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US Treasury sets $492 million minimum price for airline warrants auctions

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WASHINGTON – The US Treasury Department has set a minimum of $492 million in total it is seeking in next week’s auctions to sell warrants to purchase shares in US airlines the government received in exchange for COVID-19 assistance.

Congress approved $54 billion in COVID-19 air carrier bailouts in 2020 and 2021. Airlines were required to repay $14 billion of that total and Treasury received warrants to purchase stock at the share price of the time of the awards.

American Airlines received $12.6 billion in government assistance, followed by Delta Air Lines $11.9 billion, United Airlines $10.9 billion, and Southwest Airlines at $7.2 billion.

Seven other airlines received smaller awards, including $2.2 billion for Alaska Airlines.

Treasury plans to auction its warrants in the 11 airlines starting Monday. The air carriers declined comment or did not immediately answer if they plan to take part in the auction.

Treasury set reserve prices of $221 million for its Delta warrants, $159 million for United, $59 million for American Airlines, $30 million for SkyWest, $17 million for Alaska Air, $2.9 million for Hawaiian Airlines, $1.9 million for Frontier Group and $1.7 million for Southwest.

The Treasury is seeking at least $50,000 per airline for its warrants in Allegiant, Spirit Airlines, and JetBlue. Those warrants and others are priced below the current trading prices of the carriers’ stocks.

The warrants expire between April 2025 and June 2026.

The US government also extended $25 billion in low-cost loans to airlines. Treasury said “the proceeds of these sales will provide additional returns to the American taxpayer from the financial assistance and liquidity that Treasury provided to these airlines during the pandemic.”

The pandemic prompted a historic collapse in air travel demand. US air passenger travel fell by 60% in 2020 to its lowest since 1984, down more than 550 million passengers, as airlines slashed costs and struggled to survive.

Spending too much time on social media and doomscrolling? The problem might be FOMO

STOCK PHOTO | Image by David from Pixabay

Disclaimer: This asset – including all text, audio and imagery – is provided by The Conversation. Reuters Connect has not verified or endorsed the material, which is being made available to professional media customers to facilitate the free flow of global news and information.

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION

 

by Kim M. Caudwell, Senior Lecturer – Psychology | Chair, Researchers in Behavioral Addictions, Alcohol and Drugs (BAAD), Charles Darwin University

For as long as we have used the internet to communicate and connect with each other, it has influenced how we think, feel and behave.

During the COVID pandemic, many of us were “cut off” from our social worlds through restrictions, lockdowns and mandates. Understandably, many of us tried to find ways to connect online.

Now, as pandemic restrictions have lifted, some of the ways we use the internet have become concerning. Part of what drives problematic internet use may be something most of us are familiar with – the fear of missing out, or FOMO.

In our latest research, my colleagues and I investigated the role FOMO plays in two kinds of internet use: problematic social media use and “doomscrolling”.

FOMO is the fear some of us experience when we get a sense of “missing out” on things happening in our social scene. Psychology researchers have been studying FOMO for more than a decade, and it has consistently been linked to mental health and wellbeing, alcohol use and problematic social media use.

Social media use becomes a problem for people when they have difficulty controlling urges to use it, try to cut back but fail, and find using it is having a negative effect on things like work, study and relationships.

Doomscrolling is characterized by a need to constantly look at and seek out “bad” news. Doomscrollers may constantly refresh their news feeds or stay up late to read bad news.

While problematic social media use has been around for a while, doomscrolling seems to be a more recent phenomenon. Researchers first saw it popping up during the pandemic.

In our study, we wanted to test the idea that FOMO was a cause of problematic social media use and doomscrolling. We tried a novel approach to see if we could find out just how FOMO leads individuals to engage in problematic internet use behaviors.

The key factor, we thought, was emotion regulation – our ability to deal with our emotions. We know some people tend to be good at this, while others find it difficult. In fact, greater difficulties with emotion regulation was linked to experiencing greater acute stress related to COVID.

However, an idea that has been gaining attention recently is interpersonal emotion regulation. This means looking to others to help us regulate our emotions.

Interpersonal emotion regulation can be helpful (such as “affective engagement” that teachers may try to foster with students) or unhelpful (such as the “co-rumination” that occurs when friends repeatedly rehash their problems together).

In our analyses, we sought to uncover how both intrapersonal emotion regulation (ability to self-manage our own emotional states) and interpersonal emotion regulation (relying on others to help manage our emotions) accounted for the link between FOMO and problematic social media use, and FOMO and doomscrolling, respectively.

Our findings indicated that people who report stronger FOMO engage in problematic social media use because of difficulty regulating their emotions (intrapersonally), and they look to others for help (interpersonally).

Similarly, people who report stronger FOMO are drawn to doomscrolling because of difficulty regulating their emotions intrapersonally (within themselves). However, we found no link between FOMO and doomscrolling through interpersonal emotion regulation.

We suspect this difference may be due to doomscrolling being more of a solitary activity, occurring outside the denser social context that lends itself to interpersonal regulation. For instance, there are probably fewer people with whom to share your emotions while staying up trawling through bad news.

While links between FOMO and doomscrolling have been observed before, our study is among the first to try and account for this theoretically.

We suspect the link between FOMO and doomscrolling may be more about having more of an online presence while things are happening. This would account for intrapersonal emotion regulation failing to help manage our reactions to “bad news” stories as they unfold, leading to doomscrolling.

Problematic social media use, on the other hand, involves a more complex interpersonal context. If someone is feeling the fear of being “left out” and has difficulty managing that feeling, they may be drawn to social media platforms in part to try and elicit help from others in their network.

Our findings suggest the current discussions around restricting social media use for young people, while controversial, are important. We need to balance our need for social connection – which is happening increasingly online – with the detrimental consequences associated with problematic internet use behaviors.

It is important to also consider the nature of social media platforms and how they have changed over time. For example, adolescent social media use patterns on different platforms can be used to predict a range of mental health and socialization outcomes.

Public health policy experts and legislators have quite the challenge ahead of them here. Recent work has shown how loneliness increases a person’s overall risk of death.

We have long known, too, that social connectedness is good for our mental health. Last year, the World Health Organization established a Commission on Social Connection to promote the importance of socialization to our lives.

The recent controversy in the United States around the ownership of TikTok illustrates how central social media platforms are to our lives and ways of interacting with one another. We need to consider the rights of individuals to use them as they please, but understand that governments carry the responsibility of protecting users from harm and safeguarding their privacy.

If you feel concerned about problematic social media use or doomscrolling, you can speak to a healthcare or mental health professional. – Reuters

Venus has more volcanism than previously known, new analysis finds

STOCK PHOTO | Image by Bruno Albino from Pixabay

WASHINGTON – Venus appears to be more volcanically active than previously known, according to scientists whose new analysis of decades-old radar images has spotted evidence of eruptions at two additional sites on the surface of Earth’s inhospitable planetary neighbor.

Radar images obtained by NASA’s Magellan spacecraft from 1990 to 1992 indicated large lava flows at these two locations in the Venusian northern hemisphere at the time of the observations, the researchers said. These findings, coupled with previous studies, indicate that the planet’s volcanic activity is comparable to Earth’s, they added.

Magellan mapped 98% of the Venusian surface. Advances in computing capability have made analyzing Magellan’s radar data easier in recent years.

“These findings significantly change our understanding of the degree to which Venus is volcanically active, suggesting it could be much more active than previously thought,” said planetary scientist Davide Sulcanese of d’Annunzio University in Pescara, Italy, lead author of the study published this week in the journal Nature Astronomy.

One of the two sites is a volcano called Sif Mons, which is about 200 miles (300 km) wide and situated in a region called Eistla Regio. The before-and-after radar images indicate a lava flow amounting to about 12 square miles (30 square km) of rock. The other site is a large volcanic plain in a region called Niobe Planitia. About 17 square miles (45 square kilometers) of rock was produced in this lava flow.

“Both Sif Mons and the volcanoes in Niobe Planitia are shield volcanoes, characterized by broad, gentle slopes formed by low-viscosity lava flows,” said d’Annunzio University planetary scientist and study co-author Giuseppe Mitri.

The new rock at both locations was estimated to have an average depth between about 10 and 66 feet (three and 20 meters).

“The lava flows observed along the western flank of Sif Mons exhibit linear features with sinuous patterns that follow the direction of the maximum slope, generally towards the west,” said planetary scientist and study co-author Marco Mastrogiuseppe of University Sapienza in Rome and Link Campus University in Rome.

“Regarding the flows in Niobe Planitia, the lava flows appear to originate near small shield volcanoes and extend towards the northeast, also following the direction of the slope,” Mr. Mastrogiuseppe added.

Venus is the second planet from the sun, and Earth the third. Venus has a diameter of about 7,500 miles (12,000 km), slightly smaller than Earth.

The new study builds on previous findings of ongoing Venusian volcanic activity. A 2023 study found that a volcanic vent on Maat Mons in a region called Atla Regio, near the equator, expanded and changed shape during the Magellan mission.

“Our study is the first to provide direct proof of lava flows formed during the Magellan mission period. By analyzing radar images from the Magellan spacecraft, we observed changes in surface morphology and radar data indicative of new lava flows,” Mr. Sulcanese said.

“This offers direct evidence of ongoing volcanic activity on Venus, building upon previous evidence such as atmospheric sulfur dioxide variations, surface thermal emissions data, and especially the evidence of deformation of a volcanic vent observed in Atla Regio,” Mr. Sulcanese said.

Studying volcanic activity provides a fuller understanding of a planet’s internal heat and geological processes.

“It provides insights into the planet’s thermal evolution, surface renewal processes and atmospheric interactions,” Mr. Mitri said.

The thick Venusian atmosphere, mainly carbon dioxide, traps in heat in a runaway greenhouse effect, making Venus our solar system’s hottest planet.

“Despite Venus and Earth being very similar in terms of size, mass, chemical composition and internal structure, there are fundamental differences that make Venus an infernal planet,” with a roasting surface temperature and crushing atmospheric pressure, Mr. Sulcanese said.

“The reason for this different evolution is still a subject of debate,” Mr. Sulcanese added, noting that planned NASA and European Space Agency missions in the coming years “will help us better understand why these two planets have met such different fates.” – Reuters

Cocolife announces Annual Stockholders’ Meeting via remote communication on June 26

 

 

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Ovialand celebrates 10th year anniversary

Ovialand, Inc. (“Ovialand”), a real estate developer that provides the Premier Family Living experience to Filipinos, is celebrating its 10th year anniversary by giving back to the communities it has served.

These activities include:

  • Supporting the education of 10 scholars who will be studying in vocational schools. These scholars are the children of construction workers who have been with Ovialand throughout the years.
  • Donating 10 brand-new classrooms to San Pablo Elementary School in Barangay Soledad in Laguna
  • Planting 10,000 trees across South Luzon and Central Luzon

“Since our incorporation in 2014, Ovialand has been a leader in the premium and affordable segment of the real estate market. We have done this by building homes that provide for the needs of Filipino families and that are financially accessible at the same time,” Pammy Olivares-Vital, President and CEO of Ovialand, said.

“At the same time, it is part of our company’s values to be proactive contributors in resolving our nation’s problems in our own way. This is why we are conducting these activities for our 10th year anniversary,” she added.

Throughout the years, Ovialand has built 2,399 homes and turned over 2,154 homes to Filipinos. Over the next 10 years, the company is targeting to build [double its annual capacity] as it pursues its long-term goal of expanding nationwide. 

“The past 10 years have been truly fruitful for Ovialand in fulfilling its promise of providing the Premier Family Living experience. With this in mind, we celebrate our 10th anniversary full of optimism of what we can achieve in the next 10 years — and even the years beyond them,” Ms. Olivares-Vital concluded.

 

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Recto backs lower tariffs on rice

PHILIPPINE STAR/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

By Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson, Reporter

FINANCE Secretary Ralph G. Recto said he is open to reducing tariffs on rice imports in order to help bring down prices of the food staple.

Mr. Recto told reporters on Monday that tariffs on imported rice could be slashed to 17.5% from the current 35%.

“You have to strike a balance between the farmers and consumers. It’s better to divide (the tariff rate) equally,” he said in mixed Filipino and English.

However, the Finance chief said he would leave the issue for the secretary of Agriculture to decide.

In December, the government approved the extension of the reduced most favored nation tariff rates on several commodities, including rice, until end-2024.

Tariff rates for imports of rice were kept at 35% for shipments within the minimum access volume quota and for those exceeding the quota.

Mr. Recto said an executive order adjusting the tariff rate can be issued during Congress’ recess.

“We want it lower. As much as possible, not only up to the end of the year. But possibly, the executive order will be only up to the end of the year… If we need to extend it, then we can extend it. What’s important is to reduce the prices of rice,” he said.

However, Mr. Recto did not agree with the proposal to bring down tariffs on rice imports to zero.

The Finance chief earlier said the retail price of rice could drop by as much as 20% by September due to reduced tariffs and increased production.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that rice inflation, which contributed almost half to overall inflation, surged by 23.9% in April. 

Agriculture department data showed that the average price of local well-milled rice ranged from P48-P55 per kilogram as of May 27, higher than the P39-P46 range a year ago.

Meanwhile, regular milled rice ranged from P45-P53 to P34-P46 per kilogram.

Some analysts welcomed the proposal to lower rice tariffs as this would give consumers some relief.

“I agree with the proposal. Paddy prices will eventually go down perhaps to 2023 levels if tariff cut is big enough. Consumers will also have some relief from high rice prices,” Philippine Institute for Development Studies Senior Research Fellow Roehlano M. Briones said in a Viber message.

Roy S. Kempis, director of the Center for Business Innovation at Angeles University, said that the proposal to reduce the tariffs is the “right thing to do.”

“There needs to have some protection for farmers from cheaper imports or untamed importation that would erode their incentive to produce more and stay in rice farming,” he said in a Viber message.

These tariffs would also generate much-needed revenue and “discipline Filipinos to be responsible consumers.”

Mr. Kempis said the impact of reduced tariffs on farmers will also be positive.

“They will be protected from importation shocks in volume and in price per unit imported. Government is able to support local farmgate prices by way of the extent of the tariffs. Filipino farmers only need decent prices for their palay or rice to continue producing it for the consumers to enjoy,” he said.

On the other hand, Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) Executive Director Jayson H. Cainglet said that the lower tariff regime in the past years has not brought down rice prices.

“Reduced tariff resulting to more imported rice has not reduced rice prices. Local rice prices are high precisely because global rice prices have been on the rise since last year,” he said in a Viber message.

Mr. Cainglet said that cutting tariff rates will hurt local producers and only favor importers and traders.

Data from the Bureau of the Plant Industry showed that rice imports have reached 1.89 million metric tons (MT) as of May 9.

The US Department of Agriculture projects Philippine rice imports to come in at 3.9 million MT this year.

“If the tariff is brought down further, there is no assurance that rice prices will go down proportionately, because experience shows that the importers, middlemen and retailers just pocket the savings,” Raul Q. Montemayor, national manager of the Federation of Free Farmers, said in a Viber message.

“On the other hand, when the undervalued and cheap imports come in, they are dumped in the wholesale (as against retail) market, and this has a depressing effect on palay prices because local traders who buy palay from farmers sell their milled rice in the wholesale market also,” he added.

Mr. Montemayor said this would discourage farmers from enhancing their own production.

“Allowing cheaper imports does not bring down prices for consumers, penalizes farmers, and benefits only the people in between,” he added.

Mr. Cainglet said the government should not just rely on importation but should boost local production.

“Extreme weather situations and global pandemics are the new normal; that have prodded the rest of the world to be food self-reliant,” he said.

“Most countries have prepared for it by increasing local production and supporting local producers.  Here, it is the reverse. Local producers are penalized and importers are rewarded and pampered with four straight years of reduced tariffs on rice, pork, corn and chicken.”

The House of Representatives earlier this month approved on second reading amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law. The amendments seek to allow the National Food Authority to sell rice at subsidized prices during emergencies.

GDP growth may fall below target in 2024, 2025 — BSP

Economic growth may fall below the government’s target in 2024 and 2025. — PHILIPPINE STARMIGUEL DE GUZMAN

PHILIPPINE economic growth may fall below the government’s target this year and in 2025, as high interest rates dampen domestic demand, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

“The outlook on domestic economic activity remains intact, even as the economy is projected to operate slightly below potential. Economic growth could settle below the DBCC’s (Development Budget Coordination Committee) target of 6-7% for 2024 and 6.5-7.5% for 2025,” the BSP said in its latest Monetary Policy Report.

The BSP did not provide a specific gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimate.

Latest data from the local statistics authority showed that GDP expanded by 5.7% in the first quarter, faster than 5.5% in the previous quarter but slower than 6.4% a year ago.

“The projected impact of the BSP’s policy rate adjustments is likely to peak in the second half of 2024,” the central bank said.

At its May meeting, the Monetary Board kept its benchmark rate steady at 6.5%, the highest in 17 years, for a fifth straight meeting.

The Monetary Board has raised borrowing costs by a cumulative 450 basis points (bps) from May 2022 to October 2023 in order to tame inflation.

“Higher global crude oil prices and positive real interest rates could also temper domestic demand,” the BSP said. “However, stronger net exports amid an improving global growth outlook could support GDP growth.”

Citing estimates from the Policy Analysis Model for the Philippines, the BSP said the “output gap may turn slightly negative in 2024 but will likely close in the latter part of 2025.”

“Domestic economic activity could ease as the effects of previous policy interest rate adjustments and declining real incomes, along with the possibility of tepid global growth, temper aggregate demand,” the central bank said.

“On balance, the latest assessment of the output gap indicates potential deflationary pressures going forward.”

At the same time, steady investment growth, improving jobs market and infrastructure spending may “continue to drive productivity and potential output,” the BSP added.

The BSP said that Philippine GDP is expected to pick up in 2025 “on stronger net exports and an improving global growth outlook.”

“The resilience of the global economy, despite central bank interest rate increases, has reflected the ability of households in major advanced economies to draw on substantial savings accumulated during the pandemic,” it said.

However, the BSP noted the pace of global growth is “still low by historical standards,” mainly due to high borrowing costs, long-term effects of the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, weak productivity growth and rising geoeconomic fragmentation.

The International Monetary Fund sees the global economy growing by 3.2% this year and next year. — L.M.J.C.Jocson

Illegal tobacco trade eating government revenues away — BIR

Counterfeit cigarette products are seen in this file photo. — PHILIPPINE STAR/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

THE Philippine government lost P25.5 billion in taxes from tobacco smuggling last year, according to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), as it sought to intensify its enforcement of tax compliance on the tobacco industry.

While the preferential shift of Filipinos to vape products increased “by a hundred percent,” it is not enough to compensate excise tax revenue losses from illicit tobacco trade, the BIR said.

“[Illegal tobacco] trade has greatly affected our collection on excise taxes on tobacco products,” Venus T. Gaticales, BIR Excise Large Taxpayers Field Operations Division chief, told reporters on the sidelines of a forum. “For last year, [the] collection [for] 2023, compared to 2022 collection, there is a decrease of about P25.5 billion or 15.91%.”

“The contributions of the excise tax on vapor products, although it almost increased by 100%, it is not enough to compensate the decrease as far as the cigarette excise tax collection is concerned,” she added.

The Philippines applies an excise tax rate of P60 per pack of 20 cigarettes while vape products are levied with a P54.60 per milliliter (mL) tax for salt nicotine and P63 per 10 mL tax for classic nicotine products, according to the excise tax rates prescribed by the Bureau of Customs for 2024.

While the government also incurs losses in vapor products, its foregone revenues do not “run in a billion compared to cigarettes,” Ms. Gaticales said.

The illicit trade of tobacco products not only harms government revenues but also public health as 50% of excise tax collections from tobacco products are allocated to fund the country’s universal healthcare program as well as support the local tobacco industry.

Illicit tobacco trade refers to the counterfeit production or smuggling of cigarette or vapor products into the country without undergoing proper trade avenues. 

For 2024, the BIR is targeting to collect P324.56 billion in excise tax collections, with tobacco products pegged to contribute P152.4 billion this year, according to a memorandum by the tax collection department.

The tobacco industry has contributed around P46.69 billion to the country’s total excise tax collections as of April 2024, said Ms. Gaticales during her presentation. 

To combat illicit tobacco trade, she said the BIR and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) affix trade revenue stamps on tobacco products, allowing the government to distinguish between legitimate and smuggled cigarette and vapor products.

The government is also looking at addressing smuggled and unregistered vapor products, DTI Assistant Secretary Amanda Marie F. Nograles said.

“By June 2024, we will have the mandatory product registration that immediately plugs the faucet,” she said during the forum.

“We’ll be able to check whoever is not registered, whoever is not certified, then they can no longer enter our market. By January 2025, we’ll have a market clearing process. Then we will remove all vape [products] that’s not registered.”

The BIR seeks to strengthen its monitoring of the tobacco supply chain to reduce illegal cigarettes in the market, said Ms. Gaticales.

“These requirements include submission of a sworn statement of the volume of sales and removals as well as information on, among others, the product brand names, price, and the regions where the brands are distributed,” she said. 

Meanwhile, the BIR in a separate statement said it seized 347,869 packs of illicit cigarettes worth P219.2 million in tax liabilities after conducting raids in several areas in Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur last April.

“Residential houses are now being used as warehouses by traders of illicit cigarettes. If you see any signs of illicit cigarettes or vape products in your neighborhood, report the same to the BIR. Illicit trade destroys legitimate businesses,” Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui, Jr. said.

The government should leverage its existing tax regulations and anti-smuggling laws to mitigate losses due to illicit tobacco trade before increasing excise taxes on these products, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

“(The government should) run after tax evaders, anti-smuggling campaign, alongside more disciplined spending to prevent leakages, wastage, and anti-corruption,” he said.

Ms. Gaticales urged the government to strengthen its border control operations to prevent the entry of smuggled tobacco goods into the country.

“Being an archipelagic country, with approximately 7,641 islands and a coastline that is fifth longest in the world… makes it difficult to monitor or control the transportation of illicit [tobacco products],” she said. “For this reason, the Philippine government needs to improve border defenses and tax administration to control the illegal trade of cigarettes.”

Policing the country’s borders to prevent tobacco smuggling “is a question of good governance,” Ser Percival K. Peña-Reyes, director of the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development, said in a Viber message.

The government should properly incentivize authorities tasked to monitor the country’s borders, he added. “Those who are tasked to police these activities, are they incentivized enough to carry out their job faithfully?”

Filomeno S. Sta. Ana, III, coordinator of Action for Economic Reforms, said deterring illicit tobacco trade requires a “whole-of-society approach.”

Congress should also strengthen House Bill No. 10329, a proposed measure seeking to strengthen regulation and penalties for the tobacco industry.

“The substitute bill, however, needs to be strengthened. The substitute bill omits citizens’ participation in monitoring illicit trade and is silent on conflict of interest issues,” he said. — with inputs from L.M.J.C.Jocson

Semiconductors, renewables to drive PHL growth — Go

Semiconductor chips are seen on a circuit board of a computer in this illustration picture taken on Feb. 25, 2022. — REUTERS

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter

THE PHILIPPINE government is banking on the semiconductor and renewable energy (RE) sectors to drive economic growth, according to the Palace’s chief investment adviser.

“[Some of our priority sectors are] semiconductors, electronics, simply because that is our largest export now in the country. So that’s the sector that we really want to grow,” Secretary Frederick D. Go, who heads the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs, told reporters on the sidelines of the Philippine Economic Briefing late on Monday.

Mr. Go cited the potential growth of the electronics sector if the country increases capacity in the assembly, testing and packaging of semiconductors and other electronics.

He said the RE sector is also seen to be a major contributor to overall growth. This comes after the country allowed full foreign ownership of RE projects in 2023.

“Renewable energy now comprises of about a majority, maybe 70% of all the applicants in the green lane for strategic investments,” Mr. Go said.

As of April 1, 51 RE projects worth P1.57 trillion have been approved to go through the “green lane” in all government agencies to fast-track its approval and registration.

“It really tells you that the interest of global foreign direct investors is in that field,” Mr. Go said.

At present, renewables account for 22% of the country’s energy mix. The Philippines is aiming to increase the share of RE to 35% by 2030 and 50% by 2040.

“The main binding constraints to expanded foreign investments in the country remain to be red tape and corruption,” Terry L. Ridon, a public investment analyst and convenor of think tank InfraWatch PH, said in a Viber message.

Leonardo A. Lanzona, who teaches economics at the Ateneo de Manila University, said the semiconductor industry is profitable but still stuck in low value-added production.

“It is necessary to move to a higher value chain that utilizes more domestic resources especially labor. For this, a comprehensive and strategic industrial policy is necessary, especially one that incorporates all the experiences accumulated from the existing semiconductor industry,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

In the first quarter, electronics remained the country’s top export with $10.47 billion, up 13.43% from $9.23 billion in the same period a year ago.

Semiconductor exports rose by 15.3% to $8.14 billion in the January-to-March period from $7.06 billion last year.

The Philippines is seeking to benefit from the United States’ CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) and Science Act, which seeks to allocate $52.7 billion in federal subsidies to support chip manufacturing in several countries.

Meanwhile, Jose M. Layug, Jr., president of the Developers of Renewable Energy for Advancement, Inc., said that simplifying permits for energy projects, including renewables, will shorten the construction period to less than a year.

“The greatest hurdle in developing any power plant in the Philippines, including renewables, is the number of permits/signatures that need to be secured by the developer and the long period required to get approvals,” Mr. Layug said in a Viber message.

Government agencies must streamline their requirements and consolidate them under the Department of Energy’s energy virtual one-stop shop, he added.

“If we fast-track all these permits, we can easily build renewable energy plants which have shorter construction periods (solar can be built in nine months; wind can be built in 18 months; biomass/hydro can be built in 24 months) compared to the conventional power plants,” Mr. Layug said.

Megaworld eyes increased hotel exposure through Trip.com deal

Pebbles Caramat, Assistant Head of Distribution, Megaworld Hotels and Resorts (left) shaking hands with Boon Sian Chai, Managing Director and Vice President for International Markets, Trip.com Group(right) Photo by Justine Irish DP. Tabile, BusinessWorld

By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter

SHANGHAI — Megaworld Corp.’s hospitality arm expects increased visibility in international markets after signing a partnership with Singapore-based Trip.com Group.

Megaworld Hotels & Resorts expects to get promoted in the campaigns of the international one-stop travel service provider.

Trip.com, which is listed in Hong Kong and the US, is available in 24 languages across 39 countries and regions, according to the Trip.com website.

It has an extensive network consisting of 1.4 million hotels in 200 countries and regions, as well as flights from more than 510 airlines covering 3,400 airports.

“All our hotels and resorts will now be participating in most, if not all, of Trip.com’s engagement and campaigns,” Pebbles S. Caramat, assistant head of distribution at Megaworld Hotels and Resorts, said at the signing ceremony here on Tuesday.

“We are the largest in the Philippines, but very local, so we would like to be known globally, and the platform of Trip.com will be able to do that for us given their global reach, tools and technology,” she added.

Photo by Justine Irish DP. Tabile

Under the partnership, Trip.com Group will designate the hotel operator as its preferred partner hotel and will feature it on its platforms.

Megaworld could also leverage Trip.com’s platform, technology and artificial intelligence tools to get more data on consumer behavior, said Trip.com Managing Director and Vice-President Boon Sian Chai.

“We’re going to be able to use our consumer behavior to showcase Megaworld properties to our wide array of customers, both in mainland China as well as internationally,” he added.

He also said they have a sophisticated and extensive marketing machine that can feature different aspects and offerings that Megaworld Hotels & Resorts could give to Chinese and global customers.

Aside from helping in the hotel brand’s marketing, the partnership allows Trip.com and Megaworld Hotels to collaborate on pricing and inventory management across Megaworld’s 13 hotels or more than 8,500 room keys, including those in the pipeline.

“This aims to optimize availability and pricing, ensuring competitive rates and seamless booking experiences for travelers,” Trip.com said in a separate statement.

Next month, the Megaworld Hotels expects to open its largest hotel to date, the Grand Westside Hotel in Entertainment City, Parañaque City in the Philippines. The hotel will be part of the partnership and will be promoted by Trip.com through a pre-opening sale.

Trip.com said the partnership comes on the back of strong growth after Philippine hotel bookings and searches more than doubled in April.

Megaworld shares lost 0.53% or a centavo to close at P1.89 each.

Vertiv opens office in Ortigas business area

By Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

VERTIV on Tuesday opened its main office in the Philippines’ Ortigas business district within the boundary of the cities of Pasig and Mandaluyong, banking on the growing demand for business centers.

“We are seeing a very big opportunity in the data center investments coming into the country,” Vertiv Sales Director Pamela May Lagra Albar told a news briefing.

She said Vertiv’s “business” grew by 30% from last year due to the influx of business centers.

The digital infrastructure provider serves more than 2,000 clients in telecommunications, and business processing outsourcing in the Philippines.

Vertiv’s 8,000-square-foot office across four floors is located at the SM Mega Tower building in Mandaluyong.

Ortigas Center is a central business district within the boundaries of the cities of Pasig, Mandaluyong and Quezon in Metro Manila.

Vertiv’s new office will cater to the growing demand locally and globally, adding to its smaller offices in Cebu and Davao in central and southern Philippines.

Vertiv sees talent movement across its operations in Manila. “We’ve been focused on being a talent export hub, bringing talent into the broader global operations,” Chief Human Resource Officer Cheryl Lim said.

Vertiv Philippines’ workforce has ballooned to 1,200 employees at its Mandaluyong office.

Ms. Lim said they have experienced the biggest growth in the Philippines among countries in Southeast Asia.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Vertiv operates in India, China, Korea, Japan, and Australia.

Vertiv is a listed company on the New York Stock Exchange with projected sales of $7.6 billion (P441 billion) this year or 12% growth from last year, Chief Financial Officer David Fallon said at the briefing.

He said artificial intelligence is enabled by high-powered semiconductors and chips that need a ton of power.

“Those chips need a ton of power and power that translates into heat,” he said. “These chips and the equipment that is needed to have them operate need a lot of service. Those three components — power, heat and service — that’s exactly what we do.”

He added that Vertiv services include cleaning and providing power and backup to data centers.

“We are known as the kings of thermal in the data center space. We provide products that cool the data hall,” Mr. Fallon said.

Vertiv operates in more than 130 countries and has 3,000 service engineers worldwide.

Alternergy gets P8B in loans for wind project

ALTERNERGY.COM

ALTERNERGY Holdings Corp. through its unit has obtained an P8-billion loan from two local banks for the development of its 112-megawatt (MW) wind project in Rizal province.

Alternergy Tanay Wind Corp. got loans from Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Security Bank Corp., the publicly listed local renewable energy developer said.

The company said the two banks lent P4 billion each, acting as co-lenders for the transaction, while BPI Capital Corp. and SB Capital Investment Corp. acted as joint lead arrangers.

“Their support comes at a critical time as we push forward with accelerated construction to bring our Tanay Wind Power Project into commercial operations by end 2025,” Gerry P. Magbanua, president of Alternergy, said in a statement.

The development of the Tanay wind power project would start in June, Alternergy said, adding that the turbine supply contract had been awarded to Envision Energy. The engineering, procurement, and construction contracts were awarded to China Energy Engineering Group Guangdong Electric Power Design Institute Co. Ltd.

The energy company seeks to develop up to 1,370 MW of renewable energy sources such as onshore and offshore wind, solar and run-of-river hydropower projects.

For the next three years, the company aims to develop up to 474 MW of additional wind, solar and run-of-river hydropower projects.

Alternergy shares closed unchanged at 69 centavos each. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

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