By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Reporter
THE San Miguel Beermen and TNT KaTropa, finals protagonists in the previous Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) tournament, face each other for the first time today in the ongoing Governors’ Cup.
THE P100,000 and P2,000 Centennial Commemorative Notes issued in 1998 will no longer be valid as legal tender by Aug. 1, 2018, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced yesterday. The demonetization process is ongoing and the bills can be exchanged at full face value with the BSP or authorized agent banks. The P100,000 bill is the biggest legal tender issued by the BSP in terms of value as well as size at 22×33 centimeters. BSP said there were only 1,000 pieces issued for the Philippine’s Centennial Year celebration. Under the New Central Bank Act contained in Republic Act 7653, the BSP can replace banknotes that are more than five years old.
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Reporter
THE streaking train that is the Lyceum Pirates continued to chug along yesterday, thumping on the College of St. Benilde (CSB) Blazers, 98-55, for their fifth win in as many games in Season 93 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
EARNINGS of 8990 Holdings, Inc. fell 58% in the second quarter as the mass housing developer continued to experience delays in securing permit for new projects.
The listed real estate firm posted a net income of P485 million in the April to June period, against the P1.15 billion in the same period last year. Revenues also dipped by 43% to P1.45 billion in the second quarter from the P2.56 billion it generated a year ago.
This brought the company’s first-half profit to P1.22 billion, 44% lower year on year, following a 36% drop in revenues to P3.04 billion.
“We’ve already anticipated a slow start to 2017 given, historically, a change in government normally leads to a temporary disruption in our growth as a result of these political changes,” 8990 Holdings President and Chief Executive Officer Januario Jesus Atencio III said in a statement.
8990 Holdings further attributed the decrease to the continuing delays in the processing of new projects’ licenses and labor shortages in construction.
In 2016, the company launched only six projects out of the targeted 14. Five of these delayed projects have since been launched in the first half of 2017, consisting of 32,993 units.
For the second half of the year, 8990 Holdings will be launching Deca Homes (DH) Mactan Prime, Urban DH Mactan, Urban DH Tisa 2, all of which are in Cebu, DH Talomo in Davao, DH Leganes in Iloilo, and DH Tigatto in Davao.
Sales reservations, meanwhile, grew by 3% year on year to P4.5 billion, on the back of more project launches in previous years.
In a bid to achieve the company’s target of doubling sales in the second half of the year, 8990 Holdings said it has brought back in-house financing, which allows buyers to purchase property at low downpayment rates, after which they can move in the units while paying monthly amortizations.
In an earlier interview, Mr. Atencio explained they limited sales in the Urban Deca Homes Tondo project to Pag-IBIG fund members, which means buyers can only purchase property by availing of government housing loans through the House Development Mutual Fund (HDMF).
The company however was able to benefit from this strategy as HDMF takeouts accounted for 2,229 units amounting to P2.2 billion, 98% higher than the takeouts in the first half of 2016.
HDMF takeouts further accounted for 73% of 8990 Holdings’ sales for the January to June period, which the company said is in line with its goal to increase internally generated cashflows.
Shares in 8990 Holdings lost 10 centavos or 1.71% to P5.75 each on Tuesday. — Arra B. Francia
A ROMAN Catholic priest has been suspended from his functions following his arrest on child sex charges after he was allegedly caught with a 13-year-old girl procured from a pimp, a Philippine church official said Tuesday. The church and the police are conducting separate investigations into the case of Monsignor Arnel F. Lagarejos after he was arrested in a suburb of Metro Manila on Friday, said retired Bishop Oscar V. Cruz. Mr. Lagarejos, a parish priest and head of a religious college near the capital, was taken into custody by police after the girl was handed over to him by her pimp, said Mr. Cruz, who is heading the church’s investigation. The police declined to comment, citing a law requiring confidentiality of all parties in such cases. The results of the church investigation will be sent to the Vatican for judgement, Mr. Cruz said, adding that Mr. Lagarejos could be stripped of all his priestly functions if found guilty. — AFP
MAKING her second professional mixed martial arts appearance, Filipino women’s atomweight fighter Jomary Torres said she is relishing the opportunity afforded her, more so because she gets to represent the Philippines.
WASHINGTON — Foul-mouthed spin doctor Anthony Scaramucci was axed as White House communications director Monday, just 10 days after being named to the post and hours after Donald J. Trump installed a new chief of staff.
STANDARD Chartered Bank has cut its growth forecast for the Philippines but added that the country will remain the fastest growing in Southeast Asia, supported by favorable domestic conditions that would not need fresh monetary stimulus over the coming year.
The bank said gross domestic product (GDP) will likely expand by 6.5% this year, down from its previous 6.8% forecast but still within the government’s 6.5-7.5% growth target band. If the forecast bears out, growth would slow from 6.9% posted in 2016.
Edward Lee, Standard Chartered Bank’s head for ASEAN economic research, attributed the revised growth estimate to the “weaker-than-expected” 6.4% growth posted during the first quarter, but said that the economy could pick up steam during the second half of 2017.
“We see growth picking up in H2 (second half) relative to H1 (first half). Infrastructure investment is likely to recover from the Q1 trough as investments in Metro Manila come online. Project delivery in line with the planned schedule would present upside risks to our growth forecast,” according to the bank’s mid-year report also released yesterday.
“Public-sector construction momentum is likely to pick up in H2, while robust domestic demand is keeping manufacturing growth steady.”
During a media briefing yesterday, Mr. Lee said that consumer spending is seen to remain relatively stable, supported by steady growth in worker remittances which is expected to rise by another 4-6% this year.
A recovery in exports — which has been sustained since the year opened — would likewise contribute to the growth story and keep the Philippines the fastest-growing economy compared to its neighbors Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, the bank economist added.
Upbeat growth prospects and manageable price movements give the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) further leeway to stand pat on interest rates, another bank analyst said.
“Inflation is not really an issue for most central banks… Earlier in the year, it looked like the Philippines and Thailand (would have) higher inflation but now, it has come back to the center of (the target) zone so I don’t think there’s any immediate pressure to hike from the central bank,” Kaushik Kudra, the bank’s head of rates and credit research, said during yesterday’s briefing in Makati City.
Mr. Lee added that the benign inflation environment would allow the BSP to remain on hold even until 2018, noting that inflation may have already peaked this year at 3.4% in March and April.
Price increases averaged 3.1% during the first semester, matching the central bank’s full-year forecast and remaining within the 2-4% target band.
On the other hand, Standard Chartered sees the peso returning to a stronger level at P49.50 by yearend. It has been trading weaker than P50 since last month.
Mr. Kudra said the current account deficit is exerting pressure on the currency, but noted that such compression is viewed a “short-term” phenomenon as the country moves to a “higher investment phase” with imports of capital goods growing.
DAVAO CITY — Two Indonesian companies, a cement manufacturer and a real estate developer, are looking at possible investments in the Davao Region, following the recent 4th Davao Investment Conference (ICon).
Arturo M. Milan, chairman of this year’s Davao ICon organized by the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc., said PT Semen Indonesia is exploring the establishment of a cement factory within the region, while an unnamed property developer is interested in projects under the National Housing Authority (NHA).
“All the while we were just looking at Japanese and Chinese (investors), but we were surprised that the Indonesian delegates announced that they were looking and exploring the possibilities of setting up a cement plant here,” Mr. Milan said.
Mr. Milan said the Indonesian cement firm was among the participants in the 23 business matching activities during the forum.
PT Semen Indonesia, upon the invitation of Indonesian Consul General Berlian Napitupulu, also attended the Manufacturing Products Expo last July 22-24, right after the Davao ICon.
The property firm, meanwhile, already has socialized housing projects in some African countries, Papua New Guinea, and east Indonesia.
“These are really the tenement housing that goes up to six storeys,” Mr. Milan said.
Representatives of the company, he said, have asked him to help organize a meeting with the NHA to discuss possible ventures.
“I was talking to the managing director of this company about the backlog of 5.5 million units as of today, and every year it accumulates because we cannot hit our annual target and that actually excites the Indonesians,” Mr. Milan said.
“You know in investment conferences, what you are planting is a seed and just allowing them to explore fully… investment is a long process and you got to see the potential, and they have to see also who’s gonna be their local partners,” Mr. Milan said. — Maya M. Padillo
Text and photos by Aries B. Espinosa
SAME engine, different expressions. This was what Honda Cars Philippines, Inc (HCPI) highlighted in a ride-and-drive activity for its big three sellers.
THE TOLEDO City government signed on Monday an agreement with the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) for an 11-hectare reclamation project that will cost about P644 million. Mayor John Henry “Sonny” R. Osmeña told the media during the signing ceremony that the project will be funded through a bank loan and the city’s budget. Mr. Osmeña said they are aiming to start the advertisement and bidding within 30 days, after all the requirements have been complied with. The mayor said the project would be “monumental” and is expected boost economic development with traffic decongestion in the city center and the opening of a new seaport. The development is targeted for completion within two years. PRA General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Janilo E. Rubiato, for his part, said the agency is ready to guide the city on the reclamation project. On the other hand, Vince Cinches, an environmental advocate from Greenpeace Philippines, said the reclamation would have a negative impact on the ecosystem and the community, noting that Toledo City lies along the Tañon Strait, the country’s largest protected seascape. Mr. Rubiato defended that there is a need for more areas of development, and it is not always at the expense of the environment. “We abhor stereotyping. There is an environmentally sound approach to do the reclamation,” he said. — The Freeman
NEW YORK — Serena Williams served up a rallying cry for equal pay for black women Monday, decrying that they would have to work on average eight months longer to earn the same as male counterparts in one year.
