How PSEi member stocks performed — June 29, 2022
Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Wednesday, June 29, 2022.
PBA set to work with Japan B.League, Korean Basketball League on player exchange
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is set to work with the Korean Basketball League (KBL) and Japan B.League to firm up ties and exchange ideas for the further development of their respective leagues.
PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial said he will sit down with counterparts from neighboring leagues in KBL commissioner Kim Hee Ok and B.League chairman Shinji Shimada after their first encounter during the official draw of the East Asia Super League (EASL) featuring their leagues as founding members.
Mr. Marcial actually had already an initial discussion with the KBL while he and PBA officials will travel to Japan in September for a series of agenda including technology development on officiating and the possibility of a player exchange program.
“Nagkaroon na kami ng pag-uusap two months ago. Ngayon, doon kami magfa-finalize,” said Mr. Marcial, noting that a cooperation with neighboring leagues has already been floated in the past by former PBA commissioner Noli Eala before coming into fruition through EASL.
“Hindi lang natutuloy dati kasi walang point person. Ngayon, nagawa ng EASL. Magandang usapan. Malaking opportunity itong EASL para sa lahat ng liga sa Asya na magkasama-sama,” he added.
Also set to be tackled is the recent, fast-growing transfer of Filipino players under the Asian Player Quota program to the overseas leagues including PBA stalwarts Kiefer Ravena and Ray Parks to Japan.
“Malamang, pag-uusapan iyon. Maganda ‘yun (na mapag-usapan). Tingnan natin kung paano,” Mr. Marcial added, reiterating the league’s willingness to explore all efforts and innovations for its further develop-ment.
Included in those plans is the return of Asian imports following its noble introduction in the 2015 and 2016 PBA Governor’s Cup, way before the B.League and KBL sign Asian players under their new programs.
With the relationship between leagues expected to only strengthen, entry of guest teams is also a possibility with the Bay Area Dragons from Greater China (Hong Kong) as the first team to make it for the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
“Open tayo sa lahat,” beamed Mr. Marcial. — John Bryan Ulanday
Philippines’ Eala in a easy, 6-2, 6-0 win over Chile’s Gonzalez
VENGEFUL Alex M. Eala bamboozled Chile’s Jimar Geraldine Gerald Gonzalez with an easy 6-2, 6-0 first-round win in the W25 Palma del Rio in Spain to set the tone in her redemption bid after a title miss last time.
After settling for bridesmaid finish in the W60 Madrid 10 days ago, Ms. Eala vented her ire on Ms. Gonzales by ending the match in only 56 minutes to advance to the second round against either Valeria Savinykh or Jessica Ponchet.
In the doubles play, Ms. Eala and home bet Marina Bassols Ribera blanked the Spanish pair of Adriana Cortes and Patricia Rodriguez Carretero, 6-0, 6-0, to barge into the quarterfinals.
Ms. Ribera, ironically, was Ms. Eala’s tormentor in the W60 Madrid finals after scoring a 6-4, 7-5 win to deny the latter her third professional title.
Joining forces now, the fourth-seeded duo will shoot for a Final Four ticket against Spain’s Marta Huqi Gonzales Encinas and the United States’ Ashley Lahey, who trounced Spain’s Ariana Geerlings and Estonia’s Elizabeth Jurna, 6-3, 6-2.
Prior to the W25 Palma del Rio stint, Ms. Eala this week reached a new-career best ranking in the Women’s Tennis Association at No. 337 from No. 340 for an added motivation in a goal to win another pro title. — John Bryan Ulanday
LA Lakers’ Russell Westbrook exercising $47.1-million option
RUSSELL Westbrook will exercise his $47.1-million player option and return to the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2022-23 season, ESPN and The Athletic reported on Tuesday.
The nine-time All-Star point guard and 2016-2017 Most Valuable Player is entering the final season of a five-year, $206-million contract. Westbrook, 33, was facing a Wednesday deadline to opt-in with the Lakers and new head coach Darvin Ham.
In his first season in Los Angeles in 2021-2022, Westbrook didn’t mesh well with ex-coach Frank Vogel and became a target of fans as injuries pulled apart the veteran-laden roster. Westbrook posted his lowest scoring average since 2009-2010.
The Lakers are counting on a bounce-back year from Westbrook and better health from co-stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis next season.
A two-time NBA scoring champion, Westbrook averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists in 78 games last season. He has career averages of 22.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 8.4 assists in 1,021 games (1,000 starts) with the Oklahoma City Thunder (2008-2019), Houston Rockets (2019-2020), Washington Wizards (2020-2021) and Lakers. — Reuters
Serena stunned by Tan in Wimbledon first-round epic
LONDON — Playing her first singles match for a year after injury, Serena Williams’ opening-round Wimbledon loss to Harmony Tan on Tuesday was hardly her most unexpected defeat, but there were plenty of signs it could be the most portentous yet.
Of course, nobody goes on for ever, not even Williams who has performed numerous near miracles throughout a career spanning three decades.
Still, it made for uncomfortable viewing seeing the rusty seven-times champion a faded shadow of the player who has won 23 Grand Slam singles crowns.
For having long made a habit of seeing off lesser mortals while cruising at barely half pace, on Tuesday there seemed nothing to dig into, no extra gear, nor any aura to lend an advantage.
Instead, she brandished blunted tools and slumped to a three-set defeat before contemplating her future.
“That’s a question I can’t answer,” the 40-year-old said when asked if she would return to Wimbledon. “Like, I don’t know. I feel like, you know, I don’t know. Who knows? Who knows where I’ll pop up.
“Today, I gave all I could do… Maybe tomorrow, I could have gave more. Maybe a week ago, I could have gave more. But today was what I could do. At some point, you have to be able to be okay with that.
“And that’s all I can do. I can’t change time or anything, so…”
It is always going to be tough for Williams to walk away from the sport she has dominated. And despite falling short on her return to singles action here, she seems motivated to keep going, keeping the door open for an emotional return to New York for the US Open in August.
“It definitely makes me want to hit the practice courts because, you know, when you’re playing not bad and you’re so close,” she said, seeking something positive from a bad day.
“Like I said, any other opponent probably would have suited my game better. So, yeah, I feel like that it’s actually kind of like, ‘Okay, Serena, you can do this if you want.’
“Yeah, I mean, when you’re at home, especially in New York, and the US Open, that being the first place I’ve won a Grand Slam, is something that’s always super special. Your first time is always special. There’s definitely, you know, lots of motivation to get better and to play at home.” — Reuters
Gintong Gawad 2022 awardees feature in PSC’s Rise Up!
The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) stays committed to recognizing outstanding contributions and initiatives related to women and sports development at the grassroots level through Gintong Gawad (GiGa) 2022.
The commission wrapped up this year’s run of Gintong Gawad Awards in a gala awards night held at Subic Travelers Hotel last June 14, 2022, where eight winners and two special citations were conferred.
The highlights of the occasion will be streamed on PSC’s Rise Up! Shape Up! special episode tonight, June 29 at 7 p.m.
PSC Women in Sports overseeing Commissioner Celia Kiram values the support of grassroots communities in helping PSC in its vision of developing sports excellence nationwide and honing homegrown top-performing athletes through various programs of the PSC.
“We at PSC Women in Sports are delighted to receive numerous nominations as it signifies the strong presence of sports development in our local communities and at the grassroots level,” Ms. Kiram said.
“We are humbled by this reminder that Philippine sports need our attention, care and support, not only at the national level, but most significantly at the grassroots as this is where Filipino sports talent and potential national athletes emerge,” the lone lady commissioner of the PSC added.
Successfully launched in late 2021, GINTONG GAWAD is a national awards platform to celebrate and pay tribute to ground-breaking, inspiring, notable, timeless, outstanding contributions to the promotion and development of women and sports at the grassroots level. It presents awards in eight categories namely: Ina ng Isport, Babaeng Atleta, Modelo ng Kabataan; Babaeng Atletang may Kapansanan, Modelo ng Kabataan; Ba-baeng Tagasanay ng Isport; Babaeng Lider ng Isport sa Komunidad; Kaagapay ng Isports sa Komunidad; Produktong Pang-Isport na Natatangi at Makabago; at Proyektong Isport Pang-Kababaihan
Accor recruiting 12,000 temporary workers to help accommodate Qatar’s World Cup fans
DOHA — Hotel operator Accor is recruiting 12,000 temporary overseas employees to operate 65,000 empty rooms in apartments and homes in Qatar as temporary fan housing for the 2022 soccer World Cup, its chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin told Reuters.
Qatar is working to avoid an accommodation shortage during the tournament and has hired Accor, Europe’s largest hotel operator, to manage the temporary operation.
“65,000 rooms is like opening 600 hotels, so we committed to hire enough people to serve it,” Bazin said, adding that a drive is underway in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and South America to recruit housekeepers, front-desk staff, logistics experts and others.
“All that is going to be dismantled at the end of December,” he said.
Qatar’s official World Cup accommodation website has received around 25,000 bookings so far, and will offer more than 100,000 rooms, Omar Al Jaber, executive director of accommodation for tournament organizers the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy told reporters on Tuesday.
“We will be under pressure until the first match has started. This is normal and we are ready,” Al Jaber said.
Qatar hopes to attract 1.2 million visitors, nearly half of its population, during the 28-day tournament in November and December.
But the tiny Gulf Arab state has fewer than 30,000 hotel rooms, according estimates by Qatar Tourism, and 80% of those rooms have been block booked by world soccer’s governing body FIFA, for official guests, World Cup organizers said.
Qatar is also offering 4,000 rooms on two cruise ships moored at Doha Port, 1,000 Bedouin-style desert tents and rooms in pre-fabricated fan village cabins.
Pre-booked accommodation is mandatory for ticketed fans who plan to stay overnight in Qatar during the World Cup, Al Jaber said. Without accommodation, most fans won’t be issued a mandatory fan ID, which doubles as a visa to Qatar.
To operate hotel-style rooms in homes and apartments will be a massive logistical challenge for Accor, Bazin said.
The hotel operator is shipping 500 containers from China, filled with furnishings, from sofas to silverware. Accor will redeploy its fleet of trucks, busses and cars from Mecca in neighboring Saudi Arabia to overcome an expected shortage of available vehicles in Qatar during the tournament, he said. It has also sourced a local company to launder the 150 tons of dirty linen the operation will generate each day. — Reuters
Nadal overcomes third set wobble to reach second round
LONDON — Rafael Nadal made a stuttering but rousing return to the grass on Tuesday, beating 41st-ranked Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in Wimbledon’s first round to begin his campaign for a third Grand Slam title of the year.
The 36-year-old second seed, who has not played at Wimbledon since 2019 and stayed away from warm-up tournaments with a chronic foot problem, looked to be motoring through the match until a series of unforced errors allowed Cerundolo back in.
“It is not a surface that we play very often, especially in my case in the last three years I didn’t put any foot on the grass,” Nadal told the Centre Court crowd.
“Every day is a test and I am at the beginning of the tournament and the difficult circumstances (under which) I arrived here.”
Nadal won the first set after uncharacteristically coming into the net and forcing Cerundolo to hit a forehand wide. A little skip and a fist pump and the Spaniard was on his way.
He won the second set after breaking serve in the sixth game and serving out to love.
But the 23-year-old Cerundolo, who broke into the top 100 only in February, upped the tempo in the third set and found the lines with his booming forehand to put the twice Wimbledon champion on the back foot.
Nadal, who has also won 20 other Grand Slam titles, looked tired in the face of the onslaught, losing the set under pressure with a backhand into the net. He then dropped his serve in the fourth as Cerundolo’s confidence and energy increased.
But Nadal, who won the Australian Open in January and the French Open earlier this month, is nothing if not a fighter. He regrouped and used all his experience to battle back.
Cheered on by a packed Centre Court, he broke the serve of his now nervous opponent twice to seal the match and set up a second-round tie with Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania.
“Three years without being here… it is amazing to be back and I can’t thank (people) enough for the support,” said Nadal. — Reuters
John Wall will receive buyout, join Clippers
John Wall will get a buyout from the Houston Rockets of the final year on his contract and will sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, Yahoo! Sports and ESPN reported on Monday.
The five-time All-Star exercised his $47.4-million option for 2022-23, but the reports indicated he will give back around $7 million for the right to hit free agency. It’s the same amount he would receive if he signs elsewhere for the midlevel exception.
Wall, 31, was once one of the NBA’s top performers, but injuries waylaid his career. He appeared in a combined 73 games in his last two seasons with the Washington Wizards, 2017-18 and 2018-19.
His four-year, $170-million extension kicked in at the beginning of the 2019-20 campaign, but he missed all of that season because of a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Wall was dealt to the Rockets on Dec. 2, 2020, along with a 2023 lottery-protected first-round pick in exchange for Russell Westbrook. Wall played in 40 games for Houston the rest of that season, averaging 20.6 points, 6.9 as-sists and 3.2 rebounds.
He made $44.3 million in 2021-22 but never saw a minute of action, with the Rockets preferring to pay him not to use him as they focused on younger players. The team reportedly attempted to trade Wall during the season but was unsuccessful.
Selected first overall by the Wizards in the 2010 draft out of Kentucky, Wall spent nine years in Washington, averaging 19 points, 9.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds.
The Clippers (42-40) finished in eighth place in the Western Conference in the just-concluded season but failed to make the playoffs after losing twice in the play-in event. One of their two stars, Kawhi Leonard, missing the entire season due to a knee injury, while Paul George was limited to 31 games because of an elbow ailment. — Reuters
LRT-1 Cavite, North-South Rail top pending projects at handover
The major projects still pending at the time of the handover to the new administration include the Light Rail Transit-1 (LRT-1) Cavite Extension and the North-South Commuter Railway, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said on Wednesday.
The DoTr issued the list of projects in a statement after Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade briefed his successor, the new administration’s nominee for the top transport job, Jaime J. Bautista, on Tuesday.
The meeting between Mr. Tugade and Mr. Bautista, former Philippine Airlines president and chief operating officer, took place in Clark, officials said.
“(It was a) transition briefing (on) completed and ongoing projects and some other issues concerning DoTr matters for turnover, including (projects) for implementation and those that can be continued by the incoming (Secretary),” Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines Chief of Staff Danjun G. Lucas said in a phone message to BusinessWorld when asked about the meeting.
The North-South Rail line has three components: the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark Phase 1 Project (Manila to Malolos segment); PNR Clark Phase 2 (Bulacan to Clark segment); and the PNR Calamba segment, the DoTr said.
It added that Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 7 and the Common Station are near completion.
Other projects in the pipeline are the PNR Bicol line, the Mindanao Railway Phase 1, the LRT-2 West Extension Project, the MRT-4 Project, and the Subic Clark Railway Project.
In a statement on his Facebook page, Mr. Tugade said of the recent meeting: “We hope for continuity of projects in the new administration and looking forward to more game-changing projects and programs in the transportation sector that will make the lives of the Filipino convenient and comfortable.”
“Buo po ang aking suporta at tiwala sa bagong mamumuno sa Kagawaran. Handa ’ho akong tumulong sa abot ng aking makakaya habang patuloy ang transition period sa papasok na administrasyon at mga opisyal nito (I have full confidence in the new leadership at the department. I am willing to do my utmost to help during the transition period),” he added.
The department said it recently started work on reviving the PNR San Pablo-Lucena Line, and started underground construction on the Metro Manila Subway.
“We have also completed the LRT-2 East Extension and the massive rehabilitation of the DoTr MRT-3 rail lines,” the department said. — Arjay L. Balinbin
GOCC dividend performance up 127% during Duterte term
Dividends issued by government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) amounted to P374.54 billion over the course of the current administration, up 127% from the dividends generated during the predecessor government, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.
In a statement, the DoF said the dividend total incorporates all funds remitted to the Bureau of the Treasury from July 2016 to date.
The dividend totals were compiled in a report prepared by the DoF Corporate Affairs Group for Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III.
Dividends generated by GOCCs during the term of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno S.C. Aquino III, amounted to P164.81 billion.
The growth in Duterte-era dividends was driven by stimulus legislation that required GOCCs to remit more than their usual share of dividends. At the height of the pandemic in 2020, GOCCs generated P135.13 billion worth of dividends.
Republic Act No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, authorized the President to reallocate resources, including unutilized or unreleased subsidies and transfers, held by GOCCs and National Government agencies, for use in containing the pandemic.
In normal conditions, RA 7656 or the Dividends Law requires GOCCs to hand over at least 50% of their profits to the Treasury, though pandemic spending requirements forced a number of GOCCs to raise or front-load their payouts.
The strength of the dividend performance reflects “the rigorous fiscal discipline and responsibility instilled… in the state corporate sector on (Mr. Duterte’s) watch,” the DoF said. — Diego Gabriel C. Robles
BPOs call for legislation spelling out freedom of choice on IPA registration
The IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) said that economic zone locators should be given the freedom to choose which investment promotion agency (IPA) to register with, calling the process of switching to another IPA onerous.
IBPAP President Jack Madrid said in a statement on Wednesday that the industry, also known as the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, wants this freedom to be spelled out in legislation in order to avoid situations where transfers to another IPA are required, disrupting business operations.
Mr. Madrid said where to register is a complex decision that will be influenced by an individual company’s business goals, priorities, and investment criteria.
“While incentives have been made uniform across the different IPAs… the policies that govern the administration and supervision of registered enterprises among IPAs are not uniform and transfers of registration from one IPA to another may not be as easy,” Mr. Madrid said.
He was addressing proposals to make the industry register exclusively with the Board of Investments (BoI), in order to introduce flexibility in the regulation of such companies by allowing one IPA to diverge from the provisions of the law governing tax incentives, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act.
He added that the adoption of hybrid work over the long term can be better addressed by the amendment of Section 309 of CREATE.
The industry has been in a standoff with incentive-granting agencies over remote work arrangements, which were adopted as a temporary measure during the pandemic but not extended this year. Economic zone locators are required to perform 100% of their work onsite or risk losing their tax incentives.
“If mass transfer of registration from one IPA to another is mandated, RBEs will be subjected to an arduous task that not everybody may be willing to take for the time being and under the present circumstances. This appears contrary to the ease of doing business principles that the government has been trying so hard to establish,” he added.
Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director-General Charito B. Plaza said she supports freedom of choice on IPAs.
She was responding to a recent proposal from Albay Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda to make the BoI specialize in registering information technology and business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) companies.
Ms. Plaza said investors must be given the “freedom to choose which IPA (they) would want to register and be (transparent about) the benefits or considerations of registering with a specific IPA.”
According to Mr. Salceda, IT-BPO firms need to transition to a more flexible system of enhanced deductions, whether they are classified as exporters or registered domestic enterprises.
“The proposal to let IT-BPO companies transfer from the PEZA to BoI is misleading because, under the CREATE Law, all IPAs now have the same incentives to offer to investors and locators both as exporters or domestic-market registered business enterprises (RBEs),” Ms. Plaza said.
Ms. Plaza said that concerns about work-from-home arrangements should not be used as a pretext for IT-BPOs to transfer to other IPAs.
The government recently required registered IT-BPOs operating in economic zones to return to 100% on-site work or risk losing their tax incentives. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave