New Zealand counts cost of Auckland floods, more rain forecast

January 30, 2023 | 5:10 pm

Building inspectors assess how homes and buildings have fared in recent floods. — Auckland Emergency Management/Facebook

WELLINGTON — Flood-ravaged Auckland is forecast to receive further heavy rain in the coming days, authorities in New Zealand’s largest city said on Monday, as insurers counted the costs of what looks likely to be the country’s most expensive weather event ever.

Four people lost their lives in flash floods and landslides that hit Auckland over the last three days amid record downpours. A state of emergency remains in place in Auckland. A state of emergency in the Waitomo region south of Auckland was lifted.

Flights in and out of Auckland Airport are still experiencing delays and cancellations, beaches around the city of 1.6 million are closed and all Auckland schools will remain closed until Feb. 7.

“There has been very significant damage across Auckland,” New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told state-owned television station TVNZ on Monday. “Obviously there were a number of homes damaged by flooding but also extensive earth movements.”

Currently, around 350 people were in need of emergency accommodation, he added.

LOOMING CLOUDS
Metservice is forecasting further heavy rains to hit the already sodden city late on Tuesday.

“We have more adverse weather coming and we need to prepare for that,” Auckland Emergency Management duty controller Rachel Kelleher told a media conference.

Fire and Emergency services received 30 callouts overnight Monday, including responding to a landslide when a carport slid down a hill.

The council has designated 69 houses as uninhabitable and has prevented people from entering them. A further 300 properties were deemed at risk, with access restricted to certain areas for short periods.

The north of New Zealand’s North Island is receiving more rain than normal due to the La Nina weather event.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said Auckland has already recorded more than eight times its average January rainfall and 40% of its annual average rainfall.

INSURERS FACE HEFTY BILL
The cost of the clean up is expected to top the NZ$97 million ($63 million) bill for flooding on the West Coast in 2021 but will not be anywhere near as expensive as the estimated NZ$31 billion insured costs of two major earthquakes in Christchurch in 2010-2011, said Insurance Council of New Zealand spokesperson Christian Judge.

Insurance Australia Group’s New Zealand divisions have received over 5,000 claims so far and Suncorp Group said it received around 3,000 claims across the Vero and AA Insurance Brands. New Zealand’s Tower said it had received around 1,900 claims.

“The number of claims is expected to rise further over the coming days, with the event still unfolding and as customers identify damage to their property,” IAG said in a statement.

Economists say the recovery and rebuild could add to inflationary pressures in New Zealand as vehicles and household goods need to be replaced and there is an increase in construction work needed to repair or rebuild houses and infrastructure damaged by the flooding. — Reuters

Australia prepares for thousands of Chinese students to return as relations improve

January 30, 2023 | 5:05 pm

SYDNEY — Australia is preparing for the arrival of thousands of Chinese students, the education minister said on Monday, days after China’s education ministry warned students enrolled overseas that online learning would no longer be recognized.

Australia’s education sector, which generated A$39 billion ($27.66 billion) in export earnings before the pandemic, has strong ties to China, with roughly 150,000 nationals enrolled in Australian universities. Tens of thousands remain offshore after pandemic restrictions and strained diplomatic relations led many to return home.

But with three weeks to go before Australian universities start, the Chinese Ministry of Education’s Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE) said on Saturday it would no longer recognize overseas degrees obtained via online learning and urged students to return to overseas campuses as soon as possible.

“At present, the borders of major destinations for international study have reopened, and foreign (overseas) colleges and universities have fully resumed offline teaching,” it said in a statement.

China dropped nearly all of its COVID curbs in December, leading to a surge in COVID cases and deaths as Beijing shifted focus to salvage a faltering economy.

The normalizing of educational ties comes weeks after Chinese officials relaxed import bans on Australian coal as both countries work to improve diplomatic relations after more than two years of Chinese trade sanctions that have frozen trade in barley, coal and wine and other goods and services.

Minister for Education Jason Clare on Monday welcomed the move and said he would work with his counterpart in the home (interior) ministry to help universities resolve any short-term logistical issues.

Phil Honeywood, chief executive officer at International Education Association of Australia, an advocacy body for international education in Australia, said there were currently about 40,000 Chinese students still offshore.

“We anticipate a lot of Chinese students will be scrambling as we speak to get on flights to Australia. However, we imagine there will be a number of deferral applications where students just won’t be able to get back in time,” said Honeywood.

The University of Sydney expects the “vast majority” of students to be on campus when classes start in late February. It plans to phase out on-campus remote learning later this year.

The move by China’s Ministry of Education has been met with anger from Chinese students.

“There are only 15 days left before the school starts — I have no visa, no flight, nowhere to live. With such a short notice, do you want us all sleeping on the streets?” said one comment on social media platform Weibo. — Reuters

NATO chief urges SK to step up military support for Ukraine

January 30, 2023 | 5:03 pm

SEOUL — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged South Korea (SK) on Monday to increase military support to Ukraine, citing other countries that have changed their policy of not providing weapons to countries in conflict after Russia’s invasion.

Mr. Stoltenberg is in Seoul, the first stop on a trip that will include Japan and is aimed at strengthening ties with US allies in the face of the war in Ukraine and rising competition with China.

Speaking at the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies in Seoul, he thanked South Korea for its non-lethal aid to Ukraine, but urged it to do more, adding there is an “urgent need” for ammunition. Russia calls the invasion a “special operation”.

“I urge the Republic of Korea to continue and to step up on the specific issue of military support,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s a decision for you to make, but I’ll say that several NATO allies who have had as a policy to never export weapons to countries in a conflict have changed that policy now.”

In meetings with senior South Korean officials, Mr. Stoltenberg argued that events in Europe and North America are interconnected with other regions, and that the alliance wants to help manage global threats by increasing partnerships in Asia.

South Korea has signed major deals providing hundreds of tanks, aircraft and other weapons to NATO member Poland since the war began, but South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has said that his country’s law against providing arms to countries in conflicts makes providing weapons to Ukraine difficult.

Mr. Stoltenberg noted that countries such as Germany, Sweden, and Norway had similar policies but changed them.

“If we don’t want autocracy and tyranny to win, then they need weapons, that’s the reality,” he said, referring to Ukraine.

The NATO chief said it was “extremely important” that Russia doesn’t win this war, not only for the Ukrainians but also to avoid sending a wrong message to authoritarian leaders, including in Beijing, that they can get what they want by force.

Although China is not NATO’s adversary, it has become “much higher” on NATO’s agenda, Mr. Stoltenberg said, citing Beijing’s rising military capabilities and coercive behavior in the region.

“We believe that we should engage with China on issues like arms control, climate change and other issues,” he said. “But at the same time, we are very clear that China poses a challenge to our values, to our interests, and to our security.”

In a statement carried by state media on Monday, North Korea called Mr. Stoltenberg’s visit a “prelude to confrontation and war as it brings the dark clouds of a ‘new Cold War’ to the Asia-Pacific region.”

Last year South Korea opened its first diplomatic mission to NATO, vowing to deepen cooperation on non-proliferation, cyber defense, counter-terrorism, disaster response and other security areas.

The NATO chief’s visit also comes as U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was due to arrive in Seoul on Monday for talks with his South Korean counterpart Lee Jong-sup. — Reuters

Under-funded WHO seeks ‘reinforced’ role in global health at key meeting

January 30, 2023 | 5:02 pm

GENEVA — The World Health Organization (WHO) will push at its board meeting this week for an expanded role in tackling the next global health emergency after COVID-19, but is still seeking answers on how to fund it, according to health policy experts.

The Geneva meeting sets the program for the U.N. agency this year — as well as its future budget — with the WHO facing two key challenges: a world that expects ever more from its leading health body, but which has not yet proven willing to fund it to tackle those challenges.

At the Executive Board’s annual meeting from Jan. 30-Feb. 7, countries will give feedback on WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ global strategy to strengthen readiness for the next pandemic which includes a binding treaty currently being negotiated.

“I think the focus is very much on the program budget, then sustainable financing,” Timothy Armstrong, WHO director for governing bodies, told journalists when asked about the agenda.

Also on his list was “the position of the World Health Organization, recognizing there is a need for a reinforced central role for WHO” in the global health emergency system.

The WHO is seeking a record $6.86 billion for the 2024-2025 budget, saying that approving this sum would be “a historic move towards a more empowered and independent WHO.”

But approval will require member states to make good on promises made last year to hike mandatory fees — a fact which is uncertain since the deal was always subject to conditions.

“What we are currently seeing is that some member states are now trying to pre-condition lots of things,” said a source close to the talks, saying it “remains to be seen” if all countries will commit to raising fees. Reuters could not immediately establish which countries might withhold support.

The current base budget, which does not include the funding changes, has a nearly $1-billion financing hole, a WHO document showed — although that gap is not unusual at this point, two sources added. However, one did add that it was “absurd” that the WHO still has to scrabble for money after COVID-19.

“It’s a huge knot,” said Nicoletta Dentico, the co-chair of the civil society platform the Geneval Global Health Hub. “The weakness of WHO is under our eyes.”

The agency is also considering starting big replenishment rounds every few years to top up its coffers, a document showed.

The WHO, which celebrates its 75-year anniversary having been set up in 1948, will also use the meeting to advocate for a boosted role in pandemic preparedness, documents showed.

Tedros will call for a Global Health Emergency Council to be set up linked to WHO governance. However, external experts have said such a council needs higher-level political leadership.

“Given that pandemic threats involve and impact almost every sector, it must be an outcome of a UN General Assembly resolution, be appointed by and accountable to it,” Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand and head of the independent panel set up to review the handling of COVID, told Reuters. — Reuters

Australia searches for tiny radioactive capsule believed lost on desert highway

January 30, 2023 | 5:01 pm

MELBOURNE — Rio Tinto Ltd. apologized on Monday for the loss of a tiny radioactive capsule believed to have fallen from a truck that has sparked a radiation alert across parts of the vast state of Western Australia.

It is unclear how long the radioactive capsule, part of a gauge used to measure the density of iron ore feed, has been missing.

The gauge was picked up by a specialist contractor from Rio’s Gudai-Darri mine site on Jan. 12. When it was unpacked for inspection on Jan. 25, the gauge was found broken apart, with one of four mounting bolts missing and screws from the gauge also gone.

Authorities suspect vibrations from the truck caused the screws and the bolt to come loose, and the radioactive capsule from the gauge fell out of the package and then out of a gap in the truck.

Authorities are now grappling with the daunting task of searching along the truck’s 1,400 kilometer (870 mile) journey from north of Newman — a small town in the remote Kimberley region — to a storage facility in the northeast suburbs of Perth — a distance longer than the length of Great Britain.

“We are taking this incident very seriously. We recognize this is clearly very concerning and are sorry for the alarm it has caused in the Western Australian community,” Rio’s iron ore division chief Simon Trott said in a statement.

The silver capsule, 6 millimeters (mm) in diameter and 8 mm long, contains Caesium-137 which emits radiation equal to 10 X-rays per hour.

Authorities have recommended people stay at least five meters (16.5 feet) away as exposure could cause radiation burns or radiation sickness, though they add that the risk to the general community is relatively low.

The state’s emergency services department has established a hazard management team and has brought in specialized equipment that includes portable radiation survey meters to detect radiation levels across a 20-meter radius and which can be used from moving vehicles.

Mr. Trott said Rio had engaged a third-party contractor, with appropriate expertise and certification, to safely package and transport the gauge.

“We have completed radiological surveys of all areas on site where the device had been, and surveyed roads within the mine site as well as the access road leading away from the Gudai-Darri mine site,” he said, adding that Rio was also conducting its own investigation into how the loss occurred.

Analysts said that the transport of dangerous goods to and from mine sites was routine, adding that such incidents have been extremely rare and did not reflect poor safety standards on Rio’s part.

The incident is another headache for the mining giant following its 2020 destruction of two ancient and sacred rock shelters in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for an iron ore mine. — Reuters

Viber adds features to increase brand awareness among users, aims to become superapp

January 30, 2023 | 4:38 pm

MESSAGING PLATFORM Viber launched two features last week to improve brand-user interaction, a “high priority” given the app’s 106% year-on-year growth in retail users in the Philippines.

Business Inbox is a dedicated folder for business messages from official brand accounts while Commercial Accounts is a channel where users can find brands and communicate with them through a mini-website experience within the app.

“It’s our ambition to have brands on Viber build awareness, generate interest, and drive conversion down to user loyalty and after-sales care. A brand can use our solutions to meet the users at every step in the customer journey,” said Cristina V. Constandache, chief revenue officer of Viber, at a media briefing on Jan. 26.

“Our vision for 2023 is to become a superapp,” she added.

Business Inbox, the default space for brand-user interactions, is pinned at the top of the chat screen and is kept separate from personal messages. It allows Viber users to store and organize notifications — bank reminders, delivery order confirmations, or promotional offers — from brand accounts in one folder.

Meanwhile, Commercial Accounts allows users to engage with a brand in just one channel, where they can find business information, services, and Viber chats under a single searchable business entity. Brands will be better able to customize the customer experience through this feature.

David Tse, Rakuten Viber’s senior director for APAC, told BusinessWorld that the new features will increase user safety and trust when engaging with a business.

“For example, the Business Inbox will automatically have business messages from verified brands, which have a blue tick, and it’s basically inaccessible to private accounts trying to impersonate a business,” he explained.

In 2022, Philippine stats for the app show a 603% growth in transactional business messages, an 83% growth in conversational business messages, and an 11% growth in promotional messages year-on-year. There has also been a 34% increase in chatbots.

With these stats, adding new features is a “no-brainer,” according to Ms. Constandache.

“We want to become a single gateway to manifold services, wherein users can do everything that they want or as many things as they want within one app,” she said.

Mr. Tse also shared at the briefing that the Viber Pay feature, available in Germany and Greece, has to “overcome quite a few licensing hurdles” before launching in the Philippines. — Brontë H. Lacsamana

The goal is to launch the payment feature within the year, said Ms. Constandache.

Adani firms lose $65 billion in value as US short-seller battle escalates

January 30, 2023 | 3:50 pm

NEW DELHI — Most Adani Group shares fell sharply on Monday as the Indian conglomerate’s rebuttal of a US short-seller’s criticism failed to pacify investors, deepening a market rout that has now led to losses of $65 billion in the group’s stock values.

Led by Asia’s richest man Gautam Adani, the Indian group has locked horns with Hindenburg Research and on Sunday hit back at the short-seller’s report of last week that flagged concerns about its debt levels and the use of tax havens.

Adani said it complied with all local laws and had made the necessary regulatory disclosures.

Adani Transmission, Adani Total Gas, Adani Green Energy, Adani Power and Adani Wilmar fell between 5% and 20% on Monday.

Flagship Adani Enterprises, which is facing a crucial test this week with a follow-on share offering, swung between gains and losses before settling 4.8% higher. It stayed well below the offer price of the issue, which if successful will be largest such share offering ever in India.

Adani Enterprises’ $2.5 billion secondary share sale closed its second day amid weak investor sentiment. The stock closed at 2,892.85 rupees, 7% below the 3,112 rupees lower end of the offer price band. The upper band is 3,276 rupees.

Data from stock exchanges on Monday showed Adani has now received bids for 1.4 million shares, or just over 3%, of the 45.5 million shares on offer. The deal closes on Tuesday.

Foreign and domestic institutional investors, as well as mutual funds, have made no bids so far, according to the data.

“Retail participation is likely to have a shortfall with current market prices still trailing the offer price and sentiment taking a hit due to the Hindenburg controversy,” said Hemang Jani, equity strategist at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

“While there is a risk that the share sale does not go through, it will be crucial today to wait and see how institutional investors participate.”

Abu Dhabi conglomerate International Holding Company said on Monday it would invest 1.4 billion dirhams ($381.17 million) in the offering.

ON SCHEDULE
Adani Group told Reuters in a statement on Saturday that the sale remained on schedule at the planned issue price, even as sources said bankers of the country’s largest secondary share sale were considering extending the timeline beyond Jan. 31, or tweaking the price due to the fall in its share price.

Indian regulations say the share offering must receive minimum subscription of 90%, and if it does not the issuer must refund the entire amount. Maybank Securities and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are among investors who bid for the anchor portion of the issue.

Maybank said in a statement “there is no financial impact” on it as the subscription to Adani’s offer was fully funded by client funds.

State-run insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) told Reuters on Monday it was reviewing the Adani Group’s response to Hindenburg’s report and would hold talks with the management within days.

LIC took 5% of the $734 million anchor portion. It already holds a 4.23% stake in the flagship Adani firm, while its other exposures include a 9.14% stake in Adani Ports and 5.96% in Adani Total Gas.

“Since we are a large investor we have the right to ask relevant questions,” LIC Managing Director Raj Kumar said.

DEBT, DE-LEVERAGING
US dollar-denominated bonds issued by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone continued their fall into a second week with the bond maturing in August 2027 down 5 cents to 73.03 cents, the lowest since June 2020. Other dollar denominated bonds of the group were also trading lower.

Index provider MSCI has said it was seeking feedback from market participants on Adani and was monitoring the factors that “may impact the eligibility of those relevant securities” in SCI indexes.

In its response on Sunday, Adani highlighted its relationships with local and international banks and its access to diverse funding sources and structures, listing US banks
Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase & Co, as well as other lenders including BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, and Standard Chartered.

The stock market meltdown is a dramatic setback for 60-year-old Adani. The school-dropout’s stunning rise came with over 1,500% gains in some of his group stocks over three years, making him the world’s third richest man before he slipped to rank eighth on the Forbes list on Monday.

Responding to Adani’s rebuttal, Hindenburg said the company’s “response largely confirmed our findings and ignored our key questions.”

Hindenburg in its report said Adani companies had “substantial debt” and that shares in seven Adani listed companies have an 85% downside due to what it called “sky-high valuations.”

Adani’s response stated that over the past decade, its group companies have “consistently de-levered.” — Reuters

Brian Poe-Llamanzares named Rising Tigers Magazine co-owner

January 30, 2023 | 1:40 pm

(From left to right) Andrew Troy Nicolas CEO of Rising Tigers Magazine, Brian Poe Llamanzares CEO of Oracle Media Group, and Andria Terese Nicolas, Vice President of Tag Media Group

Brian Poe-Llamanzares is now the co-owner of one of the country’s leading business magazines, Rising Tigers Magazine.

The most-distributed local magazine right now in National Bookstore caught the attention of this serial entrepreneur.

Mr. Llamanzares’ Oracles Media Group will now be adding Rising Tiger Magazine to its portfolio, which already includes other media entities like The Manila Journal, Negosyante News, Rapid News PH, and Alike Magazine.

According to Mr. Llamanzares, “the team is very confident that it will top the market with its innovations and quality of content. The magazine has already perfected its marketing strategy even-though it’s still new and will celebrate its first anniversary this March 2023. A lot of big names in the business industry have already confirmed and committed their support. While I’m looking forward to helping the company grow.”

Focused on inspiring readers with the profiles of the emerging leaders and captains from different industries, the magazine, which was launched during pandemic, opened up to investors to provide more reach and growth for the company.

“We’re really grateful to have Brian as part of our team. I admire his grit and determination, and with him, I am very sure we will be able to reach our goals this year. We are looking forward to all of our future projects together. Rising Tigers Magazine will definitely reach new heights,” said Andria Terese Nicolas, vice-president of Tag Media Group.

The magazine is all about motivating the readers. It also aims to help them grow their businesses. Majority of content is all about leadership, while 20% is lifestyle written by socialite Becky Garcia. Entrepreneur Andrew Troy Nicolas publishes the magazine quarterly under Tag Media Group, with planned nine events under his company for this year, which include expos and forums.

“Brian is a valuable asset in the company, and with him we’re very confident that the objective will be accomplished fast. He is very aggressive and determined to help out,” Robert Laurel Yupangco, Rising Tigers Magazine adviser, added.

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Philippine companies seen raising up to $8.25B via bonds in 2023

January 30, 2023 | 1:25 pm

MANILA — Philippine companies are expected to generate up to P450 billion ($8.25 billion) through bond issuance this year to fund expansion and repay debt, the country’s bond market operator said on Monday.

“Domestic investment liquidity is alive and well,” Antonino Nakpil, president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp (PDEX), told reporters.

PDEX sees companies raising P300 to P450 billion via bonds this year, he said, adding that big corporations and banks would be active in the fixed income market.

Companies tapped the bond market to raise a record P508 billion ($9.3 billion) last year, more than double the P213 billion in 2021, PDEX data showed.

Despite an expected slowdown in the economy this year because of inflation and higher interest rates, Philippine companies are selectively pursuing expansion in sectors that will benefit from the country’s economic reopening.

As of the end of 2022, PDEX had P1.38 trillion in tradable corporate debt instruments issued by 53 companies comprised of 196 types of securities. — Reuters

Israel drops plastic tax despite environmental gains

January 30, 2023 | 1:10 pm

JERUSALEM — Israel’s new hard-right government said on Sunday it had dropped a year-old tax that had significantly reduced the consumption of single-use plastic plates and utensils.

The decision, in apparent defiance of global efforts to reduce the amount of plastic waste that is polluting oceans, came after opposition to the levy from religious parties that said it unfairly targeted their communities.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the tax was canceled and urged customers to check that stores were lowering prices of plastic wares. His spokesman said the tax was repealed for the coming year to help lower consumer prices amid high inflation.

Israel’s environmental protection minister said she had opposed ending the tax and hoped an alternative solution could be found. The ministry reported that sales of the disposable plastic items were roughly 40% lower now than when the tax came into effect in November 2021.

There was opposition to the plastic tax among ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties that are strongly represented along with the far right in the new governing coalition led by Benjamin Netanyahu.

A parliamentary report from November 2021 found that ultra-Orthodox families used plasticware three times more often than the rest of the population because they often have large families and low incomes, with many not owning dishwashers. — Reuters

Boeing’s 747, the original jumbo jet, prepares for final send-off

January 30, 2023 | 12:59 pm

Boeing_747-400_Dreamliner_livery — WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

SEATTLE/PARIS — Boeing’s 747, the original and arguably most aesthetic “Jumbo Jet,” revolutionized air travel only to see its more than five-decade reign as “Queen of the Skies” ended by more efficient twinjet planes.

The last commercial Boeing jumbo will be delivered to Atlas Air in the surviving freighter version on Tuesday, 53 years after the 747’s instantly recognizable humped silhouette grabbed global attention as a Pan Am passenger jet.

“On the ground it’s stately, it’s imposing,” said Bruce Dickinson, the lead singer of Iron Maiden who piloted a specially liveried 747 nicknamed “Ed Force One” during the British heavy metal band’s tour in 2016.

“And in the air it’s surprisingly agile. For this massive airplane, you can really chuck it around if you have to.”

Designed in the late 1960s to meet demand for mass travel, the world’s first twin-aisle wide body jetliner’s nose and upper deck became the world’s most luxurious club above the clouds.

But it was in the seemingly endless rows at the back of the new jumbo that the 747 transformed travel.

“This was THE airplane that introduced flying for the middle class in the US,” said Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith.

“Prior to the 747 your average family couldn’t fly from the US to Europe affordably,” Mr. Smith told Reuters.

The jumbo also made its mark on global affairs, symbolizing war and peace, from America’s “Doomsday Plane” nuclear command post to papal visits on chartered 747s nicknamed Shepherd One.

Now, two previously delivered 747s are being fitted to replace US presidential jets known globally as Air Force One.

As a Pan Am flight attendant, Linda Freier served passengers ranging from Michael Jackson to Mother Teresa.

“It was an incredible diversity of passengers. People who were well dressed and people who had very little and spent everything they had on that ticket,” Ms. Freier said.

TRANSFORMATIONAL

When the first 747 took off from New York on Jan 22, 1970, after a delay due to an engine glitch, it more than doubled plane capacity to 350-400 seats, in turn reshaping airport design.

“It was the aircraft for the people, the one that really delivered the capability to be a mass market,” aviation historian Max Kingsley-Jones said.

“It was transformational across all aspects of the industry,” the senior consultant at Ascend by Cirium added.

Its birth become the stuff of aviation myth.

Pan Am founder Juan Trippe sought to cut costs by increasing the number of seats. On a fishing trip, he challenged Boeing President William Allen to make something dwarfing the 707.

Allen put legendary engineer Joe Sutter in charge. It took only 28 months for Sutter’s team known as “the Incredibles” to develop the 747 before the first flight on Feb. 9, 1969.

Although it eventually became a cash cow, the 747’s initial years were riddled with problems and the $1-billion development costs almost bankrupted Boeing, which believed the future of air travel lay in supersonic jets.

After a slump during the 1970s oil crisis, the plane’s heyday arrived in 1989 when Boeing introduced the 747-400 with new engines and lighter materials, making it a perfect fit to meet growing demand for trans-Pacific flights.

“The 747 is the most beautiful and easy plane to land … It’s just like landing an armchair,” said Mr. Dickinson, who also chairs aviation maintenance firm Caerdav.

AGE OF ECONOMICS

The same swell of innovation that got the 747 off the ground has spelled its end, as advances made it possible for dual-engine jets to replicate its range and capacity at lower cost.

Yet the 777X, set to take the 747’s place at the top of the jet market, will not be ready until at least 2025 after delays.

“In terms of impressive technology, great capacity, great economics … (the 777X) does sadly make the 747 look obsolete,” AeroDynamic Advisory managing director Richard Aboulafia said.

Nevertheless, the latest 747-8 version is set to grace the skies for years, chiefly as a freighter, having outlasted European Airbus’ double-decker A380 passenger jet in production.

This week’s final 747 delivery leaves questions over the future of the mammoth but now under-used Everett widebody production plant outside Seattle, while Boeing is also struggling after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and a 737 MAX safety crisis.

Chief Executive Dave Calhoun has said Boeing may not design a new airliner for at least a decade.

“It was one of the wonders of the modern industrial age,” said Mr. Aboulafia, “But this isn’t an age of wonders, it’s an age of economics.” — Reuters

[B-SIDE Podcast] Protecting artists and valuing creativity

January 30, 2023 | 12:26 pm

Follow us on Spotify BusinessWorld B-Side

Jennifer Lee-Bonto, executive director of Artists’ Welfare Project Inc. (AWPI), speaks to BusinessWorld reporter Beatriz Marie D. Cruz about pursuing your passion while paying attention to the practicalities of life.

AWPI was founded in 2007 as a help desk for artists who, prior to the founding of AWPI, had to pass the hat every time the aches and pains of performing would catch up with them.

TAKEAWAYS

The ‘starving artist’ cliché is dangerous and should be thrown out.

Ms. Bonto called for end of the stereotypical view of freelancer artists suffering for their art.

“We just need to stop the notion that we are ‘Bohemian’, [that] we are ‘starving artists.’ … We have to stop ‘starving’ — it’s not fashionable,” she said

Insist on a contract.

Contracts protect both sides by defining the scope of work and deliverables as well as terms of compensation.

“If you hire them [artists], don’t think that it’s a hobby for them. You have to value them as professionals,” Ms. Bonto said. “Give them a proper contract and pay them on time.”

Digitization is both blessing and bane.

Technology paved the way for more job opportunities outside the 9–5 office setup but, at the same time, created issues surrounding copyright, intellectual property rights, and more.

“The digital world is part good, but we still need to address some respect and protection issues,” said Ms. Bonto.

Recorded remotely in January 2023. Produced by Joseph Emmanuel L. Garcia and Sam L. Marcelo.

Follow us on Spotify BusinessWorld B-Side