Shakey’s, Robinsons Bank partner for franchisee loan program

December 20, 2022 | 12:02 am

SHAKEY’s Pizza Asia Ventures, Inc. has partnered up with Robinsons Bank Corp. for its first franchisee loan program with its aim of promoting entrepreneurship among Potato Corner franchisees.

The loan program will allow faster and more convenient access to funds for small- and medium-sized enterprises, which include Potato Corner franchisees.

Vicente L. Gregorio, president and chief executive officer of Shakey’s, said he is glad that the group can help franchisees, microbusinesses and small and medium enterprises.

“Our franchisees are the lifeblood of Potato Corner. Through the pandemic and back, they remained resilient and are now reaping the benefits of the reopening,” Mr. Gregorio added.

Shakey’s is a fast-casual restaurant that focuses on family casual dining. In 2022, it acquired Potato Corner, a food kiosk brand that is known for its flavored fries.

In the three months that ended September, Shakey’s net income stood at P590.94 million, turning around from a net loss of P31.79 million in the previous year.

The company’s topline rose to P6.5 billion during the quarter, up by 81.5% from P3.58 billion a year ago. Royalty and franchise fees went up by 37% to P271.99 million from P171.32 million in 2021.

In the third quarter, Potato Corner registered a same-store sales growth of 32% due to the improvement in foot traffic.

Third-quarter system-wide sales in Shakey’s likewise grew to P9.61 billion, almost two times last year’s P4.85 billion, which the company attributed to the dine-in resurgence and integration of Potato Corner’s operations.

In the third quarter, Potato Corner opened 71 new outlets and its first independent drive-thru store along E. Rodriguez Ave., Quezon City.

Shakey’s said that there will be more store openings in the last quarter of the year after it opened 35 new stores in Thailand, Singapore, China and Canada, among others, as of September.

“Potato Corner has come a long way … I am deeply grateful and humbled for the Shakey’s Group to be its new custodian, and I look forward to more growth and prosperity for the brand and for our franchisees,” said Mr. Gregorio.

At present, Potato Corner has more than 1,100 stores in the Philippines and is present in countries including Thailand, Singapore, China and Canada. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

UNO Digital Bank partners with fintech Trusting Social

December 20, 2022 | 12:01 am

UNO DIGITAL BANK has partnered with technology firm Trusting Social to offer more Filipino consumers greater access to loans with the help of data science tools.

“Our partnership with Trusting Social will allow us to offer our services to unbanked Filipinos who otherwise won’t have access to formal lending services,” UNO Digital Bank Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Manish Bhai said in a press release on Monday.

Trusting Social is involved in artificial intelligence (AI)-based financial technology, or fintech.

Through the partnership, UNO plans to use Trusting Social’s expertise in AI-led customer onboarding solutions to achieve the digital bank’s aim of building a more financially inclusive banking landscape in the Philippines.

“With Trusting Social’s data science tools and technology, we will be able to access highly reliable risk profile information, making it easy for any credit-worthy Filipino consumer to formally borrow money in a faster and easier manner,” Mr. Bhai said.

UNO said that Trusting Social’s big data scoring technology has the capacity to use telco data to provide accurate credit risk profile assessment, including unbanked customers.

Trusting Social’s big data scoring technology has the capacity to use telco data to provide accurate credit risk profile assessment, including unbanked customers. UNO said the technology is crucial for the Philippine market, which has around 157 million prepaid mobile subscribers, according to data from Statista in 2021.

“Trusting Social and UNO recognize that solving the problem of financial inclusion in the Philippines will require bringing the best of both institutions to the fore — deep analytical expertise, best-in-class risk management, and deep domain expertise in building sustainable and inclusive products,” Trusting Social Philippines CEO Johnny Escaler said.

According to Trusting Social’s website, the company covers more than one billion consumers across India, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Trusting Social is an AI fintech company aspiring to democratize financial services through AI-based consumer insights and embedded finance, the media release said.

It added that the company provides credit insights covering over a billion consumers to over 170 financial institutions across Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and the Philippines.

Meanwhile, UNO Digital Bank, incorporated under Singapore-based UNOAsia Pte Ltd, is a fully digital bank with an app that helps its users save, borrow, transact, invest, and protect their money; as well as to manage their finances with speed and ease. — Aaron Michael C. Sy

Robinsons Malls host Comelec’s Register Anywhere Program

December 20, 2022 | 12:01 am

THE Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) Register Anywhere Program (RAP) was recently opened at two Robinsons Malls.

Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) said it continued its partnership with the Comelec as the latter’s Register Anywhere Program opened in Robinsons Galleria and Robinsons Manila on Dec. 17.

Robinsons Malls also opened more satellite voter registration venues in over 40 malls nationwide in preparation for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections next year.

“We thank Robinsons Malls for the continued partnership and its unwavering support for Comelec’s various initiatives. Our goal is to ensure that more qualified Filipino voters get to register in a more convenient, comfortable, and safe venue and ultimately exercise their right to vote,” Comelec Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia was quoted as saying.

Robinsons Malls Vice-President Joel S. Lumanlan said the company’s partnership with Comelec began in 2014 when Robinsons Malls hosted the offsite voter registration and biometrics in key areas around the country.

“We are grateful to Comelec for choosing Robinsons Malls as its pilot venue for RAP and for holding voter registration in more malls, allowing us to better serve our customers nationwide,” he said.

Harry and Meghan’s Netflix series wraps up — but what is the effect on the royals?

December 20, 2022 | 12:01 am

LONDON — Beyond the drama of feuding brothers and Machiavellian royal aides working with a hostile press, the key issue which arises from Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s Netflix documentary is whether it does lasting damage to King Charles and the British monarchy.

Over six hours of television, Harry and Meghan delivered a swathe of accusations against what they portrayed as a tone-deaf institution which was unconcerned about their emotional well-being and prepared for them to suffer if it meant better media coverage for other more senior royals.

“It’s like living through a soap opera where everybody else views you as entertainment,” Harry said in one of the final episodes released on Thursday.

When the couple married in a glittering ceremony in 2018, their union was hailed as a breath of fresh air, the epitome of a modern monarchy: the then-hugely popular prince and the glamorous, biracial, American actress.

But as they recounted in graphic detail in their documentary series, that fairytale soon turned sour amid a slew of negative press coverage, some of which Harry blamed on those working for Prince William, his elder brother and now heir to the throne.

“It looked cold, but it also felt cold,” Harry said of his family’s feelings towards him at their last official engagement. In 2020, the couple decided to step back from their royal roles, moving to California and becoming financially independent.

The exit of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was bad news for the institution, said Catherine Mayer, author of recent biography Charles: Heart of a King.

“The departure of Meghan and Harry from royal ranks has been far more damaging to the monarchy than the coverage that vilifies them understands or accepts,” she told Reuters.

“Her arrival was this source of enormous hope for people of color, and also just younger people. Her departure is seen as a failure and a betrayal, and that’s immensely damaging to the monarchy because the monarchy needs consensus to survive. It needs support to survive, and it’s losing it.”

But opinion polls suggest that may not be the case. According to a YouGov poll last week, Harry, who once topped such ratings, and Meghan are now the most unpopular royals in Britain apart from his uncle Prince Andrew, who settled a US sex abuse lawsuit in February. William and his wife Kate were the most popular, although surveys show younger people are much more ambivalent than older Britons about the monarchy in general.

The royals have been in a similar position before. In the early 1990s, the disintegration of Charles’s marriage to his first wife, Harry’s mother the late Princess Diana, was played out in the full glare of the media.

Following Diana’s public accusations against the royal household and her death in 1997, the future of the 1,000-year-old institution seemed at times uncertain. But it bounced back to become more popular than ever, with Harry and his brother William to the fore.

According to Harry, the subsequent popularity of Meghan was seen as a problem, stealing the limelight from those “born to do this,” a less than subtle dig at his brother and father.

If Harry’s assessment that negative stories were being planted against him and Meghan is true — an accusation rejected by newspapers and aides who have spoken publicly — then the campaign could perhaps be seen as successful.

A Savanta survey found 59% of respondents in Britain said it was a bad idea for Harry and Meghan to air their documentary, with a half saying they did not trust that the show would be an accurate account of the couple’s experience.

“Personally, I don’t think that it will do lasting damage to the monarchy,” royal biographer Claudia Joseph said of the Netflix documentary.

“I think that people that are royalists will still be royalists and will see this as Meghan and Harry again throwing their toys out of the pram, and the people that are republicans will remain republicans and blame the royal family for the way they’ve treated Harry and Meghan.”

Or, as 45-year-old London local Tarek Hilal said on Thursday: “In the long run, it just won’t make a difference. Storm in a teacup.” — Reuters

Alternergy expects Palau project to operate in 2023

December 20, 2022 | 12:01 am

ALTERNERGY Holdings Corp.’s solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage project in Palau is set to begin commercial operations in April 2023, the renewable energy company announced on Monday.

“Alternergy and Solar Pacific saw the opportunity to explore the electricity market outside the Philippines and we are honored to be the first independent power producer (IPP) in the Republic of Palau,” Alternergy Chairman Vicente S. Perez said in a media release on Monday.

The project, which is already 65% completed, is under Solar Pacific Pristine Power, Inc., which is a unit of an Alternergy subsidiary.

The Palau solar PV and battery storage project has a capacity of 15.3 megawatt-peak (MWp) solar PV and 12.9-megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage system (BESS).

Mike Lichtenfeld, Chief Executive Officer of Solar Pacific, said in the media release that the Palau project builds a strong partnership with the governments of Palau, through a long-term power supply agreement (PSA) with the Palau Public Utilities Corp., and Australia, through project financing under the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific.

The Palau hybrid project is expected to provide up to 23,000 MWh of clean and renewable energy to Palau, which translates to 20% of the country’s annual demand.

Mr. Lichtenfeld added that the project is one of the biggest direct foreign investments in Palau with a cost of $29 million, “and is generating local employment and tax revenues to the country.” — Ashley Erika O. Jose

Bonifacio High Street ranks 41^st in expensive rentals in the world

December 20, 2022 | 12:00 am

FIFTH AVENUE in New York City is the world’s most expensive shopping street once again, according to a new global ranking from real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. Read the full story.

How PSEi member stocks performed — December 19, 2022

December 20, 2022 | 12:00 am

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Monday, December 19, 2022.

Shares down on PLDT’s budget overrun, Wall Street

December 19, 2022 | 9:00 pm

LOCAL stocks closed lower on Monday, mirroring Wall Street’s decline amid recession fears and as investors priced in the news of a budget overrun in PLDT, Inc.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined by 82.23 points or 1.26% to close at 6,414.27 on Monday, while the broader all-shares index lost 32.82 points or 0.96% to 3,367.31.

“The local market declined this Monday … due to negative spillovers from Wall Street fueled by recession fears in the US,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research and Engagement Officer Mikhail Philippe Plopenio said in a Viber message.

Wall Street declined for a third straight session on Friday as fears that the central bank’s campaign to fight inflation would tilt the economy into a recession, Reuters reported.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 281.76 points or 0.85% to 32,920.46; the S&P 500 lost 43.39 points or 1.11% to 3,852.36; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 105.11 points or 0.97% to 10,705.41.

Last week, the US Federal Reserve raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by 50 basis points (bps) to the 4.25%-4.5% range and projected it could rise to 5%-5.25% next year.

The Fed has now hiked borrowing costs by 425 bps since March.

“Aside from the recession fears next year, investors were surprised by the recent news of PLDT where there was a budget overrun of P48 billion. The stock now is down 19.35% and might go down further,” Mercantile Securities Corp. Head Trader Jeff Radley C. See said in a Viber message.

In a disclosure on Friday, PLDT announced that it found an estimated budget overrun of no more than P48 billion, which represents 12.7% of the total capital expenditure spent in four years.

According to the company, the budget overrun is going through internal forensics and discussions with principal vendors. It added that the investigation has not uncovered any “fraudulent transactions, procurement anomalies or loss of assets.”

On Monday, shares in PLDT closed 286 points or 19.35% lower to 1,192 each. Shares in the company were sold at an intraday low of 1,187 apiece, which is also its new 52-week low.

Most of the sectoral indices closed lower on Monday except property, which increased by 32.7 points or 1.17% to end Monday’s session at 2,823.60.

Meanwhile, services slumped by 99.14 points or 5.98% to close at 1,557.89; financials declined by 116.03 points or 0.97% to 1,628.44; industrials lost 85.21 points or 0.91% to 9,187.34; holding firms went down by 30.13 points or 0.47% to 6,316.78; and mining and oil inched down by 5.34 points or 0.05 to close at 10,160.49.

Value turnover surged to P18.72 billion on Monday with 1.31 billion shares changing hands from P7.31 billion with 558.77 million issues traded on Friday. Decliners overwhelmed advancers, 123 to 55, while 45 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign selling climbed to P1.01 billion on Monday from P148.81 million seen the previous trading day.

Mercantile Securities’ Mr. See placed the PSEi’s support at the 6,150, 6,250 and 6,400 levels and resistance at 6,660 and 6,800 levels. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

Peso strengthens further on continued inflows

December 19, 2022 | 9:00 pm

THE PESO strengthened further on Monday because of the weakening of the US dollar and a continued increase in foreign exchange inflows.

The local currency ended at P55.41 against the greenback, up by 15 centavos from Friday’s P55.56 close, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines’ website showed.

The peso opened Monday’s session at P55.50 per dollar, which is also its weakest showing for the day. Its intraday best was at P55.40 versus the greenback. Dollars traded dipped further to $627.25 million from $902.27 million on Friday.

A trader said in a Viber message that the strengthening of the peso is largely due to a weaker dollar against most Asian currencies as well as remittances from overseas Filipinos.

The US dollar index slipped 0.19% to 104.61, according to a report by Reuters.

Meanwhile, the Japanese yen was 0.4% stronger at ¥136.19 per dollar, after jumping more than 0.5% to a high of ¥135.78 earlier in the session.

The yen climbed on Monday on news that the Japanese government could soon revise a joint statement with the Bank of Japan over the latter’s inflation target, potentially paving the way for a tweak in its ultra-loose monetary policy, Reuters said.

The peso also strengthened on Friday on the back of seasonal dollar inflows as the holidays draw near, the trader said.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message that aside from the continuing effect of remittances and the weaker dollar, the peso was also affected by global crude oil prices.

Oil prices rose on Monday as China, the world’s top crude oil importer and No. 2 oil consumer, abruptly ended its “dynamic zero-COVID” policy.

The US also bought back oil for its state reserves, which supported the rise in oil prices, as the US Energy department said on Friday that it would begin repurchasing crude oil for the strategic petroleum reserve for delivery in February next year.

A report by Reuters showed that Brent crude futures gained 42 cents, or 0.5%, to $79.46 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $74.67, up 38 cents, or 0.5%.

For the next day’s movement, the trader expects the peso to move sideways with a downward bias at P55.25 to P55.50 per dollar, again due to the seasonal inflows but may be tempered by the weak performance of the Philippine Stock Exchange following news on PLDT, Inc.

Telecommunications provider PLDT led by Manuel V. Pangilinan is reorganizing its management after discovering a P48-billion budget overrun, representing 12.7% of its P379-billion capital expenditure over the past four years, the company announced on Friday.

PLDT’s stock plunged more than 19% to P1,192, with almost P62 billion in market value wiped out. This was the company’s steepest loss ever based on prices going back to January 1990 as investors dumped the shares.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ricafort expects the peso to move between P55.30-P55.50 per dollar. — Aaron Michael C. Sy

DBP dividend cut not connected to Maharlika, DoF’s Diokno says

December 19, 2022 | 8:06 pm

FINANCE Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno rejected on Monday speculation that the reduction in the Development Bank of the Philippines’ (DBP) dividend was intended to retain capital for use by the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF).

The Department of Finance (DoF) said in a statement that government banks like the DBP and Land Bank of the Philippines are routinely allowed to reduce their dividends.

“Long before the MIF was conceived (dividend reductions were resorted to) in order to improve the ability of both government banks to deliver on their mandates and, at the same time, maintain their financial standing.”

He was responding to a statement by Representative France L. Castro, the House deputy minority leader from the ACT-Teachers Party-list, that Executive Order (EO) No. 8, which reduced the rate of DBP’s dividends to the National Government to 0%, “was issued to increase DBP’s capital for the Maharlika fund.”

Mr. Diokno said President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. issued EO No. 8 last week to support the capital position of the DBP, allow it to comply with central bank regulations, and “sustain its role in the economic recovery of industries adversely affected by the pandemic.”

“The grant of dividend relief aims to provide DBP with a stronger capital base in support of its mandated developmental programs,” he said.

Part of the proposed MIF’s initial funding was to come from the DBP, which will pitch in P25 billion.

“Consequently, because DBP would not remit anything to the National Government, this would be a huge loss from the people’s coffers and the source of funds for the next General Appropriations Act (GAA),” Ms. Castro said in her statement.

Republic Act No. 7656 requires all government-owned or -controlled corporations to declare and remit at least 50% of their annual net earnings as cash, stock or property dividends to the National Government.

“The President of the Philippines, however, may adjust the percentage of annual net earnings to be declared by a government-owned and -controlled corporation, in the interest of the national economy and general welfare, according to RA 7656,” the Palace said in a statement. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

PHL taps IMF for technical assistance on exiting from accommodative policy

December 19, 2022 | 8:05 pm

THE PHILIPPINES is tapping the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for technical assistance, with the aim of improving the central bank’s ability to transition away from the accommodative policy it adopted during the pandemic, the fund said.

In a country report, the IMF called the Philippines one of the largest recipients of capacity development (CD) assistance among emerging economies, with the fund providing “considerable” support in order to help the government pursue its reform agenda.

“The authorities have identified additional CD priorities where support from the IMF would further contribute to the reform agenda. Some of the assistance is already ongoing while other requests remain to be addressed,” the IMF said.

The IMF was also asked to assist with improving the monetary authorities’ inflation forecasting and enhancing the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) data analysis capabilities.

“Support for the implementation of monetary policy will center on: (i) inflation forecasting and refinements to the BSP’s Policy Analysis Model for the Philippines to facilitate structured and data-coherent forecasting and integrated analysis of monetary and other policies,” the IMF said.

The IMF was also asked to help the BSP reform its liquidity operations and to improve the central bank’s communication strategy, particularly on giving forward guidance when it comes to policy rates, making the Monetary Policy Report a flagship publication, communicating its exit strategy from crisis support measures, and how to best inform the public about digital money, cybercrime, and climate-related financial risk.

“The authorities have also requested the Fund to advise and provide training for a sandbox project on the development of a wholesale CBDC (central bank digital currency).”

Earlier this year, the BSP announced it was working on a pilot project that will test the use of wholesale CBDCs for large-value financial transactions by selected financial institutions.

In the financial sector, the IMF was requested to provide technical assistance on bank supervision and the establishment of a supervisory college.

The IMF was also asked to assess the expected credit loss model of banks and the operational resilience of the Philippine banking system.

“Requests have also been made by the Securities and Exchange Commission for TA (technical assistance) to develop risk management instruments and by the Bureau of the Treasury for TA to enhance its cash management, further develop the government’s debt management strategy, deepen the domestic debt market through innovative financial instruments, and develop a strategy to access the international capital markets,” the IMF said.

The fund was asked to review an ongoing program helping government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) enhance their financial reporting, the fund said.

According to the IMF, the Philippines has requested a follow-up mission to review the progress made on GOCC financial reporting since the assistance was first put forward in 2019.

The IMF was requested to provide guidance and help develop an implementation plan to bring the reporting frameworks of GOCCs and public-private partnerships in line with international standards. — Keisha B. Ta-asan

Insurance Commission says catastrophe risk premiums overdue for adjustment

December 19, 2022 | 8:05 pm

typhoon-flood — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

THE Insurance Commission (IC) said premiums for catastrophe risk were last adjusted in 2006 and need adjustment because the old premium structure was “unsustainable.”

IC Commissioner Dennis B. Funa said on Monday in an e-mail that “For the longest time, the other non-life insurance business lines have been subsidizing catastrophe insurance products and claims — a situation that is unsustainable given the constant, if not growing, exposure to catastrophe risks,” Mr. Funa said in an e-mail.

Mr. Funa was responding to a legislator’s query about the state of the catastrophe insurance market.

AGRI Party-list Representative Wilbert T. Lee had queried via a Dec. 12 resolution whether there was a gap in coverage for earthquakes, typhoons, and floods.

“Our country has a huge catastrophe insurance gap that leaves millions of Filipinos in poverty after every catastrophe,” Mr. Funa said.

The commissioner added that higher premiums would be warranted given the Philippines’ vulnerability to natural disasters.

“Since insurance is an important risk transfer tool for the recovery of communities after large loss events, it has been the view of the World Bank, the Department of Finance (DoF), the IC, and non-life insurers that catastrophe resilience of the Philippine insurance industry and its capacity to retain catastrophe risks should be increased,” Mr. Funa added.

The IC is in charge of Philippine Catastrophe Insurance Facility (PCIF), a World Bank initiative under the supervision of the DoF.

Mr. Funa said the IC is reassessing the PCIF program. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz