Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 249

To explore gender and redefine identity

By Brontë H. Lacsamanam Reporter

Album Review
Virgin
Lorde
Universal Music New Zealand

THE SECRET SAUCE of elusive Kiwi pop musician Lorde has always been vulnerability.

Four years ago, her third studio album Solar Power saw her go on a healing journey into the sun. Eight years ago, her album Melodrama sunk into the recesses of her emotional depth. Twelve years ago, her debut album, Pure Heroine, had everyone marveling at the sheer honesty and boldness in the then-17-year-old Auckland girl’s lyrics.

Born Ella Yelich-O’Connor, Lorde has allowed each of her albums to represent chapters of her life. For those on the millennial-Gen Z cusp like this writer, her music has practically marked a generation’s experience of adulthood.

Lorde’s fourth album, titled Virgin, was released on June 27. Now 28 years old, she bares her soul once more in this new outing, as evidenced by the album cover which is an X-ray photo of a pelvis with a belt buckle, pant zipper, and IUD.

While the music is stripped-down in this album, it is also more sonically mature, a huge leap from Solar Power. More than ever, Virgin proves that Lorde continues to embrace the vulnerability of exploring her identity with the rest of the world.

“Hammer,” the euphoric first track, sets the stage. It satisfyingly tackles her openness to redefine her gender fluidity, with lyrics like “I burn and I sing and I scheme and I dance / Some days I’m a woman, some days I’m a man / I might have been born again / I’m ready to feel like I don’t have the answers.”

The more nostalgic melody of the lead single, “What Was That,” is quintessentially alt-pop, though it feels adjacent to songs written to go viral. The lyrics remain strong, however, a composite of emotions from mourning relationships that don’t work out.

“Shapeshifter” is a cool switch-up, opening with an excitable techno beat and leading into a poignant snapshot of detachment during compulsive sexual encounters. Towards the end, the song builds up to a sonically rich emotional peak.

The fourth track, “Man of the Year,” is another single that delves into the changes in one’s identity. Lorde’s stripped-down vocals reference ego death, becoming “someone else / someone more like myself,” the song evoking both the baggage and the freedom that come with it.

Meanwhile, “Favourite Daughter” is more fun and upbeat. But the lyrics convey the same angst of self-growth, this time in terms of living up to projections of one’s mother. It’s a perfect little pop love letter.

Another sad song to dance to is “Current Affairs,” where Lorde once again invokes her mother as she describes a messy love affair. “Clearblue” has layered vocals detailing the experience of a pregnancy test while “GRWM” has Lorde scrambling to define what it means to be a grown woman.

These little musical noodles, though not as complete or dynamic as her work from previous albums, are effective musings of an adult still in the growth process.

The ninth piece, “Broken Glass,” is memorable for its minimalist yet bouncy thumping beat and rhythmic electro-pop melody. Music aside, it’s an epic ballad that’s haunting in how it hints at an experience of an eating disorder, how she lets herself “get sucked in by arithmetic,” how it “felt great to strip / new waist to hip.”

Another potential favorite is “If She Could See Me Now,” a short and concise track that explores Lorde’s encounters with fame. Closing off the album is “David,” a more ethereal and raw offering that may feel like an erratic resolution, but drives home the fact that Virgin’s intention is to present snapshots of vulnerability.

While Virgin doesn’t hold a candle to the youthful boldness of Pure Heroine or the depth and intensity of feeling in Melodrama, it climbs interesting peaks that only a musician like Lorde can scale.

She has always felt like a nonbinary artist, not quite fitting in a box, and she leans into this very well. The album may be titled Virgin, but the concept of purity and virginity is clearly a construct, one that Lorde maps out keenly like the X-ray album cover that examines the opaque metals in a pelvis.

It’s a natural progression for Lorde, and this generation of twenty-something adults is lucky to have her document the bumpy ride.

Primelectric, Saudi firm team up for RE dev’t

STOCK PHOTO | Image by Sungrow EMEA from Unsplash

RAZON-LED Primelectric Holdings, Inc. (PHI) has entered into a partnership with Saudi Arabia-based energy developer ACWA Power to jointly explore renewable energy (RE) and energy storage opportunities in the Philippines.

“This partnership comes at a critical time as our regions require more resilient, reliable, and affordable power sources,” PHI President Roel Z. Castro said in a statement over the weekend.

“Through this collaboration, we aim to explore projects that will stabilize power supply and harness the abundant renewable resources of the Visayas and Palawan,” it added.

Under the deal, PHI will provide technical data and insights on potential power generation projects in the identified areas, while ACWA Power will lead the development, financing, and operation of viable projects.

The two companies will assess “the most viable” power generation options for Negros, Panay, and Palawan, aiming to optimize power costs while maximizing the potential of renewable energy and energy storage technologies.

PHI is the parent firm of distribution utilities MORE Electric and Power Corp., Negros Electric and Power, Inc., and Bohol Light Co.

Meanwhile, ACWA Power operates as a developer, investor, and operator in renewable energy and green hydrogen. It is also the world’s largest private water desalination company.

As of 2025, the company’s portfolio includes 78.8 gigawatts of capacity, including projects with record-low solar tariffs.

“By bringing together ACWA Power’s global expertise and Primelectric’s deep understanding of the local market, we are not only fast-tracking the rollout of clean energy projects in this part of the Philippines but also driving technology transfer and contributing to long-term economic growth and community development,” said ACWA Power Chief Investment and Development Officer Thomas Brostrom. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Premier Life exits conservatorship

INSURANCE.GOV.PH

THE INSURANCE COMMISSION (IC) has released The Premier Life and General Assurance Corp. from conservatorship effective June 30.

“Notice is hereby given that the Insurance Commission has lifted the cease-and-desist order issued against The Premier Life and General Assurance Corp. and released the company from conservatorship effective June 30,” the IC said in a notice dated July 1.

The nonlife insurer was placed under conservatorship in June 2024 after it failed to comply with requirements under the Insurance Code.

Companies under conservatorship are restricted in operations to preserve assets for the benefit of its policyholders, planholders, members, and/or creditors, while undergoing financial rehabilitation.

Premier Life’s performance showed marked improvement in 2023. Net premiums written surged by 69.1% year on year to P490.79 million, while net income soared almost 13 times to P359.03 million, according to IC data.

Its paid-up capital dropped to P1 billion last year, just meeting the IC’s minimum capital requirement.

The company was not listed in the IC’s 2024 directory of licensed insurers.

Meanwhile, the nonlife insurance industry’s total premiums earned rose 19.19% to P18.8 billion in the first quarter, based on the submissions of 56 out of 57 licensed companies.

Net premiums written also grew 19.35% to P20.27 billion, while gross premiums written increased 19.13% to P33.6 billion. Industry net income climbed 14.63% to P2.89 billion over the same period. — Aaron Michael C. Sy

How minimum wages compared across regions in June

(After accounting for inflation)

In June, inflation-adjusted wages were 17.7% to 25.7% lower than the current daily minimum wages across the regions in the country. Meanwhile, in peso terms, real wages were lower by around P72.89 to P131.43 from the current daily minimum wages set by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board.

How minimum wages compared across regions in June

Jurassic World Rebirth has everything a Jurassic film should — except the wonder

Luna Blaise in Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025). — IMDB

STEPHEN SPIELBERG’S original Jurassic Park film (1993) instilled awe and trepidation in his characters and audience alike. As his protagonists wrestled with the unintended consequences and ethical dilemmas of reanimating extinct apex predators, viewers marveled at the novel use of CGI. At a keystroke it seemed to consign the hand-crafted stop-motion wonders of dinosaur films past to the archive.

Alongside pulse-pounding action set pieces delivered with trademark Spielberg panache, that first film flamboyantly inaugurated a new era in fantasy effects. And it solicited delight and wonder from its audience. On opening day in New York the dinosaurs’ first appearance prompted a spontaneous ovation: I was there and clapped too.

Thirty-two years, six Jurassic iterations and countless monstrous digital apparitions later, that initial wow factor is a distant memory. By Jurassic World Rebirth (set nearly 35 years after the original film) dinosaurs are treated by their human prey as barely more than inconvenient obstacles. They’re dangerous, of course, but certainly not wondrous.

Palaeontologist Dr. Henry Loomis’ (Jonathan Bailey) delight in coming face-to-face with his objects of study is a pale echo of the giddy euphoria that overtook Sam Neill and Laura Dern’s characters all those years ago.

In fact, early in the film we’re told that the public has since lost all interest in dinosaurs. Wildlife parks and museum displays are closing and the animals themselves have mostly died off outside their quarantined tropical habitat.

As this information has little bearing for the plot, it’s hard not to sense some ironic commentary from screenwriter David Koepp (returning to the franchise for the first time since 1997) on the exhaustion of the Jurassic Park model. Always incipiently reflexive — as a blockbuster set in a theme park — by this stage in the game, the franchise machinery is inescapably visible.

Almost as ironic is a plot line promoting the open-source sharing of intellectual property for the benefit of the whole world rather than exploitative corporations. I doubt NBCUniversal-Comcast would agree.

THE JURASSIC FRANCHISE
The Jurassic Park format is among the most unforgivingly rigid of any current film franchise.

Each installment (bar to some extent the last, the convoluted 2022 Jurassic World: Dominion, whose characters and story the new release completely ignores) places humans in perilous proximity to genetically rejuvenated sauropods. And generally does so in a remote, photogenic tropical location with minimal contact with the outside world. (Will the franchise ever run out of uncharted Caribbean islands where demented bio-engineers have wreaked evolutionary havoc?)

The human characters in this new film are the usual pick-and-mix of daredevil adventurers, amoral corporate types, and idealistic paleontologists. And there are the mandatory school-age children too — important to keep the interest of younger viewers. The real stars of course, are the primeval leviathans who grow larger and more fearsome — though not more interesting — with each new episode of the franchise.

How this human-dino jeopardy comes about tends not to matter very much. Jurassic World Rebirth produces one of the least interesting MacGuffins in movie history (meaning something that drives the plot and which the characters care about but the audience does not). Blood drawn from each of the three largest dinosaur species in the aforesaid remote tropical island will produce a serum to cure human heart disease (dinosaur hearts are huge, you see, so … never mind).

This feeble contrivance suffices for sneery Big Pharma suit Martin (Rupert Friend) to hire freebooters Zora (Scarlett Johansson) and Duncan (Mahershala Ali) for his expedition. Along the way, they encounter a marooned family (dad, two teens, one winsome but plucky grade-schooler) who subsequently have their own largely self-contained adventures before reuniting for the big climax.

Franchise filmmaking is generally an auteur-free zone. Welsh blockbuster specialist Gareth Edwards is no Spielberg (though he pays homage at several points, notably in a waterborne first act studded with Jaws references). But he handles the action with unremarkable competence.

In truth, Jurassic World Rebirth suggests that the intellectual property so expensively vested in the franchise would benefit from some genetic modification.

 

Barry Langford is a professor of film studies at the Royal Holloway University of London.

A look at the Healthcare and Life Sciences Investment Outlook for 2025

STOCK PHOTO | Image by Rawpixel.com from Freepik

In KPMG’s 2025 Healthcare and Life Sciences Investment Outlook, we found that most leading hospital and health systems across different countries were in good positions in 2024 compared to 2023, thanks to reimbursement increases, lower interest rates, and more staffing stability. Larger institutions pursued acquisitions and partnerships, expanded offerings, and invested in efficiencies; financial investors remained mostly on the sidelines, given the industry’s margin challenges and capital requirements. We expect more deals as struggling institutions reach for lifelines, and regulators look more favorably on large acquirers growing scale and share across regions and service lines.

Healthcare services continued to attract strategic and financial buyers in 2024, but deal volume was low, partly in response to changing reimbursement schedules. We expect plenty of smaller to medium-sized transactions in 2025 in this broad category, which includes physicians’ practices and other non-hospital providers. Financial and strategic investors will continue to seek assets in the space to gain capabilities or expertise, such as in value-based payments; expand networks or services in networks; or merge with other providers to gain scale advantages.

In the shifting payer marketplace, companies and investors must constantly adjust strategies to drive profitable growth. After acquiring provider and pharmacy assets to influence the total cost of care, for example, many players are now selling health plans that attract patients but lose money or require capital. Given the complexity of the space, we expect plenty of deals in 2025, mostly as strategic buyers divest lower-performing assets, enter new markets, and acquire new offerings and capabilities.

Headwinds across healthcare — such as rising costs, shrinking margins, and staffing shortages — are tailwinds in healthcare IT (HCIT), which can boost efficiencies and help staff accomplish more. We expect a steady flow of deals as strategic and financial buyers alike continue to look for companies harnessing AI and other technologies to improve revenue cycle management, handle process-heavy workflows, streamline data exchange, free caregivers to spend more time with patients, and provide predictive insights.

The pharmaceutical industry is on the clock to refill pipelines with innovative therapies as a patent cliff for many blockbusters approaches. That search, potentially aided by AI’s increasing role in drug discovery and development, has been complicated by economic headwinds for smaller biotechs, which could find firmer footing if interest rates continue to drop. Advanced therapeutics for precision medicine, particularly in oncology, remain a primary focus, leading to many of the largest recent acquisitions and partnerships. The success of GLP-1s for diabetes and weight loss is also having a broad impact, spurring clinical trials for additional indications and reviving interest in drugs that might be used by broad populations.

Despite some headwinds, broad outsourcing of clinical trials, drug development, manufacturing, and commercialization to biopharma services companies continued in 2024, and transactions by both strategic and financial investors remained above pre-pandemic levels. Chinese companies subject to a potential ban from US markets have shown an interest in selling assets in the US and Europe. AI tools for clinical trials are an increasing focus, and there were several acquisitions of key eClinical assets. Questions about the priorities of the new Trump Administration regarding vaccines and other pharmaceutical products, including GLP-1s, could cloud the outlook, but if improved capital market conditions benefit the biotechs that outsource to Biopharma services, higher levels of M&A activity seem likely in 2025 and beyond.

A PHILIPPINE PERSPECTIVE
Healthcare continues to be a national priority in the Philippines, with government and private sector efforts focused on expanding infrastructure and accelerating digital transformation. Investments in regional health hubs and digital tools — such as AI-powered diagnostics and telemedicine — are helping improve access and efficiency.

While the drivers of investment activity globally — digital transformation and operational efficiency — are consistent with what we’re seeing in the Philippine market, we also note a growing interest in public-private partnerships. As hospitals modernize and digital health adoption grows, we see more local and regional investors entering the space, especially in diagnostics and telemedicine.

With strong government support and rising demand for innovative care, the Philippines offers growing opportunities for strategic partnerships and investment across the healthcare ecosystem.

 

Michael Arcatomy “Mike” H. Guarin is a member of the MAP Energy Committee, the Governance Committee, and the Health Committee. He is partner for Advisory of R.G. Manabat & Co. (KPMG in the Philippines). This column was lifted from the KPMG Thought Leadership publication 2025 Healthcare and Life Sciences Investment Outlook.

map@map.org.ph

mguarin@kpmg.com

Del Monte Pacific seeks other funding sources as liabilities rise

DELMONTEPACIFIC.COM

CAMPOS-LED food and beverage producer Del Monte Pacific Ltd. (DMPL) is seeking alternative funding sources amid rising liabilities, following the recent bankruptcy filing of its United States business.

“The group continues to find new sources of funding to improve cash management, including incremental short-term lines from partner banks to meet its short-term obligations that will provide sufficient working capital financing for it to meet its objectives and future financial obligations,” DMPL said in a local regulatory filing on Monday in response to queries raised by the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd. on July 3.

DMPL said this as its current liabilities already exceeded its current assets as of end-April due to loans held by its Philippine business.

“As of 30 April 2025, the group’s and the company’s current liabilities, on a deconsolidated basis, without consolidating Del Monte Foods Holdings Ltd. (DMFHL), exceeded its current assets by $595 million and $382 million, respectively,” DMPL said.

“This is mainly driven by the loans of the Philippine subsidiary, Del Monte Philippines, Inc. (DMPI), being of a revolving nature as prescribed by local banking partners,” it added.

Despite this, DMPL said it expects to settle or refinance its liabilities as they fall due.

“We expect the company’s and DMPI’s long-term loans, including amortization, to be refinanced or extended. We have secured concurrence on such extension from a major lender, and we are in discussions with other creditors on the extension or refinancing of the remaining loans,” it said.

“Management has been pursuing equity raising initiatives as the group’s Asian operations have restored profitability,” it added.

DMPL said it also generated positive cash flow from DMPI’s operations, amounting to $226 million in fiscal year 2025, driven by consumer demand and a strong, stable supply chain.

The company is also focused on reducing waste and inventory write-offs, improving productivity for processed pineapple varieties over the next 12 to 24 months, and lowering DMPI’s fixed costs.

Meanwhile, DMPL said its balance sheet is expected to reflect a capital deficit due to write-offs from the recent bankruptcy filing of DMFHL in the US.

“With DMFHL’s Chapter 11 filing, we expect the company’s equity investment in DMFHL and certain receivables due from DMFHL and/or its subsidiaries to be subject to impairment. These write-offs are likely to cause a capital deficit in DMPL’s balance sheet,” it said.

As of end-January, DMPL’s net investment value in DMFHL was $579 million. DMPL and its affiliates also had net receivables amounting to $169 million from DMFHL and its subsidiaries as of the same date. 

On July 1, DMFHL and certain subsidiaries commenced voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the bankruptcy court for the District of New Jersey, granting access to $912.5 million in financing as the company restructures its finances and operations.

DMFHL’s board will also pursue a sale of “all or substantially all” of the assets of the company and certain subsidiaries as part of the Chapter 11 proceedings.

DMPL shares fell by 1.36% or four centavos to P2.91 apiece on Monday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

One more BSP rate cut likely this year

BW FILE PHOTO

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) is likely to implement just one more rate cut this year amid persistent global uncertainty, according to Deutsche Bank Research.

“The ongoing uncertainty is likely a larger factor than interest rates in businesses holding back their decisions to borrow,” it said in a note on Monday. “We expect BSP to cut by 25 bps (basis points) in the coming August meeting.”

The forecast is more cautious than that of BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr., who said last week that there is room for two more rate cuts in 2025, as inflation stays within the 2-4% target and given the government’s lower economic growth outlook.

The BSP trimmed its key policy rate by 25 bps to 5.25% in May amid easing inflation and weaker-than-expected first-quarter growth. Since mid-2024, the central bank has slashed rates by 125 bps.

“We agree to some extent, as overall credit growth has not gained much momentum despite BSP’s cumulative 125-bp rate cuts so far,” Deutsche Bank Research said.

Outstanding loans by universal and commercial banks rose by 11.12% year on year to P13.25 trillion in April, the slowest in five months.

The research firm expects BSP to monitor underwhelming growth, subdued inflation, currency movements, and the US Federal Reserve’s easing cycle after the anticipated August cut.

“The first two factors have arguably been met, increasing the possibility of further rate cuts after August,” it added.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) has lowered its 2025 GDP growth forecast to 5.5-6.5% from 6-8% due to global headwinds such as shifts in the US trade policy and war in the Middle East.

For 2026-2028, the growth forecast was also narrowed to 6-7%.

June inflation in the Philippines inched up to 1.4% from 1.3% in May, the fourth straight month it stayed below the BSP’s 2-4% target. Year-to-date inflation averaged 1.8%.

Meanwhile, ING Think expects the BSP to implement two more 25-bp cuts — one in the third quarter and another in the fourth — bringing the policy rate down to 4.75% by end-2025.

“We continue to expect two more rate cuts of 25 bps in the third and fourth quarters each to end 2025 at 4.75%, driven by a lower-than-expected inflation trajectory and downside risks to domestic growth,” the firm said in a separate note.

It cited improved external trade and gains in the manufacturing sector as possible growth drivers. It forecasts GDP to expand by 5.5% this year to hit the lower end of the government’s target.

The trade deficit narrowed to $3.29 billion in May from $4.73 billion a year earlier and from $3.97 billion in April, the smallest shortfall in three months. Year to date, the trade deficit stood at $19.68 billion, down from $20.72 billion a year earlier.

Despite this, ING Think said muted private investment could persist, citing fiscal adjustments.

“We believe the revised 5.5% [fiscal deficit] target is more realistic, given the government’s focus on capital expenditures amid global growth weakness,” it said. “Slower global growth is likely to weigh on revenue performance and may necessitate further fiscal easing to support GDP growth.”

“The pace at which key infrastructure projects are executed will be a critical factor in shaping the growth trajectory moving forward,” it added.

Inflation is expected to remain “contained,” ING Think said, due to easing domestic rice prices and global oil costs. “Additionally, easing pressures on the local currency in June should mean lower imported inflation.” — Aaron Michael C. Sy

IWG sees work-near-home trend driving expansion in Philippines

Located in Tagbilaran, Bohol, this Regus center reflects the rising demand for flexible workspaces in emerging regional hubs beyond Metro Manila. — IWG 

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter

MULTINATIONAL office space provider International Working Group Plc (IWG) said it is optimistic about expanding in regional areas in the Philippines as more companies show interest in adopting work-near-home arrangements.

Marc Descrozaille, chief executive officer at IWG for the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific, said some employees have been leaving their jobs when employers fail to provide flexible work arrangements.

“This trend means that now there is a need for working close to home. We are expanding into other districts, suburbs of the main cities, other cities, and other provinces,” Mr. Descrozaille told BusinessWorld last week.

“This expansion that we see throughout the world is particularly true in the Philippines — interestingly, more than in some of the surrounding countries, where much of the discussion is focused on the capital city.”

IWG has been applying the 15-minute city concept, Mr. Descrozaille said, which is an urban planning approach that ensures daily necessities and services are reachable within a 15-minute walk. This has led to the development of mixed-use spaces combining residential, office, and retail components.

The company has been focusing its expansion outside central business districts such as Ortigas, Makati City, and Bonifacio Global City, said IWG Country Manager for the Philippines Rowena Bravo-Natividad.

“Since the global pandemic, a lot of workers have moved back to their respective homes and refused to go back to [the traditional] office,” she said.

“So, it brought to life the third dimension of the hybrid working model, which is the work-near-home. It actually underpins the national expansion plan of IWG,” she added, noting IWG’s plans to expand in tier two and three cities.

At present, IWG operates 39 flexible workspace centers in the country under its brands Regus, Spaces, and Signature by Regus. It aims to have a total of 50 centers in the Philippines by yearend.

IWG said it has secured 14 new locations in the Philippines, with some sites already operational and others scheduled to open between the fourth quarter of 2025 and 2026.

These new locations include the Cebu Exchange Tower, Island Central Mall, and Asiatown IT Park in the province of Cebu.

In Makati City, IWG has secured new locations at the Century Diamond Tower, The Stiles Enterprise Plaza, the Laureano di Trevi Towers, and the Kalayaan Building.

Other new locations in the pipeline include E-Square Mall in San Juan City; Vertis North Plaza in Quezon City; Elijah Hotel and Residences in Dasmariñas, Cavite; The Galleon; Alveo Financial Tower in Bonifacio Global City; and Mabuhay IT Park in General Santos City.

“Our footprint outside urban hubs enables us to better serve businesses of all sizes and industries, supporting their growth and agility,” Mr. Descrozaille said.

IWG is also set to open its first Regus flexible workspace center in Tagbilaran, Bohol in October. The new 255-seat Regus center will be built in partnership with Uptown Tagbilaran Realty Corp.

Headline and Electricity Inflation Rates in the Philippines

Headline inflation slightly inched up in June, driven by higher costs of utilities and education, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Friday. Read the full story.

Headline and Electricity Inflation Rates in the Philippines

Entertainment News (07/08/25)

Midnight screenings for Superman

THERE will be midnight screenings for James Gunn’s Superman in select cinemas and Imax on opening day, July 9. Tickets are now available for the midnight screenings. Check showtimes here: www.superman.com.ph.

Revenge drama series Beauty Empire is here

A NEW Philippine revenge drama series — a project of GMA Network, Viu Philippines, and CreaZion Studios — Beauty Empire, made its television premiere on July 7. It stars Barbie Forteza, Kyline Alcantara, Sid Lucero, Sam Concepcion, Chai Fonacier, and Ruffa Gutierrez, with the special participation of Gloria Diaz and Korean actor and K-pop star Choi Bo-Min in his first Filipino production. The series delivers an insider’s look into the local beauty industry, with Ms. Forteza’s character being a rags-to-riches beauty entrepreneur out to tear down the empire that her enemies have built. The show’s soundtrack includes Korean actor and K-pop guest star Mr. Choi’s first Filipino song, “Nakaraang Buhay.”

ABS-CBN rolls out Darna 75th anniversary shirts

ABS-CBN NETWORK has launched a collection of shirts to commemorate the 75th year of Darna, one of the iconic creations of Filipino comics legend Mars Ravelo. Darna first appeared in Pilipino Komiks in 1950 and has since become the country’s superheroine, known for her inner strength, courage, and bayanihan spirit. ABS-CBN last produced a Darna project in the form of the TV series Mars Ravelo’s Darna in 2022 starring Jane de Leon. The limited-edition Darna shirts come in navy, royal blue, gray, fern green, and greyish green and are available for pre-order on Lazada, Shopee, and Facebook via ShirtsandPrintsPH.

Hip-hop act Creepy Nuts drops two singles

THE Japanese hip-hop unit Creepy Nuts has released two new singles: the Latin-infused “Mirage” and the high-energy “Nemure” — the opening and closing themes of Season 2 of the hit supernatural anime Yofukashi no Uta (Call of the Night). The duo, made up of battle rap champ R-shitei and DMC World DJ Championships hero DJ Matsunaga, is also celebrating the release of their fourth album, LEGION, out now via Sony Music Japan.

K-drama The Nice Guy premieres on Disney+

ON JULY 18, stars Lee Dongwook and Lee Sungkyoung return to Disney+ in The Nice Guy, an all-new 14-part Korean drama about a reformed gangster trying to escape his past. It follows Seokcheol (played by Lee Dongwook), a member of the third generation of a gangsters’ family, who knows nothing but the thrill of violence and family loyalty. He reconnects with his first love, Miyoung (played by Lee Sungkyoung), an aspiring singer with stage fright and a difficult home life.

TBA Studios’ Quezon in theaters in October

COMING exclusively to theaters on Oct. 15 is the third installment of the Bayaniverse trilogy, Quezon. Produced by TBA Studios, the release date was recently announced along with the debut of the official theatrical poster. The film will complete the triptych of the Bayaniverse movie posters representing the Philippine flag’s colors: Heneral Luna in yellow, Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral in blue, and Quezon in red. Directed by Jerrold Tarog, Quezon will star Jericho Rosales as the titular historical figure Manuel L. Quezon.

Babyface concert moved to October

THE new date of American singer-songwriter and producer Babyface’s concert in Manila has been officially announced: Oct. 27, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. Initially scheduled for this month, the tickets for the long-awaited return of Babyface to Manila will resume selling at SM Ticket outlets and smtickets.com on July 21. The date for the Manila stop was changed following the adjustments among Babyface’s Southeast Asian stops of the tour. The concert is presented in the Philippines by Ovation Productions; tickets are priced from P2,580 to P8,880.

Asia’s richest tycoon is making America great again

MUKESH D. AMBANI during the “Preparing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution” Session at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 17, 2017. — WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM/VALERIANO DI DOMENICO/FLICKER

By Andy Mukherjee

FROM OTTAWA to Beijing, President Donald Trump’s trade war has made many enemies. But it has also won America some allies. Asia’s richest tycoon is preparing to welcome US cargo originally meant for China but rerouted to India. The ship Mukesh Ambani is waiting for is laden with ethane.

This colorless, odorless component of natural gas is shipped in liquefied form in special carriers such as STL Qianjiang, which is currently on its way from the US Gulf Coast to billionaire Ambani’s terminal in Dahej, Gujarat, on India’s western seaboard. There, his flagship Reliance Industries Ltd. has an ethane cracker to produce ethylene, a key building block of plastic products.

The unit, completed in 2017, made Reliance “the first company to globally conceptualize large-scale imports of ethane from North America as feedstock,” it boasted in a press release back then. Eight years later, that foresight may come in handy to trade negotiators in New Delhi. “Stop obsessing over your $43 billion trade deficit with us,” they might like to tell their counterparts in Washington, as both sides try to close a deal ahead of the July 9 US deadline for 26% reciprocal tariffs. “We’re going to buy your gas.”

The 68-year-old petrochemicals czar bet on North American ethane more than a decade ago. His father Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of the empire, was the original “Polyester Prince.” And although the son has ventured into new areas and added $57 billon in retail and digital services, the annual revenue from the legacy oils-to-chemicals business is still bigger at $74 billion.

Historically, Reliance and other refiners have cracked naphtha — obtained by distilling crude oil — to make ethylene. The conversion efficiency is low at around 30%, compared with 80% for ethane. But since crude oil had to be imported anyway to produce motor spirits, it made sense to use it for making polyester and other polymers as well. Ethane, which on an energy-equivalent basis is half as expensive as naphtha, hasn’t been popular until now. In fact, Qatar didn’t even bother to separate it from the natural gas it supplied to India. But even that is changing. Under a new agreement with India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), QatarEnergy will only provide “lean” gas. If the buyer wants ethane, it will have to pay for it.

ONGC recently entered into a deal with Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd., which will build, own and operate two very large carriers for the state-owned firm to import ethane. Here, too, Ambani wrote the template. Reliance co-owns a fleet of six such vessels. It now wants to lay a 100-kilometer pipeline to bring ethane from the terminal to another of its processing units in Gujarat. New capacities for ethane cracking are coming up, too, including by GAIL India Ltd., a public-sector firm like ONGC.

It isn’t clear if this entanglement with North American feedstock will expand indefinitely. Just how much more ethane could Reliance and others handle? After all, it’s still an oil-centric economy they serve. But if the dependence grows, it could profoundly alter India’s fuel economics. For one thing, Indian state-owned refiners may become unprofitable dumping grounds for Middle Eastern crude. Any residual use for the naphtha they churn out alongside transport fuels won’t compensate for the loss of its central role in making everything from polyester and detergents to fertilizers, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

Oil is on extra time in India. A third of the vehicles sold last year by the nation’s largest carmaker run on compressed natural gas. To manage pollution, and reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, New Delhi has mandated the addition of 20% bio-ethanol in gasoline. Mass adoption of electric vehicles will further cut into gasoline demand. Even then, a government-controlled firm is setting up a 9-million-ton-a-year crude refinery in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. I suspect the reason the project is going ahead is because the state, eager to attract capital and create jobs, is offering lavish subsidies. Otherwise, the investment case is weak.

Meanwhile, Ambani plans to add three more ethane carriers to its fleet. Now that Trump has fallen out with Elon Musk, the White House may have room for a new centi-billionaire guest. Both parties may gain from a closer friendship. While the trade war with China is on pause, the fate of US ethane still hangs in limbo. Although India can’t match the much larger Chinese appetite for cracking ethane, it can certainly absorb some of the oversupply. Trump will get to brag about how his trade policies are making America great again — and his sons may get some tips on how to run their telecom startup. Ambani will fight off the pressure on his margins by shifting to a cheaper feedstock.

The tycoon runs India’s biggest telecommunications and retail networks, but it’s only now that his family has started climbing up on the list of global celebrities. First came the glitzy, five-month-long, $600-million-dollar wedding celebration last year of the youngest of the three Ambani children, the heir apparent of Reliance’s energy business. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were among the attendees. Then Trump met Ambani and his wife, Nita, at his pre-inauguration party. This fall, Nita Ambani will take over New York’s Lincoln Center for a “Slice of India” weekend.

Making a mark as a big buyer of American ethane may not draw the attention of Vanity Fair. But the White House will surely take note.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

1...248249250...13,158Page 249 of 13,158
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube