Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 3221

NFTs, once hyped as the next big thing, now face ‘worst moment’

SERWAH ATTAFUAH’S Creation of My Metaverse (Between this World and the Next) —SOTHEBYS.COM

NFTs first crossed Daniel Maegaard’s radar in 2018. He started investing in the tokens in 2019 and by 2021 held hundreds of them, ultimately ranking among the world’s best-known and influential non-fungible token (NFT) collectors. Under the pseudonym Seedphrase, he accumulated millions of dollars’ worth of the crypto tokens and famously sold one for a cool $4.45 million in 2022.

But over the last few months, Mr. Maegaard has been downsizing his collection while a critical part of the market has, in his words, “completely tanked.”

Non-fungible tokens, most popularly associated with the digital artwork and other collectibles recorded on crypto blockchains, have lost most of their value after once capturing the imagination of crypto enthusiasts as the next big thing. The hype and FOMO, or “fear of missing out,” around NFTs has faded since their all-time peak in January 2022, leaving beaten-down buyers and sellers struggling to find long-term value in the speculative assets.

Monthly trading volume for NFTs plummeted 81% between January 2022 and July 2023, data from DappRadar shows. Over the same period, monthly NFT sales figures have dropped 61%, per DappRadar. And floor prices for blue-chip NFTs like Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks are at more than two-year lows, according to industry data tracker NFT Price Floor.

“When you look at the charts, everything is down,” said Lorenzo Melendez, president at NFT project Pudgy Penguins — named for its digital art featuring cartoonish, cutesy versions of the flightless birds. “You are seeing just a lot of capitulation, ‘We don’t know what to do or where to go’.”

NFTs, along with the rest of crypto, had a painful comeuppance last year as a cascade of high-profile collapses and scandals soured investors on a digital-asset market already pinched by rising interest rates. But even as the broader crypto market has stabilized somewhat this year, NFTs have failed to find their footing.

Investors aren’t the only ones suffering. NFT marketplace Recur, which is backed by billionaire Steve Cohen and known for its Hello Kitty NFT partnership, said it’s winding down due to “unforeseen challenges and shifts in the business landscape.” Mark Cuban- and Joe Lubin-backed NFT social-media platform Nifty’s, which partnered with Warner Bros. on Looney Tunes-themed NFTs before changing strategy, also said it’s closing shop, citing investment opportunities that “didn’t pan out.” Surviving platforms and projects aren’t faring well either: Leading NFT marketplace Blur has seen its sales volume — measured in Ether — drop 96% between a late June peak and early August, data from Dune Analytics shows.

The creators behind the digital art have also become concerned after NFT marketplace OpenSea decided to make royalties paid on secondary sales of their work optional, rather than mandatory, last month. “There’s a lot of desperation in certain aspects of this space,” said Mr. Melendez.

Adding to the pain is fear over a potential regulatory crackdown. On Monday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission took its first enforcement action on NFTs, alleging that the tokens offered by a Los Angeles-based business were really unregistered securities.

While NFTs have been around for almost a decade, they only really took off in 2017 when Dapper Labs debuted its CryptoKitties game showcasing tradable googly-eyed cats. It became so popular it clogged up the Ethereum network. A few years later, Bored Ape Yacht Club — an NFT collection of cartoonish monkeys — burst on to the scene, becoming a cultural sensation and inspiring real-world, hard-to-get-into parties with performances by the likes of The Strokes and Chris Rock. Other celebrities also piled into the space, including Madonna, Paris Hilton, and Justin Bieber. Some collectors became overnight millionaires as the value of their art soared.

By early 2022, the hype had reached a zenith.

But since then, the market has reversed course on practically every measure. Investor sentiment has fizzled, with collectors filing lawsuits against NFT creators and sellers after seeing the value of their art nosedive. Traders are also moving on, often back into cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin’s price has rallied some 60% this year.

Even industry heavyweight Yuga Labs — which developed Bored Ape and acquired CryptoPunks — “faces a significant challenge,” said Sara Gherghelas, an analyst at DappRadar. That’s because it may miss out on “substantial revenue” each month due to OpenSea’s new royalties policy. Yuga recently announced it’s winding down support for OpenSea, which in turn could impact OpenSea’s volumes, added Nicolas Lallement, co-founder of NFT Price Floor. Yuga declined to comment beyond its recent post.

“We are probably in the worst moment since the start of the NFT mania,” said Mr. Lallement.

In particular, Mr. Lallement points to the “systemic crisis” in profile picture nonfungible tokens, or PFPs, which enthusiasts would share on their social media pages, including on X (formerly known as Twitter).

“Unfortunately the PFP market has completely tanked to the point where I only feel comfortable holding CryptoPunks,” said Mr. Maegaard, referring to the colorful cast of digital characters, commonly depicted wearing hats or smoking. “Everything else has been sold.”

“CryptoPunks is the only great PFP collection that is holding better, at least in ETH terms,” said Mr. Lallement. “So, what we are seeing is a flight to safety.” He also predicts that some collectors may simply exit the market.

The latest stretch of the overall decline also has a lot to do with the slump in price of NFT marketplace Blur’s native token, which incentivizes activity on the platform. The token has dropped 32% to 21 cents over the last 30 days as of last Thursday in New York, according to CoinMarketCap.

“With the advent of Blur, NFTs were utterly financialized,” explained Mr. Lallement. “We somehow shifted from a collector-driven market with a lot of emphasis on attributes, rarity, and emerging properties of the items of each collection, to a trader-driven market, where floor items, incentivized bids, lending, and inventory in general were the key elements.”

Even the term “NFT” is falling out of favor.

Auction house Sotheby’s — which in 2021 promoted “A Curated NFT sale” — now refers to NFTs as “digital art” or “generative art,” stuffing them into a genre that’s been around for years. NFT project Pudgy Penguins calls its wares “digital collectibles.”

“We haven’t banned the word NFT, but we like to refer to it as a digital collectible because it’s more approachable,” said Mr. Melendez. “The word NFT has a lot of connotations for scams that happened very early on,” he added. Scammers have tried every trick in the book, like stealing NFTs out of users’ wallets via phishing as well as selling fake NFTs — unauthorized digital copies of real ones.

Still holding its value, however, is artwork from famous creators. Sotheby’s sold a piece from the Grails collection for around $6.2 million in June, according to head of digital art and NFTs Michael Bouhanna, while Christie’s is seeing demand for creations by Canadian artist Mad Dog Jones, said Nicole Sales Giles, who is vice-president and director of digital art sales.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, low-value NFTs used in games are also in demand. NFTs on the Coinbase-incubated blockchain, Base, go for an average of $9 each, according to DappRadar. “I’m mostly investing in gaming NFTs and generative art,” said Mr. Maegaard.

As for the rest of the market, the pain is far from over.

“I think we have one very tough bottoming out left to go,” said Mr. Melendez. “I don’t think we are quite there yet.” — Bloomberg

Converge sees enterprise unit’s growth

LISTED Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. is seeing sustained growth in its enterprise business after expanding into new areas and launching products and services catered to local businesses. 

In a statement on Tuesday, Converge said it had seen growth for its unit Converge Business as revenues surged 26% to P2.5 billion in the first half as supported by its expansion efforts. 

“We are pleased to see an upswing in our enterprise unit, Converge Business, and we’re bound to see more growth as we introduce new products and services that go beyond connectivity,” Converge Chief Operations Officer Jesus C. Romero said. 

“Our expansion into key tourism destinations like Boracay and Palawan will also bolster opportunities to tap both small and large companies in these areas,” he added.

Leonardo Baniqued, Converge’s assistant vice-president and head of innovation and product management, said in a presentation at a recent conference that the company could enable emerging businesses since its digital infrastructure is laid out across the country. 

“We have the broadest fiber network in the country and this means that our network is already available in cities that are just planning to shift to digital or even cities that are just being planned. Converge is there from the start,” Mr. Baniqued said.

One of the company’s product offerings to businesses is its flexiBIZ solution, which is a fiber connection tailored for small and medium enterprises at doubled speeds of up to 300 Mbps in daytime or peak hours.

Converge also offers value-added services such as its workplace automated HR and payroll solution, and hotel management software for big and small companies. 

Another offering is SweldoMo, which is an automated human resources, payroll, and timekeeping solution. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Romero said Converge is expecting higher revenues after its recent foray into the international wholesale market.

He added that investments in additional capacities for upcoming international cable systems and data centers have prepared the company to serve more global firms and the wholesale market. 

“We have already set up a Singapore office which is now in full operation with the hiring of a general sales manager,” Mr. Romero said.

On Tuesday, shares of Converge at the local bourse rose 22 centavos or 2.72% to close at P8.30 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

An epic journey comes to an end

ABIGAIL Oliveiro plays the elusive Ibong Adarna in its first full performance in the ballet.

Ballet Review
Ibong Adarna
By Ballet Manila

By Brontë H. Lacsamana, Reporter

FOR the third and final production of Ballet Manila’s 25th performance season, the ballet company at last got to stage Gerardo Francisco’s multi-awarded Ibong Adarna.

“A year after a fire destroyed our home, the Aliw Theater, in 2019, this ballet was supposed to be the phoenix that would make us rise from the ashes,” said Ballet Manila Chief Executive Officer and artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde in a speech during the Aug. 19 gala. “We previously programmed Ibong Adarna to open our 25th season with a national tour culminating in performances at the rebuilt theater.

“However, pandemic closures and lockdowns changed all these plans,” said Ms. Macuja-Elizalde. “Now, it is but fitting that this ballet closes our season of hope and homecoming.”

She announced with joy that, with this final show, Ballet Manila’s return to the stage can finally be deemed a success. (The first two productions of this season were Romeo and Juliet, staged in February, and Don Quixote, which was shown in May.)

First premiered in 2017, Francisco’s Ibong Adarna immediately garnered acclaim as a uniquely original Filipino work, adapted from an early 19th-century epic fantasy poem that centers on a magical bird of the same name. The production received multiple accolades, including Gawad Buhay awards for Outstanding Male Lead for Modern Dance, Outstanding Modern Dance Production, and Outstanding Choreography for Modern Dance. It was also the first full-length Filipino ballet to have had an international run at the Karmiel Dance Festival in Israel.

Aside from being the closing of Ballet Manila’s silver anniversary, the draw of this particular show was its story’s familiarity to Filipino audience members who most probably studied it in school.

Ms. Macuja-Elizalde and Mr. Francisco, who briefly appeared at the start of the program to introduce the show, demonstrated how sweeping movements of hands and feet are used to convey messages through dance. Ever the gracious choreographer, Mr. Francisco spelled out in a hybrid of miming and ballet the phrase “If the Adarna bird sings, the king will not die,” illustrating how dancers will use poised and emotive motions to tell the story.

When the show started, one thing that was evident was the strengths of the rebuilt Aliw Theater. A curved LED screen displayed cool moving backgrounds and visual effects (albeit with some pixelated glitches here and there).

The costumes and props used throughout the show highlight Filipino ingenuity and evoke the luxury of the Kingdom of Berbania despite being of an almost makeshift quality (kudos to the craftsmanship of the Make It Happen Workshop). These ranged from bamboo poles that could be joined by the dancers to form a boat, large necklaces and headpieces showcasing beautifully woven cloth, and elaborately painted moving staircases that alternated between kingly thrones and banana trees.

The characters of King Fernando and Queen Valeriana, decked in garb made of local materials, were absolutely regal in both appearance and performance. When the king fell ill, kicking off the events of the story, the odd adventures that befall their sons Don Pedro (played by Mark Sumaylo), Don Diego (Romeo Peralta, Jr.), and Don Juan (Joshua Enciso) were where the production went full throttle, with each dance and prop combination getting livelier and fully immersing the viewers in the story.

Mr. Francisco’s choreography, blending rhythmic folk dance with ballet, was fast-paced and charged with precise energy, making it no surprise that every performance ended with bursts of applause from the audience. The traditional tale was also imbued with modern flair — such as the stoic male warriors being accompanied by strong, beautiful female warriors who even had a dance number of their own.

However, it was Abigail Oliveiro who clearly stood out as the Ibong Adarna itself. She was the epitome of wild, bird-like grace, her movements flitting between light-footed twitchiness and untamed poise, seen in full effect whenever the feathered costume shook along with each little motion.

The ballet also shone thanks to the original music by Diwa De Leon, son of National Artist Felipe de Leon, Jr., fully bringing the story to a time long past, when princes could go off on noble adventures. In tandem with the choreography, the world of Berbania was brought to life with a tapestry of sounds and movements.

As a ballet version of an old story, it presented everything in the simplest, most elegant way possible, illuminating the folk tale’s lessons to its viewers. As Ms. Macuja-Elizalde put it, “Ibong Adarna speaks about love and loyalty to family, the triumph of goodness and kindness over selfishness and evil, respect for our parents and elders, and the importance of forgiveness.”

Like all long adventures, it took a while for the company to give this show the grand re-staging it was destined for, and now it’s safe to say that it finally succeeded in its quest.

SEC readies revised rules for reports on sustainability

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to release a memorandum circular on the revised guidelines for publicly listed companies (PLCs) to improve their reporting and efforts on sustainability.

In a statement on Tuesday, the SEC said the soon-to-be-released circular will include the Sustainability Reporting (SuRe) form to guide PLCs with their reports.

“The revised guidelines seek to further enhance the quality of sustainability reporting and ensure consistency of non-financial information submitted by PLCs,” the SEC said. 

According to the SEC, the revised guidelines will consider global sustainability standards like the IFRS S1 (General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information) and IFRS S2 (Climate-related Disclosures), among others.

“These standards serve as an effective and proportionate global framework of investor-focused disclosures on sustainability and climate-related risks and opportunities,” the regulator said. 

The SEC noted a steady increase in the submission of sustainability reports by PLCs as the compliance rate reached 95% in 2021, lower than 96% in 2020 but higher than 93% in 2019. 

Around 22% of PLCs disclosed their sustainability reports to the SEC before the release of the guidelines in 2017. 

“This is a significant step towards consistent, comparable, and reliable sustainability information, ending the so-called alphabet soup of voluntary adoption of various standards,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said. 

“The adoption of the IFRS S1 and S2 standards will complement the Commission’s adoption of frameworks under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Global Reporting Initiative, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development-International Standards of Accounting and Reporting Guidance on Core Indicators,” he added. 

Earlier in the year, the SEC adopted the ASEAN Sustainable and Responsible Fund Standards, which allows both local and ASEAN-member investment companies and collective investment scheme operators to offer sustainable and responsible funds locally and across the region. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

What would an ancient Egyptian corpse have smelled like? Pine, balsam and bitumen — if you were nobility

IN 1900 — some 22 years before he discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen — British archaeologist Howard Carter opened another tomb in the Valley of the Kings. In tomb KV42, Carter found the remains of a noblewoman called Senetnay, who died around 1450 BCE.

More than a century later, a French perfumer has recreated one of the scents used in Senetnay’s mummification. And the link between these two events is our research, published in Scientific Reports*, which delves into the ingredients of this ancient Egyptian balm recipe.

Our team drew upon cutting-edge technologies in chemistry to reconstruct ancient scents from jars of Senetnay found in the tomb.

We used three variations of chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques, which work by breaking samples down into individual molecules. Specific substances have different assemblages of molecules. Based on these characteristic compounds and through comparison to known reference materials, we identified the different ingredients.

After the excavation by Carter, two of Senetnay’s jars recovered from the tomb made their way to Germany. So, in 2020, we approached the Museum August Kestner in Hannover about the possibility of analyzing the jars with these new methods.

These jars are known as canopic jars. They are made of limestone and were used to store the mummified organs of the ancient Egyptian elite. Somewhere along the way, however, Senetnay’s jars lost their contents. All that remained of the mummified organs were faint residues on the bottom of the jars.

Remarkably, chemical analyses allow scientists to take such trace remains and reconstruct the original contents.

Our analysis revealed the balms used to coat and preserve Senetnay’s organs contained a blend of beeswax, plant oil, fats, bitumen, an unidentified balsamic substance, and resins from trees of the pine family (most likely larch).

One other substance was narrowed down to either a resin called dammar — found in coniferous and hardwood trees in South-East and East Asia — or Pistacia tree resin.

The results were exciting; these were the richest and most complex balms ever identified for this early time period. It was clear a lot of effort had gone into making the balms. This suggests Senetnay, who was the wet nurse of the future Pharaoh Amenhotep II, had been an important figure in her day.

The findings also contribute to growing chemical evidence that the ancient Egyptians went far and wide to source ingredients for mummification balms, drawing on extensive trade networks that stretched into areas beyond their realm.

Since trees of the pine family are not endemic to Egypt, the possible larch resin must have come from somewhere further afield, most likely Central Europe.

The most puzzling ingredient was the one identified as either Pistacia or dammar resin. If the ingredient was Pistacia — which is derived from the resin of pistachio trees — it likely came from some coastal region of the Mediterranean. But if it was dammar, it would have derived from much farther away in South-East Asia.

Recent analysis of balms from the site of Saqqara identified dammar in a later balm dating to the first millennium BCE. If the presence of dammar resin is confirmed in Senetnay’s case, this would suggest ancient Egyptians had access to this South-East Asian resin via long-distance trade, almost a millennium earlier than previously thought.

Senetnay’s balm would not only have scented her remains, but also the workshop in which it was made and the proceedings of her burial rites — perfuming the air with pine, balsam, vanilla and other exotic notes. The vanilla scent comes from a compound called coumarin, and from vanillic acid, and in this case likely reflects the degradation of woody tissue.

Due to the volatile nature of scents, however, Senetnay’s unique scents gradually vanished once her remains were deposited in the Valley of the Kings.

Earlier this year, we began a collaboration with perfumer Carole Calvez and sensory museologist Sofia Collette Ehrich to bring Senetnay’s lost scent back to life.

The results of this effort will go on display at the Moesgaard Museum in Denmark in October, as part of its new exhibition: Egypt — Obsessed with Life.

The new olfactory display will be like a time machine for the nose. It will provide a unique and unparalleled window into the smells of ancient Egypt and the scents used to perfume and preserve elite individuals such as Senetnay.

Such immersive experiences provide new ways of engaging with the past and help broaden participation, particularly for visually impaired people. — The Conversation via Reuters Connect

*Biomolecular characterization of 3500-year-old ancient Egyptian mummification balms from the Valley of the Kings | Scientific Reports (nature.com)

Nicole Boivin is a Professor at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, while Barbara Huber is a Doctoral Researcher at the Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology. Barbara Huber receives funding from the Max Planck Society and the Joachim Herz Foundation.

AbaCore approves to buy back shares amid ‘unwarranted’ stock price decline

LISTED holding company AbaCore Capital Holdings, Inc. has approved a share buyback program policy, citing an “unwarranted drop” in its stock price.

In a statement on Tuesday, the company said its stock price is “undervalued in terms of the price-to-book value ratio and the income potential of its projects and investments.”

“We are pursuing this buyback program policy because we believe our stock has strong long-term fundamentals. As such, buying back our stock institutes our confidence in the company’s future,” AbaCore Vice-Chairman Antonio Victoriano F. Gregorio III said. 

AbaCore recently sold a property at Brgy. Inosluban in Lipa, Batangas to Eternal Gardens that resulted in a P99.4 million net gain. The company previously sold its Mataas-na-Kahoy properties in Lipa for P108.9 million, which had a gross gain of P70.4 million. 

As a result of the transactions, the company recorded a P384.6 million net income as of August, a turnaround from the P15.5 million net loss in the first half of last year.

AbaCore also bought a property in Silang, Cavite which will be used for any venture with existing or future business partners as part of replenishing its inventory of investment properties.

The company’s board also took note of the progress made with the memorandum of agreement signed with Highsource Prime Building, Inc. to construct various projects at the Montemaria Shrine in Batangas. The progress includes refurbishing the existing hotel at the shrine, building new roads to ensure accessibility to all facilities and opening new restaurants.

Meanwhile, AbaCore said it is looking forward to the potential income from the agreement signed by Pacific Online Systems Corp. with the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to build an online betting platform.

Under the agreement, Pacific Online will get 14% of the gross revenues by serving as the PCSO’s exclusive agent. The agreement covers a one-year trial period. AbaCore has a 4.89% stake in Pacific Online.

“This 2023, we are pleased to announce more business ventures across the markets we operate in. We believe these initiatives will solidify our long-term fundamentals and allow us to fulfill our growth prospects,” Mr. Gregorio said.

AbaCore is a holding company that has business interests in tourism, real estate, financial services, and energy.

Shares of AbaCore on Tuesday increased 10 centavos or 8.06% to finish at P1.34 apiece. — Revin MIhkael D. Ochave

OFW as a permanent phenomenon: Language lessons

FREEPIK

(Part 6)

To have a glimpse of the future, in which a developed Philippines will continue to be the source of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in such areas as nursing, caregiving, hospitality, food services and accommodation, and seafaring, it would be enlightening to take a close look at one of the leading ethical recruiting agencies in the Philippines today.

I am referring to EDI-Staffbuilders International, Inc., part of John Clements Consultants, Inc., the pioneer recruitment search firm in the Philippines and a 100% non-fee charging company. It has been locally and internationally recognized for its best practices in ethical recruitment. It partners with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) in promoting Decent Work Across Borders (DWAB) and the International Recruitment Integrity System (IRIS). It has a wide experience since it was established in 1978 in such sectors as oil and gas, engineering and construction, IT- BPO and Telecoms, Banking Finance and Insurance, Hospitality and Tourism, Manufacturing FMCG and Retail, Healthcare and Transportation, Automotive and Aviation. In its 45 years of operation, one of the distinctive hallmarks of EDI-Staffbuilders International and success is its having forged strong business alliances in various countries (especially in North America, Japan, and the European Union) with equally reputable organizations that are acknowledged leaders in their industry.

EDI-StaffBuilders has recruited and successfully deployed more than 100,000 Filipino executives, managers, professional and technical staff. Practically all of them decided to work abroad of their free choice and not because of dire poverty as in the case of domestic helpers and other semi-skilled or unskilled service or industrial workers. The average salaries of these recruits are $4,000 to $15,000 for executives and managers; $1,500 to $3,500 for professional and highly technical workers; $800 to $1,500 for skilled workers. These are the types of OFWs who will continue to seek employment abroad even if the Philippines, say in 2040, is able to bring down the poverty incidence close to zero level.

EDI-StaffBuilders has been consistently recognized by the Philippine Overseas Employment Authority (POEA) through such awards as Top Performer Award, Hall of Famer, Presidential Award of Distinction and Award of Excellence. In February 2014, the Presidential Award of Excellence was conferred to EDI-StaffBuilders by the late President Benigno S. Aquino III. The criteria used for the granting of the award were deployment volume, technical capability, compliance with recruitment laws and rules, industry leadership and social awareness and responsibility.

One business partnership established by EDI-Staffbuilders that is a harbinger of future recruitment of highly paid Filipino professionals and technical workers is with a Japanese company which is recognized as one of the top three leading management consulting and personnel services companies in Japan.

In 2019, a new subsidiary of this Japanese company was established, to cater mainly to the high demand and critical need of Japan for foreign workers, especially in the health and hospitality sectors. This company established a Philippine subsidiary which set up a Language Institute in Cabuyao, Laguna to primarily provide an intensive Language and Culture Training Program for all their recruited caregivers. The high-end facilities and methodology of the Institute has resulted in a 70% passing rate in the Japanese language proficiency test administered twice a year. This fact illustrates that one of the strengths of Filipinos is their facility to learn different languages.

EDI-Staffbuilders has made similar arrangements with Philippine educational institutions and language training centers to teach their recruits languages as varied as German, Finnish, Czech, Polish, and Spanish. In fact, another example of language training was the partnership of EDI-Staffbuilders with a German outfit in opening up a boarding school in Cabuyao, Laguna. The main goal of the school was to create a conducive environment where nurses could learn the German language as quickly as possible. The German language training was given for free and so were the accommodation and food of the trainees. Aside from the usual classroom lectures and exercises, language learning was made more interactive and personal via various activities such as parlor games, song and dance numbers, and theatrical plays. The set up developed not only the language skills of the nurses but also built camaraderie and a sense of belonging among the group which helped the trainees to adapt to the new environment that they would be facing in Germany. The whole educational experience resulted in a 90% German language passing rate.

EDI-Staffbuilders has been a pioneer in nontraditional countries as OFW destinations, such as those in Central Europe where the demographic crisis is as severe as in East Asian countries like Japan and South Korea. For example, in 2015 the company ventured into the Czech Republic by recruiting for a manufacturing company engaged in IT peripherals in which Filipino workers grew to as many as 600. This was an important breakthrough because up to then, the Czech Republic recruited workers mostly from Ukraine, Slovakia, Mongolia and other countries in the periphery of the country. Thanks to the efforts of EDI-Staffbuilders, in cooperation with then Charge d’affairs Juan E. Dayang, Jr. of the Philippine embassy in Prague, the Czech Republic launched the Filipiniski program which identified the Philippines as a new source for workers and approved 1,000 working visas annually for Filipinos. Today, the Czech Republic has employed more than 3,000 OFWs and counting. This diversification into new markets led by EDI-Staffbuilders will be able to tap an estimated demand for as many as 100,000 workers for the healthcare, manufacturing, engineering, information technology, hospitality and services sectors in the next five to 15 years.

This specific example of a leading human resource and international recruiting company in the Philippines was meant to illustrate what will be the effective means of deploying Filipino workers all over the depopulating world (practically all the developed countries) way into the future, even as the Philippines itself should attain First World status.

Of course, my assumption is that Philippine culture will always give the highest priority to values related to what our Constitution states as the “inviolability of marriage as an institution” and the family as the foundation of society. These values are especially nurtured by the Christian faith of the majority of Filipinos. The retention and nurturing of such values will prevent our succumbing to the anti-life and anti-family culture that is so prevalent in the developed countries. These are also the same values that will keep our fertility rate close to replacement level of 2.1 per fertile woman and thus guarantee that we will continue to have a growing and relatively young population, avoiding the scourge of rapid ageing that is the very reason why countries like Japan, Germany, Spain, Finland, Austria and many others will continue to depend on our workers to enable them to sustain a high standard of living as they are unable to reverse their extremely low fertility rate.

Truly indeed, as we reach the level of a high-income economy, we will still see a significant exodus of our workers to numerous countries all over the world. Such an outflow of Filipino workers will no longer be motivated by extreme poverty but by individual Filipinos who will be exercising their inalienable human right to decide where to live and die. We can only hope that a good number of them will still decide to come back to the Philippines upon their retirement to spend the rest of their lives in what by then will already by a First World country but still retaining the pro-family and pro-life culture mandated by our Constitution.

 

Bernardo M. Villegas has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard, is professor emeritus at the University of Asia and the Pacific, and a visiting professor at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. He was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission.

bernardo.villegas@uap.asia

Arts&Culture (09/06/23)

BPI Escolta Branch declared an important cultural property

THE NATIONAL Museum of the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts recently declared the Escolta branch of the Bank of the Philippine Islands an important cultural property, ensuring the protection and preservation of the 54-year-old post-war edifice. Located on Escolta corner Yuchengco Sts. in Manila, the half-dome, futuristic building was built in 1969 and designed with a brutalist architectural style by the late National Artist for Architecture Jose Maria V. Zaragoza. It previously housed the Commercial Bank and Trust Company, a commercial bank that began operating in 1954. The declaration falls under the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, a law that protects structures with “exceptional cultural, artistic, and historical significance” to the Philippines.

Flower-centered exhibit ongoing at West Gallery

AN exhibition titled “There are always flowers for those who want to see them” is currently on view at West Gallery in Quezon City until Sept. 9. It features the works of Brisa Amir, cnvs, Isha Naguiat, Jason Dy SJ, Jemima Yabes, Kitty Kaburo, Lesley-Anne Cao, Miguel Puyat, Mona Santos, Nicole Tee, and Ryan Villamael. The group show, drawing from a study on the feelings evoked by flowers conducted by Professor Jeannette Haviland-Jones and named for a text by Henri Matisse, celebrates one of the most ubiquitous sights across nature: the flower. The 11 artists in the exhibition sift through a wide spectrum of emotion, each a study in introspection or commentary on the process of working with flowers. West Gallery is at 48 West Ave., Quezon City. For details call 0915-175-3729.

Anywhere We Sing Is Home concert marks CCP anniversary

TO celebrate the 54th anniversary of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) this month, the concert Anywhere We Sing Is Home will be held on Sept. 9 and 10. The concert’s title alludes to the temporary closure of the CCP’s main building and the need for its work to be held in other locations. Led by Joanna Ampil, this gala performance features an all-star cast that includes Sheila Francisco, Aicelle Zambrano, Gerald Santos, Arman Ferrer, Gab Pangilinan, Reb Atadero, and Jean Marc Cordero. The stage direction will be by Floy Quintos and the music direction will be by National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab. There will be two shows — on Sept. 9, 8 p.m., and on Sept. 10, 3 p.m. — at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater at Ayala Malls Circuit, Makati. Tickets can be booked at https://premier.ticketworld.com.ph/.

Hamilton holds ticket lottery via TicketWorld

WITH the award-winning musical Hamilton beginning performances this month at the Theatre at Solaire, a lottery for tickets will open on Sept. 11, giving fans the chance to win two tickets to the musical for P1,600 through TicketWorld. Weekly lottery sign-ups will open each Monday at 10 a.m. and close for entries on Wednesday, 11:59 p.m., for the next week’s performances. For more information on how to sign up, read the FAQs of the official website.

Marie Claire Olondriz holds solo show in ARTablado

PAINTER Marie Claire Olondriz has spent years honing her painting style, coming up with canvases awash in color and light. She is an artist with a strong faith in a higher power, as seen in her paintings of Marian images like Our Lady of Aranzazu and Our Lady Star of the Sea. However, she also has floral paintings that include one of a beautiful magnolia flower in full bloom. Most notably, Ms. Olondriz’s canvases are all vertical, a style that began when she was once confined in a hospital and just scribbling on a sketch pad. In her ongoing exhibit titled “Obra ni Maria Clara” at ARTablado in Robinsons Galleria, she shows her passion for art. It is on view until Sept. 15 at the Level 3 of Robinsons Galleria.

EU Delegation holds logo-making contest

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Delegation to the Philippines is calling on all creative graphic artists in the country to join its logo contest in celebration of the 60th anniversary of EU-Philippine relations next year. The competition is open to Philippine residents (nationals or foreigners) between 16 and 29 years of age. The selected piece will be the official logo to be used in all EU Delegation communication materials in a string of activities during the anniversary year. The logo must be simple, easy to reproduce, and portray clearly the 60-year EU-Philippines partnership, with components from the EU and Philippine flags. Submission should be by the end of Sept. 15. For more information, visit the website https://european-union.europa.eu/.

Rock opera ballet Rama, Hari opens this month

THIS September, the hit Filipino rock opera ballet, Rama, Hari returns to the stage. It is the only collaboration between five National Artists: Alice Reyes for Direction and Choreography, Ryan Cayabyab for Music, Salvador Bernal for Production Design, and Bienvenido Lumbera for the lyrics and libretto with English Translations by Rolando Tinio. The cast includes musical theater star Arman Ferrer in the lead role of Rama, with Vien King alternating. They will perform alongside dancers Ronelson Yadao and Ejay Arisola. Karylle Tatlonghari, Shiela Valderrama-Martinez, and Nica Tupas alternate in the role of Rama’s beloved wife, Sita, with dance counterparts, Monica Gana, and Katrene San Miguel. Rama, Hari is based on the ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana. It is presented by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and features the artists of the Alice Reyes Dance Philippines and the CCP’s Professional Artist Support Program. There will be performances on Sept. 15 and 16 at the Metropolitan Theater of Manila, and on Sept. 22 and 23 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Circuit, Makati. For more information, check @ARDancePh on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Aboitiz firm rolls out EV fleet in Batangas 

ABOITIZ InfraCapital, Inc. (AIC) has launched a fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) for the locators and visitors within its LIMA Estate in Malvar, Batangas that it plans to replicate in its other economic estates by next year.

“The way we look at things is we wanted the same types of initiatives across all our projects. Typically, we’ll start in LIMA because it’s the most advanced and the largest,” Rafael P. Fernandez de Mesa, head of AIC Economic Estates and president of LIMA Land, Inc., told reporters during the “Red Link and Red Pass” launch on Tuesday.

The company partnered with EV manufacturer Global Electric Transport for the deployment of the fleet.

Under the Red Link system, the company rolled out an initial seven EVs that are deployed within seven routes in LIMA Estate.

Each electric minibus has a seating capacity of 18 but has a maximum capacity of up to 30. Overall, the system has an initial capacity of 2,500 passengers per day.

Mr. de Mesa said the company is assessing the number of electric minibuses to add as the population within the estate is expected to grow.

“Today we have 66,000 employees working inside. There’s also 25 ongoing construction [projects], so the population is expected to grow probably a hundred thousand within the next five years or so,” he said.

The 800-hectare LIMA Estate is a registered ecozone with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority. It has more than 160 locators.

Mr. de Mesa said the company is seeking to implement the EV fleet system in other economic estates.

“For other estates, we’re now studying it, so realistically [we will roll out] probably sometime next year,” he said.

AIC, the infrastructure arm of the Aboitiz group, also has economic estates in Cebu province, namely: the Mactan Economic Zone 2 Estate in Lapu-Lapu and the West Cebu Estate in Balamban.

“Our expectation is to improve the lifestyle and the user experience for the users to continue to stay. As you can see here, it’s a comfortable ride,” Mr. de Mesa said, citing the EVs’ air conditioning and Wi-Fi.

“It’s ultimately meant to better serve our customers and to contribute to our goal of moving in the direction of [our] net zero target,” he said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Gov’t partially awards new 3-year Treasury bonds

BW FILE PHOTO

THE GOVERNMENT made a partial award of the new three-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) it offered on Tuesday at a coupon rate higher than secondary market levels after inflation accelerated for the first time in seven months in August.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised just P21.187 billion via the fresh three-year bonds it auctioned off on Tuesday versus the P30-billion program, as the offer was undersubscribed, with total bids at just P28.987 billion.

The bonds were awarded at a coupon rate of 6.25%. Accepted yields ranged from 6.11% to 6.373% for an average of 6.222%.

The coupon fetched for the tenor was 4.6 basis points (bps) higher than the 6.204% quoted for the three-year bond at the secondary market before the auction, based on PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service Reference Rates data provided by the Treasury.

The bonds fetched higher yields following the release of data showing that inflation picked up in August, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

The coupon rate fetched for the papers was at the “higher end of market expectations” due to faster-than-expected inflation last month, a trader likewise said in a phone interview.

Headline inflation picked up to a two-month high of 5.3% in August from 4.7% in July, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority on Tuesday showed.

August was the first time headline inflation quickened year on year in seven months, or since it quickened to 8.7% in January from 8.1% in December 2022.

Still, this was below the 6.3% print in August 2022, and was within the 4.8-5.6% forecast of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for the month.

However, this was above the 4.9% median estimate in a BusinessWorld poll of 18 analysts conducted last week.

August also marked the 17th consecutive month that the consumer price index (CPI) was above the BSP’s 2-4% target for the year.

For the first seven months, inflation averaged 6.6%, well above the central bank’s 5.6% forecast for the year.

The BSP expects inflation to return to its target range by the end of the year, but its chief said policy easing remains far off amid lingering price risks.

Following the release of inflation data, the central bank said it “stands ready to adjust the monetary policy stance as necessary to prevent the further broadening of price pressures as well as the emergence of additional second round effects.”

The BSP last month kept benchmark interest rates steady for the third straight meeting in a “hawkish pause.”

The BTr wants to raise P180 billion from the domestic market this month, or P60 billion via T-bills and P120 billion via T-bonds.

The government borrows from local and foreign sources to help fund its budget deficit, which is capped at 6.1% of gross domestic product this year. — AMCS

Ensure the ITA balances regulation and MSME growth

TIRACHARDZ-FREEPIK

The unprecedented growth in e-commerce has necessitated the crafting of regulatory framework to govern the sector. In December 2022, the proposed Internet Transactions Act (ITA) was passed in the lower house and is now pending in the Senate. The aim of the ITA is to regulate the sector, protect consumer rights, and promote intellectual property rights, among other objectives.

The ITA bill is a top legislative priority in response to the country’s fast adoption of e-commerce, which enabled a bustling online marketplace that created both benefits and risks — mostly from transactional issues that have flooded government regulators with complaints from both buyers and sellers being victimized by fraud, scams, cybercrime, and data privacy rights violations.

With the accelerating pace of digital innovation, governments are confronted with unique regulatory challenges. The sheer pace of technological change itself fundamentally challenges regulation. Governments and regulators play a major role in encouraging digital innovation and in incentivizing the development of these technologies for the benefit of society. However, regulatory frameworks often lack the agility to accommodate the increasing pace of technological developments. Digital technologies also challenge deeply the manual and bureaucratic way governments regulate.

As the country quickly shifted to e-commerce to survive the pandemic, there was an irreversible trend towards a global digital economic system that is blurring the traditional definition of markets, challenging enforcement, and an urgency for systemic digital transformation that transcends administrative boundaries domestically and internationally.

The e-commerce ecosystem in the Philippines is booming and has become the fastest growing economic engine in the country. Filipino consumers have embraced online shopping, making it their preferred mode of purchasing. Virtually anything can be ordered and delivered directly to your doorstep through online marketplace platforms. These platforms rely on a robust logistics system, which has become an essential industry in the supply chain.

The ease and speed at which Filipinos adapted to e-commerce platforms resulted in significant growth. According to a US International Trade Administration Report, in 2021, the total market sales reached $17 billion, largely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The US Department of Commerce predicts that by 2025, total sales will reach $24 billion.

The sectors that will potentially reap the greatest benefit are Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) because of the low capital and easy access to the online marketplace. There are many platforms available like Lazada and Shopee, and also social media platforms where buyers and sellers are able to deal directly.

As the dynamics and disruptive nature of e-commerce technologies need a different mindset from the traditional bureaucratic concepts (that are often incompatible), there is a need to work closely with the stakeholders, especially the industry players whose global scope in terms of experience and expertise should be harnessed. However, large e-commerce platforms and MSMEs have expressed concerns about the current version of the proposed ITA pending in the Senate.

One of the concerns is the establishment of an online dispute resolution system for civil and administrative complaints filed by online consumers which can have both positive and negative impacts. Though this can help prevent scams, overly broad regulation could harm small players. The current definitions of violations, liabilities, and other terms are so broad that MSMEs could face numerous legal cases and high fines that they cannot afford. Unlike the well-established platforms that have their own legal departments to take on these issues, e-commerce-based MSMEs don’t have such capacity.

The proposed bill introduces additional administrative requirements or more red tape. It requires the registration of both platforms and merchants with the e-commerce bureau for transparency and legitimacy purposes. The information required for registration will be made public, which may violate data privacy rights.

Additionally, the bill outlines an extensive range of obligations for all online sellers such as detailed guidelines on marketing, on selling, how to issue invoices and receipts and invoices, and so on. MSMEs have very limited human resources and should not be burdened by too many guidelines. The ITA should align with the spirit of the Ease of Doing Business Law.

Instead of being able to engage the online marketplace with a few clicks and keystrokes with minimal information in the e-commerce platforms, imposing additional registration costs and requirements will be adding barriers to market entry, rather than fostering accelerated and inclusive growth that our economy needs to recover. This could turn off MSMEs and may lead to many MSMEs exiting the market. It is important to consider the potential impact of these regulations on MSMEs and their ability to thrive in the e-commerce sector.

In the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development paper on “Regulatory Reform and Innovation,” it states that in the interest of economic efficiency and innovation, regulations should seek to remove duplicative, onerous, and inefficient regulations, particularly to aid small- and medium-sized enterprises.

The paper’s conclusions on “how to realize positive regulatory effects on innovation, while taking care not to jeopardize the original regulatory objectives” offer good guidance for our government legislators and regulators. It recommends understanding regulation-technology linkages, introducing competition, streamlining regulations, use technology-driving approaches, and harmonize internationally.

While the proposed Internet Transactions Act aims to provide much-needed consumer protection, it is important for the government to strike a balance between regulation and supporting the growth of MSMEs. Careful consideration must be given to ensure that the regulations do not create barriers to entry into the growing e-commerce space.

 

Victor Andres “Dindo” C. Manhit is the president of the Stratbase ADR Institute.

Archaeologists find ‘mystery’ ducts near biblical Jerusalem relics

JERUSALEM — An almost three millennia-old network of hewn-rock ducts unearthed in Jerusalem has baffled archaeologists, given the lack of comparable biblical finds, or obvious links to an ancient Jewish temple and palace that once stood nearby.

The knee-deep channels, dating back 2,800 years, are located outside Jerusalem’s walled Old City. They stand in two clusters, which were discovered 10 meters apart.

Forensic testing of the channels found no blood, the Israel Antiquities Authority said — potentially ruling out a role in animal slaughter for banquets or religious sacrifice.

The ducts also do not appear to have engineered a flow in a single direction, or debouched into any basin, suggesting they were not used to sluice out sewage or rainfall, added the authority, whose research partner is Tel Aviv University.

“We looked at the installation and realized that we had stumbled on something unique,” said archaeologist Yiftah Shalev in a joint statement, dubbing the discovery a “mystery.”

The channels may have been used to prepare a commodity “connected to the economy of the temple or palace,” said archaeologist Yuval Gadot in the statement.

“The production of linen, for example, requires soaking the flax for a long time to soften it. Another possibility is that the channels held dates that were left out to be heated by the sun to produce silan (date honey),” Gadot said.

The find, part of Israel’s City of David National Park, will go on public display, the statement said.

1...3,2203,2213,222...13,096Page 3,221 of 13,096
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube