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Yields on BSP’s term deposits inch up

YIELDS ON THE central bank’s term deposits ended higher on Wednesday after the government’s retail Treasury bond (RTB) offering and as the US Federal Reserve said it is open to a quicker tapering of its asset purchases.

Total bids for the term deposit facility (TDF) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) amounted to P467.818 billion on Wednesday, lower than the P480-billion offer and P614.309 billion in tenders seen a week earlier.

Broken down, the eight-day term deposits fetched bids amounting to P181.141 billion, slightly higher than the P180 billion auctioned off by the BSP but much lower than the P258.252 billion in tenders recorded a week ago.

Accepted rates for the papers were from 1.71% to 2.19%, wider than the 1.7149% to 1.74% band recorded in the previous auction. This caused the average rate of the one-week deposits to rise by 2.7 basis points (bps) to 1.7599% from 1.7329% previously.

Meanwhile, bids for the 14-day term deposits amounted to P286.677 billion, also lower than the P300-billion offering and the P356.057 billion in tenders logged on Nov. 24.

Banks asked for yields ranging from 1.745% to 2.19%, wider than the 1.73% to 1.99 margin a week ago. With this, the average rate of the two-week papers increased by 4.31 bps to 1.8226% from 1.7795%.

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

The central bank uses the TDF and its short-term securities to gather excess liquidity in the financial system and guide market rates.

“The results of the auction continue to reflect normal market conditions, supported by ample liquidity in the financial system, amid the ongoing issuance of the retail Treasury bonds which will be settled this Thursday,” BSP Deputy Governor Francisco G. Dakila, Jr. said in a statement.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) on Monday said it raised P360 billion through its offering of 5.5-year RTBs that ended last week. The government raised P330.5 billion in fresh funds while the remaining P29.5 billion was from the bond exchange program.

Proceeds from the issuance will be used to fund government pandemic-response and economic recovery programs, the BTr said.

TDF yields also inched higher due to cautious sentiment amid hawkish signals from the Fed regarding the pace of the reduction of its bond purchases, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell on Tuesday said they have witnessed elevated inflation pressures, strong labor market data which was not paired with better labor supply, as well as strong spending since their last policy review in November, Reuters reported.

“We are actually at our next meeting in a couple of weeks going to have a discussion about accelerating that taper by a few months,” Mr. Powell told members of the Senate Banking Committee, as reported by Reuters.

The Federal Open Market Committee will have its last policy review this year on Dec. 14 to 15. — Luz Wendy T. Noble with Reuters

Suncity, SA Holdings downplay chairman’s arrest

THE arrest and detainment of Chau Cheok Wa and the allegations surrounding Summit Ascent Holdings Ltd.’s (SA Holdings) integrated resort in Russia will not affect the operations of Suncity Group Holdings, Ltd. and SA Holdings, its listed Philippine unit said on Wednesday. Mr. Chau sits as chairman of the board in both Suncity Group and SA Holdings. 

Suncity Group is the parent firm of Fortune Noble Ltd., which holds a 51% stake in Philippine listed firm Suntrust Home Developers, Inc.

In a disclosure to the exchange on Wednesday, Suntrust said Suncity Group and SA Holdings issued separate disclosures on the Hong Kong Exchange clarifying that the developments will not impact the operations of both firms.

“As the group is operated by a team of management personnel, the Suncity Board does not expect the incident to have a material adverse impact on the daily operations of the group, and as of the date of the announcement, there is no material disruption to the group’s businesses,” the disclosure said. 

The statement was echoed by SA Holdings, saying that the developments do “not have any direct material adverse impact on the financial position, business or operation of SA Holdings, and as of the date of this announcement, there is no material disruption to SA Holdings’ businesses.”

Suncity Group noted the news coverage regarding the arrest of its chairman, Mr. Chau, over allegations of illegal cross-border gambling activities and his arrest by the People’s Procuratorate of Wenzhou City and his arrest and detainment by the Macau Judicial Police over his suspected involvement in illegal gaming and money laundering.

Reuters reported that Macau authorities accused Mr. Chau, along with 10 others, of using Macau as a base for an illegal “live web betting platform” in the Philippines that attracted mainland Chinese.

Mr. Chau was arrested on Sunday and sources told Reuters that Suncity Group has since closed all of its VIP gaming rooms in Macau.

Meanwhile, reports also covered that integrated resort Tigre de Cristal was involved “in cross-border gambling activities by sending officers to solicit for customers in the People’s Republic of China for its gaming operations.”

Tigre de Cristal is located in the Primyore Region in the Russian Federation. SA Holdings holds 77.5% of the controlling interest in the integrated resort.

“The SA Holdings Board clarified that the allegation with respect to the involvement of Tigre de Cristal in cross-border gambling activities is untrue,” Suntrust said.

“Further, as a non-executive director of SA Holdings, Mr. Chau does not take part in carrying out day-to-day management and operations of SA Holdings,” it added.

Meanwhile, the Suncity board clarified that the events might affect only Sun City Gaming Promotion Co. Ltd., which is a firm wholly owned by Mr. Chau. Sun City Gaming is at the risk of “being unable to supply accommodation products to Suncity and its subsidiaries” and losing financial support of Mr. Chau.

The board of directors of Suncity Group and SA Holdings “have been conducting, and will continue to conduct, their businesses in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations of their respective places of operation.”

“Both Suncity Board and SA Holdings Board were informed by Mr. Chau of his intention to resign from the posts of chairman of the board and executive director of the Suncity [Group] and from the posts of the chairman of the board and a non-executive director of SA Holdings,” Suntrust said.

BusinessWorld reached out to Suntrust for further comment. It has yet to respond as of press time. Shares of Suntrust at the local bourse dropped 8.13% or 10 centavos on Wednesday, closing at P1.13 each. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Jazz singer Josephine Baker first Black woman honored at Pantheon

PARIS —  Josephine Baker, the famed French American singer and dancer, was inducted on Tuesday into the Pantheon mausoleum in Paris —  one of France’s highest honors —  at a ceremony attended by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Ms. Baker, who also served in the French Resistance during World War Two and was a prominent civic rights activist after the war, is the first Black woman and sixth woman to enter the Pantheon, a Paris landmark dominating the city’s Latin Quarter.

She was “a Black person who stood up for Black people, but foremost, she was a woman who defended humankind,” Mr. Macron said during a speech. He spoke shortly after Baker’s most famous song, “J’ai deux amours, mon pays et Paris” (“I have two loves, my country and Paris”), was played at the ceremony.

Ms. Baker was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1906 but went on to find much of her fame after arriving in Paris in the 1920s, as many Black Americans stayed on in the French capital after World War One and brought over with them American jazz culture. Ms. Baker, who became a French citizen in 1937, died in 1975 and is buried in Monaco.

In accordance with her family’s wishes, Ms. Baker’s remains have not been moved to the Pantheon. To represent her presence there, a symbolic coffin was carried into the mausoleum by six pallbearers containing handfuls of earth from four locations: St. Louis, Paris, Monaco, and Milandes, in the Dordogne department of France, where Baker owned a castle. Baker’s empty coffin will lie alongside other French national icons in the mausoleum such as authors Emile Zola and Victor Hugo, the philosopher Voltaire and politician Simone Veil. —  Reuters

Indonesia to host ASEAN Para Games

INDONESIA may step in as an alternate host of the ASEAN Para Games next year following the recent withdrawal of Vietnam due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Indonesians have stated their intention right after the ASEAN Para Sports Federation (APSF) endorsed the official withdrawal of the Vietnamese as hosts of the oft-postponed biennial meet during the board of governors’ online meeting on Wednesday.

The APSF has also decided to open for bidding the hosting that allows Indonesia or other member countries to come in as host and salvage the event that saw the withdrawal of two nations already including the Philippines last year.

Indonesia, which plans to stage it in Solo, had already submitted its proposal and was given until the end of year to pass all the needed documents.

The board will then convene again on Jan. 14 next year to make the final decision on the matter.

Meanwhile, the 2023 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Para Games will push through as scheduled in the middle of 2023 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

“We look forward to the support and assistance from member countries to ensure the Games runs smoothly as this will be the first time Cambodia is hosting the multi-sports Games with such magnitude,” said APSF chairman H. E. Yi Veasna of Cambodia.

The APSF also condoled with the passing of three of its long-serving and key officials—Mahmud Ibrahim of Brunei, Vu The Piet of Vietnam and U Peter of Myanmar. — Joey Villar

More cybersecurity professionals needed amid increased threats

RACOOL_STUDIO-FREEPIK

PHILIPPINE organizations need to train more cybersecurity professionals to keep up with the growing number of threats, industry and government officials said.

“There will really be a strong demand for cybersecurity expertise — and data protection and privacy expertise — but we’re not producing enough of this,” Privacy Commissioner Raymund E. Liboro said at the BusinessWorld Economic Forum last week.

He said cyberattackers previously focused on businesses are now turning to the public, exposing individuals to privacy threats.

“The expectations of the everyday consumer, of our citizens, would be higher in the months and the years to come. They would demand that they be protected,” he said.

The National Privacy Commission found that 52% of data privacy breaches last year were caused by external actors.

“But this year, the tables have turned. There are more breaches caused by human error as opposed to external actors,” Mr. Liboro said.

Angel T. Redoble, first vice-president and chief information security officer of ePLDT Group, PLDT Group, and Smart Communications, Inc., said organizations are training fresh college graduates on cybersecurity.

“The problem with hiring the (people with) skills in cybersecurity is because it’s not being taught in schools. Because there are no institutionalized courses in college, and even in high school, then you won’t really be hiring someone,” he said.

His aim is to reduce the learning curve, training people over three months instead of over a year.

“Attacks will continue to increase, and I don’t think they will slow down in the next give or even ten years,” he said. “What is alarming is that the defenders are not getting better in the way the attackers are getting better.”

Digital privacy company Kaspersky found that cyberattacks in the Philippines almost doubled to 4.88 million cases from January to June this year versus the same period in 2020.

Yeo Siang Tiong, general manager of Kaspersky Southeast Asia, said the Philippines sees some of the most web attacks in the world because of its interconnectedness.

“We are far more integrated compared to two years ago, and this has huge implications in terms of data privacy. We all say data are the new gold, but it’s not only the businesses mining this gold. Criminals are as well,” he said. — Jenina P. Ibañez

AMLC sets rules on handling frozen, forfeited assets

THE ANTI-MONEY Laundering Council (AMLC) has released guidelines on the management, selling, and turnover of assets that were frozen or subject to civil forfeiture as the country seeks to prove it is implementing tighter rules against “dirty money” and terrorism financing.

Regulatory Issuance No. 8 Series of 2021 published on BusinessWorld on Wednesday laid out rules for assets that will be handled by the AMLC.

Based on the guidelines, the AMLC has power to preserve, manage, or sell assets covered by both 20-day initial or six-month freeze orders issued by either the Council itself or the Court of Appeals.

The AMLC is also in charge of managing assets covered by provisional or indefinite preservation orders. It likewise has jurisdiction over assets that are subject of forfeiture, whether in cases that have been judged with finality or are still pending in court.

“Asset management and preservation is an important component of asset forfeiture to ensure that the government (or the victims) are able to fully recover properties subject of litigation; instrumentalities of the crime; and proceeds of the crime,” AMLC Executive Director Mel Georgie B. Racela said in a Viber message.

The Asset Management Group (AMG), a unit of the AMLC, will be directly involved in these functions.

The unit is required to monitor frozen, preserved and forfeited assets, making sure the inventory is updated with running balances, appraised amounts, status of properties, and relevant expenses. This information should be available on a per category basis and on the aggregate level and should be kept confidential and secured.

“These data and information shall only be used for official purposes, relevant to the preservation, management, and disposal of assets, or as allowed under such guidelines provided by the AMLC,” the issuance said.

The AMG is also in charge of the appraisal of assets handled by the AMLC, whether performed by internal personnel or third parties, ensuring that valuation is updated.

The regulation also presents guidelines for selling frozen, preserved, and forfeited assets through public auction or negotiation.

The rules also direct the AMLC to turn over assets related to dirty money or terrorism financing to the Bureau of the Treasury or other government agencies, foreign jurisdictions, or other claimants designated by court.

Covered persons, officials, and government entities found violating these guidelines will be subject to administrative sanctions under the Rules of Procedure in Administrative Cases of the Anti-Money Laundering Act and its amendments.

The Philippines needs to prove its effective implementation of tighter anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures in order to exit the “gray list” of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The Philippines was included in the list in June.

In October, the FATF said the country saw some progress in implementing measures against financial crimes.

Among the action plan items that will be monitored by the FATF are the country’s enhancements in its money laundering and terrorism financing investigations, prosecutions, and confiscations.

Government officials hope the Philippines will be removed from the list of countries under increased monitoring for money laundering and terrorism financing risks by January 2023. — L.W.T. Noble

Pacific Online forges lease for lottery system

PACIFIC Online Systems Corp. has signed an agreement for the five-year lease of the customized Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Lottery System (PLS).

The company told the exchange on Wednesday that it signed the memorandum of agreement with PCSO along with joint venture partners Philippine Gaming Management Corp. (PGMC) and International Lottery & Totalizator Systems, Inc. (ILTS).

In September, listed Pacific Online said the joint venture won the public bidding of the 2021 PLS Project, which was under PCSO’s SBAC Contract No. 2021-01.

“The benefits and costs to the joint venture will be shared in accordance with the parties’ respective participation,” the disclosure stated.

Pacific Online has a 50% share in the joint venture, PGMC has 49%, and ILTS has a 1% stake.

ILTS is PGMC’s equipment supplier, while Pacific Online and PGMC are equipment lessors to PCSO.

According to its regulatory filing on Nov. 11, the joint venture has 14 months to operationalize the new PLS once it receives a notice to proceed from the PCSO.

Pacific Online shares on Wednesday declined 6.09% or 12 centavos to close at P1.85 per share. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Chinese banks boost short-term debt in sign of improved lending

CHINESE BANKS are rushing to raise short-term debt through negotiable certificates of deposit (NCD) traded in the interbank market, foreshadowing a boost in lending as the economy slows.

Commercial lenders have issued a net total of almost 831 billion yuan ($130 billion) of NCDs in November, the highest since February 2017, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. This could indicate banks are preparing to accelerate loans to customers after the People’s Bank of China encouraged lenders to step up credit support to the economy and relaxed some restrictions on property financing.

“Banks’ liabilities have been tight throughout this year, so they must increase liabilities first when they plan to grant more loans,” said Tan Songheng, a fixed-income manager at the Bank of Sanxiang Co. Ltd.

NCDs have become a major way for banks to replenish liquidity since they were first launched in 2013. It’s gained popularity this year because the coupon on one-year NCDs has generally remained below the interest rate on the one-year medium-term lending facility offered by the PBoC. 

Credit growth showed signs of stabilization in October after months of slowing. In its latest monetary policy report, the PBoC signaled stronger lending support in coming months by dropping the phrase that it would seek to “control the valve on money supply.” It also guided banks to keep mortgage lending and loans to developers steady to prevent the property downturn from worsening.

The PBoC has chosen to either fully or partially roll over maturing medium-term policy loans this year, while keeping interbank liquidity ample through flexible injections of short-term funding during its open-market operations. Despite the economic slowdown, many economists expect the PBoC to refrain from broad-based monetary easing and instead use structural tools to increase lending to sectors including green projects.

Banks are likely to continue issuing more NCDs as there’s a greater demand for liquidity to increase lending, according to Li Yong, an analyst at Soochow Securities Co. Ltd. Tan of Bank of Sanxiang expects new loans to pick up significantly in November and December from the same period last year. — Bloomberg

Ex-pro Roi Sumang joins Pingris, Simon in Nueva Ecija

THE Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards have tapped former pro Roi Sumang to join an already stacked roster headed by former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) stars Marc Pingris and PJ Simon in the Chooks-to-Go Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) set Dec. 11-23 at the MOA Arena in Pasay City.

The 30-year-old Mr. Sumang last played for Blackwater in the Clark and Angeles bubble last year but was left without a squad since then that paved the way for the Mr. Giancarlo-tan coached Nueva Ecija to acquire him.

Messrs. Pingris and Simon have both come out of retirement to suit up for the Rice Vanguards.

Mr. Sumang will join a squad that also features former collegiate standouts Diego Dario, Will Gozum, Justin Gutang, Kendrix Belgica and Michael Mabulac among others.

Thanks to its recruiting coup, Nueva Ecija emerged as one of the early favorites to win the 13-day event that drew participation from 22 teams. — Joey Villar

Karl Lagerfeld’s fingerless gloves to go under hammer

MONACO —  Personal belongings of the late designer Karl Lagerfeld, including his trademark fingerless leather gloves and the cushions his cat Choupette sat on, are to go on sale in a series of auctions that begin in Monaco this week.

Mr. Lagerfeld, who died in 2019, was an icon of the fashion industry, celebrated as much for his distinctive personal style of gloves, sunglasses and ponytail as he was for the fashion he designed for Chanel and other houses.

The collection of belongings, being auctioned by Sotheby’s, has items from his personal wardrobe and the furniture, accessories and art which decorated his many homes.

Bids are also invited for a model of Choupette with an estimated price of 5,000 euros ($5,690) to 7,000 euros, and a figurine of Lagerfeld made out of PVC, metal and rhinestones, with a price estimate of 200-300 euros.

Elaborate trunks and suitcases that Mr. Lagerfeld took with him when he traveled, three Rolls-Royce cars and a pair of chrome-plated dumbbells owned by the famously body-conscious designer, are also included in the sale.

After Monaco on Dec. 3-5, the sale moves to Paris later in December, then on to Cologne early next year. —  Reuters

UK watchdog orders Facebook owner Meta to sell Giphy

LONDON — Facebook owner Meta has been told by the UK competition watchdog to sell popular animated images platform Giphy in Britain’s first such move against so-called Big Tech in its efforts to bolster regulation of the sector.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had found that last year’s acquisition of Giphy would reduce competition between social media platforms and in display advertising.

Facebook, which was recently rebranded as Meta Platforms, said it could appeal against the CMA’s decision. It has four weeks to appeal.

“The tie-up between Facebook and Giphy has already removed a potential challenger in the display advertising market,” said Stuart McIntosh, chair of the independent investigation on Facebook-Giphy for the CMA.

“By requiring Facebook to sell Giphy, we are protecting millions of social media users and promoting competition and innovation in digital advertising.”

Facebook said it disagreed with the decision.

“We are reviewing the decision and considering all options, including appeal,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.

The CMA in October fined the company a record $70 million for breaching an order imposed during its investigation into the acquisition, having said in August that it may need Facebook to sell Giphy.

COMPETITOR ACCESS
Facebook bought Giphy, a website for making and sharing animated images, or GIFs, for a reported $400 million in May 2020 to integrate the operation with its Instagram photo-sharing app. It has defended the deal to the CMA.

Another major provider of GIFs is Google’s Tenor.

The regulator, however, was concerned that Meta could deny competitors access to Giphy GIFs, or force the likes of TikTok, Twitter and Snapchat to provide more user data to use them.

It also said that innovative advertising services launched by Giphy in the United States before the deal could have been expanded to other markets such as Britain, where Meta controls nearly half of the 7 billion pound ($9.3 billion) display advertising market.

The CMA has been stepping up regulation of the Big Tech sector.

Last week, Alphabet, Inc.’s Google pledged more restrictions on its use of data from its Chrome browser to address CMA concerns about plans to ban third-party cookies that advertisers use to track consumers. — Reuters

Red Bull R1v1r Runes champion Nardosson to face Team OG’s N0tail in showmatch on Dec. 4

BERNARD “Nardoson” Ciocon (center) holds up his Red Bull R1v1r Runes trophy.

RED BULL R1v1r Runes has found its rightful ruler of the river, as the third season of the esports tournament has come to a thrilling conclusion. The best Dota 2 players in the country battled it out at the National Finals on Nov. 27.

Out of the top eight players competing, Bernard “Nardosson” Ciocon overcame all odds by advancing from the losers bracket of the qualifying rounds to the finals, conquering tournament favorite, Ihcoroy, in an intense final battle with a final score of 2-0.

With his victory, Nardosson will have the opportunity to face off against the team captain of one of the most dominant esports teams in Dota history, Johan “N0tail” Sundstein of Team OG.

N0tail is one of the most decorated players in the Dota world. Since becoming captain of Team OG, Mr. Sundstein has led his team to four Major Championships and made history as the only team to be crowned champion of The International in two consecutive years.

See, Nardosson represents the Filipino Dota community when he takes on Team OG captain, N0tail on Dec. 4 along with undercard matches featuring Lupon WXC and previous Red Bull R1v1r Runes winners, Charles Artacho and Zedrik Dizon, at 5:45 p.m. The match will be streamed live on the official Facebook page of Red Bull Gaming with viewers having a chance to win exclusive prizes from AOC and SteelSeries.

Stay tuned and follow Red Bull on Facebook and Instagram for more announcements regarding the upcoming exciting matchup between Nardosson and N0tail of Team OG.

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