Yields on term deposits mixed on BSP, Fed bets and May CPI

June 8, 2023 | 12:03 am

YIELDS on the central bank’s term deposits were mixed on Wednesday as inflation eased in May and as market players expect both the US and the Philippine central banks to keep their benchmark rates on hold this month.

Total bids for the term deposit facility (TDF) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reached P249.767 billion on Wednesday, above the P220-billion offer and the P221.806 billion in tenders last week.

Broken down, the seven-day papers fetched bids amounting to P133.675 billion, going beyond the P120 billion auctioned off by the BSP and the P123.506 billion in bids for the same offer volume a week ago.

Accepted rates were from 6.375% to 6.625%, a narrower margin than the 6.3% to 6.64% in the prior auction. This caused the average rate of the one-week papers to decline by 0.4 basis point (bp) to 6.5823% from 6.5863% previously.

Meanwhile, tenders for the 14-day deposits amounted to P116.092 billion, above the P100 billion auctioned off by the BSP and the P98.300 billion seen the previous week.

Banks asked for yields ranging from 6.3% to 6.6344%, also narrower than the 6.25% to 6.651% band seen on May 31. With this, the average rate of the two-week deposits rose by 0.75 bp to 6.5927% from 6.5852% in the prior auction.

The central bank has not auctioned off 28-day term deposits for more than two years to give way to its weekly offering of securities with the same tenor.

The TDF and the 28-day bills are used by the BSP to mop up excess liquidity in the financial system and to better guide market rates.

The average yields on the term deposits were mixed after inflation eased to its lowest level in a year in May, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

Headline inflation eased for a fourth straight month to 6.1% in May from 6.6% in April amid lower transport and food costs, preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed.

The May consumer price index (CPI) matched the 6.1% median in a BusinessWorld poll conducted last week and was within the 5.8-6.6% forecast of the central bank for the month.

However, it marked the 14^th straight month that the CPI breached the central bank’s 2-4% target.

For the first five months, headline inflation averaged 7.5%, still well above the BSP’s 5.5% forecast for the year.

“The markets are now anticipating a possible pause on Fed rates on June 14, and also a pause on local policy rates on June 22,” Mr. Ricafort added.

“But markets also priced in a possible +0.25 Fed rate hike on July 26, (and this) could be matched locally,” he added.

The US Federal Reserve has raised borrowing costs by 500 bps since March last year, bringing its target interest rate to 5-5.25%.

It will meet to discuss policy on June 13-14.

Meanwhile, the BSP last month paused its aggressive tightening cycle after hiking for nine straight meetings amid expectations of easing inflation, with the key rate now at 6.25%.

The Monetary Board raised benchmark interest rates by 425 bps from May 2022 to March 2023.

The next BSP policy meeting will be held on June 22. — Keisha B. Ta-asan

Dining In/Out (06/08/23)

June 8, 2023 | 12:02 am

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Singaporean resto opens flagship in Eastwood City

Restaurant chain Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice has opened its flagship store at the Eastwood Mall in Libis, Quezon City. Owned and managed by Tiong Bahru Philippines, it is the 7^th branch. The casual dining restaurant is named after its signature dish, poached chicken on aromatic rice, so as not to be confused with the namesake Singaporean tourist neighborhood. Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice merited the 2022 Michelin Bib Gourmand for the fifth time, for its sophisticated taste at affordable prices. The chain’s success is attributed to its healthier food options, as the chickens have less oil and fat, and the curries and kikiam Singapore offer more value for the customers’ money.

Father’s Day at Gringo’s Chicken and Ribs

Gringo’s Chicken and Ribs rolls out its Father’s Day special with Papi’s Paboritos package, available starting June 1. Papi’s Paboritos includes all-time Gringo favorites like Cuban Beef Lechon served on a bed of Gringo’s Cuban rice; Cerveza Wings, fried chicken wings flavored with beer; starters like Caesar Salad and Gringo’s Grinchos; and Angus Bolognese Linguine. To cap the meal, there is the new Classic Tres Leches, an ultra-light and soft sponge cake soaked with three kinds of milk, plus Compadre Chocolates, a decadent chocolate cocoa cream dessert. Papi’s Paboritos is good for three to four people. Also included in the package is a 1.5-liter Coca-Cola. In partnership with Coca-Cola, Gringo is giving away official merchandise like umbrellas and shirts. This limited offer goes for ₱2,198 and is available in all Gringo branches. Gringo Metro Manila branches are located at Ayala Malls Feliz, Bonifacio Global City, Dela Rosa St., Festival Mall, Greenhills, and at SM Mall of Asia Arena, SM Fairview, SM Manila, SM Megamall, SM North EDSA, and SM Sucat. Provincial branches include SM Baguio, SM Dasmariñas, SM Legazpi, SM Marilao, and SM Sta. Rosa. Gringo Chicken and Ribs delivers through their official site gringo.ph. These faves are also available via GrabFood and Foodpanda.

Starbucks’ drinks of summer

This summer Starbucks offers Mango Dragonfruit Starbucks Refreshers and Honeycomb Salted Caramel drinks. The new Dragon Drink with Mango Dragonfruit Starbucks Refresher is a combination of coconut milk, tangy lemonade with real pieces of mango and red dragonfruit (the drink contains caffeine). Then there is the Mango Dragonfruit with Lemonade Starbucks Refresher, a combination of lemonade, sweet mango and dragonfruit flavors with real fruit juice and fruit pieces (it also contains caffeine). The Honeycomb Salted Caramel drinks list includes Honeycomb Salted Caramel Oatmilk Frappuccino which is available in coffee and cream-based variants; Honeycomb Salted Caramel Oatmilk Latte, topped with premium crunchy honeycomb and whipped cream. A new coffee is Brown Sugar Soymilk Iced Shaken Espresso, a hand-shaken espresso with rich layers of plant-based milk and brown sugar syrup.

Machang at Newport World Resort

A boatload of machang is now available for the Dragon Boat Festival at Newport World Resorts. Machang or zongzi is a steamed glutinous rice dumpling with a savory meat filling wrapped in aromatic leaves. Savor the intricately balanced flavors of succulent pork belly, dried shrimp, salted egg yolk, mushrooms, and glutinous rice at Newport’s signature restaurants the whole month of June. Indulge in the Dragon Boat Machang Festival special for P468 net for two people at the Newport Grand Wing’s Silk Road, and the Newport Garden Wing’s Victoria Harbour Cafe and Happy 8. This special is also available for takeout. For more information on the Dragon Boat Machang Festival and other June offers, visit www.newportworldresorts.com.

Tatatito now offers Salted Yema Cake

Tatatito introduces another nostalgic flavor just in time for Father’s Day that takes inspiration from a well-loved Filipino dessert that made many childhood memories sweet — the famous Yema. Tatatito’s Salted Yema Cake fills delicate chiffon cake layers with this rich and sweet custard confectionery. With newly introduced dishes Prawn Randang and Baked Tanigue, this dessert makes the perfect end to a meal. Prawn Rendang is a flavorful dish with large prawns stewed in coconut cream with a blend of secret spices. On the other hand, Baked Tanigue in Kamias is Tatatito’s version of Sinaing na Tanigue. Tatatito is located on the ground floor of the OPL Building, 100 Don Carlos Palanca Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City. Open daily from Monday to Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Saturdays to Sundays from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. To order, call 0991-300-5000. Delivery is also available in select locations through GrabFood and FoodPanda.

Hilton Clark presents Crossover Buffet for Independence Day

Hilton Clark Sun Valley Resort unveils a new promotion celebrating Independence Day weekend. From June 10 to 12, an array of global flavors will be available across its three restaurants. There will be all-American flavors at Treats with its US-themed buffet, the culinary treasures of China at Xi’s Chinese buffet, and Olive’s international buffet spread. For P2,400 net per adult, guests can enjoy the Cuisine Crossover Lunch Buffet which will be available from noon to 3 p.m. The occasion includes an exclusive offer where the third diner dines for free when accompanied by two paying adults. Hilton Clark is offering a daily lucky draw where guests stand a chance to win gift vouchers for an overnight stay for two with a buffet breakfast at Olive, a Yamcha experience for two people at Xi, a “Drink all you can” for two people at Treat (standard drinks only), and dinner buffet for two at Olive. For reservations or more information, visit www.hiltonclark.com, e-mail CRKPP_FB@hilton.com, or call 0917-823-1580.

An Ebi date with Dad at Tokyo Bubble Tea

For the entire month of June, Tokyo Bubble Tea is offering Ebi Tempura Meal Sets so everyone can amp up Father’s Day celebration. The Ebi Tempura Meal Sets feature three pieces of Ebi Tempura, two Tokyo Big Plates, and two large drinks. Metro Manila diners can enjoy three Father’s Day Ebi Tempura meal sets. Set A has Teriyaki Chicken Don and Gyudon. Set B has Bibimbop and Black Pepper Chicken with Kimchi Rice. Set C has Tonkatsu Curry and Chicken Katsu Omurice. Metro Manila branches are located in Banawe, Greenhills, SM Megamall, and Bonifacio Global City. Each set is P899. There are also specially made set meals for diners in Cagayan de Oro. Tokyo Big Plates for Set A are Teriyaki Chicken Don and Gyudon. Set B has Bibimbop and Sizzling Chicken with Black Pepper Sauce. Set C Tokyo Big Plates has Omurice Classic and Japanese Curry Tonkatsu. Tokyo Bubble Tea branches in Cagayan de Oro are located at Centrio Mall and SM CDO Downtown Premier. Each set is P650. All meals come with an option of adding two servings of Miso Soup for P90. These meals are available via www.tokyobubbletea.com, Grab Food, and FoodPanda.

The Bistro Group opens 6 restaurants at SM City Clark

Hot off the heels of multiple openings at Estancia Mall is the launch of not one, but six new Bistro restaurants this time, at SM City Clark. The Bistro Group builds on a variety of cuisines under one roof — from burgers, ribs, pasta, dimsum, all-day breakfast fare, sushi and more. These can be enjoyed by guests inside the stores or at the great al fresco area. On June 1, Modern Shang and Italianni’s opened; Denny’s opens on June 8 while TGI Fridays, Texas Roadhouse, and Watami will be launched in July. Guests can cross-order from these restaurants. All the restaurants are located at the Ground Level, Clark Tech Hub 9 and 10.

Globe launches prepaid fiber internet product

June 8, 2023 | 12:02 am

GLOBE Telecom, Inc. on Wednesday launched its prepaid fiber internet that aims to bring fiber-speed internet to its Filipino customers at sachet price.

“The launch of GFiber Prepaid is a testament to our commitment to providing fiber internet connection that empowers everyone to seize new opportunities,” said Raymond Policarpio, vice-president for home broadband business at Globe, in a statement.

GFiber Prepaid aims to democratize access to fiber connectivity as it will offer no lock-up, unlimited pay-per-use promos, and “buy now, pay later” options with GCash.

“With GCash’s “Buy Now, Pay Later” feature, customers can pay in up to a 24-month installment using the app or pay with a credit line of up to P50,000,” the company said.

The new prepaid service will have a special introductory offer of a one-time fee of P1,499, inclusive of installation and seven days of unlimited internet, and will be available nationwide, subject to serviceability.

Customers can also choose from a selection of unlimited on-demand promos, including GFiberSURF299 for seven days, GFiberSURF549 for 15 days, and GFiberSURF999 for 30 days.

To apply, a customer only needs to go into the GlobeOne app and visit the GFiber page, which will ask for the customer’s details without the requirement of any document.

Customers may also apply for connection through Puregold branches such as Puregold Price Club-Tarlac Public Market, Puregold Price Club-Butuan, Puregold Price Club-Silang in Cavite, Puregold Price Club-Monumento in Caloocan City, and Puregold Price Club-Oton in Iloilo. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

Roxas and Company, Inc. to conduct 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on June 28

June 8, 2023 | 12:02 am

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Declining inflation and Germany’s energiewende

June 8, 2023 | 12:02 am

On Tuesday, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the country’s inflation for May was 6.1% — still high, but it is the fourth month of consistent decline from 8.7% last January. So it is good news.

Compared to other Asian economies over January to May, the Philippines has had the highest inflation rate, at the same level as Germany. Over the same months in 2022, India and Singapore had the highest inflation rates in Asia (see Table 1).

The main areas pulling up inflation in May were: 1.) Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 12.3%, 2.) Restaurants and accommodation services, 8.3%, and, 3.) Food and non-alcoholic beverages, 7.4%. The first two show that people are drinking, smoking, and partying more; that people are going out more to eat and party in restaurants and hotels, and going to provincial hotels and resorts.

I think GDP growth in 2^nd quarter could be high. Household consumption is 75% of GDP, so high consumption there can pull up the overall GDP level and growth.

ERRATUM
I would like to apologize to the readers for the error in transposition in headings in Table 1 of my column last week, “NGCP, low power generation, and the Maharlika Fund” (June 1). The table’s column on Population should have been for Power generation and vice versa. Sorry for that mistake and the confusion it created. Nonetheless, the column and computed kWh/person remains valid and correct. Also, the numbers on average growth in power generation and GDP remain valid and correct.

Meanwhile, here are some points about the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) that I did not include in my column last week.

One, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in previous administrations had issued a lot of show cause orders with penalties to private distribution utilities (DUs) and generation companies (gencos), but when it comes to the NGCP, only one has been issued, last year, with a penalty of P5 million for non-compliance with a Department of Energy circular.

Two, show cause orders for DUs and gencos have high penalties and even come with customer refunds amounting to billions of pesos. Maybe this is because the ERC does not have a group monitoring transmission, only groups for monitoring DUs and gencos. The ERC should consider having a group for monitoring transmission performance.

MORE RENEWABLES, MORE EXPENSIVE ELECTRICITY, THE CASE OF GERMANY
Germany is the biggest economy in Europe although in power generation, it is second only to Russia. But Germany is the powerhouse in renewables, the biggest in installed capacity for wind and solar — it adopted early the “energiewende” or energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables, starting around 2000. Among the policies is the imposition of EEG or Feed-in Tariff (FiT) like in the Philippines, with guaranteed high prices for intermittent renewables for 20 years.

I saw data from the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), listing electricity prices for household/residential and industrial. The trend in prices is horribly anti-consumer and anti-business. Among the culprits are: a.) high procurement for generation as Germany bought more gas from the US, Middle East, and Africa because they avoided cheap Russian gas; b.) a high EEG surcharge, which had been temporarily discontinued last year and this year as prices are almost double the 2012 level; and, c.) rising Grid fees as adding more intermittent power sources to the grid will require more costs to stabilize the grid.

Then I checked Germany’s energiewende, they added lots of wind and solar capacity — installed power in 2021 was twice the 2012 level. Power generation by wind and solar more than doubled, from 12.5% of total in 2012 to 31.5% in 2020. Meanwhile, power generation from coal plus nuclear decreased from 60% in 2012 to only 35% in 2020.

Germany saw its mistake and, in 2021, they slowly and silently raised their coal plus nuclear generation to 40% of the total (see Table 2).

There are important lesson for the Philippines and many developing countries — having more intermittent renewables and less conventional power like coal and nuclear will lead to more expensive electricity, a higher overall inflation rate, and even deindustrialization and degrowth economics.

The main reason is that intermittent sources will always require huge backup power. When the wind does not blow, when it is night, or a cloudy or rainy day and solar output is very low, backup power from fossil fuels and nuclear must be available to avoid blackouts — and this is not cheap. Consumers will have to pay double, first for intermittent sources with high prices (EEG/FiT surcharge, ancillary power for grid stability), and second, for the cost of backup power.

We should avoid deindustrialization and degrowth economics. We should focus on sustained fast growth for our people and businesses. We should stay the course of using more fossil fuels in power generation. Add nuclear power too — revive the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) plus add small modular reactors (SMRs) for off-grid islands and provinces.

When the Maharlika Fund is finally established, I wish that among its big-ticket projects are: getting majority control of the NGCP, doing more offshore oil-gas exploration and development, buying out many inefficient and wasteful electric cooperatives in many provinces, and going into nuclear power generation via the revival of the BNPP and setting up many SMRs in off-grid islands and provinces.

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. Research Consultancy Services, and Minimal Government Thinkers

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

OpenAI CEO has no initial public offering plan due to ‘strange’ company structure

June 8, 2023 | 12:02 am

STOCKHOLM — Microsoft-backed OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has no plans to go public any time soon, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sam Altman said at a conference in Abu Dhabi.

“When we develop super intelligence, we are likely to make some decisions that most investors would look at very strangely,” Mr. Altman said.

“I don’t want to be sued by… public market, Wall Street etc, so no, not that interested,” he said in response to a question on whether he will take OpenAI public.

OpenAI has so far raised $10 billion from Microsoft at a valuation of almost $30 billion as it invests more on building computing capacity.

“We have a very strange structure. We have this cap to profit thing,” he said.

OpenAI started off as a nonprofit organization but later created a hybrid “capped-profit” company, that allowed it to raise external funds with a promise that the original non-profit operation still benefits.

While building their artificial intelligence capacities, Mr. Altman and many prominent scientists involved with creating and marketing the technology have warned of the threat it poses, particularly content-creating generative AI such as ChatGPT, with some equating it to extinction-level risk. They have demanded regulation.

Mr. Altman is on a whirlwind tour across the world, meeting heads of states of several countries, and was in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday. He plans to travel next to Qatar, India, and South Korea.

EU CONTROVERSY
While in Europe he got into controversy for saying OpenAI may leave the region if it becomes too hard to comply with planned laws on AI, inviting criticism from several lawmakers, including EU industry chief Thierry Breton. OpenAI later reversed the stance.

“We did not threaten to leave the EU,” Mr. Altman said on Tuesday. “We expect to be able to comply. There’s still more clarity we are waiting for on the EU AI Act, but we are very excited to operate in Europe.”

The EU is working on a set of laws to govern AI, including proposals that would force any company using tools like ChatGPT to disclose copyrighted material used to train its systems.

OpenAI does not disclose that data on its latest AI model, GPT 4.

Mr. Altman, however, found support from EU tech chief Margrethe Vestager, who said she did not perceive Altman’s comments as a threat but as a promise to do his best.

“The number one thing about this technology that people don’t understand is that in a few years GPT 4 is going to look like a little toy that was not that impressive,” Altman said referring to the growth of AI.

“There will be images, audio, video, text, computer programming, all together.”

Many experts have cited a potential threat to jobs being replaced by AI including in sectors such as transport and logistics, office support and administration, production, services and retail.

The jobs of the future would look “super different than many of the jobs of today”, Altman said, adding that there would be opportunities too. — Reuters

Jollibee Foods Corp. sets 2023 annual meeting of stockholders on June 30

June 8, 2023 | 12:02 am

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Rediscount window untapped in May

June 8, 2023 | 12:02 am

BANKS left the rediscount facility of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) untouched in May amid excess liquidity in the financial system.

The BSP said on Wednesday that its peso rediscount window was untapped last month, marking the seventh straight month that the rediscount facility was not used by lenders.

Last year, the rediscount window was only tapped in April, June, and October, with loans reaching P15.3 billion, more than double the P6.12 billion in 2021.

There were likewise no availments made under the Exporters’ Dollar and Yen Rediscount Facility (EDYRF) last month.

The last time the EDYRF was tapped was for a dollar rediscounting loan in 2016.

The BSP’s rediscount facility gives banks access to additional money supply by posting their collectibles from clients as collateral.

In turn, banks may use the cash — denominated in peso, dollar or yen — to extend more loans to their corporate or retail clients and service unexpected withdrawals.

“The continued excess liquidity in the financial system provided banks with options/alternatives for funding sources other than tapping the BSP rediscounting facilities,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

Domestic liquidity rose by 6.6% annually to P16.3 trillion in April, faster than the revised 6.2% expansion in March.

Mr. Ricafort added that banks have the option to raise short-term funding through deposits, interbank loans, and swaps markets, while for longer-term funding, they may tap the capital markets.

Lenders did not borrow from the BSP’s rediscount facility as their overall nonperforming loan (NPL) ratio is still among the lowest since the pandemic, he said.

The banking industry’s soured loans dropped by 9.9% year on year to P414.612 billion in March from P460.458 in the same month last year.

However, this is 0.8% higher than the P411.186 billion in February, based on the latest data from the central bank.

This brought the banking system’s NPL ratio to a four-month high of 3.33% in March, up from 3.31% a month prior but easing from 4.08% in March 2022, BSP data showed.

“Higher interest rates or borrowing costs since last year somewhat slowed down the demand for loans and correspondingly reduced the need for some banks to finance new loan releases,” Mr. Ricafort added.

The Monetary Board had hiked benchmark interest rates by 425 bps from May 2022 to March this year before pausing last month, with the key rate now at 6.25%.

“Improved profitability and capitalization of banks also reduced the need for banks to tap the BSP rediscounting facilities,” Mr. Ricafort said.

JUNE RATES
For June, the applicable rate for peso rediscount loans will be at 7.3605% for 90 loan maturity days and at 7.471% for 91-180 days.

Meanwhile, dollar borrowings will be priced at 7.74050% (1-90 days), 7.76350% (91-180 days), and 7.76350% (181-360 days).

Yen-dominated borrowings will be priced at 2.06000% (1-90 days), 2.07375% (91-180 days), and 2.10300% (181-360 days). — Keisha B. Ta-asan

‘Girl from Ipanema’ singer Astrud Gilberto, 83

June 8, 2023 | 12:01 am

BRASILIA -— Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto, the voice of Bossa Nova whose soft and dreamy version of “The Girl from Ipanema” was an international success in the 1960s, has died at the age of 83, her family said.

Ms. Gilberto died on Monday at her home in Philadelphia, her granddaughter Sofia Gilberto said on social media.

“Life is beautiful, as the song says, but I bring the sad news that my grandmother became a star today and is next to my grandfather Joao Gilberto,” the granddaughter wrote. Guitarist Joao Gilberto, who died in 2019, was Astrud’s former husband and the pioneer composer and songwriter of Bossa Nova, which mixed Brazilian samba music with “cool jazz” in the late 1950s.

He collaborated with US saxophonist Stan Getz in 1963 on the album Getz/Gilberto that popularized the new Brazilian sound worldwide.

Astrud performed the vocals in English, including the duet “The Girl from Ipanema” which became the album’s major hit. Getz/Gilberto won three Grammy Awards including Album of the Year, the first time a jazz album received the accolade.

“The Girl from Ipanema” was the first song the 22-year-old Astrud recorded and launched her career almost by accident. In later interviews, she said she was in the New York studio where Getz and her then-husband were recording and he suggested she do the song as he did not sing in English.

She later moved to the United States, where she toured with Getz, singing Bossa Nova and American jazz standards.

Astrud Weinert was born on March 29, 1940, in Salvador, in the northeastern state of Bahia, to a musical family that moved to Rio de Janeiro when she was a child.

Her first solo album was The Astrud Gilberto Album, released in 1965 and featuring Antonio Carlos Jobim, the Brazilian musician who had written “The Girl from Ipanema” with poet Vinicius de Moraes and played the piano on the Getz/Gilberto original.

She recorded her own compositions in the 1970s in Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Japanese.

American guitarist Steve Van Zandt said in a tweet in tribute that Ms. Gilberto’s “beautiful, natural, untrained vocal genius and unplanned career” influenced other singers from Sade to Lana Del Rey.

Brazilian performer and songwriter Ivan Lins said: “She was one of the main voices of Bossa Nova, the one that was most heard abroad. It had a unique, mellow timbre.”

“The Girl from Ipanema” is one of the most recorded songs in history and has been interpreted by many singers, from Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole to Madonna and Amy Winehouse. — Reuters

ICTSI unit at Port of Karachi offers Pakistan-Australia link

June 8, 2023 | 12:01 am

LISTED port developer and operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) said its unit operating at the Port of Karachi has tied up with a Singaporean shipping line to create a direct service between Pakistan and Australia.

In a press release on Tuesday, ICTSI said its subsidiary Pakistan International Container Terminal Ltd. (PICT) and Singapore’s SeaLand forged the partnership to provide an “easy and efficient” connection between markets in South Asia and Australia.

“We look to provide unmatched supply chain solutions to local and global trade stakeholders. Through our partnership with SeaLead, customers in both Pakistani and Australian markets will benefit through direct port linkages that enable economies to grow,” said PICT Chief Executive Officer Khurram Aziz Khan.

The direct service will be calling at regional ports across Malaysia, Australia, and Pakistan, ICTSI said.

“PICT will remain resilient in its efforts to make this collaboration a successful venture for all stakeholders,” Mr. Khan said.

The service at the Port of Karachi is expected to boost “trade patronage with global customers and cater to growing trade demands,” PICT said.

Its arrival is also seen to help importers and exporters via a speedy and more cost-efficient route, “and eventually allow new businesses and growth areas to emerge within the associated economies.”

The new service will handle shipper-owned and carrier-owned containers, ICTSI said, adding that it is also seen to provide the trade allies of PICT with an industrial edge.

“With Pakistan as a commercial hub connecting several geographical regions, the PICT-SeaLead partnership will boost the country’s foreign trade through the enhanced and efficient access to and from Australian markets,” it said.

ICTSI has a portfolio of terminals and projects in developed and emerging market economies in Asia Pacific, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Putting out fires

June 8, 2023 | 12:01 am

man-burning newspaper — NIJWAM SWARGIARY-UNSPLASH

PUTTING OUT wildfires serves to teach lessons on how to handle their metaphorical counterpart in media. Forest fires like those that break out in California are doused with thousands of gallons of water, first from fire trucks and then helicopters from above. When already too widespread, fire is fought with fire. The direction of the blaze is computed and the path it will take is intentionally put to the torch to deprive the fiery beast of its fuel, and then just burn itself out.

Damage control in the practice of “reputation management” (formerly just referred to as PR) applies to saving brands and personalities from being scorched. Here are some fire-fighting techniques usually employed.

Deprive the room of oxygen. A reputational attack requires the target to change the subject or make the issue too complicated to follow. For a scandal spreading like wildfire, one strategy then is to confuse the issue and try to put boring material in front of the hungry beast. Just the clarifications alone can turn away the firebrands — are you referring to “primus inter pares”?

Start other fires. This diversionary tactic, like the above involves reeling in more personalities rather than issues. This allows the original group to get some breathing space as the media frenzy feeds on new targets. The intended reaction to more personalities in the picture is a conclusion that the whole forest (maybe even the whole country) is on fire. The differentiation between good and evil becomes blurred as everyone on the front page is tarred with some sort of scandal — she was the go-between in the transaction.

Deny, deny, deny. Politicians, or celebrities for that matter, panic when they are in the crosshairs of a public scandal. Their first reaction is denial — you know who I am. I am not capable of this scam I’m being accused of. This denial strategy of “this will all go away” is the default option when the crisis is just starting. It seldom works.

Denial does not stay passive as it evolves into aggression. The aggressive version turns the table on the accusers and questions their motives. The scandal is thrown back to the accuser, hinting at guilt for similar anomalies being eventually tagged as an even bigger violator. This is notable in dealing with drug pushers — there are bigger syndicates out there.

Appoint a spokesperson not involved in the mess. As reputational attacks now involve legal messes, lawyers are now increasingly employed to serve as human shields. They no longer limit themselves to their clients’ protestations of innocence, they too climb the bandwagon of obfuscation whose aim is to confuse the issue, trying their best to put the accusers on trial by publicity. They are masters of delaying tactics — we are awaiting the decision of the court on the evidence presented. This is a variation of “no comment.”

While a decade ago, the preferred method of attack and counterattack was the use of privilege speeches in the legislative halls or the employment of defenders (and attackers) among traditional media (including radio), the preferred channel nowadays is social media. “Troll farms” don’t grow vegetables but turn people into them.

“Influencers” are the new opinion makers. They even consider celebrities passé. If we ask you to name the top three influencers, you would not be able to summon even a single name. This was not true for the old-style columnists, especially those with a daily pulpit in a mass-circulation broadsheet or tabloid. Not even talk shows now are utilized for firefighting. Remember those contentious debate-style formats with a moderator to reduce the saliva sprays?

The effectivity of firefighting is measured in terms of the targets getting fewer media mentions as former accusers loom larger as culprits themselves, with their holier-than-thou stance fraying as their online defenders abandon them.

Dousing fires relies on running out of fuel. The news items change with the usual foreign incursions of ships in Philippine waters and the hosing of fishermen, or the coming of a super typhoon. With all the noise generated by both accusers and accused (changing places now and then) the social media frenzy just loses momentum. The fire can just burn itself out with the absence of fuel.

Reputational risk is a major concern of fire-fighters as well as those who start fires for personal profit. This used to be called extortion. Now it’s just the stuff of social media and online tabloids.

Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda

ar.samson@yahoo.com

Google’s AI to power virtual travel agent from Priceline

June 8, 2023 | 12:01 am

WANT a New York hotel near a Christmas market, a vegan restaurant, or another attraction?

Look no further than artificial intelligence (AI) from Google at Priceline as early as this summer, the companies told Reuters.

The online travel agency, part of Booking Holdings, aims to debut a more sophisticated chatbot for planning trips, as well as hotel suggestions that are like “a personal concierge” tailored to users, said Martin Brodbeck, Priceline’s chief technology officer.

“You can easily find out that in Bryant Park there’s a Christmas market that runs from early November all the way through the beginning of January when you’re actually booking your hotel,” he said.

New tools from Google’s cloud division give Priceline access to generative AI, like the technology behind ChatGPT that can draft text as if a human wrote it. The tools also extract information such as hotel prices from existing data to ensure accuracy.

For Google, drawing business through AI represents a potential way to close the gap with rivals Amazon and Microsoft, as it has long been a distant No. 3 provider of cloud services like data storage.

For Priceline, the embrace of novel technology on its website may help it vie with myriad platforms that market travel options, some of which are exploring how consumers react to AI.

Its rival Expedia Group said ChatGPT would power conversations on a smartphone app. That is giving travelers “inspiration on places to go” and booking options, said Rathi Murthy, its chief technology officer.

Both Expedia and Kayak, another site owned by Booking Holdings, have integrated their travel suggestions through features in the standalone ChatGPT program as well.

And Google itself has long represented competition for Priceline, though Mr. Brodbeck said its cloud capabilities were what led to the partnership.

The ability to build applications atop generative-AI that Google pioneered has attracted recent business, said Thomas Kurian, Google Cloud’s CEO.

“There is a kind of a Cambrian moment happening now where there’s an explosion of this technology,” Kurian told Reuters, referring to the extraordinary prehistoric period when a wide array of new species emerged.

He declined to answer how free corporate previews were affecting Google Cloud’s profitability.

Google’s AI will generate coding suggestions for hundreds of software developers at Priceline, said Brodbeck. Priceline will adopt Google’s search capabilities for employee intranets. And Google’s AI will speed up marketing for trending destinations.

“You could have it create images like a beautiful beach, and you could marry that with great generative-AI copy,” Brodbeck said. — Reuters