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EU to impose tariffs on Russian grain imports, FT reports

REUTERS

The European Union is preparing to levy tariffs on grain imports from Russia and Belarus to placate farmers and some member states, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday citing people familiar with the plans.

The European Commission is in coming days expected to impose a duty of 95 euros ($103.26) per tonne on cereals from Russia and Belarus, FT said, adding that tariffs of 50% would also be placed on oil seeds and derived products.

The reported move comes as farmers across the European Union call for changes to restrictions placed on them by the bloc’s Green Deal plan to tackle climate change, and for the re-imposition of customs duties on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine that were waived after Russia’s invasion in 2022.

Farmers from neighboring Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, all of which are members of the EU, say the move undercut their prices. Ukraine is not part of the 27-member EU.

Like much of Europe, Poland has also been gripped by protests in recent weeks as farmers demonstrate against EU environmental regulations.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has also called for an EU ban on imports of Russian and Belarusian agricultural products. – Reuters

EU, Philippines resume stalled trade negotiations

REUTERS

BRUSSELS — The European Union and the Philippines said on Monday they would resume negotiations on a free trade agreement as the EU seeks to tap into Asia’s faster economic growth and gain access to critical raw materials.

Free trade negotiations stalled in 2017 over EU concerns about the human rights record of then Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte, who was succeeded in June 2022 by Ferdinand Marcos.

EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis said the bloc welcomed the “positive change of direction” taken by the Philippines’ new administration, while encouraging further progress on human and labour rights.

The European Union is the Philippines’ fourth largest trade partner. Trade in goods was worth 18.4 billion euros ($20 billion) in 2022 and 4.7 billion euros ($5.1 billion) in services in 2021. A trade deal could increase trade by 6 billion euros, Mr. Dombrovskis said.

The EU has targeted agreements with southeast Asian countries and has accords with Singapore and Vietnam and is in negotiations with Indonesia and Thailand.

The EU is eying Filipino raw materials such as nickel, copper and chromite that it needs for its green transition and for which it is currently heavily reliant on China.

The Philippines’ Commissioner for Trade Alfredo Pascual said his country wanted to secure capital and know-how from EU companies to engage in more domestic processing.

His country already benefits from the EU’s tariff-free GSP+ system for developing countries, but aims to rise to upper middle class income status, when GSP+ would no longer apply.

“We want to be able to lock in the benefits of GSP+, plus more,” Mr. Pascual said.

The Philippines currently benefits from tariff-free access to the EU for about two-thirds of products, including coconut oil, vacuum cleaners, tuna and pineapples.

A free trade deal could allow exports of seaweeds, tobacco, wood and ornamental plants, Mr. Pascual said. — Reuters

Bank of Japan ends negative rates, farewells era of radical policy

BANK OF JAPAN Osaka Branch

TOKYO – The Bank of Japan (BOJ) ended eight years of negative interest rates and other remnants of its unorthodox policy on Tuesday, making a historic shift away from a focus of reflating growth with decades of massive monetary stimulus.

While the move was Japan’s first interest rate hike in 17 years, it still keeps rates stuck around zero as a fragile economic recovery forces the central bank to go slow in any further rise in borrowing costs, analysts say.

The shift makes Japan the last central bank to exit negative rates and ends an era in which policymakers around the world sought to prop up growth through cheap money and unconventional monetary tools.

“The BOJ today took its first, tentative step towards policy normalization,” said Frederic Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC in Hong Kong.

“The elimination of negative interest rates in particular signals the BOJ’s confidence that Japan has emerged from the grip of deflation.”

In a widely expected decision, the BOJ ditched a policy put in place since 2016 that applied a 0.1% charge on some excess reserves financial institutions parked with the central bank.

The BOJ set the overnight call rate as its new policy rate and decided to guide it in a range of 0-0.1% partly by paying 0.1% interest to deposits at the central bank.

The central bank also abandoned yield curve control (YCC), a policy that had been in place since 2016 that capped long-term interest rates around zero.

But in a statement announcing the decision, the BOJ said it will keep buying “broadly the same amount” of government bonds as before and ramp up purchases in case yields rise rapidly.

The BOJ additionally decided to discontinue purchases of risky assets like exchange-traded funds (ETF) and Japanese real estate investment trusts.

“We judged that sustainable, stable achievement of our price target came in sight,” the central bank said in a statement explaining the decision to dismantle former Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s massive stimulus program.

With inflation having exceeded the BOJ’s 2% target for well over a year, many market players had projected an end to negative interest rates either in March or April.

In a sign any future rate hike will be moderate, the BOJ said in the statement that it expects “accommodative financial conditions will be maintained for the time being.”

The language compared with the more dovish guidance that was removed from the statement, in which the BOJ pledged to ramp up stimulus as needed, and keep increasing the pace of money printing until inflation stably exceeded 2%.

Japanese shares were volatile on Tuesday. The yen fell JPY=EBS to almost 150 per dollar, as investors took the BOJ’s dovish guidance as a sign the interest rate differential between Japan and the United States likely will not narrow much.

Markets are now focusing on Governor Kazuo Ueda’s post-meeting news conference for clues on the pace of further rate hikes.

The stakes are high. A spike in bond yields would boost the cost of funding Japan’s huge public debt which, at twice the size of its economy, is the largest among advanced economies.

An end to the world’s last remaining provider of cheap funds could also jolt global financial markets as Japanese investors, who amassed overseas investments in search of yields, shift money back to their home country.

Under previous Governor Kuroda, the BOJ deployed a huge asset-buying programme in 2013, originally aimed at firing up inflation to a 2% target within roughly two years.

The central bank introduced negative rates and YCC in 2016 as tepid inflation forced it to tweak its stimulus program to a more sustainable one.

As the yen’s sharp falls pushed up the cost of imports and heightened public criticism over the demerits of Japan’s ultra-low interest rates, however, the BOJ last year tweaked YCC to relax its grip on long-term rates. – Reuters

Indonesia fishing village grapples with piles of trash brought in by tides

STOCK PHOTO | Image by Sergei Tokmakov, Esq. https://Terms.Law from Pixabay

TELUK, Indonesia – Solikah, an Indonesian housewife living in the fishing village of Teluk, was in tears as she pointed to piles of trash strewn on a beach close to her home of 40 years.

Teluk, in the Indonesian province of Banten on the western edge of Java island, has one of the country’s dirtiest beaches as villagers said that heavy rain has led to stronger tides, bringing more trash to shore.

“You can’t predict the weather,” 58-year-old Solikah said.

Indonesia is expecting a milder dry season this year, its meteorological agency said, starting later than usual in May and June for Java.

Fikri Jufri, who leads a community focus on cleaning beaches in Teluk, said the rain had led to the pile-up of trash.

“Every year, the rain and wind carries trash from the sea to the shore,” he said, adding mountains of plastic waste have for years made their way to the sea through rivers, but the tides bring them back ashore.

Biscuit and toothbrush cases, instant noodle packages or even sandals are regularly strewn on the beach, where villagers live on the shore.

Indonesia is one of the world’s biggest contributors of plastic waste that ends up in the sea.

A video of a group of young environmentalists raking up tons of trash in Teluk last year went viral on social media app TikTok.

Despite the waste, the biggest complaint of local fishermen is how the weather unpredictability affects their livelihood.

Jayadi, 33, said high tides during the rains have prevented him from going fishing, lamenting that income will be hit just as his family prepares to celebrate the Islamic Eid al-Fitr festival next month.

“Many villagers will cry because they cannot buy rice if the weather continues like this,” he said. “Last year around this time the sea was calmer, so we could find fish, squids.” – Reuters

US IRS chief sees workforce topping 100,000 within three years

Image of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Building in Washington, DC, showing the quote “Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society” via Adam Fagen/Flickr/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

WASHINGTON – Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Danny Werfel said on Monday that the tax agency will need to boost its workforce to over 100,000 people over the next three years to achieve its modernization, service and enforcement goals and additional funding will be needed to maintain that extra capacity.

Mr. Werfel told reporters on his first anniversary in the IRS’ top job that near-term hiring will focus on improving taxpayer services and on handling complex audits.

He added that the IRS will detail its hiring plans next month in an update to its strategic operating plan for deploying some $60 billion in supplemental funding over a decade from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

“We’re at 90,000 now. I think to get into a right-size position over the next two to three years, we need to be above 100,000, but not that much above 100,000,” Werfel said.

That figure would represent a more than 20,000 full-time-equivalent staff increase over the fiscal 2022 level of 79,070, which was about 9.1% below the 2013 level of 86,974, according to IRS data. IRS employment dipped to 73,519 in 2019 after years of budget cuts, mostly passed by Republican-controlled Congresses.

The overall level of increase in the IRS’ staffing would be far less than Republican accusations that the agency is building an “army” of 87,000 agents, many of them armed. That figure was derived from a 2021 Treasury report that estimated gross hiring needs to overcome a wave of IRS retirements and rebuild the workforce, but it has motivated Republicans to try to claw back funding.

A top-line fiscal 2024 spending agreement is set to cut the original $80 billion in funds back to $60 billion.

As congressional negotiators wrangle over another partial government shutdown deadline on Friday, in the midst of tax filing season, Mr. Werfel warned of potential disruptions for taxpayers in receiving refunds. He said the agency would “work within the law to keep as much open as we can, but we can’t keep everything open.”

 

FUTURE FUNDS

President Joe Biden’s fiscal 2025 proposed budget includes a request for an additional $104 billion in IRS funding, which Werfel said would cover later years of the 10-year budget window. Even though the supplemental funding has been cut by $20 billion, IRS will continue making near-term investments in technology at the current pace, he said.

Mr. Werfel added that there would not be enough funding in the separate, annual operating budget for the IRS to support a “new baseline” for the IRS, with the additional employees, to continue to pursue sophisticated audits and continually upgrade technology.

“So we so if we don’t add funds, then at some point we’re going to hit a cliff and we’re going to have to lose some of that capacity,” he said. – Reuters

Gov’t, SMC-led group ink NAIA deal

San Miguel Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Ang, Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista and Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Eric Jose C. Ines hold copies of the signed concession agreement for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)-Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project in Malacañang, March 18. In the background are (from left) House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin. — PHILIPPINE STAR/KJ ROSALES

By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza and Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporters

THE PHILIPPINES is banking on the multibillion-peso makeover of its major international airport — one of the worst in the world — to boost the economy through increased flights and tourism receipts, according to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

“This undertaking is not just about revenues that will be remitted to the Treasury alone,” he said in a speech during the signing ceremony in Malacañang on Monday. “It is an investment in our future.”

The upgrade of the aging and congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is part of the Marcos government’s push to tap the private sector in improving the nation’s major infrastructure and ease the state’s fiscal burden.

The P170.6-billion public-private partnership (PPP) project, which took a record-breaking six weeks to be awarded to the consortium led by San Miguel Corp. (SMC), will increase the airport’s capacity by 77% to 62 million passengers yearly.

“But we did not sacrifice scrutiny for speed,” Mr. Marcos said. “It was fast, but it was also fastidiously examined at every step of the way. It was open, transparent, and competitive.”

The consortium, composed of San Miguel Holdings Corp.; RMM Asian Logistics, Inc.; RLW Aviation Development, Inc.; and Incheon International Airport Corp. has been given a 15-year concession that can be extended for another 10 years.

The National Government expects to earn P900 billion from the project in those years, or P36 billion a year. This is 20 times bigger than the P1.17 billion remitted by the Manila International Airport Authority annually in the 13 years through 2023, according to the Transportation department.

Efforts to rehabilitate NAIA had been stalled by various issues, denying the Philippine economy in tourism receipts, said Mr. Marcos, citing “bureaucratic inertia, political turbulence, [and] legal wranglings.”

“The reputation of this airport has been shredded, and let us be frank about it, not by bad press, but by its actual poor state,” Mr. Marcos said, noting that “the postponed improvement of the airport has resulted in delayed and reduced number of flights.”

He lamented that NAIA has been operating beyond its capacity for almost a decade.

“And since that is the case, the restoration of this airport should go beyond its physical design and structure,” he said, calling for a “major overhaul.”

Mr. Marcos cited the need to rehabilitate the passenger terminals and airside facilities, develop commercial assets and utility systems, and put up intermodal and inter-terminal transport facilities.

Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto hopes the upgrade will finally help NAIA move from the “list of world’s worst airports to one of the best.”

“[It] aims to address the longstanding challenges of undercapacity, congestion, and underinvestment in the country’s main gateway,” he said in a speech.

The landmark deal, the fastest PPP project to progress from submission to an investment coordination committee for approval to concession agreement signing, sets a precedent for future initiatives between the state and the private sector, PPP Center Executive Director Ma. Cynthia C. Hernandez said in a speech.

NEW TERMINAL
Meanwhile, SMC President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Ang said the consortium, now known as New NAIA Infrastructure Corp., has already secured funds for the NAIA project.

“We have separate funding [from SMC]. The funding has already been committed by the bankers and we have shown the bankers that we are fully financed, fully underwritten,” he said at a media briefing on Monday.

Mr. Ang said the funding source for the project “should not be considered a problem”  as banks, particularly the Sy-led BDO Unibank, Inc. have committed to provide funding.

New NAIA Infrastructure is planning to build a new passenger terminal building with a total capacity of 35 million passengers per year as part of its commitment to decongest the airport.

“In the future we will decongest the airport. Eventually when we build a new passenger terminal and a new multipurpose building with a carpark all of those offices can be relocated to this multipurpose building and it will add 30% more space in our existing terminals,” Mr. Ang said.

Mr. Ang said the proposed building, which will be constructed within three years after the approval of the Transportation department, will feature concourses and boarding bridges to allow seamless and efficient passenger transfers.

“With that signing, the consortium will be able to implement infrastructure projects, reform in the operations, which will redound to the benefit of the riding public,” Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said.

New NAIA Infrastructure will take over the operations of the airport by September.

“From September to next year, in March, I guarantee there will be no vehicular traffic. The Terminals 1 and 2, will be much easier to rehabilitate, starting September it will be under full maintenance,” SMC’s Mr. Ang said.

Analysts said the much-awaited NAIA upgrade will help boost the Philippines’ efforts to attract more tourists, especially as the airport has been consistently ranked among the worst in the world.

“The public is indeed frustrated with the state of our main airport, so any effort to rehabilitate both its services and image would be a major shift in perspective,” said Emy Ruth Gianan, who teaches economics at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

“A more efficient airport would give us an advantage alongside our competitive tourist spots,” she said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

Tourism accounted for 6.2% of the Philippine economic output in 2022, and the government hopes it will be a key driver of the country’s growth goals.

The Southeast Asian nation recorded 5.45 million international visitors in 2023, hitting the 4.8-million target but accounting for only 66% of total arrivals.

Regional airports may follow suit after the Marcos administration’s deal with the SMC-led consortium, said Terry L. Ridon, convenor of InfraWatch PH.

“We are expecting the same fast and efficient processing times in respect to the other regional airports around the country as well, particularly relating to the unsolicited proposal process currently being undertaken by a private proponent,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

However, he noted there could be an increase in terminal fees.

“We are more optimistic that reasonable fees will be imposed during the NAIA concession given that an overwhelming share in revenue will be taken by the government,” he said.

If it happens, the government should delay any price hikes in travel expenses, “first as “compensation” for bad public service and second as a means to generate further interest in domestic tourism,” Ms. Gianan said.

A recent study by British business finance researcher BusinessFinancing.co.uk based on travelers’ accounts ranked NAIA as the fourth-worst airport in Asia for business travelers.

NAIA had been hounded by brownouts in recent years, and a severe power outage on the first day of 2023 jolted its air-traffic control and disrupted over 200 flights.

“The stability, development, and security of an airport represents how capable a country is in positioning itself in an increasingly globalizing world,” said security expert Don Mclain Gill, who teaches international relations at De La Salle University.

A modernized airport should have an “efficient security system that can adapt to emerging threats,” he said via Messenger chat. “This means that a modernized airport security must adopt a risk- based screening and the utilization of advanced technology to ease certain deficiencies in manpower.”

External debt service burden soars to $14.7 billion in 2023

US dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. — REUTERS

THE Philippines’ external debt service burden skyrocketed to $14.752 billion last year, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

Preliminary data from the central bank showed that the country’s debt service burden on its external borrowings surged by 73.9% last year from the $8.483 billion recorded at end-2022.

The debt service burden refers to the amount of money a country needs to pay back its foreign creditors.

As of end-2023, the debt service burden was equivalent to 3.4% of gross domestic product (GDP), higher than the 2.1% ratio as of end-2022.

BSP data showed principal payments climbed by 67.2% to $7.713 billion last year from $4.613 billion as of end-2022.

Interest payments jumped by 81.8% to $7.039 billion last year from $3.871 billion as of end-2022.

Earlier data from the BSP showed that the country’s outstanding external debt hit a record-high $125.4 billion at the end of December. This was higher by 12.7% from $111.3 billion at end-2022 and up by 5.5% from $118.8 billion as of end-September.

The external debt ratio, or share of external debt to GDP, stood at 28.7% in the fourth quarter. This was higher than 28.1% in the third quarter and the 27.5% ratio as of end-2022.

The debt service ratio, or principal and interest payments as a fraction of export receipts and primary income, increased to 10.2% in 2023 from 6.3% in the previous year.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said that the external debt service burden rose sharply due to higher interest rates.

“Higher inflation also bloated some government expenditures and somewhat led to wider budget deficits than otherwise, all of which also led to higher local and foreign debt servicing bill,” he said in a Viber message.

Inflation averaged 6% in 2023, exceeding the central bank’s 2-4% target range.

The BSP was one of the most aggressive central banks in the region last year, as it raised borrowing costs by a total of 450 basis points (bps) from May 2022 to October 2023 to tame inflation. This brought the benchmark rate to near 17-year high of 6.5%.

“For the coming months, possible Fed rate cuts later in 2024 that could be matched locally could help ease the country’s external and local debt service burden in terms of lower interest expenses on foreign and local debts, going forward,” Mr. Ricafort said. — LMJCJ

Baguio City logs highest GDP per capita among provinces, HUCs

WORKERS transport crates at a food market in Baguio City, April 17, 2016. — REUTERS

THE CITY of Baguio posted the highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in 2022 among provinces and highly urbanized cities (HUCs) in the Philippines, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The PSA published on Monday the results of the Provincial Product Accounts (PPA) of the 16 pilot regions outside Metro Manila which covered 82 provinces and 17 HUCs from November to December 2023.

The report showed most of the provinces and HUCs reported higher GDP per capita — the estimated average contribution of an individual to the GDP — in 2022.

The City of Baguio had the highest GDP per capita, which reached P420,016 or 2.3 times higher than the national average of P178,751.

This was followed by the City of Cagayan de Oro with P343,936 GDP per capita and the City of Lapu-Lapu with P313,039.

Completing the top 10 are the City of Iloilo (P306,444), Bataan (P297,930), Cebu (P293,426), Laguna (P287,280), City of Mandaue (P274,376), City of Davao (P258,811), and Batanes (P251,955).

The PSA noted that the rest of the top 10 had also reported GDP per capita higher than the national average of P178,751.

ING Bank N.V. Manila Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said that Baguio had the highest GDP per capita in 2022 can be attributed to the boost in tourist activity as the city reopened.

“Reopening of the economy likely helped bolster economic activity,” he said in a Viber message.

The PPA also showed Aklan recorded the fastest annual growth rate in terms of GDP per capita at 21.5% in 2022.

This was followed by the City of Puerto Princesa with 12.8%, the City of Tacloban with 12.1%, Nueva Vizcaya with 12% and Sorsogon with 11.1%.

Rounding out the top 10 fastest-growing provinces and HUCs were Davao Oriental (11%), City of Lapu-Lapu (11%), Batanes (10.7%), City of Baguio (10.5%), and Zambales (9.6%).

“The top 10 provinces and HUCs recorded growths faster than the national per capita GDP growth rate of 6.2 %,” the PSA said.

The country’s economic output in 2022 stood at 7.6%, the fastest economic growth since the 8.8% expansion in 1976. However, in 2023, GDP was 5.6%, below the government’s full-year target of 6-7%.

In 2023, the Philippines GDP per capita growth stood at 4.3%, reaching P186,496. — Abigail Marie P. Yraola

BIR sets higher income tax, VAT collection goals for 2024

PHILIPPINE STAR/RUSSELL PALMA

THE BUREAU of Internal Revenue (BIR) is aiming to increase income tax and value-added tax (VAT) collections this year amid the government’s efforts to improve tax administration and efficiency.

Data from the BIR showed that more than half or P1.65 trillion of the agency’s P3.055-trillion target this year will come from taxes on net income and profits.

This is 25% higher than the P1.32-trillion target it set for this tax type in 2023, and 18% more than the P1.4-trillion actual collection.

The agency is also targeting to collect P599.2 billion in VAT, which is 11% higher than the P538.1-billion goal for 2023.

Meanwhile, excise tax collections are also expected to reach P326.2 billion this year. This is 2.9% lower than the P336.1-billion target last year, but 11% higher than the P292.981 billion in actual excise tax collection.

The agency is also targeting to collect P163.2 billion in percentage taxes, up by 31% from its P124.6-billion goal last year.

It is also aiming to raise P229.2 billion in other taxes this year under BIR operations.

Under non-BIR operations, the agency is seeking to raise P72.1 billion from net income and profit taxes and P15.9 billion from other taxes.

By implementing office, the BIR is expected to collect P1.84 trillion through the Large Taxpayer Service.

In 2023, BIR collections rose by 7.76% year on year to P2.52 trillion but fell short of its P2.64-trillion target. This was primarily attributed to the change in the schedule of VAT return filings from monthly to quarterly.

The agency collects about 70% of government revenue. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

Converge eyes P17B-19B capex spend in 2024

LISTED fiber internet service provider Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. announced on Monday a plan to allocate P17-19 billion for capital expenditure (capex) budget this year.

“Due to upcoming international subsea cable payments, the inclusion of capital outlays for data centers, and delays in supplier invoices earmarked for 2023 payment, the company now looks to spend P17 billion to P19 billion in cash capex this 2024,” Converge said in a stock exchange disclosure.

For 2024, the majority of the company’s capex budget is allocated to investments in two international subsea cable systems, namely the Bifrost Cable System and the Asia Pacific South-East Asia Hainan-Hongkong Express (SEA-H2X) Submarine Cable System, Converge Chief Executive Officer Dennis Anthony H. Uy said during a briefing.

“The Bifrost cable… our landing stations are ready. They are laying cable now from Singapore to Davao. Hopefully by the end of the year, it is up. We are preparing the payment for that. The other one is the ongoing construction from Hong Kong branching to Philippines going to Singapore. This is inter-Asia,” Mr. Uy said.

“But traditionally, we still keep some for upgrade and network resiliency. Majority is still on the two deep-sea cables,” he added.

Bifrost is a transpacific cable system connecting Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Guam, and the west coast of the United States, while SEA-H2X is a submarine cable system connecting Hong Kong SAR China, Hainan China, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Last year, the company’s capex stood at P9 billion, Converge Deputy Chief Finance Officer Christine Renee R. Blabagno said during a virtual briefing. Most of this budget was allocated to outside plant, inside plant, and customer premise equipment, she added.

Some P3 billion worth of capex in 2023 was also carried over to 2024 “due to late invoices received from submarine cable contractors and delays in construction for some assets.”

For 2023, Converge posted a 22.3% growth in its net income to P9.1 billion as consolidated revenues surged by 5% to P35.4 billion.

Residential revenues rose by 3% to P30.28 billion from P29.46 billion in 2022 as full-year net additional subscribers rose 35% to 250,691.

“In 2023, we have consistently upheld momentum for our newly launched products Surf2Sawa and BIDA Fiber, supported by the consistent growth in our flagship brand FiberX, especially in the fourth quarter,” Mr. Uy said.

The company’s enterprise revenues also climbed by 20% to P5.1 billion from P4.23 billion in 2022. All of its enterprise segments saw double-digit growth, led by the small and medium enterprise segment with 34.9%, wholesale segment at 14%, and enterprises and corporate at 13%.

The internet provider ended 2023 with a total of 2,128,052 subscribers. This is comprised of 2,013,216 postpaid subscribers and 114,836 prepaid subscribers

 Converge President and Co-Founder Maria Grace Y. Uy said the company is anticipating a “better outlook” in 2024 as it aims to grow revenues by 7-8%.

“We are hoping to grow the revenue. Last year, we only grew by 5%… We are aiming a revenue growth of 7-8% for 2024. We expect the growth in residential businesses…,” she said.

Converge also plans to leverage omnichannel marketing and expand its sales partner coverage to enhance its residential business.

“To provide enterprise clients with a seamless customer experience, the company intends to take a more proactive account management approach and widen its product offering by exploring non-connectivity solutions,” it said.

On Monday, Converge shares rose by 3.02% or 26 centavos to P8.86 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Solaire Resort in Quezon City to open in May

SOLAIRERESORT.COM

RAZON-LED Bloomberry Resorts Corp. on Monday said its Solaire Resort North project in Quezon City is expected to formally open in late May.

The upcoming resort is a $1-billion investment and will be Bloomberry’s second integrated resort under the Solaire brand, joining Solaire Resort Entertainment City in Parañaque City, the listed company said in a statement.

Solaire Resort North, spanning 1.5 hectares, boasts 38 floors and was designed by architecture firms Aedas and Casas+Architects. Its interiors were crafted by the Habitus Design Group.

Bloomberry said that Solaire Resort North has created 4,200 direct employment opportunities. It is the first five-star destination in the city.

“With Solaire Resort North, we uphold the same mission in the hope that the property’ presence and operation will support Quezon City’s endeavors to enhance and promote tourism, generate employment for Filipinos, and further attract opportunities for economic and social investments,” Bloomberry Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Enrique K. Razon, Jr. said.

“At the same time, we anticipate that our presence in Quezon City will positively impact our growth, widen our market footprint, and reinforce our brand’s strength,” he added.

Solaire Resort North has 526 guest rooms and suites, 2,669 electronic gaming machines, and 163 tables across four casino levels. It also houses various signature restaurants including Italian cuisine at Finestra Italian Steakhouse, Japanese delicacies at Yakumi, and Chinese fare at Red Lantern.

The resort will also have casual dining options featuring regional Filipino, Asian, and international flavors, as well as bars and lounges that have a wide selection of spirits and cocktails, the company said.

Solaire Resort North will feature event venues, spa, saunas, plunge pools, gym, pool area for children, an interactive kids club, and a curated art program and display.

“Quezon City is a highly urbanized city with a population largely comprised of locals with a wide range of demographic interests. We saw an opportunity to provide more exclusive experiences not just to our existing Northern clientele but to a larger untapped market,” Bloomberry, Solaire Resort Entertainment City, and Solaire Resort North President and Chief Operating Officer Thomas Arasi said.

“We want to bring the signature Solaire experience closer to our valued guests, and introduce what and who we are as a brand to a larger audience,” he added.

Bloomberry saw an 85% growth in its 2023 net income to P9.5 billion. Consolidated net revenue also rose by 24% to P48.4 billion.

Aside from Solaire Resort North and Solaire Resort Entertainment, Bloomberry also owns and operates Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino in South Korea.

Bloomberry previously confirmed that it is open to selling its stake in Jeju Sun. The company said there is growing interest in the property, but clarified that there is no imminent deal yet with its sale.

On Monday, Bloomberry shares fell by 0.52% or six centavos to P11.50 each. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

First Gen expects 400 MW from Nueva Ecija hydro facilities by 2028

LOPEZ-LED First Gen Corp. said it expects a capacity of about 400 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy from its hydropower facilities in Nueva Ecija by 2028.

The capacity will come from the 132-MW Pantabangan-Masiway hydroelectric power plant (HEPP), the 165-MW Casecnan HEPP, and the planned 100-120-MW Aya pumped-storage hydropower project, First Gen Senior Vice-President Dennis P. Gonzales told reporters on Monday.

“The whole complex actually goes up to 400 MW of clean renewable hydro capacity and all that is to help augment the power requirements of the country,“ he said.

Last month, Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) handed over the operations of the Casecnan hydro facilities to First Gen’s subsidiary, Fresh River Lakes Corp. (FRLC).

In May 2023, PSALM secured the highest bid from FRLC with a price of $526 million, higher than the minimum bid price of $227.27 million.

The Casecnan hydro is a run-of-river type of power facility that generates energy by diverting water from the Casecnan and Taan rivers through a 26-kilometer-long tunnel.

Meanwhile, the 132-MW Pantabangan-Masiway HEPP is owned by the First Gen Hydro Power Corp., another subsidiary of the Lopez-led energy company.

The proposed pumped-storage hydropower project is waiting for the go signal from the NIA, Mr. Gonzales said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

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