Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube
Home Blog Page 5242

Alternergy sets P1.87-B maiden listing in March

RENEWABLE energy company Alternergy Holdings Corp. targets to hold on March 24 an initial public offering (IPO) of shares from which it expects to raise up to P1.87 billion to fund ongoing and prospective projects.

According to the company’s amended preliminary prospectus, the maiden listing covers the sale of up to 1.15 billion common shares, with an overallotment option of up to 115 million.

The shares will be sold at an offer price of up to P1.48 apiece, with the company expecting gross proceeds of up to P1.70 billion from the sale of firm shares.

The common shares to be sold are lower than the number previously set by the company in June last year at 1.28 billion with an overallotment option of up to 192.22 million.

Alternergy’s updated prospectus dated Feb. 14, 2023 set the listing of shares on the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on March 24 under the ticker symbol ALTER.

The offer period for the IPO is expected to run from March 13 to 17 subject to the approval of the PSE and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Under its previous prospectus, the company scheduled the IPO’s offer period from Nov. 11 to Nov. 17, 2022, with listing and trading on the main board set on Nov. 25, 2022.

The company received PSE approval of its listing on Feb. 7, 2023. It expects a post-IPO market capitalization of up to P5.82 billion.

Alternergy tapped Investment & Capital Corp. of the Philippines as sole issue coordinator, and as joint issue manager and lead underwriter together with BDO Capital & Investment Corp., while Unicapital, Inc. was assigned as the offering’s co-lead underwriter.

The company expects to use an estimated P564 million or 35% of the P1.62-billion net proceeds for the construction of projects under development, while around P522.19 million or 32% for the payment of acquired Kirahon Solar Energy Corp. shares.

Alternergy will also be using 21% of the net proceeds or P340 million for the pre-development expenses of projects in the pipeline.

For projects under development, the company plans to break ground for its Solana solar project and to start early works on its Lamut hydropower project in the first quarter of 2023.

Meanwhile, it is planning to finance through its IPO the pre-development works on its Ibulao hydropower project, Tanay wind project, Alabat wind project, and offshore wind projects estimated to have a capacity of 1,000 megawatts.

Alternergy is led by Vicente S. Perez, Jr., a former secretary of the Department of Energy. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

Pinoy pro-wrestling goes digital-first

PHOTO BY LUIS DEL ROSARIO

By Joseph L. Garcia, Reporter

A WRESTLING ring stands in the abandoned ballroom of a Quezon City dimsum house. This ring, with the sounds of its slams rumbling throughout the building, is the centerpiece of the wrestling academy of Filipino Pro Wrestling (FPW), the first day of which was held on Feb. 4.

“This is the only training facility — well, we call it a facility; it’s barely a facility now — but it’s the only place where you can train in wrestling in an actual wrestling ring in the Philippines,” said standup comedian Red Ollero, who is also president of FPW in an interview at the sidelines of the training session.

FPW comes at the heels of PWR (Philippine Wrestling Revolution), which closed during the pandemic. “Offshoot ba siya? Parang hindi eh (Is it an offshoot? It doesn’t look like it),” said Mr. Ollero. He was also president there, and he discussed the various reasons as to why the former wrestling promotion had to be closed. Aside from administrative issues, the pandemic’s restriction on live events meant a loss of ticket sales, despite having to pay for storage for their equipment. “It’s a completely new wrestling promotion,” he said of FPW.

WRESTLING, ONSCREEN
He talks about resurrecting wrestling, albeit in a different format. “Live events are back,” he said, but FPW will bring back wrestling in a digital-forward format. “The business model is going to be primarily digital. The live events, they just exist so we can tape content. It’s going to be primarily, a content creation house.” They have partnered with Transcend Studios, and they see the events in shows being released as weekly episodes on YouTube. “PWR before was primarily focused on live events. When we upload anything digitally, we just uploaded whatever live event we had. Or best matches.”

FPW’s episodic format will include extras like interviews, backstage drama, promos, and all the other things that make pro-wrestling such a compelling, theatrical watch. “We’ve come to an understanding that this needs to be developed, and this needs years of work in it,” said Mr. Ollero. Many of the present wrestlers in FPW’s roster were former PWR players, numbering about 16.

Going digital has its seeds in the pandemic, from Mr. Ollero’s own standup career, which saw him transitioning from live events to holding Zoom comedy shows, and regularly updating his social media sites. “When I was forced to upload digital content, it really not only boosted my content creation side, or my social media sites, but it also drove ticket sales to the live events,” he said. “Before, my thinking was, if I upload sh*t, nobody will watch live anymore — not thinking that if you upload sh*t, more people will watch… I wanted to apply the same learnings to FPW.”

WRESTLING TRAINING
When BusinessWorld arrived at the training academy, the aspiring pro-wrestlers (about 14 of them), were dropping on the mats and practicing how to roll artfully, and, more importantly, safely. These were just one of the drills that day, which saw cardio, with an emphasis on breathing and energy, basic wrestling moves, and ropework. “We’re training for everything to be second nature,” said Mr. Ollero. “If you’re not tired in the ring, you have more control with what you do. At the same time, we want to train you to think and work even if you’re tired. When you’re performing, you never know.”

Speaking of the ring, Mr. Ollero emphasizes why having their own ring is important. In the old days, they once trained on mats and an old boxing ring, which is constructed differently from a wrestling ring. “The boxing ring is not meant for you to fall on,” he said. Wrestling rings are made of wood, and shocks, and about an inch of rebonded foam. “When you take those bumps… a lot of the shock is absorbed,” he said. “It’s built for you to slam on. A boxing ring, no.” The structure of the ropes is also important: in wrestling rings, the ropes are pulled taut, to serve as springs to execute moves. “That’s one of the things that we couldn’t practice on when we were in a boxing ring, because those ropes were soft.”

CHILDHOOD DREAMS AND PUSHING LIMITS
We interviewed some of the aspiring wrestlers in the ring. An 18-year-old girl, still in college, was practicing flips. “It’s been my childhood dream,” said Raichel Mendoza. “It’s satisfying for me. It’s healing my inner self.”

Training will be difficult. They will have to do this every week: besides the physical aspect of it, they will spend workshops building their character and ring persona, until they are deemed to be ready for the ring by the wrestlers and trainers. “It looks easy, but when you’re doing it, it’s hard. You also have to be careful.” said Ms. Mendoza.

Meanwhile, 20-something Quito Castro, who works as a department manager in sports retail, had been playing varsity baseball since he was a boy — and watching wrestling, too. “Test the limits of my body,” he said, when asked about his reasons for joining the academy. “I’ve been fascinated about the physical component of wrestling.”

A lawyer, Nik Gutierrez, would take off his glasses occasionally during workouts, blurred as they were with his sweat. “I’ve been a fan all my life,” he told BusinessWorld. “I grew up in the ’90s. I grew up in the Attitude Era. The Rock, Stone Cold, DX.” One of his friends from grade school went on to become a PWR wrestler, Evan Carleaux. “It was just a dream that someday, one of us would be a wrestler,” he said.

“Personally, I just wanted to try something new. I badly need to exercise,” he said. He said that before entering law school, he had been quite fit, but the demands of a law career made fitness goals less of a priority. “I had the hardest workout in years,” he said about his first day in training. “But it was great. I’m the (least-fit) person here. And I had fun.”

Pro-wrestling’s demanding schedule might see only three or four people remaining from the class by the end of the academy’s run, by Mr. Ollero’s count. “Even if I don’t make it… at least I tried to do something that was impossible during my childhood,” said Mr. Gutierrez. “I was able to do it.”

“There are people who think that you have to be super athletic,” said Mr. Ollero, recalling his own time in the ring as PWR’s Rederick Mahaba. “I came in with a torn knee, and I was like 300+ lbs., and I made it.”

“I think it’s really persistence. You’ve got to have the heart to want it,” he said on what makes a pro-wrestler. “There are people who get impatient. And it hurts. If you train for a long time, and you don’t see the fruits of your labor; if you’re not booked as a wrestler, you will quit. But other people, I think, enjoy it.”

“You just don’t quit.”

FPW’s next show, Astig: The Pilot Taping, will be on Feb. 19 at the Power MAC Center. Tickets are available at ticket2me.net, at P750 (from Feb. 13 to 18) and P1,000 on the day itself.

PLDT to expand its largest data center by 12 MW, build 11th facility

BW FILE PHOTO

THE data center arm of PLDT, Inc. will be expanding the capacity of its largest operational data center by 12 megawatts (MW) to power an additional 1,600 racks.

In a press release, ePLDT, Inc. said it will be increasing the capacity of VITRO Makati 2 (VM2) to 3,360 racks — the framework that houses computing equipment — running on 20 MW total power capacity.

“The expansion of VM2 will enable ePLDT to accommodate additional requirements of existing customers and to keep up with the country’s ever-increasing data center demands,” ePLDT President and Chief Executive Officer Victor S. Genuino said.

“We take pride in the standards and reach we have achieved with our data centers. We will continue to scale and push boundaries to maintain ePLDT’s position as the premier data center hub in the Philippines,” Mr. Genuino added.

The increased capacity is expected to be ready by March to accommodate the surging data center demand in the country, the company said.

“VM2 connects directly to major international cable landing stations in the country, directing massive global data into VITRO’s network,” the company said.

Meanwhile, the company said that it will be building its 11th data center in the Philippines at a 5-hectare lot in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

The new data center, VITRO Sta. Rosa, will have an initial power capacity of 14 MW in early 2024, which ePLDT said will further increase to 50 MW once it is fully operational.

The company described VITRO Sta. Rosa as “the largest and most advanced data center in the country.”

ePLDT is said to operate the widest data center network in the country. It offers a total rack capacity of nearly 10,000 to meet the requirements of local and global enterprises across various key industries. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

New Ant-Man technology transports moviegoers to vivid world

A SCENE from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

LOS ANGELES — Scott Lang, a.k.a. Ant-Man, and his allies return to the big screen on Friday, years after the origin story in 2015’s Ant-Man, cameos in other Marvel films, and the 2018 sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is the first movie in phase five of Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. It takes the superhero and his resizing powers into the Quantum realm, a subatomic world where he meets new challenges.

Directed by Peyton Reed of The Mandalorian fame, the film stars Paul Rudd as Scott/Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne/The Wasp, Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne, and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym. The third installment adds Jonathan Majors as the new antagonist, Kang the Conqueror.

Ms. Lilly’s face lit up when asked about her first time seeing the film set in a circular studio with high-definition panels.

“When we were in the Volume, suddenly there were thousands of LED screens building the world for us, creating the characters for us,” she said.

Reality melted away and brought her into the fantasy world that many children grew up reading about in the Marvel comic books, she noted.

The Volume technology used to bring the set to life is like an LED screen that wraps around an entire soundstage where anything can be projected, Mr. Rudd said.

“It was the most elaborate, unbelievable thing I’ve ever seen, and it does help because it gives you a sense, especially with something like this, where the environment is so specific and so imaginative and unfamiliar.”

Disney artists assembled new environments, creatures, buildings, and an entire internal history and logic to make the Quantum realm come to life.

It was key for Mr. Reed to be able to look at old science fiction books, comic books, heavy metal magazines, movies and things that he loved as a kid and as an adult to populate the Quantum realm.

Mr. Reed told the team’s artists that no idea was too crazy because “anything can happen in the subatomic world.”

At the center of the immersive world, Mr. Majors believed Kang’s role was to inform Scott of what was at stake in the Quantum realm “as well as what they’re really up against.”

Despite the eye-catching technology, most critics have given the film mediocre reviews, resulting in a “rotten” rating of 55% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Nick Schager, entertainment critic for The Daily Beast, wrote that “Rudd gets swallowed up by the consuming CGI insanity of his latest comic book extravaganza,” referring to computer generated imagery. — Reuters

Citicore Holdings subscribes to Megawide capital hike

MEGAWIDE Construction Corp. said on Thursday that its parent firm Citicore Holdings Investment, Inc. is subscribing to at least 25% or P9 million of the listed infrastructure firm’s increased capital stock.

In a regulatory filing, Megawide said that the subscription will be through the execution of a subscription agreement dated Feb. 15.

“[A] payment of 25% of such subscription, amounting to P2.25 million was received by the Company on December 23, 2022,” the construction company said.

This subscription follows the approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission of the increase in Megawide’s total authorized capital stock to P5.116 billion.

According to the company, it received both the certificate of approval of the increase in capital stock and the certificate of filing of amended articles of incorporation from the SEC on Wednesday.

The increase allows the company to issue an additional 36 million cumulative, non-voting, non-participating, non-convertible, perpetual preferred shares at one peso apiece, from the previous 150 million non-voting shares.

On Nov. 4, 2022, the board of directors of Megawide approved the increase in the company’s authorized capital stock and the amendment of article seven of its articles of incorporation.

On the stock exchange on Thursday, shares in Megawide increased by nine centavos or 2.18% to P4.22 apiece. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

1960s-70s screen siren Raquel Welch, 82

RAQUEL WELCH in 1966’s One Million Years B.C.

LOS ANGELES — Actress Raquel Welch, who helped reshape the traditional image of the Hollywood sex symbol in an era when the movie industry was still overtly defining an idealized version of sensuality for mass consumption, died on Wednesday at age 82.

Her death following a brief illness was confirmed in a statement released by her Los Angeles-based manager.

Ms. Welch first grabbed the public’s attention with her role in the 1966 sci-fi adventure Fantastic Voyage, playing a member of a miniaturized medical team injected into the body of an injured diplomat and memorable for the skin-tight diving suit she wore in a scene where she was attacked by antibodies.

Her success in that film was followed by an iconic appearance later the same year in the prehistoric fantasy drama One Million Years B.C. depicting cavemen and women coexisting with dinosaurs.

Although Ms. Welch had just a few lines of dialogue in B.C., still photos of her appearance in a deer-skinned bikini made her a best-selling pinup and a global symbol.

Other screen credits in the late 1960s and early ’70s included starring roles in Bedazzled, Bandolero!, 100 Rifles, and the title roles in Myra Breckinridge and Hannie Caulder.

She won a Golden Globe Award for best actress in a musical or comedy for her performance in the 1973 swashbuckling romp The Three Musketeers.

Her portrayal of strong, willful characters was credited with helping break down stereotypes at a time when the sexual revolution and changing attitudes toward gender roles converged to empower women on screen, even if their looks remained objectified.

“Raquel Welch enters into the arena of the American culture industry in a time when one of the products that rolled off the assembly line of that industry was sex symbol,” said Robert Thompson, a media scholar at Syracuse University and founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture.

“She came to represent a certain kind of sensuality for this culture that Aphrodite did for classical culture,” Mr. Thompson said, adding that Ms. Welch had also been “an accomplished actor … who helped to define the kinds of roles that women could play in a society that had some highly compromised ideas about gender.”

‘BEYOND CLEAVAGE’
Playboy magazine once ranked Ms. Welch No. 3 in its “100 Sexiest Stars of the 20th Century,” and though she posed for the magazine in 1979, she never did a fully nude photo shoot.

In a 2010 memoir and self-help guide titled Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage, she wrote: “I’ve definitely used my body and sex appeal to advantage in my work, but always within limits.”

She added: “I feel strongly that a woman’s mystery is part of her appeal; and the power of the imagination is more potent and provocative than graphic on-camera sex or explicit nudity.”

She played a tough frontier wife out for revenge in Hannie Caulder, a Native American revolutionary with a vendetta in 100 Rifles, and a dressmaker to the queen in The Three Musketeers.

Her title role in the 1970 comedy film Myra Breckinridge, based on the Gore Vidal novel of the same name, stirred controversy around Ms. Welch’s portrayal of a transgender woman who undergoes sex-change surgery and later forcibly sodomizes a man with a strap-on dildo.

The film, a box office flop lambasted by critics and disavowed by Mr. Vidal as “an awful joke,” also featured John Huston, Mae West, Farrah Fawcett, and Rex Reed, among others.

She was born Jo Raquel Tejada in Chicago. Her father was an aeronautical engineer from Bolivia. Her family moved to California when she was young. She later studied ballet before entering a series of beauty contests.

She briefly earned a living as a model and cocktail waitress before applying for film roles and breaking into the movie business with small 1964 roles in the drama A House Is Not a Home and the Elvis Presley musical Roustabout.

She went on to a career spanning more than half a century, appearing in more than 30 films and 50 television series, and as an entrepreneur was involved in a successful line of wigs, HairUWear, as well as a collection of jewelry and skin-care products. — Reuters

PAL taps aviation service provider to automate operations

PHILIPPINEAIRLINES.COM

PHILIPPINE Airlines, Inc. (PAL) signed a digital transformation deal with global aviation software provider Ramco Systems to automate and optimize business operations across the carrier’s network.

In a press release, the airline said Ramco Systems will deploy Aviation Suite V5.9, which will replace standalone legacy systems in PAL and its affiliate PAL Express.

“At PAL, our focus has always been on improving our global network infrastructure and making Philippine Airlines worthy of our customers’ enduring trust and support. This has led us to embark on a transformational journey towards technological upgrades and innovation,” PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Stanley K. Ng said.

The flagship carrier said the partnership is in line with its Accelerated Initiatives for Recoveries and Full Optimization through Innovation and Leadership program, as Ramco will offer end-to-end optimization of maintenance and engineering business processes.

“The addition of Philippines’ national flag carrier to our expanding clientele is a testament to Ramco’s track record as a leading software provider in the airlines segment,” Ramco Chairman P.R. Venketrama Raja said. “As PAL’s tech partners, Ramco will support PAL organization’s mission of service and propel its global expansion plans.”

Ramco’s Aviation Suite has more than 24,000 users that manage over 4,000 aircraft globally. It serves more than 90 aviation organizations around the world. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

PPA expects 7-8% growth in cargo traffic in 2023

THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said it is expecting 7-8% growth in cargoes this year after recording zero congestion and backlog in Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) and Manila South Harbor (MSH) in January.

For 2023, the port regulator is set to come up with more projects and appeal for a pullout of overstaying cargoes to make the needed space in the ports.

“We’re still optimistic, we are looking at a 7-8% growth this year as far as cargo traffic is concerned,” PPA General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago said, adding that the country continues consuming, “and as our population grows, consumption will eventually get higher and higher.”

PPA said that in January, MICT reached 80.75% yard utilization, up 9.1 percentage points year on year, while MSH recorded a 0.3 percentage point decrease to 67.8% versus last year.

“Yard utilization is naturally dropping back to the optimal rate which is 50% or below now that the holiday season is over,” the PPA said.

The port regulator said that the yard utilization rate is dependent on the cargo shippers and consignees’ withdrawal of their containers from the port.

In December last year, the yard utilization rate reached 85% in both international terminals.

However, MICT is said to still record high container traffic with 7,765 containers or 12,480.75 twenty-foot equivalent units long overstaying at the port as of Jan. 31.

Mr. Santiago said PPA-covered ports will try to accommodate as much as they can but will seek empty containers not to overstay at the ports to make space for containers with cargo.

“As much as possible, we try to accommodate them in PPA terminals, but we cannot accommodate them all,” Mr. Santiago said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

Entertainment News (02/17/23)

Producer of historical film GomBurZa unveils cast

Following an extensive search that included an open call and a series of auditions, Jesuit Communications (JesCom) has announced the stars of GomBurZa — a film based on the story of Catholic priests Mariano Gomez, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora who were executed in 1872 on charges of subversion. Playing the leads are: award-winning Dante Rivero as Padre Mariano Gomez, theater and movie thespian Cedrick Juan as Padre José Burgos, and matinee idol Enchong Dee as Padre Jacinto Zamora. Joining them are Epi Quizon, Jaime Fabregas, Carlitos Siguion-Reyna, Khalil Ramos, Elijah Canlas, Neil Ryan Sese, Paolo O’Hara, Tommy Alejandrino, Gerry Kaimo, Anthony Falcon, Dylan Tay Talon, Jomari Angeles, Bon Lentejas, and many more. Award-winning actor Piolo Pascual will play Padre Pédro Pelaéz, the Filipino clergy leader who was a mentor of Padre José Burgos. Executive producer and JesCom associate director Fr. Ro Atilano, SJ, describes the cast as “God’s answer to our prayers. There were other options before but this ensemble came at the right time,” Fr. Ro elaborates. For updates, like and follow @GomBurZaFilm across all social media platforms. 

Waterwalk Records releases worship song project

WATERWALK RECORDS announced the release of Sambahan, a 10-song series project that contains worship songs from grassroots, church-based songwriters who collaborated through a “lab” setting via the synergetic fellowship, KONEKOLAB. Its first single, “MANLILIKHARI,” is a portmanteau of two words, manlilikha (creator) and a hari (king). The song is co-written with Irving Galang and Mary Ozaraga, both community-based church leaders.” “MANLILIKHARI” is available on all digital music platforms. 

  

HONNE tours the PHL

ALTERNATIVE pop duo HONNE is coming back to the Philippines after four years. The May 2023 Asia Tour Philippines shows will take place on May 10 at the Araneta Coliseum; May 12 at the University of Southeastern Philippines Davao; and May 14 at the Waterfront Hotel Cebu. The Asia Tour will also make stops in Taipei, Manila, Davao, Cebu, Singapore as well as Kuala Lumpur. Promoted by AEG Presents Asia and Ovation Productions, ticket prices to HONNE May 2023 Asia Tour Philippines begin at P850 via ticketnet.com.ph (Manila) and smtickets.com (Davao and Cebu).

DTI aims for local production of Mitsubishi’s Xpander

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is hoping that Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) would consider the local production of its multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) model.

Dita Angara-Mathay, DTI commercial counselor and special trade representative to Tokyo, said MMPC’s Xpander “is very popular” and that the department is hoping that the MPV model’s next generation will be made in the country.

“Right now, it is being made in Indonesia,” Ms. Angara-Mathay told reporters in mixed English and Filipino during a recent virtual briefing.

She said MMPC is eyeing the local production of a new model, which has yet to be disclosed. “They have an expansion. They want to get into probably a new model assembly that they have not yet disclosed,” she said.

“That (plan) is really contingent [on] the extension of our program,” she said. “The Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program, is time-bound, performance-bound. We have to meet a certain volume of units before you get any subsidy. We had the pandemic. They are asking for an extension.”

Ms. Angara-Mathay also said that the DTI is hoping MMPC would consider the local production of the Xpander as part of its CARS commitment.

As part of the recent visit of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to Japan, the Philippines previously secured a letter of intent from MMPC’s parent firm, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., to renew target production commitments under the CARS program and expand its car manufacturing activities in the Philippines with the addition of another locally assembled vehicle model.

Currently, the MMPC is engaged in the local production of its Mirage subcompact sedan as part of the government’s CARS program implemented by the Board of Investments. The car manufacturer is also locally producing other vehicles outside of the CARS program such as the L300 utility van.

The CARS program has allotted a P27 billion budget for three car manufacturers to locally produce at least 200,000 units each for six years to avail fiscal incentives from the government. However, only MMPC and Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. enrolled in the program, with the latter producing the Vios model. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Michael B. Jordan premieres Creed III, hopes to expand ‘Creed-verse’

LONDON — Michael B. Jordan reprises his role as boxer Adonis Creed in new film Creed III and the actor-director says he hopes to expand the universe around the character in future.

Mr. Jordan makes his directorial debut with the third instalment of the movies, which first began with 2015’s Creed, a spin-off of the Rocky films starring Sylvester Stallone, and telling the tale of Adonis, the estranged son of late heavyweight champion Apollo Creed.

“It was challenging but I never felt more alive,” Mr. Jordan told Reuters of his directorial debut at the Creed III premiere in London on Wednesday.

“I had a chance to put my point of view on everything and that was really good.”

In Creed III, Adonis is enjoying his successful career when an old friend and once promising boxer, Damian, played by Jonathan Majors, comes back into his life after serving a prison sentence.

While the friendship is at first rekindled, things soon unravel when Damian insists he wants a shot in the ring.

Asked if there could be more for Creed in future, Mr. Jordan said: “Definitely. I want to do something like a live on its own, something that maybe if you didn’t see the first two films it would still be able to tell a story and make you feel full when you finished it.

“But I definitely plan on expanding the ‘Creed-verse’ moving forward … comic books to graphic novels to TV to spin-offs. There’s so many ways that you can tell a story with these rich characters and now I’m going to figure out what I’m going to do.”

One potential storyline could concern Creed’s opponent in Creed II, Viktor Drago, son of Rocky IV character boxer Ivan Drago. Viktor makes an appearance in Creed III.

“We’re working on something and I feel like this is some kind of a teaser in Creed III,” actor Florian Munteanu, who plays Viktor, told Reuters.

“This movie was really about digging into the depth of Adonis but I feel like the Drago story is still unfinished, it’s still untold so we still have something to tell there … let’s see.” — Reuters

GCash Overseas beta launch gets green light from BSP

BW FILE PHOTO

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) has approved the use of e-wallet GCash abroad with international SIM cards, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

G-Xchange, Inc., which offers GCash and is a subsidiary of Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (Mynt), said the approval of the beta launch of GCash Overseas will make it the first and only e-wallet in the Philippines to have this capability.

This will allow Filipinos in Japan, Australia, and Italy to sign up for GCash without the need to use a Philippine SIM card.

“Under the beta launch, only the first 1,000 users from Japan, Australia, and Italy can access GCash with an international SIM card. Once they’re fully verified, Filipinos overseas regardless of their SIM card can begin signing up for GCash and support their families back home by sending money for free (GCash-to-GCash), paying for bills on time, and instantly buying them load credits with just a few taps on the app,” the company said.

“We continue to make a difference in Filipinos’ lives by making financial services easier and more accessible to our now 76 million-strong registered users. With around 10 million Filipinos living abroad, we want them to also be able to take advantage of GCash services even as they use international SIMs. As more people put their trust in GCash, we strive to remove more barriers and create a better experience for all,” Martha Sazon, GCash president and chief executive officer, was quoted as saying.

The beta mode launched on Thursday will run for a limited time, with the full rollout expected later this year.

GCash has been working to expand its services worldwide, through its partnership with global payments platform Alipay+.

The e-wallet can now be used to pay at select merchants in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Qatar, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy, among others.

GCash ended 2022 with 76 million registered users, 5.8 million merchants and social sellers, and 855 GLife merchant partners, it said earlier this month. It has also disbursed over P57 billion in loans since its launch across two million unique borrowers.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) sees financial technology platforms helping it reach its goal to have 50% of retail transactions done online and bring 70% of Filipino adults into the banking system by the end of this year.

The share of digital payments in the total volume of retail transactions jumped to 30.3% in 2021 from 20.1% a year earlier, latest BSP data showed. The value of payments done online stood at 44.1% of 2021’s total retail transactions, higher than the 26.8% share in 2020. — AMCS

1...5,2415,2425,243...14,238Page 5,242 of 14,238
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin X Youtube