What to see This Week (07/29/22)

July 29, 2022 | 12:04 am

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DC League of Super-pets

BEST friends Krypto the Super-Dog and Superman share the same superpowers and fight crime in Metropolis. When Kypto’s BFF the rest of the Justice League are kidnapped, Krypto rounds up other pets — Ace the hound, PB the potbellied pig, Merton the turtle, and Chip the squirrel — to master their own powers and help rescue the superheroes. Directed by Jared Stern, this animated film features the voices of Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, Vanessa Bayer, Natasha Lyonne, and Diego Luna. The Wrap’s Alonso Duralde writes, “It’s a tricky balance to concoct a plot with stakes and tension while never taking any of it all that seriously, but it’s a feat managed by director Jared Stern (The LEGO Batman Movie) and co-writer John Whittington (Sonic the Hedgehog 2)… The screenplay is also skilled at pitching jokes both to kids (there’s a Paw Patrol gag that will make four-year-olds everywhere think, “I get that reference!”) and to adults (Winona Bradshaw voices the adorable but homicidal kitty Whiskers, who borrows catchphrases from A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Warriors as she corners her prey).” Film review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer gives it a score of 83%.

MTRCB Rating: PG

Orphan: First Kill

ESTHER is back on the big screen after 13 years with an origin story. After escaping from a psychiatric facility in Estonia, Esther travels to America by impersonating the missing daughter of a wealthy family. Yet, an unexpected twist arises that pits her against a mother who will protect her family at any cost. Directed by William Brent Bell, the film stars Isabelle Fuhrman, Julia Stiles, Rossif Sutherland, Hiro Kanagawa, Kennedy Irwin, and Matthew Finlan.

MTRCB Rating: R-13

Trade dep’t offers support for creative industries’ recovery, digitalization

July 29, 2022 | 12:03 am

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE METROPOLITAN THEATER

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it will support the recovery and digitalization of the creative industries, which were severely affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said in a speech at the Creative Futures 2022 conference on Thursday that the pandemic cost the industry the equivalent of 90% of its pre-pandemic revenue, while around 61% of arts and entertainment companies halted operations, with more than one-fifth of these businesses closing permanently.

“But we are reclaiming our path to development. Before the pandemic in 2019, the creative industries employed 4.8 million Filipinos. As the world approaches the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we are marching forward to the global stage and going above and beyond to support the digitalization of creative industries,” Mr. Pascual said.

“Creativity is in the Filipino DNA, quietly feeding humanity’s soul and the Philippine economy. Whether we create or experience (creative works), the industry improves our quality of life,” he added.

Mr. Pascual said that the DTI has rolled out the Creative Economy Strategy of the Philippines (CREST PH), which seeks to boost the competitiveness of the industry.

“CREST PH… facilitat(es) the development and promotion of creative goods exports, and assisting creative firms in accessing the global market. Evidence-based solutions address critical concerns of creative firms, ranging from innovation readiness and technology adoption to digital transformation. Supplementary solutions include advocacy, data analytics, knowledge management, and competency development,” Mr. Pascual said.

“The DTI’s Competitiveness and Innovation Group has also developed six roadmaps so far. Digital advertising, animation, game development, software development, toys and characters, and TV, radio, and print media are all examples. The roadmaps are essential in getting stakeholders to agree on where to take specific creative industries,” he added. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

7-Eleven operator allots P2B for store expansion

July 29, 2022 | 12:03 am

PHILIPPINE SEVEN CORP. (PSC) has allotted P2 billion this year in opening 300 more 7-Eleven stores or nearly double the number it opened last year.

“We are allotting up to P2 billion in capital expenditures this year for the opening of up to 300 new stores,” PSC Head of Finance and Investor Relations Lawrence M. De Leon said during the company’s annual stockholders meeting on Thursday.

The company expects half of the 300 new stores to be company-owned and the other half to be operated by third-party franchises.

“[The improvement in restrictions] allowed us to further expand our footprint. For the second quarter, we opened a lot of new stores especially in the residential clusters,” Mr. De Leon said.

In 2021, PSC opened 164 new stores and ended the year with 3,073 stores nationwide.

Aside from plans of expanding to residential areas, PSC is also planning to continue installing cash recycler automated teller machines (ATMs) in its stores nationwide.

The ATMs allow the store operators to deposit their sales for the day in the ATM which the machine “recycles” to fund the withdrawals of customers of partner banks.

PSC plans to add at least 1,500 more cash recycler ATMs in 2022 across parts of Visayas and Mindanao as stated in a press release on Thursday.

“We believe in financial inclusion. We do think that we have a role to play [because] we think that people trust our brand,” PSC President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Victor P. Paterno said.

The company is also looking at increasing essentials in its product lineup, mimicking a grocery or a sari-sari store, to cater to customers’ needs.

“We saw an increase in essentials sales so we are going to do more of that. We did a bit of that in Metro Manila and it was quite hard with the supply chain challenge, but we’ll be doing that more,” Mr. Paterno said.

“With all these developments, I believe that the company was able to refresh its convenience store concept, while remaining true to the time-tested brand goodwill attached to our 7-Eleven name. We shall be capitalizing on our learnings during the pandemic as we solidify our position in this industry,” PSC Chairman of the Board and Independent Director Jose T. Pardo said.

On the stock market on Thursday, shares of PSC closed lower by 50 centavos or 0.79% to P63 apiece. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

Katie Holmes on writing, directing, and acting in new film: ‘It feels very satisfying’

July 29, 2022 | 12:03 am

KATIE Holmes shares one of her pandemic pastimes with the world in her new feature film Alone Together, as writer, director and star of the movie.

The film, which was shot as the first COVID-19 vaccines were released, centers around two strangers who end up spending a week together in an upstate New York rental home after it was double booked. The pair start as frenemies, but quickly bond.

The triple threat said seeing her name in the credits of the film was very satisfying.

“It feels very satisfying. It’s my second film that I directed and I feel like I learn every single time. And with this, I have a special sense of pride because it’s all of our film and there was so much collaboration,” said Ms. Holmes.

Actor Jim Sturgess co-stars and explained how he benefited from Ms. Holmes wearing multiple hats.

“I was curious and a little apprehensive. I’m not going to lie. And then it just became the way I wished it always was on set. You have all the people that are most important on set in one person,” he explained.

“It was cool to make a film about the moment in the moment,” Mr. Sturgess said. You know … we were really living it all. It was so raw and it was so real. And then you just immediately dive and tell that story without the space of hindsight.” — Reuters

Loan standards for firms, consumers steady in Q2

July 29, 2022 | 12:03 am

BANKS’ CREDIT STANDARDS were broadly steady in the second quarter, which could be kept for businesses but eased for consumers in the coming months, a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) survey showed.

The BSP’s latest Senior Bank Loan Officers’ Survey published on Thursday showed most respondent lenders maintained their lending standards for both enterprises and households in the April to June period, based on the modal approach.

However, based on the diffusion index (DI) approach, there was a net tightening of credit standards for firms while there was a net easing observed for consumer loans.

A total of 49 banks responded to the survey out of the 64 lenders tapped to participate, representing a response rate of 76.6%. Answers were gathered from June 16 to July 15.

The BSP said modal-based results showed 76.1% of respondents indicated generally unchanged overall standards for business loans, while the DI approach showed a net tightening of lending standards across all sizes of firms due to the deterioration of borrowers’ profile and banks’ profitability, as well as a more uncertain economic outlook.

“The net tightening of general lending standards was reflected in stricter collateral requirements and loan covenants, including increased use of interest rate floors,” the central bank said.

“On the other hand, net easing of credit standards was observed in terms of narrower loan margins, wider size of credit lines, and longer loan maturities,” it added.

Meanwhile, for households, the survey’s results showed 73% of participants kept their lending standards steady, based on the modal approach. However, the DI method showed a net easing in credit standards for consumer loans, which respondents attributed to an optimistic economic outlook, increased risk tolerance, and improvement in borrowers’ profile.

The central bank said the net easing in credit standards was reflected in longer loan maturities and narrower margins, as well as the decreased use of interest rate floors. Meanwhile, net tightening was shown in the decreased size of credit lines, as well as stricter collateral requirements.

Based on the modal approach, loan demand from both firms and consumers was generally steady in the second quarter, while the DI method showed net increases in demand for both business and consumer credit, particularly housing, credit card and auto loans, amid improved confidence.

“The reported net rise in demand for business loans was ascribed to increased customer inventory and accounts receivable financing needs, and improvement in customers’ economic outlook. Similarly, the net increase in demand for household credit was mainly linked to higher household consumption and banks’ more attractive financing terms,” the BSP said.

OUTLOOK
For this quarter, majority of the respondent banks expect to retain their overall credit standards for both enterprises and households, based on the modal approach.

However, the DI approach showed lenders expect to continue tightening credit standards for firms due to less favorable economic prospects, a decline in risk tolerance, and the deterioration of lenders’ profile as well as banks’ profitability and liquidity.

As for household loans, the DI method showed expectations of a net easing in credit standards this quarter amid an improvement in borrowers’ profile and bank profitability, a less uncertain economic outlook, and increased tolerance for risk.

Meanwhile, demand for both business and consumer loans is expected to remain unchanged this quarter, based on the modal approach, while the DI method showed banks anticipate a net increase in credit demand for both sectors amid an improved economic outlook, rising financing needs, expectations of an uptick in consumption and housing investments, lower interest rates, and more attractive loan terms.

REAL ESTATE
Meanwhile, the survey also showed that 73.3% of the respondent banks maintained their overall credit standards for commercial real estate loans in the second quarter, based on the modal approach.

However, the DI method showed a net tightening of loan standards for commercial real estate loans for the 26^th consecutive quarter due to banks’ decreased risk tolerance and the deterioration of borrowers’ pro^file.

Most respondent banks also reported generally unchanged demand for commercial real estate loans, based on the modal approach, while the DI-based results showed a net rise in credit demand amid improved economic prospects and firms’ increased need for managing inventory and accounts receivables.

For this quarter, the modal approach showed banks expect to keep their real estate credit standards for businesses steady, while the DI method showed expectations of net tighter standards.

Modal-based results also showed expectations of unchanged demand for commercial real estate loans this quarter, while the DI approach indicated that respondents expect a net increase in demand amid a positive economic outlook, more attractive financing terms and increased funding requirements.

As for households, 71.9% of respondent banks indicated unchanged lending standards, based on the modal approach, while the DI method showed a net easing for standards for residential real estate loans, attributed to a better economic outlook and increased risk tolerance.

“For the [third] quarter, a larger share of respondent banks anticipate credit standards for housing loans to be maintained, while DI-based results indicate a net easing of housing loan standards,” the BSP said.

Demand for housing loans was also broadly steady in the April-June period, based on the modal approach, which is expected to be sustained this quarter. Meanwhile, the DI method’s results showed a net increase in demand for residential real estate credit for the second and third quarters amid lower interest rates, improved household consumption and higher investment in housing. — KBT

Wilcon net profit climbs 56% to P1B

July 29, 2022 | 12:02 am

WILCON Depot, Inc. reported a 56.4% increase in net profit to P1.01 billion in the second quarter as sales increased amid eased pandemic restrictions.

“The jump is attributable to higher volume of business and to the gross profit margin expansion partly offset by the increase in operating expenses,” the company said in a press release on Thursday.

The company added that the fewer pandemic-related disruptions during the quarter led to higher sales.

Wilcon’s net sales in the second quarter jumped by 22.8% to P8.29 billion from the P6.75 billion a year ago because its continued store network expansion.

“Two new depots were added during the quarter, both in Luzon, bringing to 76 the total number of branches at the close of the period,” the company added.

In the first six months, the company opened a new depot in Antipolo City in March, one in Gapan, Nueva Ecija in April, and a depot in Lemery, Batangas in May.

“We are on track to meet our expansion target of eight new depots for the year. We will be opening four more depots this second half,” Wilcon President and Chief Executive Officer Lorraine Belo-Cincochan said.

Meanwhile, the company’s first-half net income reached P1.86 billion, a 48.8% increase from last year’s P1.25 billion, which the company attributed to higher net sales.

“Net sales for the [first] half totaled P15.942 billion, up 18.7% or P2.516 billion year on year due mainly to the growth in comparable sales of 11.8% and the contribution of new stores,” the company said.

“With the improving performance of stores in areas that were more frequently disrupted by mobility restrictions last year, we expect our net sales to grow by at least high teens and our comparable sales by high-single-digit to low teens for the full year 2022,” Ms. Belo-Cincochan added.

On the stock market on Thursday, Wilcon shares increased by P1.65 or 6.95% to P25.40 apiece. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

China Bank income climbs in first half

July 29, 2022 | 12:02 am

CHINA BANKING CORP. (China Bank) posted a higher net profit in the first semester, driven by increases in its net interest and core fee incomes, as well as lower provisions for bad loans.

China Bank recorded a P10.1 billion net income in the first six months of 2022, up by 39% from the P7.3 billion booked in the same period last year, it said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Thursday.

This translated to a return on equity of 16.4% and return on assets of 1.7%.

“The sustained growth puts China Bank in a stronger position to support customers and the economy in this period of recovery,” China Bank President William C. Whang said in a statement.

“For the 2Q 2022 period, China Bank’s net income breached the P5-billion mark, a first in the Bank’s more than 100-year-old franchise,” Chief Finance Officer Patrick D. Cheng said.

Net interest income grew by 16% to P22 billion in the first semester from P18.9 billion last year, driven by stronger revenues and steady interest expense. As a result, net interest margin was at 4.3%.

Meanwhile, the depreciation in the bank’s trading and foreign exchange gains caused its fee-based income to decline to P3.2 billion, 46% lower from P5.9 billion in the comparable period.

Still, core fee income increased by 24% due to double-digit increases in earnings from service charges, fees and commissions, the sale of acquired assets, and bancassurance.

“Efficiency enhancements and judicious cost management kept operating expenses flat year on year, further improving cost-to-income ratio to 44%,” the bank said.

The bank’s loan portfolio expanded by 14% to P655 billion as of June from P576 billion last year on the back of significant growth in both business and consumer credit.

Gross nonperforming loans (NPL) ratio was at 2.3%, 120 basis points (bps) lower than last year’s 3.5%. Meanwhile, NPL cover stood at 128%.

Amid improved asset quality, China Bank cut its credit provisions by 69% to P1.7 billion from P5.4 billion in the same period in 2021.

Total deposits also increased by 14% to P945 billion from P827 billion in June 2021 amid a 14% year-on-year growth in current and savings accounts.

As of June, China Bank’s consolidated assets stood at P1.2 trillion, 17% higher than the P1.02 trillion in the same period in 2021.

Total equity jumped by 16% to P127 billion, with the bank posting a common equity Tier 1 ratio of 14.8% and a capital adequacy ratio of 15.7%, both above the regulatory minimum.

China Bank’s shares closed unchanged at P26.90 apiece on Thursday. — K.B. Ta-asan

Agri, mining seen as key to boosting jobs

July 29, 2022 | 12:02 am

THE government should focus on the agriculture and mining industries if it wants to generate more jobs, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) said on Thursday.

ECOP President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. told BusinessWorld Live on One News Channel parts of agriculture with the potential to create jobs include bamboo.

“There are some little sectors like in agriculture… where we should be producing more. That can at the very least create 100,000 jobs easily, such as bamboo,” Mr. Ortiz-Luis said.

Mr. Ortiz-Luis added that more job-creation opportunities are available in mining.

“We’re beginning to look at responsible mining as doable, and we are hoping that (the government) will pursues this policy,” Mr. Ortiz-Luis said.

Mr. Ortiz-Luis said the association’s goal of creating one million jobs in 2022 is attainable despite the economic challenges posed by inflation, which rose to 6.1% in June.

“With or without inflation, provided, there are no (additional pandemic restrictions), and if they are able to solve transportation especially here in Metro Manila, (the target) is attainable,” Mr. Ortiz-Luis said.

In May, the National Employment Recovery Strategy task force set a target of one million jobs this year.

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) President George T. Barcelon said during the Pandesal Forum on Thursday that the first State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on July 25 was “very comprehensive.”

“He touched on a lot of points,” Mr. Barcelon said, though the PCCI wants to hear detailed plans.

“It is not explicitly stated what the President will do in terms of job creation. But all the narration that he did basically touches on the sustainability of our economy and that in effect would provide more jobs to our fellow Filipinos,” Mr. Barcelon said.

Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Inc. President Henry Lim Bon Liong said that the SONA bodes well for investor confidence.

“His speech and the detailed list of proposed reforms by government will boost investor confidence in the Philippines, translating to a stronger economic recovery, and sustainable and inclusive economic growth,” Mr. Bon Liong said.

“We need reforms and political will for a stronger Philippine economic recovery and social (services),” he added. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Shakira refuses to settle with Spanish prosecutor to end tax fraud case

July 29, 2022 | 12:02 am

MADRID — Latin American superstar Shakira has rejected a settlement offered by the prosecutor in her €14.5 million Spanish tax fraud case and is now a step closer to going to trial, her media team said on Wednesday.

The Colombian singer — who has sold more than 80 million records worldwide with hits such as “Hips Don’t Lie” — has always met all of her tax obligations, a statement said. She considers the case “a total violation of her rights,” it said.

“The singer is fully confident of her innocence and therefore does not accept a settlement,” the statement said.

The terms of the proposed settlement were not disclosed.

The prosecutor’s office in Barcelona did not reply to a request for comment.

Shakira is accused of failing to pay up €14.5 million ($14.7 million) in tax income between 2012 and 2014, a period in which Shakira’s representatives say she did not live in Spain.

The 45-year-old singer — dubbed “the Queen of Latin Music” — says she moved to Barcelona in 2015, where she lived with FC Barcelona soccer club defender Gerard Pique. They have two children and recently separated.

Shakira says even though her legal team disagreed about the alleged debt; she paid the €17.2 million that the Spanish tax office claimed she owed so she has had no outstanding debt with the tax authorities for many years.

The court still has to formally send her to stand trial and set a date. — Reuters

Town halls as a strategic management tool

July 29, 2022 | 12:01 am

Some time ago, you wrote about employee birthdays as an opportunity to celebrate and at the same time gather people face-to-face with the chief executive officer (CEO). In our case, the only employees that attend the meetings are those on their birth month. Should we adopt a new system if we want to call town hall meetings? — Lone Wolf.

Birthdays and anniversary months mean everything to both labor and management. They’re a celebration of employee milestones as they spend more time in the company. If you ask me, it’s better to maintain the status quo. There’s no need for you to alter the practice of celebrating birth months.

Don’t complicate things. Regardless of whether it’s the employees’ birthday, anniversary month, or whatever milestone, what’s important is your determination to establish, maintain and nurture long-term proactive two-way communication.

And before I forget, let me congratulate you for wanting to make town hall meetings a monthly event. Not many organizations can do that. They simply get by with a quarterly forum, which to me is ineffective.

Workers can drive the organization towards profitability and sustainability. Having said that, organizations must ensure that monthly town hall meetings come with team problem-solving activities and individual engagement dialogue.

AGENDA AND FORMAT
The job of ensuring proactive, two-way communication depends much on the leadership of HR in arriving at a consistent and coherent strategy. It’s essential to focus on how to make every town hall meeting follow a framework that must consider the following:

One, aligning or realigning management action with corporate goals. To maintain a coordinative and supportive system, the CEO should always refer back to the company’s vision, mission and value statements when discussing its recent achievements, current plans and future programs. Without this correlation, it’s only a matter of time before management and employees forget that they have a compass to follow.

Two, face-to-face meetings are important. But not during pandemics or if geographical constraints do not allow it. Much depends on the number of employees attending the town hall meeting. The ideal number is 30 to 50 employees per month, subject to venue capacity. Many meetings are held inside cafeterias or training rooms.

Three, observe a limit of two hours. Everyone is busy. Be guided by an agenda that includes an introduction by HR, a brief self-introduction by each participant, and the CEO’s message, all within the first hour. It’s advisable that the CEO be given an advance list of the attendees.

Devote the second hour to an open forum. Allow questions from those attending from remote locations. The last five minutes may include a closing statement from the CEO or anyone from the senior management team.

Four, put other members of the management team up front. It is for every employee comment or question to be addressed not just by the CEO, but by the concerned department head. Meet-and-greets like these help maintain healthy interaction en route to becoming a high-performing organization.

Last, summarize and share highlights of the meeting. This is the best way to ensure that the result of each town hall meeting is disseminated to all workers and management. This can be done via a one-page circular posted in every bulletin board in key areas of the company and shared in an article via the intranet. This is important if HR is to anticipate and collect employee feedback and complaints.

RESPECT
I came to know of a junior HR official who recommended the inclusion of an online “mood meter” during a town hall meeting. A “mood meter” allows online participants to express their state of mind when attending a seminar or workshop, particularly if the resource person is not engaging.

I must disagree with the use of this tool during a town hall meeting. What’s the point of subjecting the CEO or any of the senior management team to feedback like this? If the meeting has become boring or no longer enjoyable, then the participants should simply keep quiet and be attentive. We must understand that a town hall meeting is not meant to be entertainment.

What is important is to give employees the chance to express themselves through an open exchange of ideas while being respectful to one another. This can be done by getting HR to ask random employees to share their views on management plans. This should ensure that employees become active listeners.

Every employee knows how to behave in a work environment, where everyone is treated with respect, but HR plays an important role in making sure this happens.

Consult with Rey Elbo on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter or send your questions to elbonomics@gmail.com or via https://reyelbo.consulting

8990 Holdings income down in Q2

July 29, 2022 | 12:01 am

LISTED property developer 8990 Holdings, Inc. reported a 9.9% decrease in net income to P1.72 billion in the second quarter from the P1.91 billion posted a year earlier after a decline in revenues.

For the April-June period, the company registered a 13.4% decrease in revenues to P4.8 billion from the P5.54 billion recorded in the same period last year, its filing with the stock exchange showed.

In the first half, 8990 posted a 5.5% increase in net income to P3.65 billion from P3.46 billion previously after a slight increase in revenues to P10.05 billion from P10.01 billion a year ago.

“Despite inflationary fears and the rest of the uncertainty from the outcome of the elections to the war in Ukraine, 8990 was able to sustain revenue levels,” 8990 President and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Vincent Sotto said in a press release on Thursday.

As of end-June, 8990 delivered 5,364 units, with the National Capital Region (NCR) contributing the biggest share at 37%, followed by Iloilo at 17%, Davao at 16%, north Luzon at 15%, Cebu at 9%, General Santos at 4%, and south Luzon at 2%.

8990’s vertical projects contributed the majority of revenues at 60% while horizontal projects accounted for 40%, the company said.

NCR accounted for the bulk of revenues at 54%, followed by north Luzon and Davao at 14% each, Cebu at 9%, Iloilo and Bacolod at 7% each, and south Luzon and General Santos at 1% each.

Towards the end of June, 8990 inaugurated an amenities area of Urban Deca Homes Ortigas in Pasig City — the company’s largest project to date at 13.2 hectares.

Mr. Sotto said that he remains confident that 8990 will achieve its target of P23-billion revenues for 2022, banking on the company’s inventory of 3,292 units with a sales value of P3.6 billion across all projects nationwide.

“In the next seven to 10 years, we expect to unlock a total of P171 billion in revenues,” Mr. Sotto said.

On the stock market on Thursday, shares in 8990 closed lower by 46 centavos or 4.67% to P9.38 apiece. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

Stakeholder capitalism and the future of work

July 29, 2022 | 12:01 am

“FROM Stockholders to Stakeholders: The Future of Capitalism” was the theme of the 6^th Ayala-FINEX Finance Summit in Makati City organized by the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX), Ayala Corp. (AC), and PA Grant Thornton. Coming after a two-year hiatus owing to the pandemic, the summit’s revival could be a signal that the business community is almost back to normal -—with face-to-face events like this summit being held once again at hotel venues and convention centers nationwide instead of the webinars and virtual meetings that we have gotten used to.

Among the featured speakers were Jon Canto, Senior Vice-President of McKinsey & Co.; Eric Francia, CEO of AC Energy Corp.; Wim Bartels, CFO Network Lead of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development; Justin Rix, Partner of Grant Thornton UK LLP; and Lorelie Quiambao-Osial, CEO of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. The panelists included Qualimed/Healthway Philippines, Inc. CEO Jaime Ysmael and BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp. CEO Maria Theresa Marcial.

Stakeholder theory is a concept of corporate governance that seeks to ensure that an organization is not only directed for the benefit of its stockholders, but also for other stakeholders such as suppliers, employees, creditors, and the community where it operates. Thus, it challenges the theory of American economist Milton Friedman that “an entity’s greatest responsibility lies in the satisfaction of the shareholders.”

In the 1970s, Mr. Friedman denounced corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a socialist doctrine. But in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the global recession in 2007-2008, CSR has become an integral part of business ethics along with ESG or environmental, social, and governance.

ESG has, in fact, emerged as more than just a responsibility and is now viewed as an opportunity to build a more sustainable business by enhancing the trust of various stakeholders. The prevalent thinking is that ESG programs create valuable impact in organizations, communities, and the planet as a whole.

However, Multinational Investment Bancorporation Chair Marilou Cristobal cited an article in the Financial Times criticizing ESG as a category error that needs unbundling because the acronym jams together three disparate and sometimes contradictory objectives. This made for a lively discussion during one of the summit’s sessions on sustainability and compliance to value.

Another session delved into the future of work and how sustainability would become pervasive in the years to come. Industry-specific cases were presented, including current practices adopted by large enterprises as well as MSMEs that are underpinned by continuous innovation based on regenerative thinking, human-centric technology, and science. Some of these applications — digital twins, circular commerce, systems of systems — can already be found in the metaverse.

The summit succeeded in showing a path toward a sustainable, collaborative, and truth-based future for humanity in a world where the rule of law shall prevail.

THE FUTURE OF ART
Today is the start of the 1^st Modern and Contemporary Art Festival (MoCAF) at the grand ballroom of Fairmont Hotel in Makati City. MoCAF is a brainchild of Art+, a publishing house and multimedia platform that started out as a resource for Philippine visual art news.

As a showcase for revered masters and emerging artists, the three-day festival reflects the fast-developing art scene in the country. MoCAF offers impressive exhibitions curated by 18 galleries from the Philippines and Japan. It has also lined up a series of insightful talks, two of which are in collaboration with the FINEX Arts and Culture Committee.

One of the lectures is on “The Future of Art Publishing: Printed and Digital Form” featuring Gus Vibal, president of the Vibal Publishing Group; Jose Maria Cariño, director-general of the Foreign Service Institute; and Jewel Chuaunsu, managing editor of Southeast Asian Heritage Publications.

Lawyer and art collector Tonico Manahan will speak on “Art as an Investment and the Luxury Market.” He is a former investment banker who currently serves as an advisor to a leading Makati-based art gallery and auction house.

MoCAF aims to provide new cultural and immersive experiences beyond the norm. Art enthusiasts and collectors now have a new festival to look forward to.

J. Albert Gamboa is the chief finance officer of Asian Center for Legal Excellence and chairman of the FINEX Media Affairs Committee. The opinion expressed herein does not necessarily reflect the views of these institutions and BusinessWorld. #FinexPhils www.finex.org.ph