San Miguel Foods gets BoI incentives for 2 chicken processing plants

July 8, 2017 | 8:37 am

THE Board of Investments (BOI) has granted incentives to a unit of San Miguel Pure Foods Co., Inc. for its proposed meat processing plants in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, and Pagbilao, Quezon.

In a statement, the attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it approved San Miguel Foods, Inc.’s (SMFI) application for registration as a producer of whole dressed chicken and further processed chicken parts for a P1.3-billion facility in Davao del Sur and P1.1-billion project in Quezon.

Both projects are scheduled to be operational by January 2018 and are expected to employ 1,127 people.

The Davao del Sur plant will produce 17,215 metric tons (MT) of dressed chicken and 16,892 MT of further processed chicken parts annually, while the Quezon plant will have an annual output of10,00 9MT of processed chicken and 22,972 MT of further processed chicken parts.

Broilers will come from SMFI’s contract growers.

“The finished products will boost the domestic market demand with further processed chicken parts targeted for established fastfood brands like Jollibee, McDonald’s, and KFC within Mindanao, South Luzon and (Greater Manila) areas,” Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo was quoted in the statement as saying.

Both plants will be fully mechanized, integrated processing facilities that will utilize the technology of electric stimulation in carcasses. It is expected to improve the quality of chicken by enhancing bleeding capability of carcass and meat tenderness even without maturation by chilling process.

The two facilities will be constructed as “AAA” plants in compliance with the standards set by the National Meat Inspection Service.

The plants will have blast freezers, chilled holding rooms, cold storage for frozen products and corresponding utilities.

They will be also be equipped with wastewater treatment facilities in accordance with the Clean Air Act and the presence of rendering plants to convert solid waste into poultry meal for its feed milling activities.

SMPFC is the food division of San Miguel Corp., which is one of the country’s largest conglomerates. SMFI has diversified products in the agro-industrial sector, with businesses ranging from commercial feeds and poultry to pork and beef.

Shares in SMPFC dropped six centavos or 0.19% to end at P309 each on Friday. — Krista Angela M. Montealegre

Filinvest unit expects to triple revenues by 2020

July 8, 2017 | 8:33 am

CYBERZONE Properties, Inc. (CPI), a unit of Filinvest Land, Inc., is building more office projects as business process outsourcing (BPO) firms pursue their expansion despite the protectionist policy of United States President Donald Trump, allowing the company to triple its revenues by 2020.

North Gate_Cyberzone CPI President Joseph M. Yap told reporters on Friday the office segment will generate P6 billion in revenues by 2020 when it would have completed a plan to triple its gross leasable area (GLA) to 493,720 square meters (sq.m).

At the moment, CPI has 18 office buildings with 239,823 sq.m. of GLA, generating P2 billion in annual revenues.

The developer of office space remains bullish about the prospects of the BPO industry despite the slowdown in absorption from this market segment.

Deals with BPOs covered a GLA of 81,400 sq.m. in Metro Manila during the first quarter, 35% lower than the take-up a year earlier, according to data from property consultancy firm Colliers International Philippines.

“Right after the election of [United States President Donald] Trump — because of his talk on protectionism — most of the BPOs, especially the American ones, were a little bit hesitant to do too much planning for expansion, but in terms of actual take-up wala namang slowdown,” Mr. Yap said.

“Now that people are more comfortable, they don’t see all the talk of Trump will translate into a significant effect in the BPO industry. People are now more confident, optimistic, so they are doing their expansion,” he added.

This year, CPI is adding nearly 103,000 sq.m. of GLA to its portfolio through three new buildings — Vector Three and Axis Tower One in Northgate Cyberzone Alabang and Tower 2 in Cyberzone Cebu.

CPI raised P6 billion from its maiden capital market issuance to fund an aggressive build-up program involving the construction of five additional buildings in Filinvest City, Alabang and three new towers in Lahug, Cebu City.

The base size of P5 billion was 2.65x oversubscribed, prompting the company to exercise the oversubscription option of P1 billion.

The company pegged the interest rate for the 5.5-year bonds at 5.0496% per annum. Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings) assigned a top credit rating to the debt securities.

BDO Capital & Investments Corp., BPI Capital Corp., EastWest Banking Corp., and First Metro Investments Corp. serve as the joint issue managers, bookrunners, and lead underwriters, while PNB Capital and Investments Corp. and SB Capital Investments Corp. are the co-lead underwriters for the bond offer.

Shares in FLI added three centavos or 1.76% to close at P1.73 apiece on Friday. — Krista Angela M. Montealegre

Leyte town placed under state of calamity after quake

July 8, 2017 | 12:07 am

By Jil Danielle M. Caro

KANANGA, Leyte has been placed in a state of calamity on Friday after it was hit by a 6.5-magnitude earthquake on Thursday that killed two and injured 72, the government said.

Continue

AFP may release martial law recommendation next week

July 8, 2017 | 12:06 am

By Raynan F. Javil
Reporter

THE Philippine military may release its recommendation on whether to extend or lift martial law in Mindanao as early as next week, its spokesperson said.

Continue

Grab drivers seek gov’t amnesty as rival Uber supports move

July 8, 2017 | 12:05 am

LOCAL drivers of Singapore-based Grab have sought government amnesty, almost a year after authorities stopped accepting applications for permits to run and operate ride-hailing services.

Continue

Ex-magistrate who reduced charges of general accused of plunder now Ombudsman’s top prosecutor

July 8, 2017 | 12:04 am

A FORMER top magistrate of the Sandiganbayan who reduced charges of a general accused of plunder is now the Ombudsman’s top prosecutor.

Continue

JBC releases shortlist of bets for new SC justice

July 8, 2017 | 12:03 am

THE Judicial Bar Council (JBC) during its regular meeting on Friday released a shortlist of 8 qualified applicants — from the previous 13 — vying to replace the position to be vacated by Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Jose Catral Mendoza.

Continue

Duterte pardons ten political prisoners

July 8, 2017 | 12:02 am

TEN political prisoners were released on Thursday night after President Rodrigo R. Duterte pardoned them, a move that is in line with the government’s peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

Continue

Meralco bills slightly up this month

July 8, 2017 | 12:01 am

By Krista Angela M. Montealegre
National Correspondent

AFTER a record reduction in June, electricity users in Metro Manila and surrounding areas will see a marginal increase in their power bills this month, as distribution utility Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) announced a P0.0761-per-kilowatt-hour (/kWh) uptick in basic charges.

Continue

No letup against human trafficking, immigration bureau says

July 8, 2017 | 12:01 am

THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) affirmed on Friday that there will be no letup in its campaign against human trafficking as it reported that more than 43,000 people were barred from leaving the Philippines during the past year for failure to comply with travel requirements.

Continue

BSP tags rising global interest rates as risk to PHL economy

July 7, 2017 | 11:27 am

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter

RISING global interest rates and inward-looking trade policies among major economies remain the biggest sources of risks for the Philippine economy, although the central bank chief said it has buffers to cushion such blows.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. said rate hikes planned by central banks from advanced economies particularly the United States, coupled with rising populism, continue to pose as the biggest threats to the domestic economy, but clarified that the country remains well-positioned to withstand possible downturns.

“From a credit perspective and depending on the timing and pace [of policy tightening], this can adversely affect the capacity to pay of borrowers especially those who are highly-leveraged entities,” Mr. Espenilla said in a speech before the Credit Management Association of the Philippines on Friday.

“Being a small open market economy, the Philippines is vulnerable to abrupt shift in global market sentiments which can induce large and sudden capital lows and contribute to volatility in the financial market.”

Federal Reserve officials have signalled confidence towards the US economy and alluded that a third rate hike may be introduced later this year, coupled with tightening hints from Europe and Japan.

A retreat from multilateralism towards inward-looking policies could also narrow trade and financial linkages that could dampen global output and local exports, Mr. Espenilla added, noting that the Philippines has what it takes to rise above such challenges.

“The BSP stands ready with preemptive measures to mitigate any undue risk build-up in the financial system. Meanwhile, our solid macroeconomic fundamentals that we enjoy today continue to provide us with buffers to weather potential external shocks,” the central bank chief said.

The Philippine economy grew by 6.4% during the first quarter, slower than the 6.6% logged during the last three months of 2016 but still one of the fastest in Asia. The BSP also holds hefty dollar reserves, well above the international standard of a three-month import cover.

Mr. Espenilla, who assumed the top central bank post on Monday, said the regulator also “continually strengthens” its watch on emerging systemic risks to watch out for emerging pockets of risky credit.

US leads sanctions push after N. Korea escalation’

July 7, 2017 | 9:04 am

UNITED NATIONS — The United States pushed for tougher sanctions on North Korea at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, warning the isolated regime’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) had drastically narrowed the path for diplomacy.

In a hard-hitting address, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said Tuesday’s ICBM test had made “the world a more dangerous place,” and reiterated that Washington was ready to use force if need be to deal with the threat of a nuclear-armed Pyongyang.

Tuesday’s launch — styled by leader Kim Jong-Un as a gift to “American bastards” — marked a milestone in Pyongyang’s decades-long drive for the capability to threaten the US mainland with a nuclear strike, and poses a stark foreign policy challenge for Donald J. Trump.

The US president had dismissed the idea of the North possessing a working ICBM, vowing it “won’t happen,” but experts said the missile could reach Alaska or even further towards the continental US.

At the UN, Ms. Haley called the launch “a clear and sharp military escalation,” and US and South Korean forces fired off missiles Wednesday into the Sea of Japan simulating a precision strike against North Korea’s leadership.

Washington had “considerable military forces,” Ms. Haley said. “We will use them if we must.”

But the US focus, she told the council, was to push through tighter sanctions, and it would submit a new draft resolution within days.

In all, six sets of sanctions have been imposed on North Korea since it first tested an atomic device in 2006, but have failed to prevent its military advances.

New measures could target countries that continue to trade with North Korea, curb oil exports to the isolated country, tighten air and maritime restrictions and impose travel bans on its officials.

Ms. Haley singled out China — increasingly in the US administration’s crosshairs as the North’s sole major ally and economic lifeline — as key to any diplomatic solution, only days after Mr. Trump said Beijing’s efforts had failed.

“We will work with China,” Ms. Haley said, “but we will not repeat the inadequate approaches of the past that have brought us to this dark day.”

The US drive won backing from France, but raised immediate protests from fellow permanent Security Council member Russia, whose Deputy Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov warned that “sanctions will not resolve the issue.”

China’s Ambassador Liu Jieyi once more pushed Beijing’s alternative proposal for talks based on a freeze of North Korea’s missile and nuclear tests, in exchange for a halt to US-South Korean military drills — which has been rejected repeatedly by Washington and Seoul.

NUCLEAR ATTACK
Washington and Seoul are in a security alliance, with 28,500 US troops stationed in the South to protect it.

In a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of the G20 summit, South Korean President Moon Jae-In said the level of the North’s nuclear and missile capabilities was already a problem, “but the bigger problem is that the speed of progress is far faster than expected.”

Sanctions and pressure, he added, should be a means to push the North to the negotiating table, “and should not break the peace itself.”

The Hwasong-14 missile only traveled little more than 900 kilometers (560 miles) to come down in the Sea of Japan, but the altitude it reached — more than 2,800 kilometers according to Pyongyang — demonstrated it can travel far further.

South Korea’s Defense Minister Han Min-koo put its range at 7,000 to 8,000 kilometers — far enough to put US Pacific Command in Hawaii within reach.

The North, which says it needs atomic weapons to defend itself against the threat of invasion, said the test proved the missile’s reentry capabilities and it could carry a heavy nuclear warhead.

Questions remain over the missile’s precise capabilities, but concerns over its implications are mounting in the South. “A North Korean ICBM carrying a nuclear warhead is a game-changer,” the JoongAng Ilbo said in an editorial Thursday.

“What worries us is the uncertainty of whether the US would defend us if North Korea attacks Seoul. We cannot be sure if the US would risk a nuclear attack on New York or Los Angeles.” — AFP