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End new oil, gas, and coal funding to reach net zero, says IEA

PIXABAY

LONDON — Investors should not fund new oil, gas, and coal supply projects if the world wants to reach net zero emissions by mid-century, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday, in the top global watchdog’s starkest warning yet to curb fossil fuels. 

 Any abrupt halt to new oil and gas projects by next year still appears unlikely, however, as energy majors’ spending plans still tilt heavily towards hydrocarbons, and oil-producing nations such as Norway plan new licensing rounds. 

“The pathway to net zero is narrow but still achievable. If we want to reach net zero by 2050, we do not need any more investments in new oil, gas and coal projects,” Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director, told Reuters. 

“It is up to investors to choose whatever portfolio they prefer but there are risks and rewards,” he added. 

The 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change aims to cap the rise in temperatures to as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times to avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change, which requires net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. 

“This is an incredibly exciting study that indicates a direction of hope,” said Francesco Starace, chief executive at Rome-based Enel, the world’s biggest privately owned renewable energy group. 

The number of countries which have pledged to reach net zero has grown, but even if their commitments are fully achieved, there will still be 22 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide worldwide in 2050 which would lead to temperature rise of around 2.1C by 2100, the IEA said in its Net Zero by 2050 report. 

It sets out more than 400 milestones to achieving net zero in the report, intended to guide the next round of global climate talks in November in Scotland, and was requested by the British president of those talks, Alok Sharma. 

“(This is) a massive blow to the fossil fuel industry. This is a complete turnaround of the fossil-led IEA from five years ago,” said Dave Jones, global program lead at Ember think-tank. 

Environmental activists had previously said the IEA, whose analysis and data underpin energy policies of governments and companies around the world, underestimated the role of renewable power in its reports. 

RENEWABLES
To achieve net zero, global investment in fossil fuel supply should fall from $575 billion on average over the past five years to $110 billion in 2050, with upstream fossil fuel investment restricted to maintaining production at existing oil and natural gas fields, the IEA said. 

Asked about the IEA’s finding about no new fossil fuel projects, Gina McCarthy, the White House domestic climate adviser, said at a Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy virtual event, “I think that’s one of the things that we have to think about and struggle with.” 

There should be no sales of new internal combustion engine passenger cars and the global electricity sector must reach net zero emissions by 2040, IEA added. 

Massive deployment of renewable energy will be needed. Almost 90% of electricity generation should come from renewables by 2050 and most of the rest from nuclear power. 

Solar photovoltaic additions should reach 630 gigawatts a year by 2030 and wind power needs to rise to 390 GW. Together, this is four times the annual record set last year for new capacity additions. 

Annual emissions savings will depend heavily on investment and new technology such as direct air carbon capture and green hydrogen, according to the IEA, with around half of emissions reductions by mid-century compared to 2020 set to come from technologies currently under development. 

“IEA itself regularly acknowledges that half the technology to reach net zero has not yet been invented. Any pathway to net zero must include continued innovation and use of natural gas and oil, which remains crucial to displacing coal in developing nations and enabling renewable energy,” said Stephen Comstock, vice president of corporate policy at the American Petroleum Institute, the largest US industry group. 

Norway’s largest oil and gas firm, Equinor, said the report was an important contribution to its efforts to develop a business portfolio for a future where fossil-fuel demand declines significantly. The company did not reply to a Reuters question on how the IEA’s analysis could affect its plans for exploration and development. 

Exxon Mobil referred questions to industry group Oil & Gas Climate Initiative, which said it is working with the IEA and continues to “support and scale the solutions that contribute to” a low carbon energy future. 

Every month from 2030, 10 industrial plants will need to be fitted with carbon capture technology, three new hydrogen-based industrial plants will need to be built and 2 GW of electrolyzer capacity for green hydrogen production needs to be added at industrial sites, the report said. 

Energy investment will need to rise to $5 trillion a year by 2030 to achieve net zero from $2 trillion today, it said, which will provide a boost to global annual GDP growth. 

Behavioral changes by consumers will also be needed, along with replacing regional air travel with rail, as well more energy efficient building design. — Nina Chestney/Reuters 

While rich countries experience a post-COVID boom, the poor are getting poorer

PHILSTAR

The latest International Monetary Fund and World Bank reports show a global economic boom gathering steam. This is thanks to $16 trillion in fiscal stimulus packages spent mostly across the world’s rich nations since the pandemic began. 

After the reversal of 2020, the global economy is now projected to grow by 6% in 2021, powered by strong growth in the US and China, which are forecast to grow by 6% and 8%, respectively. 

Australians are not missing out, thanks to A$311 billion in public spending. The federal budget’s GDP growth forecast is 4.25% in 2021. Unemployment is forecast to fall to below 5% by mid-2023. 

Before we get ahead of ourselves, however, we should consider the risks the pandemic continues to pose, not only to our recovery but the global boom the world’s rich nations have generated. 

NEW VARIANTS COULD LEAD TO COVID SURGE
As a rich nation surrounded by developing countries, Australia can see these risks around its region, not only in India, but also Southeast Asia and the Pacific. 

The first of these risks is that all our forecasts and projections assume the progress of successful vaccination programs, not only in Australia but around the world. Yet, the virus is potentially adapting more quickly than developing countries are able to vaccinate their populations. 

The B.1.617 virus variant has become the dominant strain in India and spread to some 40 countries, including many in Southeast Asia. 

Indonesia is particularly vulnerable. The vaccine rollout here has been sluggish, with just under 14 million people having received their first dose so far. The government has set an ambitious target of vaccinating 181 million people by next March, but it will struggle to reach this target. 

Although the government prohibited travel during the recent Eid holiday, data suggests at least 1.5 million left homes before the ban, causing one epidemiologist to warn of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) “timebomb” in the country. 

The government is already warning the appearance of the B.1.617 variant (and others) could cause the country to miss its growth target of between 4.5% and 5.3% this year, if the poor are unable to work due to new mobility restrictions. 

MILLIONS MORE HAVE FALLEN INTO EXTREME POVERTY
The second risk to a post-pandemic global recovery is many developing nations are simply not benefiting from the start of the economic rebound. 

COVID-19 has reduced per capita GDP by as much as one-fifth in these countries. 

Last year, 100 million people — mostly in South Asia — were on the brink of extreme poverty. This could rise to as many as 150 million people this year. As a result, millions of children could drop out of school this year around the world. 

The Pacific Island countries have been badly affected, not only by the economic effects of border closures, but in the case of Papua New Guinea, by the virus itself. With many reliant on tourism, commodities, and remittances, the Pacific Island countries’ economies shrank by 11% in 2020 collectively. 

Fiji’s GDP contracted by a massive 19%, while in typhoon-affected Vanuatu, the economy shrank by 10%. 

The effects on human development outcomes are immediately obvious. In PNG, 52% of families surveyed by the World Bank in 2020 indicated they were sending fewer children to school because of reduced incomes. 

More broadly, across East Asia and the Pacific, students are expected to lose 0.8 Learning-Adjusted Years of Schooling (LAYS) — a measure that combines quantity and quality of schooling — between January 2020 and December 2021. This is almost half their school time over two years. 

AUSTRALIA’S AID SPENDING STILL NOT ENOUGH
Unlike Australia, many developing countries cannot free up large amounts of public money to invest in stimulating their economies. For them to join in the global recovery, they will need assistance. 

Australia’s response is helping to some extent. Australia invested an extra A$479.7 million in international development spending in 2020–21 above its notional baseline allocation of $4 billion per annum. 

In 2021–22, it is projecting a total investment of $4.34 billion. This is still extra, but it represents a cut in real terms of 5% on the previous year. 

Compared to other wealthy nations, however, Australia is still not giving much. Australia’s investment in Official Development Assistance (ODA) as a proportion of gross national income is 0.21% in 2021–22, much lower than the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) average of 0.32%. 

Given the scale of need and the pace of developments in our region, Australia will very likely offer more as the financial year progresses. 

GREATER STIMULUS SPENDING AND SOCIAL PROTECTION SCHEMES
But Australia also needs to do much more to mobilize other forms of funding to assist its neighbors’ economic recoveries. 

One thing Canberra is doing right is investing some of its ODA in social protection schemes around the region, including an A$18 million Partnerships for Social Protection package for the Pacific that will scale up assistance to vulnerable households. 

Australia has also issued a concessional loan to Indonesia, which it stipulates includes money for strengthening Indonesia’s health and social protection systems. 

On top of this investment, Australia should use its access to global forums to advocate for more assistance to developing countries, especially in Asia and the Pacific. 

One such forum is the G7+, where Australia says it wants to promote prosperity and security in the Indo-Pacific. 

Another is the coming G20 summit in Italy in October, where Australia will have an opportunity to advocate for debt relief and restructuring for developing countries. This will allow them to free up cash for stimulus schemes like JobKeeper and JobSeeker, which protected many of us in Australia over the past year. 

Australia is already meeting with the United States’ new aid administrator, Samantha Power, to discuss more cooperation on this front, including through the informal Quad alliance (which also includes Japan and India). 

Australia should also continue to advocate to multilateral banks and funding agencies to invest real cash in new and additional stimulus packages and social protection systems around the region. 

These systems could fund universal child benefits to keep children schooled and properly fed, protecting the advances our neighbors have made over the past 40 years of economic development. 

Key to our own security and prosperity is our neighbors’ resilience to shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn. 

Australia will need to allocate more money from its own coffers — and encourage more giving from the rest of the developed world — to stimulate our neighbors’ economies. Only then will we see a global economic recovery where everyone benefits — not just the wealthy. — Amrita Malhi/The Conversation 

 

Amrita Malhi is Visiting Fellow, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs; Senior Adviser Geoeconomics, Save the Children, Australian National University 

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

 

When it comes to getting hired for senior roles, who you know matters as much as what you know — HR expert

PIXABAY

Getting hired, especially for executive roles, is about being proactive and focusing on how your work experience matches the needs of the company you are applying for. It’s also about working your network to discover the senior leadership job openings that are often not advertised at all, said Caroline Ceniza-Levine, a career coach, recruiter, and Forbes Careers senior contributor, in a recent webinar. 

BE PROACTIVE
Those who have been laid off due to the pandemic, or have been out of the workforce several years, should get into volunteering or consulting. “It’s really difficult to swear up and down that your skills haven’t atrophied and you’re ready to jump right in,” she said. “It’s a confidence issue.”  

A 60-year-old client who took time off work to take care of his mother, for example, was able to capitalize on his past customer service process experience to land a consulting gig. His background became an asset for companies struggling with an untrained or young workforce. 

“I didn’t want him to have a pity party, so I said: ‘Let’s get moving,’” said Ms. Levine. “Companies are familiar with hiring on a contract basis, even for senior roles.” 

BE INTENTIONAL
In your application, “be selective about what you include and omit,” Ms. Levine advised. “You might have years of experience doing dozens of projects, but what is the job asking you to do, and what are the closest examples you have? You need to highlight specific examples.” 

Human resource executives can highlight their experience managing rapid growth in their previous company, if that’s the business condition that their prospective employer is currently facing.  

Among the hires she did on behalf of a company client was for a chief financial officer (CFO) position. The chosen candidate was department head of finance but had not been a CFO. She had, however, done a number of things that dovetailed into the functions of that job, and was as senior as the role required.  

Candidates who are only a 70% match on a particular role, added Ms. Levine, have to figure out how to close that 30% gap, as well as overcome objections related to it. 

BE CONNECTED
“Resumes don’t come into play until later on. This is true especially the more senior and the more targeted the role is,” Ms. Levine said, adding that jobseekers need to tap their network, connect and reconnect with contacts who tend to hear about coveted positions, and be top-of-mind when these contacts get wind of the right role at the right level. 

“Who is it that knows you?” asked Ms. Levine. “You need to have people advocating for you at the decision table.” 

A lot of senior role searches tend to be confidential and worked on quietly via word-of-mouth, according to career portal The Muse.  

LABOR MARKET UPTICK
Companies hire even in a down market, Ms. Levine told BusinessWorld in an August 2020 podcast episode. Opportunities abound, whether through internal talent marketplaces or trends such as job turnover tsunamis post-pandemic. 

Bloomberg Economics also forecast slow recovery in the coming months. In Canada, the jobless rate is expected to fall to 6.7% in the fourth quarter of 2021 and then to 5.9% in the fourth quarter of 2022. In South Korea, where hiring for those aged 60 and above has been the least impacted throughout the pandemic, unemployment is expected to average about 4% this year. 

In the Philippines, the national jobless rate fell to its lowest level in March since the start of the pandemic. Preliminary results from Philippine Statistic Authority’s March 2021 round of the Labor Force Survey (LFS) showed around 3.441 million unemployed Filipinos, down from 4.187 million in the February LFS round. This puts the March unemployment rate at 7.1%, a drop from April 2020’s record-high 17.6%. — Patricia B. Mirasol 

From beef to chocolate, illegal deforestation found behind many everyday foods

Hayden/CC BY 2.0/Wikimedia Commons

BOGOTA — Nearly 70% of tropical forests cleared for cattle ranching and crops such as soybeans and palm oil were deforested illegally between 2013 and 2019, a study showed on Tuesday, warning of the impact on global efforts to fight climate change. 

Illegal logging was behind the loss of 4.5 million hectares of forest — an area the size of Denmark — on average each year in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa, said the report by US-based nonprofit Forest Trends. 

“If we don’t urgently stop this unlawful deforestation, we don’t have a chance to beat the three crises facing humanity — climate change, biodiversity loss, and emerging pandemics,” said Arthur Blundell, report lead co-author and an advisor to Forest Trends, which works on economic tools to protect ecosystems. 

Palm oil cultivation in Indonesia, and soy and beef farming in Brazil — home to roughly 60% of the Amazon rainforest — were key drivers of illegal deforestation, the report said. 

The production of other agricultural commodities, such as cocoa used to make chocolate in Honduras and West Africa, and corn in Argentina, was also behind illegal forest clearance. 

In Indonesia, at least 81% of forested land cleared to produce palm oil is estimated to be illegal, the report said. 

In soy-producing countries, such as Brazil, about 93% of land converted to grow the crop used in cooking and for animal feed was illegal, while 93% of forest clearance for cocoa plantations was illegal and 81% for beef, the report said. 

The report defined illegal deforestation as forest clearance that broke national laws, such as loggers and companies failing to obtain permits from landowners or conduct environmental impact assessments, as well as cases involving tax evasion. 

SUPPLY CHAIN RISKS
Environmentalists and some lawmakers in the United States, EU, and Britain are calling for legislation that would stop goods grown on illegally cleared lands from ending up on supermarket shelves. 

In the United States, Democratic Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii and congressman Earl Blumenauer of Oregon have announced plans for a bill that would ban US imports of agricultural commodities produced on illegally deforested land. 

“I think most US consumers would strongly agree that it’s immoral, outdated, and preposterous that products sold on supermarket shelves can be traced back to illegally deforested land,” Mr. Blumenauer said in a statement. 

The approach is modeled on the Lacey Act of 2008 passed in the United States that banned the import of illegally trafficked wildlife, plants and timber, which he said had brought progress. 

Britain is planning to introduce similar legislation. 

Cutting down forests has major implications for global goals to curb climate change, as trees absorb about a third of the planet-warming carbon emissions produced worldwide. 

Carbon emitted from illegal forest clearing for agriculture accounted for at least 41% of all emissions from tropical deforestation from 2013 and 2019, the report said. 

Efforts should also be stepped up to work with soy farmers and cattle ranchers to adopt a moratorium on forest clearing. 

“Illegal deforestation is a key driver of forest loss and creates significant risk for supply chain companies and financial institutions that may unwittingly supply or finance illegally sourced commodities,” said Justin Adams, executive director of the Tropical Forest Alliance, which works to rid supply chains of deforestation links. — Anastasia Moloney/Thomson Reuters Foundation 

Microsoft, JA Asia Pacific, and CloudSwyft launch digital skills program in Asia Pacific

MICROSOFT CORP. has partnered with JA Asia Pacific and CloudSwyft to provide a skilling program for young jobseekers in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Of the targeted 60,000 participants this year, 4,000 will be from the Philippines.  

“COVID-19 has accelerated the shift towards a digital economy, and organizations here in the Philippines are requiring greater digital skills from talents so that their businesses can adapt and thrive in this new environment,” said Andres Ortola, Microsoft Philippines general manager, in a recent statement. 

The new program is an extension of Microsoft’s broader Global Skilling Initiative, which reported last month that over 150,000 Filipinos had gained digital skills via its online courses, to be offered until the end of 2021. 

Mr. Ortola added that “reskilling, cross-skilling, and upskilling” young adults should help them cope with job losses. The partners in this program are JA Asia Pacific, a youth-serving non-profit organization, and CloudSwyft, a cloud-based learning platform provider.  

The Department of Education (DepEd) will also assist in implementation. “There are a lot of Filipinos, particularly from underprivileged communities, who are eager to learn so that they can have better lives and contribute to Philippine society,” said Zaldy H. Reliquias, division curriculum chief of DepEd. 

As for the effects of skilling programs on jobseekers’ chances, last month’s Future in Talent report by professional networking site LinkedIn revealed that Philippine employers now value technical skills more highly than experience. 

Webinars offered in the program will include career path discussion, data science courses, and lab assessments by CloudSwyft. “In addition to providing crucial digital skills training to communities in the Philippines, our skilling program will be invaluable in supporting business and economic growth,” said Dann Angelo De Guzman, CloudSwyft founder and chief executive officer. 

One indicator of such growth is the labor force participation rate (LFPR), which rose to 65% in March from 63.5% in February, according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). This means a total of 48.77 million Filipinos over 15 years old are either employed or looking for work, a record-high since the 65.2% LFPR in 2014. 

“We understand the hurdles people are currently facing when it comes to employment and employability,” said Maziar Sabet, JA Asia Pacific president and chief executive officer. “With 2021 signifying a fresh start for many, we hope to provide more avenues for those who need support through skills training and mentorship.” 

Added Mr. Ortola of Microsoft: “We will continue to partner with the government, NGOs, and the private sector and increase our efforts to ensure that more Filipinos are equipped with the necessary digital skills for the present and the future.” — Brontë H. Lacsamana 

US, Canada, Mexico hold ‘robust’ trade deal talks, downplay differences

Image via the US Food and Drug Administration
Image via the US Food and Drug Administration

WASHINGTON — Trade ministers from the United States, Canada and Mexico said on Tuesday they held “robust” talks on the new North American trade deal and pledged to fully enforce its higher standards, while downplaying differences over a range of other irritants. 

The ministers, in a joint statement issued after their first meeting to review the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on trade that took effect in July 2020, also vowed to focus on fighting climate change and crack down on imports of goods to the region made with forced labor. 

“The USMCA commits us to a robust and inclusive North American economy that serves as a model globally for competitiveness, while prioritizing the interests of workers and underserved communities,” the ministers said. 

The statement came after US Trade Representative Katherine Tai met virtually with Mexican Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier and Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng in the initial meeting of the governing body for the trade deal, which regulates some $1.5 trillion in annual North American trade. 

Their statement described discussions on new labor and environmental obligations as “robust.” 

Ms. Tai had earlier urged her counterparts to pursue strong implementation of the USMCA to ensure that it would maintain political support. 

“For this agreement to be durable, it must serve the needs of everyday people — not just in the United States, but in Mexico and Canada as well. That will only happen if we deliver on our promises,” Ms. Tai said. 

The USMCA replaced the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, adding chapters on environmental, labor and digital commerce standards and considerably tighter regional automotive content rules. 

Over two days of bilateral and joint virtual meetings, the three ministers brought up long-standing complaints and ones that have cropped up over the past year, with Ms. Tai chiding Canada over a proposed digital tax and Ottawa’s allocation of dairy quotas. 

Ms. Ng told reporters that she raised Canada’s concerns about “unwarranted and unfair” US lumber tariffs and vowed to defend the sector’s interests. On Monday, she brought up US “Buy American” restrictions on infrastructure and public procurement projects. 

 Mexico raised differences between the US interpretation of the USMCA’s automotive content rules and the more flexible Mexican and Canadian interpretations, said Mexican Deputy Economy Minister Luz Maria de la Mora, adding that the countries would continue to discuss the matter. 

She also said Mexico asked the United States to review its ground transportation rules to ensure that Mexican truckers had access to the US market — a longtime complaint from Mexico City. 

TAKING STOCK
But those issues were not mentioned in the joint statement, which focused on cooperation to implement new labor, environmental, and digital economy rules and reaching out to underrepresented groups. 

The ministers said officials from the three countries plan to meet with small-business owners in October in San Antonio to promote inclusion in USMCA’s benefits. 

“This was primarily an opportunity to take stock of the new agreement, think about how it works, and … lay out the priorities of the three countries,” said a senior US trade official, adding that further high-level meetings would likely take place in coming years. 

Although the USMCA did not include a climate-change chapter at the insistence of the Trump administration, the official said Tuesday’s talks included substantial discussion of climate-change matters. 

The United States highlighted the importance of labor issues during the meetings, and said Mexico’s response to a potential labor rights violation associated with a union contract vote at a General Motors Co truck plant in the central Mexican city of Silao showed “how well this can be used by both countries.” — David Lawder and Andrea Shalal/Reuters 

China says US threatening peace as warship transits Taiwan Strait

BEIJING/TAIPEI — China accused the United States on Wednesday of threatening the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait after a US warship again sailed through the sensitive waterway that separates Taiwan from its giant neighbor. 

The US Navy’s 7th Fleet said the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur conducted a “routine Taiwan Strait transit” on Tuesday in accordance with international law. 

“The ship’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military will continue to fly, sail, and operate anywhere international law allows,” it said. 

A spokesman for China’s Eastern Theatre Command expressed strong opposition and condemned the move, which comes amid heightened tensions between the two powers. 

“The US actions sends the wrong signals to Taiwan independence forces, deliberately disrupting the regional situation and endangering peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” he said. 

Chinese forces tracked and monitored the ship throughout its voyage, he added. 

China believes Taiwan’s democratically elected government is bent on a formal declaration of independence for the island, a red line for Beijing. 

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen says they are already an independent state called the Republic of China, its formal name. 

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the US ship had sailed in a southerly direction through the strait and the “situation was as normal.” 

The US Navy has been conducting such operations every month or so. 

The United States, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is its most important international backer and a major seller of arms. 

Military tension between Taiwan and Beijing have spiked over the past year, with Taipei complaining of China repeatedly sending its air force into Taiwan’s air defense zone. 

Some of those activities can involve multiple fighters and bombers. 

China has said its activities around Taiwan are aimed at protecting China’s sovereignty. Taiwan’s government has denounced it as attempts at intimidation. — Reuters 

How Myanmar’s military moved in on the telecoms sector to spy on citizens

RODION KUTSAEV-UNSPLASH

SINGAPORE/BANGKOK — In the months before the Myanmar military’s Feb. 1 coup, the country’s telecom and internet service providers were ordered to install intercept spyware that would allow the army to eavesdrop on the communications of citizens, sources with direct knowledge of the plan told Reuters. 

The technology gives the military the power to listen in on calls, view text messages and web traffic including emails, and track the locations of users without the assistance of the telecom and internet firms, the sources said. 

The directives are part of a sweeping effort by the army to deploy electronic surveillance systems and exert control over the internet with the aim of keeping tabs on political opponents, squashing protests and cutting off channels for any future dissent, they added. 

Decision makers at the civilian Ministry of Transport and Communications that delivered the orders were ex-military officials, according to one industry executive with direct knowledge of the plans and another briefed on the matter. 

“They presented it as coming from the civilian government, but we knew the army would have control and were told you could not refuse,” the executive with direct knowledge said, adding that officials from the military-controlled Ministry of Home Affairs also sat in on the meetings. 

More than a dozen people with knowledge of the intercept spyware used in Myanmar have been interviewed by Reuters. All asked to remain anonymous, citing fear of retribution from the military junta. 

Neither representatives for the junta nor representatives for politicians attempting to form a new civilian government responded to Reuters requests for comment. 

Budget documents from 2019 and 2020 for the previous government led by Aung San Suu Kyi that were not disclosed publicly contain details of a planned $4 million in purchases of intercept spyware products and parts as well as sophisticated data extraction and phone hacking technology. The documents were provided by activist group Justice for Myanmar and were independently verified by Reuters. 

Reuters was not able to establish to what extent senior non-military people in Ms. Suu Kyi’s government had been involved in the order to install the intercept. 

The idea of a so-called “lawful intercept” was first floated by Myanmar authorities to the telecommunications sector in late 2019 but pressure to install such technology came only in late 2020, several sources said, adding that they were warned not to talk about it. 

The intercept plans were flagged publicly by Norway’s Telenor in an annual update on its Myanmar business, which is one of the country’s biggest telecom firms with 18 million customers out of a population of 54 million. 

Telenor said in the Dec. 3 briefing and statement posted on its websites that it was concerned about Myanmar authorities’ plans for a lawful intercept able to “directly access each operator and ISP’s systems without case-by-case approval” as Myanmar did not have sufficient laws and regulations to protect customers’ rights to privacy and freedom of expression. 

In addition to Telenor, the affected companies include three other telecom firms in Myanmar: MPT, a large state-backed operator, Mytel, a venture between Myanmar’s army and Viettel which is owned by Vietnam’s defense ministry, and Qatar’s Ooredoo. MPT and Mytel are now under the full control of the junta, the sources said. There are about a dozen internet service providers. 

Telenor declined to respond to questions from Reuters for this article, citing unspecified security concerns for its employees. 

MPT, Mytel and Ooredoo did not respond to requests for comment. Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp, which together with wireless carrier KDDI Corp announced in 2014 planned investment of $2 billion in MPT, declined to comment. KDDI and Viettel did not respond to requests for comment. 

Many governments allow for what are commonly called “lawful intercepts” to be used by law enforcement agencies to catch criminals. But in most democratic countries and even some authoritarian regimes, such technology is not ordinarily employed without any kind of legal process, cybersecurity experts say. The Myanmar military, in contrast, is directly operating invasive telecoms spyware without legal or regulatory safeguards to protect human rights in place, according to industry executives and activists. 

Even before the coup, Myanmar’s military wielded outsized influence in the democratically elected civilian government led by Ms. Suu Kyi. It had an unelected quota of 25% of parliamentary seats and the constitution gave it control of several key ministries. It also had extensive sway at the communications and other ministries through the appointment of former army officers. That has become total control since the coup. 

TRACINGS AND INTERCEPTIONS 

According to three sources at firms with knowledge of the surveillance system, not every telecom firm and internet service provider has installed the full intercept spyware. Reuters was not able to establish how broadly it has been installed and deployed. 

But military and intelligence agencies are conducting some tracing of SIM cards and interception of calls, two of those sources said. One source said calls being redirected to other numbers and connecting without a dial tone were among the signs of interception. 

A legal source with knowledge of cases against people involved in the protests also said there was evidence of monitoring spyware being used to prosecute them. Reuters has not seen any documents supporting the claim. 

A senior civil servant who is aiding ousted politicians seeking to form a parallel government also said their group has been warned by people working for the junta but sympathetic to protesters that phone numbers are being traced. 

“We have to change SIM cards all the time,” the senior civil servant said. 

According to Amnesty International’s Security Lab and three other tech experts, the intercept products outlined in the government budget documents would enable the bulk collection of phone metadata — data on who users call, when they call and for how long — as well as targeted content interception. 

CABLES CUT, ACTIVISTS’ PHONES BLOCKED 

Among the military’s first actions on Feb. 1 was to direct armed soldiers to break into data centers nationwide at midnight and slash internet cables, according to employees at three firms who showed Reuters photos of severed cables. 

At one data center where employees resisted, soldiers held them at gunpoint and also smashed monitors to threaten them, said one source briefed on the matter. 

Though the internet was mostly restored with hours, the army began shutting it down nightly. Within days, the army had secretly ordered telecom firms to block the phone numbers of activists, junta opponents and human rights lawyers, providing the firms with lists, according to three industry sources briefed on the matter. Those orders have not been previously reported. 

The sources added that operators are required by law to share customer lists with authorities. 

The army also directed the blocking of specific websites. Facebook, which was used by half the country and quickly became crucial to protest organizers, was among the first to be banned, followed by news sites and other social media platforms. 

When opposition grew in March, the military cut access to mobile data altogether, leaving most in Myanmar without access to the internet. 

“Firms have to obey the orders,” one industry source said. “Everyone knows that if you don’t, they can just come in with guns and cut the wires. That’s even more effective than any intercept.” 

Telenor and Ooredoo executives who protested were told to stay quiet or the companies would face losing their licenses, four sources said. 

THE ARMY’S TIGHTENING GRIP 

Under previous juntas that ruled between 1963 and 2011, activists and journalists were routinely wiretapped and smartphones were scarce. 

As Myanmar opened up, it became a telecoms success story with a thriving, if nascent, digital economy. Mobile phone penetration, in 2011 the second-lowest in the world after North Korea at 6.9%, soared to stand at 126% in 2020. 

The civilian government’s first known move towards nationwide surveillance came in 2018, with the establishment of a social media monitoring system it said was aimed at preventing the influence of foreign forces. It followed that with a biometric SIM card registration drive last year, saying multiple SIM card use was undesirable and a central database was necessary. 

Authorities are now seeking still more power over telecommunications. 

The communications ministry proposed a new law on Feb. 10 that states internet and telecom firms will be required to keep a broad range of user data for up to three years and remove or block any content deemed to be disrupting “unity, stabilization, and peace,” with possible jail terms for those who don’t comply. 

In late April, the junta began ordering telecom operators to unblock certain websites and apps, starting with the apps of local banks, said three people briefed on the development. Microsoft Office, Google’s Gmail, Google Drive and YouTube have also since been unblocked. 

Asked about the unblocking, a Microsoft representative said the company had not engaged with officials in Myanmar. Google did not respond to requests for comment. 

Industry sources and activists believe these moves are part of an attempt by the junta to establish its version of the internet, akin to what China has done with the “Great Firewall.” 

“The military wants to control the internet so it will be a safe zone but only for them,” said one industry executive. “We’ve gone back five years in time.” — Fanny Potkin and Poppy McPherson/Reuters 

FWD Insurance partners with Cebuana Lhuillier for nationwide financial and protection inclusion

FWD Insurance has partnered with Cebuana Lhuillier to bridge the financial and protection gap covering a wider socioeconomic segment of the Philippine market. In an agreement signed in April 2021, affordable FWD insurance plans and digital solutions will be made accessible to Cebuana Lhuillier’s close to 30M Filipino customers spread across 2,500 branches nationwide.

Combining their strengths in product innovation and market reach, both organizations aim to change the landscape of insurance protection in the country. The expanded market share plus the diverse array of financial and insurance solutions are projected to stimulate revenue growth and financial health for both organizations.

The plan will be implemented through pawn assurance, digital channels and solutions, a fully digitized team of advisors, and a brand-new sachet insurance concept that will cater to the specific needs of more Filipino households.

“We’re always searching for innovative channels so we can reach more untapped customer segments. This partnership with the country’s leading micro-financial services institution strengthens our thrust toward financial and protection inclusion on a national scale. Cebuana Lhuillier can help us provide the right protection that fits the specific needs and budget of more Filipinos and empowers them to celebrate living,” says Li Hao Zhuang, President, and CEO of FWD Insurance.

“In our venture to bring our business to digital space, building a strategic partnership with one of the fastest-growing insurers in the Philippines supports our commitment to make every Filipino financially included anytime, anywhere. The strength of both our organizations allows us to seamlessly deliver quality products and services to our markets,” says Jean Henri Lhuillier, President, and CEO of PJ Lhuillier, Inc.

Affordable life insurance-focused products and packaged solutions involving health, life and investment products will be introduced to give more Filipinos from all walks of life the chance to get covered according to their protection needs and budget. They will also be given optimum buying options for their convenience using either technology-aided platforms for remote interaction, or through face-to-face engagement with a highly trained sales team.

Both FWD Insurance and Cebuana Lhuillier will be sharing best practices in the implementation of plans under the partnership. Aside from training employees and salespeople for additional knowledge and skills in financial planning, team collaboration and a reward system for top performers will also be enforced.

 

 

Vivant Corporation announces schedule of virtual stockholders’ meeting

PHL slashes GDP growth outlook amid virus fight

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS
The Philippine economy’s recovery is dependent on the pace of its mass vaccination campaign, which has picked up pace as more vaccines arrive. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

By Beatrice M. Laforga, Reporter

THE GOVERNMENT slashed its growth target for this year and the next, as the renewed spike in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and strict lockdown curbs hobble the economy’s recovery.

In its 179th meeting on Tuesday, the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) downgraded its gross domestic product (GDP) growth target to 6-7% from 6.5-7.5% penciled in last December 2020. However, this was still an improvement from the record 9.6% contraction in 2020.

“The emerging GDP growth projection is slightly adjusted to 6-7% from 6.5-7.5% in view of the emergence of new COVID-19 variants and the reimposition of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus area during the second quarter of the year,” the DBCC said in a joint statement.

Economic managers expect the economy to return to its pre-crisis level by next year. Next year’s GDP is expected to grow by 7-9%, lower than the previous target of 8-10%. The economy’s growth is seen to slow to 6-7% in 2023 and 2024.

“The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may remain in the short term, but we are optimistic that the economy will return to its upward growth trajectory starting this year. This can be achieved through the accelerated implementation of the country’s recovery package and rollout of the national vaccination deployment to cover a broader segment of the population,” the DBCC said.

The economy remained in a recession in the first quarter after contracting by 4.2%. This marked the fifth consecutive quarter of decline due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The government has gradually eased the strict lockdown measures reimposed in Metro Manila and its nearby provinces from March to May to curb the virus surge. The daily number of new COVID-19 cases have started to dwindle since then, with only 4,487 new infections recorded on Tuesday from a high of 15,000 last month, according to the Health department.

However, the economy’s recovery is dependent on the pace of the country’s mass vaccination campaign, which has been picking up as more vaccine supplies arrive. The government earlier said 35% of 110 million target Filipinos may be vaccinated against the coronavirus by August.

OTHER TARGETS
The DBCC maintained a 2-4% inflation target range for this year until 2024.

Amid a faster rebound in global economy, 2021 assumptions for growth in goods exports were increased to 8% from 5% previously, while the expansion of goods imports was pegged at 12%, from 8%, previously.

The merchandise exports sector is expected to pick up by 6% each year from 2022 to 2024, while goods imports will rebound faster at 10% next year (from 8% previously), and by 8% in the next two years.

Services exports are expected to increase at 6% over the medium term, while growth in services imports was pegged at 7% this year, and 8% in 2022-2024.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua during the briefing said the economy will have to grow by at least 10% in the next three quarters to meet the lower-end of the revised growth target this year.

“The second important element in this assumption is that we begin to accelerate significantly, our vaccination efforts in the areas of highest risk, and that includes the NCR Plus and the larger cities where the cases are quite high,” Mr. Chua said.

The DBCC said the target can be achieved if the government will strengthen its prevention, isolation and treatment strategies; adopt digital tools for its contact tracing efforts; and release P17-billion to fund additional social programs to help affected sectors.

“A version of this proposal is currently being deliberated in the Lower House, and is contingent on raising additional savings and revenues to remain deficit neutral,” economic managers said.

FISCAL PROGRAM
Economic managers also revised their medium-term fiscal program in the next four years.

The DBCC hiked the budget deficit cap to 9.4% of GDP (from 8.9%), after it increased the projected total spending to P4.74 trillion from P4.233 trillion due to the additional funds for the stimulus package and vaccination program. The target for state revenues was kept at P2.88 trillion.

It also raised the estimated deficit-to-GDP ratio for next year to 7.7% from 7.6%, previously. This will go down to 6.4% in 2023 and 5.4% in 2024.

Projected revenues for next year were trimmed to P3.29 trillion from P3.314 trillion, while the expected total disbursements were kept at P4.95 trillion.

For 2023, the economic team expects to generate P3.59 trillion in total revenues and spend P5.11 trillion. This will rise to P4 trillion for revenues and P5.4 trillion for disbursements in 2024.

“The estimated disbursements for 2022 to 2024 already take into account the proposed Growth Equity Fund (GEF), which will be established in line with the implementation of the Supreme Court Ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia case. The GEF aims to assist poorer Local Government Units (LGUs) in addressing the problems of marginalization, unequal development, and high poverty incidence,” the interagency committee said.

SALE OF ASSETS
While the projected debt stock was not disclosed during Tuesday’s briefing, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said they expect the debt pile to remain below 60% of GDP by the end of the year.

“We are preparing to sell assets, essentially, certain large mines that are under the management of the PMO (Privatization and Management Office), and with the developments in copper prices internationally the values of those assets have certainly increased. That will be one of the large sources to fund our future deficit,” Mr. Dominguez said.

The Finance chief maintained that the next stimulus program will be deficit neutral where funding sources will mainly come from realigned budgets and remittances from state-run firms, among others.

The cabinet-level DBCC is composed of heads of the Department of Budget and Management, National Economic and Development Authority, the Department of Finance, as well as the Executive Secretary. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas also sits as the committee’s resource institution.

Maynilad, MWSS ink revised water concession agreement

MAYNILAD WATER Services, Inc. has signed a new concession agreement with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), which no longer includes “onerous provisions,” Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said on Tuesday.

“MWSS has signed (the contract) and it has been transmitted to Maynilad,” Mr. Guevarra told reporters.

“The revised concession agreement between the MWSS and Maynilad contains essentially the same terms as those in the recently signed revised concession agreement between the MWSS and Manila Water Company, (Inc.).”

Maynilad Spokesperson Jennifer C. Rufo on Tuesday confirmed that the company has signed the revised contract, adding details will be disclosed on Wednesday.

Mr. Guevarra said the new deal removed “onerous provisions,” as claimed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte, such as the non-interference clause and its ability to charge corporate income tax to consumers.

“Contingent liabilities of the government have been substantially reduced, and a framework for better service to the public has been put in place,” he added.

Maynilad also signed a waiver on Tuesday terminating all related proceedings to its 2017 arbitral award which directed the government to pay P3.4 billion to the company, Mr. Guevarra said.   

He said Manila Water also signed a waiver when the revised contract was finalized on March 31, terminating all proceedings related to its 2019 arbitral award which directed the government to pay the company P7.3 billion.

Signing the waivers means that the government will no longer pay for the compensation stated in the arbitral award, and that “the arbitral award cannot be enforced by execution or by any judicial process anywhere,” Mr. Guevarra said.

Mr. Guevarra also confirmed that Maynilad agreed to a tariff freeze until Dec. 31, 2022 to assist poor customers and aid the country’s economic recovery after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which Manila Water also agreed to.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which has a majority stake in Maynilad, is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

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