ABS-CBN Corp. has seen its attributable net loss for the first quarter of the year narrow to P1.38 billion from a loss of P1.95 billion the previous year.
The company’s total revenues for the quarter climbed 18.6% to P4.65 billion from P3.92 billion in the same period in 2021, its first-quarter report showed. Its total expenses remained at P5.77 billion.
ABS-CBN’s advertising revenues increased 59.8% to P1.49 billion from P929 million previously, while consumer sales grew 5.8% to P3.17 billion from P2.99 billion.
The company said the increase in advertising revenues is attributable to both political placements and growth in regular advertising as it continues to expand its coverage through partnerships.
“Consumer sales increased by P174 million mainly resulting from the licensing and syndication of the company’s films and programs library,” it noted.
As of March 31 this year, ABS-CBN’s total consolidated assets stood at P53.4 billion, 1.5% higher than total assets of P52.6 billion as of Dec. 31, 2021.
The company said its net debt-to-equity ratio was at 1.45x and 1.46x as of March 31 this year and Dec. 31, 2021, respectively.
Under President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s government, lawmakers who supported him rejected the franchise application of ABS-CBN, the former rival of GMA Network, Inc. in the broadcasting space.
The House of Representatives committee on legislative franchises deemed the broadcast network critical of Mr. Duterte and “undeserving” of the privilege.
“Despite the non-renewal of the company’s franchise, ABS-CBN remained committed in producing meaningful and quality content to continue to be of service to the Filipino worldwide,” the company said.
It launched in 2020 its Kapamilya Channel on cable TV, and subsequently, its digital streaming channel Kapamilya Online Live.
“On Oct. 6, 2020, a new milestone was again reached by ABS-CBN where it was able to secure a partnership with Zoe Broadcasting to blocktime ABS-CBN’s programs under the Channel 11 A2Z. These initiatives allowed ABS-CBN to be welcomed back to Filipino households. Launching these platforms allowed the company to generate P1.5 billion in advertising revenues in the first quarter of 2022,” the company said.
ABS-CBN shares closed 3.03% higher at P10.20 apiece on Monday. — Arjay L. Balinbin
ABS-CBN and PCCW’s pan-regional OTT video streaming service Viu will stream the Philippine adaptation of the Korean thriller Flower of Evil (2020) in 16 markets across Asia, the Middle East, and South Africa.
The series is the first Viu Original Adaptation from the Philippines, and it stars Lovi Poe and Piolo Pascual.
The series is Ms. Poe’s first drama series with the network since joining ABS-CBN in September 2021, and Mr. Pascual’s first drama series in four years.
“The way we adapted it is very Pinoy,” Mr. Pascual said of the series during an online press launch on May 23. “At the end of the day, it’s not about copying but coming up with something new.
“Projects, when they come, you just take it as they are, so I never wanted to compare any of my work to anything else…,” Mr. Pascual added. “It’s a matter of accepting the whole story and portraying something na hindi mo pa nagawa (which you have not done before).”
“I’m really grateful,” Ms. Poe said of the opportunity to work with Mr. Pascual. “This is my first [Kapamilya] show and I’m paired up with someone who is really amazing, and really genuine and nice.”
INVESTIGATING A SERIAL KILLER Flower of Evil follows a couple and their daughter. However, the wife and daughter are unaware that the man has successfully changed his identity to hide a scandalous past. His wife, who is a police detective, is then tasked with investigating an unsolved serial murder case that leads her to the man she married.
“You give them the benefit of the doubt first and then that’s when you’re being a detective comes to figure things out,” Ms. Poe said of her role.
“This latest offering puts Filipino talent front and center in the way we do storytelling, supported by a powerhouse cast and a world-class production team,” Viu Philippines’ Country Manager Arianne Kader-Cu said in a statement.
“Our partnership with Viu on the local adaptation of Flower of Evil is a major milestone for ABS-CBN Entertainment. This is an opportunity for us to showcase excellent Filipino content and talent to the global audience in the 16 markets of Viu,” ABS-CBN Entertainment’s Chief Operating Officer for Broadcast Cory Vidanes said in a statement.
“Our local adaptation of the Korean hit love story Flower of Evil, a compelling and powerful narrative on love for family, search for truth and justice, is the unanimous choice to open our regional partnership with Viu,” Ms. Vidanes added.
Also in the cast are Agot Isidro, Edu Manzano, Denise Laurel, Joross Gamboa, Joem Bascon, Epy Quizon, Rita Avila, Jett Pangan, Pinky Amador, Joko Diaz, and JC de Vera.
ABS-CBN and Viu’s collaboration aims to bring premium Asian entertainment to more viewers worldwide. The partnership began in March with the streaming of ABS-CBN’s adaptation of the BBC One drama series The Broken Marriage Vow.
Flower of Evil is currently in production and is scheduled to premiere in June. It will stream on Viu 48 hours before its domestic television broadcast. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman
AS THE PHILIPPINES starts to recover from the pandemic-caused recession, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) plans to hike the minimum capital requirement of rural banks in a bid to strengthen and enhance the capacity of these small lenders which could spell the doom for some of them.
In a draft circular, the central bank sought to raise the minimum capital requirements for rural banks to P60 million (head offices and banks with less than five branches) up to P200 million (more than five branches). This excludes the lenders’ branch-lite units.
Under the current regulations, rural banks and cooperatives must have a minimum capitalization of P10 million to P200 million depending on the location and number of branches.
The planned adjustment of required capital for smaller banks forms part of the initiatives under the Rural Bank Strengthening Program (RBSP), which was approved by the Monetary Board last March 3.
The RBSP was developed to enhance the operations, capacity, and competitiveness of rural banks. It is composed of four key elements: strengthened capital base; holistic menu of five time-bound tracks, all aimed at ensuring that rural banks that continue to operate have adequate capital to support their operations and effectively comply with regulatory expectations; incentives and capacity building interventions to promote successful undertakings; and review and enhancements of existing regulations to ensure consistency in policy approach and direction.
Under the strengthened capital base, the central bank created five tracks under the program that would encourage the promotion of a strong capital base for banks. These five tracks were merger/consolidation; acquisition/third-party investment; voluntary exit/upgrade of license; capital-build up program; and supervisory intervention.
Furthermore, this program aims to aid the challenges that rural banks’ face in terms of enhancing their risk management systems; upgrading resources and managing operational costs; meeting prudent standards; and accelerating digital transformation, among others.
INCLUSION INTERRUPTED? With its primary objective of meeting credit needs and providing affordable financial services to the rural population of farmers, fishermen, and merchants, the new minimum capital requirement would push the rural banks to close their doors.
This move of the regulators will stunt the financial inclusion initiatives in the rural areas, Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines President Albert T. Concha, Jr. said.
“We find the proposed amounts too high given the BSP concerns that the increase in capital seeks to address… The increase should be aligned to the needs and realities of each rural bank,” Mr. Concha said in an e-mail interview.
Mr. Concha said the rural banks’ hiking of minimum capitalization should not be across the board, but should consider each lender’s market availability, local economy, and operational requirements.
“A look at the annual 2019 to 2021 per capita local GDP (gross domestic product) shows that an increase of the requirement to P60 million and P200 million is unwarranted as the local economic activity cannot support said capital and the market to lend to simply does not exist,” he said.
The current RBSP is “better” compared to the previous strengthening programs in the past, except for the proposed hike in minimum capitalization requirement, Mr. Concha said.
Further, he expressed concerns on the deadline that was given to them for the compliance of amended minimum requirement, noting that “rural banks are still recovering from the losses of the pandemic and the timeframe proposed of three years is too short a time to work on capital buildup of that amount.”
For her part, Guagua Rural Bank, Inc. Chief Operations Officer Elizabeth C. Timbol said it would be wise for the BSP to extend the compliance period to 10 years to give rural banks ample time to raise a large amount to meet the new minimum capital.
“For if the smaller banks become big, they will surely cater to larger markets and the unbanked market will no longer be reached and will then remain unbanked,” Ms. Timbol said in an e-mail.
Rural banks shall be given three years from the draft circular’s effectivity to meet the revised minimum capital requirements.
There were 15.90 million rural bank depositors as of end-March with a total of 16.23 million accounts, central bank data showed. The bulk of them — around 13.91 million — have account values amounting to P5,000 and below.
“With account values falling below P5,000 per depositor and the limited number of depositors available per community, we highly doubt that commercial or thrift banks would be interested to open and operate branches where single-unit rural banks have decided to close shop,” Mr. Concha said.
“This will stunt the financial inclusion initiatives in the countryside,” he said.
Early this year, the BSP has launched a six-year financial inclusion plan that aims to onboard unbanked adult Filipinos who belong to small businesses and agriculture sectors. The National Strategy for Financial Inclusion 2022-2028 is an update to a similar plan in 2015. The central bank eyes to onboard 70% unbanked Filipinos by 2023.
Notably, Ms. Timbol commended the program which sought to boost the resilience of rural banks in the countryside.
“The rural banking industry has always been resilient especially during challenging times, and we remain relevant in the respective communities we serve. With the BSP’s RBSP, it aims to provide strategic and policy direction in developing a sustainable capacity-building program for the RB (rural bank) industry. Our mandate to help develop the countryside and literacy for all Filipinos is close to our hearts,” Ms. Timbol said.
In terms of developments in digitization efforts of rural banks, according to Mr. Concha, some of rural banks has embraced online mobile banking and the National Retail Payment System — a policy and regulatory framework that aims to provide direction in carrying out retail payment activities through BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs).
Meanwhile, a large number of rural banks have adapted technology in its back office, altering its core banking systems, digitization of records, and accelerating its internet connectivity.
“We continue to support the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME’s), farmers and fisherfolk, and with rural banks going digital, we enjoin the local government units in the disbursement and collection of payments through our digital platforms. We continue to be strong partners with the government in promoting financial inclusion even in far flung areas in the countryside,” Ms. Timbol said.
IMMINENT CLOSURES However, Mr. Concha expressed a gloomy outlook with the amendment of capital requirement, citing possible closures of multiple rural banks in the countryside.
“With RBSP and the increased capital stock requirement, if implemented in its current form of P60 million, we foresee many single unit RBs to voluntarily surrender their licenses and severely crippling access to banking and credit in the countryside,” he said.
Since the start of the pandemic, the BSP has closed a total of 21 rural banks while two rural banks voluntarily surrendered their banking licenses. Meanwhile, the regulator has processed 18 transactions for mergers, consolidations, and acquisitions — nine of these were rural banks.
In addition, a total of 30 rural banks have undergone mergers and consolidations under its previous program, the Consolidation Program for Rural Banks (CPRB). Of the 30 rural banks, 16 have been absorbed by thrift banks while the rest were merged with other rural banks.
Amid the challenges that the rural banks are facing, Ms. Timbol expects the rural banking industry to be more secure and strong. However, she believes that the new minimum capitalization requirement should not be the priority in these times when the local economy is still in the recovery period from the impact driven by the global pandemic.
“The rural banking industry will definitely be more stable and will continue to be a strong partner of the government in promoting growth and development in the countryside. With the assistance of the BSP, rural banks are poised for greater heights in bringing credit to the underbanked and developing entrepreneurial activities in the countryside,” she said.
“However, this is not the best time to impose increase in capitalization while everyone is recovering from the pandemic because many RBs, especially from the remote areas, need to focus in helping in the countryside development,” Ms. Timbol said. — Mariedel Irish U. Catilogo
ALSONS Consolidated Resources, Inc. (ACR), said in a disclosure on Monday that it will be focusing on advancing the development of two hydroelectric power projects in the Zamboanga Peninsula and Negros Occidental this year.
These are the 21-megawatt (MW) hydro power plant in Zamboanga del Norte, which is being developed by ACR’s Sindangan Zambo-River Power Corp.; and the 42-MW Bago river hydroelectric power plant in Negros Occidental, the company’s first power project outside of Mindanao.
“The Siguil, Sindangan, and Bago river hydro power plants will be the first three of at least eight run-of-river hydroelectric power plants that ACR plans to develop in the years to come,” ACR Executive Vice-President Tirso G. Santillan, Jr. said.
The company’s initial hydro power project, the 14.5-MW Siguil hydro plant in Sarangani province, will be starting commercial operations in the second quarter of 2023.
“This is all in keeping with the Department of Energy’s mandate to ensure that all key areas have access to readily available sources of renewable energy,” Mr. Santillan said.
In 2021, the company’s attributable net income rose 24.4% to P404.56 million from P325.11 million while consolidated revenues increased by 6.2% to P10.05 billion from P9.46 billion.
“Despite a challenging business environment and the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, we managed to achieve higher revenues and net income attributable to parent due to operating efficiencies and cost cutting measures,” ACR Chief Finance Officer Alexander Benhur M. Simon said.
The company said that its 210-MW Sarangani Energy Corp. baseload power plant was a key revenue and income driver, delivering a combined output of 974 gigawatt-hours last year from 952 gigawatt-hours in 2020.
Sarangani Energy currently provides power to key areas in Mindanao, including Sarangani province, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, and Iligan.
In the first quarter of 2022, ACR recorded a 2.9% decline in attributable income to P90.16 million from P92.88 billion a year ago despite a 23.6% rise in revenues to P2.67 billion from P2.16 billion previously.
For the rest of the year, Mr. Simon said, “We expect higher revenues and profit margins as we continue to realize incremental revenues from ancillary services and additional utilization of the available capacity of [Sarangani Energy].”
ACR said that its 100-MW Western Mindanao Power Corp. diesel plant in Zamboanga City was another growth driver for the company.
The plant is the only major power generation facility in the Zamboanga Peninsula. The plant provides power to Zamboanga City and supplies vital ancillary services to stabilize the power grid in Western Mindanao.
ACR has a portfolio of four power facilities with an aggregate capacity of 468 MW serving over eight million people in 14 cities and 11 provinces.
At the stock exchange, ACR shares remained unchanged at P1.01 apiece on Monday. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
LOS ANGELES — Tom Cruise may have pulled off one of the most daring stunts of his career — getting audiences to go to the movies for something that doesn’t involve superheroes.
Top Gun: Maverick pulled in blockbuster ticket sales in its opening weekend, collecting $134 million from a record 4,732 North American cinemas. Paramount and Skydance’s all-American action adventure is expected to collect $151 million through Monday, defying expectations while also setting a new high-water mark for Memorial Day opening weekends. That’s thanks to dazzling reviews, heaping doses of nostalgia and getting Mr. Cruise back in the cockpit to perform real aerial stunts as pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.
Top Gun: Maverick is the highest-grossing debut in Mr. Cruise’s 40-year career, and his first to surpass $100 million on opening weekend. War of the Worlds, which opened to $64 million in 2005, previously stood as Cruise’s biggest opening weekend.
Audiences over 40 years old, the people who were top of mind when Paramount greenlit a sequel to 1986’s Top Gun, turned out in force, which is impressive because that demographic has been the most reluctant to return to theaters. The film’s positive word of mouth should be helpful in reaching younger audiences, who were not alive when Top Gun opened 36 years ago.
David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, called the film’s three-day figure “outstanding.”
“The source material remains strong, the execution is excellent, and Tom Cruise makes it work impeccably well,” he says.
Top Gun: Maverick continues a stellar box office streak for Paramount, marking the studio’s fifth movie this year to open in first place. Without the assistance of comic books or raging dinosaurs, the studio’s 2022 slate — also consisting of Sonic the Hedgehog ($182 million in North America), The Lost City ($100 million in North America), Scream ($81 million in North America), and Jackass Forever ($57 million in North America) — has resonated in theaters in a big way. It’s an impressive rebound since Paramount hardly released any movies during the pandemic, instead sending big titles like Chris Pratt’s The Tomorrow War, director Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7, and Eddie Murphy’s Coming 2 America to streaming services.
Despite countless delays (the Top Gun sequel was scheduled to open in the summer of 2020 until COVID-19 scrambled those plans), Mr. Cruise was adamant that “Maverick” not follow in the footsteps of those films. The two-year wait has already started to pay off since the film has been rapturously reviewed. It has a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and an A+ CinemaScore.
Joseph Kosinski directed the PG-13 Top Gun: Maverick, which picks up decades after the original and sees Maverick train a new group of cocky aviators for a crucial assignment. The cast includes Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Connelly, and Val Kilmer, who played Iceman in the first Top Gun.
Top Gun: Maverick also needs theaters to justify its hefty $170 million production budget, which does not include the tens of millions spent on promoting the movie to audiences worldwide. Those efforts included a splashy premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, which culminated with eight fighter jets flying over the Croisette (the French government paid for those). Skydance Media co-produced and co-financed the film. — Reuters
THE GOVERNMENT made a partial award of the Treasury bills it offered on Monday. — BW FILE PHOTO
THE GOVERNMENT partially awarded the Treasury bills (T-bills) it offered on Monday at lower rates as investors flocked to shorter tenors on expectations of more hikes from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the US Federal Reserve.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) awarded just P10 billion in T-bills at its auction on Monday even as total tenders reached P42.88 billion, nearly thrice as much as the P15 billion on offer.
The Treasury made full awards of the shorter 91- and 182-day tenors and rejected all bids for the one-year T-bill as investors wanted higher returns in exchange for keeping their money locked up for a longer duration.
Broken down, the government fully awarded the 91-day T-bills, raising P5 billion as programmed as tenders for the tenor reached P22.34 billion. The average yield of the three-month debt papers was at 1.46%, 21.5 basis points (bps) lower than the 1.675% seen at last week’s auction.
The BTr also raised P5 billion as programmed from the 182-day securities as bids for the tenor reached P14.96 billion. The average rate on the six-month T-bill was at 1.812%, down by 8 bps from the 1.892% fetched at the previous auction, where the government made a partial award of the tenor.
The 91- and 182-day tenors fetched yields of 1.4533% and 1.7681% at the secondary market before Monday’s auction.
Lastly, the Treasury rejected all bids for its P5-billion offer of one-year T-bills even as bids reached P5.58 billion. Had the government made a full award, the average rate of the one-year tenor would have been at 2.716%, 67.59 bps higher than the 2.0401% fetched at the secondary market prior to the auction, based on the PHP Bloomberg Valuation Reference Rates published on the Philippine Dealing System’s website.
National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said in a Viber message to reporters that the BTr made a full award of the 91- and 182-day tenors as they were over twice oversubscribed and fetched lower rates.
Ms. De Leon said they rejected all bids for the 364-day securities due to “tepid demand and unacceptable rates” as the market priced in expectations of hikes by the BSP and the Fed in their bids for the longest T-bill tenor on offer.
The first trader likewise said demand for the one-year T-bill was weak amid rate hike fears.
“Despite the prospects of higher policy rates in June, yields for the 91- and 181-day [T-bills] eased. I think most investors continued to be on wait-and-see and just prefer to park cash in short-term investments while waiting for firm leads,” the second trader said.
The BSP is likely to raise key interest rates by another 25 bps at its next policy review on June 23, its chief said last week.
“We are probably inclined to have another 25-basis-point adjustment on our next Monetary Board meeting which is on June 23,” BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said.
The BSP raised benchmark interest rates by 25 bps on May 19, marking its first hike since November 2018, as it tries to temper rising inflationary pressures.
The Monetary Board increased the key policy rate by 25 bps to 2.25%. Interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities were also hiked by 25 bps to 1.75% and 2.75%, respectively.
At that meeting, the central bank upwardly revised its average inflation forecast for 2022 to 4.6% from the previous forecast of 4.3%, exceeding the 2-4% target band. For 2023, the BSP’s inflation forecast was hiked to 3.9% from 3.6% previously.
Inflation climbed to 4.9% in April, the highest in more than three years.
Meanwhile, all participants of the Fed’s May 3-4 policy meeting backed a half-percentage-point rate increase to combat inflation that they agreed had become a key threat to the economy’s performance and was at risk of racing higher without action by the central bank, Reuters reported.
This month’s 50-basis-point hike in the Fed’s benchmark overnight interest rate was the first of that size in more than 20 years and “most participants” judged that further hikes of that magnitude would “likely be appropriate” at the Fed’s policy meetings in June and July, according to the minutes released last week.
The BTr wants to raise P250 billion from the domestic market in June, or P75 billion through T-bills and P175 billion from Treasury bonds.
The government borrows from local and external sources to help plug a budget deficit capped at 7.7% of gross domestic product this year. — T.J. Tomas with Reuters
In recognizing the part of the banking industry to pursue sustainable financing or green financing in the country, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has released the Philippine Sustainable Finance Roadmap and Sustainable Finance Guiding Principles to serve as the foundation in promoting successful strategies in implementing sustainable finance in the country.
Banks were all encouraged to study and apply all the guidelines written in the roadmap to improve the banks’ process in adopting sustainable finance in their investment activities that will not only give sustainability-positive outcomes and investible returns but also environmental safety and considerations.
The roadmap, launched in October last year, formed a comprehensive approach that will serve as the foundation for effective strategies to facilitate the mainstreaming of sustainable finance in the country. Meanwhile the guiding principles establishes a common understanding among various stakeholders of the economic activities considered “sustainable.”
BANKS ROLE ON SUSTAINABLE FINANCING According to the International Capital Market Association, sustainable finance “incorporates climate, green, and social finance while also adding wider considerations concerning the longer-term economic sustainability of the organizations that are funded, as well as the role and stability of the overall financial system in which they operate.”
Sustainable finance has been implemented across the financial system due to its economic benefits with the environment. Some banks have already invested even before the roadmap was released several years ahead.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) believes that good sustainable practices are a key pillar of responsible lending which impacts on the environment and communities. RCBC’s Sustainability Report is in response to the BSP’s call for financial institutions to be enablers of environmentally and socially responsible business decisions.
“RCBC is a pioneer in sustainable financing. Its environmental and social management system (ESMS) and its own Sustainable Finance Framework are aligned with the strategic pillars of the sustainable financing Roadmap and Guiding Principles,” the bank said in an e-mail.
The lender said it has implemented its ESMS since 2011, several years ahead of the central bank’s issuance for the banks to incorporate sustainability principles into their operations. It developed its own sustainable finance framework in 2019.
RCBC issued the first Peso Green and Sustainability bonds under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Sustainability Framework and the first US Dollar Sustainability bond by a Philippines corporate or bank issuer. This year, RCBC was the first bank in the Philippines to offer a Peso Green Time Deposit. All of these products offer market rates of interest. Proceeds are allocated to refinancing of the Bank’s green and social asset portfolio, thus guaranteeing investors of environmentally and socially positive outcomes.
“Since the implementation of RCBC’s Sustainable Finance Framework in 2019, RCBC has issued $1.4 billion in sustainable financing instruments, which attracted strong demand from investors all over the world. The P17.87 billion issuance in March 2021 was the only peso-denominated sustainability bond to be issued in the country in 2021 and the largest bond issuance in RCBC’s 61-year banking history,” added RCBC.
According to RCBC, these sustainable investments are offered to companies or individuals who are looking to place their funds into assets that help protect the environment with socially positive outcomes, and the economic impact or pricing was never the motivation for the issuance of these sustainable financing instruments.
“Although, it has been recently observed that there is a small pricing benefit particularly in offshore markets — this is the result of investors wanting to increase the share of these assets in their portfolios and funds dedicated solely to sustainable assets,” RCBC said.
Meanwhile, Maybank Philippines, Inc. (MPI) is poised and has adopted sustainable financing, being part of the Bank’s environmental social and governance (ESG) framework in their business agenda.
“MPI is leveraging on the roadmap and activities of our parent bank and its sustainability office, being the forerunner in sustainable finance/ESG in the region.
It has made the following sustainability commitments:
a.) Mobilization of 50 billion Malaysian ringgit (MYR or about $1.14 billion) in sustainable finance by 2025;
b.) Improving and the lives of one million households across ASEAN by 2025;
c.) Achieving a carbon neutral position for scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 and net zero carbon equivalent position by 2050; and
d.) Achieve one million hours per annum on sustainability & delivering one thousand significant sustainable development goals (SDG)-related outcomes by 2025.
“Maybank Group’s focus is to integrate ESG principles into the prevailing risk management strategies as well as to bring impact to all stakeholders, internal and external,” MPI Chief Risk Officer Rajagopal Ramasamy said in an e-mail.
Mr. Ramasamy said that there seems to be lack of awareness on the benefits of sustainable products, though this is viewed as not of higher risk compared to other financial instruments.
“This misperception may result in negative outcome amongst investors on green financing. Educating stakeholders on benefits of ESG/sustainable financing is crucial, thus MPI has outlined, conducted and committed to various learning and client engagement initiatives to support our sustainability agenda,” Mr. Ramasamy said.
Mr. Ramasamy said that sustainability shall be embedded in business process for positive economic impact. He added that there are larger market opportunity for sustainable financing, and various elements could be incorporated to offer attractive sustainable financing solutions. Markets that are already into sustainable businesses with embodied ESG principles and players in transition towards sustainable businesses can be the target.
“Rate of return remains to be a primary objective of any investors. Hence, it is important for lenders to demonstrate to the investors the advantage in such instruments towards environment, ecosystem, and community without diminishing monetary returns,” Mr. Ramasamy said.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT Banks plan to develop or further its involvement in green financing and develop specific strategies of action for this segment this year or in the future.
RCBC intends to provide further support for renewable energy (RE) by tapping 12 RE projects, with a combined capacity of 1.6 gigawatts (GW) in the next two years. This goal supports its public commitment to cease funding for the construction of new coal power plants (since December 2020) and gradually taper off its P42 billion coal exposure until full maturity in 2031. Since 2012, the Bank has supported around 3 GW of RE projects.
MPI will provide funding to RE-related activities and projects while reducing exposures to non-renewable energy investments such as coal-fired power plants.
MPI will also finance related businesses in the value chain financing promoting ESG. Help counter rapid global warming by supporting activities leading to net-zero carbon emissions.
According to MPI, the Maybank Group has achieved 13.6 billion Malaysia ringgit in sustainable financing to date, with 6.1 billion Malaysia ringgit worth of green buildings accounting for the largest segment. It has played a role in the world’s first Islamic Green Financing in Singapore and in the first Malaysian Sustainability Sukuk.
“Maybank Philippines plans to play similar role in the Philippines for in the area of green financing, both at corporate and retail markets,” Mr. Ramasamy said. — Lourdes O. Pilar
SEMIRARA Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) has remitted P5.9 billion in government royalty to the Department of Energy, which the listed energy company described as “the highest in its corporate history.”
“We had an exceptionally strong start, so much so that in three months, we surpassed our previous full-year royalty payments,” said SMPC President and Chief Operating Officer Maria Cristina C. Gotianun in a statement on Monday.
The record amount, which is nearly nine times more than the P656 million a year ago, comes as the company registered all-time-high coal shipments and average selling prices.
Of the P5.9 billion remitted to the Energy department as the government share, more than P3.5 billion will be retained by the national government.
The rest of the amount will go to the host local government units of SMPC’s mine site. Antique province will receive P476 million while Caluya town and Brgy. Semirara will receive around P1.1 billion and P833 million, respectively.
Local government units are entitled to a 40% share of royalty proceeds from petroleum, coal, geothermal, hydrothermal and wind resources, as called for by the Local Government Code of 1991.
Last year, SMPC said it paid a total of P5.4 billion to department “as improved coal output and favorable market conditions allowed the company to ship more coal at elevated prices.”
SMPC, the country’s largest coal producer, describes itself as the only vertically integrated power generator in the country that produces its own fuel. It supplies coal to local power plants, cement factories and other industrial facilities.
On Monday, shares in the company rose 1.36% or 45 centavos to close at P33.50 apiece.
CCP screens classic films Macho Dancer, Manila By Night for free
LOOK back at the socio-political landscape of the 1980s Manila through the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Arthouse Cinema’s back-to-back screenings of National Artist for Film Lino Brocka’s Macho Dancer and National Artist for Film Ishmael Bernal’s Manila By Night on June 3, starting at 2 p.m., at the Tanghalang Manuel Conde. Macho Dancer follows the story of a handsome teenager from the mountains who journeys to Manila in an effort to support his family after he was abandoned by his American lover. With a popular call boy as his mentor, Paul enters the glittering world of the macho dancer. Mr. Brocka captured a world of male strippers, prostitution, drugs, sexual slavery, police corruption and murder in this classic film. In Manila By Night, the hidden nightlife of ordinary people living in Manila is unveiled. Lovers and families’ conflicts are radically pitted against each other as they live in the night streets rampant with drugs and prostitution. The outstanding narrative explicitly unravels the various characters and episodes. This landmark film by Ishmael Bernal depicts the darkness of city life so vividly that it was once prohibited to use the word “Manila” on its title. To watch the films, pre-register through this link: https://bit.ly/38RCR03. The film screenings celebrate the National Heritage Month, and commemorate Mr. Bernal’s death anniversary on June 2.
GMA premieres sports-oriented seriesBolera
GMA ENTERTAINMENT Group sets out to prove that women can rise to the top and become champions with hard work, skill, and talent in its newest primetime series, Bolera. Directed by Dominic Zapata and Jorron Lee Monroy, the story follows Joni (Kylie Padilla), a billiard prodigy who was taught to play by her father, a former billiard champion. But when her father dies, it is up to her to support her family, and playing billiards is suddenly the last thing on her mind. Joining Padilla in the series are Rayver Cruz, Jak Roberto, Gardo Versoza, Joey Marquez, Al Tantay, and Jaclyn Jose. Bolera airs on weeknights at 8:50 p.m. after First Lady on GMA Telebabad.
Tate McRae releases debut album
SINGER, songwriter, and dancer Tate McRae has released her debut album, i used to think i could fly ,via RCA Records/Sony Music. The album features writing collaborators and producers like Greg Kurstin, Finneas, Charlie Puth, Alexander 23, Blake Slatkin, Louis Bell and more. The album includes the already released tracks “feel like shit,” “she’s all i wanna be,” “chaotic,” “what would you do?” and more. Ms. McRae’s latest single, “she’s all i wanna be,” has over 230 million streams and is currently in the Top 12 on the Top 40 chart. Ms. McRae just wrapped her 2022 North American Tour and is currently performing in the European Union with dates in the UK and Australia later this summer. Starting in September, she will tour as the special guest on Shawn Mendes’ Wonder: The World Tour 2022. The new album is available on all digital music platforms.
EJ DE Perio releases first single
FILIPINO singer-songwriter EJ De Perio defies the concept of perpetuity on “Panandalian,” his first official single under Sony Music Philippines. Featuring laid-back acoustic guitars and minimal instrumentation, the ballad asserts his sentiment that despite the uncertainty of the future, there will always be one person who is willing to stick with you through thick and thin. “I wrote ‘Panandalian’ out of the realization that nothing’s gonna last forever, and everything must come to an end,” Mr. De Perio said in a statement. “The song is about preparing yourself for the inevitable change, and making sure to protect that one person who is willing to keep things the same way — even if everything around you is constantly evolving.” The stripped-down track is produced by fellow singer-songwriter Migz Haleco.“Panandalian” is available on all digital music platforms worldwide.
Kangdaniel releases new album
K-POP ICON KANGDANIEL marks a return to music-making with the release of his new full-length album, The Story. Featuring 10 songs co-written by the Korean pop singer, the record chronicles stories from his own perspectives and experiences. “I want to tell the stories as a storyteller,” the South Korean artist said in a statement. “I would be grateful if you just enjoy and feel relaxed with The Story. I hope you like it.” The Story is his first full-length album, and follows the release of his chart-topping EP, Yellow, which is certified platinum in South Korea. KANGDANIEL’s new album also includes collaborations with some of the biggest names in K-Pop: Korean-American singer/rapper Jessi on “Don’t Tell,” sokodomo on “How We Love,” and Dbo on “Loser.”The Storyis available on all digital music platforms worldwide.
MORE FILIPINOS became part of the financial system through basic deposit accounts (BDAs) as of December last year, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
Data from the central bank showed BDAs rose by 19% to 7.9 million in the last quarter of 2021 from 6.6 million in the same period a year earlier.
The total value of BDA deposits also increased by 7.6% to P5.1 billion as of end-December 2021 from the P4.7 billion seen a year prior.
“The BDA was created to meet the needs of the unbanked and low-income sector and foster greater financial inclusion,” the BSP said in a press release on Monday.
“Since ownership of an account is an important first step to perform digital payments, BDAs support BSP’s mutually reinforcing goals of financial inclusion and payments digitalization,” the central bank added.
Basic deposit accounts are being offered by 138 banks to date.
The BDA framework was introduced by the central bank in 2018 to encourage more Filipinos to become part of the financial system.
This type of account has a low opening amount capped at P100, no maintaining balance requirement, no dormancy charges, and simple identification requirements.
The lack of valid identification, which hinders account opening, is being addressed by the ongoing registration for national IDs.
Lenders offering BDAs can customize their deposit products by using technological innovations for client application and services.
Based on the 2019 Financial Inclusion Survey, only 29% of adult Filipinos are part of the banked population, leaving some 51.2 million individuals unbanked.
The BSP wants 70% of Filipino adults to have accounts in financial institutions by 2023. — K.B. Ta-asan
IN THE GROWING SPACE of financial technology (fintech), the proliferation of the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) system made its way in the Philippines. The coronavirus disease 2019 (pandemic) accelerated the process of shifting Filipino consumers to digital payment and resulted to its pervasive adoption, particularly in the e-commerce industry.
For those who do not own credit or debit cards, BNPL allows consumers to purchase and pay for them in several installments.
According to the Q4 2021 BNPL Survey by ResearchAndMarkets.com, the Philippines’ BNPL payment is seen to grow by 109.7% year on year to $803.5 million this year. BNPL payment adoption is expected to climb steadily between 2022 and 2028 with a compound annual growth rate of 50.9%.
GEORG STEIGER, chief executive officer and co-founder of First Digital Finance Corp.
One such provider in the country is BillEase. Launched in 2017, it is operated by fintech company First Digital Finance Corp. (FDFC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-headquartered Jin Chan Invest Pte. Ltd. It also operates Balikbayad, a loan app targeting overseas Filipino workers.
BillEase provides a range of in-app services like low-cost cash loans, e-Wallet top-ups, mobile loads, and gaming credits.
FDFC’s revenue more than doubled to P370.41 million last year from P148.83 million in 2020 as interest income from loans jumped during the period. It also earns from loan processing fees and penalties.
Its bottom line, meanwhile, swung to profit last year to P22.57 million a year ago from P23.82 million net loss previously.
Its lending surged last year as loans receivables amounted P667.17 million, 2.6 times more than P258.59 million previously.
BillEase has so far secured $31 million in various funding rounds this year, which will be used to expand its services.
In a statement, FDFC said that the facility is “a further validation of FDFC’s business and the platform their team has built over the past few years and helps to firmly position BillEase as the leading BNPL brand in the Philippines.”
To know more about BillEase, BusinessWorld reached out to Georg Steiger, chief executive officer and co-founder of FDFC, through an e-mail interview. Here is the excerpt:
What is BillEase? Some may not yet be familiar with this BNPL platform and given this, how will you introduce BillEase, which is under FDFC and the leading BNPL brand in the country?
Mr. Steiger: BillEase is a buy now, pay later plus (BNPL+) app. We allow consumers to purchase products and services online and offline through flexible installment plans even without signing up to a credit card or debit card. What makes us different is that customers are not required to top up their account for them to use BillEase as a payment method as we provide instant credit they can use. Unlike other players, we’re not a pure play BNPL. We provide other financial services hence BNPL+. Right now, we offer in-app services such as low-cost cash loans, e-wallet top ups, prepaid, and gaming credits.
What services does BillEase provide or cater to?
Mr. Steiger: We’re catering to mostly millennials and Gen Z cohorts as there is a general trend to move away from credit cards and we see this in other more developed countries. With credit cards, sometimes consumers are tempted to run up a balance and just keep paying interest.
The difference with BillEase is that from the start you already know your monthly payments. So especially if you are new to credit, this is an approach that instills more discipline, and we think is a good way to get started. Our installment plans can range from 3-12 months and due dates are aligned with the customer’s pay days — it’s designed to be a shorter commitment and less of a burden than personal loans offered by banks.
What makes BillEase different from other BNPL providers?
Mr. Steiger: Among the major differentiators of BillEase is our ability to price our products competitively. This is due to our proprietary credit decision technology (machine learning) which we developed over time. We have a strong understanding of customers from the get-go and provide rates that are competitive.
Additionally, for merchant partners, we provide not a one-size-fits-all solution as we provide customizable payment plants. For example, if you’re a grocery or food delivery platform (F&B category) instead of installment payments, we can offer Pay Later which allows you to offer a small credit line that customers can use to pay in 10-20 days or next payday. If you’re an electronics merchant, we can also offer longer financing terms.
Essentially, we can have an adaptive checkout page for retailers and offer the right payment plan for their customers. We’re also the only BNPL with more than five payment gateway partners, which means retailers can easily add our solution on their checkout pages via Dragonpay, Xendit, Paynamics, 2C2P, and Bux.
How would you describe the BNPL services in the current landscape of the Philippines?
Mr. Steiger: The BNPL is the fastest growing space in fintech and more customers are opting to use BNPL when buying online and offline due to its fast and easy UX (user experience)/Sign Up process vs. legacy platforms like credit card or traditional point-of-sale (POS) financing methods. In the Philippines, BNPL is still a nascent industry although the installment concept or “hulugan” has been here for quite some time now.
Were the BNPL platforms already popular in the pre-pandemic era? What propelled them to become prevalent in the country?
Mr. Steiger: Yes, the BNPL industry was on track to become the fastest growing industry and a lot of e-commerce businesses and retailers took notice of its importance in selling and acquiring customers, hence, it became one of the most potent sales optimization tools for many merchants pre-pandemic.
In the first quarter of 2020 and the following months, more businesses realized the importance of BNPL for consumers as the pandemic bites the customers’ income. The pandemic pretty much propelled the growth of the industry five times, and it continues to be on demand post-pandemic era.
How will you describe the progress of these services?
Mr. Steiger: Most providers almost offer the same services with different target niche market and/or pricing models and this is particularly good for the customers. Some other banks/legacy players are also offering this through their credit card products and on the alternative lending space you have Atome, Tendopay, and Home Credit. Most of these alternative players have specific niche target markets.
BillEase has recently secured $20 million through a funding round to expand its BNPL platforms in the country and this was granted by Lendable, an emerging market credit facility. How will you use these funds — bringing the total to $31 million — raised?
Mr. Steiger: Our partnership with Lendable would enable us to further drive our mission to financial inclusion that provides more alternative financial services to Filipino consumers, particularly the younger generation and move people from informal to formal financial sector. The facility granted allows us to expand our loan portfolio which means extended opportunity to provide credit to more customers.
What are BillEase’s upcoming projects that may drive innovation and/or help consumers?
Mr. Steiger: We’re constantly looking for ways to innovate and can’t provide much detail. However, one thing we’re particularly excited about is the launch of our in-store QR (quick response) payment solution. Point-of-sale financing has been traditionally manual e.g., customers have to talk to a financing personnel in stores to apply for a loan. But with our in-store QR payment, customers can easily scan the code, install our app, sign up in less than five minutes, and proceed with the payment of goods and services they’re availing at brick-and-mortar stores. This, we believe will contribute to the goal of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to promote more cashless payments both online and offline.
How does this platform meet the needs of its consumers?
Mr. Steiger: BillEase fulfills the financing needs of the young and upwardly mobile individuals. Our customers are mostly digital natives, often between 25- to 35-year-olds, recent college graduates, early in their career. Given the tedious and strict standards for credit card applications, most of our customers will probably not be interested or qualify, but still want the flexibility to split the purchases into more accommodating monthly installments.
What are the advantages or benefits of this BNPL platform?
Mr. Steiger: BillEase is supportive towards a greater financial inclusion and the formal credit system. All BillEase customers have a credit record in both government and private credit bureau. So far, we think we are the only online platform that supports both government and private credit bureaus. Therefore, with time, and given a good credit record, our customers will be able to more easily access the formal credit system, for example for when they want to buy a car, or maybe get a mortgage for a house, with a positive credit record, the banks will naturally be more accommodating to their applications.
What are the pitfalls or disadvantages of BNPL?
Mr. Steiger: There are some advantages of using BNPLs in general, for example consumers spending impulsively, late payments fees, and minimal credit checks — for some providers which could affect the customers in many ways instead of getting the benefits of the financial product.
From our end, we’re making sure that these are pretty much handled properly. That’s why we always allow customers to choose the installment plan they want and make sure that they’re always on top of their repayments and we manage total exposure based on the customers capability to repay.
With the pervasive use of online shopping or purchases, what regulations can be employed to prevent consumer overspending?
Mr. Steiger: The regulations are fairly placed. If you look at the financing landscape in the past two years, there have been a lot of improvements. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in particular, has been proactively going after unscrupulous players. When it comes to the pitfalls of consumer overspending, we think that an installment product like BillEase where the consumer always has a clear schedule to pay off a purchase compares favorably with credit cards where many consumers run up a balance and then just keep making the minimum payment.
We believe that having a clear timeline to repay is a much better product, especially for customers who are new to credit. Most of our installments are also relatively short term so it does not create a long-term burden for customers.
What are the notable accomplishments that BillEase has done?
Mr. Steiger: Earlier this year, we reached over 1.5 million+ users and/or app downloads and we plan to triple this in the next one to two years as we continue to roll out new products and partnerships. On strategic partnerships, we’ve been able to work with top retailers in the country and five major payment processors, which pretty much put us ahead and allows us to become as ubiquitous as possible for consumers and retailers.
What can consumers expect in the BNPL services in the country? In BillEase, particularly?
Mr. Steiger: If you look at the consumer finance space in the Philippines, this is still a seriously supply-constrained segment. With a consumer lending over a GDP (gross domestic product) ratio of 4.3% (vs., for example, Indonesia with 10%) there is still a lot of pent-up demand — if you can develop the right products to serve this market. For BillEase, customers and merchants can expect more and more product offerings in the coming months.
Anything else you would like to share with us?
Mr. Steiger: So far, we have received very positive feedback from both customers and merchants. Our Play/App Store ratings are currently 4.8/5.0 — one of the highest in the Finance Category. We feel that this is just the start, as we gain momentum, and the increased level of general acceptance towards dealing with online financial solution providers and BNPLs in the Philippines, we are very excited with the potential future developments yet to come from BillEase. Customers see it as a convenient, and safe way to transact online, while also establishing a formal credit record.
Because BillEase was the first online Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) in the market, there is always a natural hesitation at the beginning for fear of the unknown or even potentially fraud. However, as people get more comfortable dealing with online transactions, and with our ever-increasing footprint and visibility, we feel more customers would feel safe and confident in transacting with BillEase. Merchants are happy that their customers can buy what they want and pay for it in a more convenient manner. Our merchant partners have grown close to 1,000 merchants — including some of the country’s biggest names – and we foresee this growth to continue. Our recent partnership with Philippine Airlines and Giordano, KitchenAid, BAYO, Power Mac Center for in-store POS financing are recent examples of our ever-expanding merchant partners. — Abigail Marie P. Yraola
Visit First Digital Finance Corp. website at https://www.firstdigitalfinance.com/ and BillEase at https://billease.ph/ to know more about them.
THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has granted temporary approval to a power supply agreement (PSA) between an energy provider in Occidental Mindoro and an electric cooperative in the same province.
In a statement on Monday, ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Agnes VST Devanadera said the grant of provisional authority to the supply deal “will greatly help alleviate the power shortage within its franchise area.”
The PSA was forged between Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative, Inc. and Occidental Mindoro Consolidated Power Corp. for Mamburao, Paluan, Sta. Cruz, and Abra de Ilog (OMCPC-MAPSA). It will allow the parties to implement an additional power supply of about 7 megawatts (MW).
Occidental Mindoro has a power demand of around 27 MW, but only 20 MW is provided by OMCPC’s bunker-fired diesel power plant in San Jose, located in the southern part of the province, the ERC said. OMCPC is said to be the lone supplier in the area.
As a result, the province has been experiencing rotational power outages of as much as five to six hours per day due to a significant shortage in the available power supply.
The electric cooperative was previously able to source 4 MW of power from a diesel power plant of the National Power Corp. in Mamburao, which is in the northern part of the province. But its supply contract with the state-owned entity expired in December last year, the ERC said, adding that the power plant is no longer available.
“The additional power supply to be sourced from OMCPC-MAPSA will be able to cover the power requirements, particularly in the areas of Mamburao, Paluan, Sta. Cruz, and Abra de Ilog in the Province of Occidental Mindoro, and will help address the supply shortage in the area,” Ms. Devanadera said.
