Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 6643

LGUs urged to build capacity amid devolution plans

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGU) need to build up data management and planning capacities as they absorb the basic services functions of the National Government, panelists at a virtual event on Philippine competitiveness said.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte recently signed Executive Order No. 138 tasking government agencies to transfer several functions to local government units by 2024.

International Labor Organization Philippines Country Director Khalid Hassan said there are different data management processes among different LGUs instead of a centralized system.

“Some of the LGUs are lacking capacities of micro-planning… Decentralization requires a lot of training, a lot of capacity building,” he said at the event organized by the Asian Institute of Management.

Financial services and improved infrastructure will be needed as more jobs are created in rural areas, he added.

“Great step, but a lot of planning, a lot of support will be needed in this process. Capacities have to be made at local government units.”

Ateneo de Manila University Center for Economic Research and Development Associate Director Ser Percival Peña-Reyes in the same event said that as this decentralization happens, national and local interests should be aligned.

“What would be the delineation of functions? What would be the division of labor? We have to spell that out clearly at the outset.”

Chris Nelson, executive director of the British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, for his part, said the devolution is both positive and negative. He credits LGUs that have actively rolled out coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines.

“However — if I come back to the pandemic and the response — we need a national approach,” Mr. Nelson said. Citing the unified European digital passport as an example, he said some pandemic-related measures need national solutions.

Differences among LGU interpretations of national guidelines at the start of the pandemic had caused disruptions among industries, he added.

Meanwhile, a public sector workers union had said the devolution would displace civil servants, calling the order “anti-employee.”

“Its provisions for personnel to be affected by this order are limited, demeaning and its separation/retirement packages have no real funding,” the Confederation for Unity, Recognition, and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE) said.

The Philippines slipped seven spots to 52nd out of 64 countries in an annual global competitiveness report from Switzerland-based business school International Institute for Management Development. The country saw the steepest decline in Asia after its economic performance slumped amid the pandemic. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Latest REIT offerings highlight office spaces

By Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

TWO more companies are gearing up for the listing of their real estate investment trusts (REITs), both of which highlight office spaces in their portfolio when many organizations are adopting work-from-home measures and hybrid work is gaining traction.

Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI) through subsidiary Cyberzone Properties, Inc. filed its registration statement for a REIT initial public offering (IPO) in March. Last week, Megaworld Corp. also filed with regulators for the listing of its MREIT, Inc.

“They are offering up properties which generate income similar to the first two REIT listings which is office leasing due to their consistency to generate stable revenues and the fact that it is much easier to manage than other commercial properties,” AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in an e-mail on Friday.

“Some have POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators) exposure which can have its own risk,” COL Financial Group, Inc. Chief Technical Analyst Juanis G. Barredo said in a Viber message on Friday.

FLI’s REIT portfolio includes 16 office buildings in Silicon Valley-inspired Northgate Cyberzone and one office tower in Cebu Cyberzone, majority of which is said to be occupied by multinational BPO (business process outsourcing) companies.

A mere 8.8% is occupied by traditional and retail tenants, while POGO tenants make up for 2.8%, Filinvest said.

Meanwhile, Megaworld’s MREIT will include 10 key office assets, namely: 1800 Eastwood Avenue, 1880 Eastwood Avenue, E-Commerce Plaza, One World Square, Two World Square, Three World Square, 8/10 Upper McKinley, 18/20 Upper McKinley, One Techno Place, and Richmonde Tower, where Richmonde Hotel Iloilo is located.

MREIT’s building tenants are also said to be mostly BPO companies, with lease contracts between five to 10 years. Megaworld envisions the REIT listing to be the largest office REIT in the Philippines, and eventually in Southeast Asia.

“Hybrid work-from-home arrangements and the rise of shared-office or co-working spaces may be a signal that the office leasing industry has peaked,” Mr. Mangun said. “We were seeing this even before the pandemic which is why companies were more comfortable offering these properties.”

It all comes down to dividend-yield, analysts said.

“If the yield is 5% and above as in the ASEAN region and expansion of assets in the REIT is readily accretive to the yield or cash dividend then this will be attractive to investors rather than create uncertainties at [these] times through construction of buildings,” Diversified Securities, Inc. Equity Trader Aniceto K. Pangan said in a text message on Friday.

“We’re looking at giving out 100% of the NOI (net operating income),” Filinvest Land President Josephine Gotianun-Yap said, adding that they are looking at offering the mid-five percent area.

Shares of Filinvest’s REIT will be offered at P8.30 at most. Ms. Gotianun-Yap also said they will look into infusing more properties into the portfolio once these reaches the criteria of REIT guidelines.

Meanwhile, Megaworld’s REIT is looking at a dividend of 4.1% for year ending June 2022 and 4.5% by June 2023 based on its forecast earnings. It has a maximum price of P22 per share.

COL Financial Group’s Mr. Barredo said that yields would have to be kept attractive.

“Investors will have to make decision based on the quality of the REIT and their yield — if lower than 5 to 4% — it may be lukewarm unless rates fall further,” Mr. Barredo said.

It is believed that the timing for these upcoming listings is better, factoring in last year’s performance in their valuations.

“More and more investors are getting comfortable with the new instrument which is attracting more companies to consider this fund-raising activity,” Mr. Mangun said.

“I think there will be more demand once companies offer up other types of income-generating properties like retail malls, industrial [such as] warehousing, cold-storage, terminals or in hospitality (like) hotels, resorts, events venues, theme parks),” he added.

TEC opens flagship center in Makati as demand for flexible workspace grows

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Senior Reporter

WITH the rising demand for flexible office space, The Executive Centre (TEC) launched on June 1 its flagship center at Ayala Triangle Gardens Tower 2 in the Makati central business district.

“Our center at Ayala Triangle Gardens Tower 2 opened just this June 1,” TEC Philippines Country Manager Josh Alfafara told BusinessWorld in a Zoom interview on June 17.

“We actually entered the market two years ago… for our clients who required customized space, so what we did was that we sourced a space for them. We set it up for them, and we continue to manage it for them. This project gave us an insight of how the Philippines is actually an active growth market for many businesses. This really was our springboard for us to be able to launch The Executive Centre at Ayala Triangle Gardens Tower 2,” he added.

TEC opened in Hong Kong in 1994 and now has more than 150 centers with over 32,000 members in 32 cities and 14 markets. The company said it is the third largest serviced office business in Asia with annual turnover in excess of $237 million.

“During the pandemic, our retention rate has actually been very stable. One initiative that our team has done across all of our markets is to ensure that our members are looked after and that they stay. Our teams ensure that we communicate and collaborate with them,” Mr. Alfafara said.

“It’s an opportune time [for us] because it’s now when businesses need to incorporate workspace solutions into their work plans,” he added.

Mr. Alfafara noted that in the past, flexible workspace was more attractive to small and medium businesses or startups than to big companies, but this has shifted exponentially during the pandemic, with not only small businesses but also multinational companies showing interest in flexible workspaces.

Many businesses have already started implementing a hybrid work model, he said.

“I believe the hybrid solution is here to stay. I believe landlords from traditional offices will learn to embrace flexible working in their developments as well. It’s these periods of economic uncertainty that make it hard to predict headcount, so I believe landlords will also need to adapt to these changes.”

Mr. Alfafara also said a flexible workspace strategy can save firms 20% to 40% of their costs versus working in a traditional office. “From a capex perspective, it definitely helps them because there is no need to invest in construction or real estate, as they will be occupying an office on a monthly basis that is already set up for them.”

“The traditional office is a bit more inflexible than hybrid because once a company takes up traditional office space, it also needs to commit to long-term periods such as between three to five years, as opposed to flexible workspaces where it can downsize and upsize based on the headcount,” he explained.

“It is difficult for businesses to predict headcount in uncertain times, so having a flexible solution allows them to grow and downsize.”

CMIC fires back at Venture Securities’ ‘seeming arrogance’

THE Capital Markets Integrity Corp. (CMIC) responded to Venture Securities, Inc.’s allegations after taking note of the statements made by the brokerage, saying it was made “in seeming arrogance of CMIC’s standard audit procedures.”

It emphasized that it is a “compliance audit, not a fraud audit.”

“While detection of fraud may occur in a compliance audit, the regular examinations by CMIC are not specifically conducted to uncover fraudulent transactions,” CMIC said in a statement.

A Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) panel revoked the license of Venture Securities and imposed a P32-million fine for a client share fraud that led to the collapse of one of the country’s oldest brokerages, R&L Investments, Inc.

Venture Securities said it was “unnecessarily dragged” into the issue.

R&L Investments employee Marlo Moron stole around P700-million client shares from 2012 to 2019 and transferred them into an account with Venture Securities.

Venture Securities said the CMIC should have discovered that Mr. Moron was carrying out positions of settlement clerk, keeper of the books of account, and trader of R&L Investments.

The regulatory arm of the Philippine Stock Exchange maintained that its audits are based on sampling methodology, and it does not screen all transactions or client records.

“This concurrent holding of conflicting positions, being violative of the rules, was willfully concealed from the books and records of R&L, and was part of the venture of fraud carried out by Mr. Moron,” CMIC said.

The CMIC found Venture Securities failing to properly record transactions executed by and assigned to Julieto Sulapas, the Venture Securities account Mr. Marlo used to steal R&L client shares.

Venture Securities’ associated person also did not supervise properly employee activities. There were also multiple discrepancies in their records.

“Venture allowed Julieto Sulapas to continue to execute trades and use its facilities, notwithstanding the trading participant’s awareness that he had been trading considerably beyond his declared financial capacity,” the CMIC said.

The SEC also backed CMIC’s findings.

“Venture’s actions laying blame on CMIC are mere squid tactics meant to divert attention from the real issues,” the CMIC said. “The infringement of the securities laws were committed within and by Venture itself.” — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Landco sales soar as buyers seek open and wider spaces

LEISURE real estate developer Landco Pacific Corp. sales have been surging in the past five months as buyers eye open spaces amid the pandemic, the company said.

“Profit-wise, we have recently experienced sudden surge and increase in pricing of our projects because of the clamor for wider, open space (and) laid-back environment,” Landco Chief Financial Officer Vivian S. Liban said in an online briefing on Thursday.

“In the last five months, we have experienced a surge in sales.”

The developer of the Peninsula de Punta Fuego, Landco properties include residential beach side developments and leisure tourism estates.

Ms. Liban said that the company used the lull in business activities and construction during the pandemic to streamline its business processes.

“With this, we expect to have operating efficiencies, lower operating costs and higher profits for Landco.”

Landco has been promoting its leisure tourism estates Club Laiya and CaSoBē in Batangas, which will have mixed use residential and commercial lots.

“We have recently secured funding commitment from our shareholder Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC),” Ms. Liban said, adding that Landco has receivables it can collect over the next two years to complete the projects.

MPIC 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. — Jenina P. Ibañez

LFM Properties to list 25-B common shares

LIBERTY Flour Mills, Inc. (LFM) subsidiary LFM Properties Corp. (LPC) has submitted a registration statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission last week to list by way of introduction of 25 billion common shares.

According to its preliminary prospectus, LPC shares will be priced at P0.107 each. They will be listed on the small, medium, and emerging board of the Philippine Stock Exchange.

LFM will be distributing as property dividend up to 10.35 billion LPC common shares to all LFM shareholders as of Dec. 18, 2020. Around 69 LPC common shares will be distributed for each LFM common share.

“The company and its stockholders will not be offering common shares nor preferred shares to the public for subscription nor sale in connection with the property dividend distribution and the listing,” the company said in its prospectus.

LPC will continue to be an LFM subsidiary after listing, with LFM holding 60.11% of its outstanding capital stock. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Gov’t debt rates seen dropping

THE RATES of government securities on offer this week would likely continue to decline before the Philippine central bank meets on policy rates on June 24, according to traders.

The Bureau of the Treasury is set sell P15 billion of Treasury bills (T-bills) on Monday — P5 billion each in 91-, 182- and 364-day debt paper.

On Tuesday, it will auction off reissued 10-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) with a remaining life of five years and 10 months.

The T-bills may fetch lower rates again this week, while T-bond yields could range from 3.175% to 3.3%, a bond trader said in via Viber message.

The auctions would be driven by ample liquidity in the market, with investors factoring in expectations that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will keep its policy rates unchanged on Thursday.

Government security rates could fall further as short-term rates have been falling recently, said Noel S. Reyes, chief investment officer at Security Bank Corp. “The curve is looking to flatten and see longer dates inch lower on yields.”

The Treasury bureau increased the volume of T-bills it awarded last week to P21 billion from P15 billion after total tenders hit P100.3 billion and rates declined across the board.

It borrowed P7 billion via the 91-day debt, up from the initial plan to raise just P5 billion. The three-month debt fetched an average rate of 1.118%, lower than 1.176% seen at the June 7 auction.

The bureau raised another P7 billion from the 182-day securities against the original P5-billion program at average 1.372%, down from 1.422%.

It also raised its award for the 364-day securities to P7 billion from P5 billion. The one-year instruments were quoted at 1.577%, down from 1.649%.

The last time the Treasury bureau offered the reissued 10-year bonds was on March 9, when it raised P30 billion from P50.25 billion in bids. The notes fetched an average rate of 3.732%, up by 101 basis points from Jan. 19.

The rates of three-month, six-month and one-year debt were quoted at 1.222%, 1.427% and 1.637%, respectively at the secondary market on Friday, based on PHL Bloomberg Valuation Reference Rates posted on the Philippine Dealing System’s website. The rate of the five-year debt, the closest tenor for the T-bonds on offer, was 3.067%.

The Treasury bureau wants to raise P215 billion from the local debt market this month — P75 billion via weekly offers of T-bills and P140 billion from weekly auctions of T-bonds.

The government may borrow P3 trillion from domestic and external sources this year to help fund a budget deficit that is expected to hit 9.3% of economic output. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Bayer says hybrid corn variety tops local gov’t trial in Cebu

REUTERS

A VARIETY of hybrid corn produced by Bayer Crop Science known as De Kalb 9118S topped a government trial in Asturias, Cebu, posting a return on investment of 84.7% and yielding a net income of more than P45,000 per hectare, the company said in a statement Sunday.

The variety is resistant to foliar disease, banded leaf sheath blight, and stalk rot disease, according to a statement issued on behalf of Bayer Philippines.

“Aside from being the top performer in the Asturias corn derby, De Kalb 9118S characteristics include high shelling recovery at 84%, which indicates heavy grains once the corn ears are removed from the cobs,” according to Erwin G. Vibal, Grower Marketing Lead of Bayer Crop Science.

“This is advantageous for end-users who require high yield output from corn production,” he added.

The trial sought to determine the performance of various hybrid corn varieties in the market.

Placing second and third were Bayer varieties De Kalb 9919S and De Kalb 6919S,” respectively.

Asturias municipal agriculturist Jade Mesias said that Asturias is the biggest corn-producing town in Cebu.

“Asturias is now the biggest in the whole of Cebu province in terms of land area planted to hybrid corn,” she said.

“The impact will be very significant, both socially and economically if we’re able to plant more area to hybrid corn,” Ms. Mesias added. — Angelica Y. Yang

Smart, Telus activate 5G roaming in Canada; now covers entire North America

PLDT, Inc.’s wireless arm Smart Communications, Inc. has partnered with telecommunications company Telus to launch fifth-generation (5G) roaming services in Canada, a company official said.

“Sustaining our commitment to improve customer experience, we continue to team up with global telco leaders in key market,” Smart Vice-President for Roaming and Consumer Business Alice R. Ramos said in a recent e-mailed statement.

Aside from Telus, the company has partnerships with AT&T in the United States; TrueMove and AIS in Thailand; Sunrise in Switzerland; TDC in Denmark; Meteor in Ireland; SmarTone and HKT in Hong Kong; Pelephone in Israel; Turkcell in Turkey; Zain, Ooredoo and STC in Kuwait; StarHub in Singapore; NTT Docomo in Japan; Vodafone in Australia; Zain in Bahrain; Zain and Mobily in Saudi Arabia; Vodaphone in Qatar; China Mobile and China Unicom in China; Viettel in Vietnam; Etisalat and du in the United Arab Emirates; Chungwa, FarEasTone and T-Star in Taiwan; and KT Corp in South Korea.

To recall, technology services company PLDT Global Corp. recently partnered with Canada’s Hasty Market to offer Smart Communication’s electronic load products.

“As of 2016, Ontario, Canada is home to over 53,000 Filipinos,” PLDT Global noted.

In the Philippines, Smart has fired up more than 3,000 5G sites across the country as of May.

The company targets to further ramp up its nationwide 5G coverage in the next three years.

On June 19, Smart announced that it had fired up 5G sites across the Palawan province, particularly in Puerto Princesa, El Nido, Coron, San Vicente, Roxas, Narra, Aborlan, Brooke’s Point, Bataraza, Taytay, Sofronio Espanola, Cuyo, Rizal, and Quezon.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Honda City Hatchback 1.5 RS CVT: Game, set, hatch

No Jazz, no problem: The City delivers all the usual Honda traits of agility and nimbleness. — PHOTO BY MANNY N. DE LOS REYES

Chopping off the Honda City’s trunk — and all that Jazz

I’VE ALWAYS felt that the Honda Jazz is one of the greatest cars on Earth. Yes, it’s a GOAT — not just in its class, but in the whole “automobiledom.”

And why shouldn’t it be? The Honda Jazz retains all the virtues that the world-changing Austin/Morris Mini pioneered when it introduced front-wheel drive to an unsuspecting world way back in 1959 — diminutive dimensions that wrap around a surprisingly spacious interior and a small, fuel-efficient engine that delivers spritely (and even world-beating) performance.

And now Honda, at least Honda in the Philippines, is putting the Jazz name to rest as the current model enters the twilight phase of its life cycle. The next-generation Jazz (the Honda Jazz has always been called Honda Fit in Japan, Europe and America) debuted in the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show and will likely continue only for the Japanese and European markets. The new car’s styling is decidedly less sporty and more futuristic than its predecessors’.

So what is Honda to do in the Philippines? The answer to that is easy: Take its best-selling model, the City, and lop off the trunk. Of course, that’s easier said than done.

But it makes a lot of sense, because the Jazz has always been based on the City (the first Jazz was based on the second-gen City). The City has also always been universally acclaimed. In my many years of automotive journalism, I have yet to hear of negative feedback on Honda’s subcompact sedan.

So does the new City Hatchback live up to its illustrious forerunner’s game-changing ways? In a word, a resounding “yes!”

The City Hatchback is powered by the same 1.5-liter DOHC i-VTEC engine that powers the City sedan and produces 121ps at 6,600rpm and 145Nm of torque at 4,300rpm. This smooth and eager motor is mated to a CVT with paddle shifters. Honda’s Eco Assist System, which consists of the Econ mode and Eco-Coaching Ambient Light, is still available to help promote fuel-efficient driving.

On the road, the City Hatchback delivers all the usual Honda traits of agility and nimbleness. Its rev-happy engine is very energetic and wonderfully smooth and vibration-free. There’s no stick shift but you can still have a little fun flicking through the paddle shifters. The balance between ride quality and handling responsiveness is arguably the best in its class: No surprise for a Honda to ace on-road dynamics.

Size-wise, the City Hatchback is as wide, just under an inch taller, and is a sizable eight inches (204mm) shorter than its four-door sibling. More importantly, it has the same generous 2,600mm wheelbase. Best of all, it has the ingenious fold-flat or flip-up ULTR seats of the Jazz to give it a level of versatility and flexibility that will shame many crossovers.

The four ULTR modes are:

• Utility Mode: With the two rear seats folded flat, the vehicle can carry two passengers and accommodate large cargo items in the rear storage area;

• Long Mode: With the front passenger seat fully reclined and rear passenger seat folded flat, the vehicle can carry two passengers and accommodate long cargo items such as surfboards;

• Tall Mode: With the rear seats folded upward, the vehicle can accommodate tall items that need to remain upright, such as a large plant or tall piece of luggage;

• Refresh Mode: After removing the front-seat headrests, moving the seats all the way forward and tilting the seatbacks all the way back, the Refresh Mode allows the front and rear seats to be connected — providing a comfortable place for two people to fully recline.

Any subcompact crossover can fit three or four golf bags with the rear seatbacks folded down. But how many subcompact crossovers can fit two tall plants on the floor of the rear seat area while lugging a window-type air-con, plus a week’s worth of groceries in the rear cargo area? The Jazz and the new City Hatchback can.

Unlike the City sedan — which comes in three variants ranging in price from P848,000 (City 1.5 S) to P1.058 million (City 1.5 RS) — the City HB comes in only one form: the fully loaded P1.115-million City Hatchback RS (a P57,000 premium over the similarly outfitted top-of-the-line City RS sedan). I still wish Honda Cars Philippines would introduce a lower-spec City HB variant like the sedan’s S or V counterpart. They might even be able to squeak one in at just under P900,000 (if it’s an S version).

In any case, a City HB RS buyer will enjoy the car’s generous features. Inside, the City Hatchback boasts a spacious cabin complemented by high-quality materials similar to the sedan. Comprised of its equally beautiful and comfortable suede-and-leather seats, black interior trim with red stitching and accents, leather-wrapped shift knob and steering wheel with audio controls, front and rear center armrests, sports pedals and multi-information display with red illumination, the City Hatchback embodies an overall premium interior complementing its sporty RS design exterior.

The car also boasts an array of various tech features such as an eight-inch touchscreen/eight-speaker infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and WebLink connectivity, and a new air-conditioning system with (hooray!) rotary knobs working with a digital AC display. The City HB also features a push-start system with smart keyless entry system and remote engine start, which provides added convenience and ease of access.

Safety features include Honda’s G-Force Control (G-CON) body structure, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) with Agile Handling Assist (AHA), Emergency Stop Signal (ESS), ABS, Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), Hill Start Assist (HSA) and Multi-view Rear Camera with dynamic guidelines. The City Hatchback also comes standard with six air bags (dual front air bags, side air bags, and side curtain air bags) and boasts a five-star ASEAN NCAP safety rating.

All things considered, the City Hatchback not just makes a worthy successor to the Honda Jazz, it even makes a compelling argument against many crossovers, a vast majority of which never venture off road, anyway. The City Hatchback is that rare jack of all trades and master of many. More people should appreciate its genius.

US coffee roasters scramble for Colombian supplies, prices jump following disruptions caused by protests

REUTERS

NEW YORK — Coffee processors in the United States are scrambling to secure Colombian coffee stocks as recent protests in the South American country have disrupted deliveries to the world’s largest coffee consumer.

Stocks of Colombian coffee, a very popular type of mild arabica beans among US customers, are rapidly shrinking as roasters with contracts to supply groceries and coffee shops with coffee specifically labeled as 100% Colombian rush to get those bags, importers said.

Some of that Colombian coffee will be replaced by other mild beans from Central American countries, they said, but at a smaller scale.

“You can’t really replace Colombians. Big roasters have commitments to deliver those packages to supermarkets,” said a US-based coffee importer, adding that he has basically ran out of that coffee in the last few days.

He said prices for Colombian coffee stocked in the United States rose to up to 75 cents per pound over ICE futures in the local cash market, from a 55 to 58 cents premium before the anti-government protests in Colombia that blocked roads and stopped the flow of coffee to ports.

Protests have paused, but it will take time for normal flows to resume.

“It should take 60 to 90 days. There is a short supply of Colombians in the arrivals, in the offloads at ports,” said Christian Wolthers, a partner at US coffee importer Wolthers Douqué LLC.

Jairo Castano Vargas, who works for an independent Colombian coffee exporter, said that despite the formal end of protests, problems persist.

“Some trucks with goods have been attacked by demonstrators when approaching the ports,” he said. The port of Cartagena is still only at 20% of loading capacity.

A third US importer said that some roasters who are not contractually obligated to supply coffee from a specific origin may replace Colombian beans with other coffees in their blends.

He also said that smaller specialty coffee roasters may take Colombian coffees off the shelf temporarily if they cannot find them at reasonable prices. — Reuters

Emperador aims to expand Tamnavulin facilities

LISTED brandy and whiskey manufacturer Emperador, Inc. is eyeing to further expand facilities and capacity after seeing an increased demand for its single malt brand, Tamnavulin.

“Abroad, we are expanding capacity in Scotland,” Kevin Andrew L. Tan, director at Emperador, told reporters last Wednesday, “Our Tamnavulin is selling very, very well, it’s hit the Top 25 already… so there’s [a] clamor to improve, to increase the capacity.”

Other names under the company included in the Top 25 Single Malt Brands are The Dalmore and Jura, the company said during listed conglomerate Alliance Global Group, Inc. stockholders’ meeting on Thursday.

Mr. Tan said the company is looking to invest more in expanding Tamnavulin facilities after seeing increased popularity in Taiwan and China.

“A lot of our allocations to be honest is going to China right now, Taiwan, Japan, and surprisingly Cambodia,” Mr. Tan said.

“These are some of the key countries or areas where we’re expanding very fast but Asia seems to be very resilient, also [the] US,” he added.

Last month, Emperador said it is allotting a P1.5-billion budget for capital expenditures this year as it accelerates global expansion plans. Its brandy and whisky products are available in over 100 countries on six continents.

Emperador generated a net income of P2.08 billion for parent firm equity holders in the January-to-March period, a 43% jump from P1.46 billion year on year. Its topline went up by 13% to P12.07 billion due to the “robust performance” of its global business.

On Friday, shares of Emperador at the stock market rose by 0.2% or two centavos, closing at P10.10 each. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

1...6,6426,6436,644...12,972Page 6,643 of 12,972
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube