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PHL, WB ink loan deals worth $1.14B

Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno and World Bank Country Director for the Philippines Ndiamé Diop signed four loan agreements amounting to $1.14 billion at the Department of Finance office in Manila, June 26, 2023. — COURTESY OF DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

THE PHILIPPINE government and the World Bank (WB) signed on Monday four loan agreements worth $1.14 billion, including a $750-million loan to support policy reforms on environmental protection and climate resilience.

Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno and World Bank Country Director for the Philippines Ndiamé Diop signed the loan agreements, which would fund government initiatives to boost economic resilience, improve education, strengthen climate resilience and further develop the agriculture and fisheries sectors.

This includes the $750-million Philippines First Sustainable Recovery Development Policy Loan, which was approved by the World Bank earlier this month.

It aims to increase private investment in renewable energy, improve plastic waste management, promote green transport, and mitigate climate-related risks in agriculture.

The loan will also support policies related to the implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility Act, which requires large enterprises to recover up to 80% of plastic packaging waste by 2028, as well as amendments to the Public Service Act, which allows full foreign ownership in telecommunications, airlines, and railways.

Mr. Diokno and Mr. Diop also signed the $176-million loan for the Philippine Fisheries and Coastal Resiliency (FishCoRe) Project, the $110-million loan for the Teacher Effectiveness and Competencies Enhancement Project (TEACEP), and the $100-million loan for the Mindanao Inclusive Agriculture Development Project (MIADP).

The FishCoRe project aims to enhance fisheries management and production, and boost incomes in selected coastal communities.

The TEACEP project, which was approved by the World Bank last Friday, seeks to enhance learning outcomes in Mindanao by improving access to quality teaching.

Meanwhile, the MIADP seeks to improve agricultural productivity in Mindanao while protecting ancestral domains.

The Finance department said the loan deals were signed using a digital signing platform (DocuSign), which is part of the World Bank’s shift to streamline business processes through digital technology. The World Bank will be using e-signatures as the default modality for the signing of its financing agreements starting July 1.

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE LOAN
Meanwhile, the Philippine government is seeking a $300-million loan from the World Bank to improve its digital infrastructure.

“The project development objective is to improve broadband connectivity, strengthen the resilience of the digital environment, and enhance the digital infrastructure foundations for government service delivery,” the World Bank said in a document uploaded on its website.

The Philippines Digital Infrastructure Project is expected to be approved by the World Bank board on March 28, 2024.

“The Philippines’ digital infrastructure — across dimensions of broadband connectivity, data infrastructure, cloud services, and cybersecurity — is uneven and characterized by gaps in various segments of the network and fragmentation in its overall architecture,” the multilateral lender said.

Over 58 million Filipinos or 52% of the population were found to be “internet poor,” according to the Internet Poverty Index. This is much higher than its regional neighbors such as Malaysia (1%), Indonesia (16%), Vietnam (10%) and Thailand (5%).

Outside of Luzon, the Visayas (63%) and Mindanao (77%) have the highest percentage of individuals without internet access.

“The connectivity component of the project will make investments in the government fiber optic backbone at the national level as well as in middle-mile and last-mile connectivity, providing internet access to people and households in remote areas in Eastern Mindanao,” the World Bank said.

“The project will activate the entire government broadband backbone from the North to the South of the country connecting to two main international landing stations,” it added.

The Philippine government has prioritized the implementation of the National Broadband Plan, which has been delayed in the last few years due to lack of funding.

“The government’s request for development financing is an expression of the need to accelerate necessary investments in the country’s backbone, middle-mile connectivity, and closing remaining last-mile gaps,” the World Bank said.

The project also aims to ramp up cybersecurity capacity and infrastructure, which the World Bank noted are at a “low level.”

Last year, the Philippines ranked 61st in the Global Cybersecurity Index and 89th in the E-Government Development Index.

The project aims to strengthen the national and regional computer emergency  response teams and enhance government capacities, and update legal frameworks related to cybersecurity.

However, it also noted that improving cybersecurity will not interfere with the privacy and access to information of citizens.

Also, the project aims to strengthen the government’s data infrastructure. This includes making government data centers “cloud-platform hosting ready.”

“The project beneficiaries are citizens and businesses in the Philippines, benefiting from higher quality and more affordable broadband access in the entire country and in previously unserved or underserved areas, and improved user experiences and lower cost of doing business through improved public service delivery,” the World Bank added. 

The Department of Information and Communications Technology will be the lead implementing agency for the project.

As of 2021, the World Bank was the country’s third-largest source of official development assistance (ODA), with loans and grants representing 24% of total ODA or $7.66 billion. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

Seafarer deployment to reach pre-pandemic level by yearend — DMW

A recruiter waits for applicants for seafarer jobs at a park in Manila, April 13, 2009. — REUTERS

By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter

THE DEPLOYMENT of Filipino seafarers is expected to recover to its pre-pandemic level by the end of 2023, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). 

DMW Secretary Susan V. Ople on Monday said nearly 150,000 seafarers have been deployed in the first quarter, putting it on track to exceed 500,000 — a level last seen in 2019.

“You can see that the road to recovery is very clear… Projection-wise, by the end of the year we will be back to pre-pandemic levels,” she told reporters on the sidelines of the Shaping the Future of Shipping – Seafarer 2050 Conference on Monday.

Ms. Ople said the Philippines deployed 505,769 seafarers in 2019, “which makes 1 in 5 international crew a Filipino.”

While demand for seafarers declined during the pandemic, the Philippines deployed 489,852 seafarers last year. Ms. Ople noted this figure was just 15,000 short of the pre-pandemic level.

More Filipino seafarers are expected to be deployed this year amid higher demand from crew ships, Ms. Ople said.

The number of seafarers from Ukraine had dropped after Russia’s invasion last year.

In 2021, Ukraine had deployed 76,442 seafarers and officers, accounting for 4.04% of the total deployment. The Philippines was the top supplier of seafarers and officers in the same year with 252,393.

Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said that US cruise ship operator Carnival Corp. has committed to recruiting around 40,000 seafarers from the Philippines.

“Last Friday, there was an agreement between (the Carnival) group and STI to improve the training and train more seafarers to supply the requirement of Carnival cruise and I think there are other shipping companies that would want to have more Filipino seafarers,” Mr. Bautista said in mixed English and Filipino.

Ms. Ople said that she also received a commitment from a Saudi Arabia-based shipping company to hire more Filipino crew.

The increase in the deployment of seafarers is expected to give a boost to cash remittances this year. Money sent by overseas Filipino workers through banks jumped by 3.7% year on year in April to $2.48 billion. In particular, remittances from sea-based workers rose by 2.6% to $547 million.

For the first four months of the year, cash remittances increased by 3.2% year on year to $10.49 billion.

SHORTAGE OF SEAFARERS
Svein Steimler, special advisor of NYK Group Europe, said the continued growth in international shipping “will lead to a shortage of hundreds of thousands of seafarers, a number which is expected to grow by 2050.”

Belal Ahmed, chairman of the International Maritime Employers’ Council, said government and the private companies should not only focus on upskilling and reskilling seafarers to prepare them for the new technology on ships, and their personal lives.

“Behind these upskilling discussions, we are again forgetting how long they stay in the sea and how they are going to take care of their family when they are at sea. Those discussions sometimes don’t come because we are talking about skill enhancement for them to be ready for future ships. But today, we should all be talking about seafarers’ personal lives, how we can make them better,” he said.

Bjorn Hojgaard, chief executive officer of Anglo-Eastern Univan Group, said there is a need to improve the working conditions of seafarers.

“I think a problem we do have today is the ‘dark fleet.’ I think you know that there are almost 1,000 ships sailing around now with substandard conditions, no insurance and no class and we somehow allow that to happen. I think that’s a real menace for the men and women serving on board ships,” Mr. Hojgaard said.

Improving the working environment of the seafarers will allow them to thrive and be more productive, he added.

Gabby Bornheim, president of German Shipowners’ Association, said the curriculum should be reviewed to make it easier for the younger generation to learn.

“We have to look at our curriculums. Are we teaching the right matters? … Can we make more visible ways of learning like e-learning? That’s the way. We have to adapt to the needs of the younger generation, in my view,” said Ms. Bornheim.

Mapua University Chairman and President Reynaldo B. Vea said there should be opportunities for seafarers to continue their education even while they’re on-board ships.

Economy to further slow as rates remain high

Commuters ride the Light Rail Transit, June 23, 2023. — PHILIPPINE STAR/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

PHILIPPINE ECONOMIC GROWTH will likely continue to slow as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is poised to hold the policy rate at a near 16-year high for the rest of the year, according to research firms.   

In a note on Monday, BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions, said the economy’s gross domestic product (GDP) will likely slow sharply to 5.9% this year from 7.6% in 2022, slightly lower than the government’s 6-7% target.   

The BMI’s growth forecast is unchanged from the one it gave in May.

“We think the slowdown will be driven by lackluster global demand and the lagged impact of domestic monetary tightening,” the global research and data firm said.   

Last week, the BSP extended its policy pause for a second straight meeting, keeping the benchmark rate at 6.25%. The Monetary Board has raised borrowing costs by 425 basis points (bps) from May 2022 to March 2023.   

ANZ Research also maintained its growth forecast for the Philippines at 5.8%, also below the government’s target.

“A more challenging backdrop is now emerging due to maturing pent-up demand, fiscal consolidation, lackluster private investment and exports,” it said in its Asia Economic Outlook report for the third quarter.

The Australia-based research firm noted that private consumption may slow, but household spending will continue to be supported by stable remittances from overseas Filipinos and improving unemployment rates.

The Philippine economy expanded 6.4% in the first quarter, its slowest in two years. This was slower than the 8% expansion in the first quarter of 2022 but was within the government’s 6-7% target.

Household final consumption, which contributes around three-fourths to GDP, grew by 6.3% in the first quarter. However, this was weaker than the 7% growth in the previous quarter, and 10% a year earlier.

High borrowing costs will also dampen consumer credit growth, ANZ noted.

Meanwhile, BMI said the BSP is unlikely to further tighten policy this year due to the slowing economic growth.   

“The BSP will try to avoid over-tightening given that it has already hiked by a cumulative 425 bps so far this cycle, which is a much more aggressive pace than most other Asian peers,” it said.   

However, the research firm does not see any rate cuts in 2023 as the peso remains vulnerable to weakness against the dollar due to the interest rate differential of the BSP with the US Federal Reserve. 

“We think that rate cuts will only materialize in the first half of 2024, alongside other major central banks in the world, and we forecast 100 bps of cuts over 2024 to 5.25%,” BMI said.   

The US Fed has hiked its own interest rates by 500 bps since March 2022. The Fed paused its tightening at its June 14 meeting but signaled it may still raise borrowing costs amid sticky inflation and robust US economic activity.

BMI projects the US central bank to hike by 25 bps more at its July meeting, bringing the Fed funds rate to 5.25-5.5%.   

“The end of the Fed’s hiking cycle later this year will relieve pressure on the Philippines’ external sector, which will reduce the need for the BSP to lean towards fresh hikes to defend its currency,” it said.   

“Furthermore, still-elevated inflation will likely prompt the BSP to keep interest rates at multi-year highs to avoid de-anchoring inflation expectations.”

ANZ Research also said the BSP may start loosening policy in the second quarter of 2024. 

“The timing will hinge on the growth trajectory and/or the extent of external pressures, even if inflation stays within the 2-4% official target band,” it said.

BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla said the Monetary Board may keep borrowing costs at 6.25% at least until the third quarter this year.

“The progress on inflation has also been impressive in the Philippines, plunging 260 bps between January and May. We now believe that headline inflation will revert to the official target range of 2-4% by the end of third quarter this year, earlier than our previous assessment,” ANZ Research said.   

Headline inflation eased to 6.1% in May from 6.6% in April. This marked the 14th straight month inflation breached the central bank’s 2-4% target. Year to date, inflation has averaged 7.5%.

“We now expect headline print to fall below 4% by September 2023. We have revised lower our 2023 full-year average inflation forecast to 5.3% from 5.9% previously, with the main risk being possible dry weather conditions,” ANZ added.   

BMI sees inflation falling to 3.2% by yearend. It also projects a full-year inflation of 5.7%, higher than the BSP’s revised 5.4% forecast.   

The Monetary Board is scheduled to meet on Aug. 17, Sept. 21, Nov. 16, and Dec. 14 to discuss policy. — Keisha B. Ta-asan

Taylor Swift adds to Singapore concert frenzy with more shows

TAYLOR SWIFT

AMERICAN pop idol Taylor Swift added three more nights to her Singapore tour early next year, matching British rockers Coldplay who are set to perform six shows in January.

Ms. Swift’s concert organizers announced the doubling of shows on Sunday — before sales of tickets for her first three performances in March even started. Limited pre-sales for cardholders of a local bank begin July 5, while the general public get their chance two days later.

Singapore is Ms. Swift’s only Southeast Asian stop of her Eras Tour. The extra nights follow a similar pattern as Coldplay last week added concerts in Singapore after “overwhelming demand” for their initial four nights. Both new dates sold out in less than three hours and concert promoter Live Nation hinted at the possibility of additional ticket releases.

The concert fever is helping to re-heat the MICE — meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions — sector that’s a boon for the host-happy city-state. And it’s had local politicians excited about the knock-on benefits in a post-COVID economy.

Some of Ms. Swift’s young fans beseeched Education Minister Chan Chun Sing to declare a school holiday on her concert days in Singapore.

“I hear you,” Mr. Chan wrote on Facebook Friday. “How about this? If any creative and enterprising fan can invite her (or any other A listers just to be fair) to your school to perform free of charge, we can have your school declare a school holiday?! Then everyone gets to enjoy this inclusive concert!” — Bloomberg

Errant companies swamp SEC with amnesty filings

THE SECURITIES and Exchange Commission (SEC) has noted a large number of companies filing for amnesty after failing to submit regulatory requirements, its top official said on Monday.

“We are very busy now with our amnesty program. We had to sort out schedules and processes kasi ang daming nag-a-apply (because there are plenty of applicants),” SEC Chairman Emilio B. Aquino told reporters on the sidelines of a corporate event.

Of the 600,000 entities registered in the SEC, more than half are likely to be noncompliant with the agency’s requirements, Mr. Aquino said.

“The ones which were [previously] complying was at 120,000, naging (which became) 240,000, and we are happy with [it]. But there is like 360,000 [which are not complying],” he added

Mr. Aquino said the SEC had given opportunities to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that were suspended for not filing regulatory requirements.

“SMEs normally their life expectancy hindi umaabot ng (do not reach) five years. A lot of them are already belly-up, but we gave them a chance, including those who have already been revoked and suspended,” he said.

He said the securities regulator is also building an e-mail registry to disseminate the SEC’s notices and advisories, through its MC28 submission portal.

“We are trying to get as many of our corporate entities connected with the SEC,” he added.

The SEC previously extended the deadline for amnesty applications for late and non-filing of annual financial statements, general information sheets, official e-mail addresses, and mobile phone numbers until June 30.

It said earlier that the deadline extension was due to the number of companies expressing interest in availing of the amnesty program apart from an overlap with the submission dates of the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

The commission also extended the deadline for submitting companies’ latest financial statements for up to 90 days from the date of payment.

An updated schedule of penalties and fines for noncompliance will be implemented on July 1 after the lapse of the SEC’s initial deadline. Companies may be fined between P27,000 and P54,000, with an additional monthly fine of P500 up to P1,000 depending on their retained earnings. — Adrian H. Halili

Gov’t partially awards T-bill offer

BW FILE PHOTO

THE GOVERNMENT made a partial award of the Treasury bills (T-bills) it offered on Monday as yields rose across all tenors due to hawkish signals from central banks here and abroad.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised just P10.581 billion via the T-bills it auctioned off on Monday versus the P15-billion program, even as total bids reached P17.648 billion.

Broken down, the Treasury raised P5 billion as planned via the 92-day T-bills as tenders for the tenor reached P6.677 billion. The average rate of the three-month papers went up by 5.7 basis points (bps) to 6.086% from the 6.029% quoted for the tenor last week, with accepted rates ranging from 5.98% to 6.199%.

Meanwhile, the government made a partial P2.97-billion award of the 183-day securities versus the P5-billion program as bids for the tenor reached just P4.98 billion. The six-month T-bill was quoted at an average rate of 6.144%, up by 6.3 bps from 6.081% the previous week, with accepted rates from 6.02% to 6.2%.

Lastly, the BTr raised just P2.611 billion from the 365-day debt papers out of the P5 billion on the auction block, even as demand reached P5.911 billion. The average rate of the one-year T-bills rose by 5.3 bps to 6.219% from the 6.166% fetched last week. Accepted yields were from 6.11% to 6.25%.

The T-bill tenors auctioned off this week were adjusted from the usual 91-, 182- and 364-day papers due to a holiday.

At the secondary market before Monday’s auction, the 91-, 182- and 364-day T-bills were quoted at 6.0886%, 6.0958%, and 6.1301%, respectively, based on PHP Bloomberg Valuation Reference Rates data provided by the Treasury.

The Treasury made a partial award of the T-bills as rates climbed due to hawkish signals from the US Federal Reserve and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

“The higher yields today were due to the consistently hawkish remarks by various central banks this month, including the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. This has firmed views of elevated short-term interest rates for a prolonged period,” a trader likewise said in an e-mail.

The BSP may keep its policy rate at a near 16-year high of 6.25% for the rest of the year before it starts easing by early 2024, Finance Secretary and Monetary Board member Benjamin E. Diokno said last week.

The Monetary Board last week kept benchmark interest rates unchanged for a second straight meeting, after raising borrowing costs by 425 bps from May 2022 to March 2023, on expectations of easing inflation.

Headline inflation slowed to 6.1% in May from 6.6% in April. For the first five months, the consumer price index averaged 7.5%, still well above the BSP’s 2-4% target and 5.4% forecast for the year.

Meanwhile, further Fed rate increases are “a pretty good guess” of where the central bank is heading if the economy continues in its current direction, Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell said in remarks on Wednesday to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Reuters reported.

Mr. Powell said a majority of Fed policy makers see two more quarter-point rate increases as likely by the end of the year.

The Fed paused its aggressive tightening cycle for the first time in its June 13-14 review after hiking for 10 straight meetings by a cumulative 500 bps since March 2022 to a range between 5% and 5.25%.

Monday’s T-bill auction was the last one for June. The Treasury raised P47.989 billion from T-bills this month out of the P60-billion program as it made a full award in just one of the four auctions.

On Tuesday, the BTr will auction off P25 billion in reissued 10-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) with a remaining life of nine years and two months.

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. — A.M.C. Sy

Are the Oscars going to take animated films more seriously?

SPIDER-MAN: Across the Spider-Verse

“ANIMATION is cinema. Animation is not a genre. And, animation is ready to be taken to the next step — we are all ready for it, please help us, keep animation in the conversation.”

This was Guillermo del Toro’s testament accepting the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film in 2023 for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, released by Netflix. As one of the most acclaimed modern auteurs — and one who has announced his intention to stick with animation as his preferred medium — his acceptance speech reads like a plea directly to the academy.

The Oscars have had a storied history of engaging with animated cinema. Since 2002, they have awarded a Best Animated Feature award, first won by Shrek. This was a time of technological innovations for 3D animation (think Toy Story or A Bug’s Life), and of standout A-list voice performances (Robin Williams in Aladdin, or Shrek’s star-studded cast).

By including animated films as a standalone category, the Oscars ended up segregating them: animation was treated as its own thing. Beauty and the Beast broke ground as the first-ever animated nominee for the Best Picture Oscar in 1992, but only two films have achieved such a feat since.

Up (2009) and Toy Story 3 (2010) were Best Picture Oscar nominees (and Best Animated Feature winners) of their respective years. However, such recognition only came after the academy expanded its Best Picture category from five nominees to up to 10. This was a concerted effort to include more popular films in the Oscars due to waning audience interest, after Best Picture snubs of The Dark Knight and WALL-E.

If animated films have had difficulty breaking into the Oscars’ vision of a Best Picture, then voice talent has been outright bypassed for consideration in acting categories. Since Shrek, stars have increasingly taken on voice work for animated projects in ways that elevates them from a side-hustle to key parts of their CVs.

For instance, Chris Pratt and Anya Taylor-Joy’s promotional duties for The Super Mario Bros. Movie represent significant time and stardom investments for the sake of animated intellectual property.

Yet without the physical body to observe, the Oscars have ignored voice work in animated films. The most meaningful push to have a voice performance nominated was for Scarlett Johansson’s in Her where she played a computer operating system. Johansson’s performance was nuanced, played with chemistry against her co-stars, and, ironically, Her was not an animated film.

The Oscars this year shifted their brand of “prestige” to value the “cinematic experience” (and box office money) in the age of streaming.

The sweep of Everything Everywhere All at Once and Best Picture nominations for Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water in 2023 signal the academy conspicuously praising populist fare for bringing audiences into the physical cinema. This then hopefully attracts more audience eyeballs to an Oscars telecast where they are likely to have actually seen some of the nominees.

Popular film’s infiltration of the Oscars even seeped into the acting categories. Everything Everywhere All At Once’s indie cred made nominations (and three eventual wins) for its stars logical and welcome, but even Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s Angela Bassett scored a Best Supporting Actress nomination, the first acting recognition for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Its online fandom was instrumental here, having opined the academy’s biases against their beloved franchise.

Now, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse has arrived ahead of the 2024 Oscars race. The animated film boasts a star-studded cast, including past Oscar nominees and winners like Daniel Kaluuya and Hailee Steinfeld in key supporting roles. Shameik Moore’s lead vocal performance as Miles Morales is also exceptional. Still figuring out what it means to balance being Spider-Man with a complicated home and social life, he sounds remarkably recognizable as a modern teenager.

Credit for this extends to a snappy script and intricate editing that bounces through its complex multiverse setting and superhero super-stakes to focus on moving character development. Thematically, it reflects on the artistic value of the superhero genre, unpacking the Spider-Man lore across its many iterations. And, of course, the visual artistry on display is mind-blowing, truly pushing cinematic excess in ways that only animation (currently) can.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the kind of popular cinema that the academy is currently primed to take more seriously. It’s on track to become one of the year’s box office successes, serves a dedicated fandom, showcases a stacked cast and dynamically plays with genre and narrative conventions.

As part two of a trilogy, it is unlikely to take out the Best Picture race altogether (Beyond the Spider-Verse, coming in 2024, is the more likely candidate if it sticks the landing). But it is still well-positioned to break through the confines of the Best Animated Feature category. — The Conversation via Reuters Connect

Robert Boucaut is a Ph.D. Candidate and Tutor at the Media Department of the University of Adelaide.

Grab commits to livelihood plan despite restructuring

MYTAXI.PH, Inc., the company behind Grab Philippines, said the job layoff announced last week would not affect its commitment to provide 500,000 livelihood opportunities to Filipinos.

“The Philippines has always been an important market for Grab. We remain steadfast in our promise to create 500,000 livelihood opportunities in the Philippines and will continue to make progress on this by creating meaningful opportunities for everyday Filipinos and small businesses to earn a livelihood on our platform, whether as a driver-partner, delivery partner, or merchant partner,” Grab Philippines Country Head Grace Vera-Cruz said in a statement.

Last week, the Singapore-based ride-hailing company’s co-founder, Anthony Tan, announced Grab’s restructuring that will involve the laying off of 1,000 employees across its network.

Grab operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

“The restructuring exercise neither changes our investment commitment to the government, nor does it affect our ability to ably serve Filipinos. We are accelerating our efforts to ensure that this will come to fruition, as we unlock further economic empowerment through our robust ecosystem,” Ms. Vera-Cruz said.

In a statement last week, digital advocates network Digital Pinoys shed light on the transport network company’s investment pledge.

“The news of the massive layoff set to be implemented by Grab will put into question their ability to deliver their investment pledge,” said Digital Pinoys National Campaigner Ronald Gustilo.

“The government should also consider if the service quality for Grab’s customer passengers and their drivers will get affected if the layoff will affect the operations of Grab Philippines,” he added.

Grab Philippines expressed its commitment to “adequately compensate” those affected by the restructuring program through financial, professional, and medical support.

“We are aware that change may be incredibly challenging and we are prioritizing the welfare of the Grabbers who were affected by the restructuring exercise. We want to make sure that they have the runway during their professional transition,” said Ms. Vera-Cruz.

In his letter to Grab employees, Mr. Tan said the support to be provided by the company includes severance payment, goodwill payment of an ex gratia amount, encashment of unused accrued annual leave, GrabFlex credits, and maternity or paternity leaves.

“They are also entitled to a completion bonus for those who are required to provide transition support, repatriation support, and an option to keep their pre-assigned laptops,” the company said.

The company said that it will also be extending medical insurance coverage for its laid-off employees until the end of the year.

“To help them to transition to their professional careers, Grab is providing development support in the form of free one-year access to LinkedIn Premium subscription and LinkedIn Learning, and access to sessions with a professional coach,” it added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

BAP launches dollar-peso cross-currency swap mart

THE BANKERS Association of the Philippines (BAP) on Monday launched the dollar-peso cross-currency swap (USDPHP CCS) market to help member banks manage foreign exchange and interest rate risks through hedging instruments.

The initiative is led by the BAP Open Market Committee, with the support of the Money Market Association of the Philippines and ACI Philippines.

“The BAP launches the dollar-peso cross-currency swap market in line with its commitment to promote market development,” the BAP said in a statement.

“This initiative enables its members to utilize hedging instruments critical to them and in response to the needs and requirements of their customers to better manage foreign exchange and interest rate risks,” it added.

Cross-currency swaps are transactions between two parties where interest payments and principal in one currency are exchanged for principal and interest payments in a different currency at an agreed upon exchange rate. 

Interest payments are swapped at fixed intervals during the agreement. Cross-currency swaps are highly customizable and can include variable, fixed interest rates, or both.

“The USDPHP CCS market involves a Philippine peso fixed rate and a US dollar floating swap with standard tenors of 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, 7 years and 10 years,” the BAP said.

This will use the US dollar Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) as the floating benchmark for the US dollar leg.

The SOFR is a benchmark interest rate for dollar-denominated derivatives and loans that replaced the London Interbank Offered Rate, which will expire globally on June 30.

According to the BAP, seven banks have signed up as regular participants in the USDPHP CCS, namely China Banking Corp., Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., Robinsons Bank Corp., Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc., Mizuho Bank Ltd., MUFG Bank Ltd., and the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.

Market makers in the dollar-peso cross-currency swap market include BDO Unibank Inc., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Philippine National Bank, Security Bank Corp., Citigroup, Inc., Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Philippines, ING Bank, JPMorgan Chase Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank.

Voice-broker participants are Amstel, GFI, Tradition and Tullet Prebon.

The USDPHP CCS market is supported by Bloomberg, a global trading platform provider for various financial products. The USDPHP CCS is traded in Bloomberg’s FIQ<GO>, the BAP said.

The USDPHP CCS market is guided by the rules and regulations of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the ISDA Master Agreement, and the Foreign Exchange Global Code.   

The ISDA Master Agreement is the most commonly used master service agreement for over-the-counter derivatives transactions worldwide.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Exchange Global Code is a set of guidelines to promote the integrity and effective functioning of the wholesale foreign exchange market globally. — Keisha B. Ta-asan

Top Frontier Investment Holdings, Inc. to hold 2023 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting on Aug. 3

 

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New V&A show ‘DIVA’ salutes and studies top stars

DIVA - Exhibition at V&A South Kensington · V&A — VAM.AC.UK

LONDON — London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) draws inspiration from some of the world’s best-known performers for its summer exhibition, celebrating their talent, creativity and influence.

Titled “DIVA,” the exhibition features some 60 costumes and 250 items from screen sirens and stage stars from the 19th century to today, many displayed for the first time.

Highlights include a dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in the 1959 film Some Like it Hot, Maria Callas’ costumes from her first and last performances at The Royal Opera House and Franco Zeffirelli’s Tosca in 1964, as well as fashion designer Bob Mackie’s outfits for singers Tina Turner, Cher, and P!nk.

Also on display is Elton John’s Louis XIV-inspired 50th birthday party look, complete with its colossal wig and train, and singer Janelle Monae’s “vulva pants” from her 2018 “Pynk” music video.

“Some of this goes all the way back to the turn of the century, 1900, you know opera singers, silent film stars. Their films don’t even exist [anymore], they have disintegrated, but the clothes are still there on display,” Mackie said ahead of a press preview on Tuesday.

The exhibition is divided into two sections, with “Act One” offering historical context and “Act Two” focused on major modern day artists.

It uses the objects to recount the creation of the diva, delving into personal stories and looking at performers’ activism and sway on social issues, including equality and civil rights.

Also on show are personal objects, song sheets, posters, and photography.

“The diva has a strong sense of self, an attitude and knowing… how to use their voice,” lead curator Kate Bailey said.

“We really wanted to show that story… where they’ve given their voice to change, from activism to global feminism… so it’s a sort of celebration of that side of the diva as well as the feathers and the sequins.”

“DIVA” runs from June 24 to April 7, 2024. — Reuters

IFC and First Balfour study EV system for industrial park

INTERNATIONAL Finance Corp. (IFC) and First Balfour, Inc. are partnering to explore the creation of an electric vehicle (EV) system in an ecozone.

“Under the agreement, IFC will help First Balfour conduct assessments and viability studies to develop a robust electric vehicle system in the First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP), including charging infrastructure targeted to be powered completely by renewable energy,” the IFC said in a statement on Monday.

FPIP is an industrial park with more than 140 locators employing around 70,000 employees. The ecozone is a joint venture of Lopez-led First Philippine Holdings Corp. and Japan-based Sumitomo Corp.

“FPIP has been looking at ways to create a stronger, more efficient transportation system within and outside the industrial park, in a manner that is inclusive and beneficial to locators, current transport service providers, and the nearby communities,” according to the statement.

“By participating in the assessments and viability studies, it can also obtain deeper insights on movements inside the park to develop appropriate transport strategies and other approaches to achieve net zero carbon emissions in the future,” it added.

IFC said that the existing technical expertise on EV adoption in the Philippines is “thin and successful business cases — especially those of significant scale — are few.”

“A huge investment opportunity over the next decade, electric vehicles are critical in the fight against climate change and can help reduce emissions, lower transport costs, and create thousands of green jobs. So, developing an efficient and thriving e-mobility ecosystem is crucial for the Philippines to meet its climate commitments,” IFC Country Manager for the Philippines Jean-Marc Arbogast said.

“The project will also help diversify FPIP and First Balfour’s infrastructure services and hopefully bring in new market players and spur the evolution of the local electric vehicle segment in the country,” Mr. Arbogast added.

First Balfour is the engineering and construction arm of First Philippine Holdings.

It has projects involved in renewable power and energy, transport infrastructure, and water infrastructure, among others. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

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