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LRMC partners with Angkas for ride-hailing services

LIGHT Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), the private operator of Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1), said on Monday it partnered with Angkas (DBDOYC, Inc.) for ride-hailing services.

“LRMC has partnered with the leading app-based motorcycle taxi ride-sharing service Angkas,” LRMC said in an advisory on Monday.

The partnership deal includes an “exclusive fare discount” for LRT-1 passengers, according to the company.

At an online forum organized by the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines last week, LRMC President and Chief Executive Officer Juan F. Alfonso said the ride-hailing services, through the company’s partnership with Angkas, “will be available at certain stations at peak hours.”

Passengers will be able to hire Angkas to and from LRT-1.

LRMC also announced on Monday that it reached another milestone of 15 million safe man-hours without a lost time injury (LTI) among its workers.

The company said LTI is an injury suffered by an employee on the job which results in fatality, permanent disability, or time lost from work.

“Safety is a way of life and a fundamental value in LRMC. We, at LRMC, believe that all accidents can be prevented. And this is the mind-set across the organization — from top management to the staff, maintenance, technicians, and utility team. We look out for one another. If someone comes to you and points out an unsafe act, unsafe condition, or even a near-miss, it is never taken as an offense, but as an opportunity to do things better,” Mr. Alfonso said.

LRMC is the joint venture of Ayala Corp., Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd. It holds the P65-billion, 32-year PPP contract to operate LRT-1 and build its extension to Cavite.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is one of three Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group which it controls. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Innovative ways of marketing properties emerge

By Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

CREATIVE WAYS of promoting property listings, such as virtual tours, have emerged amid the pandemic.

Carousell Philippines Country Manager Raffy Montemayor said virtual property tours, video calls and other online tools are expected to drive real estate sales.

“We will look at even more ways to help buyers make the decision purely online. We see that as something that is a permanent trend, we really want to make more efforts there,” he said in a video call with BusinessWorld.

Majority of their clients on the platform have been using video calls and conducting virtual tours of properties up for sale during the lockdown.

Developers are also becoming more aggressive, providing photos and videos to help brokers and agents effectively market residential projects.   

Carousell said that these services used to be limited to overseas Filipino workers, which make up for 40% of its online traffic. 

“In 2021, we’re seeing that developers are spending more online,” Mr. Montemayor said.

“They are spending more online on our platform than they ever did pre-pandemic and we believe that is going to stay because we believe we’re a more cost-effective way for them to reach home buyers because everybody’s at home and online,” he added.

Carousell Philippines will be holding its first online property expo from July 14-18 to help developers, brokers, and agents upgrade their skills and to provide property buyers with current market information.

The company said it saw a significant increase in listings of apartments and condominiums located in central business districts like Bonifacio Global City, Makati, and the Manila Bay Area.

“But the interest of property buyers right now is on house and lots in Metro Manila and that one was surprising to us. The growth in house and lot inquiries was 24% year on year and then lots only was 42% year on year,” Mr. Montemayor said.

Before the pandemic, people were searching for properties outside Metro Manila for their second homes. But as the health crisis forced everyone to stay indoors, it became more important to have fast internet connection, healthcare infrastructure, and access to delivery and food solutions.

“In the long-term, as those things develop outside Metro Manila, I think that will continue to increase but I think there’s this temporary pause [in demand for properties] outside Metro Manila at least in terms of growth,” Mr. Montemayor said.

While it is difficult to say how much sales Carousell helped in generating, around 85% of its top property sellers renewed their subscription to list properties on the platform.

It is now working to give all sellers, not just those listing properties, the opportunity to build their own brand through the website to help them establish themselves and reach more prospective buyers.

Compared with other property selling portals, Carousell takes pride that it is a “one-stop marketplace” for consumers.

“We have a wider audience base and we’re part of the journey of a home buyer even before they’re thinking about buying a home,” Mr. Montemayor said, adding that it is working to improve a personalized experience for buyers.   

Post-pandemic, Mr. Montemayor said he expects experienced property buyers to return to doing things offline.

With more digital native Gen Zs entering the workforce, he thinks that the investments on digital infrastructures will pay off.

“As these people go into first-time home buying, their default is going to be online so actually, we really believe that this is going to be the norm and this is going to get more and more even post-pandemic,” he said.

Play to earn: The rise of NFT gaming in the Philippines

IMAGE COURTESY OF YIELD GUILD GAMES

By Brontë H. Lacsamana

WITH the rise of the play-to-earn phenomenon, NFT (non-fungible token) gaming guilds and associations have cropped up around the world to educate people and help them join in.

One of these is Yield Guild Games (YGG), founded by Gabriel “Gabby” Dizon; Beryl C. Li; and a third individual, who goes by the pseudonym Owl of Moistness. The guild invests in NFTs in games and organizes a player community that can earn income from playing. In mid-June, they reported 1,000 scholars around the world playing a Pokemon-inspired game called Axie Infinity, who have earned more than 14 million in-game tokens known as Small Love Potions (SLPs) — equivalent to about $1.9 million.

YGG’s $4-million Series A investment, completed this June, will expand this network by purchasing and lending out even more NFT assets.

The investment is led by BITKRAFT Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on gaming, e-sports, and interactive media. In a statement, one of its founding partners, Jens Hilgers, lauded YGG’s efforts as a catalyst for the transition towards player-owned economies.

Aside from investing in Axie Infinity, YGG has also partnered with Splinterlands, a blockchain-based trading card game, with which guild members have been granted early, priority access. The game is one of many who see great potential in the play-to-earn model.

“At its core, YGG is a community of play-to-earn gamers,” said Mr. Dizon in a statement on their recently completed investment. “Think of it as a massively multiplayer online (MMO) guild, for example, but operating across several games, investing in yield-generating NFTs within those games, and lending those in-game assets and inventory out to our player base.”

“Games and virtual worlds are increasingly becoming hosts of real economic activity, enabled and accelerated at scale through blockchain technology,” he said.

WHAT IS NFT GAMING?
The “play-to-earn” movement is an emerging phenomenon in gaming, wherein players NFT games collect rewards within the game that can later be converted to real cash. Though this form of cryptocurrency has been around for a few years, it reached new heights during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with ensuing lockdowns rendering millions jobless and open to earning money through gaming.

In the Philippines, where the unemployment rate continues to fluctuate, the NFT game Axie Infinity has enjoyed massive popularity. Its Vietnamese developer, Sky Mavis, reported that 29,000 of the 70,000 downloads of the game in April this year came from the Philippines.

“At first, I wasn’t convinced that this game (can let you) earn by playing, but I tried it. Out of my curiosity, I bought three Axies for about $4 to $5,” said Arthur “Art Art” C. Lapina, one of the first players of the game in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, where an active community now copes with joblessness by getting income from the game.

In the documentary Play-to-Earn: NFT Gaming in the Philippines, which came out in May, produced by YGG, Mr. Lapina explained that with the cute, in-game pets he bought, called Axies, he could battle other players to earn SLPs, which he would then swap for cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and convert them to pesos via Coins.ph.

UNDERSTANDING THE NFT GAMING MOVEMENT
NFTs are digital properties that can take many forms, from memes and animated GIFs to in-game assets. Using blockchain, an NFT’s record of ownership is stored in a digital ledger, so that players — and not game developers — own their in-game collectibles. This means NFT items in blockchain-based games can be moved off the platform and sold or traded in any open market, which is what Mr. Lapina does to turn his SLP into cash.

When Mr. Lapina first tried his hand at Axie Infinity in April 2020, his first cash-out after 15 days of playing amounted to just P1,000, according to his interview with BitPinas. When the value of SLPs increased in July 2020, the pay reached the ballpark of P14,000 and beyond, after which the movement rapidly spread via word-of-mouth in Cabanatuan City.

However, because of Axie Infinity’s popularity, starting out in the game has now become difficult and expensive. A team of three Axies, which cost just $5 almost a year ago, now fetches steep prices of about $1,000.

“Our main focus at the moment is to provide scholarships, (where) we offer players Axie teams (so they can) play and actually earn for themselves,” said John Emmanuel “Pot” Dela Peña in the documentary. He is one of the three entrepreneurs who came up with the Axie University (AxU) program to address the problem of cost.

The scholarship system involves managers who rent out Axies to those that can’t invest money upfront. To earn their income, these “scholars” train and use the NFTs to win tokens. Earnings are split among the scholar, the NFT owner, and the community manager.

One scholar who takes the game very seriously is 22-year-old Howard A. Garancho, a college graduate unable to find work. The Play-to-Earn documentary showed a glimpse of his computer set-up, with sticky notes on the wall containing game-related reminders. “I treat it as work because if you want to earn in that game, you have to commit in that game. You have to play it daily, to play hard,” said Mr. Garancho.

DFNN subsidiary adds new gaming partner

SPADEGAMING will initially launch 71 games including 168 Fortunes, Da Fu Xiao Fu, FaFaFa, Lucky Cai Shen, and Shanghai 008. — SPADEGAMING.COM

DFNN, Inc. said on Monday that a gaming platform of its subsidiary Inter-Active Entertainment Solutions Technologies, Inc. (IEST) had added a new gaming partner.

The listed gaming and technology company said in a stock exchange disclosure that Inplay.ph, a gaming platform under IEST, recently added Spadegaming as a gaming partner.

DFNN said Spadegaming, based in Asia, creates Asian-themed games that fit the mobile and desktop platforms.

Spadegaming will initially launch 71 games including 168 Fortunes, Da Fu Xiao Fu, FaFaFa, Lucky Cai Shen, and Shanghai 008, which are seen to increase revenues for Inplay.ph.

The listed gaming firm also announced that IEST’s electronic casino platform Instawin gained approval from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. for the inclusion and launch of nine new games from Real Time Gaming.

“The games include popular titles such as Five Wishes, Achilles Deluxe, Epic Holiday Party, Frog Fortune, Vegas Luxe, Wild Hog Luau and Witchy Wins,” DFNN said.

“This is in addition to the also approved fourteen games from Triple Profit Games comprised of 88 Fortunes, 777 Dragons, 8 Dragons, DJ Rock, Fruity Fruit Farm, King of Fruits, Lucky Leprechaun, Sea World, Space Galaxy, TPG777, Vampire’s Feast, Fortune Hotpot and Tarot Deck,” it added.

DFNN posted a net loss of P32.91 million during the first quarter of 2021, a 48.9% increase year on year, caused by the closure of gaming operations due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Revenues for the quarter dropped 42% year on year to P156.47 million from P269.81 million in 2020.

On Monday, shares of DFNN at the stock exchange rose 4.82% or 20 centavos to P4.35 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

BPOs seen to drive office space demand

NORTHGATE Cyberzone is located within Filinvest City, Alabang, Muntinlupa. — COMPANY HANDOUT

THE business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is expected to drive demand for office spaces in the Philippines, according to a Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) report prepared for Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI).

“The information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) industry may continue to spearhead demand for office spaces and this potential new trend of setting up satellite offices would be a strategic fit for the industry considering the significant number of employees in the sector,” JLL said in an Office Market Study of Metro Manila and Metro Cebu.

Many BPO companies allowed employees to work from home (WFH) due to lockdown restrictions amid the pandemic.

“This global trial of remote work proved that work-from-home setup was generally feasible. However, in the Philippines, access to stable internet connection at home was one of the early hurdles that the businesses faced amid lockdowns. Also, internet connection in the country is not that affordable and not all families have the financial capacity to purchase such services. Also, one of the primary risks of a WFH setup is the risk of data security breaches since employees are relying on unsecured network at home,” JLL said.

JLL said many BPO companies are likely to set up satellite offices outside of Metro Manila.

It expects leasing activity to rise in Cebu City, Clark in Pampanga, and Bacolod City in Negros Occidental.

FLI, which is planning to list its real estate investment trust (REIT) through subsidiary Cyberzone Properties, Inc. (CPI), is expanding around the country with Filinvest Mimosa+ and Filinvest New Clark City and City di Mare in Cebu.

FLI’s REIT portfolio includes 16 buildings in Northgate Cyberzone and one office tower with a retail component in Cebu Cyberzone.

“These 17 buildings were handpicked for the initial portfolio of FILRT due to the quality and diversity of its tenant mix,” CPI President and Chief Executive Officer Maricel Brion-Lirio said in a statement.

Majority or 88.4% of its tenants are said to be multinational BPO firms. Traditional and retail tenants only make up for 8.8%, while Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators account for a mere 2.8%.

CPI has an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission to change its name to Filinvest REIT Corp. (FILRT). — K.C.G.Valmonte

Samuel L. Jackson, Danny Glover to receive honorary Oscars

Danny Glover — PHOTO FROM EN.WIKIPEDIA.COM

LOS ANGELES —  Actors Samuel L. Jackson and Danny Glover are among four people who will receive honorary Oscars next year for their contributions to filmmaking and the world, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced last week.

The pair are among the next recipients of the academy’s Governors Awards, which will be handed out in a ceremony in January. Other honorees are writer-director Elaine May and Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann.

The recipients “have had a profound impact on both film and society,” Academy President David Rubin said in a statement.

Mr. Jackson, who portrayed Nick Fury in the Avengers and other Marvel movies, has appeared in more than 100 films. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role as a hit man in director Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 drama Pulp Fiction.

Ms. Ullmann was a frequent collaborator with Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. She appeared in Persona, The Passion of Anna, Cries and Whispers, and other Bergman films. Ms. Ullman was nominated for best actress for 1971 film The Emigrants and 1976 movie Face to Face.

Ms. May received Oscar nominations for best adapted screenplay for 1978’s Heaven Can Wait and 1999’s Primary Colors. Earlier in her career, she was part of the comedy duo Nichols and May, which debuted in 1958, with Mike Nichols.

Mr. Glover, star of the Lethal Weapon movies, will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his advocacy for justice and human rights. He currently serves as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. — Reuters

Dawn of ‘roaring twenties’ seen for property market

A GENERAL view of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 23, 2019. — REUTERS/CHRISTOPHER PIKE

A RECORD burst of sales in the priciest corners of the global property market may be ushering in a post-pandemic era of exuberance in real estate — with Dubai among the front-runners.

The Middle East business hub is the latest city to light up with what Knight Frank LLP called “a spectacular post-COVID rebound in luxury home sales.” In the first five months of the year, 22 properties worth more than $10 million found a buyer, the most since 2015 and up from a total of 19 last year.

Far from being an isolated hotspot, the emirate may mirror a pattern seen in other global cities, the consultancy firm said on Sunday. Homes in the wealthiest areas of London are selling at the fastest rate in seven years, according to LonRes data.

“The rebounding of Dubai’s super prime market echoes a wider global trend, signaling the start perhaps of a ‘Roaring Twenties’ for global real estate,” said Faisal Durrani, head of Middle East Research at Knight Frank.

“The uber luxury end of the market is a terrific barometer for general market sentiment,” Durrani said. “Homebuyers are clearly oozing with confidence when it comes to the emirate’s uber luxury homes market.”

Most of the transactions in the highest price bracket were on the city’s artificial island of Palm Jumeirah, with a total of about $770 million paid for properties in the $10 million range between January and May, according to Knight Frank.

Economic activity in Dubai, particularly tourism, has rebounded in the past six months as the emirate rolled out one of the world’s fastest vaccination campaigns and opened its doors to foreign visitors sooner than most other countries.

But even as luxury property appears to flourish in Dubai, other parts of the emirate’s real estate sector are struggling. State-linked developers Limitless and Meydan are restructuring debt, while one of the top realty firms, Damac Properties, sought to de-list its shares after posting hefty losses. The founder of Damac postponed the effort this month when the regulator started a review of the transaction.

And Dubai’s years-old property glut may also continue to put pressure on the value of high-end residential homes, Knight Frank recently warned.

DIFFERENT BUYERS
For all the similarities between major cities around the world, the differences are also telling.

It’s Brits who are driving the market in the wealthiest areas of London, with the portion of UK buyers currently at 62%, the highest in at least a decade, Knight Frank numbers show.

By contrast, Dubai — where foreigners already account for about 90% of the population — emerged as a haven while the most affluent home buyers fled virus lockdowns from Europe and elsewhere.

With much of the city’s real estate still working through an oversupply that drove down values by over a third since 2014, it may be a challenge to sustain demand for luxury homes while the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is a part, struggles to bring down the number of coronavirus infections that’s kept it on the UK’s red list.

Dubai has over 42,000 homes valued at $1 million or more, second only to London, according to Knight Frank. At the same time, prime residential properties are far more affordable in Dubai than in London, New York or Singapore.

“Investor sentiment has clearly been influenced by the way in which Dubai managed the impact of the pandemic,” said Durrani. “The world’s wealthy have their eyes firmly set on the city.” — Bloomberg

Gov’t fully awards T-bills as rates drop

BW FILE PHOTO

THE GOVERNMENT made a full award of the Treasury bills (T-bills) it auctioned off on Monday as rates continued to decline across the board on the back of strong demand.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) borrowed P15 billion as planned via the T-bills on Monday as the offer was met with P53.567 billion in tenders, making it over three times oversubscribed. However, demand was lower than the P59.064 billion in bids logged during last week’s auction.

Broken down, the Treasury raised the programmed P5 billion via the 91-day T-bills from P19.75 billion in bids. The average rate of the three-month papers fell by 4.7 basis points (bps) to 1.031% from 1.078% previously.

The government also accepted P5 billion as planned in bids for the 182-day debt after the tenor attracted tenders worth P18.427 billion. The six-month T-bills fetched an average rate of 1.332%, down by 1.6 bps from last week’s 1.348%.

Lastly, the BTr made a full P5-billion award of the 364-day securities as total bids reached P15.39 billion. The average rate of the tenor dipped to 1.562% from the 1.563% quoted at the previous auction.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon told reporters in a Viber message after Monday’s auction that the strong demand for the short-term debt papers continued to pull down rates.

Meanwhile, a bond trader said the T-bills’ average rates fell within market expectations.

“People prefer shorter tenors to be safe until more evidence or catalysts resurface,” the trader said.

Investors have been flocking to safe-haven assets like government securities as the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause market volatility.

This week’s auctions of government debt are the last ones for June. The BTr wants to borrow P215 billion from the local debt market this month: P75 billion via weekly offers of T-bills and P140 billion from weekly auctions of Treasury bonds (T-bonds).

It raised P95 billion via the T-bills versus the P75-billion program as it opened its tap facility several times to accommodate strong demand and take advantage of the low rates fetched for the papers.

On Tuesday, the Treasury is looking to raise P35 billion from an offering of reissued 20-year T-bonds, which have a remaining life of 11 years and eight months.

Next month, the Treasury is programmed to raise P235 billion from the local market: P60 billion via weekly offers of T-bills and P175 billion from weekly auctions of T-bonds.

The government wants to borrow P3 trillion from domestic and external sources this year to help fund a budget deficit seen to hit 9.3% of gross domestic product. It runs on a budget deficit as it spends more than the revenue it generates to support the economy’s recovery.

The Philippines on Monday returned to the US global bond market, offering 10.5-year and 25-year dollar-denominated notes at benchmark sizes.

This is the third time this year that the government tapped the international debt market after it raised €2.1 billion via its euro bond sale in April and the ¥55 billion from its Samurai bond offering in March. — B.M. Laforga

When love is written in the stars

WHEN love is dictated by the stars and fortune telling, the result is the new WeTV Original romantic comedy series Boyfriend No. 13. The eight-episode series, follows the highly superstitious Kimverly Santillan who has yet to find “the one” — and whoever he is, is sure to be bad luck.

“When the story was pitched to us by APT, headed by Mike Tuviera, we immediately loved it. It was quirky, it was fun and relatable,” Georgette Tengco, Philippine country manager of WeTV and iflix, said in an online press conference on June 23.

Sue Ramirez stars as Kimverly, a young romance novelist who lives her life according to superstitions. From reading her daily horoscope, to wearing lucky charms to ward off bad luck, and regularly consulting fortune tellers, Kimverly’s every move is calculated to avoid misfortune. When she meets the tall and charming doctor Don Lee (played by JC De Vera) all signs indicate that he is her destiny. On the other hand, there’s her officemate, Bob (played by JC Santos), who needs a writing mentor. Whether she ends up with Bob or Don Lee, these seemingly ideal lovers will be her 13th boyfriend — an unlucky number.

“She is a very superstitious lady,” Ms. Ramirez said of her character. “It so happened that the perfect guys [will be] boyfriend number 13 which is, of course, bad luck.”

Ms. Ramirez and Mr. Santos were the series’ director John “Sweet” Lapus’ first choices for the roles of Kimverly and Bob.

“When they presented the storyline and the script, given na si Sue and JC Santos. So, talagang nahirapan kami sa role ni Dr. Don Lee (So, we really had a difficult time casting the role of Dr. Don Lee),” Mr. Lapus said.

Mr. Lapus wanted to cast JC De Vera as Don — a problematic choice since the production had to seek permission from the network where the actor is currently under contract.

“Pagsamahin na natin yung dalawang JC na pilit pinag-iiwasan ng ibang mga production dahil magkapangalan sila (Let us have the two JCs that other productions try to avoid joining together because they share a name),” Mr. Lapus said.

Mr. Lapus said the story revolves around falling for two people with contrasting personalities.

Bob is a very straightforward and unapologetic person. “Sasabihin niya lahat ng nasa isip niya (He will say everything he thinks),” Mr. Santos said of his character.

Meanwhile, Mr. De Veyra said that despite his character’s joyful personality, Dr. Don Lee lives a pre-arranged life — from which program he pursued at university to his marriage.

“Malilito ka ngayon kung sino ang mamahalin mo. And I believe na lahat ng tao dumaan sa ganiyan (You will get confused over whom to love. And I believe that all of us have gone through that),” Mr. Lapus said.

Also in the cast are Lotlot de Leon, Phi Palmos, Hershey Neri, and Bryan Sy.

Boyfriend No. 13 will start streaming on WeTV on July 2, 7 p.m., with new episodes released weekly. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Diokno retained as co-chair of FSB-RCGA

Benjamin E. Diokno, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor — BLOOMBERG

BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno has been appointed for a second term as the co-chair of a regional group of the Financial Stability Board.

Mr. Diokno will continue to co-chair the Regional Consultative Group for Asia of the Financial Stability Board (FSB-RCGA) until June 2023, the central bank said in a statement on Monday. His first term as co-chair of the body started in July 2019 and ended this month.

Members of the FSB-RCGA include financial authorities from Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

“I am thankful for the privilege and welcome the challenge to serve a second term as co-chair of the RCGA. I look forward to the opportunity to actively work with my colleagues in the RCGA, addressing the after-effects of the pandemic and re-establishing financial stability in the region,” Mr. Diokno was quoted as saying.

He said the FSB’s regional groups are meant to extend discussions beyond the G20.

“Global standards and best practices apply to all and we should leverage this opportunity to shape the discussion and its agreed outcomes,” he added.

The central bank chief said systemic risks like the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic will continue to be key points for discussion at the RCGA.

“We have to balance providing the interventions that address the needs today while remaining conscious of the possible longer-term effects of these interventions. As prudential authorities, we must balance the certainty provided by regulations against the need for flexibility so that we can respond to this once-in-a-lifetime crisis,” Mr. Diokno said. 

“While the policy objective of financial stability was drawn based on the lessons of the 2007 global financial crisis (GFC), the emergence of the COVID-19 virus is the systemic risk that was not foreseen. Many experts have previously pointed out that COVID-19 is a test case for how far the world has progressed on the financial stability agenda post-GFC, even though there is no ready playbook for the policy issues caused by this pandemic-cum-recession,” the BSP said.

The country’s Financial Stability Coordination Council, which is chaired by Mr. Diokno, in April said the impact of the pandemic on borrowers’ capacity to repay their debt is a risk to financial stability, but is seen to be manageable in the near term. — LWTN

PNB targets Fil-Americans with home loan product

PHILIPPINE NATIONAL Bank (PNB) teamed up with New Jersey-based Alexander Anderson Real Estate Group (AAREG) to boost their marketing efforts for US-based Filipinos who are interested in securing loans to buy residential homes in the Philippines.

“We are making it easier for them to obtain a good investment while they are still in the US. We see those in the New York metropolitan area remain to be interested in these investments despite the COVID-19 pandemic,” PNB President and CEO Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso said in a statement.

PNB offers an Own a Philippines Home Loan. It tapped AAREG as its first marketing partner for the loan.

Mr. Veloso said PNB has seen a growing number of Filipinos who are interested in acquiring homes in the Philippines. “Many Filipinos work hard building their careers outside the country and would like to return to their roots,” he said.

Filipinos and those with dual citizenship can purchase land and real estate property in the Philippines. While foreigners are prohibited from owning land in the Philippines, they can legally own a condominium unit for their residence.

PXP sees end to drilling agreement in Peru

PXP Energy Corp. said on Monday that its subsidiary is likely to terminate an agreement with a unit of Australia’s Karoon Energy Ltd. on the drilling of a well in Peru, following the latter’s alleged breach of obligations.

In a stock exchange disclosure, Manuel V. Pangilinan-led PXP said Karoon Energy unit KEI Sucursal del Peru, which operates Peru Block Z-38 offshore in northwest Peru, is supposed to drill a second well during the third exploration phase, as mentioned in its contract.

If the well is not drilled during this time, KEI must continue drilling activities until the fourth period of the exploration phase.

KEI is also required to pay PXP unit Pitkin Petroleum Peru Z-380 SRL’s participating interest of 25% in all expenses incurred until the second well is completed.

Pitkin Petroleum Peru Z-380 SRL (Pitkin Peru) is a unit of Pitkin Petroleum Ltd. (Pitkin Ltd.), which is under Philippine-listed PXP.

In a letter dated April 23, KEI indicated that it would not take any action to extend the term of the contract or any exploration phase, including by seeking to enter into the fourth period of the exploration phase, implying that the firm breached its obligations.

Pitkin Ltd. claimed that KEI “deprived” Pitkin Peru of funding for the fourth exploration phase and for the drilling of a second exploratory well.

“Pitkin Peru has sent a notice of dispute to KEI claiming damages of over $100 million for KEI’s aforesaid breach of its obligation to Pitkin Peru,” PXP said.

Pitkin Ltd., a 53.43%-owned subsidiary of PXP, holds a 25% participating interest in Peru Block Z-38 located in the Tumbes Basin.

On Monday, shares in PXP improved by 1.77% or 14 centavos to finish at P8.07 apiece. — Angelica Y. Yang

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