NESTLÉ PHILIPPINES, Inc. and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) have entered into a partnership to train agricultural workers in sustainable coffee farming in the southern Philippines, with the aim of increasing the domestic supply of coffee beans.
On Wednesday, Nestlé and TESDA signed a memorandum of agreement for an initiative called the Coffee Production Level II Program and Scholarship, a 176-hour certification course offered to coffee farmers in Bukidnon and Sultan Kudarat, which produce 80% of the country›s Robusta beans. The program also hopes to aid indigenous people (IP).
During the signing on Wednesday, Nestlé Philippines CEO Kais Marzouki said: “We are grateful to be working with TESDA to promote entrepreneurship in the agriculture sector and enhance the competencies of the farmers.”
The program also aims to boost the supply of Robusta coffee which had been declining for years before a recent improvement.
“We will enable the farmers and our IP coffee growers to produce quality beans that are at par with the standards of Nestlé Philippines. We will also be able to help them increase their yields and pursue a more sustainable livelihood. This partnership will scale the impact of the work we do in TESDA for the farmers and IPs,” TESDA Director-General Isidro S. Lapeña said in a statement Wednesday.
TESDA Deputy Director General Lina C. Sarmiento said the program will accommodate an initial 400 scholars at a cost of P5.1 million. She added coffee agronomists, technicians, and others will be trained as trainers for the program.
“TESDA has allocated 200 training slots for farmer beneficiaries at the Bukidnon Integrated Coffee Center… In Sultan Kudarat, 200 farmer scholars from five key coffee communities in the municipalities of Esperanza and Kalamansig will also be trained in Coffee Production Level II,” she said. — Gillian M. Cortez
GREAT Deals E-Commerce Corp. announced on Wednesday that it raised $30 million (P1.4 billion) in its Series B funding round led by logistics firm Fast Group.
The Philippine-based e-commerce company will deploy this growth capital in technology development and the construction of an automated fulfillment center, Great Deals said in an e-mailed statement.
“Both [are] critical to meet the growing demand in e-commerce and to level-up the game in customer experience,” it added.
Aside from Fast Group that is supported by private equity and investment advisory firm CVC Capital Partners, Navegar, which is also a private equity firm that invested $12 million in Great Deals in the Series A round, also contributed to the latest funding round.
Great Deals Founder and Chief Executive Officer Steve Sy said, “With this funding and strategic support from our new investors, this opens new opportunities to drive forward Instant Commerce — delivery under one hour, wherever you are.”
“We can reach and serve more Filipinos faster and safer. That is the Next Big Thing that can boost further the digital economy in our country,” he added.
Part of the capital raised in this latest round will be deployed to construct a fulfillment center. “It will seat on a 10-hectare property, of which 70,000 square meters will be built into an e-fulfillment center around the Bulacan area. This will bring 5,000 new jobs than can fulfill one million orders a day,” Mr. Sy said.
The corporation works with the likes of both GrabMart and Food Panda to provide instant commerce, which promises delivery within one hour.
For his part, Fast Group President and Chief Executive Officer William B. Chiongbian II said his company sees “a lot of synergies” with the e-commerce company in building capability.
“This partnership also marks Fast’s first M&A transaction since CVC’s investment less than 6 months ago,” said Brice Cu, managing director at CVC.
Great Deals was established in 2014. It offers end-to-end business solutions ranging from digital marketing, content creation, storefront management, web design, business analytics and customer service to warehousing and peak-scaling fulfillment.
Great Deals caters to both local and multinational brands. — Arjay L. Balinbin
IN CELEBRATION of International Museum Day, Ayala Museum will present “Where is the Filipino: An Interactive 8-Bit Tour Around the Philippines” on May 22 to 30. This unique experience, in partnership with Globe, takes viewers through multiple stops around the archipelago, encountering indigenous and ethnographic artifacts from the Ayala Museum collection along the way. This free virtual tour of the Ayala Museum collection provides an opportunity to situate these objects in their places of origin, familiarizing the public with the various ethnolinguistic groups represented in the collection and their material culture. The tour will be held on Gather.Town, an online social platform that allows visitors to interact with each other, control an avatar, and explore a 2D map — an experience reminiscent of playing classic 8-bit games during the 1990s. Register at www.ayalamuseum.org/IMD2021 or http://bit.ly/IMD2021Reg. The platform can accommodate 25 users at a time. For more information and instructions, visitwww.ayalamuseum.org/IMD2021 or contact Ayala Museum through any of their social media platforms.
Children’s classic films on KTX.ph
ABS-CBN Film Restoration presents digitally restored classic children’s films which will be streamed at the Sagip Pelikula Festival on KTX.ph. The restored films are Ang Pulubi at ang Prinsesa, Kokey, Magic Temple, Cedie, Hiling, Sarah… ang Munting Prinsesa, and Ang TV Movie: The Adarna Adventure. The films are available to stream until June 12. Tickets are priced at P100 and P150. For more details on its upcoming film showings, follow ABS-CBN Film Restoration on Facebook at facebook.com/filmrestorationabscbn.
Eurovision Song Contest 2021: Open Up
AFTER its cancellation due to the COVID-19 outbreak last year, the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 will be held at the Ahoy Rottendam in the Netherlands. The Grand Finals will be held on May 22, with 25 finalists out of 39 participating countries. Chantal Janzen, Jan Smit, Edsilia Rombley and Nikkie de Jager (NikkieTutorials) will return as program presenters. The grand finals will be livestreamed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/eurovision.
Content creators hold meeting
THE CREATOR and Influencer Council of the Philippines (CICP) mounts its virtual General Membership Meeting (GMM)on May 25, 6 p.m.,via CICP’s Facebook LIVE. Among the topics to be covered in CICP’s May GMM will be the journey of Philippine actors Bea Alonzo, Dimples Romana, and Enchong Dee as content creators, and the so-called Great Divide between celebrities and content creators or influencers. There will be a keynote speech by Luis Buenaventura on Non-Fungible Tokens or NFT. Joining the event as Fireside Chat Moderator will be TV host and actor Robi Domingo, while content creator Kimpoy Feliciano will be the host. Also making an appearance will be CICP President Jim Guzman and CICP Director for Ethics & Governance JJ Disini. The meeting is free and open to the public.
TAN-LED Alliance Global Group, Inc. (AGI) finished the first quarter with P2.6 billion in net income to owners, a 13% decline from P3 billion in the same period last year after renewed pandemic restrictions hit its businesses.
“During the first two months of the year, most of our businesses have already rebounded, sustaining the momentum achieved during the holiday season,” Kevin Andrew L. Tan, chief executive officer of AGI, said in a statement on Thursday.
“However, the momentum has been halted temporarily due to new restrictions imposed as a result of surges in new cases at the end of March,” Mr. Tan added.
The listed conglomerate said its net profit slid 20% to P3.2 billion from last year’s P4 billion, while consolidated revenues decreased by 16% to P31.8 billion from P38 billion.
“Thankfully, our international liquor operations continued to deliver strong results, supported by the reopening of the various economies across the globe and the improving traction of its brands in the international market,” Mr. Tan said.
Spirits manufacturer Emperador, Inc.’s net attributable profit soared by 43% to P2.1 billion in the first quarter from P1.46 billion in the same period last year. Its topline climbed 13% to P12.1 billion, which is “among its best performance to-date” driven by global sales.
“Note that Emperador’s diversified whisky and brandy portfolio continues to gain strong international presence — particularly in the Americas, United Kingdom and the rest of Europe, as well as Asia, particularly in China,” Alliance Global said.
Meanwhile, the net attributable profit of property firm Megaworld Corp. declined by 33% to P2.36 billion from P3.51 billion year on year. Without disclosing comparative figures, the company said it is a four percent improvement compared with the previous quarter.
Megaworld’s topline also fell by 33% to P10.11 million from P15.08 million. Real estate sales amounted to P5.9 billion amid higher project completion, reservation sales totaled P20.7 billion, and it finished the quarter with P3.1 billion in rental income.
Resorts World Manila owner and operator Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc. incurred a P1.1-billion net loss during the period, inching up last year’s P1-billion loss. Gross revenues went down by 24% to P5.2 billion year on year, but AGI noted that it is 13% higher from the previous quarter.
The gaming segment of Travellers International generated P4.6 billion in gross revenues for the three-month period, while non-gaming revenues amounted to P633 million. Meanwhile, its hotel operations saw improved occupancy rates to 65%.
The net attributable income of McDonald’s Philippines operator Golden Arches Development Corp. (GADC) declined by 32% in the first quarter to P73 million from P108 million a year ago. The company said without disclosing figures that its EBITDA (earnings before income, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) improved by 30% year on year.
GADC is a long-term partnership between AGI and the George Yang Group, holding the exclusive franchise to operate McDonald’s stores in the Philippines.
It closed the quarter with 655 stores under its belt, down from 669 stores a year ago after closing down 30 branches last year due to expired leases and concerns surrounding financial sustainability. This was offset by the launch of 16 new stores despite the pandemic.
Alliance Global said the pandemic taught the group “to be relentlessly creative and innovative in executing and modifying some of [their] strategies” for recovery.
“We are very optimistic for the next three quarters as we look forward to an accelerated vaccine rollout that would allow business activities to pick up,” Mr. Tan said.
Alliance Global Group saw its stocks drop by 0.38% at the local bourse on Thursday, closing at P10.40 apiece from P10.44. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte
EAST WEST Banking Corp. booked a lower net income in the first quarter due to a decline in interest earnings and trading gains. — BW FILE PHOTO
EAST WEST Banking Corp. (EastWest Bank) saw its net income drop by 10% in the first quarter due to lower interest earnings and trading gains, as well as increased expenses.
The bank said in a disclosure to the local bourse on Thursday that its net profit stood at P2 billion in the first three months of the year, declining from the P2.3 billion it booked in the same period in 2020.
This translated into a return of equity of 14.4%, down from 18% last year. Return on assets also dropped to 2.1% from 2.3%.
“The lower income was primarily driven by net interest income (NII), lower trading gains, and higher taxes. NII, the difference between interest income and interest expense, was lower due to lower volume of loans and fixed income securities,” EastWest Bank said in a statement.
“In 2020, banks were beset by higher provisions and substantial drop in loan growth; this was offset by higher net interest margins and higher trading gains,” EastWest Bank Chief Executive Officer Antonio C. Moncupa, Jr. was quoted as saying.
“For 2021, it seems that it will be lower provisions which will offset the drop in net interest margins and lower trading gains. Fortunately, EastWest as with the rest of the banks, have growing capital buffers which should allow the industry to remain resilient and help the economy recover once the virus is subdued,” Mr. Moncupa added.
The lender’s quarterly report showed its net interest income was at P5.91 billion in the first quarter, dropping by 11% from the P6.64 billion seen in the comparable year-ago period.
Loans and receivables went down by 11% to P232.1 billion, which the bank said was “mainly due to maturities and lower overall demand as businesses and households held off borrowing.” Consumer loans declined by 12% to P176.9 billion, while corporate loans dropped 10% to P56.8 billion.
It noted that the interest rate cap on credit cards imposed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) also contributed to the decline in its NII and caused its net interest margin to drop to 7.5% from 8.1%.
Meanwhile, EastWest Bank’s securities trading and foreign exchange gains stood at P854.1 million in the first quarter, “still higher than normal levels but 52% lower than Q1 2020.”
“The bank expects trading gains to normalize moving forward due to the steady level of interest rates. Last year, there was a sharp increase in trading gains because of the significant drop in interest rates as the BSP loosened monetary policy in response to the pandemic,” it said.
Total operating income was at P7.83 billion, 18% lower than the P9.57 billion seen in the same period in 2020.
Meanwhile, operating expenses excluding provisions for loan losses decreased by 7% to P4.2 billion.
This brought its cost-to-income ratio to 53.9%, up from 47.6% last year.
EastWest Bank said the improvement in its deposit mix in favor of low-cost current account, savings account or CASA deposits, as well the lower loan loss provisions due to base effects, helped offset the decline in its net interest income.
Deposits with the bank increased by 5% to P308.3 billion, with CASA deposits increasing by 9% to P215.8 billion. The CASA ratio improved to 70% from the previous year’s 67%. Time deposits dropped by 4% to P92.5 billion.
Meanwhile, its loan loss provisions declined to P723.1 million from P2.44 billion last year.
“Most of the pandemic-induced provisions have been booked in 2020. Unless the virus takes a turn for the worse and significantly infects more Filipinos, provisions for loan losses should be lower in 2021,” EastWest Chief Lending Officer, Jacqueline S. Fernandez added.
On the other hand, EastWest Bank’s capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratios improved to 14.4% and 13.2%, respectively, as of March, from 12.5% and 11.3% last year.
This, as its capital grew by 12% to P57.2 billion from P51.2 billion.
Meanwhile, total assets ended at P385.7 billion as of March, almost flat from the P384.1 billion seen a year ago.
The bank had a total of 392 branches as of March 31, with 213 of these stores in Metro Manila. Its automated teller machine (ATM) network was at 587, composed of 401 on-site ATMs and 186 off-site ATMs.
EastWest Bank shares closed at P9.40 apiece on Thursday, up by four centavos or by 0.43% from the previous day.
WITH over 23 million followers, Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS) marks another milestone as the most followed Philippine TV program on Facebook. Data as of May 13 showed KMJS’ official Facebook page leading Eat Bulaga and Wowowin which have 18.9 million and 14.7 million followers, respectively. This comes just over a month after KMJS surpassed its 22 million followers mark on the popular social media platform. Hosted by GMA News pillar Jessica Soho, the award-winning magazine TV show has tallyed over three million organic interactions including likes, comments, and shares per week. Just five months into 2021, KMJS has already recorded over half a billion video views on Facebook. Its top story on the platform is “Kinagat!” with over 20 million video views. This is followed by “Hating Kapatid” with over 19.9 million views and “Baby Switching (part 2)” with more than 16.7 million video views as of writing. KMJS is the longest running news magazine program in the country.
ABS-CBN focuses on new music with Fresh Take
ABS-CBN’s upcoming music show Fresh Take, hosted by Edward Barber, will feature singles by up-and-coming Filipino artists who will not only perform their latest singles but will alsoshare their passion for music and the stories behind their songs. The show will start airing in June on MYX and TFC. The first season is supported by SM Development Corp. which is also an advocate of original Filipino music. For updates, visit mytfc.com, emea.kapamilya.com, facebook.com/KapamilyaTFC, and facebook.com/myxglobal.
NovelHe’s into Hergets digital series
THE PRECIOUS Pages-LIB novel He’s into Her is now a digital series thanks to ABS-CBN Entertainment, Star Cinema and iWantTFC. The series follows two teens in a prestigious school played by Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano, who, despite their differences — he is the popular basketball varsity team captain, she is an ordinary new student finding her place in her new school — fall in love. He’s Into Her premieres outside the Philippines via Video On Demand on iWantTFC on May 28, and on TFC cable, satellite, and IPTV on May 30.
Sweet and Sour on Netflix
THE UPCOMING Netflix Korean original film Sweet & Sour depicts both the saccharine times of being in love as well as the acidic moments when facing bumps in a relationship. Jang Ki-yong and Chae Soo-bin play a couple end up in a long-distance relationship. Sweet & Sour premieres on June 4, 3 p.m., on Netflix.
WWF-PH celebrates anniversary with photo campaign
THE WORLD Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines celebrated the WWF network’s anniversary this 2021 by partnering with Project Headshot Clinic for a collaborative photo campaign. The campaign, entitled #OneWorld2021, asked WWF-Philippines’ supporters to submit their photos to Project Headshot Clinic, which digitally merged their profile pictures with nature and wildlife shots, turning them into works of art. The campaign is meant to highlight the diversity and inter-connectedness of nature while encouraging participants to become advocates of biodiversity through their social media posts and donations. A portion of proceeds from the campaign will support WWF-Philippines’ conservation initiatives.
We are a small, five-year-old factory that manufactures inexpensive but effective detergents for home and industrial use. Our challenge is how to discover, attract, and hire licensed chemists because our turnover is high. Could you please give us some advice? — Orange Juice.
A proud grandmother told her neighbors about her five-year-old granddaughter. Noticing something wrong with the way the girl was wearing her shoes, the grandmother told her: “Honey, you have your shoes on the wrong feet.” The child looked down and replied: “But, Grandma. What can I do? These are the only feet I’ve got.”
When an organization is small and new, it can encounter lots of issues that can be confusing for people to understand, just like the five-year-old in our story who doesn’t comprehend that shoes need to go into the “right” feet. Why are you having difficulty finding licensed chemists? You should be the first to know. Chemistry is a difficult field. Few young people are interested in taking it up as a career.
Also, major companies are cornering all the talent by offering them golden handcuffs. This is not to belittle your factory. Accept the fact that you are new in business and possibly too insignificant for young chemists (licensed or not) to consider. The new breed of chemists would want to be associated with major companies that can pay them well, give them learning opportunities, and provide a tremendous work experience.
TWIN STRATEGY But don’t take my word for it. Discover the root causes behind your hiring problem because you would be in a better position to understand. Look yourself in the mirror. Manage only what you can control and ignore those you can’t. Highlight your strengths as a small factory. What are the things that make your company competitive and make you an employer of choice?
You might discover that your weaknesses are few compared to your strengths. In response, explore the following strategies:
One, establish a long-term, “forward-hiring” program. What I propose is an improved apprenticeship system that allows incoming third-year chemistry students to become potential employees upon graduation and obtaining a government license. Inquire with various universities until you have a list of 20 students (depending on your budget and capacity) to report for work on a rotation basis so you can have at least one student every working day.
If you can manage it, increase the number to around 30 or even 40 as replacements for those who can’t meet your standards and to allow for possible manpower needs in an expansion.
They must be paid a reasonable cash allowance equivalent to the minimum wage, if not higher to cover their transportation and meals. It is the right time to impress upon them they’re dealing with a benevolent management. Make the right impression the first time.
Offer to pay the fourth-year tuition of academically outstanding interns.
Treat the students like family. Energize them. Give them proper care, the way you nurture young plants. In time, they will reciprocate with loyalty to your organization, regardless of its size.
Two, for the short term, poach talent. This can be done simultaneously with the “forward-hiring” program. Join and be active in professional organizations of chemists, like the Integrated Chemists of the Philippines and others. This way you can meet lots of people who can give advice and lead you to individuals you can pirate, whether they are seasoned or not.
You can also tap the services of balikbayan professionals who can be consultants depending on your specific needs. Your human resource manager and in-house chemists can help by directing you to various alumni organizations for the list of their graduates, if not other chemists from other companies, in and out of your industry.
Don’t disregard the potential contribution of current workers who can help with job referrals. Decentralize the search. Offer a tax-free reward of maybe P10,000 for every job applicant who passed the screening process. Your employees can do a lot by posting job vacancies on social media or elsewhere. It’s a small amount to pay.
RETENTION IS KEY Even if you’re successful in hiring chemists for your factory, it’s equally important to retain them for the long term. There’s nothing quite as disappointing as finding out that your chemists will stay only briefly before moving elsewhere. This can happen anytime.
Your management must be proactive in communicating with the chemists. Be alert. The signs are easy to detect. They can be seen in body language. Their passivity could be a warning sign; so can their lack of initiative in communicating their ideas and even complaints. Tardiness and failing to attend meetings are also red flags.
It always helps if management improves its active listening skills. Show interest in the chemists’ career goals. Offer encouragement. Every step of the way, be certain that what management says doesn’t sound phony.
LBC Express Holdings, Inc. saw a 21.5% decline in its first-quarter attributable net income despite higher revenues, mainly due to higher expenses.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, LBC Express said its attributable net income stood at P139.73 million, down from P177.89 million the previous year.
This is despite a 14.7% increase in the company’s revenues to P4.36 billion from P3.80 billion in the first quarter of 2020.
“Improvement of revenue is mainly from logistics segment with overall growth of 17%,” the company said.
“Increase in domestic revenue for logistics segment is 13% driven by additional 75 Philippine retail branches and improvement in sales performance of existing branches,” it added.
Total expenses rose 11.17% to P3.88 billion from P3.49 billion previously.
“Cost of delivery and remittance is higher relative to increase in volume,” the company noted.
“There is also a significant increase in outsourced manpower cost to cover operations in warehouses, which opened mid-2020,” it added.
It said depreciation and amortization increased by 26%, pertaining to amortization of right-of-use assets recognized during the period.
LBC Express Holdings shares closed 5.71% lower at P15.84 apiece on Thursday. — Arjay L. Balinbin
While the government and the private sector continue to directly source COVID-19 vaccines for Filipinos, senior executives of Republic Gas Corp. (Regasco) and South Pacific, Inc. (SPI) launched a three-pronged vaccination plan for their 3,000-strong workforce dubbed as “Secure. Promote. Initiate.” Both owned by the Ty family of Isabela, Regasco and SPI have been assisting the National Government in attaining herd immunity by starting with their own employees.
According to SPI President Jun Golingay, the two firms have made arrangements to secure Covovax doses from United Laboratories or Unilab. “This supply will assure two doses of the vaccine for each employee, regardless of their status as a contractor or temporary employee. We plan to implement the vaccination process from July to October 2021 and the schedule will be non-disruptive of operations to ensure continuity of customer service,” he disclosed.
“Even as we make vaccination convenient, we will also partner with medical experts from the vaccine provider, public health officials, and other sources to educate our people on the vaccine’s benefits and its effects. These will allay further anxieties and allow our personnel to understand how the vaccine can help them become more productive, health protocol-compliant, and live safely in the new normal,” Mr. Golingay explained.
In line with their corporate social responsibility program, the top management of Regasco and SPI will create an atmosphere that supports workforce immunization by being “vaccine champions and ambassadors” themselves. They will be at the forefront of taking jabs so they can share post-vax experiences and reply to employee queries with credible and accessible information on the safety, efficacy, and side effects of vaccines, if any.
Mr. Golingay hopes that their efforts will create a strong conviction and build confidence among their employees regarding the global vaccination drive, which promises to be the largest-ever mass inoculation program in human history.
BILL SHOCK Consumer welfare and protection advocate Aurora Pijuan has filed a complaint with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) against Manila Electric Co. (Meralco). Her contention is that there was no actual meter reading done during the lockdown month of May 2020 when millions of Meralco customers suffered from “bill shock” due to the sudden doubling or tripling of their energy consumption exactly a year ago this month.
Last March, Ms. Pijuan wrote ERC Chair Agnes Devanadera to dispute the accuracy of her May and June 2020 bills while questioning the basis for Meralco’s computations. A hearing was scheduled at the ERC’s central office in Ortigas with several Meralco representatives in attendance.
“I stressed in my letter to ERC Chair Devanadera that no one can be a better witness than me. I am aware of my consumption as I live alone. Surely I would know if I consumed double or triple than my usual. I believe that for the rest of the lockdown year, it would even be less than usual as no one entered my house since March 2020 to May 2021,” she said.
According to Meralco officials, the bills for March and April 2020 were just estimates because Metro Manila was then under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). Their explanation of the spike in the May 2020 bills was that their meter readers were back in the field and most people were staying at home using airconditioners at the peak of summer.
But Ms. Pijuan found out from administration and security officers in her gated village that except for food deliveries, no outsiders were allowed to enter during ECQ from March 15 to May 15, 2020 and up to the modified ECQ period between May 16 to 31, 2020. She also checked with officers of other Makati villages, which likewise did not allow the entry of Meralco’s meter readers during that period.
Given her findings, the former Miss International winner suspects that an algorithm was simply applied to determine the electricity bills for the months when no meter readings took place. Ms. Pijuan is urging the commission en banc to perform a comprehensive audit of the methodology used by Meralco to bill its customers during last year’s series of lockdowns within its franchise area.
The onus is now on Meralco to show how it derived the figures at a time when gated communities were off-limits to non-residents, including the electric utility’s meter readers. “We have CCTV cameras and log books to prove that,” Ms. Pijuan reiterated.
J. Albert Gamboa is the chief finance officer of Asian Center for Legal Excellence and co-chairman of the FINEX Week Committee. The opinion expressed herein does not necessarily reflect the views of these institutions and BusinessWorld.
STOCKS declined on Thursday as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) variant originally detected in India and economic data released last week continued to affect market sentiment.
The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 48.07 points or 0.77% to close at 6,197.64, while the broader all shares index declined by 12.59 points or 0.32% to 3,840.31.
“Market continued its downtrend today even as the infection rates has gone down, but increase in the Indian variants infections in the country may cause uncertainties while vaccine rollout continues at slow pace,” Diversified Securities, Inc. Equity Trader Aniceto K. Pangan said in a text message on Thursday.
“Investors are yet to shake fears of lingering economic weakness implied by the negative first quarter GDP (gross domestic product) number and the ongoing GCQ (general community quarantine) with ‘heightened’ restrictions and so the market dip,” First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) Head of Research Cristina S. Ulang said in a Viber message.
On Thursday, the Health department reported 6,100 new cases of COVID-19. The Philippines currently has 1.17 million COVID-19 cases, 51,912 of which are active. The positivity rate stood at 12.6%.
NCR Plus, which includes Metro Manila and nearby provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, is under a GCQ lockdown classification “with heightened restrictions” until the end of the month.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported last week that the country’s GDP fell by an annual 4.2% in the first three months of the year, marking five consecutive quarters of decline.
Majority of sectoral indices closed in the red except for mining and oil, which gained 145.23 points or 1.58% to end at 9,286.89.
Meanwhile, holding firms shaved off 82.52 points or 1.32% to 6,136.71; services declined by 4.09 points or 0.28% to 1,457.18; financials went down by 3.71 points or 0.26% to 1,376.47; property lost 6.27 points or 0.2% to finish at 2,990.32; and industrials dropped by 11.58 points or 0.13% to 8,572.24.
Value turnover increased to P5.52 billion on Thursday with 2.97 billion shares switching hands, from the P4.83 billion with 1.56 billion issues traded the previous trading day.
Advancers beat decliners, 101 versus 90, while 50 names closed unchanged. Net foreign selling soared to P731.23 million on Thursday from the P457.83 million in net outflows logged on Wednesday.
“For investors’ confidence to improve, economic data news flow must shift from weakness to strength. That will happen soon and the inspiration in the near term could be the upcoming mega-IPO (initial public offering) and the REIT (real estate investment trust) pipeline that now includes Robinsons Land Corp.,” FMIC’s Ms. Ulang said.
Diversified Securities’ Mr. Pangan said he expects Friday trading to be “still volatile with a downward bias,” with the PSEi to trade within the 6,000 to 6,500 range. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte
