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Raslag shares rise on market debut

RENEWABLE energy firm Raslag Corp. saw its share price jump by 2.5% or by five centavos to finish at P2.05 on its listing at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Monday.

“The listing of Raslag will grow the portfolio of companies in the Renewable Energy space in our stock market. As an advocate of sustainability, being a member of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, the PSE understands the crucial need for renewables in the fight against climate change,” PSE President and Chief Executive Ramon S. Monzon said in a statement.

The firm listed 1.5 billion shares and raised P700 million from its initial public offering (IPO). It will trade under the ticker ASLAG.

Proceeds from the offering will be used to fund the equity portion of a 35.1-megawatt (MW) RASLAG-4 solar photovoltaic plant’s development and construction, and the pre-development work for RASLAG-5’s nearly 60-MW, as well as other upcoming solar projects.

According to Mr. Monzon, the firm received a “warm reception” from the local small investors (LSI).

“The LSI tranche of Raslag was oversubscribed by 1.5 times, making it the fourth IPO to record an LSI oversubscription since the launch of the PSE Electronic Allocation System (PSE EASy),” he added.

Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said that value turnover on the local market was concentrated on Raslag closing above IPO price.

“Investors were receptive to the company’s expansion plans given the increased demand for reliable sources of energy in the medium and long term,” he said in a Viber message.

“In general, the global pressures to take a hard shift to renewables to ease the effects of climate change are shifting the limelight to alternative sources of energy, boding well for Raslag and its business model,” he added.

Raslag is a domestic renewable energy developer founded in Angeles City, Pampanga, by Peter G. Nepomuceno and Conrado D. Pecjo, the business development manager of Angeles Power, Inc. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

ABS-CBN ‘exploring’ various partnership opportunities

PHILSTAR

ABS-CBN Corp. said on Monday that it is exploring various partnership opportunities that will enable it to share its content both locally and globally.

“Our goal as storytellers and content creators is to bring Filipino stories to audiences here and all over the world. This is the reason we are exploring content distribution opportunities that allow us to reach wider audiences and pursue our mission of service,” ABS-CBN said in a statement, responding to reports over the weekend that it was in an evolving discussion with free-to-air television network TV5.

“Over the recent past, we have announced various local and international partnerships, including our content agreement with TV5. We continue to explore various partnership opportunities as they become available to us,” it added.

The company produces content and distributes programs through its partnerships with A2Z Channel 11 and TV5, Kapamilya Online Live on Facebook and YouTube, and streaming service iWantTFC, among others.

Under President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s government, lawmakers who supported him rejected the franchise application of ABS-CBN, the former rival of GMA Network, Inc. in the broadcasting space. The House of Representatives committee on legislative franchises deemed the broadcast network critical of Mr. Duterte and “undeserving” of the privilege.

The media company saw its attributable net loss for the first quarter of 2022 narrow to P1.38 billion from a loss of P1.95 billion the previous year.

The company’s total revenues for the quarter climbed 18.6% to P4.65 billion from P3.92 billion in the same period in 2021. Its total expenses remained at P5.77 billion.

Advertising revenues increased 59.8% to P1.49 billion from P929 million previously, while consumer sales grew 5.8% to P3.17 billion from P2.99 billion.

The company said the increase in advertising revenues is attributable to both political placements and growth in regular advertising as it continues to expand its coverage through partnerships.

On Monday, its shares jumped 2.21% or 22 centavos to close at P10.16 apiece at the stock exchange. — Arjay L. Balinbin

DMW, St. Luke’s sign Aseana lease contract

D.M. WENCESLAO & Associates, Inc. (DMW) announced in a disclosure on Monday that it signed a contract of lease with St. Luke’s Medical Center, Inc. (SLMC) for a 13,896 square meter (sq.m.) land in Aseana City, Parañaque.

“An integral part of holistic estate development is anticipating the needs of our locators. Immediate access to world-class healthcare institutions is a fundamental need that we have identified at the onset,” DMW Chief Executive Delfin Angelo C. Wenceslao said in a statement.

“SLMC Aseana City solidifies Aseana’s status as a top mixed-use central business district (CBD) destination of major brands and best-in-class institutions in the country,” he added.

The lease period is 50 years commencing in June 2022, bringing DMW’s total leased out land to 164,895 sq.m.

“The rapidly growing Aseana City provides a compelling platform for SLMC to expand and scale operations to capture the robust healthcare growth in the country and in Southeast Asia,” SLMC President and Chief Executive Arturo S. De La Peña said.

“With proximate critical infrastructure connecting Aseana City to other Metro Manila CBDs, growing population centers south of Metro Manila, and to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, SLMC Aseana City will be at the forefront of delivering high-quality patient-centered care and improving health outcomes through advanced technology,” he added.

SLMC’s two facilities in Quezon City and Taguig have a combined total of 1,146 rooms, with over 60,000 average in-patient admissions and 2.7 million outpatient consultations annually.

DMW is an integrated property developer focused on land reclamation, construction, and real estate development. It owns and develops Aseana City, a development project with a total land area of 107.5 hectares.

Since 1965, DMW has reclaimed more than 2.4 million sq.m. of land; leased or developed 250,000 sq.m. of land and buildings; and completed over 140 construction and infrastructure projects including large, complex government developments throughout the country.

At the stock exchange on Monday, DMW shares dropped by 0.29% or two centavos to close at P6.78. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

CREIT inks deal to buy Surallah site of solar farm

CITICORE Energy REIT Corp. has forged a deed of absolute sale on Monday to acquire a property in South Cotabato from an affiliate for around P753.8 million.

In a disclosure, the listed real estate investment trust said that the acquisition would allow it “to generate leasing income over a long-term period of 25 years, adding 20% to its total leased area.”

The parcel of land it acquired is in the province’s Surallah town and has an area of 79,997 square meters (sq.m.). It was bought from Citicore Solar South Cotabato, Inc.

The property is the site of a 6.23-megawatt-peak (MWp) solar power plant, which was commissioned on Dec. 9, 2015. It was paid in cash upon the execution of the deed of absolute sale.

Citicore Solar South Cotabato is wholly owned by Sikat Solar Holdco, Inc., which is a unit of Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC). CREC owns 47.63% of CREIT.

CREIT said that together with the acquisition in a 253,880-sq.m. property in Bulacan, the South Cotabato property will allow the company to generate leasing income for 25 years.

The two properties will contribute 21% to CREIT’s total lease revenue and bring total operating capacity of all its tenants to 145 MW of direct current (dc) from the company’s pre-initial public offering capacity of 124 MWdc. 

In the first quarter, CREIT recorded a net income of P300.3 million, more than 12 times higher than the P23.52 million posted a year ago, as it began to realize rental income from its assets leased out to solar plant operators.

The profit jump comes as the company’s gross revenues surged by nearly 470% to P331.79 million, which largely came from lease income from various solar plant companies.

“With an established list of tenants operating in a cycle-resilient industry, CREIT is optimistic in generating recurring green sources of lease revenues, translating to increasing distributable income and attractive dividend yields to our shareholders,” said CREIT President and Chief Executive Officer Oliver Y. Tan.

The company’s board of directors approved the declaration of cash dividends P0.044 per share, which is payable on June 24.

CREIT has a five-year road map that targets 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity by 2025. It said solar farm assets that meet its investment criteria “are scheduled to be acquired and infused” into the company once completed and operational.

On Monday, shares in the company slipped by 1.57% or four centavos to close at P2.51 apiece. — VVS

Top Gun: Maverick scores $86M in massive second weekend

TOM CRUISE in a scene from 2022’s blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick — IMDB.COM

LOS ANGELES — Top Gun: Maverick has the box office sizzling… again.

In its second weekend of release, Tom Cruise’s all-American action film collected a sensational $86 million from 4,751 North American theaters. Those returns rank among the top 10 highest-grossing second weekends in domestic box office history.

Pandemic times or not, the Paramount and Skydance release is eclipsing significant box office milestones at record speed. After only 10 days on the big screen, Top Gun: Maverick has generated $291 million in North America and $548.6 million globally.

Thanks to positive word of mouth, rapturous reviews, and premium screens, ticket sales for Top Gun: Maverick dropped only 32% from its $160 million debut over the long Memorial Day holiday weekend. It’s the smallest second-weekend decline for a movie that opened to $100 million or more, according to Comscore. That’s an especially impressive benchmark — even for a well-reviewed movie — because blockbusters, like Maverick, tend to be front-loaded and drop at least 50% after opening weekend. By comparison, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness each declined 67% in its sophomore outing, while Robert Pattinson’s The Batman fell 50% in its second weekend and Eternals plunged 62%.

Surprisingly, Top Gun: Maverick has already become Cruise’s highest-grossing film ever at the North American box office, overtaking the record previously held by 2005’s War of the Worlds ($243 million).

“It has never been more appropriate to say ‘the sky’s the limit’ for Top Gun: Maverick,” Paramount’s president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson wrote in a note to press.

Few films wanted to compete with Maverick for eyeballs, though director David Cronenberg’s body horror film Crimes of the Future opened in limited release. From Neon, the movie launched to $1.1 million from 773 theaters, translating to a decent $1,423 per location. Viggo Mortensen, Lea Seydoux, and Kristen Stewart star in the gruesome Crimes of the Future, which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Without any new releases from major studios, Top Gun: Maverick enjoyed free rein over North American box office charts. Holdovers titles Doctor Strange sequel, The Bob’s Burgers Movie, The Bad Guys, and Downton Abby: A New Era took spots two through five. — Reuters

Blue Eagles face Final 4-bound Lady Spikers, needing a big win

ATENEO Blue Eagles need a win to reinforce its playoff bid. — THE UAAP

By John Bryan Ulanday

REIGNING champion Ateneo rekindles its rivalry with Final Four-bound La Salle, needing a big win to reinforce its own playoff bid in the penultimate playdate of the UAAP Season 84 women’s volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena on Tuesday.

Clinging at fourth spot with a 7-5 card, the Blue Eagles vie for an inside track to the Final Four at 4 p.m. versus the Lady Spikers, who clinched their playoff ticket last week.

Adamson (6-6) and University of the Philippines (UP) (5-7), for their parts, aim to stay in the race in a crucial duel at 6:30 p.m. while Santo Tomas (8-4) bids to formalize its playoff entry at 10 a.m. against winless University of the East (UE) (0-12).

In the middle of those pivotal duels is the 12:30 p.m. outing of National University (NU) (12-0) against also-ran Far Eastern University (FEU) (1-11) with a win for the Lady Bulldogs moving them on the verge of securing an outright finals berth.

The spotlight, however, is on the Blue Eagles that have sharpened their claws with three straight victories to catch up in the airtight Final Four race.

“We’re slowly getting there, but it’s not yet done. We still have two more games and then doon namin made-determine if we’re on the right track,” said coach Oliver Almadro after clipping Adamson in a five-set thriller to own the fourth spot so far.

Against La Salle though, Ateneo braces for an even tougher challenge especially after a 25-22, 23-25, 18-25, 20-25 loss in the first round.

“Every UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) season, ang barometer is La Salle. They have a good program. They have a complete lineup, a deep bench and they are very well-coached. Gusto lang namin tignan kung ano kaya namin gawin and if we have the opportunity, we’ll take it,” he added.

Under the watch of coach Ramil de Jesus, La Salle is also riding on a four-game winning streak after trouncing UE over the weekend to fortify place at No. 2 and cruise to its 12th straight Final Four appearance.

Wesley So bows to Mamedyarov, but still in contention

TWO-TIME United States titlist Wesley So — FIDE

FOR THE first time in five rounds, Wesley So conceded a loss at the hands of Azeri Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in their Armageddon play in the Norway Chess in Stavanger on Monday.

Good thing, the Cavite-born, two-time United States titlist is still pretty much in the title hunt in spite of the heartbreaking result.

Mr. So succumbed to Mr. Mamedyarov in their tie-breaker game after a misstep in his attempt to gain an attack and the initiative led to the latter launching a vicious kingside attack instead.

When it was over, Mr. Mamedyarov was winning in all angles — position, material and time — before Mr. So resigned after 39 moves of their English encounter.

The loss, though, kept Mr. So in striking distance with solo leader Vishwanathan Anand of India and reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen as the former shares third with 8.5 points each.

Mr. Anand, a five-time world titlist, regained the No. 1 spot after slaying Mr. Carlsen in Armageddon to hike his output to 10 points, or half a point atop the latter with 9.5 points.

But there is still hope for Mr. So though as he still has games against players who are in the lower half of this 10-player field — Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, Aryan Tari of Norway, Wang Hao of China, and former No. 1 Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria.

Also, the tournament uses a novel scoring format where a win in standard is equivalent to three points while a victory and a defeat in Armageddon is worth 1.5 points and a point, respectively, which gives everyone including Mr. So a chance to storm back. — Joey Villar

Everything Everywhere All at Once hits PHL cinemas this month

A SCENE from the film Everything Everywhere All at Once

THE STUDIO behind such local films as Heneral Luna and Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral has secured the exclusive local distribution rights to the surprise hit multiverse comedy, Everything Everywhere All at Once.

TBA Studios will premiere A24’s sci-fi adventure in local cinemas on June 29.

The film stars Michelle Yeoh (Crazy Rich Asians, Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings) as an exhausted Laudromat owner named Evelyn who has trouble connecting with her family and paying her taxes. It doesn’t help that a variant of her happy go-lucky husband takes over and introduces her to an alternate universe. Evelyn — and versions of who she would have been if she had made different life choices (including one whose fingers are Vienna sausages) — find themselves on a quest to save everything.

The film is directed by brothers Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as the Daniels (The Swiss Man). Joining the cast are Stephanie Hsu (TV’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Ke Huy Quan (The Goonies), Jenny Slate (Venom), Harry Shum, Jr. (Crazy Rich Asians) with James Hong (Kung Fu Panda), and Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween).

The film is independent studio A24’s highest grossing title, having earned $67 million in the global box office so far.

Everything Everywhere All at Once crossed $60 million in the North American box office in its 11th weekend of release. Per A24, the genre-bending Everything Everywhere All at Once is expected to surpass Hereditary ($80 million) to become A24’s highest-grossing film worldwide. It’s already the studio’s highest-grossing film at the US box office, recently passing Uncut Gems ($50 million).

The film has a “Tomatometer” score of 95% from film review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. Empire Magazine critic Ben Travis calls the film “A pure firework display of technical bravado, wild invention, emotional storytelling, comedic genius, action mastery and outstanding performances, Everything Everywhere All At Once is everything cinema was invented for.” Vanity Fair’s Maureen Ryan notes that “Yeoh imbues Evelyn with moving shades of melancholy, regret, resolve and growing curiosity. She’s the kind of woman the world (and Hollywood) routinely overlooks, but Yeoh makes her embrace of lead-character energy positively gripping.”

Everything Everywhere All At Once marks TBA Studios’ first distribution deal with A24. TBA Studios previously announced acquiring the distribution rights of two other international titles: the rock ‘n’ roll documentary Fanny: The Right To Rock, and Cannes Film Festival top prize winner Triangle of Sadness.

“Filipino movie audiences deserve to see this film on the big screen. It teaches us to believe in ourselves, keep going despite adversities, and embrace everything everywhere all at once. We’re more than glad to bring this one-of-a-kind movie experience to the country and we look forward to everyone’s support as we continue to bring the best of global cinema to the Philippines and other territories,” Daphne O. Chiu, TBA Studios Executive Vice-President and General Manager, said in a statement. — with Reuters

ACEN cites adverse market for canceled swap deal

AC ENERGY Corp. (ACEN) said on Monday that it would continue to explore other means to unload of its diesel assets and its ownership in a petroleum exploration firm after it decided to cancel a property-for-share swap deal that would have realized the transition.

In a disclosure on Monday, the Ayala-led energy platform said the swap agreement between ACEN and its unit ACE Enexor, Inc. had been canceled “due to unfavorable market conditions.”

“Transaction would have required a follow-on offering and a stock rights offering, which will be challenging to execute under current market conditions,” it said.

ACEN said it remains committed to attain 100% renewable energy generation by 2025.

On Friday, ACEN disclosed that its board of directors and that of ACE Enexor had approved the cancellation of the property-for-share swap between the two companies.

The decision comes months after the two approved Oct. 18, 2021 the swap deal that involved the transfer to ACE Enexor by ACEN of its direct interest in Palawan 55 Exploration & Production Corp., which in turn has an ownership interest in Service Contract 55 (SC 55), an exploration block near the West Philippine Sea.

The swap also involved the transfer of ACEN’s ownership interests in various diesel assets, namely: Bulacan Power Generation Corp., CIP II Power Corp., and One Subic Power Generation Corp.

It would also have transferred ACEN’s interest in Ingrid3 Power Corp., which is a special purpose vehicle for a potential gas power generation project.

In exchange for the assets, ACE Enexor was to issue 339,076,058 primary shares to ACEN.

ACEN said that during the past few months, the management teams of the two companies “have exerted diligent and good faith efforts in planning and mapping out the implementation of the various steps needed to comply with the foregoing requirements.”

“However, this has proven to be very challenging given the economic uncertainties due to the continuing pandemic and exacerbated by the Ukraine-Russia conflict,” it added.

The company said ACE Enexor would continue to explore “relevant opportunities in energy transition space, including the opportunities under [SC 55] as management continues to look for the right partner for this endeavor.”

ACE Enexor is majority owned by ACEN. Its primary business is the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas through interests in petroleum contracts.

ACEN has about 3,800 megawatts (MW) of attributable capacity in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Australia. It aspires to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia as it aims to reach 5,000 MW in renewables capacity by 2025.

As of last count, the company’s renewable share of capacity is close to 90%, which is said to be among the highest in the region. ACEN is committed to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

ACEN shares closed higher by 2.81% to P7.31 each, while those of ACE fell by 18.68% to P10.36 apiece. — Victor V. Saulon

Reyes vows to do his best as bigger battles loom for Gilas

GILAS coach/program director Chot Reyes — SBP

GILAS Pilipinas coach/program director Chot Reyes is dedicated to staying the course amid widespread criticism in the aftermath of the Nationals’ shocking defeat in the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG).

Mr. Reyes, who even described himself as “the most hated man in Philippine basketball,” vowed to do his best as Gilas moves forward to the bigger battles, including the 2023 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup.

“All we can do after an incident like that is to just stand up,” Mr. Reyes said after his PBA club TnT opened its Philippine Cup title defense with a 78-72 win over Magnolia on Sunday night.

“Ang daming nagtatanong ‘paano ka ba bumangon?’ Sabi ko ‘simple lang, bumangon ako, I just stand up.’ Nobody else can pull myself up except myself. My support system is there — the team, the players — and as long as I’m doing the job I’ve been asked to do, I’m going to do it to the best of my ability, regardless of what other people say.”

After the SEAG, Mr. Reyes returned to the Tropang Giga think tank but said he continued to oversee the buildup of the Gilas team temporarily handled by Serbian coach Nenad Vučinić for the coming FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers window as well as that of the Gilas Under 16 (U16) squad.

He shared that keeping himself busy with TnT and Gilas men’s and U16, as well as staying away from social media, helped him move on from the Hanoi setback.

With sights on the 2023 world meet, Mr. Reyes assured the “best possible squad” will be formed there.

“There’s already a program broken down month to month all the way to 2023,” Mr. Reyes said when he guested on the Power and Play program on Radyo Singko. “We’re just asking for patience. August 2023 (FIBA World Cup), that’s the real goal. We’ll put the best team possible for 2023.”

Puregold Channel premieres Ang Babae Sa Likod Ng Face Mask

COMEDIAN and former Wowowin variety show host Herlene Budol and actor Joseph Marco star as a couple in Puregold Channel’s romantic comedy, Ang Babae sa Likod ng Face Mask.

The 13-episode series is produced by filmmaker Chris Cahilig and directed by Victor Villanueva.

Popularly known as “Hipon Girl,” this is Ms. Budol’s first leading role. Mr. Marco is known for his work on Sabel, Honesto, Pasion de Amor, and Wildflower.

The series follows Malta (Ms. Budol), a cashier who works hard to support her mother, Madam Baby (played by Mickey Ferriols). One day at work, Malta meets the handsome but unlucky in love Sieg (Mr. Marco). It’s love at first sight for Sieg, who is mesmerized by Malta’s eyes which is the only part of her face he can see as the rest is covered by her face mask.

“Ang classic ng kuwento (It is a classic story),” Ms. Budol said in a statement. “Nakakakilig, nakakatawa, lahat ng gusto mo sa isang series, meron kami rito (It’s romantic, [and] funny. It has all the things you want from a series).”

Ang Babae sa Likod ng Face Mask is the latest in Puregold’s online series that take inspiration from classic Filipino TV.

“The ever-present face mask is now a symbol of hope and self-love for our lead in this new series. And we hope to entertain a large number of viewers online, especially given the Pinoy’s fondness for light, romantic comedies,” Puregold marketing manager Ivy Piedad said in a statement.

Ang Babae sa Likod ng Face Mask streams for free on YouTube Puregold Channel every Saturday beginning June 11, at 6 p.m. — MAPS

NCR building materials price growth fastest in over 5 years

A WORKER cuts metal in a construction area in Binondo, Manila, March 24, 2022. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ RUSSELL PALMA

By Ana Olivia A. Tirona, Researcher

RETAIL PRICES of construction materials in the National Capital Region (NCR) grew to its fastest pace in more than five years in February amid supply chain constraints, preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.

According to the PSA, Metro Manila’s construction materials retail price index (CMRPI) quickened to 3.3% in February from 3% in January. This was higher than the 1.1% print seen in the same month last year.

This was the highest year-on-year growth for building materials prices in NCR in more than five years, or since the 3.5% in November 2016. The February figure also matched the 3.3% in July 2018.

Asian Institute of Management Economist John Paolo R. Rivera attributed the February print to supply chain limitations brought about by the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

“Demand is also high given a more open economy with increased activities, particularly for public and private construction firms,” Mr. Rivera said in a text message.

The Philippine government eased restriction levels in February, which allowed greater mobility and economic activity as COVID-19 cases declined.

“Construction will continue to recover to pre-pandemic levels as demand for both commercial and residential properties will also continue given increased economic activities in urban areas,” Mr. Rivera said.

In the year to date, the CMRPI averaged 3.2%, faster than the 1.2% average in the same period last year.

The February result was driven by faster growth in painting materials and related compounds (2.3% in February from 1.9% in January), plumbing materials (4.5% from 3.8%), and tinsmithing materials (5.2% from 4.2%).

Meanwhile, slower growth in prices were seen in masonry materials (1.9% from 2%) and miscellaneous construction materials (3.4% from 4.4%).

Mr. Rivera sees building activities in both commercial and residential to increase given a sustained economic recovery notwithstanding interruptions and disruptions in the current situation.

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