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Taking the caring route

The Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2022 has concluded its search for the country’s most undaunted and unstoppable entrepreneurs. Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines is a program of the SGV Foundation, Inc., with the participation of co-presenters the Asian Institute of Management, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippine Business for Social Progress, and the Philippine Stock Exchange. BusinessWorld will feature each finalist in the next few weeks.

Raymond G. Jarina
President & CEO
INTECO Isuzu Group of Dealerships

IN THE PURSUIT of success, people often rush through competing with everyone around them — racing hard towards the so-called finish line. They often don’t take the time to enjoy the ride, appreciate the scenic route or get excited over the adventure. Fortunately, this was not the case for Raymond G. Jarina, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of INTECO Isuzu Group of Dealerships.

Born in Tayuman, Manila, Mr. Jarina spent the first six years of his life there, mingling with other children in the streets. At an early age, he realized the importance of being strong, as life on the streets, as he recalled, is all about “survival of the fittest.” He also gleaned lessons from his experiences, even seemingly insignificant ones, like playing teks, shato and trumpo. He observed he could “win some and lose some,” so he would take any opportunity to “practice negotiations that could swing in a few bucks.”

Values he learned at school and in sports as a member of the varsity football team influenced his views on entrepreneurship, particularly in dealing with people. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Ateneo de Manila University, and later earned an MBA from the Peter Drucker Graduate School of Business in Claremont, California. For a time, he worked at Grand Chevrolet and Nissan Motors USA in California.

After graduating from the General Motors Institute in Flint, Michigan, Mr. Jarina returned to the Philippines. His education and experience in the automotive industry proved to be beneficial when he took over INTECO, their family business, as the second-generation owner. At INTECO, he improved the company’s processes and systems. Knowing he had big shoes to fill, Mr. Jarina effectively led the company with the values, knowledge and wisdom imparted to him by his parents. Together with his father, they expanded INTECO from a humble single dealership in EDSA Balintawak to six Isuzu dealerships in northwest Luzon. Today, INTECO — the pioneer Isuzu dealer in the Philippines — is constructing its seventh branch in Valenzuela.

Mr. Jarina and INTECO had weathered many storms. In recent years, the auto industry faced significant challenges, such as the new excise taxes on vehicles which affected sales. Competitive as the industry is, INTECO needed to consistently think of ways to innovate and satisfy their customers.

INTECO under Mr. Jarina’s leadership was able to overcome most difficulties that tested the company’s resilience. However, the pandemic was one of the challenges that no one saw coming and it adversely impacted the business. But because of Mr. Jarina’s years of hard work and discipline in handling the company’s financials combined with his business acumen, INTECO survived without laying off any employees. He was able to help his people and their families by continuously paying employees’ salaries, supporting the education of their children and paying for the retirement of his staff. Outside the company, INTECO was also able to help the community by providing valuable transport assistance to frontliners and delivering essential goods to hospitals and private institutions. This experience taught Mr. Jarina to be prepared for anything.

Mr. Jarina’s wisdom and values, which he inherited from his parents, are likewise evident in the company’s motto: “A family that cares.” This goes hand in hand with INTECO’s main purpose to build an automotive company that will serve businessmen for community development. Mr. Jarina tries his best to extend this treatment to all their stakeholders — suppliers, customers, employees or even competitors.

For Mr. Jarina, he believes in three things: communication, passion and care. He ensures that everyone is treated well. Every leader has a vision, he said, and for employees to support that vision, a leader must be able to communicate it clearly, so everyone can feel the same passion about their work. Lastly, employees also need to feel that they are genuinely cared for, which in turn will boost their morale.

This is something which INTECO was able to live up to as well. For example, the company has a low attrition rate, with employees staying in the company for a minimum of 15 years. Employees also go beyond customers’ expectations, going as far as to address the concerns and issues they find from the reviews which clients leave on the company’s social media page.

Mr. Jarina also believes in building long-term relationships and valuing people.

“You have to be patient. You have to listen. You have to understand. You have to find solutions and build support for your ideas because you cannot do it by yourself. Always. You always have to have a comrade. You have to have people who are sympathetic, who share your same passion and your care,” he said.

His years of experience taught him the humility that comes with acknowledging one’s strengths and weaknesses, which he tries to impart to his children. He wants them to not take failures to heart and to know that they can always get back up again.

“Sometimes, you will lose. But then again, you can gain it back in some other way. It’s not the end of the world,” Mr. Jarina said.

Despite his achievements, Mr. Jarina wants people to know that he did not do everything by himself.

“Actually, this is not all me. It’s the values which I thank my parents for. I thank my faith. I thank my employees. INTECO wouldn’t be here now if not for them,” he said.

As part of his legacy to the third generation, Mr. Jarina intends to pass on to his children these same values and words of wisdom from his parents.

“If you’re good to others and you have good intentions, that goodness will come back to you.”

The media sponsors of the Entrepreneur of the Year Philippines 2022 are BusinessWorld and the ABS-CBN News Channel. Gold Sponsors are SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp., Uratex, and Navegar. Silver Sponsors are Intellicare, OneWorld Alliance Logistics Corp., and Regan Industrial Sales, Inc.

The winners of the Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2022 will be announced on Nov. 21, 2022 in an awards banquet at the Grand Hyatt Manila. The winner will represent the country in the World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 in Monte Carlo, Monaco in June 2023. The Entrepreneur Of The Year program is produced globally by Ernst & Young (EY).

Firm seeks $25-M ADB loan to build telco towers in PHL

BW FILE PHOTO

AN INFRASTRUCTURE FIRM is seeking a $25-million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to build and operate up to 380 telecommunications towers in Visayas and Mindanao.

Documents uploaded on the ADB website showed Tiger Infrastructure Philippines, Inc. (TIPI) is seeking financing for the project, which involves the development, construction, operations, and maintenance of telecommunications towers in underserved areas in the country.

TIPI is a subsidiary of regional firm Tiger Infrastructure, which is a joint venture between a Danish investor and a Singaporean energy company.

The ADB said it will provide long-term fixed-rate project financing on a portfolio-based approach.

The ADB said the project aims to promote local economic development and improve internet connectivity that would “equalize access to the digital economy especially in areas like education, healthcare, financing and payments and mobility.

“Access to the digital economy is one of the driving forces for inclusive growth in remote underserved regions as it promotes the mobility of the population from less productive sectors to better economic opportunities and improves the productivity of many sectors,” the multilateral lender said.

The project is currently at the pre-construction stage, which includes securing tower locations and local permits.

ADB said Tiger Infrastructure had completed the acquisitions of 14 sites, as of the time of due diligence. However, it has not started site clearing and construction works.

TIPI is also seeking master lease agreements with other mobile network operators in the country to co-locate their towers.

“As towers will be established in Visayas and Mindanao, there may be sites within Indigenous Peoples’ (IP) domains. While the project is not expected to displace indigenous peoples, TIPI shall foster full respect for the IP’s identity, dignity and cultural uniqueness and ensure indigenous peoples in the area do not suffer any adverse impacts from the project,” the ADB said. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

PLDT to build $75-M subsea cable link within Asia

PLDT, Inc. will start the construction of the $75-million Philippine link of Asia Direct Cable (ADC) in Batangas as part of a plan to expand its international cable network.

“Along with PLDT’s existing international submarine cable systems, the Asia Direct Cable will boost and diversify the Philippines’ connectivity within the Asian region,” PLDT President and Chief Executive Officer Alfredo S. Panlilio said in a media release.

“ADC will strengthen not only PLDT’s global network, but will also further advance the country’s digitalization and growing digital economy,” Mr. Panlilio added.

The target completion date for all the landing links of ADC is by the end of 2023, with the construction of the 9,400-kilometer subsea cable commencing in the Philippines.

“Submarine fiber optic cables are among the most critical components of the internet’s infrastructure, as they serve as the global backbone connecting countries while carrying massive amounts of data that enable digital trade across the globe,” the company said.

When completed, ADC will link seven international cable landing points across East and Southeast Asia, namely; Batangas, Philippines; Tuas, Singapore; Chung Hom Kok, Hong Kong; Maruyama, Japan; Quy Nhon, Vietnam; Sri Racha, Thailand; and Shantou, China.

The cable system will feature a minimum of 200 gigahertz dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) system per wavelength design.

Once equipped, this will provide 36 terabytes per second (Tbps) additional international network capacity that will make delivery of hyperscale data across East and Southeast Asia faster.

According to PLDT, ADC together with the Jupiter cable system will drive global data straight to and from VITRO Sta. Rosa and the rest of its data center facilities across the country.

“[It will strengthen] the Philippines’ advantage as a strategic digital hub in the region,” the company said.

PLDT said that the interconnection between these infrastructures will enhance the country’s IP (internet protocol) ecosystem hosted in the VITRO internet exchange.

“The Asia Direct Cable will strongly bolster PLDT’s mission to make the Philippines the next hyperscaler destination in Asia-Pacific,” PLDT Senior Vice President & Head of Enterprise Business Group Joseph Ian G. Gendrano said.

“This investment solidifies our commitment to enrich and synergize the country’s Hyperscale Ecosystem of connected digital infrastructures, such as data centers, subsea cables, domestic fiber network, 5G, cloud, and IOT,” Mr. Gendrano added.

ADC is a global consortium of communications and technology companies across the region, namely; PLDT, China Telecom Corp. Ltd.; China United Network Communications Group Co., Ltd.; National Telecom, Inc.; Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.; SoftBank Corp.; Tata Communications Ltd.; and Viettel Group.

The upcoming activation of ADC and Apricot cable systems will increase the number of international submarine cable systems of PLDT to 19, which will expand its international network capacity from 60 Tbps to over 130 Tbps.

On Monday, shares in PLDT climbed by P45 or 3.02% to P1,535 apiece. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

PSE sanctions 10 firms for breaking disclosure rules

BW FILE PHOTO

THE Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) imposed sanctions on 10 listed companies for their failure to comply with Sections 7 and 17 of Article VII of Consolidated Listing and Disclosure Rules.

AllDay Marts, Inc.; AllHome Corp., Boulevard Holdings, Inc.; Filsyn Corp.; Jackstones, Inc.; PLDT Inc.; and Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp. were all sanctioned for violating Sections 7 and 17.11 of Article VII of the rules.

Section 7 of Article VII states that listed companies should give written notice at least 10 trading days prior to the holding of any stockholders’ meeting.

Meanwhile, Section 17.11 of the rules states that companies should submit the list of stockholders who are entitled to notice and vote at a regular or special stockholders’ meeting within five trading days after the record date.

House of Investments, Inc. was sanctioned for the violation of Sections 17.6 and 17.13 of the rules, while Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. was sanctioned for violating Section 17.13.

Section 17.6 of Article VII states that issuers are required to submit to the PSE a report on the number of its shareholders that hold at least one board lot each. This report must be filed with the exchange within five trading days after the close of each month.

Meanwhile, Section 17.13 states that companies with unclassified shares with foreign ownership limits shall submit a report with the exact number of shares in the hands of foreign shareholders on a real-time basis. This should be submitted monthly not later than the last working day of the first week of each month.

Lorenzo Shipping Corp. was sanctioned for the violation of Sections 7, 17.11 and 17.12 of Article VII of the disclosure rules.

Section 17.12 of the rules states that all listed firms must submit to the PSE a list of their top 100 stockholders every quarter. The list is required to be submitted to the exchange’s disclosure department within 15 days after the end of each quarter.

According to Article VII of the rules, failure to comply with the structured continuing disclosure requirements will result in the imposition of fines or penalties.

A company with total assets amounting to less than P25 million based on its latest financial statement will be sanctioned a basic fine of P5,000, a per day penalty of P500, and a maximum penalty per year of violation of P50,000.

Meanwhile, a company with total assets of P1 billion and above will be meted a basic fine of P50,000, a per day penalty of P5,000, and a maximum penalty of P500,000. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

ACEN moves to divest stake in coal-fired power plant subsidiary

COAL-FIRED power plant (Calaca, Batangas) — BW FILE PHOTO

ACEN Corp. is set to divest by yearend its stake in a coal-fired power plant in Batangas after the facility’s owner partially redeemed its preferred shares held by the Ayala group’s energy arm for P3.2 billion.

In a disclosure on Monday, the listed company said its subsidiary South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. (SLTEC) redeemed 32 million shares from ACEN, which in turn will receive funds that it can reinvest in renewable energy projects.

ACEN also said that the redemption of the remaining preferred shares of around 3.83 million in SLTEC “is expected to close by end 2022.” The partial redemption was done on Oct. 21, 2022.

SLTEC owns and operates a circulating fluidized bed thermal power plant in Calaca, Batangas with two units, each with a capacity of 135 megawatts (MW), which translates into a net output of 248 MW.

The move to redeem the shares comes about a year after ACEN’s board of directors on Oct. 18, 2021 authorized the company’s management to work towards the early retirement of the SLTEC coal plant by 2040, or 15 years ahead of the end of its technical life.

The plant’s retirement will be through the use of the energy transition mechanism (ETM), which ACEN described as an “innovative concept” developed by the Asian Development Bank.

It said ETM “aims to leverage low-cost and long-term funding geared towards early coal retirement and reinvestment of proceeds to enable renewable energy.”

It added that the equity divestment feature of the ETM includes the redemption of SLTEC preferred shares held by ACEN using proceeds of subscriptions from institutional investors.

“Proceeds received by ACEN will be deployed for its renewable energy investments,” the company said.

The redemption of the preferred shares will be paid in cash, it said.

ACEN also said that the funds will also help it fully commit to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or earlier. It adds to the company’s recent capital-raising to fund renewable energy projects.

Last month, ACEN issued and listed its maiden peso-denominated ASEAN Green Bonds amounting to P10 billion, with a fixed interest rate of 6.0526% per annum for a five-year tenor, under its P30-billion debt securities program.

ACEN has around 4,000 MW of attributable capacity in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Australia. Of this capacity, renewables account for 87%.

The company aspires to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia. Its goal is to reach 20 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030.

In 2021, ACEN announced its commitment to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 by retiring its remaining coal plant by 2040 and transitioning its power generation portfolio to 100% renewable energy by 2025.

On Monday, shares in ACEN rose 1.5% to close at P6.09 apiece.

AG&P completes floating storage unit, eyes gas delivery by March 

ATLANTIC Gulf & Pacific Co. (AG&P) has completed the conversion of a vessel into a floating storage unit (FSU) for gas that will be docked at its liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Batangas.

In a media release on Monday, the company said that it finished the conversion of the 137,512 cubic meter LNG carrier “ISH” into FSU, which is expected to deliver gas by March next year.

Its import terminal will have an initial capacity of five million tons per annum (MPTA), the company said.

“Ready to be docked at AG&P’s Philippines LNG Import Terminal (PHLNG) facility in Batangas, the FSU is part of the combined offshore-onshore import terminal,” AG&P said.

AG&P said its FSU is capable of loading LNG at a peak rate of 10,000 cubic meters per hour, and a discharge-to-onshore peak rate of 8,000 cubic meters per hour.

Its subsidiary GAS Entec Co., Ltd. completed the carrier’s conversion to an FSU and also made modifications to allow simultaneous loading and discharge of LNG.

“The PHLNG import terminal will store LNG and dispatch natural gas to power plants, industrial and commercial customers, and other consumers. PHLNG will have a scalable onshore regasification capacity of 420 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) and almost 200,000 cubic meters of storage,” said Karthik Sathyamoorthy, president of AG&P LNG terminals and logistics, said in the media release.

Mr. Sathyamoorthy said that the construction of two onshore tanks of PHLNG is now in the second phase and will be integrated into the main terminal in 2024 to ensure the availability and reliability of natural gas.

In February, AG&P signed a 15-year long-term charter agreement with ADNOC Logistics and Services for the supply, operations, and maintenance of its 137,512 cubic meter FSU.

“I am delighted to announce the successful completion of the FSU for our PHLNG Terminal that AG&P has executed in-house,” said AG&P Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Sigelman, adding that the move represents another milestone for GAS Entec, “which continues to be a market leader in the conversion of LNG carriers into floating terminals.” — Ashley Erika O. Jose

PHL, France working towards film co-production agreement

A SCENE from the French series Call My Agent.

as French Film Fest returns for 25th year

THE FILM Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) office is working toward the signing of a co-production agreement between France and the Philippines that will open more opportunities for collaboration between French and Filipino filmmakers and more French and Filipino movies.

This according to FDCP Chairman Tirso Cruz III during his speech at the opening of the 25th French Film Festival in Manila on Oct. 21 at Greenbelt Cinema 3 in Makati.

“We hope to be able to sign very soon a co-production agreement with the Philippines. We hope that the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversities is going to be signed and that will allow to move forward beyond this commitment. We really want to promote closer cooperation between our two countries,” said Michele Boccoz, the Ambassador of France to the Philippines, in her opening remarks at the festival’s opening night. Ms. Boccoz was referring to the agreement that will fund co-production between both counties.

Current co-production projects between the Philippines and France include director Sigrid Bernardo’s Walang Ka-Paris, produced by Piolo Pascual. The film is now in post-production. Director Erik Matti is also set to work on the local adaptation of the French comedy-drama series Call My Agent.

FILM FESTIVAL
As part of the 75th-anniversary celebration of diplomatic relations between France and the Philippines, the French Film Festival in Manila has returned to the cinemas with 12 current releases. The film festival runs until Oct. 30 with screenings at the Greenbelt 3 cinemas in Makati City.

“France and the Philippines are countries of cinema — two nations that understand the strength of this industry which is also, above all, an art — a means of expression that allows the value of heritage of a nation, to promote it as a tourist destination, to highlight its cultural values, strengths and weaknesses,” Ms. Boccoz said at the festival opening.

“Film is a wonderful window that allows us to escape, to question, to laugh, and also to cry. These emotions we all feel as we dive into a movie, we owe it to the creators, authors, directors, and actors,” Ms. Boccoz added.

This year’s selection includes Lost Illusions by Xavier Gianolli and Farewell Mr. Haffmann by Fred Cavayé, set in Paris during World War 2; Notre Dame on Fire by Jean-Jacques Anneaud about the fire that damaged the historical monument in the center of Paris; Him by Guillaume Canet, on the life of a music composer; Paris Memories by Alice Winocour, which remembering Paris under terrorist attacks, a sequel to the popular French secret agent film OSS 117: From Africa with Love; Rise by Cédric Klapisch, which tells an inspiring story about a ballet dancer; and About Joan by Laurent Larivière, and Promises by Thomas Kruithof starring acclaimed French actress Isabelle Huppert.

“France has realized early on the need to open up to the world of cinema by welcoming filmmakers all over the world. The search for cultural diversity is an advantage as it allows our cultures and values to be enriched while in contact with each other,” Ms. Boccoz said.

The French Film Festival will also show Filipino director Erik Matti’s On the Job: The Missing 8 on Oct. 28, 8:30 p.m.

“There is nothing more mesmerizing than watching a film inside the cinema — experiencing the drama, exhilaration with the whole community, getting excited, laughing, crying, and getting scared sometimes but together. The TV screen and your sofa does not really come close to that feeling,” said the FDCP’s Mr. Cruz in his speech.

Tickets for each screening are priced at P200 and are available at the Greenbelt 3 Cinemas box office.

For screening schedule, visit https://bit.ly/FrenchFilmFest25. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Globe blocks 32.2 million scam, spam text messages

GLOBE Telecom, Inc. said on Monday that it blocked more than 32.2 million scam and spam text messages in just two weeks after it started implementing measures to block uniform resource locators (URLs) in person-to-person text messages.

“The amount of text messages with clickable links we blocked within just about two weeks shows the staggering number of spam and scam SMS (short message service) that disrupt and threaten customers every day. This is empirical proof that our security measure was warranted,” Globe Chief Information Security Officer Anton Reynaldo M. Bonifacio said in a press release on Monday.

The telecommunication company said that the figure only covers Sept. 28 until Oct. 13, which means that Globe blocked about 2.4 million SMS with clickable links daily since it started blocking SMS with clickable links.

For the nine months to September, the company said that it blocked a total of 1.3 billion scam messages.

In September, the National Telecommunications Commission directed telecommunication companies to block or deactivate domains and URLs in scam text messages. Globe said it started blocking SMS with clickable URLs in the last week of September to address worsening text scams.

“We reiterate our call on our customers to remain vigilant as fraudsters will continue to find ways to circumvent measures that aim to thwart them. Do not engage with SMS from anonymous sources making enticing offers,” Mr. Bonifacio said.

Further, Globe said that it spent P1.1 billion on its blocking system and to detect spam and scam SMS. Globe’s security operations centers filter unwanted messages which include filtering unwanted messages, app-to-person and person-to-person SMS of international and domestic sources. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

Fashion designer Auggie Cordero put PHL fashion on the map

THE FORMER First Lady Amelita Ramos (right)congratulates Auggie Cordero (1994). — BW FILE PHOTO

SPENDING about half a century in the fashion industry, Auggie Cordero — who passed away on Oct. 24 — not only dressed Manila society’s best-dressed, but was also able to put the country on the map, presenting fashion shows all over Asia and the United States.

Mr. Cordero started out with a small atelier in Manila’s former creative district, Malate, in the 1970s. He had been dressing fashionable young things until his clothes caught the eye of late philanthropist and socialite Chito Madrigal. Ms. Madrigal — along with then-Hyatt Manager Peter Jentes, and directors Bobby Caballero and Gary Flores — organized lunchtime fashion shows at the hotel, watched by wealthy and worldly Manila socialites. Mr. Cordero would first find success there, and he would rake in orders by the time lunch was over.

According to a column of the Philippine Star (“Auggie Cordero: Still the Master,” Savoir Faire by Mayenne Carmona, 2006), the success at the Hyatt brought him places. Through the Hyatt, he had been able to stage shows in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. Soon after, he was headed to the United States, staging shows in Hawaii, California, and New York.

New York was the site of his dreams. In an interview with Tatler (“Master of the Craft” by Chit L. Lijauco, 2015), he said, “I was given an immigrant’s card in 1976, and the thought of apprenticing with the likes of Oscar dela Renta was irresistible! Turned out I was just sorting buttons for one month!” In another Philippine Star column (“The Simple Life of Auggie Cordero,” Chuvaness by Cecile Van Straten, 2005), Mr. Cordero said that in New York, he had been taking courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology and working for a Jewish manufacturer.

Back in the Philippines, Mr. Cordero would be the favorite of the high set. Though Mr. Cordero appeared in Imelda Marcos’ Nayong Pilipino fashion extravaganza Bagong Anyo (along with storied names Inno Sotto and Joe Salazar) in the 1970s, the change of guard in 1986 saw him dressing former president Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, as remembered by her daughter, celebrity Kris Aquino. In an Instagram post by Ms. Aquino in 2019, she showed a picture of her and her mother attending the enthronement of Emperor Akihito of Japan in 1990, with Mrs. Aquino wearing one of Mr. Cordero’s barong tunics in royal blue.

Mr. Cordero was also the favorite of socialite Margarita “Tingting” Cojuangco, a sister-in-law of the president. In 1997, prima ballerina Lisa Macuja wore an Auggie Cordero dress to wed tycoon Fred Elizalde.

Fashion designer Rajo Laurel told BusinessWorld in an Instagram message, “I am so saddened by this news. He was a brilliant man. A true arbiter of good taste and masterful elegance. His presence has influenced many generations of Filipino creatives. Such a tragic loss.”

In private, Mr. Cordero liked movies and books (both the Tatler and Philippine Star articles we quoted noticed his collection of DVDs and tomes). “In life, you must seek your own happiness,” he told Ms. Van Straten. — JLG

WeWork ramps up hybrid workspace offerings

WEWORK, a co-working space provider, is ramping up its hybrid workspace offerings, especially as disruptions in the supply chain push companies to seek more flexible headquarter-building strategies. 

WeWork said its four locations in Metro Manila have seen a 68% increase in occupancy year on year and generated a 76% growth in annual revenue, making the Philippines its highest performing market in Southeast Asia.

“The evolution of the workspace in a post-pandemic world now comes in a very distributed model. Companies are starting to decrease their corporate HQs (headquarters) and turn to a decentralized strategy,” Balder Tol, WeWork’s general manager for Australia and Southeast Asia, said in an Oct. 13 media briefing.

Due to elevated inflation and disruptions in the supply chain, companies are now driven by the need to lower construction costs and avoid delays in their buildout timeline, he added.

Asia-Pacific is a particularly strong market due to a higher expectation of employees coming into the office compared to the West. 

“It could take 18 to 24 months to select an office, design it, build it, and then actually start operations. Two years in today’s environment is a very long time,” Mr. Tol said.

Majority of new members that join WeWork move in within eight weeks from inquiry, and usually take an average commitment of 20 months.

“There is that longer term commitment, but also the option to move in at the click of a button with low costs,” Mr. Tol said.

Asked if they will add more locations in the Philippines aside from the two each in Makati and Bonifacio Global City, Mr. Tol said for now they are focusing on improving their offerings to cater to various workspace preferences.

WeWork’s buildings and floor layouts, for instance, are now adopting a modular design aimed at clients who want their office spaces customized to include more collaborative spaces, as well as multipurpose spaces for flexible work set-ups.

“It allows enterprises at a very low cost to customize a full floor plan to their unique preferences, including desks, meeting rooms, and collaboration spaces. They can easily ask our design team to, say, swap those desks for collaborative furniture,” he said.

In addition to their standard office suite offerings, WeWork will also be rolling out an on-demand service on its app, where members can book and pay for individual desks. It is currently live in Singapore and will be launched in the rest of Southeast Asia by early next year.

Meanwhile, WeWork’s All Access pass, a monthly subscription giving access to 800 workspace locations around the world, is expected to continue growing due to the increased cross-border mobility of the workforce globally, the company said. — Brontë H. Lacsamana

Maynilad proposes rebased water rates

MAYNILAD Water Services, Inc. is seeking to implement a rate increase of P13.31 per cubic meter staggered from 2023 to 2027 for its mandatory rate rebasing.

During a public consultation on rate rebasing on Monday, Maynilad proposed an increase of P3.29 per cubic meter in 2023; P6.26 per cubic meter in 2024; P2.12 per cubic meter in 2025; P0.84 per cubic meter in 2026; and P0.80 per cubic meter in 2027.

Randolph T. Estrellado, Maynilad’s chief operating officer, said that the company is targeting to spend about P150 billion for the next five years on its water and wastewater projects.

Mr. Estrellado said that Maynilad’s projects include six sewage systems, 420 million liters per day (MLD) additional treatment capacity, upgrading of 14 wastewater facilities, 121-kilometer sewer lines, 1.45 million septic tanks for desludging, and 10,000 new sewer service connections.

He said water projects include 450-MLD water treatment plants, 95-MLD modular treatment plants, 55-kilometer new primary lines, 639-kilometer pipe replacement, and five pumping stations. He added that the company is also targeting to rehabilitate about 17 pumping stations and reservoirs.

Rate rebasing is conducted every five years, under the concession agreement of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) with water concessionaires.

During the rate rebasing process, concessionaires are subjected to a performance review and validation of their projected cash flows.

Rate rebasing sets the water rates in a manner that allows the water suppliers to recover their expenditures.

Last week, Manila Water Co., Inc. said it is targeting to spend about P181 billion for capital investments in the next five years.

Meanwhile, MWSS said that the proposals of the two concessionaires are still subject to approval and evaluation.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which has a majority stake in Maynilad, is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

Salman Rushdie lost sight in one eye following attack, agent says

SALMAN RUSHDIE — SALMANRUSHDIE.COM/

SALMAN Rushdie lost sight in one eye and the use of one hand following an attack on stage at a literary event in western New York in August, his agent said.

Andrew Wylie, who represents literary giants such as Saul Bellow and Roberto Bolano, described the extent of the injuries Mr. Rushdie suffered in the “brutal” attack in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais.

Mr. Wylie described the author’s wounds as “profound,” and noted the loss of sight of one eye. “He had three serious wounds in his neck. One hand is incapacitated because the nerves in his arm were cut. And he has about 15 more wounds in his chest and torso.”

The agent declined to say whether The Satanic Verses author, 75, was still in hospital more than two months after police said a 24-year-old New Jersey man stabbed the writer in the neck and torso just before Mr. Rushdie was to give a lecture at Chautauqua Institution, a retreat about 19 km from Lake Erie.

The novelist was rushed to the hospital after sustaining severe injuries in the attack, including nerve damage in his arm, wounds to his liver, and the likely loss of an eye, Mr. Wylie said at the time.

The attack came 33 years after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Iran’s supreme leader, issued a fatwa, or religious edict, calling on Muslims to assassinate Mr. Rushdie a few months after The Satanic Verses was published. Some Muslims saw passages in the novel about the Prophet Muhammad as blasphemous.

Mr. Rushdie, who was born in India to a Muslim Kashmiri family, has lived with a bounty on his head, and spent nine years in hiding under British police protection.

While Iran’s pro-reform government of President Mohammad Khatami distanced itself from the fatwa in the late 1990s, the multimillion-dollar bounty hanging over Mr. Rushdie’s head kept growing and the fatwa was never lifted.

Mr. Khomeini’s successor, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was suspended from Twitter in 2019 for saying the fatwa against Mr. Rushdie was “irrevocable.”

The man accused of attacking the novelist has pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault charges. He is being held without bail in a western New York jail. — Reuters

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