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Bacolod hospital IPO approved

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the initial public offering (IPO) of Asia-Pacific Medical Center Bacolod, Inc., or APMC Bacolod.

In its March 22 meeting, the commission sitting en banc, resolved to render effective the Bacolod City-based medical facility’s offering of common shares worth up to P1 billion, subject to the compliance of remaining requirements.

“APMC Bacolod will offer to the public 3,600 blocks composed of 10 shares each, at an offer price ranging from P250,000 to P400,000 per block. The shares will be traded over the counter,” the SEC said in a media release on Wednesday.

The net proceeds from the offering is expected to amount to P997.52 million, which the company will use for the building and construction, loan payment, working capital, and other expenses related to its P2.6-billion medical facility in Bacolod.

APMC Bacolod will be a “multidisciplinary facility that will house medical and dental specialists who are subscribers to the capital stock of the corporation.” The intended and considered markets for its shares are mostly specialists and individuals related to these specialties, the company said in its prospectus.

APMC Bacolod is currently developing a state-of-the-art medical facility under Allied Care Experts Medical Center Bacolod, Inc.

In 2018, the deed of absolute sale was signed to acquire a lot for the center’s site located along Lacson St., beside the Ceres Northbound Terminal, in Brgy. Bata, Bacolod City.

APMC Bacolod said it aims to set up a Level 2 healthcare facility with an “organized, systematic, cost-effective, sympathetic and holistic approach to its goal in providing the best quality and justifiable medical and dental services to its clients and stakeholder.”

The new facility will provide services to residents of Bacolod City, nearby barangays and municipalities, and the whole province.

“Enormous task is expected and ahead of us but we are holding on to the vision of our founders and leaders, with dedication, faith in God and a burning passion to work together to cater to the people of Negros of their medical and health needs. Soon, there will rise a 250-bed capacity tertiary care medical center that is state of the art and of international standards, in the heart of Sugarlandia,” APMC Bacolod said in a statement.

In Western Visayas, there are three hospitals under the banner of Asia-Pacific Medical Center — in Aklan, Bacolod and Iloilo.

In June 2021, the SEC approved the initial public offering of Asia-Pacific Medical Center Aklan, Inc., covering 240,000 common shares.

APMC Aklan offered 35,420 shares, equivalent to 3,600 blocks or 10 shares per block at an offer price ranging from P250,000 to P350,000 per block. It expected to net P983 million from the offer.

APMC Aklan is currently constructing a seven-story, 216-bed health care facility worth P1.3 billion. The project is slated for completion by the second quarter of 2023.

The hospital will include doctors and dentists’ clinics, office area for the health maintenance organization, administration office, parking lots, commercial area, and waiting areas for patients. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

Converge gets go signal for P20-B bond offering 

LISTED fiber internet service provider Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. has obtained approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its plan to raise up to P20 billion from the sale of bonds.

“The SEC has considered favorably the fixed-rate bond offering by Converge Information and Communications Technology Solutions, Inc.,” the agency said in a statement on Wednesday.

It said the commission sitting en banc resolved on March 22 to render effective the registration statements of Converge covering up to P20-billion shelf-registered bonds.

The offering is subject to the company’s “compliance with certain remaining requirements,” the agency also said.

The SEC noted that Converge may offer the P20-billion fixed-rate bonds in tranches within three years.

“For the first tranche, the listed internet provider will offer to the public up to P5 billion of bonds due 2027, with an oversubscription option of up to P5 billion.”

“Assuming the oversubscription option is fully exercised, the company could net up to P9.87 billion from the offer,” the agency added.

Proceeds, according to the SEC, will be used to fund Converge’s capital expenditures (capex) in connection with “plant equipment and other property, plant, and equipment and intangible assets for the expansion of its nationwide fiber network.”

The first tranche of bonds will be offered at face value from March 14 to 18, and will be listed on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. on March 25.

The regulator noted that Converge engaged BDO Capital & Investment Corp. as the transaction’s issue manager, while working with BPI Capital Corp. as joint lead underwriter and bookrunner.

Converge expects to spend around P26-28 billion for capex projects this year, higher than last year’s P25 billion. The company’s capex initiatives for the year will include selected investments into international subsea cables and enhancement of its information technology systems.

Converge said its net income more than doubled to P7.16 billion in 2021 from P3.39 billion in 2020. Its revenues increased by 69% to P26.48 billion in 2021 from P15.65 billion previously.

The company saw its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margins expand to 55.9% last year from 52.5% in 2020.

Converge ICT shares closed 5.93% higher at P28.80 apiece on Wednesday. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Globe subsidiary Asticom plans IPO

GLOBE Telecom, Inc.’s wholly owned Asticom Technology, Inc., a shared services company, said on Wednesday that it plans to go public in five years.

“It is part of our five-year plan to go public, to have that IPO (initial public offering). So yes, that is part of the growth strategy of the Asticom Group of Companies in order for us to continue growing the portfolio of services,” Asticom President and Chief Executive Officer Mharicar Castillo-Reyes said during a virtual press briefing.

She also said the group will soon launch a staffing and platform company that will “revolutionize the staffing solution industry.”

Asticom has formed various subsidiaries, including Asti Business Services, Inc. (ABSI), Fiber Infrastructure and Network Services, Inc. (FINSI), BRAD Warehouse and Logistics Services, and HCX Technology Partners, Inc.

Created in 2021, ABSI serves as Asticom’s business process solutions arm.

FINSI, which was also created in 2021, offers end-to-end services and industry-specific solutions to telecommunications, tower, infrastructure, and technology, including construction, building, installation, and maintenance services.

BRAD is an end-to-end supply chain technology solutions provider. Its services are tailor-fit for different industries, including e-commerce, food and beverage, health and wellness, and telecommunications.

Meanwhile, HCX is a provider of human resources, customer relationship management, and digital solutions.

The group announced in January that it had reached P2 billion in revenues as of the fourth quarter of 2021.

Globe Telecom shares closed 0.84% higher at P2,408 apiece on Wednesday. — Arjay L. Balinbin

CLI’s The East Village towers set to be completed by 2026

REAL estate developer Cebu Landmasters, Inc. (CLI) said that the development of The East Village’s first three towers at Davao Global Township (DGT) will be completed in the third quarter of 2026.

“The East Village at DGT is the first residential development in the township with over 2,000 residential unit offerings spread across the 6-tower vertical village. The newly launched and sold-out three towers with a total of 1,087 units will break ground in the second quarter of 2022 and are scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2026,” CLI said in a disclosure on Wednesday.

The East Village and DGT are both projects of YHEST Realty Development Corp., CLI’s joint venture with the Yuson, Huang and Tan families belonging to the Villa-Abrille clan of Davao.

CLI reported that it sold out all units in the three towers, generating P4.068 billion in sales.

“Positioned as the most connected, green, and generous abode designed for the global Filipino, the record high sales turnout of The East Village shows that the development captured the robust demand in Davao City for residential units within a premier township designed to meet world-class standards,” CLI said.

The residential units are a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units with floor areas from 22.3 to 75 square meters (sq.m.). Prices range from P118,800 per sq.m. to P150,000 per sq.m. for the first three towers.

The East Village, along with a lifestyle mall and cultural center, is part of first phase of the 22-hectare DGT, which is close to completion, CLI said.

“DGT is envisioned to transform the former Matina Davao Golf Club into a global and iconic central business district. It will host the headquarters of top corporations in the country, office hubs of BPOs and multinationals; it will have a hospital, retail, civic spaces and a central park. It will be a development that dynamic Davao City truly deserves,” YHEST President Fred Yuson said.

Part of DGT’s initial phase is the P700-million lifestyle mall, DGT City Center. It will be complemented by the P200-million DGT Cultural Center, with showrooms, museum spaces, and theater, among other features.

CLI said it is developing other townships, including the 100-hectare Minglanilla Techno Business Park in Cebu, the 14-hectare Manresa Town in Cagayan de Oro, and more future estate projects in Cebu and Bacolod.

The company posted an attributable net income of P535.96 million in the third quarter last year, down 24.5% year on year. Its nine-month income went up by 23.3% to P1.85 billion.

At the stock exchange, CLI shares were unchanged at P2.97 apiece on Wednesday. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

AllDay Marts income up 80% to P395M as sales climb

SUPERMARKET operator AllDay Marts, Inc. reported unaudited net income growth of 80% to P394.9 million in 2021 on higher sales productivity and lower operating expense ratios.

“AllDay’s remarkable performance for 2021 is a continued validation of our value proposition, and bodes well for the company’s long-term prospects. AllDay’s distinct in-store experience, coupled with an increasingly efficient e-commerce model, has proved to truly resonate with our growing customer base of Filipinos who show an increasing preference for differentiated and experience-driven retail,” AllDay Chairman Manuel B. Villar, Jr. said in a statement on Wednesday.

In 2021, AllDay reported that sales were up by 19% to P 9.46 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) also improved by 9.1% in 2021 from 7.9% in 2020.

“As the country is well on its way to recovery from the pandemic, we will continue to focus on growing the business towards our 100-store milestone by 2026,” Mr. Villar said.

As of January, AllDay has a network of 35 stores in the country.

Last year, the company had its P6.03-billion initial public offering, which was about four times oversubscribed, raising a combined P4.52 billion by selling 7.52 billion shares at 60 centavos each.

“AllDay’s remarkable growth in 2021 befits our first year on the PSE (Philippine Stock Exchange). We believe that this puts us on strong footing to continue implementing our blueprint for AllDay: an in-store experience comparable to the best that the world has to offer, featuring even smarter customer facing technology, comprehensive product offerings, curated international selections, as well as better-tuned e-commerce capabilities. On the strength of these, we remain confident in our ability to deliver even better value to our stakeholders,” AllDay Vice-Chairman Camille A. Villar said.

AllDay Chief Executive Officer Frances Rosalie T. Coloma said the company’s performance in 2021 “confirms the Filipino market’s affinity for upgraded experiences — both in-store and online.”

“With fresh funds available to us by way of our successful IPO, we are put in a much stronger financial position as we can move forward with minimal debt load. This, in turn, allows us to fully focus our capacities towards our store network expansion. As we ride the tail end of the pandemic on this high note, we are increasingly confident as we continue to bring AllDay to even more locations across the country.”

At the stock exchange on Wednesday, AllDay shares were up 4.44% or P0.02 to close at P0.47 apiece. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

First Gen test-drives integrated EV project

FIRST Gen Corp. has launched on Wednesday its electric vehicle (EV) initiative called GreenWheels, a project that the company said will bring it closer to carbon neutrality.

“EVs do not spew CO2 (carbon dioxide) and other pollutants into the atmosphere, and these vehicles’ increasing popularity now expands their role in reducing emissions from the transport sector. By utilizing a solar-powered charging station, even the power used to charge the EVs becomes clean. This further optimizes and enhances the role of EVs in cutting down CO2 emissions and mitigating climate change,” First Gen President Francis Giles B. Puno said in a media release.

The project will be used inside the company’s Clean Energy Complex in Batangas City, supporting its push for reduced carbon emissions.

First Gen said under the GreenWheels project, it developed a fast EV charging station, which can accommodate multiple EVs, inside the complex.

“For the test vehicle, First Gen has acquired a Nissan LEAF, one of the first passenger EVs to hit the Philippine market,” it said.

After the pilot testing, the electric vehicle unit was calculated to be able to reduce 3 tons of carbon emissions after a 50-kilometer drive a day. A car that runs on fossil fuel can emit the same amount of carbon emission in a year.

The same calculations showed the acquired car can run up to 311 kilometers in one full charge.

Mr. Puno said the transport sector is a “crucial” factor in mitigating climate change.

“As part, therefore, of our mission to forge collaborative pathways for a decarbonized and regenerative future, we are pilot-testing the GreenWheels Project to understand its potential in reducing our carbon footprint and evaluate the feasibility later of developing it,” he said.

On Monday, First Gen reported that it ended last year with “flat earnings” of P12.4 billion attributable to equity holders due to more expensive fuel prices offsetting higher electricity sales as power demand recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

First Gen shares at the local bourse went up 30 centavos or 1.24% to close at P24.55 apiece on Wednesday. — Marielle C. Lucenio

Keeping things sweet

Finding the right combination of ingredients leads to diabetic-friendly ice cream

THE SUGAR-FREE variety of artisanal ice cream brand Sebastian’s Ice Cream was spurred on by a personal story.

“My dad was diabetic, and so it was drilled into me early on what life with diabetes was like: how eating sugar could literally do them great harm, and watching people with diabetes have to live without foods everyone takes for granted,” said Ian Carandang, founder and resident sorbetero (ice cream dealer) at Sebastian’s Ice Cream in an e-mail to BusinessWorld. “When I started making ice cream for a living, it was important to come up with an ice cream that felt and tasted just like regular ice cream without compromising the quality.”

Mr. Carandang announced the arrival of Sebastian’s Cookie Dough flavor earlier this month for its Sweet Freedom sugar-free line, although other flavors have been available since the early years of the brand, founded 2004.

In a Facebook post from March 1, 2022, the brand said, “From the very start of our shop, Cookie Dough has been our top-selling ice cream flavor. There’s something about the sublime combination of Vanilla Ice Cream and unbaked cookie dough. After months of tests and research, we have FINALLY made a sugar-free version as good as the original!”

The post said that the Cookie Dough Ice Cream is made with sugar-free vanilla ice cream mixed with sugar-free unbaked chocolate-chip cookie dough with walnuts. The ice cream and cookie dough are sweetened with isomalt, and it uses Hershey’s sugar-free chocolate chips sweetened with maltitol.

“It’s tricky making truly sugar-free flavors because a lot of ingredients have sugar mixed into them already: cookies, candy, chocolate, etc.,” Mr. Carandang told BusinessWorld. “Our first batch of flavors were constrained by that, and me choosing sugar-free ingredients: coffee, mocha, chocolate. We’ve had the same roster of flavors for years, and I decided it was time to try and make sugar-free versions of our popular flavors, so our sugar-sensitive customer base could enjoy our best flavors as well. It ended up taking more steps: making the fudge chunks for chocoholics, making our own halaya (mashed sweetened purple yam dessert) for sapin-sapin (a colorful Filipino rice cake). But these steps were worth it.”

Other flavors in the Sweet Freedom line include French Vanilla, Butter Pecan, Chocoholics Anonymous, Sapin-Sapin, Ubetopia, and Up All Night.

SUGAR SUBSTITUTES
“The difficult part was sourcing sugar-free chocolate chips that tasted good because a lot of sugar-free chocolate has textural issues. When I found a supplier of Hershey’s sugar free chocolate chips, that’s when I knew I could do this flavor. Once we had the chips, mixing in our sweetener into cookie dough replacing regular sugar was simple enough.”

He discussed the differences in working with artificial sweeteners to make ice cream, as opposed to using conventional ingredients. “You have to take texture into account as well. Along with sweetness, sugar prevents the formation of ice crystals and helps give ice cream that creamy mouthfeel. Not all sweeteners perform the same way. In addition to that, some sweeteners aren’t as sweet as regular sugar and have a wall on how sweet they can be, which when working with a frozen product can be difficult, because flavors are dulled when frozen,” he said. “You have to make everything just a little sweeter than usual in the cooking stage for it to taste the way you want it to taste in its final form, which means you need a strong sweetener. We settled on a supplier that makes isomalt mixed with a little acesulfame-K for added sweetness.”

Mr. Carandang mentioned that the ice cream contains both isomalt and maltitol, and provided links to this writer for more information about the artificial sweeteners.

“It was important for me to make sure I knew what was going into the products we were making, so I did my research,” he said.

According to Polyols (polyols.org), isomalt is made from sucrose and “looks much like table sugar.” According to the website, “It is white, crystalline and odorless. Isomalt is a mixture of two disaccharide alcohols: gluco-mannitol and gluco-sorbitol.” According to Polyols, it claims to have lower caloric value, support gut health, has a “very low blood glucose and insulin response,” and carries less risk for dental caries. As for maltitol, Food Insight (foodinsight.org) says that it is a type of carbohydrate called a sugar alcohol, or polyol, and contains “half as many calories as sugar and is 90% as sweet.”

“As it is with most sugar substitutes, there is no perfect response as every study one finds that says that a sweetener is healthy, another one can be found that says it causes side effects and health risks,” said Mr. Carandang. “What I can say is that this is the best combination I found that was able to keep prices at a reasonable level —  the next viable sweetener, erythritol, would have ended up making a pint cost P700 per pint,” he said. “What I can tell people is that to look at the sweetners, do their own research and make their own informed decision about it.”

AN INDULGENCE
“I am not just someone who works with artificial sweetener, I am someone who has benefitted from it and is very grateful to it,” he said, saying that Coke Zero and Diet Dr Pepper are his favorite drinks, “It allows me to enjoy my favorite drink without putting myself at diabetic risk because despite my shape, I am still diabetes-free.”

Still, despite Sweet Freedom’s sugar-free status, Mr. Carandang wouldn’t call this particular line a healthy food.

“I wouldn’t call it a healthy food. I would call it an indulgence that is accessible to people who can’t eat sugar for one reason or another.” The rest of the ingredients still include items like egg yolks, milk, and cream. “It may have fewer calories because it doesn’t have sugar, but it is definitely still calorific.”

Aside from the personal reasons he gave, Mr. Carandang touched on the practical side for having more options for people with dietary restrictions: “It’s a changing marketplace,” he said. “People are more aware of what’s going into their bodies and want more say into what they eat.”

He pointed to his ginataan-based (coconut milk) ice creams, which are 100% dairy-free and vegan-friendly. “I want to go beyond coming up with variants on coconut flavors. It’s still early, but plant-based, dairy-free products are definitely on my mind and it’s something I’ve been working on in the kitchen, but I wouldn’t say to expect anything in the near future because I want to do this right.”

NO MORE MALL STALLS
On another note, Mr. Carandang’s ice cream reach has gone beyond his Podium branch. He has resellers through Rachel’s Fine Foods in Ortigas, FrozenMNL for Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, and Cavite; going as far as having a reseller in Tarlac (among others).

“Distributors have been essential to our business, especially during the pandemic. We’ve learned during the two-year lockdown that putting up mall branches sinks too much capital into one fixed location which does not have a guaranteed market and with heavy regular costs like rent, labor and utilities,” he said. “Since our product is basically resold and not produced onsite in the way milk teas or cookies are, when you boil it all down, for our business setup, all that is needed is an electrical outlet for a freezer, and someone to sell it,” he noted.

“Having distributor partners either in markets far from our shop or partners who have a better distribution network for frozen products like FrozenMNL have shown that we can expand our network without having to sink down six figures on a mall branch,” he added. “We’re not saying we’ll never have another mall branch again, but we will be far more focused on expanding our network, and not having a shop for the sake of having a shop.”

Sebastian’s Ice Cream is available at the Podium mall in Ortigas Center, Pasig, and can be delivered through sebastiansicecream.com, or through www.frozenmnl.com. — Joseph L. Garcia

Five entities subscribe to ACEN shares for P8.29 apiece

AC ENERGY Corp. (ACEN) on Wednesday said it had executed subscription agreements with five subscribers to nearly 390 million of its shares priced at P8.2889 apiece.

In a disclosure to the exchange, ACEN said the subscribers were UPC Philippines Partners Ltd. for 19,059,423 shares; Wind City, Inc. for 142,668,634 shares; Estanyol Holdings Ltd. for 153,493,200 shares; Tenggay Holdings Ltd. for 70,525,763 shares; and Alan Kerr or collectively known as the UPC Philippines group for 4,248,813 shares.

The Ayala-led company earlier said its board of directors had approved the issuance of up to 390 million ACEN common shares to the owners, affiliates, and/or partners of UPC Philippines priced at P11.32 apiece.

“The subscription price was determined taking into account the volume-weighted average price for the previous three trading days prior to the submission of the allocation notice on March 21,” the company said, adding that the prevailing US dollar-Philippine peso exchange rate was also used.

Earlier, ACEN and it energy developer subsidiary ACE Endevor, Inc. signed an agreement to purchase the ownership interest and subscription rights of UPC Philippines Wind Investment Co. BV and a certain Stella Marie L. Sutton in 12 power companies.

The move to take over UPC Philippines will allow ACEN to have ownership of the former’s development projects consisting of more than 2,300
megawatts (MW) of pipeline projects currently under development.

ACEN aims to become the biggest listed energy platform in Southeast Asia as it plans to put up 5,000 MW of renewable energy (RE) capacity by 2025.

Shares in the company went up by six centavos or 0.75% to P8.03 apiece at the stock exchange on Wednesday. — Marielle C. Lucenio

India’s Zomato faces heat for plans to deliver food in 10 minutes

MUMBAI — Indian food-delivery giant Zomato Ltd. is facing a backlash on social media for its plans to roll out a 10-minute food service that critics say raises road-safety risks for delivery riders.

CEO Deepinder Goyal said in a post late on Monday the service “Zomato Instant” would rely on a densely located network of so-called food “finishing stations,” which will house bestseller items from restaurants and use a sophisticated demand prediction algorithm.

“Nobody in the world has so far delivered hot and fresh food in under 10 minutes at scale,” Mr. Goyal wrote on LinkedIn and Twitter. “We were eager to be the first.”

Within hours, Zomato’s announcement sparked a flurry of responses. A lawmaker questioned the business model while executives raised concerns about rider safety on Indian roads.

Zomato, which counts China’s Ant Group as an investor, did not respond to requests for comment.

Many on social media urged a rethink, saying food can wait as even ambulances in India take longer to reach patients. Some on LinkedIn questioned the need for such a model.

“I don’t want to eat food that someone has brought to me while keeping his life at risk,” wrote Gunjan Rastogi, a researcher at India’s RSB Insights & Analytics.

Karti P. Chidambaram, an Indian lawmaker, tweeted: “This is absurd! It’s going to put undue pressure on the delivery personnel.”

The Zomato CEO’s Monday announcement started by saying: “We will start with a clarification… we do not put any pressure on delivery partners.”

After it failed to convince many, Mr. Goyal issued another tweet on Tuesday stressing that delivery will be “safe” for riders who will face no penalties, urging people to understand the model “before the outrage.”

“Quick commerce” grocery startups in India have been a rage with SoftBank-backed Blinkit and rival Zepto expanding rapidly. Reuters reported in January delivery bikers said they faced pressure to meet deadlines, which often led to speeding, for fear of being rebuked by store managers.

Critics say risks are too high on Indian roads. Even in cities, most roads are riddled with potholes and motorists violate basic rules. The World Bank says India has a death every four minutes on its roads and crashes kill around 150,000 people each year.

Nevertheless, many customers have been hooked to quick commerce grocery services to meet their instant shopping needs.

“I would be happy to get my food in 10 minutes,” said one LinkedIn user, Sonu Sekharan. — Reuters

UAAP S84 comes fully alive with thrilling action-packed coverage

SCHOOL fever heats up anew after two years as the UAAP highlights men’s basketball, cheerdance, and women’s volleyball in the most comprehensive broadcast coverage from Cignal and Smart.

March breaks ground with thrilling hardcourt clashes and fiery dunks as the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) league formally opens its Season 84, tipping off this March 26 at the Mall of Asia Arena with live coverage from Cignal and Smart — the new official UAAP broadcast partners.

Cignal, the country’s leading pay TV provider, will be airing its live coverage of the UAAP Season 84 via One Sports (free-to-air), in high definition on the UAAP Varsity Channel (pay TV), and Cignal Play (OTT streaming). Smart will also be digitally streaming the UAAP events on its Smart GigaPlay app.

School spirit is sure to be reignited as UAAP fans root for their favorite teams and student cagers in the country’s premier collegiate sports league. Games will be seen every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday — 10 a.m. 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and 7 p.m. — with all games airing live on the available platforms.

Since fans are not yet allowed to watch the games live from the venue, Cignal and Smart make sure to bring the action closer to fans as they boast of a unique pool of veteran and new broadcast talents, credible UAAP analysts, and 18 UAAP Season 84 correspondents — a major first in the league’s colorful history — ensuring that fans won’t miss out on the UAAP experience.

“With Cignal and Smart providing an extensive coverage of the UAAP tournament, we welcome the whole collegiate community and the passionate fans who are part of the UAAP journey, from beginning all the way to the championship games. Together, we experience a more thrilling UAAP season as the hardcourt comes ‘fully alive’ once more with the intense basketball action we’ve all been craving for. Rest assured that we will be giving the best possible front-row coverage of the UAAP games for the whole basketball community to enjoy,” said Cignal President and CEO Robert P. Galang.

“Our partnership with UAAP is aligned with our commitment to bring our subscribers closer to their passions, powered by no less than the country’s fastest mobile data network. We thank the organization for all their hard work to finally kick off the games, and we wish the best of luck to all the teams as they play for passion and pride,” said Alfredo S. Panlilio, PLDT, Inc. and Smart president and CEO.

“We are all excited for the start of UAAP Season 84, with men’s basketball opening on Saturday. There is no doubt that this has been one of the toughest periods in the history of the UAAP. But we have slowly but surely adapted in these challenging circumstances. The new season is truly a testament to the strength and resilience of the UAAP and its member-schools. There will be championships contested, but our goal is to make sure that we have the entire UAAP family safe and healthy at all times,” said UAAP Executive Director Rebo Saguisag.

UAAP Season 84 tips off with men’s basketball, followed by the much-anticipated cheerdance competition and the women’s volleyball in May.

URC ramps up water conservation efforts

UNIVERSAL Robina Corp. (URC) said that it is planning to implement more water conservation initiatives as part of its sustainability efforts.

“We recognize that water is a non-renewable resource, and that it is an essential input material in the production of our products,” URC President and Chief Executive Officer Irwin C. Lee said in a statement on Wednesday.

Since 2018, URC reported that it has saved over 11 million cubic meters of water with its conservation efforts.

In 2021, the company said it recycled over 860,000 cubic meters of water, which is enough to cover the water needs of 2.26 million people in a day.

“These were all achieved via URC’s reduce, reuse and recycle program meant to optimize water use. URC has been reducing its water consumption by fixing leaks, replacing pipes with more durable materials like stainless steel, eliminating production wastage, improving the efficiency of its water treatment facilities, and using rainwater harvesting methods,” the company said in a statement.

URC said it reuses water when cleaning pallets, watering plants and flushing toilets; and recycles water meant for washing critical raw materials used in its products, such as unpeeled potato.

The company also has environmental stewardship initiatives, including reforestation programs, coastal, river and drainage clean-up drives, and mangrove-planting activities.

In partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), around 7,600 seedlings were planted across different sites.

The company’s sugar and renewables group also signed a memorandum of agreement with the DENR to adopt a 3-hectare forest in Manjuyod, Negros Oriental and another 5-hectare forest in San Enrique, Iloilo.

Last year, URC reported its net income more than doubled to P24.3 billion. Excluding sales in Oceania, the company reported growth of 3% to P117 billion for the full year.

At the stock exchange on Wednesday, URC shares went up by 3.52% or P3.80 to finish at P111.90 per share. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

Yields on term deposits decline on bond issue, lower oil prices

YIELDS on the central bank’s term deposits dropped on Wednesday after the government’s latest bond issuance and the decline in oil prices.

Total bids for the term deposit facility (TDF) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) amounted to P514.845 billion on Wednesday, surpassing the P370-billion offer as well as the P446.48 billion in tenders a week ago.

Broken down, bids for the seven-day papers amounted to P198.738 billion. This is higher than the P150 billion auctioned off by the BSP and the P185.754 billion in tenders seen a week earlier.

Accepted rates were from 1.83% to 2%, narrower than the 1.7% to 2.1% range in the previous week’s auction. This caused the average rate of the papers to decline by 1.36 basis points (bps) to 1.9467% from 1.9603% previously.

Meanwhile, the 14-day papers fetched bids amounting to P316.107 billion, well above the P220-billion offer and the P260.726 billion in tenders the previous Wednesday.

Lenders asked for yields ranging from 1.8825% to 2.1%, slightly narrower than the 1.8% to 2.21% band seen on March 16. With this, the average rate of the two-week term deposits fell by 5.31 bps to 2.0374% from 2.0905% in the prior auction.

The central bank has not auctioned 28-day term deposits for more than a year to give way to its weekly offering of securities with the same tenor.

The term deposits and the 28-day bills are used by the BSP to gather excess liquidity in the financial system and to better guide market rates.

TDF yields declined after the government’s latest bond issuance, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

The Bureau of the Treasury raised $2.25 billion through a triple-tranche dollar-denominated bond offering, it said on Tuesday.

Broken down, the Treasury sold $1 billion through its maiden 25-year green bond offer, $500 million through five-year bonds, and another $750 million through its 10.5-year bonds.

The market also factored in the decline in oil prices, Mr. Ricafort added.

Reuters reported the global oil prices posted a second straight weekly loss after hitting 14-year highs two weeks ago amid the escalating Russia-Ukraine war.

Local prices of gasoline, diesel, and kerosene were rolled back by P5.45, P11.45, and P8.55 per liter on Tuesday, respectively, after 11 straight weeks of increases. However, these prices are still up by P14.90, P19.20, and P16.35 per liter, respectively, since the start of the year. — Luz Wendy T. Noble with Reuters

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