METROPOLITAN BANK & Trust Co. (Metrobank) is looking to raise at least $500 million via an issuance of dollar-denominated senior unsecured notes, it said on Monday.
“Metropolitan Bank & Trust … is planning to issue Reg S only dollar-denominated senior unsecured notes of $500 million, with option to upsize. An offering may follow subject to market conditions,” the lender said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.
“Proceeds will be used to diversify the bank’s funding sources while supporting its operations,” Metrobank said.
The planned note issuance was approved by Metrobank President Fabian S. Dee on Feb. 23, the lender said.
The notes will be issued out of the bank’s $2-billion medium-term note program approved by its board of directors in March 2017.
Metrobank has tapped BofA Securities and UBS as joint global coordinators and bookrunners for the issuance, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and the First Metro Investment Corp. being mandated as joint bookrunners.
In July last year, Moody’s Investors Service affirmed the “Baa2” long-term deposit ratings of Metrobank and kept its stable outlook.
Meanwhile, in May 2023, Fitch Ratings revised its outlook for Metrobank to stable from negative, and affirmed the lender’s long term issuer default ratings at “BBB-.”
Metrobank saw its attributable net profit increase by 28.87% to P42.238 billion in 2023 from P32.776 billion in 2022.
The bank’s shares rose by 65 centavos or 1.06% to close at P61.85 apiece on Monday. — K.B. Ta-asan
Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) has canceled plans to be the exclusive contractor for two mine sites in Davao Oriental, the listed mining company announced on Monday.
Hallmark Mining Corp. and Austral-Asia Link Mining Corp. have agreed to terminate Nickel Asia’s letter of intent to serve as their exclusive contractor, the company told the stock exchange.
“The parties failed to agree on the commercial terms of the definitive agreements regarding the proposed provision by NAC of its mining contractor services to Hallmark and Austral-Asia,” the company said.
Hallmark has a mineral production sharing agreement with the local government covering 4,999.71 hectares located in Mati and San Isidro, Davao Oriental.
Austral-Asia’s, on the other hand, spans 5,000 hectares located in Mati and Gov. Generoso, Davao Oriental.
In February last year, Nickel Asia said that the two mining firms had accepted its letter of intent to be the sole and exclusive mining service contractor for Hallmark and Austral-Asia’s mineral production sharing agreements.
“The [letter of intent] permits the conduct of a feasibility study to determine the economic and technical viability for NAC to establish a high-pressure acid leach or equivalent mineral processing plant within the… area,” the company said.
On Monday, Nickel Asia shares rose by seven centavos or 1.52%, closing at P4.67 per share. — Adrian H. Halili
Julie Anne San Jose, Erik Santos unite for concert
ON MARCH 2 at 8 p.m., Julie Anne San Jose and Erik Santos will pair up for a concert called Love Bound at the Newport Performing Arts Theater. It marks the first time the two will share a stage. Mr. Santos boasts a 20-year career and is known for classic OPM ballads like “I’ll Never Go,” “Kung Akin Ang Mundo,” “Say You’ll Never Go,” and “Pagbigyang Muli.” Meanwhile, bestselling recording artist Ms. San Jose will be coming from her Queendom concert last December as the youngest recipient of the Diamond Record Award from the Philippine Association of the Record Industry. Love Bound concert tickets are now available at all SM Tickets and TicketWorld outlets, and cost between P1,500 to P8,500.
SZA releases 5 new tracks
TOP Dawg Entertainment and RCA Records’ four-time Grammy award-winning artist SZA has released a five-track audio bundle for her recent single “Saturn.” The bundle includes the titular track’s live version, first heard during the 2024 Grammy Awards, plus the main, sped-up, a cappella, and instrumental versions. The five iterations spin off from the main version of “Saturn,” written and produced by SZA, Carter Lang, Rob Bisel, Solomonophonic, and Monsune. The bundle is now out on all streaming platforms.
Instituto Cervantes screens women’s films
TO HONOR the works and culture created by women for women, Instituto Cervantes will be screening films that shed light on women on March 7, 14, 16, and 21, all at 2 p.m. They are open for free to the general audience via online registration and will take place at Instituto Cervantes’ Intramuros, Manila office. “Espacio femenino” (Women’s Space), the film series dedicated to female culture and the production made by women filmmakers, will consist of three documentaries, one fiction film, and one session of short films. Visit https://cultura.cervantes.es/manila/en/espacio-femenino.-imaginarios-alborotados/167699for details.
Lay Zhang, Lauv team up for new single
THE COLLABORATION between Asian star Lay Zhang and American pop sensation Lauv has arrived in the form of a new single, “Run Back to You.” Released over the weekend, it has pop melodies and nostalgic retro vibes and talks about the complications of relationships. The accompanying music video features a special appearance by Twitch streamer and digital sensation, Valkyrae. The song also sets the stage for Lay Zhang’s upcoming album. “Run Back to You” is now available on streaming platforms worldwide.
Korean film Concrete Utopia now on Viu PHL
SOUTH Korean disaster thriller Concrete Utopia, starring Lee Byung-hun, Park Seo-jun, and Park Bo-young, is now streaming on the Viu Philippines platform. Loosely based on the second part of the hit webtoon Joyful Outcast by Kim Sung-nyung, Concrete Utopia follows survivors who gather in an apartment which is the last remaining building in Seoul in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake, who gradually descend into ruthless tribalism. Directed by Um Tae-hwa, the film stars an ensemble which includes Lee Byung-hun, Park Seo-jun, Park Bo-young, Park Ji-hu, Kim Do-yoon, and Kim Sun-young. In Korea, it was hailed as a sobering parable and picked by the Korean Film Council to represent South Korea in the selection for Best International Feature Film at the 2024 Academy Awards. Concrete Utopia is distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures.
MGMT, Christine and the Queens release single
PART of the newly released MGMT album Loss Of Life is the landmark track “Dancing in Babylon,” the first collaboration between MGMT and Chrisine and the Queens. The song and video both feature the latter’s figurehead Chris. The video’s director is Ray Tintori, who previously helmed videos for the band’s songs “Time To Pretend,” “Electric Feel,” and “Kids.” It also stars John Cameron Mitchell, Julian Morris, and artist Landon Ross. On the Loss of Life album, additional production was supplied by Daniel Lopatin and James Richardson. “Dancing in Babylon” is available on that album, now streaming on all platforms worldwide.
Arthur Miguel and dwta collaborate on new single
Filipino singer-songwriters dwta and Arthur Miguel are working together for the second time. Following up the first song, “Lihim,” is the love song “Tahan Na.” According to dwta — which is the stage name of Jhasmine Villanueva — the heartfelt track illustrates the beauty of not giving up hope for love despite being constantly let down. “In the end, it’s a song about staying strong, not giving up, and believing in the transformative power of love,” she said. The stripped-down, alt-country song was written by dwta in 2022 and has gone through multiple iterations since then. “Tahan Na” is out now on all digital music platforms worldwide via Sony Music Entertainment.
BERLIN — Dahomey, French-Senegalese director Mati Diop’s film about how returning 26 treasures to Benin, art looted by western powers in the 19th century, sparked a reckoning with colonialism’s legacy, won the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear prize for best film on Saturday.
The documentary, named after the West African kingdom where the artworks were created before they were looted by a French colonel during his conquest of Dahomey in 1892, looks at the response to the return of some of them from Paris to Benin, of which Dahomey is now part.
“It’s an opportunity to shine a light on a story that’s too little known,” the Paris-born filmmaker said of the prize. “A reality that France is doing everything to cover up, to define as something to be gotten rid of.”
Ms. Diop, whose film Atlantics, a drama set in Dakar about migration and the ghosts of men lost at sea, won a Grand Prix at Cannes in 2019, said she had detected a hunger in audiences to engage with the colonial past and take responsibility for it.
She, like many other prizewinners and jury members during a politically charged ceremony, called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Many others took to the stage wearing the keffiyeh scarf that is a symbol of the Palestinian liberation movement.
The best documentary prize went to Israeli-Palestinian film No Other Land, about the struggle of filmmaker Basel Adra to preserve his West Bank village as Israeli settlers encroach around it.
“I’m here celebrating the award, but also very hard for me to celebrate when there are tens of thousands of my people being slaughtered and massacred by Israel in Gaza,” Mr. Adra said.
His co-director, Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham added: “I am Israeli, Basel is Palestinian. And in two days we will go back to a land where we are not equal… This situation of apartheid between us, this inequality has to end.” — Reuters
THE VALUE and volume of electronic fund transfers that went through PESONet and InstaPay continued to rise as of January from a year ago, based on data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The combined value of transactions done via the BSP’s automated clearing houses InstaPay and PESONet climbed by 36.5% to P1.305 trillion as of January from P955.83 billion in the same period in 2023.
In terms of volume, transactions coursed through InstaPay and PESONet soared by 71.1% to 101.19 million as of end-January from 58.92 million in the comparable year-ago period, the data showed.
The continued high double-digit growth in online fund transfers can be attributed to the robust adoption of digital banking transactions and growth in e-commerce, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.
The growth in InstaPay, PESONet transactions also reflect “the greater shift to these electronic fund transfer channels that are faster, cheaper, safer, and more convenient compared to checks, cash, and other over-the-counter bank transactions,” he said.
Broken down, the value of PESONet transactions rose by 31.2% to P797.377 billion as of last month’s end from P607.861 billion as of January 2023.
The volume of transactions coursed through the payment gateway stood at 8 million, 8.5% higher than the 7.37 million seen in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the value of transactions done through InstaPay climbed by 45.9% year on year to P507.761 billion at end-January from P347.964 billion in the comparable year-ago period.
The volume of InstaPay transactions also surged by 80.8% to 93.19 million from 51.55 million in 2023.
Mr. Ricafort said the expansion in PESONet and InstaPay transactions may also be attributed to the continued recovery of the economy. The Philippine economy grew by 5.6% in 2023, among the fastest in the region.
“This also reflects increased financial sophistication and inclusion of more Filipinos,” he added.
PESONet and InstaPay are automated clearing houses launched in December 2015 under the central bank’s National Retail Payment System.
PESONet caters to high-value transactions and may be considered as an electronic alternative to paper-based checks. On the other hand, InstaPay is a real-time, low-value electronic fund transfer facility for transactions up to P50,000 and is most useful for remittances and e-commerce.
The BSP earlier said it has reached its goal to have 50% of total retail transactions done digitally by end-2023. It is currently working on the next phase of the 2024-2026 Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap. — Keisha B. Ta-asan
On Jan. 29, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairperson George Garcia announced that the commissioners, sitting en banc, had decided to suspend indefinitely the acceptance of any signature sheets for the people’s initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution until they are able to review, enhance, and add something to Comelec Resolution 10650, the revised rules and regulations governing the conduct of an initiative related to the Constitution. He said, “This is necessary to avoid problems, conflicts and misunderstandings in the interpretation of the provision of the rules.”
The Comelec had been receiving signature sheets from the 253 legislative districts for the people’s initiative, a mechanism provided in the Constitution that empowers Filipinos to directly propose amendments to the Constitution. The petition in the signature sheets is to allow members of Congress to jointly vote on the proposed amendments in a constitutional assembly. However, allegations of “signature buying” have put the authenticity of the signature drive as a people’s initiative in doubt.
I find strange the passive, nay, compliant reaction of the people to the suspension of the signature drive, which according to Albay Rep. Joey Salceda has gathered the required number of signatures from all the 253 districts of the country. That is at least eight million signatures collected. The gathering those signatures — from all over the country, from Batanes to Tawi Tawi from Jan. 9, when the initiative was launched, to Jan. 23, when proponents of the initiative claimed that they had met the minimum number of signatures — entailed enormous expense, tremendous effort, and remarkable coordination.
The production of the TV infomercial that kicked off the undertaking cost P55 million alone. Its placement in the top three television channels — ABS-CBN, GMA, and TV 5 — cost several millions more. Then there was the cost of producing millions of signature sheets, distributing them all over the country, and collecting the signed sheets for submission to the Comelec.
Seeking out a certain number of registered voters in each of the 253 congressional districts and explaining to countryfolk what the signature campaign is all about required an army of trained signature solicitors. Training and deploying hundreds of signature solicitors all over the country and coordinating their work demanded a nationwide organization and communication system.
But all that expense, all that effort, has now gone to waste because of the Comelec decision. Yet, no march, no rally in protest of that decision has been staged. If they could spend millions for an information campaign and mobilize hundreds of people to gather signatures from all over the country, they certainly can afford to mount a march of a thousand men to the Comelec building in Intramuros to denounce the poll body’s decision.
If the proponents of the people’s initiative think the issue is legal, they can seek the help of lawyers’ associations that readily render their legal counsel pro bono to marginalized folks and the downtrodden. There is the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, which, as it names says, is a union of lawyers committed to render competent legal services to the marginalized sectors for the upholding and promotion of their rights and freedoms. There is the Public Attorney’s Office, which was created by law to provide the indigent sector access to legal counsel at the time of need and free access to courts, due process, and equal protection of the laws. There is also the oldest human rights lawyers’ network in the Philippines, the Filipino Lawyers Assistance Group, better known as FLAG, which advocates for the promotion and defense of human rights. But the proponents of the initiative did not seek their help.
And if the people’s initiative were indeed thwarted by the Comelec, many individual human rights lawyers would have come to its defense. The deans and the professors of constitutional law of the most prestigious schools of Law would have quickly volunteered their counsel to the people behind the initiative as they have done in the past when people’s rights were violated.
But none of the above took up the cudgels for the people behind the petition.
Strangely, it was members of the House of Representatives who protested the suspension of the proceedings related to the people’s initiative.
Just hours after Comelec Chairperson Garcia announced the suspension, Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda said that the Comelec does not have the power to stop the act of the people unilaterally. “The Commission cannot unilaterally defeat or delay an act of the people by simply refusing to implement the provisions of the Constitution, the law, and the rules and regulations Comelec itself issued under Resolution No. 10650 s. 2020,” Mr. Salceda said. “The provisions of the rules Comelec itself issued regarding RA 6735 is that the Election Officer will issue a certification upon receipt of signatures from petitioners. The only delay that the Comelec can do, en banc, is to withhold the order to verify gathered signatures,” he added.
Quezon Rep. David Suarez called the suspension the “blatant disregard” for, and an “egregious violation” of, the democratic process and of people’s right to seek constitutional reforms. Former Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Alfredo Garbin, Jr. told the Comelec to lift the suspension. He declared, “I now implore the Comelec to lift the suspension immediately and respect the inherent and constitutional right of the people to directly propose amendments to the Constitution.”
It is apparent from the apathy of the people towards the suspension of the initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution, and the angry reaction of a number of ranking members of the House of Representatives, that the initiative is not of the people. It is by the politicians and for the benefit of politicians.
The people showed their true sentiments last Sunday. Several peoples’ organizations converged on EDSA to commemorate the 38th anniversary of the People Power Revolution and to denounce the move to discard the legacy of that revolution — the 1987 Constitution.
Oscar P. Lagman, Jr. has been a keen observer of Philippine politics since the 1950s.
DEL MONTE Philippines, Inc. (DMPI) remains resilient as its subsidiary considers a US dollar senior perpetual capital securities offering, according to financial research firm CreditSights.
A credit strength of DMPI is its resilience “amid inelastic demand for food,” CreditSights said in its analysis e-mailed to reporters on Monday. DMPI is the Philippine unit of Del Monte Pacific Ltd. (DMPL).
DMPI has a “strong market presence and an established household brand in the Philippines,” the report noted.
“DMPI operates in the food and beverage sector, which is generally more protected against economic downturns that could adversely affect the company’s revenue and profit, though short-term volatility cannot be ruled out due to temporary supply dislocations,” CreditSights said.
The issuer of the contemplated offering will be DMPI’s subsidiary Jubilant Year Investments Ltd.
CreditSights projected that the offering would yield 7.27%.
DMPL said on Feb. 18 that the possible issuance would be guaranteed by DMPI and Philippine Packing Management Service Corp.
The company added that Jubilant Year engaged UBS AG as the sole global coordinator, lead manager, and bookrunner to arrange a series of fixed income investor meetings and calls.
CreditSights said another credit strength for DMPI is its fully integrated operations, which allow for operational efficiencies and economies of scale.
“This allows DMPI to have more control over the production process and be relatively insulated from supply disruptions and unfavorable raw material costs,” it said.
“DMPI has fully integrated its pineapple processing operations in Mindanao, which includes 26,000 hectares of pineapple plantation; pineapple processing facility with production capacity of 700,000 tons of pineapples per annum; frozen fruit processing facility; not-from-concentrate juicing plant; and beverage bottling plant,” it added.
The key credit risks faced by DMPI is its “precarious liquidity,” the report said.
“DMPI’s liquidity is very thin; unrestricted cash as of Oct. 31 stood at P1 billion, well below its short-term debt of P18.7 billion. The company’s cash to short-term debt ratio has consistently been below 0.1x in the last three years,” it noted.
The credit research company also said that DMPI’s cash outflows could worsen due to “high sticky dividend payouts.”
“DMPI intends to maintain an annual cash dividend payout of between 33% to 75% of the company’s consolidated net income, potentially exacerbating DMPI’s already strained free cash flows,” it said.
Another credit risk is DMPI’s “negative free cash flows amid high capital expenditure”, according to CreditSights.
“DMPI incurs sizable capex from the expansion, development, and maintenance of its plantations and production facilities. In addition, DMPI’s operational costs have been increasing in the past few years, further pressurizing its net operating cash flow,” it said.
CreditSights also mentioned the risk of natural calamities that could affect all or part of DMPI’s plantation.
“DMPI’s pineapple plantation and production facilities are all located in Mindanao, Philippines. A natural calamity such as a wildfire or hurricane could potentially wipe out a part or a substantial portion of its plantation,” it said.
“While the group has operational insurance for such an event, it is unclear whether the payout will be sufficient to cover the potential damage and economic loss from an inability to operate business as normal,” it added.
On Monday, DMPL shares closed unchanged at P6.15 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
THE Philippine hospitality sector continues to recover after incurring substantial losses in 2020 and 2021. The Philippine government’s international arrivals target in 2023 was breached, resulting in overall improvement in Metro Manila occupancies and daily rates. Meanwhile, 2024 will be a banner year for new hotel completion in Metro Manila, with local and foreign brands to open new facilities across the Philippines. The tourism sector’s share to national economic output has also been improving.
MAXIMIZE THE RETURN OF BUSINESS TRAVELERS AND IN-PERSON EVENTS Four- and five-star hotels are likely to benefit from the return of in-person corporate events and the resurgence of business travels. Property exhibits, pharmaceutical product launches, overseas employment summits are among the events that help drive occupancies of hotels and are primarily hosted in hotels’ meeting rooms and exhibition centers. Hotel operators should maximize the return of these in-person events and tap corporates by offering attractive packages. Hotel operators should also work closely with the Tourism department that is actively enticing international organizations to mount their events in the country. The department is also priming the Philippines as a key meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) destination in Asia, and this should result in the holding of international MICE events in the Philippines, especially in Metro Manila, Clark in Pampanga, Cebu, and Davao.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE GOVERNMENT’S ‘BUILD, BETTER MORE’ INITIATIVE The development and modernization of more airports across the country should provide opportunities for property firms that intend to expand their leisure foothold. This expansion strategy should also be buoyed by the improvement of road networks leading to popular and emerging tourist spots across the Philippines. In our view, developers with parcels of land near major airports and mass transit systems should consider developing new hotels and explore complementing these with MICE facilities to cash in on a rebounding hotel sector across the Philippines, as shown by rising daily rates, occupancies, and tourism revenues. In our view, the hospitality sector will continue to benefit from improving infrastructure connectivity.
ATTRACT MORE NON-TRADITIONAL SOURCE MARKETS Colliers believes that hotel operators should take a cue from the Tourism department’s initiative of enticing more foreign tourists from non-traditional markets. In 2023, the Philippines’ major source markets were the United States, South Korea, Japan, and Australia. A formidable part of these ‘visitors’ were also overseas Filipino workers vacationing in the Philippines. The Tourism department is trying to diversify its source of international arrivals and airlines and hotel operators should work with the government in targeting non-traditional source markets such as India, the Middle East and European countries. Hotel players should specifically target long-haul and high-spending tourists likely to propel hotel stays and leisure-related expenditures in hotels and other leisure-related establishments.
2023 ARRIVALS EXCEED DOT TARGET Data from the Department of Tourism (DoT) showed that foreign arrivals in the country reached 5.45 million in 2023, breaching the full-year target of 4.8 million and the 2.65 million recorded in 2022. The total arrivals in 2023 represent a 66% recovery rate for the Philippines’ all-time high of 8.26 million arrivals in 2019. South Korea remains as the country’s top source market with 1.4 million arrivals followed by the United States (903,299), Japan (305,580), Australia (266,551) and China (263,836).
The DoT has also launched programs to attract more international visitors and prop up domestic tourism including the mounting of local and international travel fairs, signing of cooperation agreements with major tourist-generating markets including Japan. In 2024, the Tourism department’s goal is to attract 7.7 million international tourists.
Meanwhile, international tourist receipts reached P482.54 billion ($8.7 billion) in 2023, more than double the P214.58 billion ($3.9 billion) a year ago and higher than the P482.15 billion ($8.7 billion) recorded pre-Covid or in 2019. The Tourism department remains optimistic as it aims to attract about 12 million foreign tourists in 2028.
HEALTHY OCCUPANCIES Average hotel occupancies in Metro Manila reached 65% in the second half (H2) of 2023, up from 61% in H1 2023. The rise in occupancies was due to holiday-induced spending and the surge in foreign arrivals in the fourth quarter of 2023. The sustained demand for MICE also partly lifted the demand for hotels during the period. In 2024, we project average occupancy to reach 68% as we expect more international tourists despite the substantial completion of new hotel rooms in the capital region.
ADRS TO SUSTAIN RISE IN 2024 In 2023, average daily rates (ADRs) grew by 10.4%, higher than our forecast of a 6% growth. Four-star hotels posted the fastest ADR increase in H2 2023, indicating strong demand for business+leisure (bleisure) hotels. Meanwhile, five-star hotels saw continued growth year on year due to sustained demand for leisure and in-person corporate events. In 2024, Colliers projects ADRs to increase by 6%. We expect the substantial completion of rooms to slightly temper the growth in daily rates in 2024.
Optimism in the hospitality sector abounds. This is one of the primary reasons why foreign hotel brands are aggressively looking at opening accommodation facilities in the Philippines. With more than 7,640 islands there’s definitely more to explore as the Philippines is ready for discovery. Love the Philippines!
LONDON — Calling all Taylor Swift superfans: your dream job has just been posted.
Britain’s V&A museum is looking for a Taylor Swift superfan adviser, one of several advisory roles it is creating to help its curating teams learn more about niche subjects and cultural trends.
The London museum said on Friday it wanted to speak with UK-based “Swifties” ahead of the US music star’s upcoming European tour as it seeks “insights into the culture and artisanry around handmade signs, friendship bracelets and Taylor Swift memorabilia.”
Ms. Swift’s fans are known for swapping friendship bracelets while attending her concerts.
Other superfan adviser roles the museum is advertising include positions for lovers of emojis and items such as Crocs shoes, and they are listed as part time, zero hour contract jobs on its website. It has already appointed fans of LEGO, Pokemon, and Toby Jugs in similar roles.
As part of the job, successful candidates will meet with the museum’s curatorial team to share their knowledge.
The museum said the roles were “part of a drive to complement further the vast curatorial knowledge within the museum’s walls and bring in grassroots expertise in highly specific cultural niches.” — Reuters
PHILIPPINE National Bank’s (PNB) net profit rose by 55.9% in 2023 on the back of higher interest income and lower loan loss provisions, it said on Monday.
The lender’s attributable net income stood at P17.98 billion last year, up from P11.53 billion a year prior, its financial statement disclosed to the stock exchange showed.
“Net core banking income, which excludes gains on sale of acquired properties, climbed by a record 156% year on year,” PNB said in a statement.
This translated to a return on equity of 9.95% and a return on assets of 1.53%, up from 7% and 0.99% previously.
Net interest income went up by 19.46% to P44.59 billion last year from P37.33 billion previously.
“The bank’s net interest margin widened to 4.2% in 2023, compared to the 3.6% in the previous year, as the bank continued its focus on the efficient deployment of funds,” PNB said.
Meanwhile, other operating income went down to P7.44 billion from P9.18 billion.
“Trading and foreign exchange gains at P1.8 billion rose by more than 4 times year on year as the bank was able to capitalize on market opportunities, despite the limited market liquidity and rising interest rate environment in 2023. The bank also offloaded certain high-value foreclosed properties as it continues to aggressively dispose of nonperforming assets,” PNB said.
Operating expenses inched up by 0.22% to P28.43 billion from P28.37 billion amid “prudent spending despite the continued business growth.”
As a result, its cost-to-income ratio was at 49.56%, improving from 54.47% previously.
PNB’s gross loans grew by 5% to P642 billion at end-2023 as it lent more to the commercial sector and small and medium firms.
The group’s gross nonperforming loan (NPL) ratio went down to 6.26% from 6.34% in 2022. Meanwhile, NPL coverage went up to 88.53% from 88.52%.
It set aside 17.71% lower provisions at P5.92 billion in 2023 from P7.2 billion in 2022.
“The healthier performance in 2023 was augmented by lower provisions on distressed loans and other credit assets as the market continued to rebound during the year from the lingering effects of the pandemic and other adverse market conditions in recent years,” PNB said.
On the funding side, total deposits rose by 6.51% to P927.97 billion from P871.23 billion.
“Likewise, the bank continued to build up its current and savings accounts deposits, growing by 4% year on year, and accounting for 83% of the bank’s total deposits as of end-2023,” it said.
Its net loan-to-deposit ratio was at 65.11% last year, down from 66.36% in 2022.
PNB’s assets rose by 5.71% to P1.21 trillion from P1.15 trillion.
Total equity likewise grew by 12.5% to P191.15 billion from P169.91 billion.
The bank’s common equity Tier 1 ratio and capital adequacy ratio stood at 16.85% and 17.7%, respectively, up from 14.58% and 15.38% previously.
PNB’s shares went up by 12 centavos or 0.63% to end at P19.28 apiece on Monday. — AMCS
I had recently been in touch with women coffee farmers from Mindanao and they all had the same issues about logistics. From the rugged road of their town to Davao City, a small farmer is at a loss on how to navigate the supply chain challenges. She can send her produce by bus and ask the conductor to drop the coffee off at a station in Pasay City, or go to a proper cargo agent. The cargo service will, of course, charge her volume weight, making her landed price uncompetitive.
Another woman farmer checked several ways to transport the produce: through a cargo agent, by hitching with a wingvan filled with bananas on its way to Balintawak market in Quezon City, or leaving it with a consolidator to figure out a way to Manila. I happened to check on their final decision: they decided on a truck that would travel three days from Davao to Manila, and one had to pay on a per sack basis.
Those are the options for the micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
Now, let’s take a look at big business. They consolidate the goods in a container van, load it onto a barge or a boat, and do it the way multinationals and big corporations do. The result? Cheaper freight, and cheaper landed cost.
And for coffee, that is okay because green coffee is not perishable under a constant moisture level. But what about fruits? The truck the coffee farmer hitched with was full of crated green bananas on their way to Balintawak. Why should Balintawak in Luzon get bananas from Davao, you may ask? It is because the truck will be loaded with something to bring back from Manila — something not found in Davao. That is called trade. But for fresh fruits, this system does not support the “buy fresh, buy local” movement. I am sure the bananas were unripe, and then would be sprayed with ripening agents to be ready for the market when the tired bananas reached their destination.
As we were discussing this situation, I found out that since these indigenous people (IPs) own ancestral domains, they just give them up, sell their ancestral rights to big corporations, and stop being small farmers completely. Soon, we will no longer have small farmers because of these reasons: challenges in logistics, difficult access to markets, and lack of capital.
BUY LOCAL With coffee as the exception because it is not as perishable as bananas or tomatoes, we should really encourage buying only from nearby or local sources. Davao must sell its produce to Davao or anywhere else in Mindanao which has a great road network. But try sending produce from Cagayan de Oro to Manila. Try anywhere to Manila. You would no longer wonder why only big companies get to transport fruits from Davao to Manila supermarkets. It is more expensive to ship anything from Mindanao to Manila.
Is consolidation the only answer?
What happens to small producers if this is the case? You have to submit to consolidators if you want to reach Manila, or survive by just selling to local buyers in which case you do not need to find transport and have additional costs.
I got a call from a farmer who said I could also pay a driver who would take the goods to a sari-sari store near Balintawak. What? And how would I meet the driver and pay him for carrying my goods? Ingenious ways are the only recourse of a small producer. By chance, this farmer found a huge truck on its way to Manila which had room for her goods. The truck would take approximately three days to travel from Davao to Quezon City. If you loaded eggs, they would have hatched by now.
Of course, there are boats and cargo ships. But it costs a lot to ship and takes two to three weeks to be delivered to your doorstep. What can a small farmer do to participate in cross island trading?
Like I said, it is okay for coffee as it is not perishable in its raw state. But what about fruits and vegetables?
Here are two good examples of hope.
I found out about an app developed by a group which points you to a “bagsakan” or depot in Quezon province, and one would know in advance what vegetables or fruits are available by using the app. Now that is a good development for supply chain developers — to use technology to connect farmers to consumers, whether B to B or B to C. My friend said that using this app leads you to a depot in Sariaya, Quezon where the produce is gathered. Apparently, this depot was resurrected by former Agriculture Chief Proceso Alcala and now is managed professionally.
Another example is the Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural Terminal and Trading Center (NVAT) up north. A private company, Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., has put up Fresh Depot which is a cold storage. This is a good development to prevent food waste and give farmers a leg up in maintaining the farmgate prices.
With these two developments in Luzon, what happens in Mindanao, the food basket of the country? With inter-island trade and logistics still inefficient, what will Mindanao do with its produce? Maybe we can replicate the successful models of Luzon in the South and start planning to do this before food shortages and El Niño sets in.
We should think about improving supply chain facilities for the small farmer, the IPs, and not just let them give up in favor of big business. Our development must be inclusive so we can still have farmers in the next generation and ensure food security.
In the meantime, for coffee farmers, we need access to better and more efficient supply chain options. Or you will just have to pay for it in the price of your daily brew. Next time you order Sulu coffee, please do not complain about its high price. It came from a faraway land and is benefiting a small producer who, despite the odds, keeps farming coffee. The price of coffee is a function of labor plus a lot of distribution costs.
Chit U. Juan is co-vice chair of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) Environment Committee. She was the chair of the ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs Network (AWEN) from 2016-2018 and is now a Philippine Women’s Economic Network trustee and member of AWEN’s Advisory Council. She is also 1st vice-president of the ASEAN Coffee Federation.
MAYNILAD WATER Services, Inc. said on Monday that it would allocate P4 billion to upgrade and rehabilitate 22 of its existing pumping stations and reservoirs.
Major activities include retrofitting to improve structural resiliency and replacing electronic and electrical equipment for enhanced pump operations, the company said in a statement.
Maynilad also aims to increase reservoir capacity for “better water service reliability” during maintenance activities and emergencies, as well as upgrade the pumps and motors to further boost water pressure.
Maynilad Chief Operating Officer Randolph T. Estrellado said that the maintenance project is part of the company’s service enhancement program to ensure sustained water access amid higher water demand.
“It will help to keep the water infrastructure resilient and responsive to the needs of our growing customer base,” he said.
To date, Maynilad has 39 pumping stations and 39 reservoirs located in strategic locations throughout its service area, up from only seven operational pumping stations and reservoirs in 2006 before the company was re-privatized.
Maynilad serves Manila, except portions of San Andres and Sta. Ana. It also operates in Quezon City, Makati, Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas, and Malabon.
It also supplies the cities of Cavite, Bacoor, and Imus, and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta, and Rosario, all in Cavite province.
Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which has a majority stake in Maynilad, is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and 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
