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No more minimum commission for stockbrokers — SEC

UNSPLASH

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Wednesday a decision to remove the minimum commission that stockbrokers may charge their customers, aiming to stimulate activity within the capital market.

“The new rule allows brokers to set their own commission schedule for transactions with their customers, without the limitations of a prescribed regulatory minimum commission,” the SEC said in a statement, citing its Memorandum Circular No. 7 issued on April 16.

Before this circular, the SEC had issued a resolution in 1977 setting a broker’s commission rate at 1.5%, while guidelines from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) mandated a minimum commission ranging from 0.25% to 0.05% of the value of a trade transaction.

  “Lower transaction costs are vital in encouraging the public to invest their money in the stock market. The removal of the minimum stockbroker’s commission seeks to address this, and hopefully bring out more retail investors and spur trading activity,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said.

“The SEC will continue to review existing rules and regulations to see areas where we can make improvements to achieve our goal of boosting the capital market,” he added.

The regulator noted that the removal of the minimum commission considered the rise of online trading platforms, which allow for more cost-efficient transactions.

“It also takes cues from other neighboring jurisdictions, which do not prescribe a minimum stockbroker’s commission. The new rule likewise seeks to empower the investing public to engage the services of a broker of their choice based on cost preference,” the SEC said.

Sought for comment, China Bank Capital Corp. Managing Director Juan Paolo E. Colet said in a Viber message that the new rule increases competition.

“The liberalization of brokerage commissions is a significant reform that will create more competition among PSE trading participants and should help reduce the cost of investing in listed equities. It may also lead to more active trading and better liquidity in certain stocks,” he said.

COL Financial Group, Inc. Chief Equity Strategist April Lynn Lee-Tan said: “Clients can’t expect good service if commissions drop. Maybe some services that were free before like research reports will no longer be free, or brokers that provide better service can charge higher rates.”

“As to whether or not this will boost volumes, it’s a bit secondary, because if market conditions are poor, even if commissions are zero, volumes will not pick up,” she added. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Filinvest REIT eyes acquisitions to bolster portfolio

FILINVESTREIT.COM

THE GOTIANUN family’s Filinvest REIT Corp. on Wednesday announced plans for potential property acquisitions.

“Our sponsor, Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI) alone, has about 532,000 square meters (sq.m.) of office and retail gross leasable area (GLA) in key central business districts that are potential acquisitions for Filinvest REIT in the near to medium term,” Filinvest REIT President and Chief Executive Officer Maricel Brion-Lirio said during the company’s virtual annual stockholders meeting.

“Potential acquisitions can also come from the pipeline of assets that are owned by our sponsor’s parent company, Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC),” she added.

Filinvest REIT is the real estate investment trust of FLI.

Ms. Lirio said that Filinvest REIT will focus both on increasing the occupancy of its current portfolio as well as acquiring assets from other Filinvest companies via property-for-share swap deals.

“There are several identified assets but are dependent on a favorable exchange price to enable a property-for-share swap that is dividend-accretive for Filinvest REIT investors,” she added.

She also noted that six properties have secured Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiency certifications. These include Vector One, Vector Two, Plaza A, Plaza D, Filinvest One, Filinvest Two, and Filinvest Three.

“We will continue to step up our efforts to reduce Filinvest REIT’s environmental footprint. We believe that it’s an important commitment on our part to contribute to the conservation of the environment…,” she said.

In 2023, Filinvest REIT logged a P1.74 billion net income, a turnaround from the P660.75 million net loss the prior year. Its revenues fell by 7.7% to P2.99 billion.

The company ended 2023 with an average occupancy rate of 83%. New leases reached 20,139 sq.m. including 4,512 sq.m. of new traditional tenants.

Filinvest REIT has 17 fully operational Grade A office buildings and over 330,400 sq.m. of GLA.

“In terms of tenant retention, 31,835 sq.m. or 77% of 41,110 sq.m. of expiring leases in 2023 were renewed,” she said.

“This led to a significant improvement in weighted average lease expiry to 6.91 years as renewals and new leases for the year have set in, plus the addition of Crimson Boracay to the portfolio. The Crimson Boracay lot, which comprises 9% of the total gross leasable area, has a 40-year lease,” she added.

On Wednesday, Filinvest REIT shares fell by 1.72% or five centavos to P2.85 apiece. FLI stocks were unchanged at 67 centavos each. FDC shares were also unchanged at P5.67 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

SPNEC says net income reaches P5.7 billion

SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC) posted a P5.7-billion attributable net income for 2023 driven by expansion of assets, the company announced on Wednesday.

The company recorded a net loss of P40.41 million over a six-month period in 2022, SPNEC said in its regulatory filing.

SPNEC changed the fiscal year-end from June 30 to Dec. 31 during its 2022 annual stockholders’ meeting.

“This marks SPNEC’s first financial report following the entry of Pangilinan-led Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) in the company,” the company said in a statement.

“The numbers reflect the growth resulting from Meralco’s investment in SPNEC, as it gears up to build the P200-billion Terra Solar project,” it added.

SPNEC’s total revenues from contracts with customers stood at P635.45 million. Broken down, sales of electricity reached P619.25 million while sales of installed services were at P16.2 million.

As of end-2023, the company said that its assets increased to P51.2 billion, up from P5.8 billion a year ago.  Its equity also rose to P42.4 billion from P5.8 billion previously.

In December of last year, MGen Renewable Energy (MGreen) completed its P15.9-billion investment, resulting in a 50.5% voting interest in SPNEC.

MGreen has also acquired additional 2.17 billion shares of SPNEC from Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings, Inc. in January for P2.5 billion.

MGreen is the renewable energy development arm of Meralco Powergen Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Meralco.

SPNEC is developing the Terra Solar project in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan which consists of 3,500 megawatts of solar panels and 4,000 megawatt-hours of battery storage system. 

The first phase of the project is scheduled to be delivered by the first quarter of 2026.

It has secured over 3,000 hectares for its projects, most of which have already been converted to industrial use.

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Going way, way beyond ‘Bahay Kubo’

BALBACUA

A collaboration between Belmont Hotel and Lokalpedia presents some truly indigenous dishes

By Joseph L. Garcia, Senior Reporter

For a Filipino, the idea of a Filipino food buffet is rarely a reason to be excited. We have this food at home. However, a collaboration between Belmont Hotel Manila in Newport World Resorts and Lokalpedia, a one-man archivist of local ingredients, proves that Filipino food can still be exciting.

It is, however, for quite a sad reason: we actually know very little about it. It took a dinner at the hotel’s Cafe Belmont Manila on April 11 (right in the middle of Filipino Food Month) to introduce us to ingredients that in a better world, would not have needed any introductions.

Oh sure, we grew up eating sinigang, and nilaga, and kare-kare; and we grew up listening to “Bahay Kubo,” a folk song that lists vegetables — yet, John Sherwin Felix, the lone person behind Lokalpedia on Facebook and Instagram, told us, much to our surprise, that none of the 18 crops mentioned in “Bahay Kubo” are native to the archipelago. A lot of them come from the various colonial trade routes that have passed through the Philippines.

In a buffet series running through all weekends of April and May called Pamana, Mr. Felix, in partnership with Belmont Hotel Manila’s Executive Chef Andrew Ko, used indigenous ingredients to provide a taste of as close to essential as Filipino food can be.

Part of the spread included kansi, the popular Western Visayas sour soup made of beef shanks and jackfruit, and soured with the use of batwan — an endemic species of fruit bearing tree most commonly found in Western and Eastern Visayas; its leaves are used as a souring agent. Ensaladang Himbabao sa Sinamak features the indigenous vegetable himbabao: trees native to the Philippines distinct for its hanging floral spikelet. They are prominently found in Northern Luzon but rarely seen in public markets outside the region. A Kinilaw na Tuna used gamet, langkawas, and sampaguita. Gamet is a marine algae mostly found in Ilocos and Cagayan that offers an umami taste. Its harvest procedure is hazardous and seasonal as it can only be gathered during the colder season of the year when the waves are big and the winds are strong.

Etag, a sort of native preserved meat, is cured, then smoked or sun-dried by the Cordillera natives, and was used as a flavoring in many of the dishes present, including the Cordillera chicken soup pinikpikan (where the chicken is roughed up a bit to induce internal bleeding, thus making the meat tastier). Aside from that dish, our other favorite was the balbacua, a Filipino beef stew, made of assorted body parts, but especially the cow’s skin and face, cooked for several hours in various spices. In this version, Mr. Ko incorporated kalingag — native cinnamon. Paired with white rice, it made one feel like a king. We had bitter cacao tarts sweetened with balikutsa (a candy and sweetener made from sugarcane juice in Ilocos) and asin tibuok ice cream for dessert: the artisanal salt, made in an ovoid shape, is shaved over caramel ice cream, giving just a whisper of smokiness.

LOKALPEDIA

Mr. Felix hails from Occidental Mindoro, from a household that preferred slow cooking. He doesn’t have memories of his family using sinigang (sour soup) mix in the kitchen, and in fact, his mother had once scolded him for using pandan (screwpine) extract instead of pandan leaves in a recipe. He was working in PR when the pandemic changed his plans. Living in a home with good cooks, each family member tried to best each other at cooking, and Mr. Felix tried to play the game by using obscure Filipino ingredients. In his search for these ingredients, he would photograph and document them, until he decided to resign from the corporate world and do that full time.

“When I realized that I could make a change (from) this project, I resigned,” he said in English and Filipino. “During my journey, I got to discover my Filipino identity more.”

It’s not an easy life. He joked that having to go to far-off local and indigenous communities, he would have a hard time reaching out to them. “Hindi ako artista, hindi ako government (I’m not a celebrity, nor do I work for the government),” he said in a mixture of English and Filipino. “But when they see that your intentions are genuine, they will welcome you into their community.”

More than that, Mr. Felix feels deeply for the people from whom he learns about the native ingredients. As an erstwhile student activist, he said, “I know the plight of the farmers; the current system of our food landscape.”

He talked about a trip he made to Palawan. “You see the beauty of the Philippines… but you also see the other side of it.” His then-guide’s partner died of malaria a few weeks after he concluded his documentation trip in Palawan.

Hindi sila naaabutan ng gamot, ng medical supplies… wala akong magawa (they couldn’t access medicines or medical supplies… there was nothing I could do).”

Mr. Felix points out that food is political — the course of planting crops, importation, procurement; all of the processes that bring food to the table — are influenced by movements in the political sphere. For example, a lot of the ingredients he has discovered (rather, rediscovered) are in danger of getting lost, because a lot of the producers would much rather plant, make, or do something else which is more profitable. Meanwhile, a lot of the wild and indigenous species that should be in our kitchens are becoming rarer because of deforestation, pollution, and climate change.

Frankly, with what seems to be a global-sized fist punching down, it feels like there’s not much we can do. But Mr. Felix is not giving up. “Most of the time, it’s just a knowledge gap. Biodiversity. Kahit sa backyard mo, merong makakain diyan (even in your backyard, there would be something you can eat),” he said. “You need to diversify your plate. When you diversify your plate, what gets produced also becomes more diversified,” he said in English and Filipino. By doing this, one can become an advocate of wild species and indigenous produce: “You also advocate for the rise of indigenous peoples, and the welfare of the forest,” he said.

Finally, mindful eating creates demand. In English and Filipino, he said, “What we put on our plate is what our farmers will produce.”

Not all the dishes were to our liking (mostly due to an aversion to coconut and sour tastes). For someone who thinks that way, a lot of what Mr. Felix advocates can disappear tomorrow, and a lot of people wouldn’t care. I’ve never met this nut, or this leaf, or this flower; my favorite fruits come in a can. With so much happening in the world, is everything worth saving? What do we lose when we lose a flavor, just one of many?

“We just view ingredients as ingredients,” he said in English and Filipino. “What surrounds an ingredient is the practice, the rituals, the language. The recipes; the memories.

Hindi lang sangkap ang nawawala (not just the ingredient are lost).”

It’s a bit much for an individual to carry, and we do wish him luck. He gave us tips on what we can do to help him. But of course, there are higher powers that could make the mission to document and preserve our culinary heritage a bit easier — but more importantly, improve the lives of the people who make our food. Asked after dinner how the government can help, he said, “Tumino sila.” (“They should do better.”)

The Pamana dinner buffet will be available at Belmont Hotel Manila’s Café Belmont every Friday and Saturday of April and May from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. for P1,450 per person. Children six to 12 years old can dine for 50% off and children five years old below eat free of charge. For reservations, call 5318-8888 or e-mail dine@belmontmanila.com. Get to know more about Lokalpedia and support its advocacy by following @lokalpediaph on Instagram and @LocalFoodHeritagePH in Facebook.

Fruitas raises P200M via private placement of corporate notes

BW FILE PHOTO

LISTED food and beverage store operator Fruitas Holdings, Inc. has concluded its first private placement of corporate notes, raising P200 million.

The proceeds will be allocated for working capital requirements and general corporate purposes, Fruitas said in a stock exchange disclosure on Wednesday.

The corporate notes were issued to qualified individual or institutional buyers, with no more than 19 primary institutional lenders participating, the company added.

The issuance had a full take-up of the maximum amount set by Fruitas. It was arranged by RCBC Capital Corp.

“This notes issuance provides a new financing source which will empower House of Fruitas to expand its product offerings and access a broader customer base,” Fruitas President and Chief Executive Officer Lester C. Yu said.

In 2023, Fruitas saw a 37% increase in its consolidated net income to P113 million as revenues soared by 37% to an all-time high of P2.47 billion.

 Fruitas has 817 stores as of end-2023. Its brands include Fruitas! Fresh from Babot’s Farm, Buko Loco, Balai Pandesal, Buko ni Fruitas, De Original Jamaican Pattie, Johnn Lemon, Juice Avenue, Black Pearl, Friends Fries, Sabroso Lechon, Ling Nam, and Fly Kitchen.

On Wednesday, Fruitas shares rose by 3.9% or three centavos to 80 centavos apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Revisiting an unusual love story behind Japanese whisky

The Whisky Range at the Nikka Distillery.

HOKKAIDO, Japan — The first Nikka Distillery, established in 1934, is located in Yoichi, some 58 kilometers west of Sapporo, the main city of the Hokkaido prefecture. Nikka Distillery’s founder, Masataka Taketsuru, is known as the father of Japanese whisky.

He started Japan’s pioneering whiskey manufacturer, Yamazaki Distillery, in 1923.

HOW ONE MAN ESTABLISHED JAPANESE WHISKY
Japanese whisky had its fairy-tale like origin with the exploits of Masataka Taketsuru.

Taketsuru was born in 1894 to a traditional sake brewery family, that brewery existed since 1733. He took up Chemistry in Osaka Technical school, presumably to join the family business. In 1916, Taketsuru ended up working for a sake and shochu distillery, the Settsu Shuzo company, also in Osaka. In 1918, he was given an extremely rare opportunity to go to Scotland to learn about whisky-making by his employer, with the original intention being duplicating Scotch whisky in Japan.

In Scotland, Taketsuru enrolled at the University of Glasgow, majoring in Chemistry. And for three years, he also did apprenticeships with different whisky distilleries learning first-hand the art and science of malt whisky, grain whisky, and blending.

It was also during this time that Taketsuru would meet and fall in love with his future wife, the Scotswoman Jessica Roberta “Rita” Cowan, whom he married in 1920. Inter-racial marriage was not common then and was frowned upon.

Later that year, Taketsuru returned to Japan with his new wife, but the Settsu Shuzo company no longer had the resources or vision to push through with their whisky production. He left Settsu Shuzo in 1922 and became a teacher for a short period of time. In 1923, another whisky pioneer, Shinjiro Torri of Kotobukiya Limited (later renamed Suntory) employed Taketsuru and together they build Japan’s first distillery in Yamazaki, located at the foot of Mount Tennozan in southwestern Kyoto.

Taketsuru would later leave Suntory to pursue his dream of building his own distillery. In 1934, he established Dainipponkaju, later Nikka Whisky, building its first distillery in Yoichi, Hokkaido. Despite the inconvenience of the location especially during that period, Taketsuru considered Yoichi to be the most similar are to the Highlands of Scotland and was convinced that he found the best site and water source to make the best whiskies in Japan.

The rest, as they say, is history.

INITIALLY A ‘ME-TOO’ PRODUCT
With Masataka Taketsuru at the helm initially in Yamazaki and then eventually in his own Nikka Distillery, Japanese whisky was very much patterned after Scotch — made as malt whisky or grain whisky, twice distilled, and using pot stills. The spelling is also therefore like that of Scotch whisky, thus the missing “e” versus that of Irish whiskey and American whiskey (bourbon).

While Scotch whisky has an over three century head start against the Japanese whisky, the quality of the Japanese versions has been improving very fast in a relatively short period of time, and this came with their own production innovations which Japanese people are known for.

BEATING THE SCOTS AT THEIR OWN GAME
Japanese whiskies have been extremely successful against their Scottish counterparts at the blind tasting challenges of the UK-based industry authority Whisky Magazine. In these whisky blind tastings, Japanese aged single malts are pitted against their Scottish counterparts, and the Nikkas and Yamazakis often come out scoring very well.

Way back in 2001, the Nikka Single Cask 10 Years was awarded the “Best of the Best” by the same Whisky Magazine. Nikka Single Cask 10 Years beat hundreds of whiskies from around the world, marking the first time a Japanese whisky ever topped this annual competition. This may have been the catalyst in the ascending recognition of Japanese whiskies and its’ growing global demand.

The London-based International Spirits Challenge, one of the most prestigious competitions — held annually since 1995 — also named Nikka Distillery “Distillery of the year” in 2015.

At present, there is a huge shortage of Japanese whiskies older than 12 years as both domestic and worldwide demand has been unprecedented.

The two largest Japanese whisky brands, Nikka (owned by the Asahi Group) and Yamazaki (owned by the Suntory Group), are at the forefront of this fame.

TV EXPOSURE BOOSTS WHISKY SALES
In 2014, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, released a new asadora — a Japanese morning drama series — called Massan. Asadoras are broadcast in Japan Mondays through Saturdays on NHK General TV from 8 to 8:15 a.m., with replays on the same day from 12:45 to 1 p.m.

Massan was based on the story of Masataka Taketsuru but it used fictitious names. The drama depicted the marriage between a Japanese whisky genius and his Scottish wife in traditional Japan. Massan was an immediate hit, sending NHK ratings to new heights while captivating Japanese female viewership. Massan also marked the first time that NHK had to a hire a foreign actress, American Charlotte Kate Fox, to the play the character that resembled Rita Cowan-Taketsuro.

The asadora had a run of 150 episodes from Sept. 29, 2014, till March 28, 2015.

Japanese women seen drinking whiskies increased exponentially, and many believed the NHK’s Massan series was a huge reason why.

Coincidentally, Japanese whisky got a further boost during this period when demigod British whisky writer Jim Murray (Jim Murray is to whisky what Robert Parker is to wine) named the Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 as “World Whisky of the Year” in his highly recognized Whisky Bible book. Japanese whisky had indeed arrived!

The love story between Masataka Taketsuro and spouse Rita may have influenced Japanese women to drink whisky, but the real romance lies in the quality of Japanese whiskies that endeared them to whisky lovers the world over. With Japanese whiskies very much in demand, and Nikka whiskies’ continuing phenomenal popularity, it is no surprise that — finally — the Philippines has an official importer/distributor in the recently appointed Grand Cru Wines & Spirits, Inc.

Grand Cru Wines and Spirits, Inc.’s appointment was announced by La Maison du Whisky (LMDW) Asia-Pacific, the regional South-East Asia distributor for Nikka Distillery. This is a very smart move by LMDW as Grand Cru Wines & Spirits is also the franchise holder of the hugely successful annual event, Whisky Live Manila.

For inquiries on Nikka whiskies, you can contact them at (02) 8518-0131 or e-mail then through sandy.morales@grandcru.com.ph.

 

Sherwin Lao is the first Filipino wine writer member of both the Bordeaux-based Federation Internationale des Journalists et Ecrivains du Vin et des Spiritueux (FIJEV) and the UK-based Circle of Wine Writers (CWW). For comments, inquiries, wine event coverage, wine consultancy and other wine related concerns, e-mail the author at wineprotege@gmail.com, or check his wine training website https://thewinetrainingcamp.wordpress.com/services

Switches vs touch screens

SAMUELE ERRICO PICCARINI-UNSPLASH

The idea of transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs) for everyday use is gaining traction for me, driven by two main factors: improvements in EV range and usability, and the prospect of lower operating and maintenance costs. Recent discussions with dealerships regarding warranties and after-sales support have also provided additional reassurance.

It all began with a test drive last year, when I got behind the wheel of a fully electric Audi Q8 and navigated it through some water at wading depth. This experience boosted my confidence in EVs’ ability to handle Phil-ippine roads. Reports about logistics companies shifting to EV fleets have also reinforced my belief in the feasibility and practicality of EV adoption.

Despite the current higher price tag of EVs compared to traditional cars, hybrids emerge as a more practical alternative, especially for households limited to owning just one vehicle. Additionally, the exemption from number coding until 2030 for both EVs and hybrids serves as a compelling incentive for one who lives in Makati City, where there are no coding window hours.

The Audi Q8 tryout, courtesy of former BusinessWorld colleague Brian Afuang, also highlighted to me the impact of technology on modern motoring. As I commented in a previous column, with so much high technology in cars nowadays, it was only last year — after over 36 years of motoring — that the driving experience has become totally different for me: I felt a lot less in control.

To an extent, modern cars now feel more like driving a smartphone. While computers controlled mostly engine functions in the past, they now control most everything else in vehicles save for the steering wheel itself. Self-driving cars exist, units that run on autopilot, but they are not prevalent yet here on our shores.

It was thus unsurprising, at least to me, that there is now an ongoing debate over the use of touch controls in modern cars. And recent developments suggest that the era of touch controls may soon be on the reverse. Some studies underscore concerns about cars becoming excessively high-tech, particularly due to the proliferation of large in-car touch screens.

Touch screens have raised safety apprehensions, prompting pressure on automakers to reintroduce physical controls just so they can keep the highest safety ratings. Organizations like Euro NCAP or the European New Car Assessment Program have decided to put the brakes on high technology by lowering the safety ratings of vehicles lacking essential traditional controls for items like turn signals and hazard lights.

The issue is how touch screens and touch controls tend to distract drivers, thus the seeming endorsement of the safety advantages offered by intuitive physical controls. Some automakers are said to be reintegrating more traditional controls into their vehicles or are opting to maintain straightforward layouts with dashboard shortcuts.

Overcompensating is also a possibility, with some car makers reportedly ending up with an abundance of buttons and knobs. Balance is still the aim, however, by incorporating customizable screens with physical switches or dials. Frankly, despite the Euro NCAP initiative, I believe that touch screens will continue to remain a common feature of modern-day vehicles.

One can understand Euro NCAP’s concern over possible safety hazards associated with excessive touchscreen use, particularly the need to take the driver’s hand off the wheel and his or her eyes off the road. Bringing back physical switches or controls may aim to prioritize safety, but in my opinion, this will not necessarily reduce driver distraction.

Then there are insinuations that touch screen controls are cheaper to produce and easier to install than traditional switches and controls. In a way, they favor manufacturers as they can be more efficient as well with elec-tricity usage, with their electronic components requiring low voltage and low current. This allows the production of smaller and lighter, and perhaps cheaper, vehicles.

But if a carmaker is particular about keeping or improving safety ratings, in the hope that the high rating will help sell more vehicles and at the same time reduce manufacturer liability, then a return to buttons and dials may be the course. But, if carmakers are confident of the safety of their vehicles despite the use of touch screens, then not much may be expected by way of design changes.

Of course, given economies of scale, and production efficiencies, global brands will not be inclined to produce cars specific only to the Euro market. Separate interiors for different regions will not be practical. So, if Euro cars undergo changes, then this might affect non-Euro cars as well. For sure, global car makers will move to strike a balance between high-tech and traditional controls.

The Euro NCAP initiative will certainly impact the future of touch controls. At the very least, in-car interfaces will undergo greater scrutiny. Touch-screen related failures and accidents will be monitored and reviewed. Other than safety, consumer preference for capacitive touch buttons or tactile controls will also be considered in the light of design, modernity, and usability.

But given changes in preferences particularly among younger consumers, and the shift to touch controls for most everything else, I reckon that touch screens will continue to be a central feature of modern car design. What can emerge from all this is a more balanced approach that incorporates touch controls with necessary physical buttons.

The industry will go through a transition, yet again. And the future of in-car controls is likely to be shaped by a combination of safety considerations, consumer preferences, and technological innovation. Car design has been evolving since the first mass-produced automobile rolled off the Ford factory in 1908. And it will continue to change with the times, for sure.

 

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

matort@yahoo.com

Special dinner showcases 2 chefs’ philosophies of food and self

DON PAPA, the Filipino rum making waves abroad, welcomed two chefs and three bartenders from the United Kingdom (UK) for the Dos Chefs and Tres Papas takeover at Poblacion’s Lampara restaurant.

Andrew Clarke is a multi-awarded chef known for his innovations around meat and barbeque, specifically. He is regarded as a mover of the industry, having been in the UK food scene for 25 years. In 2017, he was named the Maverick of the Year at the London Restaurant Festival. Then in 2019, he was honored to receive the Innovation Award from the Craft Guild of Chefs, and later that year he made his way onto the Evening Standard’s Progress 1000 list as one of the most influential Londoners of 2019/2020. He and a partner are behind Acme Fire Cult, which serves up food cooked over live fire.

During dinner on April 13, Mr. Clarke served a main dish made of roast pork, clams, cauliflower, salsa macha, tamarind, and prunes, grilled cabbage, longganisa (local sausage) vinaigrette, capers, and herbs. For his preferred cooking method of live fire (defined as cooking with fire from coals, woods, or open flame), “I think there’s a lot of nuances that you just can’t get in a conventional kitchen. The smoke, the char — you can exceed temperatures that you’re not going to get in a conventional kitchen,” he said. “It’s very primal. It’s the original way we cooked food.”

Mr. Clarke worked that evening with Ferdinand “Budgie” Montoya, a Filipino-Australian champion of Filipino cuisine in London and the lead of the Apoy and Sarap restaurants. The Evening Standard called him “one of London’s most exciting chefs” last year. Furthermore, his recipes have been printed in The Guardian and The Financial Times, among other publications. Both chefs had just concluded a tour of the Philippines, their stops including Bacolod and Negros.

For dinner, Mr. Montoya made Lapu-Lapu and Suahe (prawns) wrapped in Mustasa (mustard greens) in a spicy coconut sauce. He was also in charge of dessert, a Burnt Cassava Cheesecake with Don Papa Caramel, a riff of his mother’s own cassava cake.

Mr. Montoya was raised in Sydney by Filipino parents (although his mother later married a Spaniard). After having a very satisfying dinner at The Fat Duck, Mr. Montoya left a career in information technology (IT) to pursue cooking, which he did when he moved to London 12 years ago (he’s just about to get his UK citizenship, he told us). He first found work at Dean Street Townhouse, then at Restaurant Story, and stints in other restaurants. He shifted to Filipino food because, “I was missing home a little bit.”

He told us the experience of having to reacquaint himself with food he “should” know, as well as the experience of cooking Filipino food with “foreign” hands. “I’ve always said that I have a Filipino soul but I have an Australian heart. I’m neither whole Filipino, and I’m neither whole Australian,” he said. “It’s a very emotional thing for me. I am a person who believes very much that I am Filipino with foreign experiences. Inherently, the food that I do cook in its sole and true identity is Filipino, with interpretations and touches from my experiences.”

Dinner ended with cocktails from a one-night only special menu at Oto, a floor below Lampara, curated by Diageo’s World Class competition winner Matt Arnold, Hoot The Redeemer’s Carrie Smith, as well as Don Papa Rum’s UK Brand Ambassador Callum Whitehead. These included The Irn Papa (Irn-Bru is a Scottish soda, mixed with Don Papa), Short & Stout (a Guinness caramel reduction with Don Papa), and the Wimbledon Blitz, with British strawberries. — JLG

Motion to lift cease and desist order vs MFT Group denied — regulator

The cease-and-desist order (CDO) issued against Maria Francesca F. Tan (MFT) Group of Companies, Inc. and Foundry Ventures I, Inc. has been made permanent, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Wednesday.

The Commission En Banc denied the omnibus motion filed by the MFT Group due to lack of merit, the SEC said in a statement.

It also denied the motion to lift the CDO filed by Foundry Ventures for lack of merit, it added.

“Under the resolution, the CDO against the MFT Group and Foundry Ventures was declared permanent with respect to the execution and issuance of new loan agreements and checks/promissory notes, which are securities in the form of investment contracts and/or evidence of indebtedness, without the necessary secondary license from the SEC,” it said.

The CDO was issued on Jan. 16 after the MFT Group, which later on transitioned to Foundry Ventures, was found to have engaged in the unlawful solicitation, offer, and/or sale of securities in the form of investment contracts without the necessary license from the SEC.

“The MFT Group organized public events where it solicited investments supposedly for start-up companies in exchange for a guaranteed return ranging from 12% to 18% per annum. For this purpose, the MFT Group issued postdated checks but the amounts indicated therein were not paid,” the SEC said.

“While registered as corporations, MFT Group of Companies and Foundry Ventures have not secured the required secondary license in the form of an approved registration statement and a permit to sell securities to the public, as required under Section 8 of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC), in relation to Section 3 of the 2015 SRC Implementing Rules and Regulations,” it added. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave 

Basic Energy forms JV with Japanese firm for wind project

BASIC ENERGY Corp. has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with Japanese company Renova, Inc. for the development of the 50-megawatt Mabini Wind Power Project in Batangas.

“Our collaboration underscores our commitment to fostering enduring relationships within the Philippine energy sector,” Basic Energy President and Chief Executive Officer Oscar L. de Venecia, Jr., said during the signing ceremony on Wednesday.

The two companies began with the installation of a 120-meter meteorological mast in Brgy. San Teodoro, Mabini in November 2022.

This was followed by the deployment of Light Detection and Ranging equipment in Brgy. Estrella, Mabini, in June 2023.

Basic Energy Chief Operating Officer Luisito V. Poblete said the project will likely require a total of approximately P4.5 billion, which is expected to be sourced from both local and international banks and financing institutions, in addition to contributions from both companies.

The Mabini wind power project covers 4,860 hectares in the Mabini Peninsula. The wind energy service contract (WESC) for the project was awarded by the Department of Energy to the company in 2021.

The WESC covers a 25-year term, comprising a five-year pre-development phase and an option for a 25-year extension. 

Renova develops and operates renewable power plants utilizing existing energy resources in each region and provides decarbonization solutions in Japan and overseas.

At the local bourse, shares in the company went down by P0.002 or 1.22% to close at P0.16 each. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Term deposit yields mixed on hawkish Fed, BSP

YIELDS on the central bank’s term deposits were mixed on Wednesday following hawkish signals from the US Federal Reserve and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Demand for the BSP’s term deposit facility (TDF) reached P224.66 billion on Wednesday, below the P280-billion offer but higher than the P219.989 billion in bids for the P350-billion offer at last week’s auction.

Broken down, bids for the seven-day papers amounted to P103.135 billion, lower than the P160 billion auctioned off by the BSP as well as the P109.811 billion in tenders seen in the previous week for P200 billion on the auction block.

Banks asked for yields ranging from 6.52% to 6.565%, a slightly lower band compared to the 6.5% to 6.555% seen a week ago. This caused the average rate of the one-week term deposits to inch down by 0.29 basis point (bp) to 6.5384% from 6.5413% previously.

Meanwhile, the 14-day term deposits attracted tenders amounting to P121.525  billion, above the P120-billion offer and the P110.178 billion in bids recorded a week ago for the P150-billion offering.

Accepted rates for the tenor ranged from 6.55% to 6.6%, a marginally wider margin versus the 6.56% to 6.6% seen last week. This caused the average rate of the two-week papers to inch up by 0.17 bp to 6.5824% from 6.5807% in the prior auction.

The BSP has not auctioned off 28-day term deposits for three years to give way to its weekly offering of securities with the same tenor.

The term deposits and the 28-day bills are used by the BSP to mop up excess liquidity in the financial system and to better guide market rates.

TDF yields were mixed on Wednesday amid hawkish signals from Fed officials, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

Top US central bank officials including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell backed away on Tuesday from providing any guidance on when interest rates may be cut, saying instead that monetary policy needs to be restrictive for longer and further dashing investors’ hopes for meaningful reductions in borrowing costs this year, Reuters reported.

Fed policy makers have said since the start of the year that rate cuts are contingent on gaining “greater confidence” that inflation is moving towards the central bank’s 2% goal, but readings over the past few months show price pressures may even be moving in the opposite direction.

“The recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence and instead indicate that it’s likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence,” Mr. Powell told a forum in Washington, in what is likely to be his last public appearance before the April 30-May 1 policy meeting.

“Right now, given the strength of the labor market and progress on inflation so far, it’s appropriate to allow restrictive policy further time to work and let the data and the evolving outlook guide us,” he said.

US central bankers are universally expected to leave rates unchanged at their upcoming meeting, but until early this month analysts and investors thought rate cuts would likely start with an initial quarter-percentage-point reduction at the Fed’s June 11-12 meeting, with two more cuts happening by the end of 2024.

Now, the first cut is expected in September and the odds of a second cut are dwindling.

The Fed last month kept its target rate at the 5.25%-5.5% range for a fifth straight meeting following cumulative hikes worth 525 bps from March 2022 to July 2023.

Yields were mixed amid signals of an extended policy pause from the BSP, Mr. Ricafort added.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. said on Wednesday that if “things are worse,” the start of their planned easing cycle may be pushed back to the first quarter of 2025.

He also told Bloomberg in an interview on Monday that rate cuts won’t be huge and will bring the policy rate closer to about 6%.

The Monetary Board this month left its target reverse repurchase rate unchanged at a near 17-year high of 6.5% for a fourth straight meeting.

The BSP raised borrowing costs by 450 bps from May 2022 to October 2023 to help bring down elevated inflation.

Mr. Remolona last week said upside risks to inflation have worsened, prompting the central bank to be “somewhat more hawkish than before.” — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson with Reuters

If only the West backed Ukraine as it did Israel

FREEPIK

IT’S TIME to call ourselves out over Ukraine. Because if the approach of the West, and the US in particular, doesn’t change very soon, the country risks being first pulverized and then overrun at enormous cost — to Ukrainians, Europe, and the US.

No contrast could be more stark, or frankly sickening, than the experiences this weekend of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and Israel, as each came under fire from intense combined missile and Shahed drone at-tacks.

Israel was left almost untouched by a vast barrage on Saturday, protected by its own richly resupplied air defense systems and the actions of the US, UK, French, and Jordanian militaries that helped shoot down many of the warheads Iran fired before they could reach Israeli airspace. For all the well-deserved criticism that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gets for the way he has conducted a retaliatory war against Hamas in Gaza, this coordinated response was exactly how it should have been.

Such extensive and direct help cannot just be put down to Israeli exceptionalism. Jordan’s participation, despite an appalling relationship with Netanyahu and a population deeply sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, attests to that. Jordan simply recognized, as did the other participants, that Iran must not be allowed to succeed, because that would pose dangers well beyond Israel.

This is firstly because Iran has an aggressive, totalitarian and fanatically Islamist regime that’s engaged in suborning and destabilizing the Levant around it. Second, had Israeli cities and lives been destroyed in a hail of missiles and drones, it would have forced a rapid and harsh response, triggering a regional war that would send economic and security costs rippling across the globe.

Exactly the same is true of Ukraine, and yet it was all but abandoned when Russian missiles and drones struck earlier the same day. Nobody expected US and British pilots to take to the skies, but Ukraine’s allies are now starving it of the means to defend itself. As a result, Kharkiv, a city of 1.4 million, just 32 kilometers from the Russian border, was unable to deflect what’s emerging as a systematic air campaign to make it uninhabitable and ripe for conquest.

The main power and heating stations were hit. So were apartment blocks, killing at least seven people. The attack was just part of an accelerating bombing spree against the major Ukrainian cities still in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s sights, including so-called double-tap strikes aimed at killing civilians first and then the rescue workers who arrive to help them.

Russia, like Iran, is an authoritarian state, captured by its own brand of fanaticism as it tries to resurrect a lost imperial glory at the cost of its neighbors. Putin has proved himself vengeful. He has put his economy on a war foot-ing and is convinced he is in a civilizational war with the West. Anyone who thinks he wouldn’t follow up on military success in Ukraine by turning his attention to Moldova, the Baltic States and the Balkans, while forcing dramatic political and security shifts in Europe, has not been paying attention.

There is ample blame to go around for this turn of events, but in order of culpability, US House Speaker Mike Johnson, backed by his puppeteer Donald Trump, deserves top billing. His blockage of funding since October has played a huge role in ensuring that Ukraine now suffers a five- or six-to-one disadvantage in artillery fire, due to lack of ammunition, and has become increasingly exposed to missile attacks, for lack of interceptors that only the US can provide. Lives are being lost as a direct consequence.

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban deserves a special mention in Europe, where he too has done all he can to delay European Union aid for Ukraine and ensure Russia prevails, dressing his stance in favor of Putin’s war-mongering as a bid for peace. Less egregious, but also to blame for an inability to think and act strategically is Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has provided significant help to Ukraine over time but has also consistently delayed the transfer of key equipment.

Delay matters in war because so much can change overnight. Like a central bank setting monetary policy, decisions on arms supplies and recruitment have to be made well in advance of when their impact on the front lines is needed. And here, Joe Biden’s and Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s administrations bear responsibility also. Biden and his advisers have drip-fed the types and quantities of arms Ukraine needs in such a way that it can survive but not end the war — even before Johnson blocked further aid. They’ve also been pressuring Ukraine not to strike at key Russian infrastructure, even as Russia fires on Ukraine’s from its territory.

Zelenskiy’s failure has been in summoning the political courage (no one can fault his personal bravery) required to mobilize more troops when the decision was needed last year. The result is that Ukraine now faces a severe manpower shortage at the front. Brigades are understrength, unable to replace dead and wounded or to rest soldiers who’ve been holding the line for as long as two years under a constant shower of Russian artillery fire now joined by high-powered glide bombs.

This darkening outlook can still be turned around. Johnson, after months of obstructionism, has promised to hold separate votes on aid to Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine as early as Friday. We’ll see what poison pills are insert-ed, as a package passed by the Senate in February is broken apart. Kyiv desperately needs all of the $60.6 billion that was in it, and more specifically the weapons and ammunition supplies that the cash should have released long ago.

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Rada, or parliament, finally sent a much-amended bill on mobilization for Zelenskiy to sign, the success of which will depend in large part on whether potential recruits believe there will be weapons for them to use and ammunition to protect them. Despite not having a navy, Kyiv’s sea drones have won a significant battle against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. The first F-16s should be flying over Ukraine soon, and the Czech Re-public has organized an admirable campaign to secure 800,000 shells for its artillery.

Two of the best Western analysts of the war in Ukraine, Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, and Rob Lee, of Philadelphia’s Foreign Policy Research Institute, recently returned from a trip to Ukraine with the following bottom lines: They found the situation grim, but not yet catastrophic. The Russians have solved their manpower issues and are adapting, they said, but are still losing three times as many personnel and far more equipment than Ukraine to make only slow gains, despite all their advantages in troop numbers and fire power. To prevent a breakthrough, Ukraine must restore manpower, build defenses, and secure ammunition supplies.

“I do think Ukraine can hold if those things are addressed,” Lee said in their post-trip podcast, adding that the officers and politicians they had spoken to were well aware of the task. At that point, they should define a strategy for winning that no longer includes the unlikely goal of retrieving all lost territories. “But again, it depends on key decisions being made, and the sooner the better.”

With a starting gun now fired on mobilization, the most important of these decisions will fall to Western leaders. Johnson, in particular, will bear a heavy and personal responsibility for the consequences, if Ukraine’s allies should fail or continue to procrastinate.

BLOOMBERG OPINION