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LISTED real estate developer Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) posted a 10% increase in its first-quarter (Q1) net income to P6.9 billion from P6.3 billion a year earlier, led by leasing operations and property development revenue.
Consolidated revenue rose by 6% to P43.6 billion from P41 billion, ALI said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.
Property development revenue increased by 11% to P27.8 billion on contributions from premium residential offerings and commercial and industrial lots for sale.
Residential revenue improved by 3% to P22 billion, led by the resilience of the premium segment, while commercial and industrial lot revenue more than doubled to P5.7 billion due to strong sales at Arca South in Taguig City.
Property development reservation sales rose by 4% to P36.2 billion, as premium residential sales grew by 4% to P20.7 billion, and take-up of commercial and industrial lots more than tripled to P4.9 billion.
The contribution of the core residential segment to total sales declined to P10.5 billion.
ALI launched four projects worth P12.6 billion during the quarter, comprising Ayala Land Premier’s Virendo in Toril, Davao, and sequel phases of Ayala Westgrove Heights and Amaia Scapes General Trias, both in Cavite.
Leasing revenue rose by 7% to P11.6 billion on stable occupancy amid ongoing renovations across malls and hospitality assets.
Shopping center revenue increased by 4% to P5.7 billion, led by growing contributions from core and emerging malls. Office revenue rose by 4% to P2.9 billion on higher lease rates and better-than-industry occupancy levels.
Revenue from hotels and resorts expanded by 10% to P2.6 billion due to improving occupancy and room rates, while revenue from warehouses, cold storage, and industrial land grew by 60% to P357 million.
Capital expenditures during the first quarter reached P20.6 billion, of which 46% went to the build-out of residential projects, 30% to the development of infrastructure within estates, 16% to leasing and hospitality assets, and 9% to continuing land acquisition commitments.
“As we close the first quarter of 2025, I am pleased to share that ALI remains firmly on track — guided by discipline, resilience, and long-term perspective — even as we navigate today’s complex macroeconomic landscape,” ALI President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Anna Ma. Margarita Bautista-Dy said.
“We are energized with what lies ahead and continue to deliver sustainable long-term value for all our stakeholders,” she added.
Meanwhile, ALI said in a separate statement that its Ayala Land Leisure Estates unit has signed a land lease agreement with Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Agro Ventures, Inc. (MPAV), which will develop a greenhouse facility within the Lio Estate in El Nido, Palawan.
The facility, with a 100,000-kilogram capacity, will feature advanced farming technologies, including hydroponics and climate-controlled environments. It will supply vegetable produce to Lio Estate’s hospitality establishments — Seda Lio, Huni, and The El Nido Resorts — as well as locators and the El Nido community.
“This project aligns with our mission to introduce cutting-edge farming techniques across the country. By establishing a greenhouse in Lio Estate, we aim to demonstrate the viability of sustainable agriculture even in remote locations,” MPAV President and CEO Jovy I. Hernandez said.
MPAV is the agriculture unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC). It has businesses in vegetable production, coconut processing and export, integrated dairy processing, and ice cream.
MPIC is one of three key Philippine units of First Pacific, the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority share in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.
ALI shares dropped by 0.61% or 15 centavos to P24.30 apiece on Tuesday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
LOPEZ-LED First Gen Corp. reported a 4.4% increase in attributable net income to $82.3 million for the first quarter, driven by lower operating expenses.
Revenues declined by 2.2% to $583.3 million due to lower electricity sales volumes across the natural gas and geothermal platforms, based on its financial report released on Tuesday.
For the first three months, revenues from the natural gas segment fell by 1.4% to $381.1 million amid a decline in revenues from the San Gabriel plant following the expiration of its power supply agreement with Manila Electric Co. in February last year.
This was partially offset by higher revenues from the Santa Rita and San Lorenzo plants due to increased fuel revenues, and from Avion due to higher sales under its ancillary services procurement agreement.
Revenues from the geothermal, solar, and wind (GSW) portfolio declined by 6.5% to $173.2 million, weighed down by lower average sales volumes and lower average selling prices.
Meanwhile, revenues from the hydropower platform rose by 50.2% to $8.6 million.
The natural gas portfolio accounted for the bulk of revenues at 66%, followed by GSW at 30%, and hydropower at 4%.
Operating expenses fell by 3.8% to $429.04 million, driven by lower costs of electricity sales as well as reduced general and administrative expenses.
“First Gen’s portfolio of power plants are available for dispatch as the country experiences this punishing heat. We have been hard at work in making sure that the vital resources our company provides are able to deliver, especially during these coming local elections,” First Gen President and Chief Operating Officer Francis Giles B. Puno said in a statement.
At present, First Gen has a total of 3,668 megawatts of combined capacity from its portfolio of plants running on geothermal, wind, hydropower, solar energy, and natural gas. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
REAL ESTATE developer Century Properties Group, Inc. (CPG) recorded a 16% increase in first-quarter (Q1) net income to P473 million from P410 million a year earlier, driven by its first-home and premium residential segments.
Consolidated revenue grew by 4% to P3.72 billion from P3.58 billion last year, CPG said in an e-mail statement on Tuesday.
The first-home residential developments (PHirst) segment — which covers the socialized, low-income, economic, affordable, and mid-income segments — accounted for 60%, or P2.24 billion, of total revenue.
The premium residential development segment contributed 32%, or P1.18 billion, while commercial leasing and property management segments accounted for 5% (P181 million) and 3% (P130 million), respectively.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization rose by 14% to P988 million, driven by a 46% gross profit margin, sustained contributions from the PHirst segment, and lower borrowing costs.
“Our first-quarter performance reflects the successful completion of key residential projects, strong sales take-up across our developments, and continued gains in operational efficiency,” CPG President and Chief Executive Officer Marco R. Antonio said.
“We also benefitted from improved financial discipline and debt management, allowing us to reduce interest expenses and enhance profitability,” he added.
As of end-March, CPG’s total assets rose by P1.886 billion to P57.736 billion, while total liabilities stood at P35.233 billion, resulting in stockholders’ equity of P22.503 billion.
“As we scale across both affordable and premium segments, we remain committed to our mission of serving the end-user market with thoughtfully designed and sustainable communities — whether through PHirst in growth cities nationwide or through Century-branded premium residential developments outside Metro Manila, supported by our commercial leasing and property management arms,” Mr. Antonio said.
“Our strong first-quarter results demonstrate our operational agility, solid market fundamentals, and our confidence in the country’s long-term housing demand,” he added.
In February, CPG launched the second phase of its Azure North Estate in San Fernando, Pampanga. The second phase will include four mid-rise buildings, 49 town villas, and a waterpark. The first tower, called Mykonos, is scheduled for completion by 2027.
In March, CPG also unveiled the 142-hectare Century PHirst Centrale Batulao mixed-use estate in Batangas — marking the brand’s second township project after PHirst Centrale Hermosa in Bataan, which was launched in March 2022.
On Tuesday, CPG shares fell by 1.49%, or one centavo, to 66 centavos per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
FERNANDO AMORSOLO was a beloved painter known for capturing what was perceived to be the essence of the Philippine identity, so much so that he became the country’s first-ever National Artist. At the Ayala Museum, his legacy as a “poet of color” and “painter of Philippine sunlight” is celebrated through a new exhibition that explores the viewer’s experience of the colors on his canvases.
Titled Amorsolo: Chroma, this rediscovery of the acclaimed artist’s famous works is curated by Tenten Mina. Notably, she places select pieces by Mr. Amorsolo’s contemporaries alongside his own, to better understand the art scene he moved in.
To encourage guests to engage with the art, the exhibition also includes a large interactive section featuring paint-by-color walls and digital stations which tackle color blindness. In a first for Philippine museums, EnChroma glasses are available for color blind visitors.
Ultimately, the exhibit dives into how Mr. Amorsolo’s use of light came to define a national aesthetic, and if it would still speak to viewers whose eyes may perceive certain colors differently.
REFRAMING WITH CONTEXT
Aprille Tijam, Ayala Museum’s assistant director and exhibitions and collection head, said that “younger viewers now comprise 40% of the museum’s visitors.”
“This exhibition seeks to reintroduce the works of Amorsolo to this new generation,” she explained during the exhibit’s launch in April. “It has been a decade since we last mounted a show dedicated to Amorsolo, and it is only fitting that we revisit how he shaped Filipino identity.”
To illustrate his use of light and shade, they put together his pastoral landscapes, plein air paintings, and iconic genre works, many of which were “donated by overseas collectors who recognize the importance of bringing his art back home,” said Ms. Tijam.
Ms. Mina, the curator, gave a tour of the exhibit on opening day. She pointed out that, instead of doing a straightforward retrospective of the artist’s career, they focused on the early paintings of Mr. Amorsolo, spread out across “a series of interconnected alcoves, lit also to simulate natural sunlight.”
Visitors are naturally drawn to well-known works, like The Palay Maiden from 1920 and Planting Rice from 1924, but just as fascinating are quiet scenes of sunsets, sari-sari stores, fire trees, and multiple iterations of countryside maidens doing chores. Also memorable are folding screens containing plein air landscapes by both Mr. Amorsolo and one of his contemporaries, Juan Arellano.
“It was in the outdoors and painting in plein air that Philippine panorama and the golden sunlight that the artist found liberty. And remarkable are his small landscapes for their controlled, brisk, and spontaneous brushwork,” Ms. Mina said.
Despite featuring more of the smaller and intimate paintings of Mr. Amorsolo, the layout of the exhibit feels spacious, evoking a sense of the expanse of the outdoors present in the works themselves.
Though not a comprehensive overview of the artist, this part of the exhibit captures his formative years, placed alongside landscapes by predecessors and contemporaries — Jorge Pineda, Jose David, Isidro Ancheta, and even Mr. Amorsolo’s mentor and uncle, Fabian Dela Rosa.
“Context is important. We want visitors to ask themselves if stating that Amorsolo is the master of Philippine sunlight would resonate if also exposed to works of other landscape artists of that period,” explained Ms. Mina.
INTERACTING WITH EMPATHY
The second part of the exhibition is interactive and educational, with a “light room” that delves into the connection between art and technology, paint-by-color walls where visitors can contribute, and digital stations allowing us to view the warm glow of Mr. Amorsolo’s paintings from a color-blind perspective.
These aim to question “whether today’s audiences in the age of hypermedia and photo filters appreciate Amorsolo’s luminous legacy of colors in the same way.”
“One might argue that all exhibitions are experiential, and that all art is experiential. But what if I told you roughly 5% of Filipinos do not experience the full range of color? What happens to the claim that art is universal when color itself is not universal?” Ms. Mina said.
“Understanding that our assumptions about the human experience are not universal can be the starting point for empathy and dialogue,” she added.
The digital stations are eye-opening for those without color vision deficiency (CVD) or color blindness. Reduced sensitivity to greens and reds, for example, renders Mr. Amorsolo’s sunsets and landscapes a bit duller and more muted.
On the flip side, the EnChroma glasses offered to visitors with CVD allow them to experience Amorsolo paintings as intended.
For Ms. Tijam, this take on iconic paintings represents the Ayala Museum’s “ongoing commitment to accessibility and inclusion, particularly for persons with disabilities, assuring that as many people as possible can engage with Amorsolo’s work.”
Ms. Mina recommended that, coming from the interactive stations of the exhibit, visitors with regular vision go back to the first part, to gain a better appreciation of the colors.
“We want to encourage everyone to re-engage with the works and perhaps reassess if anything has changed their perception and appreciation of the displayed works,” she said.
Amorsolo: Chroma, which was made possible with the support of BPI and Boysen, runs until Sept. 7 at the Ayala Museum in Makati City. — Brontë H. Lacsamana
LUCIO L. CO-LED grocery retailer Puregold Price Club, Inc. reported a 6.5% increase in its first-quarter (Q1) consolidated net income to P2.64 billion from P2.48 billion a year earlier, driven by stronger revenue.
Consolidated revenue rose by 10.8% to P52.42 billion from P47.32 billion, Puregold said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.
Gross profit also grew by 10.8% to P10.26 billion.
Same-store sales growth (SSSG) for Puregold stores reached 5.9%, led by higher basket sizes, while S&R Membership Shopping Warehouses recorded 4% SSSG due to increased customer traffic.
Operating expenses rose by 13.6% to P7.19 billion.
As of end-March, Puregold operated 757 stores nationwide, consisting of 662 Puregold stores, 30 S&R Membership Shopping Warehouses, and 65 S&R New York Style quick-service restaurants.
Puregold President Ferdinand Vincent P. Co said last month that the retailer is prioritizing key provincial markets as part of its “aggressive” store expansion plan this year.
“This strategic initiative is designed to drive continued growth, expand our market footprint, and enhance customer shopping satisfaction, convenience, and accessibility, ultimately positioning us for long-term value creation,” he said.
Puregold shares rose by 0.48% or 15 centavos to P31.50 apiece on Tuesday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
IN 2006, the Philippine committee for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Memory of the World Program was formed. Since then, it has helped secure the inscription of many important Filipino documentary treasures, from film collections and traditional music and radio broadcast recordings, to presidential papers and original manuscripts.
At a relaunch of the program’s local arm, the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines (UNACOM) has renewed its awareness campaign and has called for more leads on historical documents.
Filmmaker, film historian, and Memory of the World national committee chairperson Nick Deocampo told BusinessWorld that, following the Paris headquarters’ opening of nominations back in March (it is held every other year), the Philippine committee is gearing up to prepare nominations and seek out more leads for the coming years.
“The title of the project, Memory of the World, is very poetic. But behind that poetry is the tragic reality where we lose documents almost every day. As we speak, somewhere there’s a photograph or a film that’s decaying,” Mr. Deocampo said at the April 29 press conference in Pasay City.
THIS YEAR’S NOMINEES
A culmination of UNACOM’s efforts is the submission of seven nominations this year, in time for the deadline in September.
“We are nominating the Laguna copperplate for the regional (Asia-Pacific) register. It’s an economic transaction from 900 AD, the first extant, well-kept document or record to be found within the country! If that’s not important, I don’t know what is,” Mr. Deocampo said.
An array of forms must be accomplished by the custodian/s and owner/s of a potential inductee, which the committee describes as a “painstaking and even tedious process.” At the end of this, if inscribed, financial support for preservation will be given.
The other nominations include copies of the Spanish-language La Solidaridad newspaper published by the Filipino propaganda movement, and of Jose Rizal’s celebrated novels Noli Me Tángere and El Filibusterismo. There’s also the “Philippine insurgent records,” repatriated from the US in 1957 and now located in the National Library, their nomination facilitated by heritage conservation and tourism educator Ivan Henares.
Mr. Henares, who is also UNACOM’s secretary general, posited that preserving memory “isn’t just the work of historians and archivists.”
“It’s a shared responsibility for anyone who believes our nation’s soul must be remembered, protected, and passed on. Together, we must write a fuller, richer history of the Philippines, one that reflects every voice, every community, and every memory,” he said at the launch.
One example is Pilar Martinez, who has well-kept documents of the Ilonggo community newspaper Makinaugalingon. She brought this up when the committee visited Iloilo for a nomination workshop, leading to its nomination for the Memory of the World this year.
Mr. Deocampo stressed the importance of another nominee, the ethnographic films of Ramon Obusan, who traveled to many tribes and documented them with Super8 film.
“We have forgotten the movements of their hands, the textiles that they used, their practices, their dances. They’re all there, hidden in an Orocan container, not even 500 meters away from the sea,” he lamented. One of the big no-nos of keeping old documents — whether filmed or on paper — is locating them near the ocean, where they are more vulnerable to the elements.
The seventh nomination the committee highlighted were the documents on Filipino comfort women during World War II. “It’s controversial because it’s not a good part of history, but it’s history nonetheless,” Mr. Deocampo said.
LEADS TO PURSUE
The committee shared that community workshops they have held have turned up great results. In Baguio, they got leads on someone claiming they have the oldest Ilocano bible and a family which keeps the Yamashita surrender papers.
However, the UNACOM’s track record has been uneven, according to Mr. Deocampo. “A lot of the documents come from Luzon. We need to have more from Visayas. From Mindanao, we have almost zero,” he said.
Some documents they are pursuing in Mindanao are historically important Muslim writings and Manobo-language recordings.
He shared that the awareness campaign this year will kick off with documentary literacy workshops, which will be held in Naga in July, Dumaguete in August, and Davao in September. There, academics, community members, and archivists can make their nominations.
Relative to other countries, which have up to hundreds of inductees on their registers, the Philippines currently has five in the international category, two in the regional (Asia-Pacific) category, and two in the national category. These are:
International Register
• Palawan Paleographs
• Radio Broadcasts of the People Power Revolution
• Presidential Papers of Manuel L. Quezon
• Musical Collection of José Maceda
Asia-Pacific Register
• Culion Leprosy Archives
• Doctrina Christiana
• “Hinilawod” Epic Chant Recordings
National Register
• The film Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?
• Fernando Poe, Jr. Film Collections
Mr. Deocampo noted that they are “pumped up” to reach out to communities and get leads on where to find more records.
For Mr. Henares, their mission is urgent in a fast-moving digital world where “stories are constantly being retold and sometimes forgotten.”
“We believe it’s time to shine a new light on this important initiative,” he said. “Our records, manuscripts, images, sounds, and stories don’t just recount events. They capture the spirit of who we are. They anchor us to our past and point us toward who we hope to become.” — Brontë H. Lacsamana
ISUZU PHILIPPINES Corp. (IPC) has started construction of its 50th dealership in the country, which is expected to open by the end of the year, the company said on Tuesday.
The upcoming dealership, to be located in Mandaluyong City, is being developed in partnership with ICONIC Dealership, Inc., the company said in a statement.
The company described the site as “strategic,” citing the city’s mix of commercial establishments, residential communities, and expanding middle-class population.
“It brings the Isuzu brand even closer to a wide array of customers in one of the most progressive corridors of Metro Manila,” IPC President Mikio Tsukui said in a statement.
The facility will have a total floor area of 2,108 square meters (sq.m.), including a 709-sq.m. showroom that can accommodate up to five display units. It will also feature four service bays, a car wash area, and customer parking.
As of March, IPC ranked sixth in total automotive sales in the country, accounting for 4,371 units, or 3.73% of the industry total, according to a joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association. — J.I.D. Tabile
THIS Mother’s Day, Robinsons Land ARTablado is honoring the love and care that mothers give their families through two exhibits. On view until May 15 at the gallery’s branch at Robinsons Galleria is a solo show by Philippine biodiversity advocate and artist Bing Famoso, while the works of mother-and-daughter tandem Maria Cristina Arroyo and Christelle Arroyo are mounted at Robinsons Antipolo.
THIS MONTH, Instituto Cervantes Manila, in collaboration with the Castilla y León Film Commission and the Embassy of Spain, will present a film series by filmmakers from Castilla y León. The movie series includes four feature films and three short films and will be shown every Thursday of May at the Instituto Cervantes in Manila. Each screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring the filmmakers, and Kristine Guzmán, head of the Castilla y León Film Commission. The series will kick off on May 8 with the short film Alegre y olé (2023, 20 min.), directed by Clara Santaolaya, about two patients in a psychiatric center and their relationship. It will be followed by the feature film Gallo Rojo (2024, 84 min.), directed by Enrique García-Vázquez, about a woman who returns to the village one summer to set up a cinema after living in a big city for a while. There she meets up with an old acquaintance, and their friendship grows. To be screened on May 15 are the short documentary Yo, mi, me, conmigo (2024, 14 min.), by Alicia Van Assche, and a drama-thriller Pastoris (2024, 108 min.), by Pablo Moreno. The third screening on March 22 will feature the short Las calles de Granada (2023, 14 min.), directed by Isabel Medarde, followed by Secundarias (2023, 81 min.) by Arturo Dueñas. The series will conclude on March 29 with the full-length film La Controversia de Valladolid (2023) by Juan Rodríguez-Briso. All films will be screened in their original Spanish language with English subtitles and will take place at 2 p.m. at the Intramuros branch of Instituto Cervantes (855 Calle Real, San Luis Complex, Intramuros, Manila). Admission is free, with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, visit Instituto Cervantes’ website at www.manila.cervantes.es, or follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.
THE Andrea O. Veneracion International Choral Festival (AOVICF) is accepting entries for the first-ever AOVICF Choral Composition Competition until May 30. Named after the founder of the world-renowned Philippine Madrigal Singers, AOVICF invites composers worldwide, amateur or professional, aged 18 years and above, to submit their original unpublished entries. More details can be found at https://www.aovchoralfestph.com/compositioncompetition.
NEWLY launched merchandise created by Art House and the Ateneo Art Gallery (AAG) under the Fernando Zóbel Centennial Collection, feature travel sketches by the artist which he made while traveling around the Northern region of the country. Mr. Zóbel’s drawings were applied onto gift and novelty items like catch trays, Japanese umbrellas, cell phone stands, laptop stands, and coasters. They are now available at the AAG’s museum shop.
PROMOTING more cross-border artistic collaborations between the UK and the Philippines, the British Council has opened applications for its Connections Through Culture (CTC) grants. These offer up to £10,000 in funding for innovative, cross-cultural initiatives that “challenge ideas, inspire communities, and push artistic boundaries.” The grants can support a digital art residency, an international performance, a creative policy lab, or a community-led exhibition. Applications are now open until June 23 for architecture, music, fashion, film, and theater.
FOUR EXHIBITS are on view at Vinyl on Vinyl this May. First is Mond’s Death of the North Star, a mix of tumultuous and even grotesque paintings and sculptures. Reen Barrera and Marilou Solano have also put up Mayday Rain, a collection of paintings and figures that explore the act of calling for rain in the dry season. There’s also Seeweirdo’s The Never-Ending Cooking Show, featuring the artist’s colorful paintings as a behind-the-scenes look at the grind, from messy mistakes and chaotic struggles to beautiful breakthroughs. Finally, there’s Geremy Samala’s Aeon Shift, with works showcasing eccentric characters through acrylic paint. The exhibits are on view throughout May. At the gallery in the La Fuerza Compound, Chino Roces Ave., Makati.
WHEN the curtains rise for the Repertory Philippines’ (REP) production of ART, a highly acclaimed comedy by French playwright Yasmina Reza, the stage will be adorned by the all-white centerpiece that drives forward the plot, as well as other works. These other works are paintings by members of the HOPE Project, an initiative focusing on persons deprived of liberty (PDL) from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Lipa City, Batangas. These pieces will be displayed for auction throughout the run of the production at the REP Eastwood Theater Lobby in Quezon City. The play will run from June 13 to 29. Proceeds from the auction will cover legal fees for the PDLs’ release after they complete their full sentence.
THE GOVERNMENT made a full award of the Treasury bonds (T-bonds) it offered on Tuesday as it saw strong demand, with investors flocking to fixed-income assets as the Trump administration’s shifting policies continue to stoke volatility in global markets.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P30 billion as planned via the reissued 10-year bonds it auctioned off as total bids reached P71.71 billion or more than twice the amount on offer.
This brought the total outstanding volume for the bond series to P395.6 billion, the Treasury said in a statement.
The bonds, which have a remaining life of seven years and four months, were awarded at an average rate of 6.081%. Accepted bid yields ranged from 6% to 6.095%.
The average rate for the reissued papers went down by 6.2 basis points (bps) from the 6.143% fetched for the series’ last award on March 11 and was also 66.9 bps lower than the 6.75% coupon for the issue.
However, this was 2 bps above the 6.061% quoted for the seven-year bond and 4.7 bps higher than the 6.034% seen for the same bond series at the secondary market before Tuesday’s auction, based on PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service Reference Rates data provided by the BTr.
The government fully awarded the reissued T-bonds as the offer was more than twice oversubscribed and as the average yield fetched was lower than the rate quoted for the series’ previous reissuance, the Treasury said.
The bond offer fetched strong demand and yields slightly higher than prevailing secondary market rates due amid “increased preference of many investors toward fixed-income securities amid short-term market jitters from policy pronouncements by US President Donald J. Trump,” a trader said in an e-mail.
Investor attention has been on the possibility of easing trade tensions between the US and China after Beijing last week said it was evaluating an offer from Washington to hold talks over tariffs, Reuters reported.
But with few details, investors have been left trying to make sense of headlines coming out of the White House.
Mr. Trump said on Sunday that Washington is meeting with many countries, including China, and that his main priority with China is to secure a fair deal.
Mr. Trump also on Monday slapped a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the United States but offered little clarity on how the levies would be implemented.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said Mr. Trump’s tariff, tax cut and deregulation agenda would work together to drive long-term investment to the US economy, adding that US financial markets were “anti-fragile” and would weather any short-term turbulence.
Mr. Bessent, in prepared remarks to the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, delivered a full-throated defense of Mr. Trump’s tariffs but emphasized the Republican tax bill working its way through Congress, saying it would make many parts of the president’s first-term tax cuts permanent, including a deduction for small businesses.
Mr. Bessent said that Mr. Trump’s tariff blitz since taking office for a second time on Jan. 20 was engineered to encourage companies like those attending the conference to invest in the US, build factories and make products in the US.
In a subsequent interview with CNBC television, Mr. Bessent said that he believed these policies could push US growth close to 3% by this time next year, which would help to bring down US budget deficits to their long-term average share of economic output.
The US economy contracted for the first time in three years in the first quarter amid a flood of imports to beat Mr. Trump’s tariffs, and the International Monetary Fund has forecast that US gross domestic product will grow only 1.8% in 2025.
The reissued T-bond’s average yield was a tad above the comparable secondary market yields after the BTr’s recent issuance of P300 billion in new 10-year benchmark fixed-rate Treasury notes siphoned off some excess peso liquidity from the market, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort added in a Viber message.
The BTr plans to raise P260 billion from the domestic market this month, or P100 billion via Treasury bills and P160 billion through T-bonds.
The government borrows from local and foreign sources to help fund its budget deficit, which is capped at P1.54 trillion or 5.3% of gross domestic product this year. — A.M.C. Sy with Reuters
THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday launched six digital platforms and an in-house data center aimed at improving the delivery of its regulatory services.
“We envision the data center to strengthen our response to disruptions by having the ability to handle everything from one place and through our own team of technical experts,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said at the launch event in Makati City.
“In turn, this will pave the way for quicker transactions, better access to services, and stronger data security that will benefit our stakeholders,” he added.
The SEC’s new digital initiative, the Hierarchical and Applicable Relations and Beneficial Ownership Registry (HARBOR), enables authenticated authorized filers to submit and update beneficial ownership data, streamlining the process by eliminating manual information management.
Another platform is the SEC Verification of Electronic Records and Information Trust and Authentication System, which enables multiple authorized parties to approve and sign corporate documents — such as board resolutions and compliance reports — in real time to improve document credentialing.
The SEC also launched the SEC Electronic Exceptional and Alternative Submission Environment, an alternative platform for the submission of reportorial requirements by corporations under dispute status that are temporarily barred from using their Electronic Filing and Submission Tool accounts.
The commission also introduced the Electronic Workbench and Analytics Technical Computing Hub, which notifies corporations of reportorial deadlines and flags them for late or non-submission to improve regulatory compliance.
In addition, two internal systems — the Document Management System (DMS) and Workflow Management System (WMS) — were deployed to streamline internal operations.
The DMS, set to be implemented at SEC extension offices as well, is designed to improve document traceability, accessibility, and organization, facilitating the management and retrieval of regulatory documents.
The WMS enables SEC units to design and configure their own process flows, including document approvals, license applications, compliance verifications, and inter-agency coordination.
“Our push for digitalization — a core component of sustainability — allows us to fulfill our mandate under the Ease of Doing Business Act,” Mr. Aquino said.
The SEC recorded a 6% increase in new company registrations to 52,304 in 2024 from 49,506 in 2023, driven by its digital platforms. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
LOS ANGELES/WASHINGTON — The entertainment industry reacted with alarm and bafflement on Monday after US President Donald J. Trump said he would impose a 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the US, but issued few details on just how such a levy would work.
Veteran studio executives who spoke with Reuters on condition of anonymity said the announcement on Sunday left unanswered the timing of the proposed levy and how it would be enforced for an industry whose biggest-budget films are often produced across several continents.
Mr. Trump’s pronouncement followed his meeting at Mar-a-Lago with his Hollywood ambassador, actor Jon Voight, special advisor Steven Paul, and media executive Scott Karol. The group mulled a range of ideas to revive domestic film and TV production, including federal tax incentives, tax code changes, and imposing tariffs “in certain limited circumstances,” the group said in a statement.
Slapping levies on an industry like film would mark a major extension of tariffs as a policy tool into services, for which the US runs a sizable trade surplus. And like the auto, pharmaceutical, and chip industries before it, Mr. Trump’s declaration threatens to put another business in a tariff-induced state of limbo.
The industry has been pressing for tax incentives to boost output in Los Angeles, the movie industry’s glitzy historic hub of cinema, as studios have shifted production to locations such as the UK, Canada, and Australia to take advantage of generous tax credits and lower labor costs. A survey among studio executives over their preferred production locations for 2025 to 2026 by ProdPro showed the top five choices were all elsewhere.
The White House’s trade policy is aimed at boosting US industrial activity, but the series of levies and rollbacks has sapped consumer and business confidence.
Tariffs on movies might prove particularly hard to implement.
One studio executive compared movie production to auto manufacturing, with various pieces — filming, visual effects, and other elements — completed around the world, then assembled, through post-production, in the US. Some executives wondered whether the levy would apply only to the work done elsewhere, or attach to projects jointly financed by foreign investors.
Producer Todd Garner said proposed tariffs could have the unintended consequence of stymieing creativity. He cited director Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed World War II epic on the invasion of Normandy, France, Saving Private Ryan.
“How would you make Saving Private Ryan in the US? In Shreveport?” Mr. Garner said from Australia, where he is filming the action-drama Runner. “Or a globe-trotting Mission: Impossible?”
On Monday, Mr. Trump told reporters he would meet with industry officials first to make sure they liked the idea. The White House said it had not made any final decisions, but noted that Hollywood film production had sharply declined from the previous year.
The primary union representing actors issued a supportive statement on Monday. SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said the union supports efforts to increase domestic movie, television, and streaming production and adding jobs for American workers.
“We look forward to learning more about the specifics of the plan announced by the president and to advancing a dialogue to achieve our common goals,” Mr. Crabtree-Ireland said.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, a union representing more than 170,000 technicians and craftspeople, called for a balanced federal response that includes tax incentives to help bring jobs back.
Any trade policy “must do no harm to our Canadian members — nor the industry overall,” said International Alliance President Matthew D. Loeb.
IMPLEMENTATION CONFUSION
Shares of media companies slipped on Monday.
Streaming pioneer Netflix, which relies on global operations to produce content for international audiences, posted a 2% decline in its stock. Disney and Universal-owner Comcast edged lower. Stocks of theater operators such as Cinemark and IMAX were down 1.6% and 2%, respectively.
IMAX declined to comment, while others did not respond to requests for comment.
Entertainment attorney Stephen Weizenecker said producers, financiers and film offices were trying to figure out how tariffs would be implemented, but said it could lead to a notable shift in production back to the United States.
“If you get any sort of significant tariff, 10% or 20%, it takes away whatever production incentive there was for filming outside the United States,” said Mr. Weizenecker, who advises producers and financiers on production incentives.
However, traditional enforcement tools, like customs inspections at ports of entry, will not work for movies that are licensed, streamed, or distributed on global platforms using a borderless cloud infrastructure, wrote TD Cowen media analyst Doug Creutz. The “risks to putting digital goods and services on the table in trade negotiations/wars are overwhelmingly tilted against the US,” he noted.
Hollywood brings in most of its box office revenue from overseas. In 2024, about 70% of the roughly $30 billion in global ticket sales came from outside the United States and Canada, said Daniel Loria, senior vice-president at The Boxoffice Company. — Reuters
