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Entertainment News (06/25/24)

Western Horizon: An American Saga opens in PHL

AN EPIC visual journey arrives in Philippine cinemas on June 28 in the form of Horizon: An American Saga. Directed by Kevin Costner, the film marks the actor’s comeback to the big screen after the success of his latest Western TV series Yellowstone (for which he received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a TV series). The three-hour film brings together an ensemble of actors that includes Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Giovanni Ribisi, Abbey Lee, Will Patton, Jena Malone, Michael Rooker, Danny Huston, Luke Wilson, Jaime Campbell Bower, and many more. It explores the post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West. Horizon: An American Saga opens June 28 in local cinemas nationwide.

Robinsons Palawan launches Biodiversity Crisis Escape Room

IN partnership with The Mind Museum and USAID, Robinsons Malls is launching the first-ever Biodiversity Crisis Escape Room at Robinsons Palawan from June 29-30. As part of the celebration of Environment Month, this immersive and educational experience is meant to raise awareness about local biodiversity and conservation efforts, offering an interactive and informative encounter for mallgoers of all ages. To avail themselves of tickets to the escape room, mallgoers must pre-register and present a receipt from any store in Robinsons Palawan worth at least P500 for adults and P250 for children up to 12 years old.

KYLIX releases new single

SINGER-songwriter KYLIX has dropped his latest single, “Another Life,” which draws from personal experiences. The track delves into the feelings of loving someone you cannot be with in this lifetime. “Another Life” is out now on all digital music streaming platforms.

Skarlet Brown, Tots Tolentino bring jazz to Ayala Museum

ON June 29, 8 to 10 p.m., the Ayala Museum presents Skarlet Brown’s Jeepney Jazz Session, featuring tunes from the vintage American songbook, with lyrics translated into Filipino. The repertoire includes traditional Philippine songs arranged to carry today’s sound. She will be joined on the stage by internationally acclaimed saxophonist Tots Tolentino. Mr. Tolentino is famous for joining the Asian Jazz All-Stars Power Quartet. Tickets are now available through the Ayala Museum website.

Despicable Me 4 in PHL cinemas in July

THE fourth Despicable Me animated movie begins a new chapter as Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and Lucy (Kristen Wiig) and their girls — Margo, Edith, and Agnes — welcome a new member to the Gru family, Gru Jr., who is intent on tormenting his dad. The blockbuster franchise welcomes a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell) and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina (Sofia Vergara), and the family is forced to go on the run. The movie opens in Philippine cinemas on July 3.

Benj Pangilinan, Angela Ken drop new single

FILIPINO singer-songwriters Benj Pangilinan and Angela Ken have released a collaborative single, “Nandito Na Ako,” out via Sony Music Entertainment. The newly minted duo created a soothing track that balances vintage Pinoy pop songwriting with youthful appeal. It also happens to be Benj Pangilinan’s first foray into writing songs in Filipino. Pangilinan co-wrote the track with his good friend, award-winning singer-songwriter Moira Dela Torre; his cousin, Over October’s Josh Buizon; and his aunt, Felichi Buizon. His brother Donny Pangilinan also recommended Angela Ken for the duet. “Nandito Na Ako” is out now on all digital music streaming platforms.

OPM classics at Newport with Hitmakers and APO

SONGS by the Philippines’ Hitmakers and APO will fill the halls of Newport Performing Arts Theater thanks to the two-night concert, The Hit Society, on July 12 and 13. Hajji Alejandro, Marco Sison, Rey Valera, and Nonoy Zuñiga, the crooners known collectively as the Hitmakers, will share the stage with APO’s Jim Paredes and Boboy Garovillo. Tickets, priced from P1,500 to P8,900, are now available at all SM Tickets and TicketWorld outlets.

Indonesian artist AFGAN releases EP

THE INDONESIAN singer AFGAN has dropped his second all-English EP, Sonder, which includes an official music video for “ESCAPE,” featuring Kpop hip-hop singer Jessi, and “Criminal,” a single featuring R&B star thuy. Recorded entirely in London, it is Afgan’s most personal body of work. According to him, he has found a new voice after making music for decades in Indonesia. “I’ve come so far and have grown and experienced so much,” he said in a statement. Sonder is out now on all digital music streaming platforms.

Silent action film Silent Night now on Lionsgate Play

ACCLAIMED action director John Woo has taken on a different challenge: a movie without dialogue. The gritty revenge tale of a tormented father, Silent Night is full of Woo’s signature “bullet ballet” style that redefined the action genre with thrill-a-minute storytelling sans dialogue. It kicks off when a young boy dies from a stray bullet amidst a gang gunfight. Brian Godlock (Joel Kinnaman), the child’s father, immediately hunts down and successfully locates a handful of the culprits. However, his confrontation with the gang leader, Playa (Harold Torres), leaves him severely wounded and on the brink of death. Now unable to speak, he is driven by vengeance. Silent Night is now available to stream on Lionsgate Play.

NIKI drops astrology-inspired single

JAKARTA-born, LA-based singer-songwriter NIKI has released a new single titled “Blue Moon.” It follows the announcement of her upcoming album, Buzz, out Aug. 9, via 88rising. Penned by NIKI during her 2023 Nicole World Tour, the new single comes in the aftermath of a four-year relationship that felt like home but suddenly fell apart. A Blue Moon in astrology is a cosmic rarity, often linked to heightened clarity, which NIKI channels into a song. “Blue Moon” is out now on all digital music streaming platforms.

Shell Pilipinas expects double-digit growth in bitumen sales volume

SHELL Pilipinas Corp. said it expects achieving double-digit sales volume growth of at least 10% in its bitumen business for the year.

“We are trying to respond to the increase in demand because of the forthcoming election next year,” Allan C. Canedo, Shell Pilipinas’ country general manager for construction and road sector, told reporters on Monday.

For 2024, Mr. Canedo said that the company is targeting to sell bitumen products with a volume of 40 to 45 kilotons (KT) from 36 KT in 2023.

Bitumen is a by-product of fuel refinery that is used as a raw material to produce asphalt.

Shell Pilipinas’ bitumen products are designed to meet the requirements of the road, roofing, and airport sectors, as well as specialty and industrial applications.

According to Mr. Canedo, citing import data from the Bureau of Customs, Shell Pilipinas accounted for 41% of the bitumen products imported into the Philippines in the first quarter.

In 2023, the company ended up at around 33%.

The company imports bitumen products primarily from Singapore and also considers potential supplies from Taiwan, Thailand, and South Korea.

Shell Pilipinas operates two receiving terminals for bitumen located in Cagayan de Oro and Batangas.

Mr. Canedo said that the company is hoping to remain to be the leading market supplier.

“We are the price leader in the market… We have competitive advantage [due to] the location of our [facility],” he said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

BSP may cut by 75 bps this year starting August

BW FILE PHOTO

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) is seen to begin its policy easing cycle by August and cutting rates by as much as 75 basis points (bps) this year as inflation is expected to decelerate, Capital Economics said.

“With inflation likely to fall back sharply, we think the central bank in the Philippines will start cutting interest rates in August,” it said in a June 20 report. “In most places, rate cuts will come sooner and be more aggressive than financial markets are currently pricing in.”

Philippine headline inflation accelerated to 3.9% year on year in May from 3.8% in April, but marked the sixth straight month that inflation settled within the BSP’s 2-4% annual target.

The BSP earlier said the monthly consumer price index (CPI) could temporarily breach its target band from May until July due to base effects but begin easing anew by August.

For the first five months, the CPI averaged 3.5%, matching the central bank’s baseline forecast for the year.

“Inflation is back to target in most countries [in Asia] and likely to remain low, helped by a combination of below-trend economic growth and lower food price inflation,” Capital Economics said.

“Central banks have recently started to sound more dovish, and we expect most to begin easing policy this year, starting with the Philippines in August,” it added.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. earlier said the Monetary Board could kick off its easing cycle as early as August, with 25-50 bps in cuts expected in the second semester as they have become “less hawkish than before.”

The Monetary Board will revisit its policy settings anew on Thursday (June 27). All 15 analysts in a BusinessWorld poll conducted last week expect the BSP to keep its policy rate at a 17-year high of 6.5% for the sixth straight meeting.

The central bank raised borrowing costs by 450 bps from May 2022 to October 2023 to help bring down red-hot inflation.

For its part, Capital Economics expects the BSP to deliver a 25-bp cut in the third quarter.

By end-2024, the policy rate is expected to be reduced to 5.75%, for a total of 75 bps worth of cuts for the whole year.

The Monetary Board’s only rate-setting meeting in the third quarter is scheduled on Aug. 15. This will be followed by its last two reviews for the year, which will be on Oct. 17 and Dec. 19.

Meanwhile, Capital Economics said it expects Philippine gross domestic product growth to settle at 5.5% this year. This is below the government’s 6-7% goal for 2024 and would match the 5.5% expansion logged in 2023.

The Philippine economy grew by 5.7% in the first quarter, faster than the 5.5% expansion logged in the prior three-month period but slower than the 6.4% pace recorded a year prior.

“We expect economic growth in most countries in Asia to slow in the second half of 2024, as tighter fiscal policy, high interest rates and weaker global growth all weigh on demand,” Capital Economics said.

For 2025, it sees the Philippine economy expanding by 6.5%, which is at the lower end of the government’s 6.5-7.5% growth goal for next year. — L.M.J.C. Jocson

PHL real estate poised for growth — Cushman & Wakefield

REY MELVIN-CARAAN-UNSPLASH

REAL ESTATE services firm Cushman & Wakefield said it expects the Philippines to attract investments in the medium term despite global economic challenges.

The economic outlook for the Philippines remains buoyant compared to other markets, Cushman & Wakefield said in a statement on Thursday last week.

In the office sector, the firm cited the 2024 Global Cities Index by Oxford Economics, which featured nine cities from the Philippines out of 1,000 global urban economies. Some of these cities, such as Manila, landed in 256th place, Cebu ranked 436th, and Cagayan de Oro and Davao City placed 487th and 500th, respectively.

Cushman & Wakefield said that addressing weaknesses in the country’s regulatory policies and governance aspects would help improve the Philippines’ attractiveness for foreign investment, especially in regions identified as “next business process outsourcing hubs.”

Meanwhile, in the hospitality sector, Cushman & Wakefield noted that digitalization and experiential travel are among the major trends that will attract the tourism market.

“Given the presence of a young and highly urbanizing demographic profile of the Philippines, a more inclusive economic development will underpin the continued growth of the residential sector’s long-term demand,” the report said.

Singapore-based travel booking service Trip.com noted a 54% increase in hotel bookings in the Philippines in the first quarter of 2024 buoyed by “impulse travel” as influenced by social media.

About 447,400 visitor arrivals were recorded in May 2024 by the Department of Tourism.

“Providing essential infrastructure to support manufacturing operations will help attract companies that are looking at reshoring and diversifying manufacturing operations further creating demand for industrial space,” the report said.

Household spending is dampened by the downtrend in the growth of remittance inflows, which increased by 4.6% year on year in peso terms in March, slower than the 5.3% growth recorded in February.

The report also noted that demand from global retailers is expected to remain soft as weak global sentiment persists.

HOTEL OWNERS, OPERATORS
Philippine hotel owners and operators are also bullish on the growth of the hospitality industry but wary of infrastructure limitations and the untapped potential of the Filipino workforce.

According to the Philippine Hotel Investment Outlook Survey, 89% of hotel owners and operators are optimistic about the hospitality sector’s prospects in the medium term. Respondents indicated that 95% of the 10,000 hotel keys in the industry foresee thriving conditions over the next three years.

At the Philippine Tourism and Hotel Investment Summit on June 21, George C. Aquino, CEO of Ayala Land Hotels and Resorts Corp., said the hospitality sector has significant growth potential, anticipating a steady increase in tourist arrivals over the next five years.

Department of Tourism (DoT) Secretary Christina G. Frasco said that in 2023, domestic tourism expenditure rose to P2.67 trillion, while inbound tourism expenditure reached P697.46 billion, which is on par with 2019 numbers.

Total tourist receipts also increased by 47.9% to P2.09 trillion in 2023, while total tourism investment reached P509 billion in the same year.

“We have quite the vast opportunities, from our beach markets, our lodge markets, to our urban markets…and it’s untapped. I think we’re presenting it in our infancy, as far as development,” Mr. Aquino said, noting the quality of Filipino hospitality workers.

Filinvest Hospitality Corp. Senior Vice-President Francis Gotianun said he is looking forward to tourism growth and the development of incoming airport infrastructure, highlighting advancements at Clark International Airport and Bohol-Panglao International Airport.

“The idea takeover that will be happening in September, I believe that things will improve, the accessibility of the country will improve,” he said, referring to the rehabilitation and turnover of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to the private proponent consortium led by San Miguel by September.

Meanwhile, Robinsons Hotels and Resorts (RHR) Senior Vice-President and Business Unit General Manager Barun Jolly said that the country has 100,000 municipalities and cities with highly trainable workforces, decent infrastructure, and undiscovered landscapes.

He added that these places should be tapped to provide employment to the local workforce and attract customers to hotels that offer a differentiated, distinctive, but localized experience.

Mr. Jolly also mentioned the positive reception of RHR’s homegrown brands, agreeing with the sentiment of 39% of respondents who see the upper midscale segment emerging as the most attractive opportunity due to the surge of developer activity in second-tier growth cities and township developments.

Cleofe Albiso, managing director at Megaworld Hotels and Resorts, referenced the closure of Boracay as a cautionary example, suggesting that similar considerations should be applied to opening areas outside of the usual, such as Palawan.

ROOM GAP
The country should build 80,000 rooms to compete with regional hotels in Asia, said Philippine Hotel Owners Association (PHOA) President Arthur M. Lopez.

In line with this, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) Assistant Chief Operating Officer Karen Mae Sarinas-Baydo said the agency recognizes the room gap in the Philippines as identified in the 2009 Tourism Act. She added that TIEZA has existing properties available for investment.

TIEZA is renovating properties like the Banaue Hotel and is interested in partnering with the private sector to introduce new designs, she said.

Mr. Aquino said that developers are optimistic but stressed the importance of infrastructure and public-private sector partnerships evolving alongside their plans due to lingering concerns.

Ms. Frasco said that the Philippine Hotel Industry Strategic Action Plan is set to launch soon, aiming to establish a framework for hotel infrastructure expansion and address current challenges and support systems.

This plan will encompass soft infrastructure, skill matching, digitalization, competitiveness, and measures to enhance the hotel industry’s resilience against headwinds and external shocks. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

Nuclear energy and economic growth

Last week I attended two energy fora. The first was the Stratbase-Citizen Watch forum, “Advancing Energy Security: Fueling Sustainable Progress with Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG),” on June 18 at the Asian Institute of Management Conference Center, Makati. The second was the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Power Summit 2024 with the theme, “Moving the Economy Forward with Energy and Power Security and Competitiveness,” on June 19 at the Makati Diamond Residences.

The keynote message for the first forum was delivered via video by Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla. The other speakers were Majah-Leah Ravago, President and CEO of the Development Academy of the Philippines; Dominic Camu, the COO of Global Business Power; Carlos Aboitiz, Chief Corporate Services Officer of Aboitiz Power Corp.; and Donnabel Kuizon Cruz, Managing Director and General Manager of Prime Infrastructure Capital, Inc. The opening message was given by Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit, President of the Stratbase ADR Institute and the closing remarks were given by former congressman Jose Christopher “Kit” Belmonte, Convenor of CitizenWatch.

The keynote messages at the PCCI Power Summit were given by PCCI Chairman and Director for Energy and Power George T. Barcelon, Mr. Lotilla again, and Energy Regulatory Commission Chairperson and CEO Monalisa Dimalanta.

The panel discussion at the PCCI event was composed of key corporate leaders from five areas of the power supply chain. For power generation it was Francis Giles Puno, President and COO of First Gen Energy Solutions, Inc.; for transmission, Redi Allan B. Remoroza, Assistant Vice-President and Head of Transmission Planning of National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) and Vincent Harvey C. Bernabe, Central Grid Operations Manager of NGCP; for distribution, Lawrence S. Fernandez, VP and Head of Utility Economics of Meralco; for supply, Raymond Carl R. Roseus, President of the Retail Electricity Suppliers Association of the Philippines; and for large consumers, Lloyd Balajadia, PCCI Chairman for Manufacturing. The panel’s moderator was Carlos Ramon C. Aboitiz of Aboitiz Power who is also the PCCI Co-Chair for Energy and Power.

I liked Mr. Aboitiz’ opening message when he was introducing the panel. He said that “The country will need all forms of energy capacities and technologies — from traditional, renewable, and even energy storage… an ‘all-options-on-the-table’ approach [that] also presupposes that the country prepares now for emerging long-term projects and developments — like a national nuclear program or manpower reskilling and capacity building — in order to be ready when the right opportunities come our way.”

And speaking of nuclear energy, on June 20, the Statistical Review of World Energy (SRWE) 2024 was released by the Energy Institute in London. It is a rich source of country level annual data from 1985 to 2023, with some data stretching back as far as 1965.

I downloaded the database in Excel file form and checked the nuclear power generation of major countries. There were five surprises.

First, Germany, which had its peak nuclear generation of 171 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2001 was generating only 35 TWh in 2022 and 7 TWh in 2023, going back to its level in 1970 of 6.5 TWh. They shut down their last remaining nuclear power plants in April 2023.

Second was that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), whose nuclear generation until 2019 was zero, started with 1.6 TWh in 2020, which quickly jumped to 20 TWh in 2022 and 32 TWh in 2023.

The third surprise was that Japan, which started nuclear generation in 1966, had its peak production at 326 TWh in 1998. This went down to zero in 2014 after the big earthquake and Fukushima accident in 2011. It rose to 61 TWh in 2021 and 78 TWh in 2023.

The fourth was that Pakistan, which generated only 4 TWh in 2013, jumped to 22 TWh in 2023.

And the fifth surprise was that Taiwan, which had a high of 42 TWh in 2013, was down to only 18 TWH in 2023. Their government plans to phase out all their nuclear power plants by 2025.

The biggest nuclear power producer in the world is the US with 816 TWh in 2023, followed by China, France, Russia, and South Korea. But when it comes to total power generation — including all power sources like coal, gas, hydro, etc. — the biggest is China with 9,456 TWh in 2023, followed by the US, India, Russia, and Japan (see Table 1).

I computed the nuclear/total generation ratio of the various countries and saw the biggest was still France with 65% in 2023, followed by Finland, Belgium, and the Czech Republic. In Asia the most nuclear power intensive country is South Korea with 29%.

Finally, I computed the GDP growth performance of these countries. One weak trend seen in the data is that as countries move away from cheap and reliable nuclear power, their average growth declines or remains low, like in Germany and the UK. Meanwhile Asian countries with rising or a high nuclear share in power generation had high GDP growth, like South Korea and China (see Table 2).

I participated in the Philippines Nuclear Trade Mission to Canada back in March in Toronto, organized by the Canada embassy in Manila. I was one of four Philippine media people who joined the mission, which was led by Energy Undersecretary Sharon Garin and Science Undersecretary Leah Buendia. It was a very educational trip on nuclear energy policy and power plant operation.

The Philippines’ power demand is rising by around 7-8 TWh/year but its supply is rising only by 6 TWh/year, and the gap of 1-2 TWh/year is reflected as frequent thin reserves, yellow-red alerts, and high electricity prices. So, we need nuclear energy to augment the existing power supply.

Today, June 25, the Ambassador of Canada to the Philippines David Hartman will lead the celebrations of Canada Day in Manila and the 75th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Canada and the Philippines. It will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in BGC, Taguig City. Canada is not among the top 20 trade partners of the Philippines, but I hope it will be among the top five partners of the Philippines when it comes to nuclear energy development.

 

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. Research Consultancy Services, and Minimal Government Thinkers. He is an international fellow of the Tholos Foundation.

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

Formula 1 and Amazon aim for AI-powered ‘personalized’ race viewing

A SCENE from the Netflix documentary Formula 1: Drive to Survive.

AT THE Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, Formula 1 plans to debut a new artificial intelligence (AI) “Statbot” with Amazon.com, Inc., whose executives described plans for AI-powered personalized broadcasts to keep viewers hooked.

The statbot will trawl race archives and parse torrents of real-time racing data to feed context and trivia to broadcast presenters live during the Barcelona race, using technology from the Seattle-based company’s Amazon Web Services cloud computing division, said Neil Ralph, the tech company’s lead on technical collaboration with F1.

It’s a sign of how AI is creeping into media, and of how F1’s owner, Liberty Media Corp., is hunting for ways to keep fans glued to screens.

Steered by billionaire cable magnate John C. Malone, Liberty bought F1 from CVC Capital Partners in a deal announced in 2016. Since then, it has focused on increasing the sport’s global appeal, growing its audience with marketing gambits like behind-the-scenes Netflix, Inc. documentary series Formula 1: Drive to Survive.

But in a sport heavy on engineering, whose human protagonists are hidden behind helmets, executives want ways to jazz up the live race broadcast too. The companies say they’re also using AI to offer in-race predictions on matters like pit-stop timing or when a driver might try to overtake a rival, based on real-time details such as car performance and tire degradation.

“With this data and the intimacy with the fan, you can contemplate hyper-personalized experiences,” AWS Canada Managing Director Eric Gales said in an interview at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal earlier in June.

Ralph said: “That’s where we want it to go, so you as a fan can choose how much data to see and what stories you want to be told.”

Vying against other sports, streaming shows, TikTok, and video games, the battle for attention has never been so intense. While F1 has broadened its reach in the US with the Netflix series and new races such as the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the sport is still sometimes panned as too predictable. Last year, F1’s top driver, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen, won 19 of the 22 races; this year he has won six of nine.

“We can’t just rely on giving them a passive experience,” said Dean Locke, F1’s director of broadcast and media, speaking to reporters in Montreal remotely from the group’s media and technology center in Biggin Hill, United Kingdom. — Bloomberg

Mober’s Dennis Ng pushes for EVs in last-mile logistics

DENNIS O. NG

By Revin Mikhael D. Ochave, Reporter

DENNIS O. NG, founder and chief executive officer of green logistics startup Mober Technology Pte., Inc., is pushing for the broader adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the last-mile delivery market, citing the logistics sector as a major contributor to carbon emissions.

“For us in the logistics, transportation, and delivery sectors, we need to reduce emissions since we are always on the road,” Mr. Ng said in an interview with BusinessWorld.

Last-mile delivery refers to the final leg of the delivery process. A report by Clean Mobility Collective and Stand.earth in July 2022 indicated that last-mile delivery contributes up to half of total delivery carbon emissions.

Mr. Ng is an accountant by profession, having graduated from Aquinas University of Legazpi City in Albay province, now known as the University of Santo Tomas-Legazpi.

He had a diverse background, including the salt business, showbiz magazine publishing, and other technology ventures, prior to establishing Mober.

“I’ve been a serial entrepreneur since childhood. It was challenging to ask for allowance back then,” he said.

Mober was founded in July 2015 with the purpose of assisting small- and medium-sized enterprises with their on-demand logistical needs.

“Our first delivery was in January 2016. When I started Mober, it was an app. Technically, Mober is the first delivery app in the country,” Mr. Ng said.

“However, the problem back then was raising funds. Being a Filipino startup during those times, the venture capitalists and investments were focused on Indonesia,” he added. 

Mr. Ng said that Hong Kong-based logistics giants Lalamove and GoGoVan (now GoGoX) dominated the last-mile delivery market when Mober was starting.

“We looked for something different in their systems. We were able to develop a system that allows mall retailers to book deliveries. They can also see the available timeslots. We designed that system to make sure that a driver will accept the delivery,” he said.

“Unlike the on-demand nature of other companies in which people will book and the nearest available driver will accept the delivery. That is something that we have changed, differentiating us from other platforms,” he added.

Recognizing the need to address carbon emissions, Mr. Ng transitioned Mober to an EV fleet in 2021.

Currently, Mober is enabling sustainable delivery for prominent retail giants in the Philippines, including IKEA Philippines, SM Appliance Center, Unilever Philippines, Nestlé Philippines, Nespresso, and Monde Nissin, as well as logistics firms Maersk and Kuehne+Nagel.

With a fleet exceeding 60 electric vehicles and a charging hub in Pasay City, Mober is strategically positioned to aid businesses in decarbonizing their last and mid-mile delivery systems, Mr. Ng said. The company aims to achieve a fully electric fleet by 2025.

EMPOWERING MOM-AND-POP LOGISTICS BUSINESSES
Mr. Ng said that one of Mober’s objectives is to empower mom-and-pop logistics businesses, referring to small trucking companies involved in the last-mile delivery market.

“I want to empower the mom-and-pop logistics companies. We have many of those small companies engaged in the trucking business. My next vision is for mom-and-pop logistics companies to be empowered by Mober,” he said.

“They usually own five to ten trucks. It is very seldom that you can see a trucking company with hundreds of units,” he added.

Mr. Ng said these companies would have challenges transitioning to an EV platform due to the infrastructure and cost requirements.

Under the plan, Mober can lease its EVs to mom-and-pop trucking businesses, which not only speeds up EV adoption but also strengthens their operations, he said.

“Do not go to the bank anymore. I will allow them to rent the EV. Then just continue your business, for example with Nestlé or with the other retailers. It could be like a tripartite agreement.”

“We can set up a big charging station for Mober’s use. At the same time, the mom-and-pop businesses can also charge there as well,” he added.

EFFICIENCY NEEDED FOR LAST-MILE DELIVERY
Mr. Ng suggested that more efficiency is needed in the last-mile delivery market, saying that there could be improvements in the process.

“There is no need for innovation in the last-mile delivery segment. We just need to be more efficient,” he said.

Mr. Ng also said one area for improvement is the reduced use of the cash-on-delivery (COD) option for a more efficient delivery.

“Cash on delivery is a hassle for last-mile delivery. The day before payday sees the highest number of delivery returns because receivers often don’t have money yet,” he said.

Mober is eyeing to be the leading green logistics delivery provider in the region by becoming the largest operator of delivery EVs in Southeast Asia.

Earlier this month, Mober secured $6 million (P350 million) funding from Singapore-based fund manager Clime Capital Management Pte. Ltd. to fund the company’s green vehicle expansion.

It secured the investment from the Southeast Asia Clean Energy Fund II (SEACEF II), managed by Clime Capital.

In February, Mober received $2 million in funding to fast-track its EV adoption plan after a seed funding round led by RT Heptagon Holdings, OPC, which engages in equitable investments.

DBP planning to raise P3-5 billion in capital under charter changes

COURTESY OF DBP FACEBOOK PAGE

DEVELOPMENT BANK of the Philippines (DBP) will look to raise P3 billion to P5 billion in the next few years once the planned increase in its authorized capital stock under the proposed amendments to its charter is approved, its top official said.

“Maybe in the next few years, maybe at this point, [we’ll try to raise] maybe about P3-5 billion approximately. Right now, we’re at P85 billion in total [equity] as of 2023,” DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Michael O. de Jesus said.

The Department of Finance is proposing to amend the charters of state-run banks DBP and Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) to raise their authorized capital stock and allow for their public listing.

The proposal seeks to hike the DBP’s authorized capital stock to P300 billion from P35 billion and the LANDBANK’s to P1 trillion from P200 billion previously.

Mr. De Jesus previously said it was studying the possibility of raising 20% of its capital stock from its proposed initial public offering under planned changes to its charter. This would be equivalent to around P7 billion, which is 20% of the bank’s current P35-billion capital stock.

The remainder of the proposed increase in DBP’s capital stock to P300 billion will likely be generated internally, the official said.

“In the future, the government can come in as often as possible or there could be foreign investors that could come in. So, we have various options,” Mr. De Jesus said.

“It will help in the development of the capital markets, that’s number one… We’re thinking of having maybe 30% public, but 70% will still be controlled by the government,” he added.

Meanwhile, DBP’s planned bond issuance in the third or fourth quarter is expected to boost its lending, he said.

The central bank’s expected rate cut in the second semester could affect the pricing of their planned issuance, Mr. De Jesus said.

The official previously said DBP will likely issue peso-denominated notes with short-term tenors to fund its general corporate requirements.

“We’ll have more funds to lend at a lower cost. That’s the objective because we’re in the lending business. We want to diversify our funding sources. We want our funding sources to be at a lower cost. The best, of course, are current accounts. That’s the cheapest,” Mr. De Jesus said.

“Before, they were lending to achieve certain target levels. But what I want to do is really selective lending. Meaning, it’s not just lending that complies with our mandate, which is basically infrastructure financing, energy, social services, MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises). I’m not really after targeting certain volumes,” he said.

DBP is looking at expanding the share of current and savings accounts in its total deposits and growing its branch network, Mr. De Jesus added.

He earlier said the bank is bullish on its outlook for this year and expects the bank’s performance to be “slightly better” than in 2023.

The official said DBP’s 2023 net profit was “comparable” and marked a “slight improvement” from the year-ago level driven by an increase in loans and fee income, but did not provide specific figures.

Latest available data showed the state-run bank’s net profit jumped by 60% year on year to P4.42 billion in the first half of 2023, driven by gains from foreign exchange and the sale of properties. — AMCS

Apores Group aims to elevate Mati City with premier hotel offering

MAYA M. PADILLO

MATI CITY — Adelina Hotel and Suites, the first premier hotel in Mati City and the entire province of Davao Oriental, is strategically positioned to enhance the city’s status as a MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) destination, a hotel official said.

Owned by the Apores Group, the hotel features 94 guestrooms, a ballroom, an outdoor garden, two meeting rooms, and a rooftop party bar adjacent to the poolside.

“The hotel has addressed the need of the city to showcase a more decent accommodation that can house national and international guests. The hotel also compliments the city’s famous cultural heritage and beautiful scenery, both land and sea,” said Girlie Alagano, marketing and sales manager of Adelina Hotel and Suites, told BusinessWorld.

Adelina Hotel  and Suites is expected to support Mati City, a renowned beach destination, in attracting the MICE market, she noted.

The city has also become a prime destination for surfers and skimboarders.

Additionally, Mati City is celebrated among environmentalists, ecologists, and nature lovers for being home to renowned protected areas such as the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary and Pujada Bay.

“Adelina Hotel and Suites is built to be a home-away-from-home for these travelers. It is also a perfect place for local government units and agencies’ stay-in seminars, live-out meetings, corporate and non-government agencies gatherings, and team-building activities, including consortiums, those who wish to conduct their activities outside Davao City. And of course, families and ‘barkadas’ who want comfortable accommodation when in Mati City,” Ms. Alagano said.

The hotel targets visitors not only from Davao Oriental and other provinces within the Davao Region but also from international markets.

Adelina Hotel and Suites, established on Aug. 8, 2023, was founded with the owners’ aim to contribute to the development of Mati City, Ms. Alagano said.

“It has been our family’s fondest dream to build something for our beloved Mati. Thus, when Mati became a city, we believed that the time was ripe to give back to her the love and kindness she has shown to us,” said Francisco “King” Mijares III, chief executive officer and president of Apores Group.

Mr. Mijares said that when they decided to build the hotel, the country was then reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, and work had to be put on hold.

“Nevertheless, there was a fire that continued to burn within us, a fire that could not be extinguished. Even during those difficult times, we felt the heartbeat of Mati City. We heard the whisper of the wind telling us that the time had come for Mati City to have a luxury of its own,” he said. — Maya M. Padillo

The UN is betraying Afghan women

UN WOMEN-FLICKR

IT IS THE ULTIMATE ACT of bad faith. The United Nations (UN) has decided to exclude women from its upcoming global conference on Afghanistan. Why? The Taliban, it seems, insisted on it.

The Islamic fundamentalist group wasn’t invited to the first meeting in May 2023, and refused to attend the next one in February because the UN wouldn’t accept the list of preconditions for its participation. “These conditions first of all denied us the right to talk to other representatives of the Afghan society and demanded a treatment that would, I would say, to a large extent be similar to recognition” of the Taliban as the governing authority, Secretary-General António Guterres said at the time. So what has changed?

It’s unclear what led the UN to agree to the Taliban’s demands for the talks in Doha that begin on June 30, though the global body insists “this sort of engagement is not legitimization or normalization.” I’d call it something else. An egregious breach of trust — one that places security and counterterrorism concerns above the rights of women, girls, and minorities.

As important as the Taliban’s presence at the meeting is — the US and its allies see the Taliban’s battle against the Islamic State-Khorasan group as vital to controlling the threat of terrorism emanating from Central Asia — there were other options beyond surrendering human rights to extremists.

In November, the UN laid out a road map for engagement with the Taliban that required improvements in women’s rights before the UN would consider officially recognizing it as the country’s governing entity. A month later, the Security Council called for Afghan women to be involved in the political process and for the establishment of a special envoy for Afghanistan to coordinate international engagement. It is also considering recommendations to recognize “gender apartheid” as a crime against humanity.

On every aspect, the UN is dragging its feet. There is no special envoy, and no sign of movement on gender apartheid.

Its own Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, last week presented a comprehensive set of recommendations for dismantling the Taliban’s institutionalized system of gender oppression. They involve tackling the culture of impunity that has long existed in Afghanistan by punishing crimes committed by the Taliban, its agents and supporters. This can be done via “universal jurisdiction” which enables a state to prosecute perpetrators of the most serious international offenses regardless of where they were committed or the nationality of the perpetrators and the victims.

Bennett’s report makes for grim reading. It documents discrimination, segregation, disrespect for human dignity, and exclusion, motivated by the Taliban’s profound rejection of women and girls’ humanity. They now have increasingly narrow roles: as bearers and rearers of children, and as objects available for exploitation, including debt bondage, domestic servitude, and sexual exploitation. Women and girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade. In March, the Taliban issued an order that women be stoned to death for so-called “moral crimes.”

There are efforts underway to initiate a case at the International Court of Justice, and it is here that the global community could make a difference. It takes just one country that is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women to step up. Bennett also calls for better funding for a separate investigation by the International Criminal Court into crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Afghanistan since May 2003. He notes Afghans’ frustration with the lengthy preliminary examination and investigation. (ICJ decisions are subject to enforcement by the Security Council, but each of the five permanent members can veto any decision, while the ICC doesn’t have its own enforcement body. It relies on countries to make arrests, freeze suspects’ assets, and enforce sentences.)

Importantly, Bennett says that nations should “avoid normalization or legitimization of the de facto authorities” until the human-rights situation improves, especially for women and girls. It is hard to understand why another arm of this global body meant to defend and protect human rights would do the opposite of what its own expert is recommending.

It is, as Heather Barr of Human Rights Watch notes, “enraging” that the UN has done this. “There are certain lines they shouldn’t cross,” she told me. “This is one of them.”

Not surprisingly, Afghan women and human-rights defenders are calling for nations to boycott this meeting. That will present a dilemma for many countries, particularly those committed to gender justice and concerned about the rise in terrorist activities that originate in Afghanistan.

Since its inception in 2015, Islamic State-Khorasan — named for the historic region encompassing parts of Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia — has expanded its international reach. The attack on a Moscow concert in March that killed more than 140 people, as well as suicide bombings in Iran that claimed 95 lives in January, were both linked to IS-K. Earlier this month, eight people from Tajikistan, some with suspected ties to the Islamic State, were arrested in the US.

But while the Taliban may be attempting to shut down IS-K, it is still uncomfortably close to al-Qaeda — indeed the UN reported in June last year that several al-Qaeda leaders have been given key posts within the regime.

The world cannot afford to offer the Taliban some kind of clemency over its human-rights abuses simply because it is resisting another terrorist group. That is the worst kind of foreign policy. We must abandon the idea, once and for all, that the rights of women and girls are there to be traded off at will. They’re not.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

PSEi member stocks performed — June 24, 2024

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Monday, June 24, 2024.

Philippines further improves in 2024 Fragile States Index

The Philippines improved* three spots to 64th out of 179 countries in the 2024 Fragile States Index (FSI) released by the American nonprofit organization The Fund for Peace. A higher FSI rank and score indicate greater instability. The country scored 75.1 (the worst is 120), one of the worst performing in the region. However, it was the Philippines’ best placement in 18 years.

Philippines further improves in 2024 Fragile States Index

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