actually creating content with Netflix and Amazon Studios at the forefront of this change.

On the Asian front, both HOOQ and iflix have ventured into producing their own content, with iflix launching Hoy! Bibig Mo, it’s first Filipino original comedy series in late 2017, while HOOQ deciding to enter the fray with its first Hollywood original, The Oath.

The series, created by Joe Halpin (the Hawaii Five-O reboot in 2010, and Secrets and Lies in 2015) is set in Los Angeles and “dives deep into a world of gangs made up of those sworn to protect and defend,” said a press release.

Starring Sean Bean and Arlen Escarpeta, among others, the crime drama is said to tread “where most cop dramas don’t [thus] shedding light on corruption and ‘police gang’ culture.”

All 10 episodes of The Oath were released on March 8.

“What you’re seeing now is one of the new things we’re promising our subscribers moving forward — we’re going to build up our HOOQ Originals. These are content that can only be found in HOOQ,” HOOQ Philippines country manager Sheila Pail told BusinessWorld in an interview on March 7 in their offices in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

She added that the company is working with “mostly independent studios” in order to “put out series and movies that would normally not be able to land on TV because they are groundbreaking, because they are very different and unique and do not follow the free-TV pattern.

“We’re aiming to be the home of Asian originals, it’s something we’re doing in all the markets we’re in,” she said before adding that Thailand and Indonesia already released their first original movies.

HOOQ Indonesia’s Marlina: The Murderer in Four Parts, directed by Mouly Surya, was screened as part of the Director’s Fortnight in the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.

Meanwhile, the follow-up to Erik Matti’s crime drama OTJ (On the Job), which was announced last year as a HOOQ Original, has finally gone into production. The sequel to the 2013 film will include a full-length film which will act as a sequel to the first film, and a prequel to the series which will have five episodes.

Also held last year was the first part of the HOOQ Filmmakers’ Guild which called for series scripts, the best of which will be turned into full series. The finalists — Bhak from India, Aliansi and Heaven and Hell from Indonesia, Suay from Thailand, Haunt Me and How to be a Good Girl from Singapore — all received $30,000 to produce their series pilot episode. The best of the pilots will be turned into a full series.

“It’s all about scripted entertainment, we’re not looking yet at other formats but the genres will be those that will identify the most with the audience,” said Ms. Pail, who added that while they are not closing their doors on reality-TV entertainment like iflix’s stand-up comedy shows, they prefer to focus more on scripted entertainment. — Zsarlene B. Chua

Nestlé opens P2-billion malt plant in Batangas

NESTLÉ Philippines has launched a P2-billion plant that produces malt extract for its popular Milo drink in Lipa, Batangas.

In a statement, Nestlé Philippines said the 5,400-square meter malt production facility is only the fourth such Nestlé plant in the world, after ones in Singapore, Nigeria and Australia.

“The launching of our malt production plant is a happy start to our 107th year in the Philippines. This latest investment is aligned with our long-term commitment to contribute to the growth of the economy and participate in the development of the country, living the Nestlé purpose of enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future,” Nestlé Philippines Chairman and CEO Jacques Reber was quoted as saying in the statement.

The Nestlé facility uses barley and cassava as raw materials in producing the malt extract, a key ingredient for Milo products. It currently imports cassava from Thailand.

However, Nestlé said it is looking at sourcing cassava from local farmers. The company is now qualifying local cassava farmers, and hopes more farmers will be able to supply Nestlé’s long-term requirements.

“The malt plant’s capacity is expected to increase considerably in three to four years, with potential for exporting some of its output to other Nestlé companies abroad. The plant will enable Nestlé Philippines to develop new types of malt extract to address the evolving needs of Filipino consumers,” the company said.

The malt facility is the third plant at the 29-hectare Lipa factory complex. The two other plants manufacture Milo and breakfast cereal products.

With audiences in free fall, do award shows need to change?

NEW YORK — The Oscars, Grammys and Emmys have for decades served as staples of US television award ceremonies that kick off the year and shape the pop culture conversation.

But ratings are in free fall for many possible reasons — audiences now have plentiful other options outside of traditional broadcasts and the hours-long award shows may be too much of a slog for viewers, who could also be put off by the growing politicization of the awards.

Nielsen, which has been tracking the shows’ audiences since 1974, has never seen fewer viewers for the Oscars, the most glittering of the galas, than this year.

Some 26.5 million people in the United States watched the Oscars last week, a drop of nearly 20% from just a year earlier.

The right wing led by President Donald Trump has been quick to gloat at the declining audience, seeing it as evidence that the American heartland is rejecting a cultural elitism represented by the entertainment industry.

Trump was vigorously mocked at last year’s awards shows while the latest Oscars celebrated women’s empowerment and the #MeToo movement in the wake of abuse scandals in Hollywood’s ranks.

The shows, stung by criticism over white artists’ domination, have also moved to ramp up representation of African Americans.

“Some of us love music without the politics thrown in it,” Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, tweeted during the Grammys after a skit skewered Trump and featured a cameo by Hillary Clinton.

Dom Caristi, a professor of telecommunications at Ball State University in Indiana, doubted that politics had much of an impact in reducing viewership, saying there was no hard evidence to make the case.

For many experts, the award season’s struggles have more to do with the diffusion of the small screen, with streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu offering advertisement-free entertainment on-demand.

Robert Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, said that for audiences in 2017 the ceremonies “go way too long.”

The Oscars lasted three hours and 47 minutes “and, on top of that, all of the good, exciting stuff didn’t happen until the last 45 minutes,” Thompson said.

After a marathon show in 2002 that went on for four hours and 20 minutes, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which runs the Oscars, reduced the number of statuettes that are handed out during the ceremony.

But for Thompson, the issue is not only the length but the content.

“Some of the best actors in the country, in the world — they bring them up in their beautiful clothes and they read this copy that sounds like it was churned out by an accountant, read in an incredibly stilted way,” Thompson said.

BLOCKBUSTERS CAST ASIDE
In another possible pitfall for the Oscars, Gabriel Rossman, a sociologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that many award-winning films were simply not popular.

Recent winners of Best Picture such as Moonlight and The Artist enjoyed critical acclaim but niche appeal.

In the 1990s, the top prize went to box-office smash hits such as Titanic and Forrest Gump.

“Generally, you’ve seen a decline in middle-range movies. Movies now are either absolutely tiny or they’re really expensive comic book films. And there’s very little in between,” he said.

After a controversy in 2009 when Batman film The Dark Knight failed to be nominated for Best Picture, the Academy raised the number of movies in competition for the top prize from five to 10.

But Rossman said that the impact was limited with only two films nominated for Best Picture this year — Get Out and Dunkirk — finding major success at the box office.

Neither was a favorite to win the award, which went to the dark romantic fantasy The Shape of Water.

Thompson, however, said that the film industry inevitably did not always consider blockbusters to be the year’s best films.

“If you want to know the award for the most popular film, we’ve already got that award. It’s called the box office,” he said.

NO EASY FIX
The Grammys, which draw fewer viewers than the Oscars, have also faced controversy for its selections but tend to recognize bigger-name artists.

Album of the Year in the past three shows went to Bruno Mars, Adele, and Taylor Swift, all of them arena-filling stars.

Few experts see quick solutions, with radical changes to the format risking even further alienating regular viewers.

Thompson said that the Oscars could announce even more awards off-screen.

“The Oscar broadcast looks stodgy and old-fashioned and very much the same it has for a long time because the Academy in many ways has insisted that it stays that way. They are very protective of their brand,” he said.

But he also put the decline in perspective. Even with falling viewers, the Oscars are “still the highest-rated non-sports event of the year.” — AFP

The Crown star’s pay reignites debate on gender inequality

NEW YORK — Gender equality may be the hot topic at Hollywood red carpets and press conferences but Claire Foy’s pay on The Crown demonstrates that, beyond the rhetoric, progress remains painfully slow.

Producers admitted this week that Matt Smith, Prince Philip on the hit Netflix drama, had negotiated a better deal than Foy — the star of the show as Queen Elizabeth II — because of his perceived higher profile.

They did not reveal either salary but said Smith’s 2010-2013 starring role on the BBC’s Doctor Who had been the decisive factor.

Variety magazine last year put Foy’s pay at $40,000 an episode.

The revelation made headlines around the world but can hardly have been a surprise to anyone following the rankings of Hollywood’s highest paid actors, tabulated annually by Forbes magazine.

Emma Stone placed top of the female earnings list last year, but the inconvenient truth for progressive Hollywood is that she would have ranked a paltry 15th had the chart included men.

Treatment of women in show business has been in the spotlight since the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct scandal last year touched off a deluge of allegations that brought down powerful men in public life.

Companies, government agencies and even the US federal court system have been forced to re-evaluate sexual harassment policies, while bosses have been confronted with the unfairness of actresses’ pay.

‘CHANGE-MAKING’
One corollary of a painful period of soul searching has been the lifting of the taboo against discussing pay in public. Stories of unfairness have begun to surface with increasing regularity.

“You were not supposed to talk about salary, which is why all these conversations about pay equity in Hollywood are so refreshing, because it’s not something that was shared,” says Melissa Silverstein, founder of the Women and Hollywood website.

Oscar-nominated All the Money in the World hit the headlines in January when Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams were called back to reshoot scenes expunging Kevin Spacey, who was sacked over allegations of sexual abuse.

It emerged that Williams had been paid less than $1,000 for the extra work while Wahlberg got $1.5 million, a bonus he ended up giving away to the Time’s Up women’s movement as the furor blew up.

While Wahlberg’s gesture was considered noble and generous, pundits objected that it didn’t address the inherent unfairness.

Silverstein told AFP, however, that the simple fact that people were beginning to notice and talk about the issue was “change-making.”

“To understand why it’s so exciting and revolutionary that people are actually sharing salaries now is because it pierces the silence,” she said.

Television has traditionally boasted a more progressive approach to pay, in no small part thanks to the stars of hit 1990s sit-com Friends, who set the standard by negotiating as a team for the same salaries.

‘GAME OF CHICKEN’
The lead cast of The Big Bang Theory and Game of Thrones followed suit and all earn the same — estimated at a shade under $1 million an episode for the sit-com and $500,000 for Thrones. Gray’s Anatomy heroine Ellen Pompeo also got in on the act when she renegotiated her contract to boost her pay to $20 million a year, or $575,000 per episode.

A star’s value to Hollywood, says Silverstein, is determined not by his or her talent or even commercial potential but by what is known as their “quotes” — whatever amount of money they earned on their last project.

Foy, 33, was already making a name for herself in British costume drama, with roles in Upstairs Downstairs and Wolf Hall, when she was tapped to play the queen but her star profile was slightly lower than Smith’s.

Critics argued on Twitter that the pay discrepancy should only have shown up in the first season, before Foy was garlanded with awards and acclaim.

“This is how TV works. People who are getting a break and don’t have quotes make less than people who do,” Judd Apatow, the veteran filmmaker behind more than 40 movies, tweeted in reaction to the Foy story.

He described pay negotiations as “a scary game of chicken” and said Foy’s pay would have been determined by “her willingness to walk away if the rate offered is not acceptable to her.”

“It is usually not about gender. It is often illogical,” the veteran producer of The Big Sick, Trainwreck, and Bridesmaids added.

“She should have gotten that raise for (the) second season, for sure. They always make you fight an ugly battle for it.” — AFP

Manila Water acquires minority stake in Thai company for P8.6 billion

MANILA WATER Co., Inc. on Thursday said it has completed the deal to acquire a minority stake in a Thai company for P8.6 billion.

Ferdinand M. dela Cruz, Manila Water president and chief executive officer, described the acquisition of Eastern Water Resources Development and Management Public Co. Ltd. (East Water) as “effectively cementing our entry into Thailand.”

“This perfectly aligns with our internationalization strategy, as we place primary focus on Southeast Asia,” he said in a statement.

Manila Water bought an 18.72% stake in East Water for 5.23 billion Thai baht or around P8.6 billion.

Manila Water told the stock exchange that the deal took place after the close of the Thailand stock market on March 14, 2018 following the confirmation by the Thailand Ministry of Commerce of the appointment of Virgilio C. Rivera, Jr. as a member of the board of directors of East Water.

Mr. Rivera is Manila Water’s new business operations chief operating officer, and chairman of the board of Manila Water (Thailand) Co. Ltd.

“With Mr. Rivera representing us on East Water’s Board of Directors, we are very excited to work with East Water on the many growth opportunities we see in the pipeline,” Mr. Dela Cruz said.

Manila Water said with the acquisition, earnings contribution from East Water would immediately be recognized in Manila Water’s books.

East Water provides raw water supply to three provinces, operates seven tap water concessions, and provides water service to several industrial estates. These areas cover 13,285 square kilometers, which is almost as large as Calabarzon, the region made up the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon. — Victor V. Saulon

Interest rises in government work

MORE FILIPINOS are looking to join the government this year, citing job security in the civil service, online recruitment site JobStreet.com said, citing the results of a survey.

The survey was conducted late last year. JobStreet said 16,425 respondents participated, with 80% indicating their interest in working for the government, with only 1% saying they have completely ruled out the civil service.

Job security was the top reason for interest in government work, followed by retirement benefits and the potential for career growth.

Respondents worked in Business Process Outsourcing, retail, manufacturing, real estate, banking, information technology, construction and food and beverage.

JobStreet.com Philippines country manager Philip A. Gioca told reporters on Thursday at a forum that the company hopes to sign a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the government on recruiting.

“We were having talks and we hope to find a real good arrangement with the civil service,” he added.

Mr. Gioca said that the Civil Service Commission is currently working on the MoA to make JobStreet its venue for advertising government jobs.

He added that this would mean “about 30 million jobs that can be posted in a year from the government.”

JobStreet will be launching a trial with the Civil Service Commission to measure initial interest in government jobs. Of the 97,000 job postings on the site, 10,000 are government positions.

Mr. Gioca said that of all the government agencies, interest was most pronounced in the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

“A lot of lawyers and accountants want to work for BIR. Really, and if you ask them why, it’s because they feel that if they go and joined BIR, a lot more can be done about corruption,” he added.

Other agencies highly sought out by the respondents were the Social Security System for its retirement benefits and the Department of Public Works and Highways. — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato

Microsoft women filed 238 discrimination and harassment complaints

SAN FRANCISCO — Women at Microsoft Corp. working in US-based technical jobs filed 238 internal complaints about gender discrimination or sexual harassment between 2010 and 2016, according to court filings made public on Monday.

The figure was cited by plaintiffs suing Microsoft for systematically denying pay raises or promotions to women at the world’s largest software company. Microsoft denies it had any such policy.

The lawsuit, filed in Seattle federal court in 2015, is attracting wider attention after a series of powerful men have left or been fired from their jobs in entertainment, the media and politics for sexual misconduct.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys are pushing to proceed as a class action lawsuit, which could cover more than 8,000 women.

More details about Microsoft’s human resources practices were made public on Monday in legal filings submitted as part of that process.

The two sides are exchanging documents ahead of trial, which has not been scheduled.

Out of 118 gender discrimination complaints filed by women at Microsoft, only one was deemed “founded” by the company, according to the unsealed court filings.

Attorneys for the women described the number of complaints as “shocking” in the court filings, and said the response by Microsoft’s investigations team was “lackluster.”

Companies generally keep information about internal discrimination complaints private, making it unclear how the number of complaints at Microsoft compares to those at its competitors.

In a statement on Tuesday, Microsoft said it had a robust system to investigate concerns raised by its employees, and that it wanted them to speak up.

Microsoft budgets more than $55 million a year to promote diversity and inclusion, it said in court filings. The company had about 74,000 US employees at the end of 2017.

Microsoft said the plaintiffs cannot cite one example of a pay or promotion problem in which Microsoft’s investigations team should have found a violation of company policy but did not.

US District Judge James Robart has not yet ruled on the plaintiffs’ request for class action status.

A Reuters review of federal lawsuits filed between 2006 and 2016 revealed hundreds containing sexual harassment allegations where companies used common civil litigation tactics to keep potentially damning information under wraps.

Microsoft had argued that the number of womens’ human resources complaints should be secret because publicizing the outcomes could deter employees from reporting future abuses.

A court-appointed official found that scenario “far too remote a competitive or business harm” to justify keeping the information sealed. — Reuters

eCompareMo uses AI to help loan, card seekers

C88 FINANCIAL Technologies Pte Ltd., owner and operator of website eCompareMo, is using artificial intelligence and data technologies to serve its customers as it looks to launch products to help Filipino consumers looking to tap financial services.

In an event in Makati City on Thursday, Mercedes M. Limson, Chief Commercial Officer of eCompareMo, launched its chat-bot dubbed as Alex.

Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), Alex can “chat” with eCompareMo’s customers who wish to cross-check and avail of financial products such as loans, credit cards and insurance policies offered by partner banks and insurers.

Aside from communicating with customers, Alex can also validate documents and identification cards, as well as cross-sell other financial products.

“Our chat-bot will also offer products that is related to your needs, and then give you alerts should you need to, say, update your insurance,” Ms. Limson said in a roundtable discussion with reporters, adding that the AI technology was built in-house and is proprietary.

John Patrick Ellis, C88 Group chief executive officer and co-founder, emphasized the importance of AI technology to their system.

“We believe that [AI] will be able to solve our customers’ needs 24/7. A lot of customer questions are very standard, so this can be automated,” Mr. Ellis said.

“AI also reduces costs. You don’t need to necessarily have people on standby.”

Meanwhile, eCompareMo is set to launch its own credit scoring service “in the coming weeks.”

“We are now in the process of fine-tuning this. It’s something we’re all going to be ready for commercial launch in the Philippine market in the coming weeks,” Mr. Ellis said.

Ms. Limson said they started developing their own credit scoring system “because of the voluminous data that [they] have been getting.”

However, she clarified that their own credit score is not meant to replace the systems of their partner institutions.

“Developing our credit score is by no means meant to replace the credit department of our partners, but rather, it is meant to provide them with additional information that the can use so they can handle the risks more efficiently,” she said.

For his part, Mr. Ellis said their approach to scoring their customers differs from the “judgmental” method.

“Different banks have different ways of doing things. In general, the industry look at an individual statistically; they’re looked at judgmentally… We need to be able to move into statistical scoring rather than judgmental. This [prevents] a lot of error and is fair for customers and reduces financial institutions’ costs also.”

eCompareMo is also set to offer wealth management into their platform.

Launched in the Philippines early in 2015, eCompareMo.com is a comparison portal aimed at Filipinos looking for quick banking and insurance information.

Customers are provided with information about their preferred credit card, loan or insurance policy to help them find the product that suits them.

In 2016, Australian telecommunications firm Telstra Corp.’s venture capital unit has invested in C88, its first investment in a technology start-up in the Philippines.

Aside from eCompareMo, the Singapore-based C88 also owns and operates financial portal CekAja and e-brokerage services provider Premiro, both in Indonesia. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

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