THE PHILIPPINES dropped three spots in the global digital competitiveness index of the World Competitiveness Center of Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD), finishing at the bottom of its South-east Asian peers. Read the full story.
By Aaron Michael C. Sy, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINE government plans to borrow less from the domestic market next month, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said on Thursday, amid a shrinking budget deficit that eases the pressure to finance its debt.
The December borrowing plan is 73% lower than the P225-billion program in November and 60% less than what it raised this month, the BTr said in a memo posted on its website.
The government will borrow P20 billion via Treasury bills and P40 billion via Treasury bonds.
It will sell P3 billion each in 91- and 182-day securities, as well as P4 billion in 364-day T-bills on Dec. 4 and Dec. 11.
The Treasury will also auction off P20 billion each in 10-year and 15-year bonds on Dec. 5 and 12, respectively.
The lower borrowing coupled with a positive outlook for the Philippine economy would likely lead to high demand for both T-bills and T-bonds, analysts said.
The state is borrowing less next month given the shrinking budget gap, Domini S. Velasquez, chief economist at China Banking Corp., said in a Viber message.
Ms. Velasquez said the smaller borrowing via Treasury bills should boost the market rally and aid the decline in interest rates.
“This decision is influenced, in part, by the projected smaller budget deficit for 2023 compared with the initial program,” she said. “As we approach the final months of the year, the government still has around P481.5-billion fiscal space available, which is unlikely to be fully utilized.”
The Philippine government’s budget deficit shrank in October as revenue growth outpaced spending, the Treasury bureau said on Wednesday. The fiscal gap narrowed by 65.27% to P34.4 billion from P99.1 billion a year ago.
In the 10 months to October, the budget gap narrowed by 8.45% to P1.018 trillion from a year earlier. This was equivalent to 67.88% of the full-year P1.499-trillion deficit program.
Revenue increased by 9.41% to P3.224 trillion, which was already 86% of the target for the year.
The government sees no need to borrow more given the approaching Christmas holiday, Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said in a Viber message.
Yields would probably decline further if global crude prices and inflation continue to ease, he added.
In October, inflation eased to 4.9% from 6.1% in September and 7.7% a year earlier. This was below the Philippine central bank’s 5.1-5.9% forecast for the month.
October inflation was the slowest in three months but marked the 19th straight month that it breached the central bank’s 2-4% target. Year to date, inflation stood at 6.4%.
“The lower borrowing plan could also suggest that the government had already reached its target for the year,” Robert Dan J. Roces, chief economist at Security Bank Corp., said in a Viber message. “It is also able to fund its spending needs on the back of good revenue, notably during the holiday season.”
The gross domestic borrowing program this year is set at P1.654 trillion, composed of P54.1 billion in T-bills and P1.6 trillion in fixed-rate T-bonds.
The government borrows from local and external sources to help fund a budget deficit capped at 6.1% of the gross domestic product this year.
RIDLEY SCOTT at his best can be an immersive filmmaker and with the opening of his latest feature Napoleon he manages to locate you in the middle of the Place de Revolution, 1793, where a wooden cart wheels one Marie Antoinette to the guillotine. Lovely little vignette with the queen (Catherine Walker) standing stoically while folks jeer and pelt her with rocks and rotting vegetables (a tomato stain marking her bosom like a scarlet letter). Some trouble fitting the stock onto her neck — these are the little details that help you believe the reality of her oncoming death, and when the executioner picks up the head by its locks and shakes it at the roaring crowd you watch the expression closely wondering if you might catch it blink (you don’t). Apocryphally, Napoleon (Joaquin Phoenix) stands in the sidelines, watching.
That’s about the last time you actually feel lost in the story Scott tries to tell, a relatively quiet, recognizably human moment the way the rest of the film isn’t. His concept (realized on paper by David Scarpa) is of a confident soldier and strategist constantly being undercut by his outsized ego and obvious enthrallment to Josephine de Beauharnais (Vanessa Kirby).
Ultimately, it’s standard biopic fare, well-staged battles inserted into scenes of a tumultuous rockstar marriage that feels more busy than passionate — sex is mostly doggie style rutting with a few unusual locations (under a dining table for one) tossed in, not especially imaginative. Vanessa Kirby is introduced sporting an intriguing punk ‘do which is the single most interesting facet of her performance; the role is sorely underwritten and the fact that Josephine was six years Napoleon’s senior doesn’t really come into play, unfortunately — she acts like she’s Napoleon’s master and commander but little develops from the few suggestive cues Kirby throws our way.
As the eponymous general turned emperor Phoenix doesn’t really turn on the charisma, opting to play an awkward insecure buffoon who on occasion manages to put on a scowl and look mysteriously authoritative. Scott and Phoenix make an effort to undercut the legend — this Napoleon watches impassively as revolting Royalists are treated to “a whiff of grapeshot”; cowers comically as government officials rush forward to overthrow him, then struts like a peacock when his soldiers respond with cocked rifles. Napoleon is a complex character, and the filmmakers do attempt to convey something of his contradictory nature; what would be appreciated is a sense that the opposing impulses actually come from the same person, that this isn’t just Phoenix clowning for one take, glaring for another. There’s a nice interlude with his mother Letizia (a sorely underused Sinead Cusack) who recruits a fictitious young sexual volunteer to prove Napoleon isn’t impotent (despite all the sex Josephine hasn’t given him an heir). Unraveling that knotty relationship might have helped explain the emperor’s hangups with older women but — someone mentioned a four-hour cut to stream on Apple; this feels more like a TikTok fragment carved out of a longer YouTube video waiting to be released.
The battles fare considerably better. The assault on Little Gibraltar in Toulon is a nicely staged amuse-bouche, served up with a side dish of horse blown spectacularly apart by cannonball (historically it was Napoleon who was wounded — bayonet to the thigh — not the horse). The battle of Waterloo is a suitably impressive climax: plenty of high-angle shots, possibly by drones, of vast fields and antlike men assembled in endless formations. Napoleon sends cavalry against Wellington’s square formations, a whirlwind of blue uniforms on horseflesh harrying the British soldiers, possibly the best battle sequences that money can buy.
More impressive are the guerrilla tactics used by Cossacks against French troops during Napoleon’s Russia campaign — draw soldiers into the woods with sniper fire, unsettle them with horrific tableaux of mutilated and desecrated French soldiers, finish them off in the midst of sylvan cathedrallike silence. When Napoleon, after occupying Moscow, wakes up the next day to step out of his quarters and finds the city torched by its own citizens, the burning orange buildings surround him with an intimidating impassivity — this is Napoleon at the height of his megalomania, confronted with an attitude even more massively monomaniac and dismissive of rational thinking than his.
Arguably the film’s visual climax occurs at Austerlitz, when Russian and Austrian troops are ambushed by French forces in hiding, then tricked onto treacherous ice and dropped into freezing water by cannonfire, wreathed in their own slowly twisting blood (details exaggerated — the supposed deep lake was actually ponds and the casualty count is likely two or three to at most 100 men, not 2,000 — but to be fair to Scott, Napoleon probably encouraged the exaggeration himself).
I get it; Scott is a Brit and likely not a fan of the French general and with Phoenix’s active collaboration was out to deflate the myth; would have thought with all the resources at his disposal the director might have made more effort to expand his subject — give us the scale and size of a leader who not only pulled a good chunk of the world to its knees but gave us the Napoleonic Code (the basis for the civil code in most countries of the world), developed a more centralized rationalized form of government, introduced higher education, established the study of Egyptology as we know it — and then cut him down to size.
Too ambitious? Stanley Kubrick might have pulled it off, and I don’t just mean his never-realized proposal; you see glimmers of what might have been in a number of his films, from the sumptuous costumes and candlelit interiors of his Barry Lyndon (adapting lenses commissioned by NASA to photograph the dark side of the moon) to the massive military formations that climaxed Spartacus (Roman ancestor to Napoleon’s battle squares) to the harrowing violence shot with magisterial authority in both Paths of Glory and Full Metal Jacket. Kubrick, no stranger to the marshaling of endless detail and vast resources, was perhaps the perfect filmmaker to realize the military genius onscreen — not as sure about Napoleon’s other accomplishments, but if anyone could do it Kubrick can.
But if we’re talking a Napoleon film that best approximates the prodigious nature of the man — that was already been done, back in 1927. Abel Gance’s Napoleon is as impressive as Scott’s for far less money, arguably as impressive as anything Kubrick has ever done. Gance begins his film with the boy in military school, engaged in a snowball fight. Napoleon at 12 years old leads his hopelessly outnumbered schoolmates in a pitched battle; they overwhelm their enemies through bravado and sheer ferocity. Gance matches the boy’s fervor with a barrage of effects, from wide landscapes to huge closeups, hurtling handheld footage, and (in the sequence climax) a series of cuts so swift and strobelike it sends your heart racing.
The snowball fight — which puts Scott’s entire war epic to shame — is merely the film’s amuse bouche. Gance proceeds to command his camera to do literally everything, from sitting astride a galloping horse to gliding over water (and sometimes underwater) to swinging like a pendulum over the French National Assembly, suggesting a political storm (which the director intercuts with Napoleon in a sailboat, negotiating a literal storm). Not content with shooting large arrays of soldiers he stretches the film frame itself, shooting not just with one camera but three, a prophecy of Cinemascope only more expressive (where Cinemascope usually projects a single image Gance would throw three, often tinted red, white, and blue [the colors of the French flag], often in violent counterpoint).
The film’s view of Napoleon may be even more simplistic than Scott’s — no English skepticism for this Frenchman — but one must remember Gance had originally proposed that this five-hour film be the first of six — a 30-hour epic, or more Napoleon than anything outside of a multivolume biography. Did Gance mean to insert darker threads in later installments? He certainly had the room.
Meanwhile we have Scott’s production which, for all its budget and historical revisionism, is a markedly timid effort, untouched by the taint of either genius or madness. Gance’s super-production is presently unavailable for streaming but folks are reportedly working on a seven-hour restoration, to be projected on a properly big screen. If I’m going to hold my breath for anything I’d hold it for that.
MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) has started seeking bidders for 1,200-megawatt (MW) baseload capacity to ensure continued supply of electricity for its customers, the power distributor said on Thursday.
In a statement, the company said it is calling on interested power generation companies to participate in a competitive selection process (CSP), the government’s mandatory policy requiring distribution utilities to choose the least-cost electricity supply via a competitive bid.
The deadline to submit an expression of interest is on Dec. 11, while a pre-bid conference will be held on Dec. 18. Submission of bids is set for Jan. 23, 2024.
The 1,200-MW baseload supply seeks to replace the terminated power supply agreements (PSAs) with South Premiere Power Corp. (SPPC) covering 670 MW; San Miguel Energy Corp. — now known as Sual Power, Inc. (SPI) — covering 330 MW; and the 200-MW unsolicited proposal from Solar Philippines Batangas Baseload Corp. (SPBBC).
SPPC is the administrator of the natural gas-fired power plant in Ilijan, Batangas while SPI is the administrator of the coal power plant in Sual, Pangasinan. The two are subsidiaries of San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp., the power arm of San Miguel Corp. (SMC).
Meralco has a 300-MW emergency power supply agreement with SPPC, which started from March 26 until March 25, 2024.
The Department of Energy (DoE) issued a certificate of conformity on the terms of reference (TOR) for the 15-year PSAs, it said, which will be effective once approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
The TOR followed through the advisory released by the DoE last month, which mandated DUs to conduct CSP for power supply, sourcing a portion of the energy requirements from natural gas-fired power plants.
Meralco said power suppliers with natural gas-fired power plants “are highly encouraged to participate in the bidding.”
It said the CSP, which was based on Meralco’s DoE-approved power supply procurement plan, “is meant to meet the power distributor’s future capacity requirements, including the 1,000 MW (net) supply that was covered by its PSAs with change in circumstance cases that are pending resolution.”
Earlier this month, Meralco also started the bidding for the 1,800-MW baseload capacity that was meant to replace the terminated PSAs with Excellent Energy Resources, Inc. (EERI) and Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd. (MPPCL), which were terminated earlier this year.
The ERC approved the termination after their PSA application went past the date during which it should have been approved by the regulator.
Six entities have expressed interest in participating in the bidding, namely: GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co., First NatGas Power Corp., SP New Energy Corp., Mariveles Power Generation Corp., EERI, and MPPCL.
The bid submission deadline is on Dec. 26.
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
SEASON 8 of The Met Opera in HD — a collaboration of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the Metropolitan Opera of New York, the Filipinas Opera Society Foundation, Inc., and Ayala Malls Cinemas — culminates with Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte on Dec. 5, 5:30 p.m., at Greenbelt 3 Cinema 1 in Makati City. Part of the Met’s popular English-language holiday series, this opera is a twisted tale about two pairs of lovers who find themselves on one emotional, and sometimes literal, thrill ride after another. Tickets are priced at P450. Students and young professionals may enjoy the screenings for P100 upon presentation of a valid ID. Tickets are available at Greenbelt ticket booths and on the website www.sureseats.com.
THE CULTURAL Center of the Philippines (CCP), through the different programs under its Film, Broadcast and New Media Division (CCP FBNMD), will screen local and international films for free in various venues nationwide. The CCP Arthouse Cinema puts the spotlight on the fight for human rights with a special screening of Maria, Cinemalaya’s first documentary film in competition, on Dec. 7, 1 p.m., at the FEU Mini-Auditorium. This event celebrates the 75th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights. To get the latest updates, follow the official CCP and CCP FBNMD social media accounts on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Newport World Resorts welcomes Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter David Pomeranz back with a Coming Home concert that marks the 40th anniversary since he first performed in the country. The one-night show rewinds his greatest hits — which include “Got to Believe in Magic,” “King and Queen of Hearts,” “On This Day,” and “Born For You” — with his special guest Vina Morales on Dec. 8 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater. Tickets for the upcoming concert, priced from P1,800 to P9,000, are now available at all TicketWorld and SM Tickets outlets.
JOSE MARI CHAN and The CompanY headline a holiday concert called Going Home to Christmas on Dec. 9, 8 p.m., at the Newport Performing Arts Theater. Jose Mari Chan’s name has become synonymous with Christmas, with his song “Christmas in our Hearts” as the anthem of Filipino Yuletide celebrations and the biggest Christmas OPM album in history. Joining him in perfect harmony is The CompanY. The acapella pop group from the 1980s popularized songs such as “Everlasting Love,” “Muntik Na Kitang Minahal,” and “Now That I Have You.” The group is currently composed of Annie Quintos, Moy Ortiz, OJ Mariano, and Sweet Plantado. Tickets are available via TicketWorld.
IT’S THAT time of the year again: Spotify has just launched 2023 Wrapped which gives users the opportunity of sharing data on their musical preferences. This year’s Wrapped is [acked with brand-new interactive features for users to celebrate their year on Spotify. They can find their personalized 2023 Wrapped experience when they open the app or head to Spotify.com/Wrapped. In addition to revealing the Spotify user’s top artists, genres, songs, and podcasts, there is the “Me in 2023” which will reveal one of 12 listening characters that best describes the way the user listened on Spotify, e.g. the Shapeshifter (quick to move from one artist to the next), the Luminary (play light, upbeat music more than others), and the Alchemist (create your own playlists more than others do). There is also “Sound Town” which matches users to a city based on their listening and shared artist affinity. Wrapped has also received a look upgrade this year, with data stories appearing in a refreshed way. Data stories include: The Top 5 Genres, Top 5 Artists, and Your Artist Messages (including Taylor Swift, Jung Kook, Ben & Ben, Shanti Dope, FELIP, and more). Eligible users can now access their personalized 2023 Wrapped experience in the Spotify mobile app (iOS and Android) and also, this year, via web view on mobile or Desktop by heading to Spotify.com/Wrapped. Also available is the Wrapped Feed, a one-stop shop for all things Wrapped, including the best of editorial playlists, merch from the user’s top artists, nearby concerts, and more. Users can also invite their friends to create a Blend and tap the ‘2023 Wrapped Top Songs’ filter to combine all of their top songs from this year into one shared playlist. Spotify will also bring the Wrapped experience to the Philippines in real life, with the opening of the Spotify Sari-Sari Store. In exchange for a user’s Wrapped results, they can take home exclusive merch, and hear from their favorite podcasters in real life, among other experiences. The Spotify Sari-Sari Store will be at the SM MOA Main Atrium from Dec. 8-10.
ONE OF the most anticipated K-dramas of the year, Death’s Game, starring Seo In-guk and Park So-dam, will premiere on Prime Video in the Philippines and more than 240 countries and territories on Dec. 15. Death’s Game, a TVING and Amazon Original produced by SLL, is based on a popular webtoon of the same name. Seo In-guk (Cafe Minamdang, Doom at Your Service) plays depressed failure Choi Yee-jae who decides to take his own life. Park So-dam (Parasite) plays Death, who decides to punish Yee-jae and reincarnates him 12 different times to live different lives that must be saved from their imminent deaths. The series is written and directed by Ha Byung-hoon, who previously directed 18 Again, Go Back Couple, and The Sound of My Heart. Prime Video is available in the Philippines for P149 per month.
MANILA-based production outfit GNN will be wrapping up the year with their annual yearend event at 123 Block in Mandala Park, Mandaluyong City, on Dec. 15, 7 p.m. onwards. The show will feature some of their favorite collaborators: The Ransom Collective, Oh Flamingo!, SOS, Ang Bandang Shirley, and Ciudad. Early bird tickets are currently on sale for P700 for a limited time only. Regular/door tickets will be available for P800. Slots can be secured via this link: bit.ly/gnnyep23.
FILIPINO music icon Aegis is set to conquer the big stage with a Christmas-themed concert at the Theatre at Solaire in Parañaque City, Metro Manila, on Dec. 20, 8 p.m. Dubbed Aegis: The Christmas Bonus Concert, the yearend celebration aims to showcase the career-spanning legacy of the powerhouse band and its signature anthems. The show will also feature Jose Mari Chan, known for his beloved classics and Christmas-themed repertoire. The Manila String Machine will also transform into a 15-piece orchestra to accompany Aegis in some of their songs. Tickets to the concert are now available at TicketWorld outlets nationwide and on their official website.
On NOV. 28, short video platform TikTok awarded the winners of the first #ForYouPelikula Short Film Festival, in partnership with multimedia company Viva. The entry Lotto or JackPat by Iloilo-based content creator Novy Mae Recate clinched three out of four awards: best actor, best actress, and best short film, which comes with a cash prize of P50,000. She has nearly 900,000 followers on TikTok, a following she gained from her regular short-form discussions of movies and TV online. Her short film is about a couple with differing views in life, which forces them to confront whether they will stay together or let go. The entry Nomi (Inom) by UP Diliman student Rico Romano Kamatoy brought home the best entry award, which comes with a cash prize of P50,000. His short film chronicles a young man’s day at the beach with friends until a tragic twist is revealed. Their films can be viewed on the TikTok platform.
By Brontë H. Lacsamana, Reporter
Movie Review
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Directed by Jacques Demy
THIS FILM is part of the ongoing 26th French Film Festival in Manila. There are screenings at the cinemas of SM Megamall and the SM Mall of Asia until Dec. 3. Tickets are P150 and P100 (discounted for seniors and PWDs) and are available at www.smcinema.com. For screening schedules, visit the Facebook pages of SM Cinema Mall of Asia and SM Cinema Megamall.
PEOPLE see France in an almost magical light, full of love and art and music, from Claude Debussy’s beautiful compositions to Renoir and Monet’s Impressionist paintings to Edith Piaf’s unforgettable voice.
With Paris once the stomping grounds of many European writers and the Louvre today still a bastion of famous art, there are simply many reasons that romance-loving Francophiles exist around the world to this day.
In the realm of cinema, a major contributor to this rose-tinted image is Jacques Demy’s 1964 masterpiece Les parapluies de Cherbourg, or The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Featuring a gorgeous Catherine Deneuve and a production design of vibrant, pretty colors (including the titular umbrellas), it’s no wonder this film captures the imagination of many French cinema lovers.
The story follows 16-year-old Genevieve (played by Deneuve), who is in love with Guy (Nino Castelnuovo) despite her mother (Anne Vernon) not approving of their relationship. The first act goes as expected — so sweet and romantic with all the pretty colors and singing that it appears their love story will inevitably have a happy ending.
As a sung-through musical, the saccharine quality of the film is at full blast, which might not bode well for those who don’t like watching characters sing the entire time in a movie. Still, its recurring musical motif is so beautiful, taking a masterfully somber turn in the end as the tragic love story unfolds.
This film, at first glance, is a picture-perfect representation of the beauty and love that France is known for, but the second and third acts turn that expectation on its head. As Guy is called to war and a reluctant Genevieve is being pulled towards the direction of another more reliable man in his absence, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg becomes a sweeping portrayal of a tragedy that befalls young love during wartime.
Like how the allure of France does not mean it is a perfectly romantic and musical country, Demy presents the idea that love does not defy destiny. It is sad and tragic and fleeting. Though Genevieve and Guy never do stop singing even as they move on, the colors and the songs they once shared will never cease to be beautiful.
Modern-day film lovers will also find familiarity here — a musical about a love that ultimately doesn’t work out? That’s Damien Chazelle’s 2016 hit movie La La Land! (Yes, it was totally inspired by Demy.) Those seeing the styling of Genevieve for the first time, especially when in pink, might even see echoes of Greta Gerwig’s 2023 blockbuster Barbie. (Again, inspired by this film!)
With that said, this year’s French Film Festival in Manila has such thoughtful programming, catering to various tastes and demographics. Aside from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Filipinos can see other timeless classics like Manon of the Sources by Claude Berri, Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud by Claude Sautet, and The Last Metro by François Truffaut in their full glory on the big screen.
Adventure genre fans of Alexandre Dumas’ iconic novel can enjoy Martin Bourboulon’s 2023 adaptation The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan while hip-hop lovers may want to catch Philippe Béziat’s documentary Gallant Indies.
Critically acclaimed films fresh from Cannes are also part of the lineup: The Taste of Things by Tran Anh Hùng, Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet, and The Animal Kingdom by Thomas Cailley.
Back to Catherine Deneuve, whose undying beauty and charm and expressive manner in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg lives on to this day, the French Film Festival is also showing her latest movie Bernadette by Léa Domenach, about the life of a former First Lady of France, Bernadette Chirac.
At SM Mall of Asia and SM Megamall cinemas until Dec. 3, these films (and more) are available to the public for only P150 — a very affordable price these days. To this writer, seeing Demy’s classic on the big screen was definitely worth more than that, but it is a joy to know that such lasting classics of French cinema can now be accessible to modern audiences.
Like how the romance and colors and songs of France remain wonderful albeit ephemeral in the so-called greater scheme of things, there is nothing to lose in the charm of celebrating their existence.
THE BUREAU of the Treasury has raised $1 billion from the sale of 5.5-year Sukuk bonds, it said on Thursday, citing high demand.
The amount was twice the benchmark size of at least $500 million and matched the target mentioned by Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno in July.
“The transaction is expected to be settled on Dec. 6,” the Treasury bureau said in a statement.
“The pricing of the Sukuk bonds turned out to be cheaper compared with US Treasury yields,” Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said in a Viber message. “This could be favorable to investors because they would have access to relatively higher returns amid easing rates.”
The issuance also benefits the government due to the lower rates, he said.
The notes will have a so-called Ijara and Wakala structure with a Commodity Murabaha aspect, it said.
Under the Sukuk al-Ijara, the security will represent a contract that signifies ownership of assets. This means the debt may be traded on the market and is subject to risks related to the ability of a lessee to pay their dues, as well as to market risks related to pricing.
A Sukuk al-Murabaha is the sale of goods at a price that includes the base purchase price plus a margin of profit for the seller.
Murabaha, also referred to as cost-plus financing, is an Islamic financing structure where the seller and buyer agree to the cost and markup of an asset.
The markup takes the place of interest, which is illegal in Islamic law. Murabaha is not an interest-bearing loan but is an acceptable form of credit sale under Islamic law. A Sukuk al-Murabaha certificate cannot be traded on the secondary market.
The Sukuk bonds issued by the BTr were met with high demand as bids reached nearly five times the offer, the Treasury said. It set the profit at 5.045%.
“The success of our inaugural Sukuk issuance affirms the republic’s significant standing in the international capital markets and underscores investors’ conviction in our financial inclusion agenda,” Mr. Diokno said in a statement.
“We hope this transaction will create positive momentum for Islamic banking and finance in the Philippines, and we look forward to the active participation of all stakeholders,” he added.
After the Treasury launched the Sukuk offering, Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings rated the bonds “BBB,” “Baa2,” and “BBB+,” matching their ratings for Philippine sovereign debt.
The net proceeds from the Sukuk bonds will complete the government’s external funding target that will be used for general purposes, including budgetary support.
Sukuk or Islamic bonds are certificates that represent a proportional undivided ownership right in tangible assets, or a pool of tangible assets. These assets could be in a specific project or investment activity that is Sha-ri’ah-compliant.
Unlike usual bonds, Sukuk bond issuances must adhere to Islamic principles and must be structured to prohibit elements such interest, uncertainty and investments in businesses that deal with prohibited goods or services.
A 2023 report from the Islamic Financial Services Board showed Sukuk dominated the Islamic capital market segment in 2022, accounting for 25.6% ($829.7 billion) of the $3.2-trillion global Islamic financial service industry last year.
This year, the Philippine government’s borrowing plan was set at P2.207 trillion, consisting of P1.654 trillion from domestic sources and P553.5 billion from foreign sources. — Aaron Michael C. Sy
LISTED property developer Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) is set to infuse prime commercial properties valued at P23 billion into AREIT, Inc. to bolster the latter’s assets under management (AUM) next year.
In a regulatory filing on Thursday, ALI identified the assets as Ayala Triangle Gardens Tower 2 office tower located at the corner of Paseo de Roxas and Makati Ave.; luxury mall Greenbelt 3 and 5; Holiday Inn and Suites Makati at Ayala Center; and Seda Ayala Center Cebu.
AREIT said its board of directors approved the planned 2024 asset infusions into the listed real estate investment trust.
ALI and its subsidiaries Greenhaven Property Ventures, Inc. and Cebu Insular Hotel Co., Inc. will subscribe to 642.15 million AREIT primary common shares at P34 per share in exchange for the Makati and Cebu prop-erties valued at P21.8 billion. The transaction is subject to the approval of AREIT shareholders during a special stockholders’ meeting in February 2024.
AREIT will also acquire Seda Lio resort in El Nido, Palawan from ALI subsidiary Econorth Resort Ventures, Inc. for P1.19 billion. The transaction will contribute to AREIT’s income by the first quarter of next year.
The ALI properties will be acquired alongside the company’s P6.77 billion purchase of Buendia Christiana Holdings Corp.’s 276-hectare industrial land in Zambales, which will be leased by ACEN Corp. subsidiary Giga Ace 8, Inc. for its solar plant operations.
“AREIT will execute the deed of exchange with ALI, its subsidiaries, and BCHC and apply for its approval with the SEC by March 2024. The new shares will be issued, and the income from the assets shall accrue to AREIT upon ap-proval,” the company said.
The acquisitions will bring AREIT’s AUM to P117 billion, while its gross leasable building area will reach over one million square meters, and its leased industrial land area will expand to 286 hectares by 2024.
According to AREIT, the acquisition of commercial properties and industrial land is part of the company’s plans to expand and diversify its portfolio.
“We believe in the synergistic goals between ALI as Sponsor and AREIT. ALI has infused a total of P59 billion in assets into AREIT since its IPO in 2020,” AREIT Chairperson and ALI President and Chief Executive Officer Anna Ma. Margarita B. Dy said.
“The inclusion of Ayala Tower Two and Greenbelt 3 and 5 — some of ALI’s prime assets in Makati, is a testament to our continued commitment to AREIT’s long-term growth,” she added.
AREIT President and Chief Executive Carol T. Mills said the company “deliberately planned” the acquisitions to consist of malls, offices, hotels, and industrial properties to broaden its portfolio and reduce concentra-tion risk to a particular sector.
“We are laying the groundwork to accelerate AREIT’s expansion. With Ayala Land’s deep pipeline of commercial assets as well as other strategic properties in the Ayala Group, AREIT can have the capacity to grow immensely and attain a market presence at par with some of the REIT players in the region,” Ms. Mills said.
AREIT posted a 42% increase in its nine-month net income to P3.43 billion while its total revenues improved by 41% to P5 billion.
Shares of AREIT at the local bourse rose 1.65 points or 5.85% to P29.85 apiece while ALI shares jumped by 1.05 points or 3.48% to P31.20 each on Thursday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
THOSE seeking original Pilipino music (OPM) hits and heartwarming Christmas melodies can support a worthy cause as well by watching the YuleStars Christmas Concert Series at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit Makati. On Dec. 1, Jose Mari Chan, Christian Bautista, and Roselle Nava will belt out beloved Christmas tunes. Finally, on Dec. 2, Ogie Alcasid and Nina will perform along with special guest Ice Seguerra as well. Proceeds are for the benefit of the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association Inc.’s charity programs. Tickets are available via TicketWorld.
CHRISTMAS carols are the focus on the concert Joy to the World, featuring the Philippine Suzuki Youth Orchestra. It will be held at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila on Dec. 2, 3 p.m. Admission is free, located at the Mariano K. Tan Centre, 30th St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.
ON DEC. 2 at 6 p.m., the internationally renowned concert pianist Jordan Shangkuan Ong will be performing at the Manila Piano in Makati. He will be performing with pianist Dr. Oliver Salonga, and Chinese orchestra conductor Danny Chin. The event will be hosted by Chinatown TV. The evening’s repertoire will include Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, Chopin’s Scherzo, and Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2., as well as popular Chinese and Filipino folk songs. Manila Piano is at the 4/f of the Ronac Lifestyle Center, Paseo Magallanes, Makati. Tickets are free on a first come first serve basis. For ticket reservations call Melanie Ong at 0968-270-3228 or Christine de los Santos at 0917-981-7766.
HAVING first premiered at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 2022, the first full-length, all-Filipino Christmas ballet, Puso ng Pasko, presented by Alice Reyes Dance Philippines (ARDP), will again have performances on Dec. 1 and 2, this time at the Metropolitan Theater in Manila. The production is a collaboration between National Artists Alice Reyes and Ryan Cayabyab, featuring timeless Filipino Christmas carols and choreography. Directed and choreographed by ARDP artistic director Ronelson Yadao, the ballet tells the story of Lolo Val, now living abroad in New Jersey, as he tells his young granddaughter Angelita about the magical Christmases of his youth with his barkada in Tres Reyes.
CINEMA ONE embraces the spirit of Christmas with Open Air Cinema One: A Magical Movie Night, which features the Disney blockbuster film Frozen 2 on Dec. 2 at Capitol Commons Park, Pasig City. In partnership with Ortigas Land, Capitol Commons, and Estancia, the outdoor screening event aims to bring together family and friends for a fun day filled with music and movie festivities. Moviegoers can also enjoy musical performances from Allen&Elle, Armi Millare, and Dani Zam. The event will be hosted by Star Magic artist Ai dela Cruz. The outdoor movie screening event will also feature A-Paws fashion show for dogs and cats, food stalls, various booths activities, and on-stage games. Admission is free and to enter the event, download the Ortigas Mall app or be an Ortigas Community Card member.
AYALA MUSEUM will hold a workshop on fluid art parol on Dec. 2 from 1-3 p.m. (for children ages five to 12) and 4-6 p.m. (teens and adults). The Let It Flow workshop includes basic art materials for participants, access to the museum’s new educational studios, and one museum admission. For details visit the Ayala Museum’s Facebook page.
SALCEDO Auctions’ yearend sale, “Under the Tree: The Wish List” live and online auction, starts at 2 p.m. on Dec. 2. It will include several pieces of important Philippine art, a selection of antique furniture, and a suite of jewelry and timepieces, among other collectibles. In-person preview runs until Dec. 1 at NEX Tower, 6786 Ayala Avenue, Makati before the auction begins the next day. For inquiries, e-mail info@salcedoauctions.com.
FROM favorite carols to music from movie musicals, The Peninsula Manila’s annual Christmas concert shines a spotlight on the talents of the Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO), Lara Maigue, Arman Ferrer, and the Ateneo Chamber Singers under the baton of National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab. The concert will be on Dec. 3, 5 p.m., at the hotel’s famed Lobby. Musical theater performers and Aliw awardees Lara Maigue and Arman Ferrer are the featured solo guest artists this year. Under the direction of Floy Quintos and musical director and conductor Mr. Cayabyab, this year’s annual festive season concert promises to ring in the Christmas spirit with favorite carols and orchestral pieces from musical theater and the classics. Joining Ms. Maigue, Mr. Ferrer, the MSO, and Mr. Cayabyab are the Ateneo de Manila University’s Ateneo Chamber Singers and the Kalilayan Folk Dance Group. The first part of this year’s concert includes music from E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial, My Fair Lady, West Side Story, and Camelot, as well as a Michel Legrand medley, and traditional Christmas carols. There is a P60,000 consumable fee for a table of 10 (with a set festive merienda) or P24,000 for a table of four (with a set festive merienda menu) at The Lobby. Tables of four are available at The Upper Lobby for P14,000. For inquiries on the Christmas Concert at The Pen 2023, call 8887-2888, extension 7410 (Festive Desk), e-mail diningpmn@peninsula.com, or visit the website peninsula.com.
IT WILL be yesterday once more for fans of the brother-sister duo The Carpenters as the tribute show with Chloe Foston as Karen Carpenter will be coming to Manila. Recreating The Carpenters’ frontwoman and drummer is possible with Ms. Foston’s velvety tones. She has been touring across the world along with the six-piece tribute band Solitaire. The show comes on Dec. 3 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater. Tickets, ranging from P1,200 to P6,800, are now available via TicketWorld.
THERE will be an extra dose of color and light in Porac, Pampanga this holiday season as Ayala Land and Leonio Land launch the first-ever Alviera Northern Floats Festival. Ongoing until Dec. 17, the festival highlights larger-than-life floats which introduce Alviera’s Christmas characters: Alvie, Sandy, Christoff, Sparkles, Fin, and the Jingle Belles. There are carnival-themed activities like game booths, zorbs, a kite display, as well as live music and food stalls. Festival goers can also enjoy special access to the SandBox adventure destination, bike trails, and the exclusive Alviera Country Club. For P125, guests can access the Alviera Northern Floats Festival and enjoy one Sandbox ride. For P375, guests can enter with a P150 food and drinks voucher, a P100 voucher for activities, and one SandBox ride. Meanwhile, for P525, guests get all that plus access to the Giant Swing, Free Fall, and Roller Coaster Zipline. The “ultimate” festival experience costs P725, inclusive of a one-day Alviera Country Club guest pass with complimentary food and drinks. Tickets are available via Tickelo. Visit the official Alviera Facebook page for more information.
TWO DECADES since its last episode, ABS-CBN’s Tabing Ilog is being reimagined and reinvigorated for new Gen-Z twists and trends on stage until Dec. 17. The play is an invitation for the young (and young at heart) to come together and celebrate the modern world through the power of music and storytelling. It brings together the talents of ABS-CBN, Star Magic, and the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA). At the helm of the production is director Phil Noble, lyricist-composer-arranger-musical director Vincent A. Dejesus, playwright Eljay Castro Deldoc, and choreographer Stephen Viñas. Tickets are now on sale via TicketWorld.
THE NUVALI Fountain of Lights, an immersive experience on the grounds of Nuvali in Laguna, is now ongoing until January. A leveled-up water show, Seaside Serenade: Muses and Creatures benefits the Priceless Planet Coalition. Around the lakeside are a host of activities, from the newly installed LED Swing by Avida to Coffee Bean’s stand-alone store. The Nuvali Fountain of Lights runs Fridays to Sundays from 6-9 p.m. until Jan. 14.
By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINES dropped three spots in the global digital competitiveness index of the World Competitiveness Center of Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD), finishing at the bottom of its South-east Asian peers.
The country fell to 59th out of 64 economies, scoring 48.31 in IMD’s 2023 World Digital Competitiveness Ranking.
This was the Philippines’ lowest ranking since the index started in 2017. It was also among the lowest scorers at 13th place in the Asia-Pacific region, just ahead of Mongolia.
Singapore ranked the highest in the region with 97.4 points, followed by South Korea (94.8) and Taiwan (93.73). The three ranked third, sixth and ninth globally.
The index measures a country’s capacity to adopt and explore new digital technologies to transform government practices, business models and society in general.
It measures a country’s capacity in three key factors: knowledge or the quality of human capital, excellence of technological infrastructure and future readiness.
The Philippines ranked 63rd in the knowledge factor, 59th in future readiness and 51st in technology.
“In terms of technology, other countries are simply moving much faster than we are, thus we continue to slip in the ranks,” Jamil Paolo Francisco, executive director of the Asian Institute of Management Rizalino S. Navarro Poli-cy Center for Competitiveness, said in an e-mail.
“We need to cultivate a regulatory environment that supports innovation and adoption of new digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) to serve the needs of our industries and workers,” he said. “We can also use these new technologies to improve the efficiency of government services and promote transparency.”
The country continued to lag its peers because of its “rigidity in adopting digital technologies,” Jose Caballero, senior economist at the IMD World Competitiveness Center, said in an e-mailed reply to questions.
“Looking at the three levels of readiness — adaptive attitudes, IT integration and business agility — the Philippines’ performance is deficient, which leads to a limited adoption of digital technologies,” he said.
He added that the drop in the country’s ranking was spurred by declines in all digital factors particularly in training and education, regulatory framework and IT integration.
The country’s sluggish performance in indicators related to institutional efficiency, such as the impact of its immigration laws (from 31st to 38th) and the institutional support for the development and application of technology (from 46th to 53rd) were concerns, Mr. Caballero said.
To improve its adaptability, the Philippines should focus on the development of its knowledge infrastructure.
“This is assessed through talent availability, training and education, and scientific concentration,” he said. “Strengthening aspects of talent development and education could enable greater overall digital adaptability.”
In its report, IMD said among the major weaknesses of the Philippines is the number of Filipino women with degrees, its regulatory framework for starting a business and enforcement of contracts.
Its strengths include its female researchers, investment in telecommunications, high-tech exports and attitude toward globalization and public-private partnerships.
CYBERSECURITY FOCUS
Arturo Bris, director of IMD’s World Competitiveness Center, said the findings of this year’s World Digital Competitiveness Ranking provided a glimpse of how countries are approaching digital transformation in the age of artificial intelligence.
“While we measure no specific AI indicators, the technology sits silently at the core of several of the subfactors that we quantify — talent, regulatory and technological frameworks and adaptive attitudes and business agility,” he said in a separate statement.
There was an increased focus on cybersecurity, with only 5% of 4,000 executives saying that they had not implemented new cybersecurity measures in the past year.
“Cybersecurity becomes a clear example of the need to assess AI’s trade-offs and to take a very deliberate approach towards using it optimally,” Mr. Bris said. “Countries cannot do this in isolation but need to lean on regional if not global institutions to do so.”
Ronald Gustilo, national campaigner at Digital Pinoys, cited the need to improve the government’s response rate against cybercrimes.
“As many Filipinos fall victim to online scams and other cybercrimes, the government’s response rate and the implementation of programs that will equip the public against these schemes fall short,” he said in a Viber message.
Mr. Gustilo said the country’s dismal performance in the index could be attributed to Filipinos’ low level of understanding of the internet.
“The government should implement programs that will enrich the public’s knowledge of the internet. There is a compelling need to institutionalize digital literacy in basic and secondary education,” he added.
The Philippines was 62nd in training and education, which is under knowledge and measures a country’s employee training, education spending, higher education achievements and pupil-teacher ratio in tertiary education.
The three-notch drop in the country’s ranking might be partly attributed to rising prices, increased the cost of living and production costs, said Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.
“Due to higher interest rates since last year, the increased financing and borrowing costs weighed on investments and the creation of new jobs,” he said in a Viber message.
He said the government should address the concerns of foreign investors to boost foreign direct investments (FDI). These include high electricity prices, the sanctity of contracts and effective dispute resolution mechanisms, ease of doing business, infrastructure and institutions.
“FDIs facilitate the transfer of new and improved technology to the country, on top of creating more jobs and other business and economic opportunities,” he said.
By Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter
THE Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) will defer its initial public offering (IPO) to 2025, its president said, citing the company’s stance to weigh its options amid a plan to form a joint venture company with San Miguel Corp. (SMC).
“As far as MPTC is concerned, we are ready to do an IPO after the delisting of MPIC (Metro Pacific Investments Corp.). We’re going to be the first [in the group to list after the delisting],” Rogelio L. Singson, president and chief executive officer of MPTC, told reporters on the sidelines of the Transport Con 2023 conference on Wednesday.
However, because of the planned SMC joint venture, he said: “There will be delays.”
Earlier this year, MPIC said it was planning to list its tollways unit MPTC on the stock market after the parent firm’s delisting from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) in October.
AB Capital Securities, Inc. Vice-President Jovis L. Vistan said IPOs right now are still not attractive given the challenging economic environment.
“Market appetite for equities is weak. So the timing won’t look right,” he said in a Viber message to BusinessWorld on Thursday.
In August, MPTC signed a memorandum of agreement with SMC to build and operate the Cavite-Batangas Expressway and the Nasugbu-Bauan Expressway.
In November, Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of MPTC, said the company was planning to form a joint venture company with SMC to build expressways, which he said will be a significant firm and may be a candidate to list at the PSE.
“That’s what we don’t know yet, we hoped. That would be bigger,” Mr. Singson said, referring to whether the planned joint venture company between the two entities would also go public.
With the planned joint venture, going public is still early to determine, Mr. Singson said, adding that for now MPTC’s plan to do an IPO was postponed.
“The IPO will be delayed because we have to find out whether we’re going to do it together, a merger, or MPTC will do an IPO first,” he said.
For stock market analysts, a joint venture company being listed on the PSE is more appealing to investors, rather than listing the Panglinan-led tollways unit alone.
“A combination of their tollways businesses would create an undisputed infrastructure giant in the country. A company of that scale would make it more attractive to institutional investors and especially foreign funds looking for a sizable infrastructure play,” China Bank Capital Corp. Managing Director Juan Paolo E. Colet said in a Viber message.
A market listing for the planned joint venture is also feasible, given both companies have a clear growth strategy that is deemed attractive to investors, Globalinks Securities and Stocks, Inc. Head of Sales Trading Toby Allan C. Arce said.
“Investors would likely view the joint venture between MPIC and SMC positively. The two companies are both well-established and respected conglomerates with a strong track record of success in the infrastructure sector,” Mr. Arce said in a Viber message.
However, the current economic environment in the Philippines could also pose some challenges for an IPO, as inflation and interest rates remain soaring.
The headline inflation rate slowed to 4.9% in October from 6.1% in September and 7.7% in October 2022. Still, the October print marked the 19th straight month that inflation breached the central bank’s 2-4% target band.
“This is a challenging time to do an IPO. Risk sentiment remains tentative given high interest rates and lack of certainty as to when monetary policy will start loosening,” Mr. Colet said.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas kept its key interest rate at a 16-year high of 6.5% on Nov. 16. The Monetary Board raised borrowing costs by 450 basis points from May 2022 to October 2023 to tame inflation.
“Despite these challenges, there are also some factors that could mitigate the negative impact of the current economic environment on the joint venture’s IPO plans,” Mr. Arce added, citing both companies’ “strong” track rec-ord in the infrastructure sector to drive market sentiment.
“The joint venture has a clear growth strategy that focuses on developing and operating major expressway projects in the Philippines. This could attract investors who are looking for long-term growth opportunities,” he added.
LONDON — US actress Julia Roberts says her new film Leave The World Behind is a multilayered disaster thriller that allowed her to play someone very different from herself.
Executive produced by former US President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, the movie is written and directed by Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail and based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Rumaan Alam.
It sees Roberts’ character Amanda, her husband and two children head on an impromptu holiday in a small Long Island town. Their getaway is interrupted when a man and his daughter, played by Mahershala Ali and Myha’la Herrold, turn up on their doorstep claiming to be the owners of the upmarket residence and requesting to stay the night. As tension builds between the two families, strange events start occurring around them and they find themselves under the same roof trying to make sense of the chaos outside.
“There’s always about 17 and a half things going on at one time in every scene for each person. It was just all the layers of the people and the circumstances,” Ms. Roberts told Reuters at the film’s premiere in London on Wednesday.
The Hollywood star cherished the challenge of playing cynical advertising director Amanda.
“Just the idea of playing someone who’s sort of intrinsically suspicious and a little prickly, which is not my nature, but to still make her human and approachable and likeable.”
Fans of Alam’s book should not expect a faithful adaptation, Mr. Esmail warned.
“Something that works in a literary medium may not work in a cinematic medium. I was very upfront with Rumaan that I really was going to take liberties with the interpretation. I ran through all the ideas, he was on board and then in a lot of ways I think we both got what we wanted because his book and the film are kind of two different standalone pieces that kind of operate independent of one another.”
Leave The World Behind, which also stars Ethan Hawke and Kevin Bacon, is out in select US cinemas and starts streaming on Netflix on Dec. 8. — Reuters
