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CLI to increase bond issuance to P8B

PROPERTY developer Cebu Landmasters, Inc. is increasing the size of its bond issuance to a full-on base of P8 billion — from a P5-billion base with a P3-billion oversubscription option — after strong participation interest from institutions.

The issuance would still be the initial tranche of its shelf-registered P15-billion debt securities program that will be used in three years.

The bonds will have maturities of 3.5, 5.5 and 7 years, similar to the previously announced “indicative maturities ranging from 3.5 to 7 years.”

“The proceeds of the bond offer will be used mainly for the ongoing construction and development of its 55 ongoing projects and 21 pipeline projects,” the company said in a disclosure on Monday.

The company has appointed BPI Capital Corp. and China Bank Capital Corp. as the joint lead issue managers, underwriters and bookrunners. The coupon rates will be determined through a book-building process.

Funds are also said to be deployed in CLI’s large-scale estate projects: the 22-hectare Davao Global Township, the 14-hectare Manresa Town in Cagayan de Oro, and the 100-hectare Minglanilla Techno-Business Park as stated in its previous announcement on the bond issuance.

Previously, its peso-denominated fixed-rate issuance received an Aa plus rating from Philippine Rating Services Corp. which means that it is of high quality and is subject to very low credit risk.

The company’s target capital expenditure for the year is at P13 billion as stated in its information statement released on May 23.

On the stock market on Monday, CLI shares inched up by 2.88% or P0.07 to P2.50 apiece. — Justine Irish DP. Tabile

iWantTFC offers a new music drama

A GROUP of students’ journey to fulfilling their hopes and dreams is the focus of iWantTFC’s new musical drama series Lyric and Beat. The show premieres on Aug. 10.

Written and directed by Dolly Dulu (The Boy Foretold by the Stars, and Love Beneath the Stars), Lyric and Beat is influenced by her background in theater and exposure to musicals such as the Disney Channel’s High School Musical and Camp Rock.

The musical series follows Lyric (played by Andrea Brillantes), a driven teenager who wants to be a famous singer like her late mother. A scholar at the Philippine National Conservatory of Music (PNCM), she must become part of a show choir and win the upcoming national competition in order to stay in the school.

As Lyric navigates PNCM, she meets students who also want to make their dreams come true:  Beat (Seth Fedelin), an introverted freshman who developed stage fright; Jazz (Darren Espanto), one of the best singers in PNCM and the head of the choir; and Cadence (AC Bonifacio), Jazz’s best friend who wants to introduce dancing in show choir. Lyric also crosses paths with Grae (Kyle Echarri), the leader of the rival school; Melissa (Sheena Belarmino), Jazz’s sister and the school’s resident mean girl; Stevie (Jeremy G), who stutters but not when he sings; Virlyn (Angela Ken), who can play any musical instrument; and Unique (Awra Briguela), rejected by the choir because of her gender identity.

The show’s cast began attending workshops and rehearsals in December 2021 before the locked-down taping this year.

“Bawat episode may character na naha-highlight….(There is a character highlighted in each episode),” Ms. Dulu said during a press conference on July 19 which was streamed on YouTube.

“’Yung cast namin, iba-iba ang speciality ng lahat (Our cast members have different specialties),” Ms. Dulu said. “Ang bilin ko kasi sa kanila (I just remind them): everybody has to look like they are all on the same level.”

The musical series features the music of composer and music producer Jonathan Manalo.

Twenty years’ worth of songs from Mr. Manalo’s catalog will be featured in the series. Mr. Manalo’s compositions in Lyric and Beat, such as “Tara Tena,” “Kabataang Pinoy,” and “Patuloy Ang Pangarap,” are given a new treatment. Original songs were also written for the project.

“My songs have been there. Its 20 years’ worth of songs. Song book lang ’yun (It is just as song book). Hindi ko masasabi na (I cannot say that) it’s a musical with the story of [Direk Dolly],” he said.

Lyric and Beat can be seen for free on iWantTFC in the Philippines and Indonesia. The show will also be available for premium users in other countries beginning Aug. 10. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Tookitaki enters PHL market, offers AML solutions

TOOKITAKI, a regulatory technology firm based in Singapore, is entering the Philippine market to bring scalable and machine learning-powered product offerings to help financial institutions address money laundering risks.

Tookitaki Chief Executive Officer and Founder Abhishek Chatterjee said in an interview with BusinessWorld last week that the firm will offer Anti-Money Laundering Solutions (AMLS) to enable businesses to build comprehensive and customized risk-based AML compliance programs.

“The vision of Tookitaki is to make this world safer by providing anti-financial crime software to detect and prevent financial crime globally,” Mr. Chatterjee said.

“Our goal in the next two years is to become the leader in AML software in the Philippine market, and when I say leader, I mean both building the network to fight and share knowledge so that the awareness in the industry is much more than what it is today,” Mr. Chatterjee said.

Tookitaki’s Anti-Money Laundering Suite or AMLS is based on a unique Hub and Spoke model for powerful transaction monitoring. The Hub is an invite-only ecosystem where experts, consulting companies, and non-profit organizations network to collate information on money laundering developments in the country.

“For us, every customer of ours actually gets access to a large ecosystem, which thereby means that they are far better protected than anybody else. That’s our differentiator, our AML ecosystem, AML network and our approach to machine learning, which is sort of federated in nature but still protects the privacy laws that every jurisdiction has,” Mr. Chatterjee said. “Once (clients) install the software in their private network and they get access to those scenarios, their network is protected from crimes related to AML.”

“We are very excited that we are not just launching an AML software tool, but we are actually launching that ecosystem. Without the ecosystem, fighting financial crime is extremely difficult. I believe with that ecosystem, we can really bring a much more integrated AML framework to the Philippines,” he said.

When asked what factors the company considered in choosing to enter the Philippines, he said the country stood out because of its ability to bring in innovation quickly.

“For us, we evaluated very simply on impact. What impact can we make with the software on the country’s appetite for innovation? And when we made an internal score, it was very clear that the Philippines actually stands high up in our radar,” Mr. Chatterjee said.

He also lauded the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) evolving regulations for the financial ecosystem amid the growth in digital transactions.

“This was augmented by the BSP’s broad thesis about launching the various licenses … which essentially meant that the country overall will actually bring in more regulations, more structure in the overall ecosystem, because the country wants to bring digitalization in the process,” he said. — Keisha B. Ta-asan

SC denies KAPA-owned truck firm’s appeal to lift freeze order on assets

PHOTO BY MIKE GONZALEZ

THE Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed a ruling by the  Court of Appeals (CA), which denied Hawkson’s Truck and Parts Center Corp.’s motion to lift the freeze order on its bank accounts.

The firm is owned by Joel A. Apolinario, the founder of Kabus Padatoon-Community Ministry International (KAPA), which the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) tagged as possibly “the largest investment scam in the Philippines in recent years.”

In an eight-page resolution on June 15 and made public on Aug. 5, the SC First Division said the firm’s appeal was moot and academic, and it availed of the wrong legal remedy.

“Petitioner (Hawkson’s Truck and Parts Center) did not even file a motion for reconsideration of the assailed CA resolution,” the tribunal said.

The truck firm had filed a petition for certiorari, which accuses a court of failing to provide a plain, speedy, and adequate remedy in a case.

The High Court noted that a motion for reconsideration is a prerequisite remedy before filing a petition for certiorari.

It added that the motion was moot since the six-month effectivity period of the freeze order was already over as the CA issued it on June 4, 2019.

“Clearly, the six-month period had long lapsed, thereby rendering this case moot,” the court ruled.

“While the court may resolve a moot case for compelling reasons, we find none of such exceptional circumstances present in this case, as, in fact, petitioner, failed to show any,” it added.

The appellate court earlier denied the firm’s appeal as it said “serious doubts exist” on whether the construction truck dealer was a legitimate company or not.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council earlier asked the CA to issue a freeze order against several bank accounts held by Mr. Apolinario, Corporate Secretary Reyna L. Apolinario, and their businesses over allegations of illicit activity.

KAPA is estimated to have collected about P50 billion from supposed five million members when the SEC ordered its closure in 2019.

The organization operated by masking as a religious group that solicits P10,000 “donations” from each member in exchange for monthly returns of 30% in “blessings” or “love gifts” for life. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

Gateway Mall 2 to open by yearend

THE Araneta Group is planning to launch the Gateway Mall expansion in December, and the ibis Styles Hotel by early 2023.

In a statement, the Araneta Group said the P5-billion Gateway Mall 2 will have 190,000 square meters (sq.m.) over eleven levels offering new choices for shopping, dining, entertainment, and leisure.

“Gateway Mall 2 promises to be like no other mall in the world. This is the latest in our ongoing efforts to keep providing more memorable firsts in the City of Firsts,” Lorna Fabian, vice-president for leasing of the Araneta Group, said.

Gateway Mall 2 will have over 500 retail outlets, 100 dining options, a 500-seat church on the roof deck, a 3,700 sq.m. supermarket, and a 700 sq.m. Atrium.

The public will also be able to access the Smart Araneta Coliseum through doorways located inside Gateway Mall 2.

Adjacent to Gateway Mall 2, the ibis Styles Hotel is scheduled to open by early 2023.

The P2-billion hotel is the first under the ibis Styles brand in the Philippines. It will be operated by the international hospitality brand AccorHotels, the same company that manages Novotel Manila Araneta City.

The hotel will have 300 guest rooms and six function rooms for meetings and conferences, as well as roof deck with an overhanging swimming pool and a bar.

Gateway Mall 2 and ibis Styles Hotel will complete the 400,000 sq.m. mixed-use Gateway Square superblock, which includes the Gateway Mall, Gateway Office, Gateway Tower, Novotel Manila, the Smart Araneta Coliseum, and the Parking Garage South Building.

The superblock will have a total of 18 cinemas with VIP lounges, and over 3,000 parking spaces.

“These new properties revitalize the integrated Gateway Square — a development that offers opportunities for an experience where you can personalize yourself in a thoroughly modern and contemporary environment,” Ms. Fabian said.

Bullet Train arrives with so-so $30.1 million debut while Easter Sunday stumbles

Brad Pitt in Bullet Train (2022)

LOS ANGELES — Bullet Train, a John Wick-ian romp with Brad Pitt in the aisle seat, arrived in North American theaters with a $30.1 million opening weekend. That’s enough to top the domestic box office chart, but it’s only a so-so result given Bullet Train’s $90 million price tag and Mr. Pitt’s star power. The Sony Pictures release will need to maintain its momentum in the coming weeks as it tries to break even or turn a profit.

Bullet Train is trying to prove that an action flick that isn’t based on a comic book or a toy-line can defy the odds and resonate with audiences. But part of the issue for the film is that critics weren’t on board. Bullet Train landed a mediocre 41% approval rating on review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, with many reviewers faulting the movie for being overly derivative of the work of Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino. Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge was mixed on Bullet Train, writing that “neither the characters nor the film they inhabit are particularly deep.”

Bullet Train was directed by David Leitch, who once served as a stunt double for Mr. Pitt before moving on to oversee the likes of Atomic Blonde and Deadpool 2. It centers on a hapless hitman whose mission to nab a suitcase full of cash on high-speed train in Japan, devolves into double crosses and brutal fights with an army of competing killers, thieves, and social deviants.

Universal and Amblin’s Easter Sunday, the weekend’s other major release, stumbled in its opening frame, earning a meagre $5.3 million for an 8th place finish on domestic charts. Easter Sunday stars stand-up comic Jo Koy as an actor who attends his dysfunctional Filipino American family’s Easter Sunday celebration. The good news for Universal and Amblin is Easter Sunday was a modest bet, carrying a price tag of $17 million.

DC League of Super-Pets, an animated offering from Warner Bros., nabbed second place with $11.2 million. After two weeks, Super-Pets boasts a domestic gross of $45.1 million, a disappointing result given its $90 million production budget. Under its new corporate owner, Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to shake up its cinematic universe of DC Comics characters, a change of course that resulted in the company’s controversial decision to scrap Batgirl after the movie had been completed. Instead of debuting on HBO Max as originally planned or being retro-fitted for a theatrical run, the film will now become a tax write-down.

Universal’s Nope came in third with $8.5 million. That brings the twisty UFO thriller from Jordan Peele to $97.9 million at the domestic box office, an impressive result for a movie that, like Bullet Train, wasn’t derived from some preexisting piece of IP. Disney and Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder and Universal and Illumination’s Minions: Rise of Gru rounded out the top five, earning $7.6 million and $7.1 million, respectively. That brings the Thor sequel’s stateside total to $316.1 million, while the Despicable Me spinoff has now earned $334.6 million domestically.

On the milestone front, Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick supplanted Titanic as the 7th-biggest film ever at the domestic box office, earning $662 million in ticket sales. The sequel, now in its 11th week of release, added $7 million to its total. — Reuters

BankCom’s net income surges in Q2

BANKCOM.COM.PH

BANK of Commerce’s (BankCom) net income more than doubled in the second quarter amid strong results across the lender’s core businesses, it said in a filing with the local bourse on Monday.

BankCom’s net income for the April to June period was at P526.31 million, surging by 232.9% from the P158.03 million it posted in the same period last year.

This brought its net profit for the first half to P886.91 million, 191% higher than the P304.37 million seen in the comparable year-ago period.

This was “mainly brought about by higher interest income, an increase in fees and commissions and lower credit provisioning expenses,” BankCom said.

This translated to a return on average equity of 7.05%, up from the 3.6% recorded in the first half of 2021. Return on average assets also rose to 0.87% from 0.34% a year prior, BankCom’s quarterly report showed.

BankCom’s net interest income in the second quarter stood at P1.62 billion, up from P1.23 billion last year.

Meanwhile, its other income was at P311.81 million in the second quarter, also higher than the P233.37 million seen in the same period last year.

On the other hand, expenses went up to P1.25 billion from P1.198 billion in the comparable year-ago period.

BankCom’s assets rose 3.78% year-on-year to P207.25 billion at end-June, which it attributed to the increase in its loans.

Its loans went up to P100.85 billion as of June amid higher corporate credit.

The bank said its the growth of its non-performing loans (NPL) remained “manageable” as its gross NPL ratio declined to 2.63% at end-June from 3.09% at end-December 2021.

Meanwhile, its deposit liabilities were at P175.06 billion as of June.

The lender’s capital funds stood at P26.98 billion at end-June. Its capital adequacy ratio was at 17.85% as of June, down from the 21.57% recorded at end-2021, while its common equity Tier 1 ratio stood at 13.38%.

BankCom shares closed at P9.43 apiece on Monday, up by 99 centavos or 11.73%. — D.G.C. Robles

Performance of Philippine agriculture

AGRICULTURAL production continued to contract for a second straight quarter, mainly due to lower crops and fisheries output, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Monday. Read the full story.

Performance of Philippine agriculture

Roxas Holdings trims net loss 

ROXAS Holdings, Inc. reported on Monday that it trimmed its net loss to P100.24 million in its third quarter ending June.

In its unaudited financial statement, the firm said that its third-quarter net loss attributable to parent firm equity holders narrowed from P159.43 million a year ago.

Meanwhile, revenues from contracts with customers increased by 48% to P2.82 billion from P1.9 billion in 2021.

“Roxas Holdings remain focused on unlocking profit and addressing the various factors causing volatility and higher costs in the group, including its ethanol plant in Negros,” the company said in a disclosure.

“Previous manpower right-sizing and terming-out of loans have resulted in decreases in operating expenses and interest expenses, and these are constantly being reviewed,” it added.

The listed sugar and ethanol producer also announced that it completed its stand-alone refinery project at Central Azucarera Don Pedro, Inc. (CADP) plant in Batangas.

“Out of 12 refineries in the Philippines operating this crop year, CADP is now the lone refinery continuously producing refined sugar for the industrial and consumer markets beyond the sugarcane harvest season that ended in May,” Roxas Holdings Chairman Pedro E. Roxas said in a statement.

“This shows that refining can be achieved year-round to add value to raw sugar produced by the millers and farmers across the Philippines. The fundamentals to recovery have been set, and gains brought from this pivotal project on the refinery will be more significantly realized in the near term, with the expected increase in refined sugar production and in tolling agreements with customers,” he added.

The firm earlier announced that CADP was planning on maximizing its refinery production through expanding its fuel sources, decoupling from its milling operations and the limited availability of mill-generated bagasse used as fuel.

Due to the decline in sugar production amid unfavorable weather conditions, planters and millers planned to begin operations in August rather than September to tighten sugar supply.

Roxas Holdings President and Chief Executive Celso T. Dimarucut said that with a projected earlier start of milling for the other mills, CADP can ensure an ample supply of raw sugar for its sustained refinery operations.

“This emboldened step towards a stand-alone refinery will also be beneficial for the other stakeholders, as Roxas Holdings plays its role in helping the government ensure sustainable supply of quality refined sugar and decrease our country’s refined sugar importation,” the firm said.

“We shall continue to leverage on this leader advantage as well as the strategic location of CADP enabling it to service most of the industrial customers in the key manufacturing hubs in Southern Luzon and Metro Manila,” Mr. Dimarucut added.

At the stock exchange on Monday, Roxas Holdings shares remained unchanged at P1.18 apiece. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

New DMCI condos to have built-in commercial-grade internet service

RESIDENTS of new DMCI Homes condominiums will now have access to a dedicated commercial-grade fiber internet, the property company said.

In a statement, DMCI Homes said homeowners will be able to connect to the community internet service in their units and common areas, similar to the service provided by premium hotels for their guests.

Even with this service, residents can still subscribe to their preferred internet service provider.

“Internet access has become vital for everyday activities because of the pandemic that’s why we want to ensure our residents are always connected wherever they are in the property,” DMCI Homes Project Development Vice-President Dennis O. Yap said in a statement.

Residents of Prisma Residences will be the first to enjoy the dedicated commercial-grade fiber internet access.

Prisma Residences is a three-tower development along Pasig Boulevard corner C.P. Garcia Avenue (C5 Road) in Pasig City.

“This service will now be a fixture in our upcoming ready-for-occupancy projects and our future developments to give residents a reliable internet connection on top of their personal subscriptions from their service provider of choice,” Mr. Yap said.

Cha Eun Woo returns to meet fans in MNL

THE VERSAILLES event garden and tent at Novotel Manila in Quezon City on Aug. 6 was packed with fans who quietly waited for their favorite Korean actor to arrive. One fan, a woman in her mid-60s, took five days off from work and flew all the way from Miami to Manila to see her favorite Korean actor.

The object of their attention was K-pop singer and actor Cha Eun Woo, who was in town last weekend for the “2022 Just One 10 Minute: Starry Caravan” fan meet at the Smart Araneta Coliseum that evening. Mr. Cha had last held a fan meeting in the Philippines in 2019.

In January this year, Smart Communications, in partnership with streaming service Viu, held a virtual fan meeting for Mr. Cha through the Smart Hallyu Hangouts where subscribers get to spend an afternoon with their Korean idols online.

The 25-year-old member of the K-pop group Astro is best known for his lead roles in the TV series My ID is Gangnam Beauty (2018), Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung (2019), and True Beauty (2020).

When Mr. Cha stepped on stage at the press conference/fan meet, the fans who had been quietly waiting jumped up from their seats and started screaming in excitement.

“I miss you,” Mr. Cha greeted the audience when he came onstage, “How about you?” He was answered by a room full of screaming fans.

He added that he felt excited to be back and appreciated the warm welcome from fans at the airport the evening before.

He went on to answer questions from the audience, sometimes in English, sometimes in Korean which were then translated into English by program host Sam Oh.

He said that despite the numerous projects he has accomplished, “I think I’m the same.”

“What I would like to do is better the things I am doing already, whether that’s singing or acting or all the other things I do. I’d rather get better at those things than move on to something new,” Mr. Cha added in Korean,

Mr. Cha plays a Catholic priest in his next acting project, a K-drama titled Island. The series is slated to premiere in 2023.

The fan meeting later that evening had performances, games, and reenactments of scenes from Mr. Cha’s K-dramas. The evening concluded with a surprise video message from fans, and a performance of the True Beauty theme song, “Love So Fine.”

Mr. Cha’s K-dramas My ID is Gangnam Beauty and True Beauty, and his variety shows, All the Butlers and Handsome Tigers, are available to stream on Viu.  — MAPS

Rediscount window left untapped in July

BW FILE PHOTO

BANKS left the rediscount facility of the central bank untouched in July as there was ample liquidity in the financial system.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a statement on Monday that its peso rediscount window was untapped anew last month following the P7.52-billion loan taken out by a universal bank in June that put borrowings for the first six months at P11.6 billion.

The Exporters’ Dollar and Yen Rediscount Facility (EDYRF) was also untouched in July. The last time an availment was made under the EDYRF was a dollar rediscounting loan in 2016.

In 2021, banks only borrowed from the facility in June, July, and September. These peso rediscount loans amounted to P6.12 million.

The BSP’s rediscount window gives banks access to additional money supply by posting their collectibles from clients as collateral. In turn, banks may use the cash — denominated in peso, dollar or yen — to extend more loans to their corporate or retail clients and service unexpected withdrawals.

“Excess liquidity in the financial system picked up in July 2022 and continued, thereby reducing the need for banks to tap the BSP rediscounting facility,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

“Banks also have other options to get funding, such as through the interbank market as well as through the capital markets, instead of BSP rediscounting facilities,” Mr. Ricafort said.

M3, which is considered as the broadest measure of liquidity in an economy, grew by 6.9% to P15.4 trillion in June year on year.

Meanwhile, preliminary data from central bank showed outstanding loans of big banks expanded by 12% to P9.9 trillion in June from P8.8 trillion in the same month of 2021.

This was the fastest loan growth seen in more than three years or since the 12.4% in April 2019.

The easing of nonperforming loans (NPL) of banks also reduced the need for lenders to tap the BSP rediscounting facility, Mr. Ricafort added.

“The FIST (Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer) Law also gives banks greater flexibility to dispose nonperforming loans and nonperforming assets (NPAs) that also lessens the demand for BSP rediscounting,” he said.

The banking industry’s gross NPL ratio went down to 3.75% of their total loan portfolio in May from 4.49% a year ago. It is also lower than the 3.93% seen in April. The May NPL ratio is the lowest since 3.72% in January 2021.

AUGUST RATES
For August, the applicable rate for peso rediscount loans will be at 4.1469% for those maturing in 90 days and at 4.5438% for those falling due in 91-180 days. 

Meanwhile, dollar borrowings will be priced at 5.18519% (1-90 days), 5.58209% (91-180 days) and 6.37589% (181-360 days).

Yen-dominated borrowings will have an interest rate of 2.3845% (1-90 days), 2.7814% (91-180 days) and 3.5752% (181-360 days). — Keisha B. Ta-asan

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