Queen releases rediscovered song featuring Freddie Mercury

October 18, 2022 | 12:04 am

LONDON — Queen released a rediscovered song featuring Freddie Mercury on Thursday, the band’s first new track with the late frontman’s instantly recognizable vocals to come out in more than eight years.

Guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor first told fans about the existence of “Face It Alone” during an interview in the summer.

The track was originally recorded in the late 1980s during sessions for the band’s chart-topping album The Miracle but it did not make it to release.

Queen’s production and archive team found it again when they began working on an upcoming box set reissue of the album, due to be released in November.

“We’d kind of forgotten about this track,” Mr. Taylor said in a statement. “But there it was, this little gem. It’s wonderful, a real discovery. It’s a very passionate piece.”

The Miracle, Queen’s 13^th studio album, came out two years before Mr. Mercury died from AIDS-related pneumonia in 1991.

The upcoming reissue, released as an eight-disc collector’s edition box set, will feature six unpublished songs as well as dialogue between the band — Mercury, May, Taylor, and bassist John Deacon — while in the studio.

Queen last included three previously unheard songs featuring Mr. Mercury on their 2014 album Queen Forever.

“I’m happy that our team were able to find this track (‘Face It Alone’),” Mr. May said.

“After all these years, it’s great to hear all four of us … working in the studio on a great song idea which never quite got completed … until now!” — Reuters

Manila Marriott’s restaurants now exceed pre-pandemic levels

October 18, 2022 | 12:04 am

CRU-Steakhouse---mariott-hotel- — MANILA Marriott Hotel’s CRU Steakhouse — MARRIOTT.COM

MANILA Marriott Hotel’s CRU Steakhouse — MARRIOTT.COM

By Justine Irish D. Tabile

RESTAURANTS at the Manila Marriott Hotel are now performing better than pre-pandemic levels, as more Filipinos dine out amid looser restrictions.

“Our food and beverages sales, our restaurants, bars and lounges have been doing exceptionally well. Obviously, that’s driven by the local market,” Manila Marriott General Manager Bruce Alexander Winton said in an interview with BusinessWorld.

“We’re running about 120% of our 2019 levels in the restaurants which is very encouraging,” he added.

Located in Newport World Resorts, Manila Marriott is home to several restaurants such as CRU Steakhouse, Marriott Café, Man Ho and Mian.

However, Mr. Winton said bookings for meetings and events through October are still not back to normal as some continue to have concerns over the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

“The one that is a little bit slower to come together or to come back was the meetings, events, business gatherings, obviously [because these] are mass gatherings,” Mr. Winton said.

Nonetheless, Mr. Winton is expecting more bookings ahead of the holiday season.

“Certainly, in the second half of the year we are seeing significant momentum. And actually, with the bookings for the holidays, for Christmas and everything else, we are expecting a 95% recovery in December,” he said.

Corporate or business-related travel has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Mr. Winton said they are now seeing 60% to 70% recovery in the corporate travel market.

“Let’s just say that 2022 turned out to be much better than we expected. We’ve exceeded our occupancy levels and our average room rate levels,” Mr. Winton said.

Manila Marriott Hotel is hoping to host more corporate and social events in 2023.

“Moving into next year, there’s a lot of corporate, conferences, meetings and events and then on the social side of events the events are getting larger again,” Mr. Winton said.

Manila Marriott Hotel has 44 event rooms which is equivalent to 12,110 square meters of total event space and 43 breakout rooms suited for smaller groups. Its largest event room, the MGBx Convention Hall, can accommodate 4,700 guests in a reception setup.

Manila Marriott Hotel is a brand under a long-term management agreement between Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc. and US-based Marriott International, Inc. which has a portfolio of more than 8,100 properties across 139 countries.

CEU swings to profitability with P71-M income

October 18, 2022 | 12:04 am

CENTRO Escolar University (CEU) registered a P71.46-million attributable net income in the first quarter as it recorded higher revenues early in its fiscal year, turning around from a net loss of P80.89 million last year.

The company’s financial year starts in June and ends in May of the following year.

For the three months that ended in August, the company’s topline reached P412.45 million, 73.8% higher than the previous year’s P237.27 million.

Tuition and other school fees contributed to the highest revenue with P360.27 million, a 65.35% jump from P217.88 last year, after the university booked P110.42 million income from other school services.

According to its quarterly report, income from other school services include fees for diploma and certificates, transcript of records, student handbooks, identification cards, entrance and qualifying examination, and various collections for specific items or activities.

Revenues from its auxiliary services climbed to P43.35 million in the quarter, more than four times the P9.07 million a year ago.

The company’s interest income was also higher at P603,646, climbing by 62.2% from P372,283 last year.

Meanwhile, CEU’s expenses were higher by 7.2% to P340.99 million in the quarter from P318.16 million in the same period last year.

CEU’s subsidiaries include Centro Escolar University Hospital, Inc., Centro Escolar Integrated School, and Centro Escolar Las Piñas.

On the stock market on Monday, shares in CEU lost 1 centavo or 0.13% to P7.69 apiece. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

Paddington Bear tributes to Queen Elizabeth to go to charity

October 18, 2022 | 12:03 am

THE ROYAL Family twitter page released a photo of Queen Consort Camilla with the message: “Please look after this bear The Queen Consort is pictured with some of the 1,000 teddy bears that were left in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, which will now be donated to @barnardos.” — TWITTER.COM/ROYALFAMILY

LONDON — More than 1,000 Paddingtons and other teddy bears left by well-wishers as a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II after her death last month, will be handed over to a children’s charity, Buckingham Palace said on Saturday.

The cuddly toys were among a huge number of floral tributes and messages which were left outside palaces and royal parks in London and Windsor in the days of mourning following Elizabeth’s death at the age of 96 on Sept. 8.

They will now be professionally cleaned before being passed to the Barnardo’s charity.

“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was Barnardo’s Patron for over 30 years, and we are honored to be able to give homes to the teddies that people left in her memory,” Barnardo Chief Executive Lynn Perry said.

“We promise to look after these bears who will be well-loved and bring joy to the children we support.”

In June, the late monarch appeared in a video having tea with the children’s literary character Paddington which became one of the highlights of four days of celebrations to mark her 70^th year on the throne.

During the comic sketch, she told Paddington she always kept the character’s favorite — a marmalade sandwich — in her ever-present handbag.

As the public mourned her death, the Royal Parks asked people not to leave Paddington bears and marmalade sandwiches because so many people had brought them.

Prince William, her grandson and now the heir to the throne, admitted he had become “choked up” after seeing the Paddington tributes.

To mark the announcement of its plans, Buckingham Palace has released a picture of Queen Camilla, wife of King Charles, with some of the Paddingtons. — Reuters

Japanese-style Mitsukoshi mall set to open in BGC

October 18, 2022 | 12:03 am

A JAPANESE-style shopping mall is set to open in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) before the end of the year, according to its developer Federal Land.

The Mitsukoshi BGC, located within Federal Land’s Grand Central Park community, is a four-level mall that will feature 120 retail stores “rich in Japanese culture and style.”

The mall will have four themed floors — “Tasty Life” (basement 1), “Beautiful Life” (ground floor), “Inspired Life” (second floor), and “Entertainment Life” (third floor).

An upscale supermarket, Mitsukoshi Fresh, will be located in the basement. It will also have a food court and a sweets and deli corner, that will remind people of “depachika” or department store food markets in Japan.

The ground floor will feature Mitsukoshi Beauty, where people can buy cosmetics, fashion apparel and lifestyle products.

More restaurants will be found on the third floor, along with a Japanese bookstore. The fourth floor will feature Japanese entertainment options.

Mitsukoshi BGC is the anchor for The Seasons Residences, an upscale Japanese-inspired condominium project by Federal Land in partnership with Japan’s leading firms Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. and Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd.

Gov’t rejects all bids for T-bills as rates shoot up

October 18, 2022 | 12:03 am

THE GOVERNMENT rejected all bids for its offer of Treasury bills (T-bills) on Monday as investors asked for higher yields on expectations of further tightening by central banks here and abroad to temper inflation.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) did not award any T-bills on Monday even as tenders reached P16.303 billion, higher than the P15-billion program.

Broken down, the Treasury refused all bids for the 91-day T-bill even as total tenders reached P7.6 billion, above the P5-billion plan. Had the Treasury made a full award, the three-month debt papers would have fetched an average rate of 4.82%, 250.2 basis points (bps) higher than the 2.318% seen on Sept. 5, the last successful award of the tenor.

The BTr also turned down all 182-day securities even as demand reached P5.503 billion, higher than the programmed P5 billion. If the offer was fully awarded, the average rate of the six-month T-bill would have gone up by 126.8 bps to 5.226% from the 3.958% quoted for the last successful award on Sept. 26.

Lastly, the government turned down all tenders for the 364-day debt papers as total bids came in at only P3.2 billion, below the P5-billion offer. Had the Treasury accepted these bids, the average yield on the one-year instrument would have jumped by 208 bps to 5.862% from the 3.782% fetched for the tenor when it was last awarded on Aug. 22.

At the secondary market prior to the auction on Monday, the 91-, 182-, and 364-day T-bills were quoted at 3.3704%, 4.0154%, and 3.881%, respectively, based on the PHP Bloomberg Valuation Reference Rates data provided by the BTr.

“The auction committee decided to fully reject bids for the Treasury bills in today’s auction. The T-bills fetched averages higher than the previous auction as well as secondary market rates,” the BTr said in a press release on Monday.

The first trader said sentiment for short-dated bonds continues to be bearish “given that both the US Federal Reserve and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), along with many other central banks globally, continue to be hawkish mainly to temper the persistently high inflation.”

“Market players continue to price in the prospects of higher interest rates in the months to come,” the trader added in a text message.

“The BTr found the bids too high so they opted to reject the auction. The bids are much higher than what is traded in the secondary market, so I think that’s the main reason why they opted to reject,” a second trader said in a phone call.

The Fed is likely to deliver another large rate hike at its November meeting as inflation remains high, with more increases also on the table until next year.

The US central bank has raised rates by 300 bps since March and will next meet on Nov. 1-2.

Back home, BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla last week said the central bank will consider a 50-bp or 75-bp hike at their own meeting next month to support the peso and prevent its depreciation against the dollar from further stoking inflation.

The Philippine central bank has raised benchmark rates by 225 bps since May and will review its policy stance on Nov. 17.

The BTr wants to raise P200 billion from the domestic market this month, or P60 billion through T-bills and P140 billion via Treasury bonds.

The government borrows from local and external sources to help fund a budget deficit capped at P1.65 trillion this year, equivalent to 7.6% of gross domestic product. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

SG’s Anchanto says PHL users growing, now 18% of customer base in Asia

October 18, 2022 | 12:03 am

SINGAPORE-based e-commerce solutions provider Anchanto on Monday said its customers in the Philippines now account for 18% of its total customer base in Asia, driving the company to launch new solutions for local businesses.

The Philippines is now “on par with other markets [in Asia] such as Malaysia, Singapore (SG), and Indonesia,” Anchanto said in an e-mailed statement.

The software company, which is in its fifth year in the Philippines, said it attributes its growth to increasing local customers and partners.

“Anchanto entered the Philippines in 2017 amid the rising e-commerce trends and strong demand from businesses,” the company said.

The company offers a technological infrastructure to local organizations by helping them navigate complexities and manage operations on a single platform.

“The company quickly grew and amplified its customer base, [which] led to its recent launch of new suite of software-as-a-service (SaaS) products to plug gaps and provide innovative solutions across the e-commerce and logistics industries,” Anchanto said.

The company noted that in 2021, its customers processed over 3.9 million orders during the “11.11” and “12.12” sale seasons across Southeast Asia, with around 20% of its volume coming from the Philippines.

“Our local teams, our robust SaaS platforms, and our focus on delivering the best customer experience enable businesses in the region to scale their growth faster. For us, the last five years have been as much a journey of innovation as it is of trust,” Anchanto Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Abhimanyu Kashika said. — Arjay L. Balinbin

She Said movie highlights the women who took on Harvey Weinstein

October 18, 2022 | 12:02 am

Zoe-Kazan-and-Carey-Mulligan-in-She-Said-(2022) — A SCENE from She Said.

LONDON — Actors Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan star as the award-winning journalists who broke the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal in the new film She Said, which premiered at the London Film Festival on Friday.

The movie is based on the 2019 book of the same name about the New York Times investigation into claims of sexual misconduct by Mr. Weinstein, then one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood. Ms. Mulligan and Ms. Kazan play Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who wrote the book and won Pulitzer Prizes for their reporting.

“The film spoke to me as being just full of women being heroic, from the survivors, the witnesses to everyone at The Times who sort of made this happen,” Ms. Mulligan told Reuters on the red carpet.

Some of Mr. Weinstein’s accusers such as his former assistant Zelda Perkins and her colleague Rowena Chiu appeared at the premiere alongside the movie’s stars.

Ms. Chiu said seeing her story on the big screen felt “confusing.”

“There’s a whole mix of emotions, you feel sad about it, you feel angry about it, you feel sort of amazed that there are so many people taking an interest in it and it’s become such a big phenomenon,” she said. “So, all these things sort of come at once — so you feel definitely a clash of emotions.”

After the Times story broke, some 100 women came forward with accusations of sexual misconduct by Mr. Weinstein. The reporting fueled the #MeToo movement, with women around the world calling out sexual harassment.

Mr. Weinstein, who has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone, was sentenced in New York in March 2020 to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault involving two women. He is appealing the verdict.

Mr. Weinstein is currently on trial in California on additional charges of sexual misconduct. He has pleaded not guilty. — Reuters

AboitizLand eyes P1.8B sales from Lipa project

October 18, 2022 | 12:02 am

ABOITIZLAND is looking to generate P1.82 billion in sales revenues from a new residential development in Lipa, Batangas.

The real estate unit of the Aboitiz group is developing Meadow Village, the third and most premium enclave of The Villages at Lipa.

David Rafael, AboitizLand president and chief executive officer, said in a statement that the 12-hectare premium residential lot development will generate P1.82 billion in sales revenues from 171 units.
“The launch of Meadow Village could not come at a better time for discerning investors. The Calabarzon region continues to advance in investment prominence with the presence of LIMA Estate in Lipa. And the first central business district in Batangas will soon rise in the Aboitiz-owned smart and future-ready mixed-use economic center,” Mr. Rafael said.

The Meadow Village offers lots sized between 250 up to 1,500 square meters (sq.m.). Future residents can choose “Sunrise” lots that face the east, corner lots with an average size of 417 sq.m., and “Greenbelt” lots that offer landscape views. Also offered are regular lots sized around 302 sq.m. and “Central Park” lots.

AboitizLand said the Villages at Lipa has already seen significant value appreciation for earlier projects, Sierra and Brook Villages, since these were launched in 2019.

Security Bank starts offer of 1.5-year bonds

October 18, 2022 | 12:02 am

SECURITY BANK Corp. (Security Bank) on Monday started an offer of 1.5-year peso-denominated bonds from which it is looking to raise at least P3 billion in fresh funds.

The bonds are being marketed with a fixed rate of 5.3% per annum, Security Bank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday.

“Proceeds will be used to support the bank’s lending activities and expand its funding base,” the lender said in an e-mail.

The issue size is set at P3 billion with an oversubscription option depending on demand. The bonds will be issued out of Security Bank’s P100-billion peso bond and commercial paper program.

The papers are available to the market for investments starting at P1 million and increments of P100,000 thereafter.

The offer period will run until Oct. 28, unless adjusted by the bank.

Security Bank will list the bonds on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. on Nov. 10 “to provide secondary market liquidity to investors who would like to trade the instruments,” it said.

The lender tapped Philippine Commercial Capital, Inc. (PCCI) to be the sole bookrunner for the issuance. The joint lead arrangers and selling agents for the transaction are PCCI and SB Capital Investment Corp.

The offering is the Security Bank’s second for the year. The listed bank last tapped the domestic debt market in July, where it raised P16 billion via 1.5-year peso bonds, more than the original plan of P1 billion as the offer was oversubscribed.

The papers were also issued also out of the lender’s P100-billion peso bond and commercial paper program.

Security Bank Executive Vice-President and Financial Markets Segment Head Raul Martin A. Pedro had said that successful issuance and the oversubscription are testaments to investor confidence in the lender.

The lender doubled its bond and commercial paper program to P100 billion in June 2020 from the initial P50 billion when it was established in December 2018 as it wanted to raise more funds for its lending business and to lengthen the maturity of its liabilities.

Security Bank recorded a higher net income in the second quarter of 2022 on the improved performance of its core businesses and lower credit provisions.

The bank booked an attributable net income of P3.52 billion in April-June, up by 139.4% from the P1.47 billion in the same period in 2021.

This brought its attributable net profit for the first half to P6.25 billion, more than double the P3.12 billion seen in the comparable year-ago period.

Security Bank is the country’s ninth largest lender in terms of assets with P796.78 billion and seventh in terms of capital with P123.41 billion as of end-June, based on Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data.

Its shares closed at P81.70 apiece on Monday, down by 1.57% or P1.30 from the previous finish. — Keisha B. Ta-asan

Nearly 6% of Filipinos considered’ multidimensionally’ poor

October 18, 2022 | 12:02 am

The share of “multidimensional” poor in the Philippines reached 5.8% in 2020, equivalent to 6.503 million Filipinos, according to the latest estimates from the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index by United Nations and Development Program (UNDP) and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). This was unchanged from 2019. People are considered “multidimensionally” poor if they “suffer from multiple disadvantages” aside from lack of income using 10 indicators* of health, education, and standard of living. The country’s multidimensional poverty incidence was higher than the 2.7% incidence of monetary poverty (or the percentage of those living below the $1.90-per-day poverty threshold under 2011 purchasing power parity terms). This implies that people living above the poverty line could still suffer deprivations in health, education, and standard of living.

Upson to use eco-friendly packaging in its stores

October 18, 2022 | 12:02 am

TECH retailer Upson International Corp. will eliminate single-use plastic and paper bag packaging across its stores as it fully transitions to reusable bags.

“We recognize the need for businesses to help address the challenges facing our world today including global issues such as single-use packaging,” Upson President and Chief Executive Officer Arlene Louisa T. Sy said in a press release.

“We’re taking action, as appropriate, to reduce environmental damage and find new ways to continually make a positive impact for people and the planet,” Ms. Sy added.

The reusable bags are made from non-woven polypropylene which Upson said is more durable than single-use plastics and paper bags and can withstand handling and transport after being used multiple times.

As the production of cotton bags takes less energy, this results in lesser carbon emissions.

“There is also no clear answer on which bag is the best and most sustainable. But we keep working with customers to help reduce packaging waste. To this end, we provide an eco-friendly packaging that is suitable for our products,” Ms. Sy said.

Upson said that according to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board standards, one of the material sustainability issues for retailers and distributors is the packaging.

This is why companies in the multiline and specialty retail industry are recommended to engage with suppliers in coming up with a strategy that will reduce the environmental impact of the products’ packaging.

According to Upson, among the strategies the retailers and suppliers can employ are optimizing packaging weight and volume and using environment-friendly materials for packaging.

Although the company recognizes the idea that environmental, social, and governance considerations will only become important in the long term, it said that it will continue evaluating the standards as a guide in its governance and reporting.

Upson offers its retail products through its stores: Octagon Computer Superstore, Micro Valley, and Gadget King. — Justine Irish D. Tabile