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Japan reaches semifinals; Australia crashes out of Women’s Asian Cup

TWO-TIME defending champion Japan booked their place in the semifinals of the Women’s Asian Cup with a 7-0 thrashing of Thailand on Sunday but joint-favorite Australia crashed out after a shock defeat by South Korea.

Chelsea midfielder Ji So-yun scored from distance with two minutes remaining to earn South Korea a 1-0 victory in Pune over the 2018 runners-up and set up a semifinal against the Philippines.

The Japanese, meanwhile, set up a last-four meeting with China despite seeing Mana Iwabuchi’s weak penalty saved by Thai goalkeeper Waraporn Boonsing 15 minutes into the last-eight encounter in Navi Mumbai.

Yuika Sugasawa, however, went on to score four for the champions with Hinata Miyazawa, Rin Sumida and Riko Ueki also on target.

Sugasawa put the Japanese ahead when she slid in to poke Miyazawa’s center into the roof of the net in the 27th minute while Miyazawa doubled the advantage two minutes into first-half injury time from inside the six-yard box.

From there, the Japanese went on the rampage. Sumida added the third three minutes after the start and Sugasawa hit her second from the spot.

Ueki scored the fifth with 15 minutes remaining before two more from Sugasawa in the final 10 minutes completed a comprehensive victory.

The victories meant China, South Korea, the Philippines and Japan also secured berths at next year’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Asia has five berths at the World Cup in addition to Australia’s direct qualification as co-hosts. Two other nations will be granted playoff places.

MATILDAS STUNNED BY KOREANS
Former champion Australia will not be in a position to reclaim the title they won in 2010 after they were eliminated by South Korea.

The Matildas were given a let-off five minutes from the end of the first half of their quarterfinal with the Koreans when Cho So-hyun fired her penalty over the bar.

A lengthy VAR check by referee Qin Liang after Caitlin Foord’s challenge on Lee Geum-min resulted in the Chinese official pointing to the spot, but Cho’s attempt was woefully off target.

Australia had dominated the opening 45 minutes, with Sam Kerr rattling the crossbar with a header and Korean goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi called upon to deny both the Chelsea striker and Mary Fowler.

The game looked headed for extra-time when, with two minutes remaining, Ji picked up possession 30 meters from goal and fired a right-footed shot into the top corner, giving Australian goalkeeper Lydia Williams little chance.

CHINA SEALs COMEBACK WIN
China fought back from a goal down to beat Vietnam 3-1 in Navi Mumbai, while the Philippines defeated Taiwan 4-3 on penalties after their match ended 1-1 after extra time in Pune.

Vietnam took a surprise lead in the 11th minute with a strike from Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung after a defensive error from China but the eight-time champion equalized in the 25th minute as midfielder Wang Shuang scored from a Wang Shanshan cross.

China scored two quick goals after the break as Wang Shanshan finished off a brilliant team effort with a shot on the turn in the 52nd minute and Jiali Tang made it 3-1 the following minute with a stunning effort from the center of the box.

Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy hit the crossbar from a penalty in the 89th minute, ending any hopes of a comeback. — Reuters

Peso ends at one-month high

BW FILE PHOTO

THE PESO strengthened versus the greenback on Monday after restriction measures were eased and amid expectations of slower inflation.

The peso closed at P50.95 per dollar on Monday, appreciating by 28 centavos from its P51.23 close on Friday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

This is the peso’s strongest close in more than a month or since it finished trading at P50.46 on Dec. 28, 2021, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

The peso opened stronger at P51.20 per dollar. Its weakest showing was at P51.23, while its intraday best was its close of P50.95 against the greenback.

Dollars exchanged dropped to $980.79 million on Monday from $1.124 billion on Friday.

The local unit strengthened as the government eased restriction measures in some areas amid the decline in infections, Mr. Ricafort said.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles said Sunday that Metro Manila, as well as Batanes, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, Biliran, Southern Leyte, and Basilan, will be under the more relaxed Alert Level 2 starting Feb. 1, Tuesday.

Under Alert Level 2, business operations will be allowed to operate at a higher 50% indoor capacity and 70% for outdoor settings.

Meanwhile, a trader in an email said the peso strengthened on expectations of slower inflation in January.

A BusinessWorld poll of 16 economists yielded a median estimate of 3% for January inflation. Analysts said favorable base effect will offset the increase in oil prices and the impact of Typhoon Odette to food supply.

If realized, January will be the second consecutive month that inflation was within the 2-4% target of the central bank and will be slower than the 3.6% print in December.

The Philippine Statistics Authority will release January inflation data on Friday, Feb. 4.

Financial markets are closed on Tuesday in view of the Lunar New Year holiday.

For Wednesday, Mr. Ricafort gave a forecast range of P50.85 to P51.05 per dollar, while the trader expects the local unit to move within P50.85 to P51.10. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

PSEi rises amid eased restrictions in Metro Manila

PHILIPPINE stocks rose on Monday on the back of eased mobility restrictions in Metro Manila ahead of the release of January inflation data.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) advanced by 109.68 points or 1.51% to close at 7,361.65 on Wednesday, while the broader all shares index went up by 48.12 points or 1.24% to end at 3,904.20.

First Metro Investment Corp. Head of Research Cristina S. Ulang said the market rose as the government eased restrictions in the National Capital Region (NCR) amid the continued decline in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, which could boost economic recovery prospects.

“Investors cheered the easing of restrictions in the selected areas, primarily in Metro Manila, since this is expected to lead to more economic activities, which in turn would help in sustaining our recovery momentum,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

The government placed NCR and seven provinces under the less restrictive Alert Level 2 from Feb. 1-5.

Alert Level 2 allows businesses to increase their operating capacity as well as limited face-to-face classes.

The Health department last week said Metro Manila is at moderate risk for COVID-19 following a 67% decline in new cases.

Mr. Tantiangco also noted that the PSEi rose even as value turnover declined to P7.42 billion with 1.28 billion issues traded on Monday from Friday’s P8.01 billion with 1.23 billion shares that switched hands.

“Philippine shares were bought up to end the first month of 2022 as investors became optimistic over developments locally and abroad,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

Sectoral indices ended in the green except for services, which lost 2.66 points or 0.13% to close at 1,950.30.

On the other hand, property soared 101.58 points or 3.35% to 3,227.59; industrials jumped 224.55 points or 2.11% to 10,841.53; holding firms climbed 121.77 points or 1.72 to 7,184.84; mining and oil increased 96.10 points or 0.94% to 10,285.12; and financials rose 8.97 points or 0.52% to close at 1,703.86.

Advancing issues beat decliners, 123 against 77, while 40 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign buying dropped to P165.84 million on Monday from the P688.7 million logged in net purchases on Friday.

Mr. Limlingan said trading drivers for the week include release of the latest purchasing managers’ index report and January inflation data on Feb. 4, Friday.

Philippine financial markets are closed on Tuesday due to a special non-working day in celebration of Chinese New Year. — M.C. Lucenio

A year after Myanmar coup, growing surveillance threatens lives

PIXABAY

A group of young men was recently stopped at a security checkpoint in Yangon and asked to hand over their mobile phones. After being questioned about social media apps on their phones, one was fined for using a virtual private network (VPN). 

The crackdown on VPNs, which anonymize a user’s Internet Protocol address and help bypass firewalls, is the latest attack on digital rights in Myanmar — alongside internet shutdowns and growing surveillance — since a military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. 

Authorities say the surveillance measures are part of a drive to improve governance and curb crime. 

Fearful of being tracked, citizens have turned off the location setting on their phones, and used encrypted messaging apps, VPNs, and foreign SIM cards to communicate and organize protests, and document human rights abuses in the country. 

“Even before the coup, there was an assumption that there was surveillance — it has just gotten much more heavy-handed and overt since Feb. 1,” said Debbie Stothard, founder of the Alternative Asean Network on Burma, an advocacy group. 

“But people are determined to keep communication channels open, and they are being very resourceful in expressing dissent and recording abuses — even at great risk to themselves,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in Bangkok. 

Security forces have killed about 1,500 people and arrested thousands since Feb. 1, 2021, according to the non-profit Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. 

People in the Southeast Asian nation had already lived under military control for nearly half a century until 2011. 

During the decade of democratic transition that followed, Myanmar welcomed multiple mobile networks, and purchased drones, facial recognition software, and spyware from foreign firms that the junta is using to track civilians, rights groups say. 

Now, a draft cybersecurity law that is expected to take effect in the coming weeks, is aimed at complete control of electronic communications, data protection, and VPN services in the country, posing grave risks to citizens. 

The bill will mean “the death of online civic space in Myanmar — throttling any remaining rights of the people to freedom of expression, association, information, privacy, and security,” digital rights group Access Now said in a statement. 

Myanmar authorities could not be reached for comment. 

LIVES AT RISK
Across the world, authoritarian governments are tightening their control of the digital space, monitoring social media posts, demanding that critical posts be taken down, and using spyware and internet shutdowns to track and silence dissenters. 

In Myanmar, telecom and internet service providers had been secretly ordered months before the coup to install intercept technology that would allow the army to eavesdrop on the communications of citizens, a Reuters investigation found. 

With the junta in command, activists are concerned that telecom firms will come under more pressure to deepen surveillance. 

Two of the four telecom firms in Myanmar — MPT and Mytel — are backed by the state and the military, respectively. 

Norwegian telco Telenor announced in July it would sell its Myanmar unit to Lebanese firm M1 Group, later clarifying that this was to avoid European Union sanctions after “continued pressure” from the junta to activate surveillance technology. 

Activists had called on Telenor to halt or delay the sale, as it would entail handover of call data records of some 18 million users, putting “customers’ lives at risk” from potential abuse of their meta-data by the Myanmar military. 

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that the junta is backing a deal for M1 Group to partner with a Myanmar firm linked to the military to take over Telenor’s local business. 

It clearly indicates that the military is “consolidating control over the telecom sector to expand surveillance and invade privacy,” said Access Now, which had asked Telenor to take steps to prevent any rights abuses from the transfer of customer data to its buyer. 

“They need to be clear on how the data is being handled, who the data is being handed over to, and why they can’t take mitigative steps right now to reduce some of the potential harms of any transaction that goes through,” said Raman Jit Singh Chima, Asia policy director at Access Now. 

A spokesperson for Telenor did not respond to a request for comment. 

’EXISTENTIAL THREAT’
The surveillance equipment that the junta is using with impunity on Myanmar’s population now was available even before the coup, and underlines the dangers of adopting such technology, said Mr. Chima. 

“No matter the intent or character of any political administration, once surveillance architecture is put in place, it can be used by any future regime or repressive actor to intrude on privacy and further digital authoritarianism,” he said. 

Meanwhile, mobile phone users in Myanmar are also contending with higher costs to make calls and use mobile internet. 

In the last month, mobile data prices have increased by almost 50%, and call charges and SIM card activation fees have also risen sharply, according to Myanmar rights groups. 

In addition, the new cybersecurity law is a “clear and existential threat” to anyone who opposes the junta, said John Quinley, a senior human rights specialist at Fortify Rights. 

The junta will “use this Orwellian law to target critics and undermine people’s right to security and privacy online,” said Quinley, whose organization has heard of several cases of civilians being stopped on the street by security forces and having their mobile phones checked. 

The restrictions on VPNs — with strict penalties including fines and jail terms for those found to be using them illegally — will have severe impacts on the local population, said Thinzar Shunlei Yi, an activist in Myanmar. 

“We use VPNs to access information about COVID-19, for education, daily transactions, and social activities,” she said.  “When we are punished for using VPNs, it’s like killing us.” — Rina Chandran/Thomson Reuters Foundation

Thai cafe serves up crypto advice with coffee and cake

FACEBOOK/HIP Coffee & Restaurant

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand — A cafe in northeast Thailand has become home to cryptocurrency traders, adding banks of screens showing the latest market moves and dishing out investment advice alongside coffee and cake. 

Behind a calm exterior of cherry blossom trees, customers of HIP Coffee & Restaurant stare at their laptops, supping nervously on iced coffee — part of a surging interest in digital assets in Thailand that has regulators worried. 

“It’s exciting for me to be here because I get to meet people who share the same interests,” said Detnarong Satianphut, a 35-year-old crypto trader. 

“We [traders] get to exchange information because in the trading world we are coming up against millions of people.” 

Cryptocurrencies have been gaining momentum in Thailand, with as much as 251 billion baht ($7.62 billion) in digital asset traded in November, according to the latest official data. 

Earlier this month, Thailand said it would start to regulate the use of digital assets as payments, warning of potential risks to financial stability and the overall economic system. 

HIP cafe, which has been around since 2013, got its crypto makeover in 2020. 

Since then, according to staff, its customers have doubled. Manager Oakkharawat Yongsakuljinda said the cafe provides alternative investment opportunities for people in the surrounding Nakhon Ratchasima province. 

It offers free investment consulting and is planning on starting its own cryptocurrency coin. 

Its customers say trading in the cafe offers them the best chance of success in a volatile market, in which the most well-known cryptocurrency, bitcoin, hit six-month lows this week. 

“Having so many screens helps a lot … We immediately know and get to analyze crashing factors and whether we should buy,” said 23-year-old trader Apakon Putnok. — Jiraporn Kuhakan/Reuters

Singapore-based mobile app offers e-commerce solutions

Kaddra.com

Kaddra, a Software as a Service (SaaS) company that develops loyalty, commerce, and remarketing solutions for small and medium businesses (SMBs), is looking to strengthen its foothold in Asia, including the Philippines. 

The Singapore-based provider offers an all-in-one mobile app for retail and consumer brands.

“Whether you want it as simple as a commerce app to just do purchases, or you want it to be as complex as having a loyalty program, push notifications, marketing, setting up audiences — from simplicity to complexity, we’ve got everything,” said Natalie Ang, Kaddra’s global sales head, in a video interview with BusinessWorld.  

“I think, for businesses today, they feel that we’re a comprehensive product. We can be with them through their growth journey,” she added. 

The technology startup has served SMBs in over 20 different sectors across Asia and Europe since its launch in 2020. In the Philippines, it quadrupled its revenue in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to the previous quarter, counting brands such as Happy Cup, ShareTea, and Make Up For Ever as clients. 

“In one app, merchants can do everything from A to Z, compared to our competitors who each provide different tools that are not put together. Merchants have to clumsily find manual workflows and processes. It takes up resources, time,” said Dave Yu, head of marketing at Kaddra, adding that a website alone cannot automatically generate traffic and maintain brand loyalty.

Pain points that businesses must address include setting up a mobile storefront, structuring inventory, marketing to customers, crafting the customer journey, and integrating payment gateways and delivery systems. 

“[Consumers] are very resourceful in the way that they look for content, products, and ways that they want brands to engage with them,” Mr. Yu said. “And the thing about our mobile storefront is that there are so many combinations [for brands] to get creative and entice consumers to not only engage, but also convert and transact on the app.” 

In the 2021 e-Conomy Southeast Asia report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Co., the Philippines was touted as the fastest-growing internet economy in the region, fueled mainly by e-commerce and food delivery services. 

The country’s overall internet economy in terms of gross merchandise value (GMV) is projected to reach $40 billion in value by 2025, the report said. 

Kaddra is in talks with local logistics and payment partners. — Brontë H. Lacsamana

UAE intercepts Houthi missile attack as Israeli president visits

DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Monday it had intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement as the UAE hosted Israel’s President Isaac Herzog in his first official visit to the Gulf business and tourism hub. 

Washington condemned the assault, the third on US-allied UAE within the last two weeks, including a deadly strike on the capital Abu Dhabi on Jan. 17. 

The missile attacks mark an escalation of the Yemen war between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition, that includes the UAE. 

A senior Emirati official described the attacks as “useless” provocations that would be dealt with to safeguard national security and sovereignty. “Those who test the UAE are mistaken,” the official, Anwar Gargash, said in a Twitter post. 

The UAE defense ministry said the latest missile attack was intercepted 20 minutes past midnight and that its debris fell on an uninhabited area. It did not say whether it was aimed at Abu Dhabi or Dubai, which is hosting a world fair. 

It came while Israel’s president was visiting Abu Dhabi where he discussed security and bilateral relations with the UAE’s de facto ruler Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. 

Mr. Herzog spent the night in Abu Dhabi, an Israeli official told Reuters. He is due to visit the Expo 2020 Dubai world fair on Monday. 

“While Israel’s president is visiting the UAE to build bridges and promote stability across the region, the Houthis continue to launch attacks that threaten civilians,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a tweet. 

The UAE and Bahrain forged ties with Israel in 2020 under US-brokered pacts dubbed the “Abraham Accords.” 

“We are determined in our strategic vision and goals to help build a stable and prosperous region for all and provoking us is useless,” said Mr. Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president. 

The UAE civil aviation authority said air traffic in the Gulf country was normal and all flights operating as usual. 

The UAE’s defense ministry said coalition warplanes had destroyed missile launchers that were located in Yemen. 

A Houthi military spokesman said they would provide details of a new military operation “deep inside” the UAE. 

The UAE is part of the Saudi-led coalition that has been battling the Houthis for nearly seven years in a conflict largely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. 

The Houthis, who have repeatedly launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, have warned they would continue targeting the UAE unless it stopped “interfering” in Yemen. 

The UAE largely ended its military presence on the ground in 2019 but holds sway through Yemeni forces it arms and trains and which recently joined battles against the Houthis in key energy-producing regions. 

The coalition has also launched deadly air strikes on Houthi-held areas in the past two week in the conflict, which has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine. —  Mahmoud Mourad/Reuters

‘Virtual influencers’ are here, but should Meta really be setting the ethical ground rules?

Via instagram.com/lilmiquela

By Tama Leaver and Rachel Berryman

Earlier this month, Meta announced it is working on a set of ethical guidelines for “virtual influencers” — animated, typically computer-generated, characters designed to attract attention on social media.

When Facebook renamed itself Meta late last year, it heralded a pivot towards the “metaverse” — where virtual influencers will presumably one day roam in their thousands.

Even Meta admits the metaverse doesn’t really exist yet. The building blocks of a persistent, immersive virtual reality for everything from business to play are yet to be fully assembled. But virtual influencers are already online, and are surprisingly convincing. But given its recent history, is Meta (née Facebook) really the right company to be setting the ethical standards for virtual influencers and the metaverse more broadly?

Who (or what) are virtual influencers? Meta’s announcement notes the “rising phenomenon” of synthetic media – an umbrella term for images, video, voice or text generated by computerized technology, typically using artificial intelligence (AI) or automation.

Many virtual influencers incorporate elements of synthetic media in their design, ranging from completely digitally rendered bodies, to human models that are digitally masked with characters’ facial features. At both ends of the scale, this process still relies heavily on human labor and input, from art direction for photo shoots to writing captions for social media. Like Meta’s vision of the metaverse, influencers that are entirely generated and powered by AI are a largely futuristic fantasy.

But even in their current form, virtual influencers are of serious value to Meta, both as attractions for their existing platforms and as avatars of the metaverse.

Interest in virtual influencers has rapidly expanded over the past five years, attracting huge audiences on social media and partnerships with major brands, including Audi, Bose, Calvin Klein, Samsung, and Chinese e-commerce platform TMall.

A competitive industry specializing in the production, management, and promotion of virtual influencers has already sprung up, although it remains largely unregulated.

So far, India is the only country to address virtual influencers in national advertising standards, requiring brands “disclose to consumers that they are not interacting with a real human being” when posting sponsored content.

ETHICAL GUIDELINES 

There is an urgent need for ethical guidelines, both to help producers and their brand partners navigate this new terrain, and more importantly to help users understand the content they’re engaging with.

Meta has warned that “synthetic media has the potential for both good and harm,” listing “representation and cultural appropriation” as specific issues of concern.

Indeed, despite their short lifespan, virtual influencers already have a history of overt racialization and misrepresentation, raising ethical questions for producers who create digital characters with different demographic characteristics from their own.

But it’s far from clear whether Meta’s proposed guidelines will adequately address these questions. Becky Owen, head of creator innovation and solutions at Meta Creative Shop, said the planned ethical framework “will help our brand partners and VI creators explore what’s possible, likely and desirable, and what’s not.”

This seeming emphasis on technological possibilities and brand partners’ desires leads to an inevitable impression that Meta is once again conflating commercial potential with ethical practice.

By its own count, Meta’s platforms already host more than 200 virtual influencers. But virtual influencers exist elsewhere too: they do viral dance challenges on TikTok, upload vlogs to YouTube, and post life updates on Sina Weibo. They appear “offline” at malls in Beijing and Singapore, on 3D billboards in Tokyo, and star in television commercials.

GAMEKEEPER, OR POACHER? 

This brings us back to the question of whether Meta is the right company to set the ground rules for this emerging space.

The company’s history is tarred by unethical behavior, from Facebook’s questionable beginnings in Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room (as depicted in The Social Network) to large-scale privacy failings demonstrated in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

In February 2021 Facebook showed how far it was willing to go to defend its interests, when it briefly banned all news content on Facebook in Australia to force the federal government to water down the Australian News Media Bargaining Code. Last year also saw former Facebook executive Frances Haugen very publicly turn whistleblower, sharing a trove of internal documents with journalists and politicians.

These so-called “Facebook Papers” raised numerous concerns about the company’s conduct and ethics, including the revelation that Facebook’s own internal research showed Instagram can harm young people’s mental health, even leading to suicide.

Today, Meta is fighting US antitrust litigation that aims to restrain the company’s monopoly by potentially compelling it to sell key acquisitions including Instagram and WhatsApp.

Meanwhile, Meta is scrambling to integrate its messaging service across all three apps, effectively making them different interfaces for a shared back end that Meta will doubtless argue cannot feasibly be separated, no matter the outcomes of the current litigation.

Given this back story, Meta seems far from the ideal choice as ethical guardian of the metaverse.

The already extensive distribution of virtual influencers across platforms and markets highlights the need for ethical guidelines that go beyond the interests of one company — especially a company that stands to gain so much from the impending spectacle. — The Conversation

Tama Leaver is Professor of Internet Studies at Curtin University in Australia.

Rachel Berryman is a PhD Candidate in Internet Studies at Curtin University in Australia.

This article is republished The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Scientists on alert over rising cases caused by Omicron cousin BA.2

CHICAGO — The highly transmissible Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus — the most common form of which is known as BA.1 — now accounts for nearly all of the coronavirus infections globally, although dramatic surges in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases have already peaked in some countries.

Scientists are now tracking a rise in cases caused by a close cousin known as BA.2, which is starting to outcompete BA.1 in parts of Europe and Asia. The following is what we know so far about the new subvariant:

 ‘STEALTH’ SUBVARIANT 

Globally, BA.1 accounted for 98.8% of sequenced cases submitted to the public virus tracking database GISAID as of Jan. 25. But several countries are reporting recent increases in the subvariant known as BA.2, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In addition to BA.1 and BA.2, the WHO lists two other subvariants under the Omicron umbrella: BA.1.1.529 and BA.3. All are closely related genetically, but each features mutations that could alter how they behave.

Trevor Bedford, a computational virologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center who has been tracking the evolution of SARS-CoV-2, wrote on Twitter on Friday that BA.2 represents roughly 82% of cases in Denmark, 9% in the UK and 8% in the United States, based on his analysis of sequencing data from the GISAID database and case counts from the Our World in Data project at the University of Oxford.

The BA.1 version of Omicron has been somewhat easier to track than prior variants. That is because BA.1 is missing one of three target genes used in a common PCR test. Cases showing this pattern were assumed by default to be caused by BA.1.

BA.2, sometimes known as a “stealth” subvariant, does not have the same missing target gene. Instead, scientists are monitoring it the same way they have prior variants, including Delta, by tracking the number of virus genomes submitted to public databases such as GISAID.

As with other variants, an infection with BA.2 can be detected by coronavirus home tests kits, though they cannot indicate which variant is responsible, experts said.

MORE TRANSMISSIBLE? 

Some early reports indicate that BA.2 may be even more infectious than the already extremely contagious BA.1, but there is no evidence so far that it is more likely to evade vaccine protection.

Danish health officials estimate that BA.2 may be 1.5 times more transmissible than BA.1, based on preliminary data, though it likely does not cause more severe disease.

In England, a preliminary analysis of contact tracing from Dec. 27, 2021, through Jan. 11, 2022, by the UK Health Security Agency (HSA) suggests that household transmission is higher among contacts of people infected with BA.2 (13.4%) compared with other Omicron cases (10.3%).

The HSA found no evidence of a difference in vaccine effectiveness, according to the Jan. 28 report.

A critical question is whether people who were infected in the BA.1 wave will be protected from BA.2, said Dr. Egon Ozer, an infectious disease expert at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

That has been a concern in Denmark, where some places that saw high case counts of BA.1 infections were reporting rising cases of BA.2, Dr. Ozer said.

If prior BA.1 infection does not protect against BA.2, “this could be sort of a two-humped camel kind of wave,” Dr. Ozer said. “It’s too early to know if that will happen.”

The good news, he said, is that vaccines and boosters still “keep people out of the hospital and keep people from dying.” — Julie Steenhuysen/Reuters 

Filipinos’ financial literacy needs more push, Home Credit survey reveals

Recently, the pandemic pushed many Filipinos to be mindful of their personal finances. However, there’s still immense concern on the state of financial literacy in the country. Both the 2015 World Bank (WB) survey and Central Bank’s 2019 financial inclusion survey revealed that only half of Filipino adults correctly answered financial literacy questions.

This was supported by a survey from Home Credit where only 10% of the respondents correctly answered questions that test their knowledge on various financial concepts.

The said survey was drawn from the consumer finance company’s self-crafted financial literacy quiz found in the My Home Credit App. A two-part quiz, it offers users a chance to answer a series of questions involving personal finance and other financial literacy items.

To get an in-depth analysis of the quiz results, here’s a breakdown of the findings for each question:

Findings of Quiz 1: Basics of Budgeting, Digital Literacy, and Cybersecurity

More than 25,000 respondents took the first quiz that covers topics on basics of budgeting, digital literacy, and cybersecurity. Within May to December 2021, the respondents mostly belong to the age group of 25-39 years old and 63% or majority are female.

From the results, only 10% got all correct answers from the six questions. When asked about managing finances, almost half (as many as 10,000) did not apply the ideal saving formula in their monthly budget; they prioritize expenses first and save what is left.

On interest computation, 57% got the correct answer and the remaining half either got the wrong computation or does not know how to answer. On a related question about inflation, respondents were asked about the impact of inflation and only 41.8% had the right understanding of its effects on their purchasing power and borrowing decisions.

Filipinos seemed to be more knowledgeable on investments and risk diversification. When asked whether they will spread their money to multiple investments or focus on just one, almost 73% chose to put it into multiple investments to limit their losses, 22.5% for one investment and 4.6% do not know the answer.

Aside from inflation and basic numeracy concepts, cybersecurity and safety are also one of the concepts that are not well-understood by the takers with only 43.4% getting the correct answer – a number slightly lower than 47.8% before the covered period.

On the flip side, most respondents aced the question on what tasks can be done using digital financial tools at 97%. The social distancing measures brought by the pandemic might be a huge factor on how well-versed Filipinos have become in using fintech tools for daily transactions.

In summary, results show that the respondents’ knowledge on all financial literacy concepts mentioned above are in the intermediate level with scores falling under 3 to 4 out of 6. Basic numeracy, inflation, and cybersecurity and safety are the least understood concepts as indicated in the survey.

Findings of Quiz 2: The Basics of Budgeting, Saving and Borrowing

The second leg of the financial literacy quiz zoomed in on the basics: budgeting, saving and borrowing. Launched in September, it covers the period of launch until September., there are over 19,000 responses, with more females attempting to take the quiz and from the age group of 25-39 years old.

The first three questions concentrated on how to properly plan a monthly budget and how to compute for an emergency fund. Most quiz takers (66.8%) know that every month, they should at least make a budget plan and 88.4% know that the ideal amount of emergency fund should cover 3 to 6 months’ worth of expenses. However, only ¼ of users know how to set a SMART Financial goal.

Regarding the basics of borrowing, almost all (95%) of quiz takers know that paying bills on time every month can help improve their credit score. A total of 77.1% also answered that a consumer finance company is an institution that could help them avail cash or product loans.

On the similar topic of loan application, 83% knows the concept of loan repayment but only half of respondents know what a cooling off period in a loan is about; 65% knows that there are different ways that could help them approve their loans (such as preparing requirements ahead of time, borrowing an amount that you can pay, etc).

Looking at the findings of the second quiz, majority of Filipinos have a proper understanding of the basics of some financial concepts but would need guidance on comprehending more specific terms. Regardless, the results of the second quiz show that the level of financial literacy in the country is promising and would continue to improve if taught properly.

This is where companies advocating for financial literacy come in. One of which is Home Credit Philippines, a longtime financial provider and financial educator both in global and domestic markets. Through Wais sa Home, their financial and digital literacy program, they address the concerns revealed in the survey through various initiatives and activities aimed at driving financial inclusion and raising financial literacy standards amongst Filipinos.

“Our business model and the focal point of our corporate social responsibility efforts is centered on responsible lending. We want to help create responsible borrowers and good payers through financial education and digital financial literacy,” says Home Credit Philippines Chief Marketing Officer Sheila Paul.

To reach a wider audience and have a steady source of important financial and digital literacy concepts, Home Credit is launching its Wais sa Home website soon to allow more people to gain knowledge on basic money management and digital skills.

 

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[B-SIDE Podcast] Strengthening the healthcare system (Part 1)

Follow us on Spotify BusinessWorld B-Side

The days of zero-COVID policies are long past, and learning to live with the coronavirus will require major adjustments to how things were done in the first year of the pandemic. “Coping with it, living with it, adjusting our policies and the way we live with the COVID threat (is) a matter of reducing risk,” said Dr. Regina P. Berba, head of infection control at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH).

In this B-Side episode — the first of two parts on the future of healthcare — Dr. Berba speaks with BusinessWorld reporter Brontë H. Lacsamana about a wide range of topics, including how to take care of the medical frontliners who are taking care of us, how civic spaces have to transform themselves just as hospitals have, and how the universal healthcare law can expand access to quality and affordable health services if implemented properly.

Recorded remotely in December 2021. Produced by Brontë H. Lacsamana, Jino D. Nicolas, and Sam L. Marcelo.

To read the related story, get the January 2022 issue of BusinessWorld In-Depth.

Follow us on Spotify BusinessWorld B-Side

An agile, forward-looking central banker

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin E. Diokno

At the start of this year, the business and banking communities have received great news with an outstanding recognition accorded to one of the country’s long-standing public servants.

The Banker, a publication owned by the Financial Times, recently awarded the Global Central Banker of the Year 2022 to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno. This is the first time for a Philippine central banker to receive the accord. Along with the said honor, the publication also recognized the governor as the Asia Pacific Central Banker of the Year.

In giving the award, the publication cited Mr. Diokno for helping “to see the Philippines through the COVID-19 pandemic” while pushing “ahead with his modernization agenda for the country’s banking system.” It also recognized the governor’s goal of “creating a strong banking sector that supports individual consumers while moving forward with the digital banking agenda.”

The fifth governor of the BSP, Mr. Diokno was appointed in March 2019, taking over the late BSP governor Nestor Espenilla, Jr. Aside from pursuing the BSP mandates of price stability, financial stability, and efficient payments, and settlements system, the governor also endeavors “to bring central banking closer to the Filipino people.”

This is very much evident with his vision of a ‘cash-lite’ economy and a financially inclusive society. Driven by this vision, Mr. Diokno aims to shift at least 50% of retail payment transactions to digital form and achieve 70% transaction account ownership among adult Filipinos by 2023, when his term ends. He is also supporting local payment providers through the use of the national ‘QR PH’ standard for QR code payments, and he strongly advocates for the Philippine ID System.

Mr. Diokno, The Banker also noted, pledged to bolster existing financial literacy programs with additional support in digital skills development in order to ensure that no citizen will be left behind in the move to digital payments.

“He has called for customer centricity across the whole financial space, including insurance and capital markets, to help the underserved feel comfortable and secure accessing financial services. Greater levels of regulation are also being introduced to payment providers to protect consumers from fraud,” the publication continued.

Mr. Diokno was also noted by The Banker for his call for more mergers and acquisitions (M&As) between local banks to strengthen the banking sector through a memorandum of agreement pledging to allow bank M&As to proceed within 55 days. The governor’s support for transition to low-carbon, evidenced by the BSP-headed ‘Green Force’ technical working group and the Philippine Sustainable Finance Roadmap, was also recognized.

Regarding the central bank’s response to the pandemic, The Banker noted Mr. Diokno’s stance of holding interest rates low for as long as possible to maintain stability. “Believing that the current environment is transitory, he decided to hold on to an accommodative monetary policy to support the economy,” the magazine wrote.

As early as February 2020, the BSP cut policy rates by 25 basis points (bps), and then it was cut by another 175 bps before the year ended. Other measures implemented during the pandemic included reducing the reserve requirement ratio to increase the volume of loanable funds in the system and incentivizing bank lending to micro, small, and medium enterprises.

Prior to serving BSP governor, Mr. Diokno served three administrations of the government, particularly under the Department of Budget and Management. He served as Budget Undersecretary from 1986 to 1991, then Budget Secretary from 1998 to 2001 and from 2016 to 2019. He also served as Fiscal Adviser to the Philippine Senate, chairman and chief executive officer of the Philippine National Oil Company, and chairman of the Local Water Utilities Administration.

The following major policy reform contributions are attributed to Mr. Diokno: providing technical assistance to the 1986 Tax Reform Program to simplify the income tax system and introduce the value-added tax; helping design the 1991 Local Government Code of the Philippines; initiating a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get policy to streamline the release of funds; and sponsoring the internationally lauded Government Procurement Reform Act to modernize, regulate, and standardize government procurement activities in the Philippines.

Outside government work, Mr. Diokno is professor emeritus of the University of the Philippines (UP)-Diliman, having taught Public Sector Economics, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and Development Economics, among others, for over 40 years. He was also chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.

Mr. Diokno has also participated in international conferences hosted by international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the United Nations.

He authored numerous publications and discussion papers regarding his research interests that have been published in academic journals and policy reports. He also wrote the “Core” column in BusinessWorld years ago.

Mr. Diokno finished his Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration (1968) and his Master’s Degree in Public Administration (1970) and Economics (1974) at the University of the Philippines. He also holds an M.A. in Political Economy (1976) from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, USA and a Ph.D. in Economics (1981) degree from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University in Syracuse in New York. — Adrian Paul B. Conoza

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