A Tale of Two Sedas

May 30, 2024 | 12:05 am

1 of 2

IT MIGHT not make sense for sister hotels to be within a 15-minute drive of each other, but the two Seda Hotels in Cebu, by Ayala Land Hotels and Resorts, are making it work.

There are subtle differences. While all Seda hotels around the nation (from Quezon City to Cagayan de Oro) have a Misto all-day dining outlet and buffet, we noted that the Misto in Seda Central Bloc has a roasting station where you can see a whole lechon Cebu spin on a spit, the older Seda Ayala Center Cebu, does not have one (we were served lechon belly instead; no complaints here).

Furthermore, Seda Central Bloc, which opened just a month before the COVID-19 lockdowns of March 2020, has a hybrid format. There are 214 rooms, 108 of which are deluxe rooms measuring 28 sqm. One can choose a king-sized bed or two twin beds, and the room has a desk, a chaise longue, and a swivel chair. The rest of the hotel is devoted to serviced apartments: studio (30 sqm.), one bedroom (55-58 sqm.), two bedroom (63-67 sqm.), and a three-bedroom (there are only two, at 90 sqm.). These are meant for long-haulers, with a working kitchenette and a washer-dryer combination.

“We feel that there’s a demand (for serviced apartments) in terms of leisure, staycations, and the corporate market,” said Ron Manalang, General Manager of Seda Central Bloc Cebu, during a media trip to both Cebu Sedas on May 24 to 26.

Meanwhile, the older Seda, Ayala Center Cebu, opened in 2018, rebranding from the building’s previous occupant, the Cebu City Marriott Hotel. “The shift was very smooth,” noted Gwen Dela Cruz, Seda Ayala Center Cebu General Manager. The older Seda has 301 rooms, ranging in size from Deluxe Rooms (30-32 sqm.) to the Club and Seda Suites (66-88 sqm.), meaning it has a more conventional layout than its younger sibling property.

Both have access to nearby Ayala malls.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
Still, just like every real estate pro will tell you, their differences lie in location, location, location.

The younger vibe of Seda Central Bloc Cebu can be credited to its newer inception (2020; though the Cebu I.T. Park where its located opened in 2000). “All the BPO companies are just surrounding us. This is what’s making it for us,” said Mr. Manalang. Meanwhile, Seda Ayala Center Cebu occupies a well-loved and familiar space at the Cebu Business Park.

“The two Sedas are not there to compete, but to uplift each other,” said Ms. Dela Cruz. “If you take a look at the businesses, here (at Seda Ayala Center), it’s really more of corporations,” she said, noting that the main Cebu offices of Ayala-controlled Bank of the Philippine Islands and Globe Telecom are located nearby. “While there, it’s BPOs.”

This means that the clientele of each hotel is different: the Seda Ayala Center Cebu has an older, more genteel clientele, thanks to its familiar location and the businesses around it; while Seda Central Bloc Cebu has younger customers (which might explain why the party was hopping at the younger property’s Straight Up bar, while we went straight to bed at the Seda Ayala Center Cebu; some of our colleagues though took advantage of the sauna and the spa services).

UNITED IN SUSTAINABILITY
What does unite them are their sustainability measures: Seda Central Bloc Cebu might be a bit ahead, having equipped its roofdeck with a 53 KWP (kilowatt peak) solar panel system, which, according to Mr. Manalang, has saved them P700,000 in power consumption costs. Its rooms are also equipped with dispenser-type toiletries (no more tiny bottles). However, Seda Ayala Center Cebu still has a few green tricks up its sleeve: it sources some of its food from local farmers and fisherfolk, and a reverse osmosis system helps them produce their own purified water (stored in glass, not plastic bottles; they do the same in Central Bloc).

“Seda Ayala Center Cebu was able to provide clean water to our neighbors and the environment,” said Ms. Dela Cruz, about what it faced, and what it was able to do, during Supertyphoon Rai (local name: Odette) in December 2021.

According to Ms. Dela Cruz, both properties hand over their plastics to GUUN Co., Ltd., a Japanese waste treatment business that converts plastics into “fluff fuel” (an alternative to solid fossil fuels like coal).

All Seda properties also allocate funds towards the care of Mayumi, a Philippine Eagle they adopted through the Philippine Eagle Foundation.

“It’s really helping from the heart,” said Ms. Dela Cruz about the importance of sustainability for their brand. “Every act we do, there has to be a repercussion: how we need to help the environment.”

The Seda Central Bloc Cebu is at Cebu’s I.T. Park, while Seda Ayala Cebu is at Cebu Business Park. See their amenities at https://www.sedahotels.com/location/hotels/cebu-city. — Joseph L. Garcia

Rockwell eyes sales until 2028 using 500-ha land bank

May 30, 2024 | 12:05 am

By Revin Mikhael D. Ochave, Reporter

ROCKWELL LAND Corp.’s land bank has reached 500 hectares (has) worth more than P10 billion, which it said could generate revenue until 2028.

This is five times more than five years ago, Rockwell Land Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Nestor J. Padilla said in the company’s annual report presented at its annual stockholders’ meeting on Wednesday.

More than 90% of the property developer’s land is in the key cities of Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas, and Bulacan.

“Our current presence in these strategic sites has given us the optimism to develop more products, allowing us to excite our core market with new offerings to complement their lifestyle,” he added.

Rockwell Land will launch three horizontal developments this year. One of these is the 100-hectare The Samanean at Paradise Farms in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, which will be designed as a hillside escape and wellness retreat.

The project will be launched in the third quarter. Its first phase will offer 250- to 300-square-meter lots.

Rockwell Land will also launch a 63-hectare mixed-use development in partnership with General Milling Corp., initially offering 250– to 400-square-meter lots. It will also launch the 38-hectare Lauan Ridges residential development with a hotel that will have views of Taal Lake. Both are in Lipa, Batangas province south of Manila.

“We want our next five years to be the best,” Mr. Padilla said. “We hit the ground rolling with our geographic expansion and land banking, projected to give us revenue growth until 2028.”

“Our new projects, though in new territories, keep us hopeful with its positive initial market reception,” he added.

Rockwell Land President and Chief Operating Officer Valerie Jane L. Soliven told stockholders the company is optimistic despite risks.

“We’re seeing risks like inventory buildup and with rising interest rates and inflation, there’s always that risk that discretionary spending will be hampered,” she said. “However, we are optimistic in the markets that we are serving.”

“In particular, we are confident in the resilience of our core luxury segment and the growth of regional and horizontal markets,” she added.

Ms. Soliven said Rockwell Land expects “significant progress” in its projects in Bulacan, Batangas, and the Visayas region in central Philippines.

“Our commitment to provincial development remains steadfast, as evidenced by our ongoing expansion and development efforts in provincial areas,” Ms. Soliven said.

Rockwell Workspaces, the company’s office brand, will have its first venture outside Metro Manila with the launch of 1 Rockwell in July.

It will be the first office building in the 2.8-hectare IPI Center community, presenting new investment opportunities in Cebu City.

Last year, Rockwell Land’s attributable net income rose by 35% to P3.1 billion, while revenue increased by 12.1% to P18.5 billion.

Rockwell Land shares gained 0.64% or a centavo to P1.58 each.

Online platform aims to improve materials procurement process

May 30, 2024 | 12:04 am

Infra-construction-workers — JCOMP-FREEPIK

ONLINE construction marketplace BuildHub.ph aims to help ease the materials procurement process, delivery time, and boost linkages between suppliers and builders through its platform, a senior official said.

“BuildHub.ph offers a strong alternative to procure materials, securing financing, and deliver products faster, leading to increased sales and improved supply chain management for suppliers and developers,” BuildHub.ph Chief Business Officer Marika Laciste told BusinessWorld in an e-mail interview this month.

Ms. Laciste said buyers have become increasingly curious about how digital tools can make their existing operations and transactions more efficient.

“BuildHub aims to make physical hardware stores long-term partner sellers, enabling them to go digital and be part of a more efficient construction process,” she said.

After its April launch, Ms. Laciste said it saw increased interest from brands selling steel, lighting, and electronics.

“Many known hardware stores are also in the process of onboarding, especially in the Visayas region,” she said.

BuildHub.ph currently carries 33 brand partners and 100 registered hardware stores, including Republic Cement & Building Materials, Inc., TKL Steel Corp., Union Cement by Philcement Corp., Saint-Gobain Philippines Co. Ltd., Inc., and Vicem Cement.

“The online platform has facilitated smoother transactions between brands, construction suppliers, and builders by providing a centralized platform for sourcing construction materials and supplies,” she added.

The online platform aims to help address issues in the manual materials procurement process, such as long delivery lead time and dependence on cash for high-value items, it said.

For one, its BuildCredit initiative provides financing facilities to hardware stores and buildings, with 1-3% competitive interest rates for terms of 30-60 days. This provides capital for inventory management, expansion, and other business needs of hardware stores and builders.

“To further support the financing offers of BuildHub, the company has partnered with the Bank of the Philippines to extend competitive interest rates for business loans below P30,000,000. This feature will soon be available on the platform,” Ms. Laciste said.

Meanwhile, the company said it plans to increase its fleet of trucks and cargo to boost the current 22,000-bag capacity of BuildmartShipping.

This will address growing demand for timely delivery of construction materials and supplies across the Philippines, it said.

Ms. Laciste is also bullish on achieving their P1-billion gross merchandise value (GMV) target in 2025.

To date, BuildHub.ph said it generated an “eight-digit figure” GMV, mainly driven by the cement category, while initial sales came from its network of existing supplies and sellers. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

First PHL takaful insurance offering may be launched within the year — IC

May 30, 2024 | 12:04 am

THE COUNTRY’S first takaful insurance product may be sold within the year, with two insurers already prepared to roll out their offerings, the Insurance Commission (IC) chief said.

The pilot or sandbox initiative was pushed back from the initial plan to offer takaful insurance by the first quarter, Insurance Commissioner Reynaldo A. Regalado told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of an event on Wednesday.

“But it’s important we’re having it. It’s sure to follow through this year. They’re already submitting the requirements and the products to be offered, which will be approved by us,” Mr. Regalado added.

Takaful is a type of Islamic insurance where members contribute a certain sum of money to a common pool. Takaful insurance needs to be compliant with Shari’ah law, which prohibits riba (interest), al-maisir (gambling), and al-gharar (uncertainty) principles.

Mr. Regalado said the two companies that have takaful insurance products ready for rollout are Pru Life Insurance Corp. of UK Philippines (Pru Life UK Philippines) and Etiqa Life & General Assurance Philippines, Inc.

He added that one of the companies already submitted a product for review, but the IC cannot approve it yet as it still has to set official regulations for this kind of product offering.

The IC also still needs to send correspondents to countries that already offer takaful insurance to help it create a framework for selling these, Mr. Regalado said.

The IC already sent people to Malaysia and will send people to Indonesia in June, he added.

The regulator will also be going to Thailand to study how takaful insurance is being distributed there, Mr. Regalado said.

“You know, in Thailand, the Muslim population is small, but they already have takaful insurance. We need to get the other countries’ [inputs] on how they’re doing it,” he said.

The IC will also conduct discussions with Shari’ah groups to help certify the takaful products that will be offered, he added.

It has talked with mutual benefit association groups and cooperatives to clarify Shari’ah law principles, he said.

Takaful or Islamic insurance can improve financial inclusion and expand insurance penetration in underserved areas, the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA) earlier said.

“There is a move for financial inclusivity in our country and around the world,” PIRA Executive Director Michael F. Rellosa said in an e-mail. “Parts of our population remain unserved or are underserved and they are the ones who need the protection that takaful or traditional insurance can bring. Any move towards this should be welcome.”

Insurance penetration, or premium volume as a share of gross domestic product or the sector’s contribution to the economy, inched up to 1.78% in the first quarter from 1.75% a year prior, latest IC data showed.

Insurance density, or the amount of premium per capita or average spending of each individual on insurance, rose by 10.66% to P965.56 in the first quarter from P872.56.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) Financial Inclusion Survey also showed that fewer Filipinos had savings and insurance in 2021. The share of adults with insurance fell to 17% in 2021 from 23% in 2019.

“There are multinational companies with offices in Muslim-majority countries where takaful originated. They already have takaful experience in these jurisdictions and it would just be a matter of replicating the program here with perhaps minor changes,” Mr. Rellosa said.

“The IC can replicate its successes in the microinsurance field where the Philippines is considered a global leader, as we are the first country to come up with a legal framework for microinsurance. The same is needed for takaful.”

He said the IC must develop a legal framework to ensure an “orderly rollout.”

Micro-takaful products can also be explored, Mr. Rellosa said. “(This) is popular as it allows certain sections of the population who may not be able to afford traditional insurance or traditional takaful to be protected via micro-insurance.’

“A huge portion of the population belongs to this sector, so micro plays a major role and fills the protection gap,” he added.

On the other hand, Liberty Insurance Corp. Vice-President for Corporate Strategy Antonio Roderick B. Cabusao warned that takaful may not be well-received by the market.

“Regarding takaful insurance, the premiums collected are managed by an investment company (a third party) and that only a portion of it is given to the insurance company,” he said in a Viber message.

“Whereas in general insurance (nonlife) premiums are collected and managed by the insurance company. The insurance company invests portions of the premium and some portions are passed on to a reinsurer which assumes a portion of the risk in the event of a loss. So that being the case, it may not be attractive to the Philippine insurance market,” he added.

FINANCIAL INCLUSION
Meanwhile, aside from takaful insurance, Mr. Regalado said the IC is in talks with the BSP regarding other ways to boost financial inclusion, such as allowing banks to have more than one partnered insurance company.

“Right now it may not be required, but we’re reviewing the rules in our manual and the BSP’s. Hopefully, it will now be an option for the banks so they can have more than one insurance company as a partner,” he said.

However, he noted customers might be confused when presented with a variety of available products.

The IC will also be talking to rural banks and other financial institutions to increase bancassurance distribution channels, Mr. Regalado added.

The Philippine Life Insurance Association and the Committee on Bancassurance were onboard with the idea, but noted that banks are not keen on offering insurance products digitally, he said.

“Insurance companies can market their digital products on their own… I think we really have to make it open,” he said. — Aaron Michael C. Sy and Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

The end of greenwashing is in sight

May 30, 2024 | 12:04 am

THE PROBLEM of climate change cannot be solved without capitalism. Governments have tried for more than three decades with little to show for it. And while more of them are now engaging partners in the private sector, the world is still lagging in deploying the full power of the market. An announcement by the Biden administration this week can help to change that, by beginning a much-needed overhaul of the market for carbon credits.

Global investment in clean energy has accelerated but is far below what is required to restrain rising temperatures, and governments will not make up that difference on their own. Much of the capital will need to come from the private sector. And while businesses and investors are eager to provide it, in one crucial area — carbon credits — a market failure is keeping them on the sidelines.

Carbon credits, which are bought and sold in what’s called the voluntary carbon market, offer companies and investors many ways to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. In addition to helping finance new clean-energy installations, these credits can drive capital toward projects with high upfront costs but high potential rewards, such as scaling up new technologies like green hydrogen. They can also play an important role in funding reforestation and ecological preservation, as well as financing the early retirement of coal plants.

There is enormous potential demand for carbon credits. Many business leaders recognize that the costs of inaction are enormous — and that tackling climate change is in their companies’ self-interest — and so they are setting ambitious decarbonization goals. That is not altruism. It’s capitalism.

Companies have far less control, however, of their so-called Scope 3 emissions, those generated by suppliers and customers. Allowing companies to purchase credits against these emissions — but only after they disclose and begin implementing robust plans aligned with the Paris Agreement — could dramatically increase the demand for them.

For the demand side of the market to function, however, the problems on the supply side must be fixed.

Right now, the market for credits is opaque and riddled with inefficiency. Buyers can’t be sure which credits are credible, projects often don’t deliver what they promise and sellers can’t be held accountable. This lack of transparency also opens the door for greenwashing, where companies claim to be making a much bigger difference than they are, which fuels public skepticism about the potential for private-sector leadership.

As a result, the market for carbon credits is much smaller — and far less productive — than it should be. Many of us have long been skeptical of it, and for good reason. As with any market, opacity breeds not only inefficacy but also corruption.

This is a market failure we can fix, and we should treat it like any other market failure. For instance: When banks collapsed and the stock market melted down in 2007, the world didn’t walk away from markets and banking. Governments worked to address some of the causes of the crisis, including requiring more transparency of opaque securities like credit default swaps and collateralized debt obligations.

A similar remedy is needed for carbon credits, because transparency does for markets what spinach does for Popeye. The story of Bloomberg is a testament to that.

When we created Bloomberg in 1981, there was virtually no way for firms (especially smaller ones) to negotiate bond prices with sellers, because sellers had all the information. As a result, prices were inflated, commissions were enormous, and the market was inefficient. By creating real-time bond pricing and making it available to buyers as well as sellers, we helped level the playing field and allowed more capital to flow to productive assets, benefiting investors — no matter how small their portfolios — and driving economic growth.

For markets to work well, they must be transparent, trusted, and standardized — three qualities that have largely eluded the market for carbon credits. But change is coming.

Today, the Biden administration released a policy statement and set of principles for building more transparent, responsible, and effective voluntary carbon markets. It’s an important step forward that builds on work led by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market and the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative.

Together these efforts have the potential to do for the carbon market what the Bloomberg Terminal helped do for the bond market in the 1980s. Through transparency and standardization, we can generate more trust that these investments are sound, turning a relatively small market into an enormous one, and a relatively inefficient one into a powerhouse. And in the process, we can unleash the market power that we desperately need on our side in this fight.

Tuesday’s announcement begins a new phase in this effort. Encouraging other nations to join it should be a priority for the Biden administration, including at November’s G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Fixing the carbon-credit market won’t solve the climate crisis on its own, but it will go a long way toward enlisting the market in the fight.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Featr nominated for 3 James Beard Awards

May 30, 2024 | 12:04 am

Why-is-the-Filipino-Calamansi-Being-Left-Behind-- — YOUTUBE.COM/@FEATRMEDIA

1 of 3

LOCAL digital channel Featr (under celebrity Erwan Heussaff’s Fat Kid Inside Studios) has been nominated for three James Beard Foundation Awards.

The nominees were announced last month, and the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony itself will be held on June 10 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Mr. Heusaff, a sibling of former it-girl Solenn Heusaff, and the husband of actress-host Anne Curtis, already won a James Beard Foundation Award last year for his Instagram account under the James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media Award Social Media category.

The Featr channel was nominated in two categories: Visual Media – Long Form (with two entries: Most Expensive Chocolate in the World: Heirloom Ingredients of Negros Occidental Philippines and Why is the Filipino Calamansi Being Left Behind?) and Docuseries Visual Media (Philippine Salt Series).

The James Beard Foundation Awards, founded in 1990, are said to serve like the Oscars of the culinary world. “The James Beard Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to celebrate, support, and elevate the people behind America’s food culture and champion a standard of good food anchored in talent, equity, and sustainability,” said the foundation’s website. “Established over 30 years ago, the Foundation has highlighted the centrality of food culture in our daily lives and is committed to supporting a resilient and flourishing industry that honors its diverse communities.”

Winners in the past have included Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck, and Joël Robuchon. The awards not only honor chefs, but also restaurateurs, authors, and food journalists.

“Thanks to everyone who worked with us on these stories — the people who shared their knowledge with us and the great storytellers who made these documentaries come to life,” said Featr on its Instagram account, @featrmedia. “It’s been truly a humbling experience to collaborate with the country’s best artisans and the hardworking Filipinos around the globe who continue to push the boundaries of Pinoy food and heritage.” — JLG

Kaspersky says skill gap a key PHL cybersecurity challenge

May 30, 2024 | 12:04 am

KASPERSKY Security Network on Wednesday said a dearth of cyber-security workers, skill gap, and evolving threats are key challenges for the Philippines.

“The primary reason is the increase in threats, the security gap [and] skill gap in cyber-security staff and the complexity of the things we have in the environment,” Kaspersky Presales Manager Eden M. Carreon told a Management Association of the Philippines summit.

Kaspersky on Monday said online attacks targeting Philippine companies more than tripled last year from 2022, highlighting the urgency of boosting cyber defenses against web threats that can reverse the benefits of digitalization.

The global cybersecurity company said the number of web threats on local companies jumped to 1.69 million in 2023 from almost 500,000 a year earlier. Web threats detected and blocked among Southeast Asian companies only increased by 0.03% to 13.34 million.

These were calculated using Kaspersky’s business-to-business products installed in companies of various sizes, it said.

Ms. Carreon said it recorded 163,279 financial phishing scams and 4.62 million brute force attacks against Philippine businesses and blocked 1.5 million threats last year.

Ransomware attacks blocked by Kaspersky in the Philippines in 2023 reached 15,312.

Ms. Carreon said Kaspersky found that most companies have been using automated security solutions given the long hiring process and the lack of cybersecurity professionals.

She said 71% of companies in the Asia-Pacific region need as long as nine months to find qualified cybersecurity personnel, while 46% said their teams were understaffed.

Based on Kaspersky’s survey, 59% of information security professionals are leaving their jobs given the huge volume of monotonous manual tasks.

Ms. Carreon said launching a low-level attack is cheap and only costs about $34, but the return on investment is more than $300. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

Globe Telecom appoints first chief AI officer

May 30, 2024 | 12:03 am

globe-cell-site-telco-tower — GLOBE.COM.PH

GLOBE Telecom, Inc. has appointed its first-ever chief artificial intelligence (AI) officer after creating a group dedicated to the adoption of AI.

In a stock exchange filing on Wednesday, Globe named Anton Reynaldo M. Bonifacio as chief AI officer. He will also be the company’s chief information officer.

“To sustain our competitive advantage, we must continuously innovate and adopt new technologies,” Globe President and Chief Executive Officer Ernest L. Cu said in a statement. “The emergence of AI signals a pivotal shift, promising to revolutionize the way we do business and serve our customers.”

The company created its AI Development and Enablement Group effective June 1 to focus on strategic AI planning, development, business integration and governance, it said.

Mr. Bonifacio will head the group Globe said, adding that it has integrated AI into its business operations specifically in credit and collection, financial reports, procurement process, and customer service.

“We are committed to fostering a culture of innovation and responsible AI use, ensuring that our advancements not only drive business growth, improve service delivery and enhance customer experience, but also adhere to the highest standard of governance and compliance,” Mr. Bonifacio said.

Earlier this year, Globe said it expects a wider adoption of AI among local companies.

Last year, its cloud unit Cascadeo launched an AI-powered cloud management platform to address the demand for cloud solutions in the Philippines.

Globe shares closed 0.91% or P18 lower at P1,954 each. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

London has a fried chicken habit that now includes Champagne

May 30, 2024 | 12:03 am

THE UK’S fried chicken fixation is a longstanding one.

The no-nonsense London chain Morley’s may have gone viral thanks to its sweet-spicy sauce collaborations with Heinz, but its first location opened in 1985. Amelia Dimoldenberg’s web series Chicken Shop Date dominates conversation; still the namesake chain where she hosts her idiosyncratic celebrity interviews got its start at a music festival in 2010.

Foreign companies have spotted the opportunity. Miami-based Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. launched in Britain in November 2021: Its inaugural site in Stratford quickly became the chain’s highest grossing store worldwide. Filipino chicken cult Jollibee Foods Corp. opened on Leicester Square that same year. Meanwhile, KFC Corp. has been frying birds in the United Kingdom (UK) since 1965.

Now, savvy operators in London are taking the country’s love of fried chicken and giving it an unexpected accompaniment: Champagne.

The trend blew up in New York earlier this year with the opening of Coqodaq, the Korean fried chicken hall that reportedly boasts the country’s largest collection of Champagne, with around 400 listings curated by sommelier Victoria James. The David Rockwell-designed space has been a breakout hit, with long lines every night.

London spots, new and not, are now breaking out the flutes. There’s a reason it’s happening, says Sandia Chang, co-founder of Bubbledogs, the place that got Londoners drinking Champagne with over-the-top hot dogs before closing because of the pandemic. “I definitely see more people drinking Champagne away from occasions and… just having it as an everyday aperitif or as a wine with their meals.” She also calls out the increased availability of accessible, non-marquee bottles.

Ms. Chang also believes the appeal of a high-low pairing is helping to make Champagne and fried chicken inescapable this year. Plus it works well with the greasy, crunchy dish. “Its lovely fresh acidity pairs so well with salty and fatty foods,” she says.

Ms. Chang has revived Bubbledogs for this summer’s popup at 45 Park Lane Hotel, and there’s brisk business for the fried chicken wings to go with the sparkling-only list of almost 50 options.

One of the city’s newer options comes from Bebe Bob, whose older sibling Bob Bob Ricard is renowned for its “Press for Champagne” buttons at every booth. At Bebe Bob, notably juicy nuggets in a crunchy crust are available at lunch, with the option of a dozen Champagnes. They’ve been an instant best seller, but founder Leonid Shutov says they couldn’t meet demand at dinner because there’s a limited quantity of the Landes chicken they source. “We simply would not be able to get enough of this very special bird to offer these nuggets through the day,” he says.

On the new menu at the just-opened-for-the-season Claridge’s Terrace at the famed hotel, Champagne is front and center. Ruinart Blanc de Blanc and Rose is available by the glass and bottle (£30 ($38) and £220 respectively). The new spicy fried chicken, marinated in jalapeño buttermilk with a crisp crust flavored with plenty of paprika and mushroom powder, is a suggested pairing.

At Dovetale, Tom Seller’s handsome restaurant in the 1 Hotel Mayfair, there’s a brand-new Saturday brunch menu; front and center is fried chicken with waffles and hot butter sauce. The drink to have with the dish, which is inspired by the supremely crunchy American KFC brand, is Champagne, says Wine Director Matt Espersen: “Sparkling wine is a must-have for brunch.”

The options for sparkling wine pairings for fried chicken are almost impossibly extensive at the wine-focused pub the White Horse in Mayfair. The smoked paprika dusted golden chicken can be paired with any of the 500-strong sparkling wine selections from Hedonism Wines which operates the pub. The store is half a mile away, so bottles arrive at the restaurant in around 10 minutes.

And in North London, the dynamic team at Papi, chef Matthew Scott and wine director Charlie Carr are using the pairing to serve a special meal on Tuesdays as part of a monthlong stint. The theme is pet nat (naturally bubbly wine) and koji fried chicken with a couple options of Champagne thrown in, too.

In fact, Brits are doing a good job of drinking Champagne, with or without fried chicken, says James Simpson, managing director of Pol Roger Ltd. and chairman of UK Champagne Shippers Association. Last year, 25.5 million bottles of Champagne were imported to the UK, out of a total export of 172 million bottles from France. In fact, the UK is only slightly behind the US in terms of consumption of the French sparkling wine — America went through a little over 26.9 million bottles — despite having only about one-fifth the number of residents. “Considering the population difference, the UK is doing a bloody good job of drinking Champagne,” says Mr. Simpson. — Bloomberg

How enterprises are leveraging Boomi for digitalization

May 30, 2024 | 12:03 am

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia, Editor-in-Chief

DENVER, Colorado — Businesses are facing the daunting task of seamlessly integrating various systems and processes to enhance efficiency and streamline operations amid a highly competitive landscape.

Boomi, a leading integration platform, is now taking a lead role in helping companies tackle these challenges.

At Boomi World earlier this month, BusinessWorld interviewed several company executives who shared how they leveraged the Boomi platform in their digitalization efforts.

HEB CONSTRUCTION
Heb Construction, a New Zealand-based construction company, has deployed Boomi’s intelligent integration and automation platform as part of efforts to align its operations with its parent company VINCI Construction.

Mircel Van Der Walt, solutions architect at HEB Construction, said the company was acquired by VINCI in 2015 and it embarked on an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) modernization project with Boomi in 2022.

The project’s complexity stemmed from the need to integrate HEB’s mature local technology investments and comply with New Zealand’s regulatory requirements.

HEB utilized Boomi’s integration platform as a service (iPaaS) to create hub-and-spoke integration patterns linking its local applications, including payroll, time sheet, inventory management, and equipment maintenance systems, with the global ERP.

“Boomi was a very large enabler in our process. Without it, I don’t think we would have been able to deliver the project,” Mr. Van Der Walt said, adding the project took 12 months.

HEB also implemented Boomi Master Data Hub (MDH) to enhance collaboration and precision in data management.

Mr. Van Der Walt said the MDH allowed HEB to manage its digital assets through three key layers: people, projects, and equipment, and ensured accurate and timely data integration.

“This comprehensive data management is crucial for our AI (artificial intelligence) initiatives, as effective AI implementation requires robust information architecture. With Boomi, we are now prepared for this digital transformation,” he said.

Asked what Boomi’s most valuable features for the organization were, he replied: “Master data management, I must say, stands out for us. It’s something we use heavily. The other would be the speed at which you can deliver. That’s very important.”

AUSTRALIAN RED CROSS
For the Australian Red Cross (ARC), it embraced the opportunity to transform its operations and create a new digital spine with the help of the Boomi platform.

“We started with a bit of a spaghetti mess. We have a lot of legacy platforms, so probably about 240 legacy platforms… We had a limited amount of funding, so we had to focus on the things that really made a difference,” Brett Wilson, chief information officer of Australian Red Cross (ARC), said.

Mr. Wilson said ARC was already using Boomi when he came in three years ago, but it wasn’t being used as a strategic tool.

Since then, ARC has replaced seven systems, including human resources, finance, and risk management, within the last 12 months.

“Now we’ve got a system where we’ve got everything in one space… The key thing is here is Boomi really helped and it was that brain that brought everything together,” he said.

Automation is also one of the key technologies that ARC has been looking at in the last year.

“As a sort of conservative estimate here, we saved around about 451 days just within this one process, using automation,” Mr. Wilson said.’

Mr. Wilson said the ARC is ahead of the curve in terms of digital transformation in Australia.

“I think a lot of other national societies are looking to us, saying ‘well, how do we learn from that experience,’” he said.

AI is also a part of the ARC’s strategy. “We see it as an amazing opportunity to do a lot of things but also change the way that we operate,” Mr. Wilson said.

WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY
World Wide Technology (WWT) tapped Boomi’s API management, integration, and Master Data Hub for its digital transformation.

The global technology solutions provider adopted Boomi’s managed services eBonding system, which led to the “automation of key processes, enhanced collaboration, and improved decision-making capabilities, all facilitated by Boomi’s low-code platform.”

“I felt I could build things more rapidly with Boomi. And as I expanded, I saw they had other avenues like API management, like Master Data Hub that we could expand into,” Ken Maglio, principal architect at WWT, said.

“I’m glad we chose this because of all of the other technologies that they’re now all the AI stuff they’re getting. So it’s going to be very self-fulfilling as far as the right choice is concerned.”

WWT had early access to Boomi GPT, which Mr. Maglio said is good tool “if you’re new to Boomi or if you’re starting the digital transformation journey.”

He is particularly excited about the Boomi Agent Garden, which was unveiled during Boomi World. Boomi has described the AI agent framework as “a set of integration and no-code development capabilities that enable business and IT users to run AI agents built by Boomi or Boomi partners, and to build and run their own AI agents.”

“I like the whole concept of these agents and the Agent Garden and having these plug-ins and having these pieces of AI, whether they’re generative or just the traditional machine learning… So, we are able to have an ecosystem and a plug-in to all of the data and all the processes and integrations that we are dealing with today, that’s exciting,” he said.

“Because I don’t have to go build that. I don’t have to go and build an AI system. I now just get it with the (Boomi) platform.”

June ECB rate cut a done deal; further easing likely — poll

May 30, 2024 | 12:03 am

BENGALURU — A European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate cut on June 6 appears certain, according to all 82 economists polled by Reuters, a majority of whom predicted two further reductions in September and December.

But financial markets are pricing only two ECB rate cuts in total in 2024, a sharp pullback from six expected at the start of the year, presenting an uncommon situation where economic forecasters expect more rate reductions than traders.

Despite encouraging signs on inflation, a recent pickup in wage growth has raised questions over how fast the ECB may be able to lower rates. It has all but pre-announced a June cut through multiple hints from policy makers over recent months.

All 82 economists in a May 21-28 Reuters poll predicted the ECB would reduce its deposit rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 3.75% on June 6.

But debate over how much room the ECB has to cut has become more heated with the US Federal Reserve remaining non-committal on the timing of its first cut, now set to come in September at the earliest and priced for November by markets.

Still, an over two-thirds majority of those polled, 55 of 82, expected the ECB’s Governing Council (GC) to cut twice more this year, in September and December. That was up from just over half in an April survey.

The majority view for three cuts in 2024 comes as some economists have scaled back their rate cut calls from 100 bps or more this year. Only 22% now see the deposit rate at 3% or lower by end-2024, compared with nearly 40% last month.

“Faced with elevated uncertainty and activity accelerating faster than anticipated, we now think the GC will move more gradually this year,” said Mariano Cena, senior European economist at Barclays.

“This would take place even if risks to the inflation outlook beyond this year are more symmetric and even potentially to the downside,” said Mr. Cena, who recently shifted a follow-up cut in July to September.

Asked what was more likely for ECB rate cuts this year, nearly three-quarters of economists, 25 of 34, said fewer than they expected rather than more.

Of 77 common contributors in this and last month’s surveys, over one-quarter, 20, now see fewer rate cuts. The median of 35 responses to an additional question also showed the ECB, which hiked rates by 450 bps between July 2022 and September 2023, would reduce the deposit rate by a modest 150 bps in the upcoming cutting cycle to 2.5%.

But with wage growth expected to remain above 3% — the level the ECB sees as consistent with its 2% inflation target — until at least 2026, inflation could remain elevated for longer.

Inflation is expected to rise to 2.5% this month from 2.4% in April, a separate Reuters poll showed. It was not expected to fall to target until Q3 2025.

“The ECB has recently put a lot of emphasis on wage growth coming down as a condition for rate cuts and the question is how much this unexpected increase will startle it ahead of the June meeting,” said Bert Colijn, senior euro zone economist at ING.

“While the euro zone economy has been performing sluggishly for some time and inflation has fallen back towards target faster than expected, enough uncertainty remains to not expect a traditional rate cutting cycle to emerge.” — Reuters

Stepping on the brakes

May 30, 2024 | 12:03 am

Stepping on the brakes to slow down the car and avoid a speeding ticket may soon be a thing of the past. The Brussels Times of Belgium reported that the European Union was intending to require self-braking technology — also known as an Intelligent Speed Assistant or ISA — for all motor vehicles to be used on European roads starting July 2024.

In an article by Lauren Walker, she described the ISA as a technology that “detects the speed limit in force in the zone through which the car is traveling using cameras and sensors that work in conjunction with the vehicle’s GPS [Global Positioning System].” ISA technology, she noted, was first fitted on new vehicles in 2022, to help reduce the number of fatal accidents.

“Excessive speed is one of the main causes of road accidents in the European Union (EU), including in Belgium. Here, one in three fatal accidents is due to inappropriate or excessive speed, and the higher the speed, the more serious the consequences of a road accident. Police are increasingly targeting such behavior on Belgian roads with routine speed checks but more efforts are needed to reduce the number of accidents,” Walker wrote.

She added that ISA would activate when a vehicle goes beyond the speed limit in a particular zone, and give audible and visual warnings to drivers. But with the new mandate, the ISA system will be made more “proactive by [also] braking the car on its own.” This, she said, would be done “either by reducing the power available and/or by exerting a counterthrust on the accelerator pedal. The car will then push the driver’s foot gently back to make the driver aware and help to slow down.”

An advantage of a proactive self-braking system is that even when a driver is distracted or not looking at the road, or falls asleep, the vehicle automatically slows down based on speed limits and can perhaps even brake on its own when it detects another vehicle in front of it. While a collision may not be avoided, the damage from it can be minimized.

The disadvantages, however, is that the ISA can be “overridden by the driver by pushing the accelerator a little further,” Walker added, and that drivers can also switch it off. Moreover, the article quoted travel and mobility insurer Europ Assistance as saying that ISA would work only “when road signs are properly positioned along public roads and visible to all road users…[and] GPS data must be up to date, which can only be guaranteed when it is connected to the internet.”

And this is where technology begets more technology, otherwise it will not work. Speed-limiting technology is not something new, but it has always been a “warning” system more than anything that prompts driver intervention to slow down the vehicle. It was never self-braking — until now. Driver intervention was always necessary. The new Europe mandate, however, changes this.

But for the ISA self-braking technology to work, telecommunication and road safety infrastructure should also be improved not just in certain areas but in the whole of Europe. Otherwise, if car cameras cannot detect speed signs, or if internet connection drops, then speed zone detection is compromised. Another potential issue is the varying road traffic codes between regions.

And this is where the mandate may experience significant bottlenecks in the EU. How can car manufacturers be required to install a proactive ISA unless regulators can ensure that all road safety infrastructure and internet and GPS networks are all up efficiently working in the entire EU region? And, shouldn’t road safety rules be harmonized first for the entire union? Perhaps, self-braking technologies should be encouraged rather than mandated in the meantime?

ISA can also lull drivers into complacency as they rely on the ISA too much, compromising “defensiveness” in driving, thinking that the vehicle can slow down or brake on its own. But more important, I believe, is the issue of over-ride. Any system that can be overridden will have its share of abuse and violations, negating or mitigating its value or significance.

Take the case of requiring speed limiters for public utility and cargo vehicles. As early as 2016, given the number of accidents involving speeding vehicles, the Philippine Congress passed Republic Act 10916 or the Road Speed Limiter Act. This law required the installation of “speed limiters” that make noises when a public utility or cargo vehicle goes over the speed limit of up to 50-60 kilometers per hour.

These speed limiters, however, are not intelligent enough to slow down the vehicle or do self-braking. But they prompt the driver — through warning chimes — to slow down the vehicle by easing on the accelerator pedal or stepping on the brake pedal. Of course, the warning chimes can be easily ignored or overridden by the driver, making the speed limiter ineffective. Moreover, I am uncertain if the number of accidents involving speeding vehicles have gone down since 2016.

The EU mandate is ideal: it requires motor vehicles to use ISA that goes beyond warning chimes and can automatically slow down a vehicle based on regulatory speed limits per zone (school, residential, tollway, etc.). But this technology will work only when all vehicles are fitted with sensors and cameras that detect and analyzes road conditions, road safety signs, and other vehicles on the road, etc.

The Philippines is far from achieving this ideal. Requiring self-braking technologies is remote if not impossible here, considering that non-contact apprehension (NCAP) cannot even be implemented locally even if it has been widely used in the United States and Europe for decades now. Newer vehicle and road safety technologies — including NCAP — all require updated and effective road safety infrastructure. More important, they require a high level of driver education and maturity. All things considered, to date Philippine motoring is still in the Dark Ages.

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

matort@yahoo.com