Netflix estimates Squid Game will be worth nearly $900M

October 17, 2021 | 4:20 pm

NETFLIX estimates that its latest megahit, Squid Game, will create almost $900 million in value for the company, according to figures seen by Bloomberg, underscoring the windfall that one megahit can generate in the streaming era.

Netflix differs from movie studios and TV networks in that doesn’t generate sales based on specific titles, instead using its catalog and a steady drumbeat of new releases to entice customers every week. But the company does have a wealth of data concerning what its customers watch, which the company uses to determine the value derived from individual programs.

Squid Game stands out both for its popularity, and its relatively low cost. The South Korean show, about indebted people in a deadly contest for a cash prize, generated $891.1 million in impact value, a metric the company uses to assess the performance from individual shows. The show cost just $21.4 million to produce — about $2.4 million an episode. Those figures are just for the first season, and stem from a document that details Netflix’s performance metrics for the show.

The document underscores just how successful this one show has been for Netflix, and offers the clearest picture yet as to how the world’s most popular online TV network judges the success of its programming. Netflix has released self-selected viewership metrics for a handful of TV shows and movies, but it doesn’t share its more detailed metrics with the press, investors or even the programs’ own creators. Guessing the popularity of a given show has become something of a parlor game in Hollywood, even as Netflix has begun to release data in dribs and drabs.

An attorney representing Netflix said in a letter to Bloomberg that it would be inappropriate for Bloomberg to disclose the confidential data contained in the documents that Bloomberg had reviewed. “Netflix does not discuss these metrics outside the company and takes significant steps to protect them from disclosure,” the attorney said.

Some of the figures are self-explanatory, and mirror data that Netflix and other services already report. About 132 million people have watched at least two minutes of Squid Game in the show’s first 23 days, smashing the Netflix record set by Bridgerton. The two-minute figure is the one Netflix releases to the public for some shows. The company said 111 million people had started the show earlier this month, but that was based on data that is a bit older.

While Netflix has disclosed the number of people who start a show, it has yet to disclose how many people stuck around to watch more of the show (stickiness) or how many people finished the series (completion rate). Linear TV networks report the average number of people who watch a program for its duration, which makes the Netflix two-minute numbers look inflated by comparison.

In the case of Squid Game, Netflix estimates that 89% of people who started the show watched at least 75 minutes (more than one episode) and 66% of viewers, or 87 million people, have finished the series in the first 23 days. All told, people have spent more than 1.4 billion hours watching the show, which was produced by closely held Siren Pictures.

The viewership details are likely to cheer investors, who have regained enthusiasm for Netflix after several bumpy months, partly because Squid Game has been so popular. The company reported its slowest pace of subscriber additions since 2013 in the first half of the year, and blamed the paucity of new hit shows for some of its struggles. It also blamed the coronavirus for slowing TV and movie production. Its stock has declined for much of the year, and trailed the market.

But shares in the company have climbed nearly 7 percent since the release of Squid Game on Sept. 17, valuing the company at $278.1 billion. Even investors critical of the company expect it will either lift its performance in the third quarter or its forecast for the fourth quarter — if not both.

“We think Netflix has found a sound and profitable strategy with its content internationalization efforts, with Squid Game a perfect example,” Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, wrote in an Oct. 14 note. Mr. Pachter has been Netflix’s loudest skeptic among Wall Street analysts. “This and its Seinfeld launch in Q4 should provide a solid cushion.”

Some of the metrics seen by Bloomberg are more idiosyncratic, and it’s impossible to glean from the document what data Netflix uses to calculate each formula. Squid Game scored 353 points in adjusted view share (AVS), which reflects not just how many people watched it but how valuable those viewers are considered. (An AVS of more than 9 or 10 is already considered high.) Viewers who are new customers or use Netflix less often are viewed as more valuable because that suggests those shows are a reason they haven’t canceled.

AVS is where Netflix’s evaluation of a show begins, according to current and former employees, and the impact value figure is an estimate of a show’s lifetime AVS.

What makes Squid Game even more valuable is how popular it is relative to its low cost. The show cost less than a recent Dave Chappelle special, or just a couple episodes of The Crown. Netflix measures this using a metric called efficiency, which measures viewership (or AVS) relative to cost. The show has a mark of 41.7X in efficiency, according to the document, when an efficiency of 1x is considered solid. Chappelle’s Sticks & Stones was 0.8X, as Bloomberg reported this week. — Bloomberg

Melbourne to ease world’s longest COVID-19 lockdown

October 17, 2021 | 4:20 pm

A woman walks across the city centre bridge in Melbourne, Australia, July 16, 2021. — REUTERS/SANDRA SANDERS

MELBOURNE — Melbourne, which has spent more time under COVID-19 lockdowns than any other city in the world, is set to lift its stay-at-home orders this week, officials said on Sunday.

By Friday, when some curbs will be lifted, the Australian city of 5 million people will have been under six lockdowns totalling 262 days, or nearly nine months, since March 2020.

Australian and other media say this is the longest in the world, exceeding a 234-day lockdown in Buenos Aires.

While coronavirus cases keep rising in Victoria state, of which Melbourne is the capital, the state’s double-vaccination rate is set to reach 70% this week, allowing for the ease in restrictions. “Today is a great day,” said Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews in announcing the lockdown. “Today is a day when Victorians can be proud of what they have achieved.”

When hospitality venues and some businesses reopen, their capacity will remain heavily restricted. More easing, including the reopening of many retailers, will come once 80% of eligible Victorians are fully vaccinated — estimated by Nov. 5 at the latest.

On Sunday, Victoria recorded 1,838 new coronavirus cases and seven deaths. Neighboring New South Wales, which emerged last week from a 100-day lockdown, reported 301 cases and 10 deaths. Eighty percent of the state’s people have been fully vaccinated.

Australia, once a champion of a COVID-zero strategy of managing the pandemic, has been moving towards living with the virus through extensive vaccinations, as the Delta variant has proven too transmissible to suppress.

The new strategy makes lockdowns highly unlikely once 80% of the population is fully vaccinated. As of the weekend, around 68% of eligible Australians have been fully inoculated.

Australia’s health officials said on Sunday that quarantine-free travel from New Zealand’s South Island, where there is no outbreak, will resume on Wednesday. The government is also in discussions with Singapore about reopening travel between the two countries for the fully vaccinated.

Despite the rise in cases in recent months, Australia’s coronavirus numbers are low compared to many other developed countries, with just over 143,000 cases and 1,530 deaths.

Neighboring New Zealand, which is also learning to live with COVID-19 by accelerating inoculations, reported 51 new cases on Sunday, 47 of them in the largest city Auckland, which has been in a lockdown since mid-August. On Saturday, New Zealand vaccinated more than 2.5% of its people as part of a government-led mass vaccination drive. — Reuters

Pope pledges to continue being a ‘pest’ in defense of the poor

October 17, 2021 | 4:17 pm

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said on Saturday he realizes some people, including within the Church, consider him to be “a pest” for defending the poor and most vulnerable, but that it won’t stop him as it is part of Christianity.

“Thinking about these situations (of exclusion and inequality), I make a pest of myself with my questions. And I go on asking. And I ask everyone in the name of God,” said Francis, Latin America’s first pope.

He called on pharmaceutical companies to release patents to make vaccines for COVID-19 more available to the poor, noting that only 3%-4% of the population in some countries had been vaccinated.

Francis, 84, was speaking by video link to the World Meeting of Popular Movements, a grouping of grassroots organizations and social movements which bring attention to inequality in labor, land ownership, health care and other social issues in the developing world.

He called on industries such as mining and lumber, “to stop destroying forests, wetlands and mountains, to stop polluting rivers and seas, to stop poisoning food and people.”

Pope Francis said rich countries and financial institutions should cancel the debts of the poorest nations. Weapons manufacturers and dealers should to stop contributing “to those awful geopolitical games which cost millions of displaced lives and millions of dead.”

Technology giants should stop allowing hate speech, fake news, conspiracy theories, and political manipulation, he said, and called for a universal basic income and for countries to consider shortening the work day so more people could have jobs.

“This system, with its relentless logic of profit, is escaping all human control. It is time to slow the locomotive down, an out-of-control locomotive hurtling towards the abyss. There is still time,” he said. “And so, I persist in my pestering.”

He referred to criticism he has received in the past, especially from US church conservatives, when he has issued similar appeals.

“It saddens me that some members of the Church get annoyed when we mention these guidelines that belong to the full tradition of the Church,” he said referring to a compendium of Catholic social teaching issued by Pope John Paul II in 2004.

“But the pope must not stop mentioning this teaching, even if it often annoys people, because what is at stake is not the pope but the Gospel,” he said. — Reuters

ASEAN nations exclude Myanmar junta leader from regional summit in rare move

October 17, 2021 | 4:15 pm

MYANMAR-PROTESTS_Reuters — FLOWERS hang during a nationwide flower campaign against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, April 2, 2021. — REUTERS

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN — Southeast Asian countries will invite a non-political representative from Myanmar to a regional summit this month, delivering an unprecedented snub to the military leader who led a coup against an elected civilian government in February.

The decision taken by foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at an emergency meeting on Friday night was an unusually bold step for the consensus-driven bloc, which traditionally favors a policy of engagement and non-interference.

Brunei, ASEAN’s current chair, issued a statement citing a lack of progress made on a roadmap that the junta had agreed to with ASEAN in April to restore peace in Myanmar.

Singapore’s foreign ministry said on Saturday the move to exclude junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was a “difficult, but necessary, decision to uphold ASEAN’s credibility”.

A spokesman for Myanmar’s military government blamed “foreign intervention” for the decision.

Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told the BBC Burmese news service that the United States and representatives of the European Union (EU) had pressured other ASEAN member states.

“The foreign interventions can also be seen here,” he said. “We learned that some envoys from some countries met with US foreign affairs and received pressure from EU.”

An official junta statement on Sunday morning said ASEAN’s decision went against its longtime central principle of consensus.

“Myanmar is extremely disappointed and strongly objected the outcomes of the Emergency Foreign Ministers’ Meeting as the discussions and decision on Myanmar’s representation issue was done without consensus and was against the objectives of the ASEAN, the ASEAN Charter and its principles,” it said.

More than 1,000 civilians have been killed by Myanmar security forces with thousands of others arrested, according to the United Nations, amid a crackdown on strikes and protests which has derailed the country’s tentative democracy and prompted international condemnation.

The junta says those estimates of the death toll are exaggerated.

ASEAN chair Brunei said a non-political figure from Myanmar would be invited to the Oct. 26-28 summit, after no consensus was reached for a political representative to attend.

“As there had been insufficient progress… as well as concerns over Myanmar’s commitment, in particular on establishing constructive dialogue among all concerned parties, some ASEAN Member States recommended that ASEAN give space to Myanmar to restore its internal affairs and return to normalcy,” Brunei said in a statement.

It did not mention Min Aung Hlaing or name who would be invited in his stead.

Brunei said some member states had received requests from Myanmar’s National Unity Government, formed by opponents of the junta, to attend the summit.

‘JUSTIFIED DOWNGRADE’
ASEAN has faced increasing international pressure to take a tougher stand against Myanmar, having been criticized in the past for its ineffectiveness in dealing with leaders accused of rights abuses, subverting democracy and intimidating political opponents.

A US State Department official told reporters on Friday that it was “perfectly appropriate and in fact completely justified” for ASEAN to downgrade Myanmar’s participation at the coming summit.

Singapore in its statement urged Myanmar to cooperate with ASEAN’s envoy, Brunei’s second foreign affairs minister Erywan Yusof.

Erywan has delayed a long-planned visit to the country in recent weeks and has asked to meet all parties in Myanmar, including deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained in the coup.

Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said this week Erywan would be welcome in Myanmar, but would not be allowed to meet Ms. Suu Kyi because she is charged with crimes.

Malaysia’s foreign minister said it would be up to the Myanmar junta to decide on an alternate representative to the summit.

“We never thought of removing Myanmar from ASEAN, we believe Myanmar has the same rights (as us),” foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah told reporters according to Bernama state news agency.

“But the junta has not cooperated, so ASEAN must be strong in defending its credibility and integrity,” he added. — Reuters

vivo X70 now available in the Philippines

October 16, 2021 | 8:00 am

Co-engineered with ZEISS, new vivo X70 highlights state-of-the-art mobile photography technology

Global brand vivo remains top of mind when one thinks of premium imaging technology. Now the brand takes the game to new heights with the release of the all-new vivo X70 in the Philippines.

The latest flagship phone, co-engineered by leading optics company ZEISS, gives professional photographers and casual consumers an edge in photography with smartphone camera features taken to the next level.

Consumers can rely on the vivo X70 to give a new meaning to photography with its Ultra-Sensing Gimbal 3.0 technology, its ZEISS optics lenses, and its exclusive Sony-customized IMX766V camera sensor.

The Next Imagery Master vivo X70 is now available in vivo kiosks nationwide, as well as official vivo Lazada and Shopee sites for P34,999.

Exceptional imaging

The vivo X70 incorporates the strongest stabilization control in the industry with its Ultra-Sensing Gimbal Camera 3.0 technology. This allows users to take sharp photos and videos, even on active mode.

Its lenses are co-engineered with ZEISS, home to some of the industry-leading optics technology. It also possesses the ZEISS T* branding, a special coating on the camera that reduces unwanted image elements, so users can rely on the smartphone to deliver pure and clear images every time.

The vivo brand also advances its technology with the Sony IMX766V camera lens which is exclusive to the X70. This feature allows the smartphone to capture 8% more light than other models in the market, making sure that photos are always at their best quality.

The vivo X70 is also equipped with a sensor of 1/1.7 inches photosensitive area, which results in faster autofocus and produce images in clearer details.

Professional photographers can still capture shots clearly, even in scattered light sources, with the X70’s ZEISS Superb Night Camera. Integrated with an extraordinary sensor, the phone can capture photos and videos in the dark in high-definition quality.

Casual users can also enjoy shooting their everyday moments with the vivo X70. Using its Quality Portrait feature, they can have a unique kind of excitement even in the most monotonous environments with wonderful portraits shot against colorful bokeh backgrounds.

People who are into taking videos can also shoot Cinematic-Grade Videos as the X70 brings the combination of VIS 5-axis Ultra Stable Video and Gimbal Reset Technology, which allows clips to come from a stabilized angle to reduce frame crops.

Beyond excellent shoots

Beyond its exceptional photography features, the vivo X70 also boasts of strong performance with its 6nm flagship chip on vivo 5G platform. It also has a notable memory of 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage, so users can always have a seamless and lag-free experience. To allow customers to make the best out of their smartphones, the vivo X70 also boasts a 4400mAh battery and a fast-charging feature at 44W.

All these extraordinary features are packed in a slim, ultra-sleek design, which is available in the colors of Cosmic Black and Aurora Dawn.

Own exceptional living with unparalleled camera technology and indulge with the new TWS 2e (P2,999) wireless earphones that allows you to listen to great sounds that resonate with you.

For more information on this new smartphone, visit vivo Philippines on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and the brand website at https://www.vivoglobal.ph/phone/vivo-X70.

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Cash remittances up for 7^th straight month in August

October 15, 2021 | 7:34 pm

Remittance_Moneychanger_PHILIPPINES — Cash remittances rose 5.1% to $2.609 billion in August. -- Reuters

By Jenina P. Ibañez, Reporter

Money sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) increased for the seventh straight month as more host economies with high vaccination rates reopened.

Cash remittances rose 5.1% to $2.609 billion in August from $2.483 billion a year earlier, based on data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Friday.

“The growth in cash remittances was due to the increase in remittances from land-based workers and sea-based workers, which rose by 4.1 percent (to $2.032 billion from $1.952 billion) and 8.6 percent (to US$577 million from US$531 million), respectively,” the BSP said.

Cash remittances however declined 8.55% from $2.853 billion in July, which was the biggest inflow since the $2.89 billion in December 2020.

UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said the month-on-month dip in cash remittances since July may have reflected recent risks arising from the more infectious Delta coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) variant in host countries.

“But overall, it seems that recovery will continue especially for countries where our OFWs are located,” he said.

For the first eight months of 2021, total cash remittances went up 5.7% to $20.38 billion from $19.285 billion recorded in the same period last year.

The central bank said remittances from OFWs in the United States, Malaysia, and South Korea contributed to the boost in the year-to-date tally.

The US is still the biggest remittance source, followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, South Korea, Qatar, and Taiwan.

Combined remittances from these countries accounted for 78.8% of total cash remittances.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said further reopening and recovery of many economies as they move closer to herd immunity against the COVID-19 led to the creation of more jobs for Filipinos.

“OFW remittances remain resilient despite the repatriation of more than 700,000 OFWs since the pandemic, given the increased social function of providing assistance to OFW families and dependents in the country adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic/lockdowns since last year, as well as the need to send more remittances to make up for higher inflation in recent months,” he said.

Metro Manila was under the strictest form of lockdown for two weeks in August to curb a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections.

UnionBank’s Mr. Asuncion said the bank expected this robust growth in August after it forecasted a 4.9% increase.

“With this latest data, our forecasts now tell us that 2021 OFW remittance inflow will grow by an average of 4.5%,” he said.

Mr. Asuncion said seasonal inflows ahead of the holidays may be higher than expected.

“This expectation fits in to our view that these inflows will underpin a strong (Philippine peso) narrative ready to counter (US dollar) strength due to a more hawkish US Fed and downward pressures from higher global oil prices,” he said.

Meanwhile, personal remittances, which include inflows in kind, jumped 4.8% to $2.889 billion in August from $2.756 billion a year earlier.

Year to date, personal remittances increased by 5.9% to $22.672 billion from $21.414 billion in the same period last year.

Remittance inflows support household spending, which makes up about 70% of the economy.

The BSP expects cash remittances grow 4% this year after declining by 0.8% in 2020.

BIR clarifies COVID-19 drug VAT exemptions

October 15, 2021 | 7:30 pm

2021-01-21_TOCILIZUMAB_CORONAVIRUS — A pharmacist displays a box of tocilizumab, which is used in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), at a pharmacy in France, April 28, 2020. -- REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) clarified that only medicines and medical devices for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) included in an updated government list will be exempt from value-added tax (VAT).

The medical products are only those included in a list submitted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June, BIR said in a press release on Thursday.

“Only the medicines and medical devices for COVID-19 with the corresponding dosage strength, and dosage form and route of administration included in the consolidated Iist of VAT-exempt Products submitted by the FDA to the BIR shall be considered as exempt from VAT,” the bureau said.

The clarification was done in response to stakeholders who have asked about the VAT exemption of medicines for diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, cancer, mental illness, tuberculosis, kidney diseases, drugs and vaccines, and medical devices prescribed and directly used for COVID-19 treatment under the Tax Code, as amended by the TRAIN Law and the CREATE Act.

The Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act allows for the VAT exemption of the importation and sale of medicines and medical devices used to treat COVID-19.

The VAT exemptions of said medicines and devices took effect on June 17, the day the FDA published its list.

According to BIR memorandum circular 99-2021 issued last month, any list provided by the FDA prior to the one issued in June are no longer in effect.

“The consolidated list was intended to update the previous lists for ease of reference and for use by all stakeholders concerned,” BIR said.

Unutilized input VAT on now VAT-exempt inventories may be carried over to the succeeding taxable quarters or be charged as part of cost.

The BIR also said that there will be no tax refund “for the supposed erroneously paid VAT on local purchases and importation.”

“A tax refund may be allowed only in cases where there is a change of status from VAT to Non-VAT registration.” — Jenina P. Ibañez

Container-ship traffic jam in Southeast Asia worst since April

October 15, 2021 | 7:28 pm

Container_SHIPPING-ENVIRONMENT-USA — REUTERS

Typhoon Kompasu has resulted in the worst container shipping traffic jam in months, one that now stretches throughout Southeast Asia and may take weeks to unravel.

Although port operations are largely back to normal in Shenzhen and Hong Kong after the tropical storm’s passing, the total container ship count off the two vital hubs had ballooned to 271 as of early Friday, the highest count recorded since Bloomberg News started tracking the data in April.

At least 109 ships were meanwhile reported as anchored and waiting to enter the ports, up from 67 on Thursday.

“The supply chain is very stretched, with no buffer, so any little event will cause another big problem,” James Teo, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said. “There are too many choke points.”

Teo expects port congestion will likely continue until at least the Lunar New Year holiday, which next falls on Feb. 1.

The storm, which is now bearing down on Vietnam, has also scattered ships out of Haiphong, that country’s third largest container port. Further down the coastline, waiting container ships off Singapore reached their highest since July 21, when Typhoon In-fa battered Shanghai and similarly snarled the region’s supply chain.

PSA Corp., which operates Singapore’s container terminals, said it’s working with shipping line customers to help them catch up on their delayed schedules and meet cargo connections.

“The global supply chain disruption is likely to continue for the foreseeable future and PSA will continue to ensure the adequate deployment of resources,” the terminal operator said in an emailed statement.

The impact of typhoons in Asia has rippled through the global supply chain, similar to the effect of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico that have caused logjams in the world’s largest economies. U.S. President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that the Port of Los Angeles will now operate 24 hours a day to help smooth out kinks.

Congestion off America’s largest container port remains elevated, Bloomberg-compiled data show, but has eased to be 2.9% above the median observed by from April to October. — Bloomberg

Lucio Tan injects nearly P13 billion in fresh capital in PAL parent

October 15, 2021 | 7:25 pm

Billionaire Lucio C. Tan, through his private firm Buona Sorte Holdings, Inc. (BSHI), is infusing “fresh and additional capital” worth P12.75 billion into the listed parent company of Philippine Airlines (PAL).

In a disclosure to the exchange on Friday, PAL Holdings, Inc. said the management approved the $255-million (P12.75 billion) private placement by BSHI, the parent of Trustmark Holdings Corp.

“The P12.75 billion private placement represents the full and final payment of BSHI’s subscription to 10.2 billion new common shares of (PAL Holdings) at a subscription price of P1.25 per share in favor of BSHI,” the company said, adding the amount will be received in cash.

This comes after PAL Holdings increased its authorized capital stock to 30 billion from 13.5 billion with a par value of one peso per share. PAL Holdings said the increase would be integral to its goal of “sustainable profitability.

“The purpose of the proposed increase of authorized capital of the issuer is to accommodate the fresh infusion of capital into the company by an affiliate company of the Lucio Tan Group of Companies. The new capital will in turn be invested into the issuer’s subsidiary, Philippine Airlines, pursuant to the court-supervised reorganization of PAL,” the company said in a Sept. 28 disclosure.

PAL Holdings is the listed operator of cash-strapped flagship carrier Philippine Airlines.

One of the country’s richest men with an estimated net worth of $2 billion according to Forbes, Mr. Tan holds a 76.9% stake in PAL Holdings.

As the pandemic battered global travel and tourism industry, Philippine Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a New York court in September. Under its restructuring plan, the flag carrier sought to slash $2 billion in borrowings and to secure $505 million in equity and debt financing from existing shareholder and banks, as well as $150 million in loans from new investors. — KCGV

Megawide shares slump after DOJ indicts key executives

October 15, 2021 | 7:24 pm

Shares of Megawide Construction Corp. slumped by as much as 10% on Friday, following the indictment of key executives for violations of the Anti-Dummy Law in connection with the Mactan-Cebu International airport (MCIA) contract.

Megawide shares closed at P6.27 apiece on Friday, down 8.20%, after the Justice department on Thursday said it indicted 15 executives of GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC) based on a complaint filed by the National Bureau of Investigation.

GMCAC is a joint venture between Megawide and India’s infrastructure giant GMR Group that won in 2014 the government contract to develop and operate the MCIA.

Megawide on Friday said it has not received any official documents pertaining to the filing of criminal charges against its officers.

“Megawide and its subsidiaries have always been and continue to be firmly adherent to all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, particularly regarding public-private partnership projects, such as the [MCIA],” it said in a disclosure.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) on Thursday said a panel of prosecutors found that eight foreign nationals Andrew Acquaah-Harrison, Ravi Bhatnagar, Ravishankar Saravu, Michael Lenane, Sudarshan Madhav Doddathota, Kumar Gaurav, Magesh Nambiar, and Rajesh Madan were acting as executive officers, managers, and/or employees of GMCAC “in conspiracy” with other Filipino executives.

Also named in the indictment were GMCAC officers and board directors, Edgar B. Saavedra, Manuel Louie B. Ferrer, Oliver Y. Tan and Jez G. Dela Cruz. Mr. Saavedra is the chief executive officer (CEO) and chairman of Megawide, while Mr. Ferrer is the chief corporate affairs and branding officer. Mr. Tan is a Megawide director, while Mr. Dela Cruz is an assistant vice president.

The DoJ said Messrs. Saavedra, Ferrer, Tan and Dela Cruz, along with fellow officers and board members, GMR Group Chairman Srinivas Bommidala, P. Sripathy, Vivek Singhal, “allowed and permitted” the eight foreign nationals to manage and operate the MCIA which should only be reserve for Filipino citizens since MCAC is a “public utility corporation.”

Also indicted was Steve Y. Dicdican, the general manager and CEO of the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority, for “knowingly assisting, aiding, and abetting the commission of a violation of the Anti-Dummy Law.”

“The law is aimed at prohibiting the use of [a] Filipino for foreign interest, so those prohibited to do business in the Philippines, like foreigners, will not do it through the Filipinos,” Antonio A. Ligon, law and business professor, said in a phone call. — K.C.G.Valmonte

AEV sets early redemption of bonds due 2023

October 15, 2021 | 7:20 pm

Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) on Friday said it will exercise the early redemption of its 10-year, fixed-rate retail bonds ahead of the 2023 maturity date.

In a regulatory filing on Friday, AEV said it intends to redeem the securities, which were issued in 2013, on Nov. 21.

“Through the optional redemption, AEV will prepay the optional redemption price of 101% of the face value of the 2013 10-Year bonds, in the amount of P1.8 billion only,” the company said.

AEV said it will use existing cash to repay the bonds.

The company is coordinating with the trustee Metrobank Trust Banking Group, and the registrar and paying agent Philippine Depository and Trust Corp. to notify the bond holders and provide computations on the amount.

Earlier this month, AEV acquired P384 million worth of shares in its banking unit UnionBank of the Philippines.

In September, AEV announced plans to sell 25% of its stake in its power subsidiary Aboitiz Power Corp. to Japan’s JERA Co., Inc. for an estimated $1.463 billion.

Shares of AEV in the local bourse improved 2.32% or P1.1 to close at P48.45 apiece on Friday. — Angelica Y. Yang

GMA Network opens regional station in Zamboanga

October 15, 2021 | 7:18 pm

GMA Network, Inc. launched a regional TV station in Zamboanga City, which will serve audiences in the Zamboanga Peninsula as well as nearby provinces of Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, and Sulu.

In an e-mailed statement on Friday, the network said GMA Zamboanga will be its fourth regional TV station in Mindanao and it will also serve as GMA Regional TV’s Western Mindanao hub. It is also its tenth regional TV station in the Philippines.

Viewers can watch GMA’s local and national programs on GMA Channel 9 Zamboanga and GMA Channel 12 Jolo (Sulu).

“GMA Network, thru GMA Regional TV, remains steadfast in our commitment to deliver local news that matters and stories that inspire through multiple languages and dialects in various communities across the Philippines,” GMA Regional TV and Synergy First Vice President and Head Oliver Victor Amoroso said in a statement.

GMA also has regional TV stations in Northern and Central Luzon (GMA Dagupan and GMA Ilocos), in the Bicol Region (GMA Bicol), in Central and Eastern Visayas (GMA Cebu), in Western Visayas (GMA Iloilo and GMA Bacolod), in Northern Mindanao (GMA Cagayan de Oro), and South Central and Southern Mindanao (GMA Davao and GMA General Santos). — K.C.G. Valmonte