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BSP signals possible rate cut delay

The central bank raised its baseline inflation forecast to 3.8% this year, as prices of rice and other food items continue to rise. — PHILIPPINE STAR/RYAN BALDEMOR

By Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson, Reporter

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Monday left its key rate unchanged at 6.5% for a fourth straight meeting and signaled a possible delay in rate cuts due to inflation risks.

The Monetary Board maintained its target reverse repurchase rate at a near 17-year high, as expected by 16 economists in a BusinessWorld poll last week.

Interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities were also left unchanged at 6% and 7%.

This is the fourth straight meeting that the BSP stood pat since its 25-basis-point (bp) off-cycle hike in October.

“The latest inflation path has shifted slightly higher but remains within target… Given these considerations, the Monetary Board deems it appropriate to maintain the BSP’s tight monetary policy settings,” BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. said at a press briefing on Monday.

He said upside risks to inflation have “become worse,” citing higher transport fares, elevated food prices, rising electricity and oil prices, and possible wage hikes. 

“So that would make us somewhat more hawkish than before,” Mr. Remolona said. “If we were relatively dovish, we might reduce rates in the third quarter and that would be no more than 25 basis points (bps).”

“But now we’re feeling a bit more hawkish than before, so I would say we’re not going to do it by the third quarter, we may do it down the road.”

The BSP also raised its risk-adjusted inflation forecast this year to 4% from 3.9%. However, it kept its risk-adjusted forecast for 2025 at 3.5%.

The central bank likewise hiked its baseline inflation forecast to 3.8% for 2024 from 3.6% but maintained its 3.2% forecast for next year.

The BSP chief said it would make a case for rate cuts if inflation continues to ease and if economic growth is “not too strong.”

“If we see some good news, (within target) inflation and somewhat weak growth, we could ease by the third quarter. And then (if) it’s the opposite, we would ease by the first quarter of 2025,” he said.

“We would have to be somewhat surprised by a weak growth number for us to cut that sooner than the third quarter,” he added.

Mr. Remolona said elevated rice prices are a key risk to the outlook.

“If I were to name one single commodity, it would be rice and rice prices, they’re not only very significant at this time, they also are what we call salient prices. They get noticed, and they tend to affect expectations more,” he said.

Inflation accelerated for a second straight month to 3.7% in March from 3.4% in February. Rice inflation accelerated to 24.4% in March from 23.7% a month ago, the fastest since 24.6% in February 2009. Rice accounted for almost half of overall inflation for the month.

The BSP earlier said inflation could temporarily breach the 2-4% target  over the next two quarters.

Mr. Remolona said policy makers are not considering any rate hikes. “We’re contemplating easing, we’re not contemplating any further tightening,” he said.

“I think the data will have to be really bad for us to consider a further rate hike because we’re already tight at the moment. This tightness, we think, is sufficient to bring inflation rates down,” he added.

Earlier rate hikes continue to affect the economy, Mr. Remolona said.

From May 2022 to October 2023, the Monetary Board raised borrowing costs by 450 bps to tame inflation.

“The previous rate increases continue to have an impact in terms of restraining demand. Our policy rates tend to have long lags in terms of transmission to the economy as well as to inflation,” he said.

“Last time we raised rates was October 2023, we had an off-cycle rate hike. That’s still having an effect today. So, at the moment, we’re still facing tight monetary conditions. We’re relying on those effects to continue to affect demand as well as inflation,” he added.

Mr. Remolona said that they expect the economy to grow by about 5.9% this year. This was slightly below the revised 6-7% growth target set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) for 2024.

The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by a revised 5.5% in 2023.

MORE HAWKISH TONE
“The central bank in the Philippines today left its main policy rate unchanged, but sounded more hawkish than we had expected on inflation,” Capital Economics said in a commentary.

It said that it expects the BSP to cut interest rates in August instead of its earlier forecast of rate cuts by June.

ING Bank N.V. Manila Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said the central bank might extend its rate pause until the second half of the year.

“The BSP previously indicated it was open to cutting policy rates in 2024. However, we believe the timing of such a reduction would require a Fed in easing mode and a more favorable domestic inflation landscape,” he said in an e-mailed note.

“With the Fed possibly pushing back the timing of its rate cuts to the second half of the year and Philippine inflation projected to breach the upper end of the BSP’s target in the near term, we believe the central bank will extend its hold until the Fed finally cuts its own policy rates and headline inflation cools,” he added.

Pantheon Chief Emerging Asia Economist Miguel Chanco said in an e-mailed note that he expects 100 bps of rate cuts before the end of the year.

“The first (cut is) still possible in June, in the event that first-quarter GDP disappoints considerably,” he said.

Inflation is expected to further accelerate in the coming months but will eventually return to target before the end of the year, analysts said.

Mr. Chanco said inflation could further quicken in April, possibly above the upper end of the 2-4% target range.

“But we reckon that this will be the peak, with food inflation likely to turn a corner, as base effects will turn progressively favorable until the end of the third quarter, starting in May,” he added.

Pantheon Macroeconomics raised its average inflation forecast to 3.4% this year from 3.2%.

Capital Economics also said inflation should settle within target in the second half due to “an increase in the supply of agricultural products, slower economic growth and more beneficial base effects.”

Philippines likely to post fastest GDP growth among ASEAN+3 countries this year, 2025

Fishermen dry their catch of the day on a bamboo tray in Long Beach, Noveleta, Cavite. — PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

THE PHILIPPINES is expected to grow faster than Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries, China, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong this year and in 2025, but elevated inflation remains a key risk to the outlook, a regional think tank said on Monday.

In its Regional Economic Outlook quarterly update, the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) kept its 6.3% gross domestic product (GDP) growth outlook for the Philippines, unchanged from the January report.

This is faster than the revised 5.5% GDP growth in 2023 and within the government’s revised 6-7% target for this year.

AMRO also sees the Philippines expanding by 6.5% in 2025, also within the government’s 6.5-7.5% goal.

“I think 6.3% is very strong growth (for this year), among the highest in the region,” AMRO Chief Economist Hoe Ee Khor said in a virtual briefing. “The Philippines will also benefit from the upswing, you know, in terms of external demand… Manufacturing sector will benefit from that and the recovery in tourism.”

For this year, AMRO’s growth projection for the Philippines is ahead of Cambodia (6.2%), Vietnam (6%), Indonesia (5.2%), Malaysia (5%), China (4.4%) Laos (4.7%), Hong Kong (3.5%), Myanmar (3.2%), Thailand (2.9%),  Brunei Darussalam (2.7%), Singapore (2.6%), South Korea (2.3%) and Japan (1.1%).

For 2025, the Philippines and Vietnam are expected to be the growth leaders in the region.

“The Philippine economic outlook is clouded by various risk factors and challenges. In the near term, growth prospects are relatively robust, but high inflation is a risk, especially as a result of local supply shocks in the food sector and the impacts of geopolitical conflicts on international energy prices. These will exert upward pressure on inflation which can dampen domestic demand,” AMRO said in the report released on Monday.

Philippine inflation will be among the fastest in ASEAN+3 this year at 3.6%, alongside Vietnam, according to AMRO estimates.  Only Myanmar (16.1%) and Laos (14.3%) will likely post faster inflation. 

For 2025, the think tank sees Philippine inflation easing to 2.9%.

AMRO’s inflation forecasts for the Philippines are lower than the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 3.8% and 3.2% estimates for this year and next year.

“I think there’s a slight risk that this year, because of the synchronized upswing in the global economy, that inflationary pressure may actually be on the upside rather than on the downside, so it may slow down the moderation in the growth rate,” Mr. Khor said.

He noted that upside risks to inflation could delay rate cuts by the BSP, which on Monday kept policy rates at a near 17-year high of 6.5%.

“(Inflation) has not come down low enough for the [Philippine] central bank to feel comfortable to ease the rate… Our view is that monetary policy also needs to remain fairly tight until inflation has come off and reach its (2-4%) inflation target,” he added.

AMRO said the Philippines also faces risks from an economic slowdown in major trading partners, volatilities in financial markets and tighter financial conditions.

“Looking at the longer term, the growth potential will largely hinge on the economic scarring effects of the pandemic, the pace of infrastructure development and heightened geopolitical tensions between China and the United States,” it said.

The Philippines also faces rising social and economic costs from climate disasters. AMRO said the country needs to craft a comprehensive strategy for “resilient, sustainable and inclusive long-term growth.”

‘ENGINE OF GROWTH’
The ASEAN+3 region is seen to expand by 4.5% this year and by 4.2% in 2025, according to the AMRO report.

The ASEAN region alone is projected to grow by 4.8% this year, higher than AMRO’s 4.5% projection in January. For 2025, the region is expected to grow by 4.9%.

Inflation in ASEAN+3, excluding Laos and Myanmar, is forecast to slow to 2.5% this year, and to 2.3% in 2025.

“Domestic demand is likely to remain resilient, underpinned by recovering investment and firm consumer spending,” AMRO said. “Export recovery, especially in semiconductors, and tourism should provide an additional lift to growth.”

The think tank said the ASEAN+3 region will continue to be the “engine of growth” for the world economy, as it is projected to contribute as much as 45% of global growth through 2030.

However, AMRO warned the near-term outlook for the region faces risks from a sudden spike in global commodity prices due to an escalation in geopolitical tensions or weather shocks.

“Other key risks include slower-than-expected growth in China, adverse spillovers from the US presidential election campaign and possible recession in major advanced economies outside the region,” it added.

AMRO also noted that the outlook gives ASEAN+3 economies a chance to rebuild policy space that was lost during the pandemic.

“Going forward, the priority for fiscal policy should be directed mainly at restoring buffers while providing targeted support for the economy. Meanwhile, it is essential for monetary policy to be focused on anchoring inflation expectations given the continued upside risks to inflation,” it said. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz

Meralco slashes power rate by nearly P1 per kWh this month

A lineman repairs a broken wire on an electric post in Manila, April 4, 2024. — PHILIPPINE STAR/RYAN BALDEMOR

By Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporter

RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS in areas served by Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will see lower electricity bills for the first time this year, due to a sharp drop in generation and transmission charges.

In a statement on Monday, Meralco said the overall rate would decrease by P0.9879 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P10.9518 per kWh in April from P11.9397 in March.

“The substantial reduction in the overall electricity rate this month wiped out the rate increase since January 2024, bringing the year-to-date adjustment to a net decrease of P0.3066 per kWh,” the power distributor said.

Households consuming 200 kWh will see their monthly electricity bill go down by about P198.

Meanwhile, households consuming 300 kWh, 400 kWh and 500 kWh would see a reduction in their monthly bills by P296, P395 and P494, respectively.

Meralco attributed this month’s decline to lower generation and transmission charges, which accounted for about 36.6% and 47.2% of a consumer’s electricity bill for April.

The generation charge fell by P0.3613 per kWh due to lower costs from independent power producers (IPP) and power supply agreements (PSA), which offset the increase in Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) charges.

Joe R. Zaldarriaga, Meralco’s vice-president and head of corporate communications, said at a briefing that charges from IPPs fell by P1.071 per kWh due to lower costs at power plants operated by First Gen Corp.

“The reduction was mainly due to the nonuse of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by both Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo and continued withholding of incremental Malampaya gas costs for the First Gas-Sta. Rita under its new gas sale and purchase agreement (GSPA),” he said.

The Malampaya pricing under First Gas-Sta. Rita’s old GSPA and only landed costs of LNG can be passed through “until separate ERC approval of full costs,” Meralco said, citing an order issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

PSA charges went down by P0.5733 per kWh due to lower fuel costs from Meralco’s emergency PSAs with South Premier Power Corp. and San Buenaventura Power Ltd.

On the other hand, tighter supply conditions in the Luzon grid drove WESM rates higher by P1.0114 per kWh.

IPPs, PSAs and WESM accounted for 29%, 46% and 25%, respectively, of the company’s total power requirement for April.

The transmission charge decreased by P0.4665 per kWh following ERC’s suspension of settlements in the reserve market.

The reserve market, which was launched in January, allows the optimization of the market operator and system operator interfaces and automated real-time dispatch of committed ancillary services.

On the other hand, taxes and other charges dipped by P0.1601 per kWh.

“Pass-through charges for generation and transmission are paid by Meralco to the power suppliers and the grid operator, respectively, while taxes, universal charges and the Feed-In Tariff Allowance or FIT-All are all remitted to the government,” the company said.

Distribution charges have been unchanged at P0.0360 per kWh since August 2022.

“Despite the rate reduction, Meralco continues to encourage its customers to continue practicing energy efficiency especially during summer when consumption historically increases anywhere from 10% to 40% due to warmer temperatures,” Mr. Zaldarriaga said.

Meanwhile, Meralco has renewed its call for large power consumers to enroll in the government’s Interruptible Load Program, which asks them to use their generation sets or shift their operations instead of getting power from the grid.

To date, over 100 companies with about 530-megawatt de-loading capacity across the Meralco franchise are enrolled in the program.

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.

Philippine population seen among the youngest in the region — AMRO

The Philippines’ median age stood at 24.5 years old in 2021, the second lowest in the region, a report by the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) showed. — PHILIPPINE STAR/WALTER BOLLOZOS

THE PHILIPPINE population is expected to be among the youngest in the region, with the country still in the early stage of its demographic transition as fertility rates remain high and the number of working-age individuals seen to peak by 2051 — the latest among Southeast Asian economies, a think tank said.

The latest Regional Economic Outlook report by the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) showed the Philippines’ median age stood at 24.5 years in 2021, the second-youngest in the region after Laos (23.8 years).

The country’s median age was lower than Cambodia (26.5), Malaysia (29.9), Myanmar (29), Indonesia (29.4), Brunei Darussalam (31.8), Vietnam (32), Thailand (39.3), China (37.9), Singapore (41.8), South Korea (43.4), Hong Kong (44.9) and Japan (48.4).

ASEAN+3: Selected Demographic Indicators, 2021

AMRO data also showed the Philippines’ average population growth was 1.8% as of 2021, the second-fastest in the region after Malaysia (1.81%).

The Philippines’ peak population is expected by 2092, the latest among the ASEAN member-countries plus China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan.

Peak population refers to the year when the total population/share of working population is projected to reach the highest level.

“Nearly all ASEAN+3 economies have seen their populations peak, led by Japan in 2010, while China reached its peak in 2021. Thailand will be the first in ASEAN to reach its population peak — projected around 2030 — while economies like Lao PDR and the Philippines are not expected to see their populations decline in the next 40 years,” AMRO said.

The report also showed the Philippines had the third-fastest average growth in the working age population at 2.27%, behind Malaysia (2.41%) and Laos (2.39%).

Working age population refers to those aged 15 to 64.

However, the Philippines will only see its working age population peak in 2051, the latest among ASEAN+3.

Several ASEAN+3 economies have already seen a peak in working age population, namely Japan (1991), China (2009), Singapore (2010), Hong Kong (2011), Thailand (2012), Vietnam (2013), South Korea (2015), Brunei (2018) and Malaysia (2022).

Aside from the Philippines, only Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos have yet to see the peak level of their working age population.

AMRO noted that ASEAN+3’s working-age population by 2050 will be 12% smaller than in 2021, “equivalent to about 190 million workers exiting the workforce.”

“Except for two, all others in the ASEAN+3 region will be technically considered ‘aging societies’ by the end of this decade. Within the next decade, the region’s working population will start to decline, and the age profile of the labor force will be gradually dominated by older workers,” AMRO said.

It said the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia and Laos are still in the early stage of the demographic transition, “with fertility rates still high (although declining).”

Data showed the Philippines has the highest fertility rate in the ASEAN+3 region at 2.75 live births per woman. 

“By 2035, all economies in the region are expected to have sub replacement fertility rates with the exception of only one, the Philippines,” AMRO Group Head and Principal Economist Allen Ng said in a hybrid briefing on Monday.

The Philippines’ elderly population is only at 5.3% of the total population as of 2021, the second lowest after Laos (4.4%).

The country’s old-age dependency ratio, which is the old-age population divided by the working age population, stood at 8.3%.

Mr. Ng said aging is a “critical challenge” for the ASEAN+3 region.

“The problem of becoming old before becoming rich is a concern for many economies especially the lower-middle and middle-income economies in the region because this implies that these economies could have less resources to manage the challenges that aging brings,” he said.

AMRO forecasts that by 2050 nearly 44% of the world’s centenarians will come from the region, particularly in China, South Korea, Japan, and Thailand.

“Rapid aging is triggering fiscal concerns due to the potential rise in healthcare costs and pension liabilities, on top of the needed infrastructure spending that is required to sustain growth,” AMRO said. — BMDC

To sing with passion and love

MAX on the cover of his album LOVE IN STEREO.

MAX on returning to Manila, collaborating with other artists

AMERICAN pop singer MAX (full name: Maxwell Schneider) arrived at a press conference Friday at UP Town Center in Quezon City with an extreme warmth that rivaled that of the sunny weather. His last time in the Philippines was back in 2016, and he intended to make his return just as fun and memorable.

“It will be passionate, delicious, and hot,” the singer told reporters, on how he would describe the Manila leg of his world tour.

MAX performed at the UP Town Center on April 5, at Ayala Malls Manila Bay on April 6, and at One Ayala on April 7.

The mall shows were held to promote his latest album, LOVE IN STEREO, released in February. It contains MAX’s hit collaborations with other artists, such as “Stupid In Love” with Huh Yunjin of K-pop girl group Le Sserafim and “It’s You” with Vietnamese-American singer-songwriter keshi.

“There’s nothing I love more than performing live. It’s amazing. I love to hear the Filipino fans sing along and connect through the music,” MAX said.

CRAZY FAN LOVE
Notably, the last time he was in the country in 2016, a fan broke into his hotel room and left a message.

“I walked in my room and on my mirror it said ‘Hey MAX, want to see how we party in the Philippines? Come to the 4th floor lobby! The first drink is on us,’ and I was like ‘oh my god, I’m gonna die’,” he said.

It turned out, the message was from someone who worked at the hotel and surprisingly got the blessing of his manager to do it. For MAX, while the experience was odd and a bit scary, he appreciated the fan’s enthusiasm.

On working with Filipino artists, he said that he met with the band Lola Amour and the pop group SB19 during his trip. “For me, any collaboration comes from just naturally connecting, so let’s see how it goes. I would love to [collaborate with them].”

He already regularly works with a Filipino musician — Los Angeles-based Chinese-Filipino saxophonist, pianist, and composer Cody Dear.

“He co-wrote ‘Stupid In Love,’ ‘It’s You,’ and nine other songs on my album,” MAX said. “[At our shows] I love to hear Cody rip the saxophone and the keyboard at the same time. It’s one of my favorite things. It gives me life.”

UNDERRATED SONGS
MAX also spoke about underrated deep cuts from his album that he hopes more people will listen to: “Keep It Chill,” “Love Never Felt Like This,” and “Edie Celine.”

The first is his personal favorite: “I want people to hear it more. It’s like everything that I loved growing up with, like 2000s R&B and pop music.” The second is a track that Filipinos may love to song along to given its vocal range.

Meanwhile, “Edie Celine” is the closest to his heart, born out of love for his baby daughter after he held her in his arms at the hospital.

“It’s beautiful when music streams hundreds and millions and all these things, but that song will always be for her and that moment will be forever, and I think that milestone is not something you can see on a plaque,” he explained.

As for the possibility of coming back to the Philippines a third time, MAX said that it is definitely in the cards — except instead of mall shows he would love to do a big concert tour so that he could bring a full band and perform his anthem tracks.

“I want people to feel that they can love who they love,” he said. — Brontë H. Lacsamana

Under Parallel Skies merging cultures

WITH protagonists coming from Thailand and the Philippines meeting and falling in love in Hong Kong, the romantic drama film Under Parallel Skies promises to be a heartwarming cross-cultural story.

It follows Parin (played by Thai star Win Metawin) who travels to Hong Kong to look for his missing mother. There, he meets Iris (played by Filipina actress Janella Salvador), a hotel employee who joins him on his journey.

Director Sigrid Bernardo said in a press conference on April 2 which was streamed online that having three cultures involved — Philippines, Thailand, and Hong Kong — reflected both in the story and in the production crew.

“It works because the right communication and mutual respect of each other’s cultures makes it work,” she said. On the two leads’ chemistry, she added, “Coming from different cultures is hard enough. It’s a romantic comedy and a love story so it’s very important to have chemistry between the actors. It helped them both a lot to do the acting workshop and bond during the shoot.”

BRINGING THE PHILIPPINES TO ASIA
Inspired by today’s increasingly globalized landscape, 28 Squared Studios chief executive officer and the film’s executive producer Kristhoff Cagape said that Under Parallel Skies represents their studio’s vision.

“We want to bring stories from the Philippines to Asia and beyond. With audiences’ support, we’ll definitely have more cross-country stories like this for the world to see,” he said.

As the leading lady of the film, Ms. Salvador said it was important to draw from the characters’ similarities and shared experiences rather than their differences to bring the story to life.

“No matter how different we are — because obviously our characters are from different parts of the world — we all live under the same sky. We can all just connect with each other and love each other freely,” she said.

CREATING HAPPINESS
While the creation of the film was brought about by ambitious goals, its message is actually very simple, according to Mr. Metawin.

“My character, Parin, understands that you can create your own happiness,” he said. It is also a sentiment he now shares with his character: “I always dreamed that if I had a chance, one day I would collaborate with international people. Now, my dream has come true already.”

He praised the Philippine team he worked with. “It was a very good experience working with Filipinos. Our cultures are very similar, so I didn’t have to adapt or change anything with myself,” he added.

On the other hand, the film gave Ms. Salvador a challenging role.

“Iris is very different from who I am in real life, which is what made her a bit challenging for me to portray, but I loved every bit of it. Ang dami kong natutunan kay Iris bilang OFW (I learned a lot from Iris who is an OFW). If we have a similarity, it’s that we’re both big dreamers,” she said.

A DIFFERENT SIDE OF HONG KONG
Filming in Hong Kong was also a highlight for both actors. They explained that audiences will enjoy discovering underrated locations through the movie, like the small island town of Peng Chau and the fishing village of Tai O.

“They don’t have cars there and they live very simply, and it was nice to observe how different the way of living is there,” said Ms. Salvador.

Richard Juan, the film’s co-producer from 28 Squared Studios, added that those locations are meant to “showcase a different side of Hong Kong.”

“We’ve seen all the Causeway Bays, all the Centrals, all the tall buildings, but people often forget that there’s a different side [to Hong Kong],” he said.

On the film’s relatability to audiences, he told the press that it is the driving force behind making it in the first place. “The movies I resonate the most with are the ones I see are real. I prefer stories I can connect with. That’s why what you see in real life, we try to portray on the big screen.”

Under Parallel Skies had its world premiere at the 17th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong. It will premiere in the Philippines on April 17, in Singapore on May 1, and in Thailand on May 9. — Brontë H. Lacsamana

Hotel101 to list on Nasdaq through SPAC merger deal

HOTEL101GLOBAL.COM

HOTEL 101 Global Pte. Ltd. (Hotel101), a unit of Philippine-listed property developer DoubleDragon Corp., is nearing its planned listing on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange with a valuation of over $2.3 billion (P130 billion) following a merger deal with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in the United States.

Hotel101, a hotel property technology operator, and JVSPAC Acquisition Corp. have entered into a “binding definitive merger agreement,” DoubleDragon said in an e-mailed statement on Monday.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.

“Upon completion of the business combination transaction, the combined entity is expected to be publicly listed on the US NASDAQ under the ticker symbol ‘HBNB,’ ” DoubleDragon said.

Sought for comment, Alfred Benjamin R. Garcia, research head at AP Securities, Inc., said in a Viber message that the P130-billion market valuation of HBNB will exceed the value of its parent company, DoubleDragon, by more than six times. DoubleDragon currently has a market capitalization of P19.67 billion.

“With an expanded capital base and access to the thriving US equities market, this listing of Hotel101 on Nasdaq could help accelerate its plans to expand to 25 countries by 2026,” he said.

COL Financial Group, Inc. Chief Equity Strategist April Lynn C. Lee-Tan said Hotel101’s upcoming listing could spur other Philippine companies to consider listing in the US.

“If it is easy for them to raise capital in the US, then I don’t see why not. The problem in the Philippines is that valuations are so low. The question is, if they list in the US, will they get better valuations? Will there be buyers?,” she said.

“If a business will only focus on the Philippine market, it might not be as attractive to global investors,” she added.

 Hotel101 is aiming to have one million rooms across more than 100 countries.

 It seeks to have presence in 25 countries by 2026. These include Philippines, Japan, Spain, United States, United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, India, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mexico, South Korea, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Turkey, Italy, Germany, France, and Saudi Arabia.

 Hotel101 recently began development on a 680-room hotel in Madrid, Spain. It is also constructing a 482-room hotel in Hokkaido, Japan.

The company also previously secured a 3,647-square meter commercial lot in Los Angeles, California, for its first hotel in the US.

 On Thursday, DoubleDragon shares rose by 13.53% or P1 to P8.39 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Filmmaker and fan Jonathan Nolan brings Fallout games to TV

LONDON — Filmmaker Jonathan Nolan says he was both nervous and excited to adapt the popular post-apocalyptic video game series Fallout for television.

“(It was) intimidating, honestly, and the reason why is that I had played the games and loved them,” Mr. Nolan said as he premiered the new TV show in London on Thursday.

The eight-episode live-action show comes from husband-and-wife duo Mr. Nolan and Lisa Joy, who previously created the hit series Westworld, and centers on three main characters; vault dweller Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell), Maximus, a member of the Brotherhood of Steel (Aaron Moten) and mutated bounty hunter The Ghoul (Walton Goggins).

Set in the wasteland of Los Angeles some 200 years after a nuclear armageddon, it sees Lucy resurfacing from the vaults for the first time in her life and leaning on her skills, wits, and values to survive in a world very different from hers. Traversing the hostile terrain in search of her father (Kyle MacLachlan), Lucy crosses paths with Maximus and The Ghoul, each on a mission of their own.

Mr. Nolan, who co-wrote several of his brother Christopher Nolan’s films, including Interstellar and The Dark Knight, also directed the show’s first three episodes.

“I think it’s very similar to the games in the sense that each game in the franchise connects to this larger universe but each game has a new setting, a new set of characters and a new story. And just like that, our series is a new story with new characters but set in this larger universe,” Mr. Nolan, 47, said.

“For myself, the fun of it was having loved the games and being passionate about them, I was excited to try to bring reality in terms of large on-location impactful photography and building all the creatures, building all the stunts, the power armor … It was just like being a kid in a candy shop.”

Fallout starts streaming on Prime Video on April 11. — Reuters

Shari’ah-compliant securities reduced to 53 — PSE

BW FILE PHOTO

THE Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) announced on Monday that 53 companies are Shari’ah-compliant, down from 55 previously.

Three securities were removed from the list, while one was added, the PSE said, citing its quarterly screening for the period ending March 25.

The new list does not include Greenergy Holdings, Inc., PTFC Redevelopment Corp., and Marcventures Holdings, Inc. The PSE added Victorias Milling Company, Inc.

The PSE releases the updated list of Shari’ah-compliant securities every quarter. The market operator issued the previous list on Jan. 8, covering the period ending Dec. 25, 2023.

Shari’ah refers to the moral and religious code of Islam that covers rules, regulations, teachings, and values governing the lives of Muslims.

“Shari’ah-compliant investment instruments create a mechanism for listed companies to gain access to potential funding from Islamic investors including those in countries in the Middle East and other countries with high Islam population such as Malaysia and Indonesia,” the PSE said.

 The adoption of Shari’ah in the Philippine capital market allows local Islamic investors to comfortably participate in the Philippine business community as well as to create an ethical investment climate, it also said.

 The PSE tapped the services of IdealRatings, Inc. to assess listed companies in accordance with Shari’ah standards under the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions.

 IdealRatings looks at companies’ adherence to Shari’ah standards in terms of their business activities and financial ratios.

 Under the business screening, the income of companies derived from activities such as adult entertainment, alcohol, cinema, defense & weapons, financial services, gambling, gold and silver hedging, interest-bearing investments, music, pork, and tobacco must be less than 5%.

 In terms of financial ratio screening, a company’s cash or interest-bearing deposits or investments should not exceed 30% of its market capitalization, while its interest-bearing debt should not go beyond 30% of its market capitalization.

 “Through the screening process, securities that are engaged in activities involved in Haraam (impermissible or unlawful) will be taken out from the list of Shari’ah compliant stocks,” the PSE said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Bjorn Ulvaeus says ABBA success humbling as he marks two milestones

BJORN ULVAEUS (C) with cast members of Mamma Mia! on stage at The Novello theater in London. — REUTERS

LONDON — ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus reflected on the Swedish pop group’s reach and longevity as he joined Mamma Mia! cast and creators for the musical’s 25th anniversary celebrations in London on Saturday.

Saturday also marked 50 years since ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest final in Brighton, United Kingdom, in 1974 with the song “Waterloo,” bringing them to global attention.

“About this time in the evening, exactly 50 years ago, I was standing on another stage in another city here in the UK,” Mr. Ulvaeus said.

“It’s strange to think that if we hadn’t won … I most probably wouldn’t be standing here today. And this wonderful adventure which we call Mamma Mia! Wouldn’t have happened,” he said, speaking to the audience on the London stage.

ABBA was formed by Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Faltskog, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad in Stockholm in 1972.

Mamma Mia!, composed by Mr. Ulvaeus and Mr. Andersson and based on their songs, originally opened in London’s West End on April 6, 1999. Written by Catherine Johnson and directed by Phyllida Lloyd, it centers around a mother and daughter with three possible fathers. 

According to its creators, over 70 million people have seen productions of the show in more than 450 cities around the world, staged in 16 different languages. It has also led to two blockbuster movies.

“The fact that somehow ABBA has managed to touch so many millions of lives around the world, generation after generation and people ask me ‘how does it feel for you to know that?,’ and that’s a very good question and very hard to answer,” Mr. Ulvaeus, 78, said.

“It’s a very elusive feeling. It’s more to do with gratitude and with humility than pride, because it humbles you to know that so many people have listened to something you’ve created and that they’ve been made happy by it or sad, and that it has meant so much for them in their lives.”

“It’s very difficult to fully emotionally grasp that, at least for me,” said Mr. Ulvaeus, who was joined on stage by producer Judy Craymer, who first met him and Mr. Andersson in the 1980s and convinced them that a musical could be made from their songs.

With its 25-year run, Mamma Mia! becomes the 3rd longest running musical in West End history, after Les Miserables, which made its debut in 1985 and The Phantom of The Opera, launched a year later, in 1986. — Reuters

Repower Energy signs deal with NIA for mini hydropower projects

RENEWABLE ENERGY developer Repower Energy Development Corp. (REDC) announced on Monday an agreement with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) for the development of mini hydropower plants.

The company and NIA have signed a memorandum of understanding seeking to develop mini hydropower plants in three areas where the agency has existing infrastructure, the company said in a statement.

REDC had requested NIA’s permission to conduct comprehensive studies on the economic, financial, and technical viability of the projects.

These projects cover the river irrigation systems in Brgy. Dapdap in Tayabas, Quezon; Brgy. Sta. Justina in Iriga City, Camarines Sur; and Brgy. Poblacion in Pilar, Bohol.

“We would like to thank NIA Administrator Eddie Guillen and the entire organization for their trust and confidence in REDC by allowing us to develop and integrate mini hydropower plants into their existing infrastructure,” REDC President Eric Peter Y. Roxas was quoted as saying.

“These will benefit the Filipino people through renewable energy that will be delivered to their households. At the same time, these projects are designed to uphold the property rights of Filipino farmers so that they can continue with their livelihood,” he added.

REDC is a run-of-river hydropower developer, a subsidiary of Pure Energy Holdings, which has 124 megawatts (MW) of mini-hydropower projects clustered in Laguna, Quezon, Camarines Sur, Bukidnon, and other provinces under development.

The company is currently constructing a 4.5-MW hydropower plant in Quezon and a 20-MW plant in Bukidnon. Both plants are targeted to start operations by the fourth quarter of 2025.

For the third quarter, the company reported an attributable net income of P36.51 million, up 19.3%. Gross revenues went down by 11.9% to P103.26 million.

At the local bourse on Monday, shares of the company went down by P0.20 or 3.33% to close at P5.80 each. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

The irony that was the April 9 holiday

PRISONERS OF WAR on the Bataan Death March. — US AIR FORCE

“Good evening, everyone everywhere. This is the Voice of Freedom broadcasting to you from somewhere in the Philippines.

“Bataan has fallen. The Philippine-American troops on this war-ravaged and blood-stained peninsula have laid down their arms. With heads bloody but unbowed, they have yielded to the superior force and numbers of the enemy. The world will long remember the epic struggle that the Filipino and American soldiers put up in the jungle fastnesses and along the rugged coasts of Bataan. They have stood up uncomplaining under the constant and grueling fire of the enemy for more than three months. Besieged on land, and blockaded by sea, cut off from all sources of help in the Philippines and America, these intrepid fighters have done all that human endurance should bear. For what sustained them through these months of incessant battle was a force more than physical. It was the force of an unconquerable faith — something in the heart and soul that physical adversity and hardship could not destroy. It was the thought of native land and all that it holds most dear, the thought of freedom and dignity and pride in those most priceless of all our human prerogatives.

“Our men fought a brave and bitterly contested struggle. All the world will testify to the almost superhuman endurance with which they stood up until the last, in the face of overwhelming odds.

“The decision had to come. Men fighting under the banner of an unshakable faith are made of something more than flesh, but they are not impervious to steel. The flesh must yield at last, endurance melts away, and the end of the battle must come. Bataan has fallen! But the spirit that made it stand — a beacon to all the liberty-loving people of the world — cannot fall!”

The above was the message broadcast from the secret radio station Voice of Freedom in Malinta Tunnel in Corregidor on April 9, 1942 that informed the Filipino people and the world that “Bataan has fallen.” It was written by Captain Salvador P. Lopez, who was at the time assigned to the headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur, commander of the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). The broadcast was delivered by 3rd Lieutenant Normando “Norman” Reyes.

Mr. Lopez, who had earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1931 and a Master of Arts degree in Philosophy in 1933 from the University of the Philippines, was teaching literature and journalism at the University of Manila before the war. He was also a daily columnist and magazine editor of the Philippines Herald. When war broke out, Lopez was drafted into the Philippine Army as captain and assigned to Gen. MacArthur’s headquarters on Corregidor. He was captured by the Japanese when the island fortress fell on May 6, 1942.

After the war, he served as adviser on Political Affairs, Philippine Mission to the United Nations, becoming Charge d’affaires, and subsequently Acting Permanent Representative. He was also assigned to diplomatic posts in a number of European countries. President Diosdado Macapagal appointed him Secretary of Foreign Affairs. President Ferdinand Marcos named him ambassador to the United States in 1968 but he appointed him president of the University of the Philippines the following year. It was during his presidency that UP students became political activists, staging mass protest marches and rallies against the Marcos regime right from the First Quarter Storm in 1970.

Mr. Reyes, born to a Filipino father and an American woman, was studying in the American school H. A. Bordner when war broke out. When schools closed, Reyes worked full time in Station KZRH in Manila until the end of December 1941 when the Japanese closed in on Manila. He was drafted into the Philippine Army as a 3rd lieutenant and sent to Corregidor as a broadcaster.

Lt. Reyes was the voice on radio that told of the story of Capt. Jesus Villamor shooting down two Japanese planes from his Boeing fighter plane, and of a “mile-long convoy” of US ships with troops, arms, ammunition, and food on its way to Manila. That was the convoy that kept the spirit of the beleaguered, shell-shocked, wounded, starving, and tropical disease-ravaged troops in Bataan afloat and kept them fighting. Unknown to the gallant soldiers in Bataan, the convoy had been ordered to divert to Brisbane, Australia as the port of Manila and the US Naval bases in Sangley Point and Subic, where the troops and cargo were to be disembarked, had all been destroyed by Japanese bombers.

Lt. Reyes was captured along with the 11,500 men and women of the USAFFE on Corregidor. After several months in prison, he was shipped to Japan.

The Voice of Freedom was a makeshift radio station in Malinta Tunnel in Corregidor. It was set up by former Radio KZRH technicians Wallace “Ted” Ince and Simeon Cheng out of components of their station, which was shut down along with all Manila stations on orders of Gen. MacArthur. The objective of the Voice of Freedom was to broadcast favorable news for the Allies. It first went on the air on Jan. 2, 1942 and fell silent permanently with the Fall of Corregidor.

KZRH was put up by Samuel Gaches, the owner of H. E. Heacock Co., a department store in Escolta, Manila. It was the fourth commercial radio station in the Philippines. It went on air on July 15, 1939. On Dec. 8,1941, KZRH was the first station to announce the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

After World War II, the Elizalde brothers — Federico, Joaquin, and Manuel — bought KZRH. They transferred its operations to the Insular Life Building in Plaza Cervantes. On June 12, 1946, the Elizaldes established the Manila Broadcasting Co., the country’s first radio network, with KZRH as its flagship station. The station returned to the airwaves on July 1, 1946. When the Philippines separated from the American broadcasting milieu in 1948, KZRH changed its callsign to DZRH.

That Voice of Freedom broadcast on April 9, 1942 was the cause of the irony that the April 9 holiday was. The broadcast extolled the valor of the “Battling Bastards of Bataan.” We are supposed to remember on April 9 of every year “the epic struggle that the Filipino and American soldiers put up in the jungle fastnesses and along the rugged coasts of Bataan.” But for many years we remembered instead the Fall of Bataan — the mass surrender of Filipino and American soldiers to the Japanese Imperial Army. That was because the broadcast opened and closed with the statement “Bataan has fallen.”

In April 1961, President Carlos P. Garcia signed Republic Act No. 3022 into law, declaring April 9 of every year as “Bataan Day.” Only in June 1987, did President Corazon C. Aquino put it right when she issued Executive Order No. 203 referring to the April 9 holiday as “Araw ng Kagitingan.”

 

Oscar P. Lagman, Jr. is an avid reader of Philippine history.

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