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PSE to get P1.55-B loan for PDS acquisition

THE Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) will be taking a loan totaling P1.55 billion to fund its acquisition of the Philippine Dealing System Holdings, Corp. (PDS group) as well as its capital requirements.

The PSE disclosed on Thursday its board of directors approved the obtainment of the one-year loan, of which P1.15 billion will be used for the purchase of the remaining shares it needs to close its deal with the operator of the fixed-income bourse. The other P400 million will finance the PSE’s fit-out and capital requirements for a year.

The company said it may obtain the loan from any of the three banks: BDO Unibank, Inc., Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., and the Bank of Commerce.

The PSE is currently in the midst of merger talks with the PDS group, where it looks to consolidate the trading floors of the two capital markets under one entity.

So far, the PSE has already bought 23.8% of the Bankers’ Association of the Philippines’ shares in the PDS group last June for P476.45 million. Its purchase of 500,000 common shares in Whistler Technologies Services, Inc. was priced at P160 million last July, while its buyout of the Investment Houses Association of the Philippines’ 0.5831% this August was valued at P11.66 million. 

The acquisition of 100% of the PDS group, meanwhile, is valued at P2 billion, based on its equity value.

By end-August, the company has managed to hike its stake in the PDS group to 53.36%, from the original 20.98% it had at the start of the year. This brings it closer to the 67% target it earlier stated.

The PSE reported its first half attributable profit stood at P220.55 million, lower by 26% than the P299 million it recorded in the first semester of 2016. Revenues meanwhile stood at P662.53 million for the six-month period. 

Shares in PSE climbed 0.68% or P1.6 to close at P237.60 apiece on Thursday. — Arra B. Francia

More than 7,000 families affected by typhoon Maring

TROPICAL DEPRESSION Maring left 7,600 families displaced, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). As of Sept. 13, there were 6,952 families or 30,255 persons inside evacuation centers. Those affected are from Regions III (Central Luzon), National Capital Region, and Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon). Damaged houses reached 1,052 in Cavite, Laguna, and Quezon, of which 892 are partially damaged and 160 totally damaged. — Rosemarie A. Zamora

Superman confronts a new villain: white supremacists

WASHINGTON – No longer are planet-destroying extra-terrestrials or billionaire evil geniuses the villains: Superman, the DC Comics superhero, has a new mission protecting hard-working immigrants from white supremacist bullies.

In the latest edition of the Action Comics series, which has published Superman’s adventures since 1938, the “Man of Steel” intervenes to stop an out-of-work factory worker as he is about to kill some immigrants.

Wearing a blue work shirt and red-white-and-blue bandana, the moustachioed cartoon villain embodies all the cliches of the poor blue-collar American.

Gun in hand, he threatens veiled women and rails at Hispanic workers, accusing them of stealing his job.

“You work cheap, don’t speak English so you can’t talk back or even ask for a penny more. You cost me my job! My livelihood! For that… you pay!” he says, as he opens fire.

Just then Superman steps in, bullets bouncing off his chest, to save the day.

“The only person responsible for the blackness smothering your soul is you,” Superman tells the white supremacist.

The passage echoes the recent violent protests by American right-wing extremists.

In August, a 32-year-old woman was run over and killed by a Nazi sympathizer after a violent “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In 2015, Dylann Roof, a white supremacist, shot and killed nine black worshipers at a Charleston, South Carolina church.

American comic books have often taken on social issues, finding up-to-the-minute material in contemporary public conflicts and debates.

Marvel Comics, for instance, launched a new version of Spider-Man in 2011, making him half-black, half-Hispanic.

In 2016, DC Comics published a seven issue mini-series called Superman: American Alien.

In it, Kal-El (Superman’s real name) struggles to reconcile his extra-terrestrial origins with his new life on Earth.

Superman is in effect an immigrant, who left his doomed home planet Krypton when he was a baby and was taken in and adopted by an American couple in Kansas, in the rural US heartland.

Superman’s creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, were both Jews of European descent, and Superman’s story parallels the flight of European immigrants in the 1930s seeking peace and prosperity in the United States.

“The Man of Steel,” whose caped costume is inspired by the Stars and Stripes, grows up on a farm and embodies the American dream.

But Superman’s patriotism, like that of Marvel Comics’ Captain America, has been interpreted differently at the hands of the various writers who have scripted his adventures.

In the 1986 series Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, for example, Frank Miller presents Superman as President Ronald Reagan’s elite fighter, deployed to combat the Soviets or to restore order in the United States, neutralizing Batman. – AFP

Portfolio investments flow out as geopolitical concerns weigh

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez,
Senior Reporter

MORE FOREIGN CAPITAL fled the country in August to reverse two straight months of inflows, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said, as the yearly “ghost month” superstition, the bloody drug war, and other geopolitical concerns spooked investors.

Foreign portfolio investments to the Philippines posted a $57.51- million net outflow last month, which reversed the $206.47 million in net capital retained in July as well as the $427.07 million tallied a year ago.

Such flighty capital are often called as “hot money” given the ease by which these funds enter and leave markets.

Market players plucked out more funds from the country amid worries on the “reinvigorated anti-drug campaign” of the Duterte administration, as well as rising geopolitical tensions between North Korea and the United States, the BSP said in a statement sent yesterday.

Foreign players placed as much as $936 million in the Philippines last month, but was cancelled out by the $994 million which headed out. These compare to the $1.434 billion invested in July, which was partially offset by withdrawals worth $1.228 billion.

Investors also opted to bring more funds out amid mixed corporate earnings reports for the second quarter, alongside alleged anomalies at the Bureau of Customs, the BSP said. These added to the usual “ghost” month woes in the market, which traditionally sees thin trading as superstition dictates that the season is bad for making any big-ticket investments.

In particular, withdrawals peaked between Aug. 14-18 as $329.01 million worth of capital headed out.

Reports of minors killed along the streets of Manila surfaced in August, which escalated concerns over the bloody crackdown on illegal drugs and crime which is the centerpiece of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s platform of governance.

This came alongside the discovery of P6.4 billion worth of smuggled shabu shipments which entered the country that merited a Congressional probe and eventually led to the resignation of Customs Commissioner Nicanor E. Faeldon.

Outside the country, tensions between Pyongyang and Washington escalated after North Korea launched a missile towards Japan, a known US ally.

About 84.9% of the investments registered that month went into shares of listed firms, mainly to banks; holding companies; food, beverage, and tobacco firms; property companies; and transportation services companies, the BSP said.

Meanwhile, 15.1% of the inbound flows went into government-issued debt papers which yielded net outflows.

Bulk of the flighty investments came from the United Kingdom, the United States, Luxembourg, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. However, nearly 80% of the outbound investments went back to the US, which is still considered as safe haven.

The August print brought the year-to-date tally to a $318.88-million net outflow, a turnaround from the $1.974 billion in retained foreign capital tallied during the same period in 2016.

The central bank expects a $900-million net outflow for the entire year, citing that continued geopolitical threats and policy uncertainty both locally and overseas dampen investor appetite towards the Philippines. However, BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said last week that portfolio flows could recover amid expectations that exports will remain growing and as economic activity stays robust.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory hero ‘was black boy’

LONDON – The hero of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory book was originally written as a black boy, the author’s widow told the BBC on Wednesday.

“The first Charlie that he wrote about was a little black boy, you know, and I’m sure that was influenced by America,” Liccy Dahl told BBC Radio 4.

The tale of Charlie Bucket’s adventures at the chocolate factory owned by Willy Wonka was first published in 1964 and is now available in 55 languages.

Liccy Dahl said the final decision not to write the main character as a black child was “a great pity,” adding that it “would be wonderful” to see a reworking of the book to incorporate her late husband’s wish.

Donald Sturrock, biographer of the world-famous children’s author, said Roald Dahl’s agent “thought it was a bad idea” to include a black hero.

As with many of his books, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory made it to the silver screen in 1971.

But according to Liccy Dahl, her husband “wasn’t very happy” with the film version starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka.

A second movie version hit cinemas in 2005, directed by Tim Burton and with actor Johnny Depp taking in the role as the eccentric factory owner.

Other of Roald Dahl’s other children’s classics have made it onto the screen and stage, many since his death aged 74 in 1990.

They include Matilda, about the life of a genius five-year-old, which saw a 1996 film version ahead of a musical production by the Royal Shakespeare Company which opened in 2010.

Despite becoming a celebrated author, Roald Dahl became “extremely grumpy” when he was about to finish a book.

“I used to say to him, ‘Surely you should be thrilled, because you’ve finished a book’. He said, ‘Yes, but the fear of starting another one.’” his widow told the BBC. – AFP

RDC to replicate Iloilo Weekend Tienda in other parts of Western Visayas as 4th bazaar opens today

THE 4TH Weekend Tienda sa Iloilo — a pop-up bazaar featuring local industries and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) — opens today, Sept. 15, and will run until the 17th at the Atria Park District in Iloilo City. National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)-Western Visayas Regional Director Ro-Ann A. Bacal said the Regional Development Council (RDC-6) is planning to replicate the Weekend Tienda in areas other than Iloilo. “We want this to be a mainstay and not just a product advertisement. So we will assess the success of the previous events if it is right to opt for expansion,” said Ms. Bacal, who is also a member of the RDC-6. About 60 local producers will join the event to exhibit their products varying from handicraft, delicacies, fresh poultry, fruits, vegetables, and aquaculture produce, among others. Cherry Ganancial, executive director of Tinukib Foundation, Inc. of Taytay sa Kauswagan, Inc., said the event does not only sell local produce but aims to establish markets for entrepreneurs. “The past events paved the way for small producers to establish linkage with institutional buyers,” she said. Ms. Ganancial said they aim to raise at least P600,000 during the three-day event. — Louine Hope U. Conserva

Melindo defends title for the first time against South African Budler

STARDOM is ripe for the taking for IBF world light flyweight division lynchpin Milan “El Metodico” Melindo (36-2; 13KOs), according to respected boxing analyst and boxing historian Attorney Ed Tolentino.

“The country is looking for a new boxing hero and I think Milan, even if he’s a little guy, he can fill this void,” said Tolentino.

This is the reason why, Tolentino said, it is important for Melindo to score the big victory in “Pinoy Pride 42: Clash For Glory” this Saturday (Sept. 16) at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Cebu City, which will be airing on ABS-CBN this Sunday (Sept. 17) at 3:30 p.m. and on prime time on S+A at 6:30 p.m.

“El Metodico” will be defending his title for the first time after decking Akira Yaegashi against his toughest opponent to date in South African Hekkie “The Hexecutioner” Budler (31-2; 10KOs), the current ruler in the IBF light flyweight division.

Tolentino said Melindo must stay true to his moniker of “El Metodico” if he wants to win against his formidable opponent. “Budler is a pocket rocket, he is the one that’s going to instigate the hostilities. It is for Milan to stay in cruise control and not have this fight dictated by emotions. Keep it tactical, avoid the brutality that Budler will bring into this fight, which Milan has already proven that he can do.”

Meanwhile, the “Pinoy Pride 42” fight card itself packs quite a punch with Jason “El Niño” Pagara (40-2; 25KOs) also facing James Onyango (23-11-1; 19KOs) of Kenya in his continued quest to earn a title fight, while looking for his 14th-straight win dating back to 2011.

Another thing to look forward in this edition of ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN’s boxing series are the showdowns between fellow Filipinos, which has never been done before. Great Filipino prospects John Reil Casimero (24-3; 15KOs) and Jonas Sultan (13-3; 9KOs) will figure in a title eliminator bout for the right to challenge the IBF World Jr. Bantamweight champion Jerwin Ancajas, another Pinoy. Likewise, rising stars Kevin Jake Cataraja and Wiljan Ugbaniel must put aside ties as they square off in the undercard. Aside from them, “King” Arthur Villanueva (30-2; 16KOs) will also look to get back on the winning track against Richie Mepranum (31-6-1) after dropping his last bout.

Sales of DMCI luxury project hit P6.64B

DMCI HOMES has almost fully sold out its first luxury development, Oak Harbor Residences, booking sales of P6.64 billion by the end of August.

The residential segment of DMCI Holdings, Inc. said in a statement on Thursday that over 98% of the property located in the Bay Area has been sold. This comes less than a year after Oak Harbor Residences was launched in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Oak Harbor Residences is a three-tower, resort-themed luxury condominium under the company’s premium brand, DMCI Homes Exclusive. It sits on a 12,000-square meter property directly facing the Manila Bay. The property is also a kilometer away from integrated resort and casino Okada Manila.

The Consunji-led company attributed the brisk take-up of the project to the strong demand for waterfront homes and properties in an “excellent” location.

“With Oak Harbor, you’re getting a premium waterfront home in an emerging business and entertainment hub that is made by the Philippines’ leading developer of resort-inspired condominiums. So our expectations were really high on this project,” DMCI Homes Assistant Vice-President for Marketing Jan Venturanza said in a statement.

The first and second towers called Weston and Lauderlane are slated for completion by June 2020. The third tower called Aston will be completed on December 2021. 

The development of the project also follows the push of real estate firms outside central business districts, which offer more competitive rents and prices, as well as higher investment returns. 

“The availability of developable land and the benefit of future infrastructure improvements make these locations attractive,” property consultancy firm Colliers International Senior Research Manager Randwil Dinbo Macaranas was quoted by DMCI in a statement.

DMCI Homes booked a net income of P1.76 billion for the first half of 2017, 71% higher than the P1.03 billion it realized in the same period last year. Last August, the company also announced that it had hit its full-year reservation sales target after generating P26.2 billion from the sale of 6,206 residential units and 3,743 parking units.

Shares in parent company DMCI Holdings posted a 1.97% uptick or 32 centavos to close at P16.6 apiece at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday. — Arra B. Francia

NEDA batting for more liberal foreign investment negative list

THE HEAD of the government’s economic planning agency said the 11th Foreign Investment Negative List (FINL), which will bring about an “aggressive liberalization” of industries closed to foreign ownership, will be reviewed by Malacañang before the end of the year.

The list was supposed to be taken up during the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board meeting on Tuesday but the draft was not far-reaching enough, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said.

“I want a more aggressive liberalization. They have shown me a draft, and I find it too puny in terms of the changes. I want a more aggressive one, and we have to be at par with other ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Arangkada Philippines forum yesterday in Pasay city.

“The negative list is still a long list and I want to really shorten it drastically,” Mr. Pernia added, noting that the priority industries will be those that can be opened up via legislation.

The FINL outlines the investment limits for foreigners in various industries. Reasons invoked for the restrictions include public health and national security, as well as outright prohibitions under the 1987 constitution.

Asked for the timetable, Mr. Pernia added: “It has to go through NEDA Board first, before the end of the year. I want it all done with all the comments of other agencies by the end of the month.”

He added that there were “too many things” needed to be taken up in the previous meeting that the FINL had to be moved back to the next meeting.

The draft rejected by Mr. Pernia was not made available. Asked what needs to be removed from the current draft, Mr. Pernia said retail trade, the professions, public utilities, and foreign contractors could stand to be opened up.

“The reason why our universities are not highly rated is because we don’t allow foreign professors to teach and be paid, which is already standard in other countries,” he said.

He added that the draft contained some industries that limited foreign ownership to up to 40% only. “I said bring it up to 100% for certain areas,” Mr. Pernia said.

“They thought that it cannot be achieved. I said no, we have to be more aggressive. It’s being revised now. It’s still staff work at NEDA, and then we’re going to show it to the other agencies. Our argument is we have to be at par with other ASEAN countries, we have no choice, otherwise we will be left out,” Mr. Pernia said.

Other areas where foreign ownership is completely prohibited by the Constitution or various laws are: private security agencies; small-scale mining; marine resource exploitation; ownership, operation and management of cockpits; and the manufacture, repair, stockpiling and/or distribution of nuclear weapons.

Areas where foreigners can own stakes of up to 25% are: private recruitment for local or overseas employment and construction and repair of locally funded works like infrastructure and foreign-assisted projects.

Foreigners can own up to 30% in advertising; exploration, development and utilization of natural resources; private land; public utilities; education; rice and corn administration; financing and investment companies; suppliers to state-owned corporations and agencies; defense-related structures; public utility franchises; and private domestic and overseas construction projects.

The list of industries allowing up to 40% foreign ownership include security; defense; those industries that pose a risk to health and morals, such as gambling and bath houses; and certain small-scale and medium-scale enterprises. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

Cebu business chamber vows networking support as DA pushes for coffee farming in Central Visayas

THE CEBU Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) has expressed support to the development of coffee farming in Cebu province and other parts of the Central Visayas Region, particularly in terms of networking for market access and technical know-how. CCCI President Melanie C. Ng said the chamber, with its strong local and international network, can help link coffee growers to experts and buyers. Ms. Ng said the group has yet to tackle the matter, but they do see vast opportunities in the industry. The Department of Agriculture (DA) Central Visayas office recently said it will activate programs that will support coffee farming in the region. The Cebu provincial government has also committed to provide support to the sector. The town of Tuburan is considered the coffee basket of Cebu with more than 2,000 hectares of coffee farms. The National Economic and Development Authority earlier said it sees a need for the government to provide coffee seedlings, funds for fertilizers, and post-harvest facilities and machinery for coffee bean processing. The Philippines currently imports up to 80% of its coffee requirement. — The Freeman

Non-life insurers allowed to invest in real property

BIG NON-LIFE INSURANCE firms may now invest in land and other real property assets to augment their capital buffers and generate more income, the Insurance Commission (IC) announced yesterday.

In a statement, the regulator said non-life issuers with a net worth of at least P550 million will be allowed to acquire land assets to generate fresh incomes up to a maximum of 20% exposure.

“The new guidelines now allow non-life insurance companies to invest their money in incoming-producing real properties, other than those utilized as its main place of business or offices, provided that the applicant non-life insurance company satisfies the conditions stated therein,” IC Commissioner Dennis B. Funa was quoted as saying.

“Easing the investment policy of non-life insurance companies in real properties will create a new revenue stream for the non-life insurance sector.”

Mr. Funa signed Circular Letter No. 2017-43 last month that allows the insurance firms to further diversify their investments, which also limits a company’s exposure to a fifth of its total net worth. The amount includes the cost of developing the property — such as putting up a building or facility be rent out as commercial space — and is computed against the latest financial statement of the insurer.

“As traditional fixed income investments have generated declining returns in the low-yield environment, non-life insurance companies have been spurred to search for new investment opportunities,” Mr. Funa also said.

There are 70 non-life insurance firms operating in the Philippines as of end-2016. Following the P550-million threshold for the real property investments, some 47 of these companies may consider investing on real property according to IC data.

Any plans to acquire parcels of land must be submitted to the IC together with a five-year projected income, as well as the details of the intended occupants, a copy of the proposed lease contract, and a copy of the land title in the name of the insurance firm, the IC said.

Such assets will also be considered as reserve investment, according to the circular.

Insurance firms must likewise adopt a comprehensive framework to manage liquidity risks, which will allow the companies to remain afloat despite periods of a funding crunch.

Non-life premiums written totalled P22.2 billion as of end-June, spelling a 12.8% increase from the P19.69 billion recorded during the first semester of 2016 led by higher availments under the motor vehicle and fire lines.

New show makes a superhero of a teacher

JUST IN time for September – Teachers’ Month – GMA Network has unveiled its newest prime time offering starring Marian Rivera-Dantes in a role where she has to play both a teacher and a vanquisher of evil.

Titled simply Super Ma’am, the 13-week fantasy drama will see Ms. Rivera-Dantes playing Minerva Henerala, an odd but soft-hearted high school teacher. A close encounter with a tamawo, a mythical shape-shifting creature, turns her into a tamawo slayer as these creatures are bent to take back their control of the human world.

Joining Ms. Rivera-Dantes is veteran actress Helen Gamboa who plays her grandmother, Lolita, and who guides Minerva in her journey.

Performing alongside Ms. Rivera-Dantes is the network’s newest leading man, Matthias Rhoads, as Trevor James, an American archaeologist and writer, as well as Jerald Napoles as Esteban, the school janitor who has feelings for Minerva.

Other cast members include Al Tantay as Minerva’s alcoholic father, Jackie Lou Blanco as the main villainess and a powerful tamawo disguised as the school’s rich benefactor, and Kim Domingo as Avenir, Minerva’s lost sister turned rival in love as she also falls for Trevor.

“This is my first time to handle this big of a project,” said Lord Alvin Madridejos, the show’s director, at the sidelines of the launch on Sept. 11 at La Reve events place in Quezon City.

Mr. Madridejos has just finished helming the limited-run series Meant To Be which starred Barbie Forteza alongside Ken Chan, Jak Roberto, Ivan Dorschner, and Addy Raj. Meant To Be fended in late June.

“I’ve been working on this on and off for a few months now,” he said, and unlike his other superhero project – Tsuperhero – in 2016, Super Ma’am is meant to show both the struggles of being a superhero and the struggles of being a teacher.

It was also meant to be a tribute to teachers.

“Tsuperhero was more on the comedic side and the attack was more for the masses. This one is more of a tribute project for the teachers because for the longest time, we wanted a project many people will relate to so when we were thinking about it. We’ve done a lot of projects about families and then we thought of who are the ones who can be considered a person’s second family and those are the teachers,” he said before adding, “This is a story about a teacher who is a superhero because that’s how teachers are for their students.”

But lest people think this is a super-serious drama with a lot of action scenes, Mr. Madridejos said there are comedic instances in order to “provide a contrast between the superhero self and the human self.

“Then after a while, you will see the superhero self affecting the teacher self and vice versa,” he said.

And unlike other superheroes, Super Ma’am is almost ordinary as she does not have the power to fly nor teleport so she has to figure out how to get from one place to another – even if it means taking an Uber.

She also does not kill her adversaries as the tamawo when defeated turn into seeds which can be planted and re-grown into good tamawo.

“Because teachers are supposed to be caring,” he explained.

Aside from Minerva’s humanity, Mr. Madridejos noted that they’ve also taken care in their portrayal of the tamawo, a mythological creature from the Visayas region which is said to be very beautiful and have fangs and claws of gold.

“We are pretty careful about this because you don’t know when you’ll breach a culture and offend someone,” he said, adding that they did their research about the legends of the creature.

Super Ma’am airs on weekdays during GMA’s evening prime time Telebabad slot. – Zsarlene B. Chua

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