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House urged to pass pro-athlete bills

FILIPINO Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz

A congressman has asked the House of Representatives to approve two bills that will give benefits to Filipino athletes who win in international sports competitions. 

In a statement, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte, Jr. Urged his colleagues to pass a measure he filed that seeks to give women equal opportunity in athletic scholarships and prizes, and another bill that seeks to protect Filipino athletes in the national team. 

“These measures, along with the grant of benefits to them and the law establishing the National Academy of Sports show that they will never be forgotten for their contributions to nation-building,” he said. 

A House committee recently approved twin measures that seek to give health care and death benefits to professional sportsmen who have won international awards. — Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan 

BSP to inspect institutions’ cybersecurity defenses

REUTERS

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will soon require financial institutions to demonstrate the robustness of their cybersecurity systems.

“Now prior to offering electronic payments and financial services, BSP-supervised financial institutions must undergo the BSP’s approval process, which requires rigorous security controls and consumer protection mechanisms,” BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said in a briefing Friday.

“Compliance with BSP security and risk management standards are assessed during on-site examination as well as off-site monitoring.”

The central bank is in its final stages of developing a circular requiring the adoption of strong fraud management systems and temporary freezes on funds to minimize losses from fraudulent activities, the BSP said.

“Based on the reported crimes and losses submitted by BSP-supervised financial institutions, the top cyber incidents pertained to account takeover or identity theft, and card not present fraud, which are attributable to phishing, and its variants such as phishing and other cyber fraud schemes,” Mr. Diokno said.

The central bank recently identified the owners of accounts receiving illicit fund transfers involving two lenders last weekend.  Individuals who said they were BDO Unibank, Inc. account holders alleged on social media that their funds were transferred without authorization to UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. accounts.

“We are also expanding the scope of our investigation, because we have surveillance showing that there may be other institutions other than of course, UnionBank, which may have been used to funnel away the stolen funds,” BSP Technology Risk and Innovation Supervision Director Melchor T. Plabasan said.

“So we will also we also want to get to the bottom of that particular issue or concern.”

He said it is too early to tell whether there will be penalties against institutions involved.

“It’s still premature or too early to tell whether we are going to resort to enforcement action or monetary or non-monetary sanctions, but then again, imposing sanctions is also a part of the regulatory framework to ensure that we are able to achieve the desired change and also to mitigate further risk,” he said. – Jenina P. Ibañez

BSP makes full award at P80-B 28-day bill auction, average rates lower

BW FILE PHOTO

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) fully awarded the P80 billion in 28-day securities on auction Friday, with the average rate falling compared with a week earlier.

The bills attracted P104.56 billion in tenders. Demand was lower than the P105.85 billion seen last week.

Accepted rates for the one-month debt ranged from 1.785%-1.98%, against the 1.77%-2.038% range a week earlier.

The average rate for the one-month securities was 1.8534%, against 1.8653% last week.

The central bank uses its short-term securities and term deposit facility to mop up excess liquidity in the financial system and guide market rates.

The average yield eased week-on-week after the national government’s cash position increased with the recent retail Treasury bond (RTB) issuance, as seen in the two straight weeks of rejected bids at the Treasury bond auctions, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

“Sentiment was also supported by the Bicameral approval of the 2022 national budget earlier this week, now for final approval/signing into law by President Duterte any time soon, before the Christmas break,” he said.

The government raised P360 billion via five-and-a-half-year retail Treasury bonds that ended last month amid strong demand from investors.

The issuance was the Treasury’s second RTB offering of the year after it raised P463.3 billion from three-year retail paper in February. – Jenina P. Ibañez

UCPB shareholders approve LANDBANK merger

LAND BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES FB PAGE

United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) shareholders approved the planned merger with Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK), with the combined entity producing a bank with nearly P3 trillion in assets, LANDBANK said Friday.

Shareholders representing 97.2% of the outstanding capital stock of UCPB voted in favor of the merger of the two state-run banks during their Dec. 14 meeting, LANDBANK said in a statement.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte in June signed an executive order approving the merger, in which all assets and liabilities of UCPB will be transferred to LANDBANK.

The order noted that the banks both have a compatible development mission.

“Coconut farmers and other workers in the agricultural sector stand to benefit most from LANDBANK’s enhanced financial muscle, as evidenced by the Bank’s consistently growing agriculture lending from P222.05 billion in 2018, to P236.31 billion in 2019, and P237.62 billion in 2020,” LANDBANK said.

LANBANK’s net profit grew 21.2% year-on-year to P16.72 billion in the first nine months, with total assets growing 13.6% to 2.564 trillion.

“With this merger, we are looking forward to a stronger, more resilient and unified banking institution that will promote and broaden financial inclusion among Filipinos, especially those who belong to the underserved and unbanked sectors,” LANDBANK President and Chief Executive Officer Cecilia C. Borromeo said.

LANBANK said that deposits in both banks will remain intact and services will not be interrupted. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Security Bank estimates 2021 GDP growth at 5.1%

BW FILE PHOTO

Security Bank Corp. said the economy will likely expand by 5.1% in 2021 with household consumption continuing to support fourth quarter growth.

“So far the outlook for fourth quarter growth is on track. We’re seeing domestic activity improving and retail footprint getting more pronounced,” Security Bank Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces said in a briefing Friday. “Consumption could likely be the key driver again.”

“We can’t really characterize it as revenge spending because we don’t really know to what extent the ability of people to spend will be,” he said, noting some reluctance because the pandemic continues to loom as a threat to growth.

He said however that “cautious revenge spending” can be seen in the improved prospects for retailers.

A spike in government spending will also help drive growth, he added.

He said the Omicron variant of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains a risk, but added that the vaccination rollout could support sentiment.

Third-quarter GDP grew 7.1%, against the 12% expansion in the preceding three months, after the government reintroduced lockdowns to curb a Delta-driven COVID-19 surge.

Third-quarter growth was still stronger than expected, prompting both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to raise their full-year economic growth forecasts for the Philippines.

On Tuesday, economic managers raised the government GDP growth projection to 5-5.5% for this year from the downgraded 4-5% goal issued in August. – Jenina P. Ibañez

Peso weakens after Fed sets timetable for winding down bond buying

The peso weakened against the dollar Friday amid hawkish signals from the US Federal Reserve.

The peso closed at P50.02 Friday against its P49.96 finish Thursday, according to the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

The peso opened at P49.95, with the intraday high at P49.89 and the low at P50.04.

Dollar volume rose to $900.65 million on Friday from $826.63 million a day earlier.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message that the peso was slightly weaker, but noted it was still the strongest it has been in more than a month, following remarks by the Fed.

“Some central banks already raised key short-term interest rates, such as the UK,” he said.

The Fed on Wednesday said it will end its bond purchase program – a key component of its quantitative easing program – in March, with officials expecting to raise rates three times next year as the US battles inflation.

Mr. Ricafort said such Fed action will prevent inflation from spiraling further, or at least manage inflation expectations.

He noted the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas keeping its key policy rate at 2%, but added that the central bank has raised its inflation estimates for the next two years.

“The peso remains relatively strong largely due by the seasonal surge/culmination in OFW remittances and conversion to pesos, especially with almost a little over a week before Christmas in view of the holiday spending rush,” he said. – Jenina P. Ibañez

To produce unicorns, PHL startup community needs policy continuity

UNSPLASH

The startup community hopes to weather the uncertainties that accompany the upcoming national elections.  

“It’s not always a matter of new policies, but also of the consistency of policies,” said Carlo C. Calimon, concurrent director of Let’s Go Foundation, a non-profit that advocates entrepreneurship, and local incubator and accelerator StartUp Village. “When the next person comes in, everything is scrapped.”  

Startups need a stable environment to test their ideas, he added. Food trucks, which were all the rage several years ago, are now only seen in parties because of paperwork issues. 

“When you apply for a food truck permit, the LGU [local government unit] will say you can’t apply, because you’re not under any category. You kill the startup before it actually starts,” Mr. Calimon said on Friday at a BusinessWorld Insights webinar.

BUILDING UNICORNS 

Innovation should be a national priority and not “a nice side dish,” said Katrina Rausa Chan, concurrent executive director of QBO Innovation Hub, a platform that supports startups, and IdeaSpace Foundation Inc., a non-profit for early-stage startup founders. “As much as a grassroots approach benefits Filipinos, a top-down approach would be great as well,” she added. 

“Talent is the fuel that drives any startup, and Filipinos have proven their ability to execute in companies around the world,” she said, pointing out several factors working in the country’s favor: a young demographic, a growing economy, its willingness to adopt technologies, and an increase in fundraising this year.  

Total fintech funding in the first half of 2021 amounted to $5.56 billion in the Asia Pacific — more than double the same period last year, and on track to top pre-pandemic levels, per S&P Global Market Intelligence, a provider of financial and industry data and research.  

Among the shining stars of the local innovation landscape is Mynt, the first unicorn born in the Philippines, and the company that powers the e-wallet GCash.  

“Building these unicorns is a long-term game, and GCash was able to innovate and build on top of its product,” said Luis S. Sia, co-founder and chief commercial officer of PayMongo, a payment processing platform. “GCash also speaks to the underserved market. They cater to Filipinos who do not have access to the same financial services as those who are banked.”  

Like GCash, PayMongo was founded when its founders realized that MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) needed a payment product tailored to their needs.  

“I think entrepreneurs should focus on providing value for customer,” Mr. Sia said. “At the end of the day, technology is there to support how people can solve problems.”  

While the coronavirus pandemic was an inflection point for growth, entrepreneurs don’t need global crises to innovate. “Now is the time companies and businesses are embracing technology and innovation… we have to put our creativity into play even without disruptions,” Mr. Calimon said. — Patricia B. Mirasol 

Safeguard aids with hand hygiene kits as COVID-19 vaccination for minors roll out

Now that the country has fully implemented the roll-out of vaccines for minors aged 12-17, Safeguard strengthens hand hygiene support to hospitals and vaccine hubs to help ensure that healthcare workers, frontliners, and children are safe from any illness that can be transmitted from improper hand hygiene.

A total of ₱6.1 million in Safeguard Foaming Hand Wash products are donated to hospitals and vaccination hubs like St. Luke’s Medical Center and vaccination operations inside Megaworld Lifestyle Malls. As the Philippine’s #1 family germ protection soap, Safeguard aims to help in keeping the nation safe from the threats of germs and bacteria.

Safeguard continues to provide aid in proper hand hygiene education and practices through donations to facilities that need it the most during the fight against COVID-19. The brand has partnered with numerous organizations including LGUs, malls, and provided handwashing facilities in urban areas as well, through the #SAFEWash campaign.

For more than 56 years, Safeguard has continued to keep Filipino families safe with 99.9% germ protection, and continues to expand its protection to frontliners, healthcare workers, and those that are at risk of germs and bacteria. Safeguard hand soaps are powered by Infinishield Technology that effectively inhibits the growth of disease-causing germs. After handwashing, it provides with a protective shield against germs for up to 24 hours.

As the country remains in battle against the pandemic while also easing health protocols for a better new normal, proper health protocols and hand hygiene should be maintained. Safeguard is in arms with Filipinos, and with your efforts, we can look forward to a SAFE Philippines.

Do your part in making sure your family and loved ones are safe through each #SafeWash. Protect yourself from illness-causing germs and bacteria by shopping Safeguard in leading supermarkets, drugstores, or through the official Safeguard malls in Lazada and Shopee.

 

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US curbs Chinese drone maker DJI, other firms it accuses of aiding rights abuses

PIXABAY

WASHINGTON — The US government put investment and export restrictions on dozens of Chinese companies on Thursday, including top drone maker DJI, accusing them of complicity in the oppression of China’s Uyghur minority or helping the military, further ratcheting up tensions between the world’s top two economies.  

Blaming DJI and seven other tech firms for supporting “the biometric surveillance and tracking” of Uyghurs, the US Treasury Department added them to a list of entities suspected of having Chinese military links, barring Americans from trading in their securities.  

Separately, the Commerce Department added China’s Academy of Military Medical Sciences and its 11 research institutes to a trade blacklist, restricting access to US exports. It said such aid included “purported brain-control weaponry” without defining the technology further.  

The department also added HMN International, formerly Huawei Marine, Jiangsu Hengtong Marine Cable Systems, Jiangsu Hengtong OpticElectric, Shanghai Aoshi Control Technology Co, Ltd, and Zhongtian Technology Submarine Cable to the list over US allegations of acquiring, or attempting to acquire, technology from the United States to help modernize the People’s Liberation Army.  

The Chinese embassy in Washington called the actions “unwarranted suppression” that violated free trade rules, adding that Beijing would take “all essential measures” to uphold the interests of Chinese companies and research institutions.  

“China’s development of biotechnology has always been for the well-being of mankind. The relevant claims of the US side are totally groundless,” embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said in an email.  

A DJI spokesperson declined to comment on the US announcement on Friday, but directed Reuters to the company’s statement when the US Commerce Department put it on the so-called entity list a year ago for the same reasons. That step barred it from buying or using US technology or components.  

At the time, DJI said it had done nothing to justify the move and would continue to sell products in the United States.  

UN experts and rights groups estimate that more than a million people, mainly Uyghurs and members of other Muslim minorities, have been detained in recent years in a vast system of camps in China’s far-west region of Xinjiang.  

China denies rights abuses in Xinjiang and has pushed back against US “interference” in its affairs, vowing to protect its companies against US sanctions.  

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said China is choosing to use biotechnologies “to pursue control over its people and its repression of members of ethnic and religious minority groups.”  

“We cannot allow US commodities, technologies, and software that support medical science and biotechnical innovation to be diverted toward uses contrary to US national security,” she said in a statement.  

Thursday’s announcement coupled with last week’s investment ban on Chinese facial recognition company SenseTime could worsen already rocky relations between Beijing and Washington, despite President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.’s trying in a November virtual meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping to establish “guardrails” to prevent the two superpowers from sliding toward conflict.  

Also on Thursday, the Senate passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. Mr. Biden has said he will sign it into law. The bill would ban imports from China’s Xinjiang region over concerns about forced labor.  

SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY  

The investment ban, which will also apply to Megvii Technology Limited and Cloudwalk Technology Co Ltd, was first imposed by Donald Trump’s administration and revised by Mr. Biden.  

It prohibits US entities from investing in dozens of Chinese companies with alleged ties to the defense or surveillance technology sectors. It now spans dozens of companies, from China’s top chipmaker SMIC to oil producer CNOOC.  

All eight companies added to the list on Thursday are already on the entity list. The list has become a go-to tool for Washington in the US-China tech feud. Suppliers to companies on the list must seek a special license from the Commerce Department to ship goods to the targeted company. The license requests face a tough standard of review.  

Megvii said it opposed the US Treasury’s decision and that its inclusion on the list would not impact the company’s daily operations.  

Beijing and Washington have clashed over several issues, including US criticism of China’s expanding nuclear arsenal and the Biden administration’s decision this month for US government officials to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over rights abuses.  

China’s telecommunications equipment company Huawei Technologies was added to the entity list in 2019. Submarine cable maker HMN Technologies was added later that year.  

Washington has become increasingly concerned about security threats posed by the company’s role in building undersea internet cables, which have far greater data capacity than satellites. Last year, it sent warnings to Pacific Island nations about HMN’s bid to participate in a project to improve communications in the region, Reuters reported.  

Beijing says it has no intention of using cable infrastructure for spying. — Alexandra Alper and Daphne Psaledakis/Reuters 

Wall Street firms retreat from office, holiday parties as virus spreads

REUTERS

Wall Street banks and investment firms are retrenching from their push to get staff back to the office, with Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Carlyle Group Inc., Blackstone, and MetLife among the latest to adjust plans as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads.  

The institutions are rethinking their plans to return to business-as-usual amid a spike in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in New York and other financial hubs and growing concerns over the fast-spreading Omicron.   

“Even before Omicron, it was clear that there was not going to be a full ‘back to normal’ in most office-based jobs — some form of work from home is likely to endure into the future,” Rachel Lipson, Project on Workforce at Harvard University’s Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, said in a recent interview.   

Citigroup told staff at its New York metro area offices on Wednesday they should work from home if they are able to, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Vaccinated staff had been allowed to return to some Citigroup offices in recent months.   

US insurer MetLife Inc. on Thursday told its nearly 14,000 US staff it had postponed plans for them to return to the office to March from Jan. 10 previously, a spokeswoman for the company said.  Blackstone employees were welcome to work from home through the rest of the month given the increasing spread of COVID-19 in the United States, a spokesperson said.   

Goldman Sachs, which has not sent staff home, had hosted holiday parties over the last few weeks but on Thursday said it was canceling remaining gatherings due to worries over COVID-19, according to a source familiar with the bank’s plans.   

Morgan Stanley is expecting staff who are not required to be in the office to take advantage of that flexibility and work from home and spend more time with their families, but it is not sending staff home and doesn’t have a work-from-home policy, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday.   

Investment firms followed suit. Carlyle is encouraging its U.S. employees to work from home for the remainder of the year and plans to return to a hybrid work model in the new year, a source familiar with the situation said. It is also not planning a firm-wide holiday party, the source said.   

The Omicron variant has been detected in 77 countries since it was first identified three weeks ago, fueling concerns that its large number of mutations will help it spread faster and evade protection provided by COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics.   

“We are in transition period still,” Morgan Stanley Chief Executive James Gorman said in a CNBC interview on Monday. “I thought we would be out of it by Labor Day, past Labor Day. We’re not. I think we will still be in it through most of next year. Everyone is still finding their way.”   

Earlier this week, JPMorgan Chase & Co told unvaccinated staff in Manhattan to work from home, while investment bank Jefferies Financial Group last week asked staff in Manhattan and elsewhere to again steer clear of the office due to a spate of COVID-19 cases.  A similar situation is occurring with institutions in Canada offices amid growing concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant in that country. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada said on Wednesday they have asked staff in Canada to work remotely, joining Bank of Nova Scotia in halting plans for a return to work. — Noor Zainab Hussain, Matt Scuffham and Chibuike Oguh/Reuters 

BW Insights | Empowering Filipino Innovation and Creativity for a Post-Pandemic World

Earlier this year, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III urged Philippine businesses to invest in digitalization and innovation to stay competitive in a world that has been radically changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This was followed by a World Bank report which found that most developing economies in East Asia, including the Philippines, have underperformed in terms of adopting new technologies and discovering new ones.

What does this mean for the Philippines’ post-pandemic future? What can the public and private sectors do to spur innovation to better equip the country moving forward?

Learn that and more in BusinessWorld Insights, in partnership with Globe, themed “Empowering Filipino Innovation and Creativity for a Post-Pandemic World.”

This session of #BUSINESSWORLDINSIGHTS is supported by British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Management Association of the Philippines, and The Philippine STAR.

Citing ‘tremendous growth’ of e-commerce, Locad launches shipping platform for SMEs

Spurred by the “tremendous growth” of e-commerce, as seen from online mega sales generating several billions’ worth of transactions, cloud logistics provider Locad launched a shipping solution that allows small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to manage multiple couriers and deliveries.  

“Through the shipping platform, SMEs who are banking on the strong growth of e-commerce, especially this coming holiday season, will be able to tap Locad’s wide third-party logistics integrations,” said the company in a statement.  

Constantin Robertz, Locad’s co-founder and chief executive officer, recently told ANC that the estimated sales coming from 12.12 this year is P15 billion in total, reflecting the exponential growth of the Philippine e-commerce industry in the pandemic.  

“I think Philippine e-commerce has seen a tremendous growth spurt, with industry estimates at $12 billion or P600 billion for total [in] 2021,” he told ANC. “12.12, as well as 11.11, are big drivers of that where we see up to 10x growth versus normal day.” 

After a successful beta run with Kumu and Havaianas this year, Locad’s modular service is piloting in the Philippines, with indefinite plans of expanding to the rest of Asia Pacific.  

This iteration aggregates trusted third-party logistics providers (3PL) such as NinjaVan, J&T Express, DHL, Entrego, XDE, LBC, and Lalamove, among others.   

The platform also enables direct-to-consumer (D2C) e-commerce brands to access various delivery options, from same-day delivery to affordable day-definite shipping. This should ease the challenge of “managing multiple platforms,” according to Locad.  

Citing the 2021 e-Conomy SEA report by Bain & Company, Google, and Temasek, Locad pointed out that 95% of consumers will continue to use at least one digital service even after the pandemic, with 7 out of 10 rating delivery as the most important factor in online shopping.  

The holidays are expected to “drive the rising demand in 3PL services, which further supports the need for efficient shipping management.” — B. H. Lacsamana 

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