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Philippines improves one spot in global connectedness index

BW FILE PHOTO

NEW DELHI, India — The Philippines inched up a spot in the latest ranking of the most globally connected markets in the world, according to Germany-based logistics giant DHL.

In the DHL Global Connectedness Index, the Philippines ranked 65th out of 181 countries, with 2022 as its reference period. In 2021, it ranked 66th in the same index.

During a five-year period, Philippines dropped seven spots from its 58th ranking in 2017.

Philippines inches up in Global Connectedness Index

According to the report, the Philippines had an overall score of 52.1 out of 100 in 2022, slightly up from its score of 51.8 in the year prior.

The index measures the breadth and depth of a country’s integration with the rest of the world based on a measure of its international trade, capital, information, and people.

For depth, or the distribution of international flows relative to its activity, the Philippines scored 43.9 in 2022 and ranked 126th overall.

The Philippines’ distribution of international flows across countries or breadth received a score of 61.9, with a rank of 29th.

DHL Express Chief Executive Officer John Pearson said that for countries like the Philippines to attract and increase investments, they should continue to improve infrastructure and the ease of doing business.

“If countries just carry on the things they’re doing by making it attractive to invest in, making it easier to do business, and setting up the infrastructure for domestic and inbound logistics,” Mr. Pearson said at a media briefing.

The Philippines’ top global connections were the United States, China, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.

The Philippines’ flow in trade received a score of 52.9 out of 100 with a rank of 60th in 2022. It was lower than the 61 score it received in 2021.

For information measure, or the flow of data across borders, the Philippines received a score of 51.5 and ranked 69th overall. This was lower than its previous score of 61 in 2021.

The Philippines scored 50.7 in capital investments, ranking 54th.

Meanwhile, Singapore topped the list as the most globalized out of 181 countries, unchanged from the previous year.

“As a city-state with major port operations and a thriving financial sector, Singapore is uniquely positioned to excel in globalization,” the report said.

Rounding out the top five were the Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Malta.

Among Asian countries, Hong Kong ranked 10th overall, while Malaysia ranked 26th and South Korea ranked 34th. Taiwan ranked 35th, followed by Thailand (39th), Vietnam (45th) and Japan (50th).

Mr. Pearson said global connectedness was at a record-high level in 2022 despite the lingering effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and geopolitical tension from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the trade conflict between the US and China, and the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union.

The report places the world’s globalization at 25%, on a scale from 0% (which means there are no flows across national borders) to 100% (meaning borders and distance have ceased to matter at all). — A.H.Halili

PHL among most at-risk countries to food security shocks — Moody’s

Farmers of onions and rice check the drying soil in Barangay Central, San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, which has resulted in 118 million pesos in agricultural damage province-wide. Drought may strike thirty areas nationwide by the end of March due to El Niño phenomenon, according to an official of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa). — PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

FOOD SECURITY RISK in the Asia-Pacific region will remain elevated, as climate shocks are expected to persist in the coming years, Moody’s Investors Service said.

“Food security risk in Asia-Pacific (APAC) will remain elevated even if food prices fall. First, increasingly frequent and severe climate shocks will disrupt food production processes. This year, we expect the continuation of El Niño to impact crop yields in Asia and the Pacific,” it said in a report.

Moody’s said the region’s food security is at risk due to the rising global demand for food, geopolitical tensions and disruptions to agricultural trade and production. 

The Philippines and Laos are among Southeast Asian countries that show both “higher exposure to shocks and lower resilience to shocks,” it said.

“The proportional rise in food security risk in Asia has been smaller than other emerging markets, and this slower pace of deterioration partly reflects Asia and the Pacific being a major producer for primary crops,” it said.

“However, Asia and the Pacific is still home to some of the most populous economies, and as such still accounts for half the people facing moderate or severe food insecurity in the world,” it added.

The Philippines was the most at-risk country in the world in 2023, according to the latest World Risk Index (WRI).

Data from Moody’s showed that the Philippines scored a four out of five in its physical climate risk index. Along with Indonesia and Vietnam, it ranked the worst among its Southeast Asian neighbors. Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia scored a three out of five.

“Nearly half of the region has higher exposure to physical climate risk or water management risk. A significant proportion of the region also has lower resilience to respond to shocks, as reflected by higher social and governance risk scores,” it said.

Moody’s noted that countries with high exposure but low resilience to shocks also indicate there is a large portion of the population that is unable to afford a healthy diet.

“Climate-driven shocks will continue to drive food security concerns. The increased frequency and severity of extreme weather and climate related events including floods and storm-triggered landslides, will continue to have an impact on crops,” it said.

Moody’s also expects El Niño to impact crop production in the region.

The latest bulletin from the state weather bureau showed that the El Niño is expected to persist until May.

“While food prices have generally come down from their peaks in 2022, prices for a few crops — such as rice, a staple in this region — remain elevated,” Moody’s said.

“This comes on the back of a series of lower-than-expected rice harvests and a wave of export restrictions in the second half of 2023, which have kept rice prices high and renewed concerns about food security in the region,” it added.

Headline inflation accelerated to 3.4% in February amid high food prices, particularly rice. Rice inflation surged to 23.7% in February — the fastest since the 24.6% in February 2009.

Meanwhile, Moody’s said that the current policy measures in these countries can “mitigate but not fully offset food security risk.”

“Policy responses can partially offset food security shocks. Since COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), a number of countries in the region have prepared themselves to ride out food supply disruptions and have been building up stockpiles,” it said.

“While cooperation on a multilateral basis is more limited and fragmented, negotiations still happen on a bilateral basis. Strong policy support will encourage new companies and financial institutions to enter the agri-related sectors, which is a credit positive for the sector, and will support farm productivity and crop yields,” it added. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

Ayala Corp. income surges to P38.1B; ALI plans merger with 34 units

AYALA CORP. (AC) saw a 39% rise in its 2023 net income to P38.07 billion, driven by stronger performances of its business units, the listed conglomerate announced on Wednesday.

The company’s core net income improved by 48% to P41 billion in 2023, driven by its banking, real estate, and energy businesses, AC said in a regulatory filing.

Consolidated revenues surged by 12% to P341.9 billion from P306.64 billion in 2022. The company’s total costs and expenses also increased by 7% to P262.48 billion from P245.2 billion in 2022.

“We succeeded in getting aggregate core earnings to exceed the pre-pandemic high. Now we focus on getting better operating and financial results from each of our businesses, and on rationalizing the portfolio where it makes sense to do so,” Ayala President and Chief Executive Officer Cezar P. Consing said.

For AC’s banking segment, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) had a 31% growth in net income to P51.7 billion in 2023. Total revenues rose by 17% to P138.3 billion due to better net interest and non-interest income.

BPI’s operating expenses climbed by 19% to P69.1 billion, led by larger spending on manpower, technology, and marketing.

On AC’s real estate business, Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) saw a 32% increase in profit to P24.5 billion in 2023 “as resilient property demand and heightened consumer activity fueled revenue expansion.”

Property development revenues increased by 14% to P92.3 billion, while reservation sales improved by 9% to P113.9 billion.

ALI’s commercial leasing revenues rose by 25% to P41.7 billion due to higher occupancy and rents from malls, offices, and hotels and resorts.

The property developer’s real estate investment trust, AREIT, Inc., also saw a 43% jump in net income to P4.9 billion.

For AC’s energy business, ACEN Corp. saw a decline in its reported net income to P7.4 billion in 2023 due to the P8.6 billion net gain in 2022. The company’s consolidated revenues rose by 4% to P36.5 billion.

“[The decline] was primarily due to a remeasurement gain from the acquisition of the Australian platform, offset by provisions taken for a Supreme Court decision on administered/regulated pricing in the Philippines and the Lac Hoa and Hoa Dong wind farms in Vietnam,” AC said.

ACEN’s parent company AC Energy and Infrastructure saw a 71% increase in 2023 core earnings to P9.5 billion due to improved operating earnings from ACEN and higher contributions from GNPower Dinginin.

On conglomerate’s telecommunications business, Globe Telecom, Inc. saw a 29% drop in its 2023 net income to P24.6 billion due to the one-time gain on the partial sale of its data center business in 2022. 

Globe’s gross service revenues rose by 3% to P162.3 billion led by growth in mobile data, corporate data, and non-telco services.

AC said its healthcare business led by AC Health continues to scale its ecosystem, but saw a slightly negative net income  in 2023 due to one-offs and higher manpower and marketing expenses. 

The conglomerate also said that the losses of its AC Industrials, excluding one-offs, narrowed to P1.2 billion in 2023 from P1.7 billion in 2022 due to better results from the core operations of semiconductor manufacturer Integrated Micro-electronics, Inc. (IMI) and ACMobility’s four-wheel business.

“IMI saw higher earnings from its core business as margins improved and component shortages eased,” AC said.

The conglomerate’s mobility business led by ACMobility, previously named AC Motors, saw better core earnings from the sales of car brands such as Kia, Honda, and Isuzu. However, its motorcycle business saw wider losses led by weaker demand and write-downs on aging inventory. 

“ACMobility ventured into the electric vehicle space and has begun to distribute BYD and Kia electric vehicles (EV). It is utilizing the group’s ecosystem, particularly ALI, IMI, and Globe, to build out infrastructure that is supportive of an EV push,” AC said.

MERGER WITH 34 UNITS
Meanwhile, ALI announced that its board approved on March 12 the merger with 34 entities owned by the company as part of internal restructuring efforts.

In a separate regulatory filing, ALI stated that it will be the surviving entity following the proposed merger with the 34 entities. These entities are either directly owned by ALI or by its subsidiaries, AyalaLand Estates, Inc. (ALEI), and AyalaLand Hotels and Resorts Corp. (AHRC).

“The merger is an internal restructuring to simplify the ownership structure and is expected to result in operational synergies, efficient funds management, and simplified reporting to government agencies,” ALI said.

ALI stated that the planned merger will be presented for approval by its stockholders during their annual meeting on April 25.

“Based on the predetermined swap ratios, ALI will issue a total of 993,540,544 ALI shares, of which 883,171,005 will be treasury shares, 110,358,039 and 11,500 ALI shares will be issued to AHRC and ALEI, respectively,” ALI said. 

According to ALI, the entities to be merged are engaged in businesses such as landholding, leasing assets/hotels, leasing operations, property development, holding company, golf operations, investment in shares, cinema operations, hotel operations, real estate operations, and snack bar operations.

The entities to be merged with ALI include Ayala Hotels, Inc., Buendia Landholdings, Inc., HLC Development Corp., Redheap Holdings, Inc., Wedgemore Property, Inc., Crimson Field Enterprises, Inc., Red Creek Properties, Inc., Prima Gaedi Development Corp., ALI Triangle Hotel Ventures, Inc., Arcasouth Hotel Ventures, Seda College, Inc., and Asiatown Hotel Ventures, Inc.

Other entities included in the merger are North Ventures Commercial Corp., Westview Commercial Ventures Corp., Circuit Makati Hotel Ventures, Inc., Primavera Towncentre, Inc., Hillsford Property Corp., Sunnyfield E-Office Corp., Southportal Properties, Inc., Regent Horizons Conservation Co., Inc., ALI Capital Corp., Amorsedia Development Corp., Verde Golf Development Corp., and FIVE STAR Cinema, Inc.

Also part of the merger are ALO Prime Realty Corp., Enjay Hotels, Inc., One Makati Hotel Ventures, Inc., Integrated Eco-Resort Inc., Ecoholdings Co., Inc., Whiteknight Holdings, Inc., Ayalaland Medical Facilities Leasing, Inc., Altaraza Prime Realty Corp., Cebu Leisure Co. Inc., and Ayalaland Malls Synergies, Inc. 

ALI previously said that it secured the approval of the Philippine Stock Exchange to issue more shares following its merger with Cebu Holdings, Inc. 

On Wednesday, AC shares rose by 1.96% or P13 to P675.50 apiece while ALI stocks jumped by 4.33% or P1.40 to P33.70 each. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Lower nickel ore prices drive 53% decline in NAC’s profit

NICKEL ASIA Corp. (NAC) saw a 53% decrease in its attributable net income to P7.9 billion for 2023, primarily attributed to the decline in nickel ore prices, the company announced on Wednesday.

Revenues from ore sales dropped by 16% to P21.4 billion from P25.5 billion in 2022, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization from mining operations went down by 24% on lower nickel ore revenues.

The weighted nickel ore sales price dropped by 20% last year to $23.30 per wet metric ton (WMT) from $29.17 per WMT the previous year. The company realized P55.78 per US dollar from nickel ore sales, up 2%.

“The reason for the lower nickel ore prices started since the second quarter of last year due to the oversupply of class 2 nickel from Indonesia and the weak Chinese stainless-steel demand,” Andre Mikael Lu Dy, NAC’s vice-president for treasury and investor relations and sales, said in a briefing.

Mr. Dy said that the lower ore sales revenue weighed down the positive impact from higher shipments.

The company’s five operating mines sold a combined 16.5 million WMT of nickel ore, up 3%.

About 8.9 million WMT of saprolite and limonite ore had been exported at an average price of $30.59 per WMT, higher compared to the 8.1 million WMT at $39.39 per WMT in 2022.

PSE OK’s Cebu Landmasters’ P5-B follow-on offering

THE PHILIPPINE Stock Exchange (PSE) has approved the planned P5-billion follow-on offering of property developer Cebu Landmasters, Inc. (CLI), slated to be listed on April 12.

The offering comprises a base offer of three million Series A preferred shares with an oversubscription option of up to two million preferred shares, priced at P1,000 each, the PSE said in an advisory issued on Wednesday.

“The exchange approved the application of CLI for the listing of up to five million Series A Preferred Shares to be issued in two subseries, Series A-1 and Series A-2…,” the PSE said.

CLI said in its prospectus dated March 12 that it plans to issue and list the shares on April 12, while the public offer period is expected to run from March 19 to April 2.

The property developer expects to generate about P3 billion in net proceeds from the offer. It previously said that proceeds would be used to partially finance project development and capital expenditures, as well as general corporate purposes. 

CLI tapped BPI Capital Corp. and China Bank Capital Corp. as the joint issue managers for the offer.

BPI Capital and China Bank Capital were also tapped as joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners for the offer, along with PNB Capital and Investment Corp. and RCBC Capital Corp. 

CLI is a property developer that has presence in Visayas and Mindanao. Its portfolio consists of residences, offices, hotels and resorts, mixed-use developments, and townships.

The company seeks to launch its first project in Luzon by the second half of this year.

On Wednesday, CLI shares rose by 0.35% or one centavo to P2.83 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

The Future of Food: The benefits of farm-to-table, according to a farmer

PHILIPPINE STAR —WALTER BOLLOZOS
PHILIPPINE STAR —WALTER BOLLOZOS

WHILE farm-to-table dining sounds like a call for sustainability or a cue for luxury, the path food takes from soil to plate uncovers many issues in the agricultural sector. Carlomagno Aguilar, co-founder and Chief Farmer and Head Farm Consultant at FarmYields, Inc. (also known as Carlo The Farmer on YouTube), feels that the same solutions that bring food to the table in the most efficient way can undo a lot of knots in the agricultural industry.

Mr. Aguilar, who has been farming since 2010, opened his talk at the Future of Food Conference in the Center for Culinary Arts – Manila’s BGC campus on March 8 with a picture of okra he found in the market. It was blemished, and he said that he had gone to the market at 7 a.m. just to find that. That became a segue to some of the issues he sees with traditional market systems, where middlemen buy the produce from the farmer, which would then be brought to market — going through many hands, with the price increasing each time, until it reached a diner’s plate. (Also, he says, the really fresh stuff hits the market at 1 a.m.).

For example, he discussed some of the restaurants and hotels in Pampanga to whom he started selling his own produce after he found out that they’d get their vegetables all the way from Quezon City’s Balintawak Market — even when perfectly serviceable farms existed nearby (those farms, it turned out, also sent their stuff to the city market). He says that the gap is created because farmers have informal business setups that don’t provide for receipts, for example, which the hotels need for accounting.

Other issues he tackled include food waste (if bought directly from a farmer, “unattractive” but still edible parts of produce would have been used, whereas vegetables in the market have leaves or stems removed), and the loss of variety. He made an example of tomatoes: native-grown tomatoes, juicy as they are, aren’t the favorite produce of middlemen because they are compromised easily during travel. This problem then dictated the growing of hardier tomatoes, which unfortunately weren’t as good (but which always arrive intact).

FREEPIK

“This is what I see: a problem of quality, affordability, availability, and variety,” he said.

Farm-to-table farming presents some solutions to these issues, but then there’s also the issue of land.

“Ang daming landowners na hindi nila alam ang gagawin nila sa lupa nila (there are a lot of landowners who don’t know what to do with their land). You can find a lot of farmers who have the skill to grow food, pero wala silang mataniman (they have nowhere to plant),” he said. He suggests that owners with idle arable land partner with farmers, especially since there is a market of chefs and restaurateurs for their produce. “With that partnership, it’s a win-win situation,” he said.

As for tackling the food wastage problem, he gives an example of how he benefited from partnering directly with chefs: an excess of carrots and cucumbers meant juice for the chefs, while an excess crop of tomatoes meant an opportunity for sun-drying. “It’s so amazing to work with chefs directly because there is zero waste. They can always transform food into something beautiful,” he said. “Napakalawak po ng market (the market is huge). Disconnected lang talaga ang farmers saka mga buyers (there is just a disconnection between farmers and buyers).”

He also thinks that the farm-to-table model can address price shocks, giving as an example the rise in the price of chilies a few years ago.

A storm had wiped out most of the crop, and farmers with intact plants were able to sell their chilis at a high price. Unfortunately, some farmers took this to mean that chilies could be sold at consistently high prices, but their efforts contributed to a surplus that brought down prices.

With the farm-to-table model, farmers can enter into partnerships with restaurants and chefs so they can set their prices, while the dining partners have a steady supply of produce that is not subject to market demand and shocks.

The traditional model with middlemen also neglects heirloom crops simply because they aren’t profitable (thus putting biodiversity in peril). He used eggplants as an example: a native eggplant is small and it would take many pieces to make a kilogram to sell, but the bigger imported varieties hit the weight quota much faster. With the farm-to-table model, since farmers can set their prices (and their partners would be willing to pay them), a farmer can be more adventurous with their crops (which the partner can also ask the farmer to specifically plant). He noted that native varieties are also pest-resistant, which benefits the farmer and the land.

“By localizing food, it addresses the problems of both farmers and chefs,” he said.

“The importance of farm-to-table is the synergy of local farmers and chefs,” he said. “Kapag nag-connect ang mga farmers at chefs and restaurant owners (if the farmers, chefs, and restaurant owners can connect), it will solve a lot of problems.” — Joseph L. Garcia

US firms to work with MPower, Meralco on power projects

JEROME CMG-UNSPLASH

MARYLAND-BASED hydrogen production startup Ally Power, Inc. will work with MPower, the local electricity supply arm of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), to build a $400-million (P22.16 billion) hydrogen and electric refueling station in the Philippines, the United States Department of Commerce said on Wednesday.

“This station will produce hydrogen, electricity, and sodium aluminate to support the Philippines’ energy security and climate change agenda,” the US agency said in a statement, detailing US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo’s two-day visit to the Philippines with the 22-member US Presidential Trade and Investment Mission.

Ally Power is engaged in developing stations responsible for recharging hydrogen fuel cell and electric battery vehicles, as well as generating excess electricity for sale to power grids.

It will also work with the University of the Philippines to promote renewable technologies from the US.

The US Commerce department also said Seattle-based Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. will work with Meralco on carbon-free electrical generation system.

The two companies are expected to launch an electricity project in the country using Ultra Safe’s advanced nuclear battery.

American Chamber of the Philippines Inc. Executive Director Ebb Hinchcliffe said at a business forum on Monday that the cost of power remains a hurdle in making the Philippines an attractive destination for investments in the semiconductor sector.

The Philippines is one of seven countries that the US is working with to diversify its semiconductor supply chain under the CHIPS and Science Act.

Under the law, the US would shell out $52.7 billion in subsidies to boost chip manufacturing and entice chipmakers in China to move to the US or other friendly countries.

At the same time, the US Commerce department said that Microsoft will work with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Department of Budget and Management, and the Department of Trade and Industry to train jobseekers and students in artificial intelligence.

“It was an honor to lead the first-ever trade mission of this nature to the Philippines and to underscore the immense potential, which is evident in the more than $1 billion of investments from this mission alone,” Ms. Raimondo said. 

“We share an important relationship with the Philippines, and I believe the work we accomplished over these last few days will make our partnership even stronger.”

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

Future of Food: A few tricks up a restaurateur’s sleeve

ELBERT'S STEAK ROOM

THOSE of us fortunate enough to have dined in one of Elbert Cuenca’s ventures (which include Elbert’s Steak Room, among all the other Elbert’s dotting the city) notice a certain vibe that places it a cut above the rest — without it, he wouldn’t have been in the food industry for almost 30 years now. Mr. Cuenca, from his talk at the Future of Food Conference in Center for Culinary Arts – Manila (CCA) on March 8, “Elevating the Guest Experience,” may credit his success to more than a few magic tricks up his sleeve.

For himself, he begins with a baseline (because as he said during the talk: how do you elevate something without a base?), as well as making benchmarks. He does this by educating himself by dining and figuring out how else he can improve based on his experience. “All I do is spend my money on restaurants, but that’s okay. That helps make me a better person, and a better restaurant owner. I will benchmark all the time.” Another tip he gave was to put himself into a customer’s shoes (which includes dining at his own places). “I need to know what our customers will be going through as well. For me to know what my customers need, I have to imagine myself as a customer.”

But the meat of his talk (pun intended) lay in the theater of dining.

“I like to think that restaurants are no different from cinemas and theaters. For the time that they [the customers] are with us, they are isolated from the outside world,” he said. He took it up a notch by saying that for the restaurant business, it’s an added challenge, because while movies and plays entertain with sight and so und (and the rest is padded by the imagination), restaurants deal with all five senses, and then some more.

He used entryways to illustrate sight: “What they see is the first thing that happens, right? You’re impressed. That’s why we spend money on design, on light, and furniture.” He then went into detail on other ways a restaurant can use visual cues to improve the experience: he started with his menu at Elbert’s Steak Room, for example: while a steak goes up to P16,000, his menu dispenses with the comma (to make the number feel smaller), and further perusing the menu yields details like the meal coming with soup, salad, a side dish, and coffee or tea. “As you browse my menu more, you are going to see a little more justification on price,” he said.

He showed a slide depicting the lighting scheme at one of his restaurants: “My lighting will only hit the center of the linen on the table.

“It makes all your ugly dates look beautiful,” he said, to a burst of laughter from the audience. “When the soft lighting hits… it enhances your customer experience.

“I will help your date look better. Whether it’s your wife, or blind date… you all feel good, because you all look good,” he added.

He even takes into account the sense of sound. “Is it too noisy? Too quiet? But this is part of the experience,” he said. “Tailor-fitted to each kind of restaurant I do, that’s the sound level I’ll make.” For example, in his fine dining ventures, the volume level “would always allow you to converse without having to raise your voice.” Bars are a different story, where louder music kicks up your spirits, while at his ramen ventures (including Mendokoro Ramenba, which he co-owns), the sound comes from the environment of bustle, the better to “commune” with your food.

As for smell, he advises restaurants to try to go neutral (though he cites cafes and fast-food restaurants as advertising their wares with smells: the scent of coffee in the first example, and the scent of fries in the latter). “If you enter a stinky restaurant, you’ve already lost your customer.”

The sense of touch (he cites oily cutlery as a turn-off) can also cooperate with the sense of sound — padding his tables underneath the linen gives a sense of security, softness, and luxury — and also helps muffle sound.

All these also rely on the reliability of staff: he said that there can be too much interaction between staff and diner (thus bothering the diner), so he cited his own recipe: “We will be there when you need us, we’re not beside your table at your beck and call; we are within sight of you.”

As he said: “I like to share it with my staff: our mission in life is to put smiles on people’s faces. Because we can, (and) because that’s what we’re supposed to do.”

He suggested not to make money the motivation: “Our motivation is the customer’s happiness. And when your customer is happy, they will validate that with the money that they give you.” — Joseph L. Garcia

SFA Semicon Philippines to hold 2024 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting on April 26 via Zoom

 

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Manila Water: Raw water harvest via backwash recovery system rises by 33%

MANILA WATER Co., Inc. announced on Wednesday that the raw water supply harvested through its “backwash recovery program” has increased by 33% to 40 million liters per day (MLD).

This could support up to 200,000 customers daily, the east-zone concessionaire said in a statement.

The backwash recovery system offers an alternative method of collecting raw water by re-treating the water treatment by-product through cleaning the filter beds, according to Manila Water.

The backwash recovery systems are located at Manila Water’s Balara and East La Mesa treatment plants in Quezon City. There is ongoing construction of a third backwash recovery system at the Cardona treatment plant in Rizal province.

“Aside from the massive investment in constructing new water sources, Manila Water is constantly finding ways to increase the efficiency of its existing facilities,” Manila Water Corporate Communications Affairs Group Director Jeric T. Sevilla said.

The three backwash recovery systems are part of Manila Water’s “larger water security program,” he said.

For 2023, the company’s net income dropped by 6% to P5.59 billion while its revenues grew by 35% to P30.71 billion.

At the local bourse on Wednesday, shares of Manila Water climbed by 30 centavos or 1.39% to close at P21.95 apiece.

The water concessionaire serves the east zone network of Metro Manila, covering parts of Marikina, Pasig, Makati, Taguig, Pateros, Mandaluyong, San Juan, portions of Quezon City and Manila, and several towns in Rizal province. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

76% of Filipinos plan to travel abroad this year according to Klook travel app

ABOUT 76% of Filipinos have considered traveling internationally this year, with Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Thailand in mind, according to a consumer trends study led by travel platform Klook.

“Domestic tourism maintains interest for Filipinos and people who are traveling. More people are not choosing between domestic or international, they’re going for both if they can,” Klook Philippines General Manager Michelle Ho said in a media briefing on Tuesday.

Klook said Filipinos planning to travel domestically this year reached 92% in 2024.

Tagaytay, Baguio, Boracay, and Palawan are the preferred domestic travel spots and Gen Z especially prefers to travel in big groups of three to six people.

It said local trips usually span four to six days, which can be related to the data that 73% of the respondents take advantage of long weekends.

Filipinos traveling abroad prioritize sightseeing, shopping, and outdoor activities.

“Thailand is gaining a lot of popularity amongst the younger generation… social has a lot to do with that, being able to share different types of content to see what to do in [there],” Ms. Ho said.

ALREADY BOOKED
Klook’s survey found that 63% of Filipinos who have plans to travel have already booked tickets, accommodations, or activities for their trip this year.

“I think when it comes to long weekends, when it comes to our quick getaways, a lot of Filipinos still choose to go on vacations and have more experiential space when they travel with the family and friends,” Ms. Ho said.

She said its bookings have tripled in 2023 with the average basket size increased by 21% attributed to the following international destinations: Hong Kong Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, Universal Studios Japan, and Universal Studios Singapore.

The local attraction is Manila Ocean Park.

The travel company’s revenue grew by four times in 2023 from 2022 attributed to promoting local and outbound tourism, she said.

Ms. Ho said 66% of Millennials and Gen Zs in the Philippines were willing to spend up to 50% more now.

The survey started in mid-February last year and covered respondents who were Klook and non-Klook users in Metro Manila.

Among Klook’s partnerships in the previous year were the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) in the last quarter and the Klook Intramuros Pass.

TAYLOR SWIFT
“Music and sports tourism is going to be big in Asia,” she said.

In 2023, Klook was appointed as an official ticketing partner for The Eras Tour of the singer Taylor Swift and it saw queues go up to two million and sold out its tickets in six hours.

Ms. Swift is currently partway through the six sold-out shows in Singapore.

“In Singapore and what that meant for us is that for anyone who wanted to watch Taylor Swift, they put the concert tickets and the overnight stay as a bundle package,” Ms. Ho said.

She said Filipinos were the top bookers, accounting for a 10% share of the bookings.

SOCIAL MEDIA DRIVERS
In recognition of social media platforms as the main drivers for motivation for travelers, Klook introduced the Klook Kreator Program. With it, influencers post travel content on their pages supported by an affiliate program to get a commission.

Associate Manager, Partnerships, and Affiliates Head Gianna Maxine M. Santos said the survey found that creators with less than 5,000 followers were more successful as it came across as organic compared to those influencers at a celebrity level.

Jax Reyes, Kriz Uy, and David Hizon are among the influencers in the program. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

PHINMA Corp. sees strong performance in education, construction materials

PHINMA Corp. is banking on its education and construction materials segments to drive its growth this year, the conglomerate’s chairman said.

“The two major business groups are education and construction materials. Both of them are showing very strong performances,” PHINMA Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ramon R. del Rosario, Jr. said on the sidelines of a launch event last week. 

The conglomerate is aiming to continue the growth of its education business, he added.

PHINMA Corp. has business interests in the education sector through its subsidiary, PHINMA Education Holdings, Inc., which manages Horizon Karawang in West Java, Indonesia, as well as other schools in the Philippines such as PHINMA Araullo University in Nueva Ecija

“[The] education [unit] is very stable and on a growth path that has been uninterrupted even during the pandemic. We hope that will continue. We’ve expanded to Indonesia also and we have high aspirations for Indonesia. We hope that Indonesia will show a pattern that is similar to what we are experiencing in the Philippines,” he said. 

He added that the conglomerate is focused on helping the underserved areas.

“In Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries, there is also a need for this kind of approach. Our success has attracted the attention of international organizations. That’s why we have been encouraged to look at other countries as well such as Vietnam. We will see what we can do there. Although their educational outcomes are much better than ours already, there are also undeserved sectors there,” he said.

Mr. Del Rosario also said that PHINMA Corp.’s construction materials group is benefiting from the government’s infrastructure push.

“We’re riding the boom of the infrastructure program of the government,” he said.

He added that another growth driver for PHINMA Corp. is its venture into insulated panel production, which could also be used for cold storage facilities.

The company is establishing a P500-million insulation panel plant in Pampanga province, which will be capable of producing one million square meters of insulation panels annually.

PHINMA Corp. recorded a 6.5% increase in its 2023 net income to P1.63 billion. The conglomerate’s consolidated revenues rose by 20% to P21.27 billion.

PHINMA Corp. shares rose by 0.50% or 10 centavos to P20 apiece on Wednesday.—Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

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