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Virgil Abloh honored in his final fashion collection show in Miami

EU.LOUISVUITTON.COM

LOUIS Vuitton honored Virgil Abloh at his last fashion collection show in Miami on Tuesday, just days after his sudden death prompted an outpouring of tributes for the industry’s most high-profile black designer.

Drones formed Mr. Abloh’s initials and spelled out the words “Virgil was here” in the sky outside Miami’s Marine Stadium where the memorial event was held. There was also a giant statue of Mr. Abloh.

Chicago-based rapper Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi walked the runway before a live audience that included streetwear designer Don Crawley, known as Don C, Kim Kardashian and rapper ASAP Ferg, according to Instagram posts.

As the show began, roughly 16,000 viewers tuned in to watch on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z9jJh1yHAg).

Models were clad in Vuitton jerseys, while others wore black top hats, bright red jumpsuits and blue suits. Female models carried blue and pink lockbox purses, while the men sported gray duffle bags.

Mr. Abloh, the American-born son of Ghanaian immigrants, died Sunday at age 41 following a private battle with cancer. LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton decided to move ahead with a catwalk show that had been in the works, transforming it into a tribute to Mr. Abloh.

Kendall Reynolds, chief executive of Kendall Miles Designs, said in an interview before the show that Mr. Abloh had inspired her to start the luxury brand of Italian handcrafted products.

“His indelible mark on the disruption of traditional European fashion houses will be a legacy that all young designers, like myself, can learn from,” she said.

The 45-minute livestream of the show closed with an eruption of fireworks and a recording of Mr. Abloh’s voice.

“There’s no limit,” said Mr. Abloh in the recording. “Life is so short that you can’t waste even a day subscribing to what someone thinks you can do versus knowing what you can do.” —  Reuters

Big diesel

The 5.8-meter-long pickup boasts a 600-mm water wading capability. — PHOTO BY KAP MACEDA AGUILA

Ford picks up the new-gen F-150

FORD PHILIPPINES found itself in quite the unusual situation in June last year when it brought back the mighty F-150 (its 13th generation) just as the 14th generation of the model was being unboxed in the US.

Nonetheless, the two-variant return of the (now previous-gen) Ford F-150 did make waves here — a testament to how much the market missed the model that once had a healthy presence on local streets. That brief flirtation is over, as the current iteration of the Blue Oval’s most popular global pickup line is now here. Ford envisions “reinforcing (its) truck leadership in the (Philippines),” according to a release.

In a statement, Ford Philippines Managing Director Mike Breen said, “The all-new F-150 is a formidable addition to our truck lineup and will continue to strengthen our truck leadership in the country. Purpose-built from the ground up, the all-new F-150 is redesigned to be the toughest and most productive (version) ever. Our deep understanding of truck customers reflects in the new features available on the all-new F-150 that help take productivity to the next level.”

Mr. Breen also noted that, “The F-150 is part of Ford’s F Series, America’s best-selling truck for the 44th straight year, and America’s best-selling vehicle for the 39th straight year.”

Despite its short sales stint, one could make the argument that the previous-gen F-150 did achieve to both whet the market appetite as well as help Ford Philippines fine-tune its offering here based on genuine feedback. That mayfly-like pickup model did serve to open the doors to the current generation.

This massive, 5.8-meter-long pickup boasts an appropriate power plant. Under the hood is a 3.0-liter, four-valve DOHC Power Stroke V6, a turbocharged V6 with auto start-stop function. The mill generates 253ps and 596Nm. The driver can access this promise through a 10-speed SelectShift automatic transmission with Progressive Range Select and Selectable Drive Modes “for work-ready power and optimization, while remaining exceptionally fuel-efficient.”

During the simultaneous, multi-dealership physical launch, Ford Philippines Marketing Director Patrick Manigbas revealed to “Velocity” that the company brought in the sole diesel-powered variant in response to market demand.

Priced initially at P3.398 million, the all-new F-150 comes with a unique set of features such as LED cargo box lighting with “zone lighting” and power-deployable running boards. The running boards are not new to Ford, but they now feature a kick switch for on-demand deploying or stowing. The pickup’s LED reflector headlamps have “dynamic bending,” and it gets LED fog lamps with cornering lamps, configurable daytime running lamps and LED tail lamps. Standard wheels are 20-inch six-spoke dark alloy-painted aluminums fitted with all-terrain tires.

A visual highlight of the spacious cabin is definitely the large 12-inch digital instrument cluster screen. A neat parlor trick is the stowable shifter, which collapses forward at the press of a button when the vehicle is parked. Aside from creating more space, this can be another theft-deterrent measure. Ford also gifts the F-150 with a remote keyless entry system, accessory delay for power features, dual-zone electronic automatic temperature control, and power-adjustable pedals with memory feature. Overhead is a large twin-panel moonroof.

Its front seats are bucket seats swathed in premium leather, with heating and ventilation function. The second-row seats are covered in leather as well, get a similar heating function, and 60/40 split one-touch flip-up seat with folding armrest with cupholders.

Sync4 will “help owners connected and make their days more productive,” according to the company, while the infotainment system — platformed on a 12-inch LCD center stack touch screen — already boasts wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. An eight-speaker system (including a subwoofer) is hooked onto a B&O Sound System by Bang & Olufsen. The F-150 gets six charging ports.

A big deal for the big pickup is the Ford Co-Pilot360 2.0, which is the brand’s newest and most advanced suite of safety technologies. Through this, the F-150 gets Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) with Cross-Traffic Alert, Lane Keeping System (LKS), Auto-High Beam headlamps, Reverse Sensing System, Reverse Brake Assist, and Post-Collision Braking. The vehicle also features Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop-and-Go, Lane Centering and Speed Sign Recognition, and Evasive Steering Assist. A 360-degree camera system also enables Ford’s Active Park Assist 2.0.

Units will be directly sourced from the United States, said Mr. Manigbas. For now, Ford Philippines is pretty happy with the lone Lariat Diesel variant, and believes it is pretty well appointed to get — and hold — the attention of a growing subset of people enamored with the pickup format.

Come to think of it, the all-new Ford F-150 again makes another case for pickups having dichotomous utilitarian and luxurious virtues existing together.

LANDBANK’s agriculture loans reach P233.6B

LAND BANK of the Philippines (LANDBANK) extended agriculture loans amounting to P233.6 billion in the first 10 months of 2021, with the bulk of the borrowings extended to small agri-businesses, based on a report from the Department of Finance (DoF).

At this level, the state-owned bank has already disbursed 93% of the P251.5 billion it seeks to extend to the agriculture sector for the year.

Broken down, two-thirds or P150.16 billion of the credit LANDBANK disbursed to the agriculture sector supported small, medium, and large agribusinesses, the DoF said.

Meanwhile, the state lender extended financing worth P50.52 billion for agri-aqua related projects of government corporations, while P32.92 billion were disbursed to small farmers and fishers.

LANDBANK provided financing worth P1.34 billion through direct lending to small farmers and fishers, while P31.58 billion was extended to conduits like cooperatives and farmers associations, rural financial institutions, and other credit mechanisms.

The state lender financed agri-processing and trading activities (P84.48 billion), the livestock sub-sector (P34.95 billion), crops (P17.74 billion), and fisheries (P2.43 billion) at end-October.

The bank has likewise already released the P65 million meant for agrarian reform beneficiaries, which was administered by the Department of Agrarian Reform.

In a separate statement, LANDBANK said it is also backing the government’s “Build, Build, Build” program as the bank has completed the right-of-way appraisals of 19,214 properties that are part of 142 infrastructure projects.

“LANDBANK fully supports the National Government’s ‘Build Build Build’ program by fast-tracking right-of-way acquisitions,” LANDBANK President and Chief Executive Officer Cecilia C. Borromeo said in a statement. “We will continue to contribute to the country’s infrastructure agenda to drive our ongoing economic recovery, geared towards attracting foreign investments and creating more jobs,” she added.

LANDBANK is in the process of appraising 68 projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways covering 2,513 lots, as well as four Department of Transportation projects with 999 lots and 2,989 structures or improvements.

The lender’s net income increased by 21.2% year on year to P16.72 billion at end-September. — LWTN

Converge entering more provinces

CONVERGE ICT Solutions, Inc. is targeting more customers in provinces as it connects more areas with low fiber penetration, its chief operations officer said.

Converge is “lighting up” customers in Masbate, Mindoro, Panay, and soon in Butuan, Converge Chief Operations Officer Jesus C. Romero told BusinessWorld in a virtual interview on Dec. 3.

“There is still a lot of work to be done, [especially in the] Visayas and Mindanao,” he noted. “Now that we have our own backbone, the backbone that we built ourselves, we are now in a position to fiber up our customers.”

Converge recently completed its P6-billion domestic submarine cable project that connects the Philippines’ major islands from Luzon to the Visayas and Mindanao to its national fiber backbone.

The company said the 1,800-kilometer subsea cable made its final landing in Coron, Palawan on Oct. 31.

“There is still a whole lot more demand that is unserved,” Mr. Romero said. “So for us, let’s make fiber available because if there is no fiber in the area, there can be no customers.”

Converge will soon launch its services in Palawan, according to Mr. Romero.

Meanwhile, the company has opened 23 business centers across the country as of the end of November.

“In regional areas, many people are still comfortable transacting face-to-face, and that’s why we are still rolling out business centers just so we can accommodate the needs of this particular segment,” Mr. Romero noted.

Converge also aims to increase the value of its offerings in addition to expanding its services across the country.

“As you know, last month, we increased the bandwidth allocation of our subscribers,” Mr. Romero said.

Previously, Converge’s 25 megabits per second (Mbps) was valued at P1,500 and 200Mbps at P3,500; but after reaching one million customers last year, its 25Mbps was upgraded to 35Mbps for free.

The company hit 1.5 million subscribers recently, so it rolled out new plans (FiberX plans) starting with Plan 1,500 for 50 Mbps with an add-on for 10Mbps for P99, Plan 2,500 for 300 Mbps, and Plan 3,500 for 800 Mbps. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Armani to ban angora wool from next winter season

MILAN —  Armani Group said on Wednesday it would no longer use angora wool starting from the 2022-23 autumn/winter season, adding it to the list of excluded materials under its fur-free policy.

The Italian luxury company joins a string of brands banning the extremely soft wool removed from live rabbits, under pressure from animal rights organizations and more environmentally conscious shoppers.

Last month, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) announced that luxury e-commerce platform Farfetch would stop selling angora wool by April 2022.

The organization launched a campaign years ago to ban angora wool, which is mainly produced in China, describing the techniques used to strip the fur from rabbits as cruel.

Armani’s move marks another step towards sustainability after the group banned animal fur in 2016 and signed in 2019 the Fashion Pact with other major industry players to address climate change, the company said in a statement. — Reuters

Charging into sustainability

IMAGE FROM NISSAN MOTOR CO.

Nissan is planning to roll out 23 electrified models by 2030

NISSAN MOTOR CO., one of the world’s leaders in the democratization of electric vehicles and the maker of the world’s first mass-market EV — the Nissan Leaf, back in 2010 — recently unveiled another major milestone for the company: its commitment to what it calls the “Nissan Ambition 2030.” This is its latest long-term vision to eventually become a completely environmentally sustainable company, through developing smart ecosystems with integrated mobility for a safer and more inclusive society.

It may first sound like an extremely vast concept, but Nissan made sure to spell it out clearly: the Japanese company intends to further accelerate its global democratization of EVs by launching 23 new “electrified models” by the year 2030. Of these, 15 will be new electric vehicle models. And by that time, the company hopes that at least 50% of its vehicle portfolio would already be classified as electrified products across the Nissan and Infiniti brands. Eventually, Nissan wishes to achieve carbon neutrality across the entire life cycle of its products by fiscal year 2050.

In order to jump-start all this, Nissan has declared that it will be investing about two trillion yen over the next five years into expanding its operations. Makoto Uchida, the car giant’s CEO, remarked, “The role of companies to address societal needs is increasingly heightened. With Nissan Ambition 2030, we will drive the new age of electrification, advance technologies to reduce carbon footprint and pursue new business opportunities. We want to transform Nissan to become a sustainable company that is truly needed by customers and society.”

As charging infrastructure and energy management are both crucial elements of the motoring market’s successful transition to the normalization of electric vehicles, Nissan seeks to help establish more charging stations and a global battery supply system that can meet the growing demands of the EV market. Additionally, Nissan also intends to launch its proprietary all-solid-state (ASSB) batteries by fiscal year 2028. For this, it is already preparing its pilot plant in Yokohama, Japan for its production. ASSBs are more efficient and bring the production cost of batteries down quite significantly. It is a major leap in making EVs more practical for consumers.

Finally, Nissan also seeks to deliver ever-improved driver assistance and intelligence technologies to their customers through products in the pipeline. It intends to expand its proprietary ProPilot technology to over 2.5 million Nissan and Infiniti vehicles by 2026. In the past, I have already driven the Nissan Leaf equipped with ProPilot2 while in Japan, and I found it rather impressive at the time. Nissan also plans to further improve on its autonomous vehicle technologies, with the goal of already incorporating some next-generation LIDAR systems on its vehicles by 2030.

“We are proud of our long track record of innovation, and of our role in delivering the EV revolution. With our new ambition, we continue to take the lead in accelerating the natural shift to EVs by creating customer pull through an attractive proposition by driving excitement, enabling adoption and creating a cleaner world,” shared Nissan COO Ashwani Gupta.

Cargill opens new Mindanao plant for animal feed additives

REUTERS

AGRICULTURAL inputs manufacturer Cargill, Inc. said it recently opened its first Mindanao plant for base mix — nutrients which are added to grains in animal feed.

In a statement, Cargill said the base mix plant was inaugurated on Nov. 16. It is located beside the Cargill animal nutrition and health compound in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental, which produces swine and poultry products for the region.

The plant is automated with an annual capacity of 30,000 metric tons.

“This stimulates Mindanao’s animal-farming sector and strengthens the local feed and protein supply chains without relying on imported base mixes from other parts of the country,” Cargill said.

“The new base mix plant… generates dozens of direct and indirect employment opportunities for local residents. Mindanao remains the country’s food basket due to its rich soil and conducive farming climate,” the company added.

Sonny Q. Catacutan, Cargill Philippines president, said the base mix plant allows the company to better serve its customers in Northern Mindanao.

“Situated in the nation’s food basket, Cargill’s new base mix plant reflects our confidence in and commitment to the southern island. We will leverage and support continuous projects that enable Mindanao communities and businesses to thrive,” Mr. Catacutan said.

“Working closely with our customers and local communities, Cargill in the Philippines continues to identify and unlock opportunities to optimize our market footprint and realize our purpose to nourish the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way,” he added.

Cargill Philippines units include Cargill Animal Nutrition and Health and Cargill Joy Poultry Production. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

BoE’s Saunders might pause on rate hike vote due to Omicron

LONDON — Bank of England (BoE) policy maker Michael Saunders, who voted for an interest rate hike last month, said on Friday he wanted more information about the impact of the new Omicron coronavirus variant before deciding how to vote this month.

Mr. Saunders said Omicron might slow Britain’s economy but it could also add to inflation pressures if it led to people spending more money on goods, when supply chains are already strained, than on going out or on other services.

“At present, given the new Omicron COVID variant has only been detected quite recently, there could be particular advantages in waiting to see more evidence on its possible effects on public health outcomes and hence on the economy,” Mr. Saunders said in a speech.

Sterling fell on the comments by Mr. Saunders which investors took as reducing the likelihood of the BoE raising rates from their current all-time low of 0.1% on Dec. 16, at the end of this month’s meeting.

Investors were pricing in only a 33% chance of a December rate hike after the speech, down from about 75% last week before news broke of the new variant.

The British central bank upended bets by investors on a rate hike on Nov. 4 when it said it wanted to wait for more data on whether the end of the government’s job protecting furlough scheme had led to a jump in unemployment.

Mr. Saunders said there did not appear to have been a big hit to the labor market and there were risks from delaying a rate hike too long because that could lead the labour market to tighten further and push up already high inflation expectations.

“This could require a more abrupt and painful policy tightening later,” Mr. Saunders said. “For me, the balance between these considerations is likely to be a key factor at the December meeting.”

He said the rates were likely to rise over the next few quarters, assuming the economy behaves as expected.

In a question-and-answer session after his speech, the former Citi economist declined to give a steer on his likely decision at this month’s meeting.

“I don’t want to use code words today to indicate either way as to what my vote at the December meeting might be. There are potential costs and benefits to waiting for more data,” he said.

Mr. Saunders and Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden were the two members of the BoE’s nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee who cast votes in early November to raise Bank Rate to 0.25% from its pandemic emergency, all-time low of 0.1%. — Reuters

Del Monte Pacific to issue $90-M senior fixed-rate notes

DEL MONTE Pacific Ltd. (DMPL) said it will be issuing $90-million senior fixed-rate notes.

The “approval in-principle has been received” for the notes’ listing on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd, the listed company said.

“The transaction marks DMPL’s inaugural issuance in the international debt capital markets, establishing a new source of funding,” it said in a disclosure on Friday.

The $90-million three-year unrated senior notes will have a fixed coupon rate of 3.75% to be paid semi-annually.

DMPL said these were priced with a 4% yield at a reoffer price of 99.30%.

“The notes are not and will not be registered with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission,” DMPL said.

“Any future offer or sale of the securities in the Philippines is subject to the registration requirements under the Philippine Securities Regulation Code, unless such offer or sale qualifies as a transaction exempt from these requirements,” it added.

The company engaged Credit Suisse as the sole global coordinator for the issuance, while UnionBank of the Philippines was assigned domestic lead manager.

Del Monte shares on the local bourse closed higher by 1.99% or 28 centavos to finish at P14.38 apiece on Friday. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

ELLE magazine bans fur in all its titles to support animal welfare

LONDON —  Fashion magazine ELLE is banning fur from the pages of all its international editions in a move to support animal welfare and reflect changing tastes, the publication said on Thursday.

Hailing a “fur-free future,” ELLE senior vice-president and international director Valeria Bessolo LLopiz told Reuters: “It’s a really great opportunity to increase awareness for animal welfare, bolster the demand for sustainable and innovative alternatives and foster a more humane fashion industry.”

Each of the magazine’s 45 global editions has signed a charter to ban editorial content promoting animal fur on its printed pages and its online and social mediate sites, Bessolo LLopiz said at The Business of Fashion’s VOICES 2021 conference.

ELLE owner Lagardère Group collaborated with the Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International, and Creatives4Change in penning the charter.

In the last few years, a number of fashion houses and retailers have said they were ditching animal fur or skin amid pressure from animal rights groups and changing tastes from younger, ethically and environmentally savvy customers.

In September, luxury group Kering, announced all its brands would stop using animal furs in collections, four years after its star label Gucci made the move.

“Fur appears to be outdated and not fashionable anymore, and especially for the Gen Z, who is the golden target of fashion and luxury industry,” Bessolo LLopiz said.

“Gen Z wants fashion to be responsible, ethical and innovative, and that’s what’s happening.”

Founded in 1945, ELLE magazine is published around the world today. Thirteen editions have already implemented the charter, while a further 20 will do so as of Jan. 1. The remaining editions will follow from Jan. 1, 2023. — Reuters

Suzuki’s ‘Four the Win’ promo extended to end of year

Suzuki Vitara AllGrip — PHOTO FROM SUZUKI PHILIPPINES

Vehicle browsers looking to acquire a Suzuki before the end of 2021 are in luck. Suzuki Philippines (SPH) extends its “Four the Win” promotion — offering the Celerio, new Ciaz, new Vitara AllGrip, and Swift with low down payment plans. On top of these, SPH adds on cash discounts.

The subcompact Celerio comes with a P60,000 cash discount, while the Swift hatchback is P120,000 cheaper. Meanwhile, SPH trims the Ciaz SRP by P100,000, and the all-new Vitara AllGrip’s tag is less by P250,000 — making it one of the most affordable vehicles in the 4×4 category. The promo is valid at all 73 Suzuki dealerships nationwide until Dec. 31, 2021.

For information, visit www.suzuki.com.ph.

World food prices climb in November, stay at 10-year peak — FAO

REUTERS

ROME — World food prices rose for a fourth straight month in November to remain at 10-year high, led by strong demand for wheat and dairy products, the UN food agency said on Thursday.

The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food price index, which tracks international prices of the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 134.4 points last month compared with a revised 132.8 for October.

The October figure was previously given as 133.2.

The November reading was the highest for the index since June 2011. On a year-on-year basis, the index was up 27.3% last month. Agricultural commodity prices have risen steeply in the past year, driven by harvest setbacks and strong demand.

Rome-based FAO cut its projection of global cereal production in 2021 to 2.791 billion tons from 2.793 billion estimated a month ago, according to its cereal supply and demand outlook.

However, the expected world cereal output would still represent a record, FAO said. — Reuters

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