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2 Dusit Thani hotels to rise in Lipa City, Davao Gulf

TORRE LORENZO Development Corp. (TLDC) is strengthening its partnership with the Philippine operator of the Dusit Thani hotel brand, with the development of two hotel projects worth around P4.9 billion.

TLDC, together with the Philippine Hoteliers, Inc. (PHI), announced on Wednesday that it will be developing a P1.9-billion Dusit Thani Hotel at Lubi Plantation in Davao Gulf and a P3-billion Dusit Princess Lipa Hotel in Batangas.

“Our real estate development expertise and Dusit’s mastery of hotel management perfectly complement each other to make for a sustainable partnership,” TLDC Chief Executive Officer Tomas P. Lorenzo was quoted as saying in a statement.

Located on a 36-hectare development in Davao Gulf, the Dusit Thani Hotel at Lubi Plantation will be a five-star luxury resort offering 54 cottages with two rooms each, for a total of 108 rooms. The company has so far poured in P600 million in investments for its development.

The company is banking on the growing convention market to occupy the hotel, which will also have a beach club open for day visitors. TLDC will also develop the area into a marine conservation site.

On the other hand, the Dusit Princess Lipa Hotel will house 152 rooms. The hotel will be inside a one-hectare complex set to include residential buildings, an international restaurant, and business center.

“There’s too much hype in Tagaytay, when really the growth is in Lipa. The presence in Lipa is in pursuit of our vision to be in fast growing secondary cities in the Philippines, and hopefully Lipa is be the first among many,” TLDC Chief Financial Officer Emmanuel A. Rapadas said in a press briefing in Makati yesterday.

The company looks to finish the project by 2021.

TLDC has previously teamed up with PHI for Dusit Thani Residence Davao and dusitD2 Hotel in Davao back in 2014. The two developments form the P4.5-billion Davao Luxury Lifestyle Complex, which the company has recently topped off and soon will be opening to the public.

“We are aligned with their vision to build for the future, admire their deep understanding of premium living, and their perseverance to compete in a market already saturated with so many options,” PHI President and Vice-Chairman Evelyn R. Singson said in a statement.

Known mostly for its student residential developments, TLDC reported a 35% growth in revenues in 2017, with Mr. Ravelas saying a 25% annual consolidated growth rate is expected until 2020.

“We have inventories of P6.2 billion, sufficient to support us in the next 18 months. TLDC continues to be confident in our entire business activities. We see a solid real estate sector for the next five to seven years. Together with that, we are confident that our business plans will be achieved,” Mr. Rapadas said.

The company is also building another residential tower aimed to capture the student market from the Ateneo De Manila University in Quezon City. The single-tower project will offer 816 units over 45 floors. — Arra B. Francia

Solar Philippines to build plants without approved PSA

SOLAR PHILIPPINES Power Project Holdings, Inc. is planning to build 250-megawatts (MW) of new solar power capacity this year even without an approved power supply agreement (PSA), its top official said.

“We’re going to build all these plants without contracts because they are economically viable based on WESM (wholesale electricity spot market),” Solar Philippines President Leandro L. Leviste told reporters on the sidelines of the Asia CEO Forum on energy issues at Marriott Manila hotel in Pasay City, Wednesday.

“Our contract prices are even lower than WESM prices. Kung WESM nga mas kikita pa (Even against WESM prices, we’d still earn),” he said, referring to the venue for trading electricity as a commodity.

Mr. Leviste made the comment in response to questions about an offer it made to distribution utility Manila Electricity Co. (Meralco).

Solar Philippines has priced its offer at P2.99 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), lower than the Lopez-led First NatGas Power Corp.’s unsolicited proposal to supply power from its 414-MW gas-fired plant at P3.77 per kWh.

“We have 300 MW operating and under construction. We have between our three projects right now — for Meralco and other contestable customers — Tarlac, Tanauan and Maragondon projects, that will be 400 MW by the end of the year,” Mr. Leviste said.

Broken down, the 400 MW consists of 150 MW from the uncompleted portion of a 300-MW project, and 250 MW in new capacity.

“We have additional 250 [MW] beyond the 300 [MW] that will start construction during the year and all of these projects are starting construction without ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) approval,” Mr. Leviste said.

Mr. Leviste said Solar Philippines has 5,000 hectares of land consolidated in Luzon with available power transmission interconnection where the company can build the new capacity. He noted each hectare can accommodate 1 MW.

“Pinapatunayan namin na talagang lamang ang consumer sa presyong binibili ng Meralco sa amin because we’re building it without a PSA (We are proving that consumers are at an advantage with the price that Meralco buys power from us because we’re building without a PSA),” he said.

Power generation companies usually seek ERC approval for their PSAs as the regulatory clears them to pass on the cost to consumers. Lenders also require these contracts to ensure that the project proponents will have a steady stream of future revenues.

“We’re in discussion with conventional and other renewable plants… [to offer power] at a price where it will be saving consumers P15 billion compared to Meralco’s current offered price,” Mr. Leviste said.

Solar power requires battery storage to address its intermittency. A tie-up with baseload power plant can ensure steady power supply along with a back-up battery, he said.

Sought for comment, Lawrence S. Fernandez, Meralco vice-president and head of utility economics, said: “I think it would not be proper for us to comment because the process is still undergoing. Let that process move. The bids and awards committee is administering that process and then make the formal announcement as needed.” — Victor V. Saulon

Five things to know about SpaceX’s projects

CAPE CANAVERAL — SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk on Tuesday plans to send his own Tesla roadster into space aboard the world’s most powerful rocket in operation, the Falcon Heavy — to the tune of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.”

Here is a look at some of the other far-out space projects that Musk has cooked up in recent years:

REUSABLE ROCKETS
To bring down the cost of spaceflight and boost efficiency, a key goal for Musk is to make rockets as reusable as commercial airplanes — eliminating the current industry practice of tossing the multimillion-dollar components after each launch.

After some early crashes and near-misses that prompted SpaceX to showcase them in a blooper reel, the company has now perfected the art of firing the booster’s engines, maneuvering the grid fins and neatly landing the tall portion of the rockets upright on solid ground and on ocean platforms.

Musk is not the only one to have done it — competitor Blue Origin, a rocket company run by Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, has also managed to land its own rockets in a similar fashion.

But no one has done it so many times. SpaceX has landed 21 of its Falcon 9 boosters so far.

COLONIZING MARS
Musk wants to make humans an “interplanetary species” by establishing a colony of people living on the Mars.

Riding on reusable rockets and spaceships — still under development — people could travel 100 at a time to the Red Planet.

The idea is to bring up to a million people to Mars in the next century. Test flights could start in the next decade.

The cost to develop the rocket and spacecraft is estimated at $10 billion.

‘BFR’
SpaceX is calling the rocket that would carry all these people to Mars “BFR,” which Musk has jokingly — or not — referred to as code for “Big Fucking Rocket.”

According to Spacenews.com, its formal name is now understood to be “Big Falcon Rocket.”

The idea is to have one booster and ship that replaces three of SpaceX’s signature projects: the Falcon Heavy which aims to be the world’s most powerful rocket for now, and may one day ferry supplies to Mars; the versatile Falcon 9 rocket, which can land seamlessly back on Earth post-launch; and the Dragon cargo ship which supplies the International Space Station.

The BFR is designed to stand 106 meters (about 350 feet) tall, with 10.8 million pounds of thrust, far more than the Saturn V moon rocket at 7.9 million pounds of thrust.

The first tests could come as early 2019, with orbital tests in 2020.

The first cargo shipments could make it to Mars in 2022, SpaceX has said.

ROCKETS ON EARTH
New York to Shanghai via rocket in 39 minutes? It’s all part of Musk’s vision for rocket travel on Earth.

The BFR will be the vehicle, Musk has vowed, to fly to most places on Earth in under 30 minutes and anywhere in under an hour.

The cost per seat would be about the same as an airplane economy fare, he said.

CARGO AND CREW TO SPACE
It seems like old news now, but SpaceX made history in 2010 by becoming the first private company to send its own spaceship to orbit and recover it.

In 2012, SpaceX broke barriers again, sending its Dragon cargo ship to the orbiting International Space Station.

That same year, SpaceX began regular cargo missions to supply the astronauts living in space with its gumdrop-shaped Dragon cargo ship, launched atop the Falcon 9 rocket, under a $1.6-billion contract with NASA.

Orbital ATK also sends its unmanned Cygnus cargo carrier to the ISS under a $1.9-billion deal with NASA.

SpaceX’s Dragon is the only ship that can be returned to Earth intact. The Cygnus burns up on re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere.

SpaceX is developing a crew Dragon vehicle that will be able to transport several astronauts at a time to the space lab. Its first manned flight could come later this year. — AFP

Land use bill and Asian urbanization

Urbanization, like technological innovation and mass production of mobile phones and other gadgets, is among the important reasons why people’s lives have become more comfortable. Many necessities like schools and work offices, supermarkets and groceries, hospitals and clinics, are nearby. People no longer need travel for hours or even days just to get to the nearest health facility.

Vertical structures like residential and office condominiums immediately free up huge tracts of land for other purposes such as public parks, stadiums, and sports facilities. Subways and elevated train tracks, underground tunnels, elevated roads, and interchanges for vehicles significantly improve traffic flow.

Urbanization and more dense cities therefore, is good. The continued rise in urban population is proof that despite complaints of congestion, people realize that the advantages trump the disadvantages of living in big cities. Urbanization therefore, should continue and expand, not restricted and bureaucratized.

The Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) organized a lecture on “National Land Policy in the Philippines” in late October 2017 at Ascott Makati. The main speaker was Arturo G. Corpuz, a noted Urban regional planner and FEF Trustee.

In his presentation, Art said that the proposed National Land Use Act (NALUA) under HB 5240 (the Senate versions have similar provisions with it) suffer from biases and restrictions. Among these:

1. Supply side bias. The underlying philosophy is that land should be used based on what it is “physically suitable” for regardless of demand. Art says the world works differently from this bias, the reality is that land value and demand determines land use and hence, land suitability.

Food self-sufficiency policy leads to locking up irrigated and irrigable land, alluvial plains, croplands, highlands instead of focusing on raising productivity and farmers’ incomes, like allow or encourage land consolidation for farming economies of scale.

2. Protection focus. Dominance of protection in HB5240: (a) Protection land use prevails over any other activity, all other uses are residual to protection. (b) 8 of 13 policies/principles are about protection. (c) The departments of agrarian reform, agriculture, and environment and natural resources control the supply of land and these three agencies plus the National Economic and Development Authority, the Department of Interior and Local Government, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority, the League of Cities of the Philippines, and the 12 sector representatives are members of National Land Use Policy Council (NLUPC). (d) DTI, DoT, DoTr, DPWH, DoF are not members.

Art says there is nothing wrong with protecting and using land only for forests and agriculture but it has to be balanced with the requirements of growth. Otherwise, corruption is encouraged as legitimate growth is not accommodated legally and incentives to do things illegally are created. And restricting growth especially in large cities can lead to more land conversion somewhere.

3. Planning structure/bureaucracy. Agencies responsible for determining supply are not the same agencies responsible for accommodating demand. They should be the same, like NLUPC = NEDA Board.

The Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) is the ground zero of land use planning and regulation, basis of zoning ordinance. Only 22% of 1,634 LGUs have approved CLUP (2017) and local zoning is used for rent-seeking through negotiations regarding land classification, parking requirements, building heights/densities, and reclamation. There is a need to increase transparency among LGUs.

I checked urbanization numbers in Asia and one thing surprised me — the Philippines is experiencing de-urbanization. While almost all countries have rising urbanization rate through time, the Philippines has a declining rate (see table).

Urban Land

Problems #2 and #3 — protection-focused and bureaucracies — discussed by Art above would be the most feasible explanation. Urbanization is taking place on a nationwide scale but many are listed as “illegal” by the various agencies. As a result, many land areas covered by their corresponding population expansion are still considered as “rural areas” and hence, not urbanized.

Government as “referee” should address competing land use of the country through legislation but it should free up and liberalize, not restrict and bureaucratize, land conversions.

 

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is President of Minimal Government Thinkers, a member-institute of Economic Freedom Network (EFN) Asia.

minimalgovernment@gmail.com.

No go-ahead for NFA to import rice despite low inventories

THE National Food Authority (NFA) said on Wednesday that despite a decline in its rice inventory, the economic managers who control imports do not see an urgent need to import the commodity.

The grains procurement agency has said that stockpiles were thinning, with Reuters reporting that NFA stocks are at 60,000 tons, equivalent to two days’ demand, the lowest level in two decades. However, this estimate was disputed by the NFA.

The reported buffer stock is far below NFA’s mandate to maintain 15 days’ supply at any given time.

Reuters also reported that the NFA Council, a panel of senior economic managers which must approve rice orders from overseas, sees no current need to import because of ample inventory in the market.

“Right now… the council feels the need to import is not that urgent,” the news agency quoted Mercedita A. Sombilla, a Council member, as saying.

“There is no shortage of rice held by commercial traders and households,” NFA administrator Jason Laureano Y. Aquino added in a briefing.

In the briefing, however, Mr. Aquino said that the actual inventory held by the NFA is 35 days’ demand. He added that an import order takes 45 days to ship, suggesting a 10-day gap between the depletion of NFA stock and the arrival of imports if the order were placed today.

The NFA releases rice into the market to help boost supply and stabilize prices, but has had to divert supply to Region V, where agriculture has been disrupted by activity on Mount Mayon. The volcano’s eruption has also sent thousands of people to evacuation centers, where they are fed by local governments and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in part with rice from the NFA.

The NFA’s purchase prices are uncompetitive with those offered by commercial traders, which means it is hampered from replenishing its inventory from domestic sources, leading the agency to seek permission to import as early as November.

“That’s what we requested for, another 250,000 metric tons of rice (for import) but there’s still no approval (from the council),” Mr. Aquino added.

During the briefing, Grain Retailers’ Confederation of the Philippines, Inc. (GRECON) President Jaime O. Magbanua said that despite the NFA’s declining stocks, regional representatives of GRECON have noted no unusual demand pressures. — Reuters with a report from Anna Gabriela A. Mogato

Global brand Herbalife Nutrition pushing for further sports nutrition understanding

WHILE the concept of sports nutrition has been gaining much awareness globally, proponents of it still believe more can still be done in spreading knowledge about it so as to inspire a bigger number of people to lead a healthy and active lifestyle.

One such advocate of knowing sports nutrition and its benefits is Herbalife Nutrition, a company that not only produces scientifically backed and well-researched nutritional supplements, among other wellness products, but also has been active in promoting the value of being well informed and guided by proper knowledge on sports nutrition.

As part of its “2018 Spectacular” event last weekend, Herbalife Nutrition Philippines brought over Dr. Dana Ryan, Herbalife senior manager for sports performance and education, to share her experience on sports nutrition, touching on what it is all about, how far it has come and what can still be done to further cultivate knowledge on it.

“Sports nutrition has its foundation in general nutrition. It basically involves making sure you get the right quality of protein, fat and carbohydrates, among others. Sports nutrition is taking those and giving them at the right time. It also involves understanding the stress that your body is going through during exercise,” said Ms. Ryan in a roundtable discussion with local media last Friday at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Ms. Ryan, who has worked with members of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Barcelona FC and Liga in Ecuador, football players training for the National Football League Combine and others in support of their nutrition programs, also underscored and moved to debunk the myth that sports nutrition is just for elite athletes and Olympians, saying it is practically for everybody who is generally active.

“The idea behind sports nutrition is balance between physical activity and good nutrition. You don’t have to be an elite athlete or an Olympian to know sports nutrition. The benefits of it are not only in appearance but also on productivity whatever it is you are doing,” the Herbalife official said.

PICKING UP
Ms. Ryan also shared that they at Herbalife are upbeat at the direction reception to sport nutrition is heading, with more and more people opening up to it and recognizing how game-changing it can be for those who pick it up as part of their lifestyle and training regimen.

“Five years ago what we are doing right now would not have been possible. Just the word sports nutrition being out there, the industry itself growing globally and it going main stream is really awesome. Before we had products that only athletes pick up but now we see some of the products in grocery stores with young kids starting early. A lot more people are embracing it,” said Ms. Ryan.

With that in mind, she said Herbalife is really making an effort to get the word out more on sports nutrition, tying up with the top teams and athletes in the world and helping them with their nutritional programs to get the best results and serve as further proof of the concept’s value.

“Right now we have over 150 sponsored athletes. Over 80 athletes competed in the last Olympics in Rio. Our goal is to create better understanding because there is a lot of confusion on nutrition,” she said.

Here in the Philippines, Ms. Ryan said she was pleased to see that the concept of sports nutrition is gaining a foothold, having spent some time with Filipino athletes while she was here.

“We talked about how they could structure supplements in their training and what their bodies need to achieve the needed results. They have some baseline knowledge on sport nutrition but I think more can still to be done as far as education on a bigger level much like in other parts of the world,” Ms. Ryan said. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Agriculture, manufacturing agreement signed with Turkey

THE PHILIPPINES and Turkey have signed two memoranda of understanding (MoU) on investment in agriculture, manufacturing and services during the first Joint Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation meeting in Ankara. 

In a statement released by the Board of Investments, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez outlined the agreed areas of cooperation in the first MoU: services and infrastructure, agro-processing, manufacturing and the further development of mico, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

“Engaging with Turkey is in line with the thrust of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s administration to engage with nontraditional trading partners to reinvigorate ties and increase trade between both countries,” Mr. Lopez said. 

In the area of agriculture exports, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is looking at expanding mango, coconuts and banana shipments to Turkey. Manufactured goods include textiles, clothing and pharmaceuticals.

The Philippines currently exports desiccated coconut, personal care goods, electronics and tires to Turkey.

“During our discussions, we noticed that there are opportunities for our Philippine exporters — whether for manufactured goods or services — to further tap the Turkish market,” Mr. Lopez said.

In services, the areas for cooperation were listed as customs, energy, science and technology, education, film and creative industries, defense, contracting and consultancy. 

The Turkish side hopes to expand the Philippine market for its textiles, tourism, pharmaceutical, and infrastructure development industries.

Turkey is the Philippines’ 45th-largest trading partner. In the first 11 months of 2017, bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to $163 million.

Turkey’s per capita income is twice as large as that of the Philippines and grew its economy 11.1% in the third quarter last year.

Turkey has also expressed special interest in the Marawi rebuilding effort via Islamic financing channels.

“The Philippines is committed to pursue several growth opportunities by strengthening partnerships with emerging economic partners like Turkey,” Mr. Lopez said.

DTI’s Turkish counterpart is set to hold an investments and trade mission to the Philippines next month.

Another MoU, which was signed by the Philippine ambassador to Turkey, centers on cooperation in agriculture, rural development, irrigation and promotion of joint ventures between private sectors. — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato

Sacrificed at the altar of law and politics

Almost every day, I pass by the unfinished structure of what should have been the second building of Ospital ng Makati. This Malugay Street hospital building, had it been completed, would have served the citizens of the city’s 1st district. The first hospital is located in the 2nd district, on Sampaguita Street, just beyond Bonifacio Global City.

Sayang is the word that always comes to mind when I drive by. What a waste. And in this day and age of expensive medical care, and high medical insurance costs, having a second public hospital — and right in the city center — would have truly benefitted Makati City residents like me, as well as millions of day and night workers who go to jobs or businesses in the city daily.

But, I guess, it was just not meant to be. And, I dare say, because politics got in the way. This is not to brush aside the corruption allegations surrounding the entire deal — the reason it was stopped. But, the fact remains, had it not been for politics and political ambition, that second hospital may have been up by now and perhaps operating by end of this year.

All the other buildings that were going up alongside it are now mostly finished. New residences and commercial spaces that will soon be teeming with people. That hospital, had it been built, would have benefitted them. And, it would have been the only public hospital in the vicinity of the Makati Central Business District, which is the country’s premier financial district.

Questions for those directly and indirectly responsible for halting the construction: What happens now? What do we now do with the unfinished structure? What happens to the public money — from city residents — that has been spent so far on building the new hospital? And, more important, will the city still build a second hospital particularly within the city’s 1st district?

Not very many people can afford private hospitals and health care. If not for private medical insurance — which is not cheap — and PhilHealth, prolonged hospitalization can leave you devastated, financially. For many city residents, the public health system is the only recourse. And yet, they have been denied yet again this most basic public service. That’s politics.

To my thinking, if anybody is guilty of corrupting the deal and benefitting from it, then charge them and prosecute them immediately. And, if a verdict is rendered in favor of the government, collect from the guilty what they stole. But, this shouldn’t mean we should stop altogether what would have been a good project — like a hospital — that will truly benefit people.

Can we not resume the project, perhaps with a new budget and maybe a new contractor if the previous one is found complicit in the corruption charge? After all, if there was an original budget for the project, and not all of it has been released since the original project was not completed, then there should still be some money left to restart the project?

Cost estimates may have to be revised, and any overpricing adjusted back. Additional budget may have to come from the city government to complete construction. And any prohibitions in law against the continuation of the construction should be reviewed, with the aim of maximizing the use of government resources and promoting the interest of the public. I believe that hospital project should be allowed to continue. It is the moral thing to do.

Recall how imported license plates were seized by Customs because duties and taxes were not paid? Customs, instead of destroying them, opted to donate them to the Land Transportation Office so that motorists could make use of them. It is just that two lawmakers insisted on asking the Supreme Court to stop the donation. After 19 months, the Court ruled the donation was legal and could be done. After a long wait, the plates will go to motorists who paid for them.

In short, the government upholds the law not simply for the sake of upholding it, but upholding it primarily to ensure that the law protects and promotes the common good, public interest, and welfare. There should be ways around restrictions, legally, if they tend to impinge on public good. In the case of the Malugay hospital, why shouldn’t we find ways to continue to build it?

In January, the government ordered the destruction of over 1,000 vehicles illegally imported into the Cagayan freeport. And two days ago, a batch of 20 cars in Manila were likewise wrecked. The smuggled cars were considered “fruits of the poisonous tree,” and were destroyed because of the “principle in law that no benefit could be derived from anything obtained through unlawful means.”

In a speech, the President was quoted as explaining why the vehicles were not auctioned instead. “Don’t sell it, because the situation will remain the same,” he said. “They’ll [smugglers] still be the only ones who will benefit from it, and they’ll be the ones who will wait for the next auction. It’s legal and cheap, because it’s auctioned.”

This was the same argument used by my good friend when we talked about the issue, as he noted that the present “system” could not be trusted to ensure that the smugglers were prosecuted, and the cars would not be auctioned back to them or their representatives.

To my mind, however, there are no guarantees that the smugglers will actually be prosecuted. Even the destruction of the vehicles will not guarantee prosecution. Moreover, through an auction, some money can still go the government, which can be used to pay for public services. By destroying the vehicles, no money goes to the government at all.

As for the principle in law that no benefit could be derived from anything obtained through unlawful means, perhaps this should be seen in a more pragmatic way. Better yet, perhaps the law can be revised. Anybody can understand if we are talking about illegal drugs, then they should be destroyed. But a smuggled vehicle? A half-built public hospital? Should this be destroyed, too? And such destruction is for the public good?

 

Marvin A. Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippines Press Council.

matort@yahoo.com

Detachable tablet market rebounds

Tablet Makers

THE worldwide detachable tablet market grew to 6.5 million units in the fourth quarter of 2017 (4Q17), an increase of 10.3% from the previous holiday season, according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker.

Growth for the entire year remained positive although it showed signs of slowing as detachable tablets grew 1.6% year over year in 2017, down from the 24% growth in 2016.

Apple maintained a solid lead in the holiday quarter driving growth both through its lower-priced 9.7-inch iPad as well as its newly refreshed iPad Pro products.

Amazon.com was able to steal the second position from rival Samsung as the online giant offered steep discounts during the holiday season.

Samsung dropped to the third position behind Amazon. Shipments of its detachable portfolio continue to rise, however, these gains are outweighed by the declines seen among its slate models.

Huawei’s half-hearted approach to the growing detachable segment does not offer a promising outlook for the company. However, the company’s strong brand, aggressive channel strategy, and inclusion of cellular connectivity in its slate tablets has helped cement its rank in the top 5.

Lenovo’s ability to leverage its strength from the traditional PC business is starting to pay off as the company’s detachable tablet business has grown in the past year. However, the bulk of Lenovo’s tablets are still comprised of slates that offer great value at low prices.

Property firm hopes to capitalize on Bay Area boom

By Krista A. M. Montealegre,
National Correspondent

A NEW PROPERTY company hopes to ride the wave of growth in the Bay Area, with the development of the first office-for-sale project in the booming central business district.

Golden Bay Properties, Inc. is set to invest P1.3 billion to develop  Aspire Corporate Plaza, a 10-storey office building along Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City, Jardin Brian B. Wong, the company’s chief operating officer, said in a briefing in Pasay City on Wednesday.

The investment will rise by another P1 billion if the value of the 3,500 square meter property will be considered, Mr. Wong said, but declined to provide the actual cost of the land when purchased last year from a private individual.

Aspire Corporate Plaza will rise behind the Golden Bay Fresh Seafood Restaurant, which is being run by the same group behind Golden Bay Properties. The project will be completed in two years.

“The Bay Area is now the new central business district as office spaces are fast running out in the Makati, Ortigas and Bonifacio Global City areas. The location is modern and teeming with energy. It is perfect especially for businesses in the Binondo area that are looking into moving to a prime location,” Mr. Wong said.

Golden Bay Properties’ foray into the real estate sector comes at a time when a record amount of supply is flooding the office market that may push vacancy rates to double-digit levels for the first time since 2010.

To set itself apart, Mr. Wong said Aspire Corporate Plaza will be the first office-for-sale project in the Bay Area. Golden Bay Properties pegged the price of the office units at an average of about P230,000 to P240,000 per square meter.

The company has sold about 40% of the 73 available office units since pre-selling started two to three months ago to companies engaged in shipping, logistics, tourism and steel manufacturing, Mr. Wong said. The company hopes to sell out the remaining inventory within the year.

Aspire Corporate Plaza is offering entrepreneurs and businesses based in Manila the opportunity to upgrade and have their own space. Half of the eight locators that have bought units in Aspire are located in Binondo and Malate.

Golden Bay Properties has assembled an architectural, engineering and construction team that includes Asya Design Partner, Sta. Elena Construction and Development Corp., D.A. Abcede & Associates, Meinhardt Philippines, Inc. and Megawide Construction Corp.

“We’re offering premium products. We understand we are new that’s why we didn’t take a beat in bringing in the leading names in the construction industry. It’s a matter of differentiating ourselves,” Mr. Wong said.

MPBL: Quezon City joins Navotas and Batangas City in share of lead

QUEZON CITY Capitals and Muntinlupa Cagers asserted their might over their respective rivals to notch their second win in the MPBL Anta-Rajah Cup late Tuesday night at the JCSGO Gym in Cubao, Quezon City.

The Capitals, backed by Royal Manila, blasted visiting Imus Bandera, 84-75, as the home squad was able to outplay its counterpart on both ends of the court.

Jessie Collado finished with 17 points and eight rebounds while ex-La Salle stalwart PJ Barua contributed 15 markers, including the first three-point shot of the game that triggered the Capitals’ early hot start. Quezon City raced to an early 29-17 lead and led by as many as 24 points, 75-51, off Jeymark Mallari’s split charities halfway the fourth period.

The Capitals grabbed a total of 60 rebounds, 14 more than the GLC Truck and Equipment-backed Bandera team. Quezon City’s bench production was also more superior, producing 58 compared to Imus’ 38.

Jomar Santos and Joco Tayongtong added 10 apiece for Quezon City, which joined Novaliches and Batangas City in a share of the lead with 2-0 win-loss records.

“It’s still a long way to go,” said Quezon City coach Vis Valencia. “Seven games, a lot of things can happen. We’ll just do it one at a time. I saw Navotas and Batangas City, they’re good to go. On our part, we’re still trying to develop chemistry.”

Just like the Capitals, the Muntinlupa Cagers, supported by Angelis Resort, ran roughshod over the Caloocan Supremos-Longrich, 89-76, in the other game.

Former PBA player Chito Jaime knocked in 23 points. He already had 14 in the early part of the second period, allowing Muntinlupa to take a 31-24 lead.

A three-point play by Gino Ylagan in the 3:20 mark of the third period gave Muntinlupa a 68-42 lead and the team never looked back. It was the second straight victory by the Cagers, both of them coming away from home.

“It’s painful to lose our home game, but we’re fortunate to win our next two games. Hopefully, we could bounce back in our next home game,” added Muntinlupa coach Aldrin Morante. — Rey Joble

Quo vadis Hou Yifan?

80th Tata Steel Masters
Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands
Jan. 12-28, 2018

Final Standings

1-2. Magnus Carlsen NOR 2834, Anish Giri NED 2752, 9.0/13

3-4. Vladimir Kramnik RUS 2787, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE 2804, 8.5/13

5-6. Viswanathan Anand IND 2767, Wesley So USA 2792, 8.0/13

7. Sergey Karjakin RUS 2753, 7.5/13

8. Peter Svidler RUS 2768, 6.0/13

9. Wei Yi CHN 2743, 5.5/13

10-12. Gawain Jones ENG 2640, Fabiano Caruana USA 2811, Maxim Matlakov RUS 2718, 5.0/13

13. Baskaran Adhiban IND 2655, 3.5/13

14. Hou Yifan CHN 2680, 2.5/13

Ave. Rating 2750 Category 20

Time Control: 100 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 50 minutes for the next 20 moves then 15 minutes play-to-finish with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1.

Hou Yifan was born on Feb. 27, 1994 in Xinghua (this is the city where the Chinese communists fought the Kuomintang Nationalists immediately after World War II and resulted in a communist victory), in the province of Jiangsu (to the North of Shanghai), China. At the age of 16 she won the 2010 Women’s World Championship in Hatay, Turkey and, with the exception of two short breaks in 2012 and 2015 (Ukraine’s Anna Ushenina and Mariya Muzychuk, respectively, won the KO world championship but were later defeated in a match) reigned up to 2017 when, after a falling out with the world chess ruling body, she declined to defend her title.

Her trials did not end there. Having decided henceforth not to compete in women-only tournaments she participated in the 2017 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival, a 10-round Swiss System event. This event is very popular because the organizers try to attract as many world class chessers as possible and offer many attractive prizes and all sorts of special awards for women. For the 2017 edition a total of 255 chessers showed up at the starting bell, including 43 females. This was not the first time that Hou Yifan competed. In 2012 she took part and faced two women in 10 rounds. In 2015 she was not matched against a single woman. In 2017 however she had to face seven women in the first 9 rounds. Listening to some very bad advice, Hou then threw her last round game in a sign of protest.

Hou, Yifan (2651) — Lalith, Babu MR (2587) [A00]
Gibraltar Masters 15th Caleta (10), 02.02.2017

1.g4 d5 2.f3 e5 3.d3 Qh4+ 4.Kd2 h5 5.h3 hxg4 0–1

Nothing can justify throwing a game. It is an insult to your opponent, the organizers and yourself. As the organizers pointed out the pairings every round were generated by a computer chess program (SwissManager) which is used in a great majority of tournaments all around the world, and the pairings can be replicated for her to see.

I thought Hou’s protest was more a factor of her painful loss to her close rival Ju Wenjun (the no. 2 highest-rated woman player in the world behind Hou) in round 8.

Hou, Yifan (2651) — Ju, Wenjun (2583) [C11]
Gibraltar Masters 15th Caleta (8), 31.01.2017

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Qd2 0–0 9.dxc5 Nxc5 10.0–0–0 a6 11.Qf2 b6 12.Nd4 Qc7 13.g3 Bb7 14.Bg2 Na5 15.f5 Qxe5 16.Bf4 Qf6 17.h4 e5 18.Nxd5 Bxd5 19.Bg5 Qd6 20.Bxe7 Qxe7 21.Bxd5 exd4 22.Bxa8 Rxa8 23.Rhe1 Qc7 24.b4

Not 24.Qxd4?? N(either)b3+

24…Nc6 25.bxc5 bxc5 26.Qf4 Qb6 27.Qd6 h5 28.Re5 c4 29.Rde1 c3 30.Re8+ Rxe8 31.Rxe8+ Kh7 32.Qd5?

The game has been well-fought. Now, 32.f6! threatening a mating attack starting with Rh8+ would have forced Black to take perpetual check.

32…d3! 33.Qxd3 Nb4!

Black still has to be careful. 33…Qg1+? 34.Qd1 and it is white who wins.

34.Qe4 Qg1+ 35.Qe1 Qg2!

With the idea of mate on c2.

36.Qe4

Hou realizes that her planned 36.Qe2 is met by 36…Qh1+ 37.Qe1 Qb7! when the threatened Nxa2+ forces resignation. So she blocks the h1–a8 diagonal.

36…Qd2+ Followed by mate on d1. 0–1

Hou Yifan was devastated by this loss and these bad feelings I think were what triggered the last-round protest.

Hou Yifan’s next stop was the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea where she played in the Chess.com Open Masters 2017. There were 160 participants in the event including around 20 women. For some weird reason her opponents in the first four rounds were Alexandra Kosteniuk, Elisabeth Paehtz, Nino Batsiashvili and Yuliya Shvayger, all women! Anyway, Hou took a half-point bye in the 5th round and this seemed to break the jinx — her 4 remaining opponents were all men.

For the rest of the year Hou Yifan continued to play in tournaments with solid but not spectacular results. Then towards the end of the year came the announcement that she was the recipient of the very prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford. This has nothing to do with her being a former world chess champion or being a grandmaster — Hou had completed her Bachelor of Arts (BA) in international studies at Beijing University where she has twice placed first in a comprehensive department raking. Over 12,000 students worldwide applied to be 2017 Rhodes Scholars and Hou Yifan was one among four Chinese candidates granted.

In Oxford, she will be pursuing a Master of Science in Education. The Rhodes Scholarship will cover her total expenses equal to £30,000 (roughly P2 million) in every school year.

This is a chance in a lifetime but will entail full-time attention and might force her to stop competing for a few years.

It is against that backdrop that she competed in this year’s Tata Steel Masters. This might be her last super GM tournament for a while so there was this extra little bit of pressure to do well. Unfortunately, as the tournament table above shows, Hou Yifan finished last. She was winless with five draws and eight losses.

In the last round, in her last attempt to get on the win column, her opponent was Wesley So, one of the nicest guys around but merciless on the chessboard. And he brutally took her down.

So, Wesley (2792) — Hou, Yifan (2680) [E01]
80th Tata Steel Masters Wijk aan Zee NED (13.7), 28.01.2018

1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.d4 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Bd6

The usual move here is 5…Be7. Perhaps Hou put her bishop on d6 to provoke Wesley into playing 6.c5 after which Black will have some sort of target and she can follow-up with ideas based on …b7–b6xc5.

6.Nc3 0–0?!

Hou took 3 minutes over her 4th move and another three minutes over this one. I don’t think this is a prepared line.

7.cxd5!

If you studied Wesley So games and his comments/annotations you will notice that he has no dogmas — no move is made automatically “on principle” — everything has to be analyzed, checked and re-checked. This is a perfect example — Doesn’t white win a pawn by cxd5 exd5 Nxd5 Nxd5 Bxd5? But then Black can discover an attack on the d5 piece with …Bxg3. But then White would be able to open a file against the Black king. Hmmm… calculate, analyze, assess the resulting position… ok, let’s play it!

7…exd5 8.Nxd5 Nxd5 9.Bxd5 Bxg3 10.Qb3 Bd6 11.Nf3 <D>

POSITION AFTER 11.NF3

This is the position Wesley had to consider carefully — His king will castle queenside and both rooks can participate in the attack. No reason for him not to go for it.

11…c6 12.Bc4 Bf5 13.Ng5 Qe7

[13…Bg6 14.h4 b5 15.Bd3 looks scary]

14.Qf3 Bg6

[14…Be6 doesn’t work because of 15.Qh5! Bf5 (15…h6 16.Nxe6 fxe6 17.Bxh6 is winning) 16.Nxf7 Rxf7 17.Qxf5 Nd7 18.Qxf7+ Qxf7 19.Bxf7+ Kxf7 20.e4 White has a decisive advantage]

15.h4 Bb4

Desperately trying to exchange some pieces. 15…h5 16.Bd3 Bxd3 17.Qxd3 g6 18.0–0–0 followed by e2–e4 is hard to defend against.

16.0–0–0 Bxd2+ 17.Rxd2 h5 18.Rg1 Nd7 19.Qg3 Nb6 20.Bb3 Qf6 21.e4 Rae8 22.e5 Qf5 23.Bc2 Qg4 24.Bxg6 Qxg3 25.Bh7+ Kh8 26.Rxg3 f6 27.Bg6 fxg5 28.Bxe8 gxh4 29.Rg5 Rxe8 30.Rxh5+ 1–0

What is going to happen to Hou Yifan now? The strongest woman player in the history of the game is Judit Polgar — her peak rating was 2735, she was ranked no. 8 in the list of the world’s top players and she is the only woman ever to have qualified for a world championship tournament (in 2005).

Hou Yifan is not so bad herself. She has a peak rating of 2680 and the next highest-rated woman, Ju Wenjun, has a peak rating of 2572 — more than 100 points behind.

Is Hou Yifan about to exit the chess tournament circuit? Let us hope not.

 

Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant, he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.

bobby@cpamd.net

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