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Power blooms in Carolina Herrera’s show at New York Fashion Week

NEW YORK — Carolina Herrera aimed to highlight the powerful and resilient side of its clientele at its runway show at New York Fashion Week.

The collection was filled with streamlined silhouettes that were both precise and clean, speaking to the clarity and focus of the modern woman. Ruffles took on a new architectural dimension, adding dramatic flair. (See the show here: http://tinyurl.com/42y5u6ku)

“This season, more than ever, I wanted it to be about beauty as power, power as beauty,” said creative director Wes Gordon. “I wanted her to dress powerfully, and I wanted every look to be an embodiment of power.”

This year marks Gordon’s sixth at the New York fashion house, and he has learned in that time how to keep Ms. Herrera — who ran her eponymous line for nearly 40 years — happy.

“At the beginning it was more of a challenge to try to reconcile and make sure that decisions were something she would maybe agree with or not. But I’ve since learned that there may be things she doesn’t agree with, but at the end of the day, I am seeking to address the same woman that she sought to dress.

“I’m chasing what does elegance mean today in the same way she chased that,” he said.

This season’s primary motif came from a 19th century gouache painting of a pink peony, on a small scale on a yellow gown and life-size on a purple gazar. — Reuters

URC shares pick up on rosy outlook

STOCKS on Universal Robina Corp. (URC) inched up last week as analysts saw better performance with taxes on junk food and sweetened beverages scrapped and inflation easing.

A total of 8.07 million shares amounting to P932.39 million were traded from Feb. 12 to 16, data from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) showed, with URC closing as the 10th most actively traded stock last Friday.

Shares of the Gokongwei-led food and beverage company went up by 6% week on week, closing at P118 apiece last Friday from its P111.30 closing on Feb. 8.

Year to date, however, URC’s stock slipped by 0.2%.

Mercantile Securities Corp. Head Trader Jeff Radley C. See said in an e-mail exchange that aside from overall market sentiment boosting URC’s stock last week, the abolishment of the tax reform on junk food and sweetened beverages was also bullish news for the company.

Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto announced in January that the department would refrain from introducing new taxes to keep inflation from spiking. Instead, it would focus on improving its collection system to achieve its target revenue of P4.3 trillion this year.

“Aside from that, the company still has a buyback program with a remaining balance of P4.7 [billion] as of [Feb. 16],” Mr. See said.

On the other hand, China Bank Securities Corp. (Chinabank) Research Associate Stephen Gabriel Y. Oliveros said that URC’s gain last week was mainly due to the net foreign buying on the stock and better margins this year as raw material costs normalized on easing inflation.

“With respect to its planned capacity expansion, we think this is a welcome development for URC as this would allay investor fears on capacity constraints, enable URC to develop new products, and position them to capitalize on incremental demand for its products going forward,” he said in a separate e-mail.

“Recall that URC experienced capacity limitations in some of its products last year given the stronger-than-expected resurgence in demand,” he added.

URC announced last week its new production plant based in Malvar, Batangas, which aims to expand its production capacity.

With construction beginning this year to finish in 10 to 15 years, the “mega plant” is estimated to bring 3,000 jobs directly and indirectly.

“We also think that URC has the capacity to finance this investment given its healthy cash flows and relatively low gearing ratios,” Mr. Oliveros said.

The food and beverage firm’s net income increased by 5.8% to P10.29 billion in the third quarter last year from P9.72 billion in the same period in 2022.

Similarly, net attributable income rose by 4.2% to P9.74 billion from P9.35 billion in 2022.

However, URC’s attributable net income in the July-to-September quarter slid by 2.3% to P3.07 billion from P3.15 billion in the same period in 2022.

Additionally, the monetary board decided to keep its interest rates steady at 6.5% for a third straight meeting.

While companies expected the move and have factored in the possibility of elevated rates for a while, Chinabank’s Mr. Oliveros said that for URC specifically, movements in interest rates could affect its profitability as the stock’s borrowings are short-term in nature as of September last year.

“We project full-year 2023 net income to be at P13.3 billion,” he said.

For the week, Mr. See penciled his support at P155 and P110, while resistance at P122 and P124.

Meanwhile, Mr. Oliveros pegged his support and resistance levels at P114.4 and P121, respectively.

“A key headwind we are monitoring for the company is how the international business would fare following the price rollbacks it implemented last year in select markets in response to softer demand for its products,” he said. — Bernadette Therese M. Gadon

Come rough terrain or high water

PHOTO BY DYLAN AFUANG

Petron Philippine Overland Expedition 2024 to off-road from Quezon to Aurora

By Dylan Afuang

THE PHILIPPINE Overland Expedition (PHL-OX) — formally called Petron Philippine Overland Expedition on account of its titular sponsor — could very well be overlanding here at its most extreme form.

Overlanding, an activity that’s seen growing in popularity here and abroad, combines off-road driving and camping. Hobbyists, known as “overlanders,” drive through the roughest terrain, arrive at a remote location, then — while surrounded by nature — sleep, bathe, or cook in their SUVs or trucks equipped with huge wheels and camping needs.

Now in its second-year, PHL-OX 2024 will be participated in by about 30 adventure-seekers who will overland along untouched landscapes from General Nakar, Quezon, to Dingalan, Aurora, from today until the 25th. In between campsites, teams of adventurers will encounter jungle trails with deep ruts made of mud, gravel, and rocks, and river crossings three to four feet deep. The terrain could be baked by blazing sun or doused by pouring rain, whatever the weather would feel like bringing on those days. Onboard their 4×4, overlanding-ready vehicles, competing teams will pass through 10 stages designed to test their driving, navigation, and vehicle-recovery skills.

A grand prize of P500,000 awaits overlanders who will finish the stages in the fastest time and safest way. The second- and third-placers will receive P200,000 and P100,000, respectively.

Enthusiasts can also spectate the expedition by either tackling the terrain along with the competitors, or meet and camp with them at campsites in Masanga Point, General Nakar, and Dingalan, Aurora.

The event is co-organized by Mototesto Overland Equipment Philippines and All Traction Performance, and is supported by, of course, Petron Corp., along with Motolite, ARB 4×4 Philippines, Bushranger, and Second Air.

“This event is just not about earning, but it’s also (done) to show that there are (scenic) places to visit in the Philippines,” Mototesto Overland Equipment CEO and Founder, and PHL-OX 2024 Race Director Tim Tuazon expressed to the media on the sidelines of the competition’s press launch.

But at its inception, the purpose of the Philippine Overland Expedition was to bring a competitive edge to overlanding. “After the (COVID-19) pandemic, over a campfire, we (overlanders) wondered if we could level up Philippine overlanding events and make them more professional, so we opened a competition,” Mr. Tuazon said in Filipino.

Teams consisting of three vehicles and six members each are formed for PHL-OX 2024. The vehicles are divided into three groups, and each will be subject to scrutineering. Production cars are standard SUVs with the standard off-roading equipment installed. Production models that have been extensively tweaked, including changes to the engine and body, are known as modified vehicles.

Prototype cars are specially designed and have no relation to any production car. A minimum of one production vehicle and a maximum of one prototype vehicle are required for each team.

A release for PHL-OX added, “Each team must also be self-reliant, bringing with them provisions such as food, water, power source, as well as critical vehicle spare parts and supplies.”

For more information, visit the Mototesto Overland Equipment Philippines website (phox2022.mototesto.com/).

How Mob Wife killed Coastal Grandma

THE MOB WIFE has taken a hit out on Coastal Grandma.

So it goes with super-fast TikTok trends. Since the bohemian and beachy Coastal Grandma aesthetic surged two years ago, the internet has worshipped the glamorous Night Luxe, bright-pink Barbiecore, sizzling Tomato Girl, glowing Clean Girl and sultry Office Siren.

These fashion and beauty narratives, promoted by online creators and churned through by consumers, are upending retail. Store chains and beauty brands have to monitor these shifts in style and society to ensure they have the right products in place to capture a viral fashion moment.

The latest trend is Mob Wife, inspired by glamorous women associated with organized crime. It’s characterized by big hair, gold jewelry, leather trousers and the item with which it has become most synonymous — a huge fur coat. The coinciding of the 25th anniversary of the Sopranos with Netflix’s new Griselda mini-series has propelled the look back onto screens and into shoppers’ lexicon.

Mob Wife is already shaking up what we buy. For example, mentions of fur in retailers’ marketing communications typically trail off in January as they promote spring ranges. However, this year, mentions in the US rose 11% as brands continued to push their faux-fur coats and jackets, according to retail intelligence company EDITED.

But what’s often missed is that these trends tend to reflect what’s already online or in stores. It’s difficult to style a look without the right garments being available. Would she even be the Mob Wife without that statement fur coat?

Fur was already part of retailers’ autumn-winter ranges, with the number of faux fur coats and jackets hitting their websites between August and January up 5% compared with the year earlier, according to EDITED. Leather, real and synthetic, has been a staple for a few years now, too. Animal print was poised for a comeback at the start of last year, but it was eclipsed by the more minimalist Quiet Luxury look. Now, despite fewer deliveries to online stores, the Mob Wife buzz has meant new animal print products selling five days faster than in 2023, EDITED’s analysis showed. Similarly, red has been in ascendance, and not just because stores promote the color around Valentine’s Day.

Store chains and beauty brands need to be monitoring key creators, such as trend forecaster Mandy Lee (@oldloserinbrooklyn) and fashion business student Asia Bieuville (@asias.jpg), who described pencil skirts, heels, and Chanel’s Rouge Noir nail varnish as Office Siren back in September. They can jump to market their product as soon as a new narrative is named.

But in order to ensure they have the right ranges to promote, retailers and cosmetics companies should also be scouring society — music, film, TV, runway shows — and the economy to capture the next zeitgeist.

This is more challenging. Night Luxe, characterized by little black dresses, stilettos, and dirty martinis, gained traction in early 2022, just as the world was emerging from the COVID-19 omicron variant. While some stores were quick to stock more formal wear, others were still stuffed with sweatpants, which they were eventually forced to discount.

Meanwhile, some trends are a reaction to what has come before. And these pivots are happening faster than ever.

Last year, Quiet Luxury was a backlash against the logo-heavy streetwear that had dominated. Yet already there are signs that consumers are tiring of minimalism, as Mob Wife shows. This is potentially awkward timing for Kering SA’s Gucci, which has just ditched maximalism for sleeker styles.

Even more confusing is that multiple TikTok trends can exist at once. Forecaster WGSN describes this as “aesthetic plurality,” with hashtags splitting into “ecosystems” and resembling “family structures.” Opposing movements can compete, leading to “trend tensions,” which retailers and beauty brands must navigate.

Perhaps the most striking contrast today is the Clean Girl aesthetic, characterized by glowing skin and minimalist makeup, battling with heavier Mob Wife and Office Siren beauty. There are even hints of a return to the brasher looks of 2016, best known for contouring using different shades of foundation. The latter would be potentially good news for companies such as Estee Lauder, Inc. and L’Oreal SA which will remember that golden age for color cosmetics.

Against this bewildering backdrop, retailers with the fastest supply chains, such as Inditex SA, which can get products from design to stores in a matter of weeks, and Shein Group Ltd., which typically tests the market with 100-200 items before scaling up if they prove popular, have an advantage. But other brands can still jump on a trend by having the option to order more within the fashion season if a product goes viral. And it’s worth remembering that even with the challenges, for all fashion retailers, a plethora of different styles to choose from — particularly if they can be easily worn by different ages and body shapes — are better for sales than a sea of greige.

So what could be the next aesthetic?

Even if we are past peak Mob Wife, because it emerged late in the season and there isn’t a lot of stock left, faux fur will continue to be a big look for autumn-winter 2024.

Meanwhile, fashion and music are coalescing around a western theme. This has been bubbling for a while now, with  Coastal Cowgirl (Coastal Grandma, with a cowboy hat). But it has been given fresh impetus by Pharrell Williams sending cowboy boots, turquoise jewelry, embellished tailoring and workwear down the catwalk for Louis Vuitton menswear in January.

Add in Beyoncé and Lana Del Rey making country albums, and we are bound to see Aztec prints, denim, and the sort of Americana produced by Ralph Lauren Corp.’s Double RL brand everywhere. Styles haven’t started to hit the shops yet, but they are expected to arrive in time for summer festivals and endure into the autumn-winter season.

The influence of Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla is also being felt. Sixties shift dresses and pastel colors are fusing with the big hair and bold beauty looks of the era’s country stars to spawn Memphis Glam. And watch out for the Olympics as another breeding ground for trends, particularly as Bernard Arnault’s LVMH will dominate the games.

Coastal Grandma could yet return to haunt Mob Wife. Her relaxed separates and raffia accessories have taken a hiatus over the winter, but they are perfect for the summer months. Retailers and beauty brands should prepare now for her resurrection.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Mindoro offshore wind farm eyed for operations by 2029

SINGAPORE-BASED The Blue Circle Pte. Ltd. is planning to start the commercial operations of its 1,200-megawatt (MW) offshore wind project in Oriental Mindoro by 2029, a company official said.

“We are aiming to connect to a substation — that’s still prospective — and that is planned for December 2026. Whereas, we’re talking about a COD (commercial operation date) in maybe 2029,” The Blue Circle Development Manager Amaury Brucker said in a forum last week.

The Blue Circle and its partner CleanTech Global Renewables, Inc. obtained in 2021 their wind energy service contract for the offshore wind project.

“We have an ongoing system impact study for this project and a wind measurement campaign,” Mr. Brucker said.

System impact study is conducted to determine the adequacy and capability of the grid to accommodate the new connection.

“There are some exclusions that we’re already considering because in the Philippines, there’s a lot of biodiversity, which is not something you see in a lot of other countries,” Mr. Brucker said.

“Overall, we’ve noticed that for this project, there’s so far fairly low impact on a lot of aspects — marine traffic, shipping lanes, fishing, etc. — so quite favorable for development,” he said.

Mr. Brucker said that most components will come via sea transport to a nearby port that serves as a logistic hub.

“It’s something that we are also looking into on our end, but of course, we will require support, especially during the construction phase, because here, we’re talking about massive quantities components that you need to store for at least a couple of years,” Mr. Brucker said.

Founded in 2013, The Blue Circle identifies, develops, finances, owns, and operates utility scale wind and solar power projects in geographies of the Asia-Pacific region.

“Most of our activities these days in the Philippines — now, one of the reasons why, in particular, [is] because the framework… is very favorable for investment and development in general, especially for offshore and onshore wind,” Mr. Brucker said.

The Blue Circle and CleanTech has also been awarded the 100-MW Kalayaan project in Laguna. The construction for the project started last year, Mr. Brucker said.

To date, the Department of Energy has awarded 82 offshore wind project service contracts with an estimated total capacity of 63.36 gigawatts (GW).

According to Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina L. Guevara, at least 10 offshore wind projects with a combined capacity of 6.72 GW are expected to produce electricity by 2028. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

NIA sees higher yields with switch to new crop calendar

By Adrian H. Halili, Reporter

THE NATIONAL Irrigation Administration (NIA) said rice production is expected to benefit from its proposed new dry season crop calendar.

“We have the funding for a small pilot project,” NIA Administrator Eduardo G. Guillen told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of a forum last week.

NIA has said that it is planning its irrigation programs around two dry-season crop periods — one from October to January and the other from February to May.

“We looked at the rainfall data and when the typhoons hit. What we wanted was to place the cropping period during the dry season where not a lot of typhoons should take place,” Mr. Guillen added.

“So by June or July, we should be done with both the cropping seasons,” he said.

NIA said the shift will minimize the impact of typhoons on standing crops during the wetter parts of the year.

“Our (main) target here is to increase rice yields… so it’s not all about the weather but also about the effort of government agencies to deliver farming inputs to producers on time,” he added.

The use of high-yielding hybrid seed could potentially increase yields in NIA-irrigated sites to 8 million metric tons (MT) of palay (unmilled rice), according to NIA.

Production is expected to hit 20 million MT of palay this year, according to the target set by the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Mr. Guillen noted that the prompt delivery of inputs to farmers will help keep NIA’s projections on track.

“Andaming pera na binibigay natin sa (Department of Agriculture) para sa kanilang farm inputs, hindi ba tayo na sasayangan na minsan dumarating ’yung inputs sa (farmers) kung kelan dina nila kailangan, (With all the funding available, it’s a waste not to deliver inputs to the farmers when they don’t need them,”) he added.

Mr. Guillen has said that NIA has accelerated the timetables for irrigation projects in the pipeline.

Up to P40 billion has been allocated for new irrigation projects, which could potentially irrigate 40 thousand hectares.

As of 2023, the NIA has completed 68% of its national irrigation development commitments, servicing an estimated 2.11 million hectares, with 1.1 million hectares still to be irrigated.

“NIA is at 60 years, and we have only irrigated (68%). We need better ways to fast track these projects,” he added.

NIA last year signed a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to repurpose surplus irrigation water for power production, bulk water supply, aquaculture, recreation, and tourism.

The DENR offered the water rights of an initial 135 NIA sites for public-private partnerships. An additional 112 were added last week.

Environment Undersecretary Carlos Primo C. David has said that more than 60 private water firms have  expressed interest in investing in the initial 135 sites.

‘Can do better’: Philippines’ report card on alcohol policy

SERGIO ALVES SANTOS--UNSPLASH

The Philippines, as in many other countries where alcoholic beverages have been part of the culture for a long time, has been impacted by the advent of a global industry producing commercial alcohol products, and the aggressive marketing that is integral to the industry. Their marketing strategies, including the design of the alcohol products, target all sectors of the community, especially the heaviest drinkers and those segments largely made up of nondrinkers such as women and young people.

The more alcohol products are consumed, the more likely harm is experienced, either to the drinker’s health or the health and wellbeing of others around him or her. Ethanol is an addictive, carcinogenic drug and its contribution to the burden of disease and injury is significant.

In December 2023, the Western Pacific Regional (WPR) office of the World Health Organization (WHO) hosted an inter-country meeting in Manila, aiming to increase capacity across different government sectors and civil society to implement effective policy and reduce alcohol harm. The Philippines was represented by staff from government agencies (Health, Finance, Transport), a non-governmental organization, and the WHO country office, all of which have a role to play in the multi-sector development of effective alcohol policy.

The meeting included a presentation from the International Alcohol Control (IAC) study, a collaboration set up to assess the status of alcohol policies in low- and middle-income countries. Scores were available for the four countries attending the WPR meeting: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Working with in-country collaborators, the IAC study collects data on the alcohol legislation in place and what is happening on the ground, the latter score reflecting the implementation or enforcement of policies. A perfect score on the IAC Alcohol Policy Index would be 25, but the four countries in the meeting averaged only 9.5. At 5.97, The Philippines scored lowest among the four countries.

Pulling down the Philippines’ score was its pricing policy. Despite the increase in alcohol taxes in recent years, alcohol excise tax remains a very small proportion of the retail price of the lowest priced products (which are most likely to be consumed by heavier drinkers). This has resulted in a “tax burden” of 25% in the Philippines, the lowest among the countries reviewed and the affordability of alcohol products was relatively high. Increasing the alcohol excise tax to reduce the affordability of alcohol products is the most cost-effective policy a country can put in place to reduce harm, a win-win given that government revenue also increases.

Another weak area was the Philippines’ reliance on sobriety checkpoints to enforce the drink driving law. All the other countries in the region had put in place random breath testing, which is a more effective measure for reducing rates of traffic crash injury. With random breath testing, drivers know they can be tested anytime and anywhere, making it a very effective deterrence tool. For example, it has been shown to “generate a huge effect” in Australian states, especially for reducing traffic fatalities among young people (Jiang et al., 2015).*

Another key cost-effective policy is restricting the marketing of alcohol products. While the Philippines reported some partial restrictions, the extent of alcohol marketing in many advertising modes, including digital media and sponsorship, resulted in another poor score. Partial bans are known to be ineffective and the implementation of a complete ban on alcohol marketing, while strenuously opposed by the producers and marketers of alcohol, is necessary to denormalize commercial alcohol products. Providing an environment free of the marketing of alcohol products also protects nondrinkers, including young people and those trying to escape from dependence.

Availability in the form of trading hours is the fourth policy dimension which is part of the IAC Policy Index score. The Philippines had the latest closing time (5 a.m.) for on premise outlets among the four countries but was similar to the other countries in terms of trading hours for sales of take-away alcohol products. Reducing trading hours is known to reduce alcohol harm, particularly violence.

Overall, the IAC Policy Index scores demonstrated that the Philippine government has the opportunity to take some important steps to reduce the experience of alcohol harm. Taking these steps will ensure an environment in which nondrinkers are protected from the ubiquitous persuasion to start drinking, and those who choose to drink can do so within a safer supply system than the one currently in place.

*Jiang, H., Livingston, M., & Manton, E. (2015). “The effects of random breath testing and lowering the minimum legal drinking age on traffic fatalities in Australian states,” Injury Prevention, 21(2), 77-83.

 

Sally Casswell is the director of the Social and Health Outcomes Research and Evaluation (SHORE), at the SHORE & Whariki Research Center in New Zealand. Arianne Zamora is a technical consultant of the World Health Organization Western Pacific and a Consultant at ICAP at Columbia University.

Jetour Dashing variant boasts JL Audio speakers, exclusive color

PHOTO BY KAP MACEDA AGUILA

JETOUR AUTO PHILIPPINES, INC. (JAPI) recently added a new variant to its Dashing SUV lineup. The Dashing Symphony, exclusively available in Aurora Green hue, upgrades the audio system in the crossover with JL Audio-branded components. The US-headquartered brand’s speaker complement in the Dashing Symphony includes four 6- ½-inch injection-molded, mineral-filled polypropylene woofer cones with rubber surround, and 3/4-inch aluminum-edge driven dome tweeters hooked up to an in-line high-pass filter. In the cargo hold is a 10-inch, 4Ω subwoofer with a peak power handling of 600W. The system is driven by a four-channel JL Audio power amplifier.

The Dashing Symphony is priced at P1.523 million. In addition, JAPI announced it will soon introduce a plug-in hybrid version of the model.

From doctor to the stars to household name: Vicki Belo’s road to making the Philippines beautiful

INSTAGRAM.COM/VICTORIA_BELO

VICTORIA “Vicki” Belo, the doctor behind the Belo Group skin clinics, keeps herself in step with the times, and her business follows suit.

At the Shangri-La Plaza’s 2024 Thanksgiving Night on Feb. 5, her daughter and Belo Group Managing Director Cristalle Belo-Pitt discussed how the business keeps itself young. The clinic first opened in 1990, and now have 15 branches all over the Philippines, with one in Cebu and another in Davao. The name has also been solidified via its billboards, its casual namedrops in movies, in its Belo Essentials skincare line, and her mother’s own celebrity status.

“My mom is a psychology graduate. Even though she didn’t take marketing, she knew marketing well, because she understood people,” said Ms. Belo-Pitt. For example, the Belo group’s first clinic in Makati only measured 144 sqm., with only two facial rooms and a doctor’s room, so even with just two people, the clinic would always appear full. “Since the very beginning, she knew what marketing was all about.”

“The secret sauce to staying relevant is quite simple: always go back to your ‘why,’” she said. For the senior Belo, “It was about making the Philippines the most beautiful country in the world, one person at a time.”

In January, Ms. Belo won the Gold Award from Compare Retreats as the Medical Aesthetic Clinic of the Year at the Luxury Wellness Travel Awards 2024. “We did this by bringing the best technology from around the world into the Philippines,” she said. Ms. Belo-Pitt said that aesthetic machines made in the US and in the EU have a difficult time penetrating each other’s markets due to stiff competition and industry regulations, but, “The Philippines has no ego. So we get the best from Europe and the US, and we bring it here to the Philippines.”

Ms. Belo-Pitt recalls that her mother had been the first to bring laser skin treatments to the Philippines in 1990, and doctors had gone on the news to discredit their use. “Thirty-four years later, every dermatologist has a laser in their clinic,” she said. “You can’t evolve without changing your core values and principles. Your brand’s narrative creates a differentiation in a crowded marketplace.”

Another one of their known tactics is using celebrity endorsements. Ms. Belo-Pitt, for instance, showed their new commercial with actor Piolo Pascual as the endorser of Emface, a treatment that exercises the muscles on the face for more definition, connecting that with Mr. Pascual’s well-known physique. “That’s just an example of how we’re able to get technology, create a story around it, use our celebrities wisely, and plaster it all over the mall, our clinics, on social media, and advertising,” she said. “We don’t really pay for advertising actually on TV. It’s a lot of digital and a lot of PR.”

She also said that “We always incorporate fun.” This taps into her mother’s own reputation, which started with her becoming a “doctor to the stars,” but she has since become a celebrity in her own right. Ms. Belo-Pitt showed a video from one of her mother’s social media channels (the senior Belo’s Instagram account has 3.4 million followers) where her mother runs over a breast implant with her Rolls-Royce to prove its durability. “It gets the eyeballs; it gets the name out there,” she said.

But the true coup for the Belo Medical Group was attaching their name to a line of skincare products, Belo Essentials, which solidified their reputation from doctor to the stars to a household name. Ms. Belo said that she co-founded the brand in 2007 with her mother after people like waiters and cashiers would tell them that they wanted to get treatments from the Belo clinics but couldn’t afford them. “We realized that if our goal is to make the Philippines the most beautiful country in the world one person at a time, how will we do it if we only have 15 clinics, right?”

Since the launch of the skincare line, the Belo name is now visible, according to Ms. Belo-Pitt, in 8,000 stores all over the Philippines, and in 26 countries where the products are exported.

She told a story about how a friend had been at the immigration counter in Chile, and after noticing their Philippine passport, the officer there asked about the Belo clinics. “Some of you might notice, ‘Belo’ has become a verb. ‘Magpa-Belo ka.’ It’s not, ‘magpa-beauty ka.’” — Joseph L. Garcia

T-bill rates may inch higher amid weak demand

BW FILE PHOTO

RATES of Treasury bills (T-bills) to be auctioned off this week could inch up on expectations of weaker demand amid the government’s ongoing retail bond offering.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) will auction off P15 billion in T-bills on Monday, or P5 billion each in 91-, 182-, and 364-day papers.

The auction of reissued 10-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) scheduled on Tuesday was canceled due to the retail bond offering.

Rates of the T-bills on offer this week could track the slight increase in secondary market yields as the ongoing retail Treasury bond (RTB) offering could siphon off cash from the financial system, resulting in weaker demand, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

At the secondary market on Friday, the rates of the 91-, 182-, and 364-day T-bills went up by 10.94 basis points (bps), 5.02 bps, and 2.14 bps week on week to end at 5.5704%, 5.8597%, and 6.0791% respectively, based on PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service Reference Rates data published on the Philippine Dealing System’s website.

The government on Tuesday raised an initial P212.719 billion from the five-year RTBs. Tenders for the retail papers at the rate-setting auction reached P272.708 billion, or more than nine times the P30 billion on offer. The retail bonds fetched a coupon rate of 6.25%.

The public offer period for the RTBs and submission of bond exchange offers began on Tuesday and is scheduled to end on Feb. 23, unless closed earlier by the Treasury. The new retail bonds will be issued and settled on Feb. 28.

Rates on government debt traded at the secondary market rose last week amid market expectations of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve in June, Mr. Ricafort added.

The Fed raised borrowing costs by 525 bps from March 2022 to July 2023 to the 5.25-5.5% range.

On Friday, market expectations the Fed will start cutting rates in June were dialed back, with CME’s FedWatch Tool now showing a 69.9% chance for a cut of at least 25 bps, down from the nearly 90% in the prior session, Reuters reported.

Last week, the BTr raised P17 billion from its offering of T-bills, higher than the programmed P15 billion, as total bids reached P49.292 billion, or more than thrice the amount on the auction block.

Broken down, the Treasury made a full P5-billion award of the 91-day papers as tenders for the tenor reached P10.72 billion. The average rate of the three-month T-bill rose by 4.5 bps from the previous week to end at 5.506%. Accepted rates ranged from 5.475% to 5.55%.

The government also raised P5 billion as planned from the 182-day securities as bids stood at P15.79 billion. The average rate for the six-month T-bill was at 5.879%, up by 1.8 bps week on week, with accepted rates at 5.858% to 5.895%.

Lastly, the BTr borrowed the programmed P7 billion via the 364-day debt paper, higher than the P5-billion program, as demand for the tenor totaled P22.782 billion. The average rate of the one-year T-bill fell by 1.1 bps to 6.064% from last week. Accepted yields were from 6.048% to 6.075%.

The BTr plans to raise P210 billion from the domestic market this month, or P60 billion via T-bills and P90 billion through T-bonds. It previously wanted to borrow P150 billion from bonds but canceled two scheduled auctions of long-tenored papers due to the RTB offering.

The government borrows from local and foreign sources to help fund its budget deficit, which is capped at 5.1% of gross domestic product this year or P1.39 trillion. — A.M.C. Sy with Reuters

Lower energy storage system cost to spur RE adoption — analysts

FREEPIK

THE declining cost of energy storage systems (ESS) may facilitate the broader adoption of renewable energy (RE) sources, according to analysts.

The recent technological advancements have made solar and wind energy, integrated with ESS, “competitive with best fossil fuels,” said Paolo Pagaduan, renewable energy and just transition senior lead at Asian People’s Movement on Debt and Development.

“As BESS (battery ESS) technology continues to advance, we can expect further reductions in price,” he said in a Viber message last week.

ESS refers to a facility capable of absorbing energy directly from an energy source and storing it for a time period, and injecting stored energy when prompted, according to the Department of Energy (DoE).

Mr. Pagaduan said that ESS ensure uninterrupted power supply by storing energy and injecting it into the grid when the “sun isn’t shining” or the “wind isn’t blowing.”

“This process is almost instantaneous, maintaining a steady power flow, unlike traditional fossil fuel plants that require significant startup time and aren’t as stable as often claimed,” he said.

Data from the DoE showed that about 334 megawatts of capacity are expected from BESS this year.

Jose M. Layug, Jr., president of the Developers of Renewable Energy Advancement, Inc., said ESS is critical to manage the variability of intermittent renewable energy sources.

“[ESS] can also ultimately serve as baseload generation also if and when it becomes more affordable,” Mr. Layug said.

Citing the data from the International Renewable Energy Agency, Mr. Layug said that BESS prices fell by 71% to $776 per kilowatt-hour between 2014-2020.

He said that ESS allows better integration of renewable energy in the grid and optimizes grid operations, as well as it is favorable to implement in islands for “decentralized electrification support.”

Mr. Pagaduan said, however, that all ESS require extraction of transition materials, such as copper and lithium, which are “frequently exploited through extractivist systems that harm host communities, local economies, and the environment.”

“It is therefore essential to adopt principles and parameters for ensuring rapid, equitable, and just transition to clean energy systems,” Mr. Pagaduan said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Seaweed industry eyed for expansion

STOCK PHOTO | Image by Laczko Istvan Stefan from Pixabay

THE DEPARTMENT of Agriculture (DA) said on Sunday that it is planning to increase investment in the seaweed industry to boost its export potential.

“We still have unutilized area of 85,000 hectares. Until we reach that, we shouldn’t stop. If possible, we should accelerate the industry’s expansion,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said in a statement.

He said that the DA has allocated P1 billion for the industry, for investment in large tissue culture laboratories, dryers, warehouses and technician training.

The Philippines produced 1.63 million metric tons of seaweed in 2023, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, up 5.3%.

Mr. Laurel added that the seaweed industry of Indonesia produces five times the output of the Philippines.

“In 1990, the Philippines accounted for 80% of the world’s seaweed requirement while Indonesia only produced 10%. That has since changed. Indonesia produces five times more than the Philippines,” the DA said.

Mr. Laurel said the industry has noted the lack of seed material as an obstacle to further growth.

Industry groups have also called for support in the form of seed material, implements, lines, floaters, and counterweights.

He said logistics issues also need to be resolved, including building more ports to take raw materials to processing plants, as well as the high cost of power.

Most seaweed farms are in Mindanao, while processing facilities are located in Cebu and Manila. — Adrian H. Halili

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