Twenty Filipino companies make it to FT ranking of fastest-growing companies

May 5, 2021 | 5:36 pm

Twenty Filipino companies made it to the 2021 Financial Times ranking of the top 500 high-growth companies in the Asia-Pacific region.

Compiled in partnership with global news publication Nikkei Asia and research provider Statista, the ranking, published in April, shows which companies entered the pandemic in a position of strength. The survey covered both private and public companies headquartered in 13 countries and regions in Asia Pacific with an annual revenue of more than $100,000 in 2016 and more than $1 million in 2019. The ranking is based on the revenue growth between 2016 and 2019.

Power Fill Holdings Inc., a gas station franchise, was the highest-ranking Filipino company at 116, reporting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 78.6% and $42.55 million in revenue in 2019. It has over 50 branches in Luzon, with its newest station opening in Floridablanca, Pampanga, last month.

Following Power Fill are DoubleDragon Properties Corp. with a CAGR of 75.9% and $399.20 million in revenue, and Converge ICT Solutions Inc., with a CAGR of 69% and $180.58 million in revenue, both for the year 2019.

Property, support services, and food and beverage were the most represented sectors in the Philippines, with three entrants each.

Four Filipino companies, Pryce Corporation, Century Pacific Food, Inc., Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc., and Puregold Price Club, Inc., also made it to the 2020 list.

The Philippine-based companies that made the Financial Times list, with their respective rankings, is as follows:

116 Power Fill Holdings Inc. (Energy), a gas station franchise established in Malolos, Bulacan in 2009, with plans to expand to more than 200 stations in the next two to five years

121 DoubleDragon Properties Corp. (Property), a real estate firm led by the founders of Mang Inasal and Jollibee, and one of the top 5 listed companies on the Philippine Stock Exchange in terms of market capitalization

135 Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. (Telecoms), a fiber internet and digital consumer-centric service provider, with a clientele in Metro Manila and all across Central Luzon provinces such as Pampanga, Tarlac, Bulacan, and Bataan

176 Fruitas Holdings, Inc. (Food & Beverage), a food products company with brands such as Fruitas, Johnn Lemon, Tea Rex, Halo Halo Islands, and Babot’s Farm

233 The Mercantile Insurance Co., Inc. (Insurance), a non-life insurer and a subsidiary of the conglomerate Camerton Holdings, with accreditations from both public and private entities like the Department of Energy and Aboitiz Land

256 KMC Solutions (Support Services), a coworking space provider with 54 floors across 23 buildings in the Philippines

288 Sta. Lucia Land Inc. (Property), the golf course and real estate developer behind Sta. Lucia Mall in Cainta, Rizal

294 Center for Health Services, Inc. (Health), a health systems delivery corporation that counts San Miguel Corporation as its biggest occupational healthcare client

305 People360 Consulting Corporation (Support Services), the only safety organization with four accreditations from the Department of Labor and Employment (namely, heavy equipment testing and certification, safety consultancy, safety training, and work environment measurement

354 Aidea Inc. (Construction), a design and technology solutions provider recognized as one of the country’s largest design practices by The BCI Asia Top 10 Awards, an annual building industry award

364 GOLDEN ABC, Inc. (Fashion), a fashion enterprise that is home to retail brands like Penshoppe, OXGN, Regatta, ForMe, Memo, and BOCU

383 Mega Global Corporation (Food & Beverage), the largest fishing fleet and canning operations in the Philippines, with canned products such as Mega Sardines and Mega Prime Canned Vegetables in its roster

405 BDO Unibank, Inc. (Financial Services), a full-service universal bank and the country’s largest bank in terms of consolidated resources, customer loans, deposits, assets under management and capital, branches, and automated teller machines networks as of December 31, 2020

417 St. Martin of Tours Credit and Development Cooperative (Support Services), a 50-year, church-based credit union cooperative with 12 full-serviced branches serving Central Luzon communities

430 Pryce Corporation (Chemicals), a property holding and real estate development company with two subsidiaries: Pryce Gases, Inc. (PGI), a liquefied petroleum gas importer and distributor, and Pryce Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (PPhI), a wholesaler and distributor of private branded multi-vitamins and over-the-counter generic drugs

445 Century Pacific Food, Inc. (Food & Beverage), a subsidiary of Century Pacific Group, Inc., with more than 200 products and 19 brands, including Birch Tree Full Cream Milk Powder and Century Tuna

468 Megaworld Corporation (Property), developer of mixed-use, planned communities incorporating residential, commercial, educational, and leisure components

480 Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. (Restaurants), the exclusive franchise and operator of Shakey’s restaurants in that Philippines

481 First Gen Corporation (Energy), a provider of clean and renewable power in the Philippines, and a subsidiary of First Philippine Holdings Corporation

483 Puregold Price Club, Inc. (Retail), wholesale and retail store operator with a total of 434 stores across country as of 2019

BROAD MIX OF SECTORS
As reported by Nikkei Asia, the search was extensive but the ranking was not complete, as some companies either declined to make their figures public or did not participate. China, due to logistical difficulties and problems comparing accounting, is also not represented.

According to the Financial Times, technology is the sector with the biggest presence in the ranking, with a quarter of all companies falling into this category. It is followed by support services and industrial goods, each accounting for just over 4% of those businesses listed.

The top three companies in the 2021 list are Carro, a Singapore-based car marketplace; Kioson, an online-to-offline e-commerce company from Indonesia; and SCI Ecommerce, an e-commerce solution provider also based in Singapore. All three had CAGRs of over 300%.

Japan is the country with the most companies on the list (116), followed by last year’s leader India (95), and Singapore (72). — Patricia B. Mirasol

GCash partners with GerWeiss for sustainable travel in Boracay

May 5, 2021 | 4:54 pm

GCash continues to deliver on being a sustainable payment solution for the travel industry by forging a partnership with GerWeiss, a homegrown sustainable transport provider with a nationwide presence.

The partnership, which started in Boracay, focuses on cashless payments for GerWeiss’ fleet of electric tricycles – or e-trikes as they’re more popularly known. GCash users can now pay for their travel when they scan the QR code on a GerWeiss e-trike. GCash QR codes are reusable, ultimately reducing energy and resources spent in producing bills and coins.

The partnership stands to benefit e-trike drivers and passengers as cashless transactions help protect them from the pandemic by allowing them to observe social distancing through contactless payments.

GCash also provided financial literacy education and training to the drivers, including how to accept payments via GCash’s QR code.

GerWeiss’ e-trikes are a sustainable transport solution as they reduce carbon emissions versus traditional tricycles. These vehicles just need to be recharged after a certain distance traveled. To date, over 30 e-trikes are now empowered to accept GCash payments in Boracay.

“As a ‘new normal’ is on its way in our country, it’s getting critical for business operators, including the transportation industry, to shift to more agile and more versatile modes of payment, such as GCash. Aside from protecting operators and passengers against the pandemic risk, GCash provides a solid payment solution addressing business needs and operational delivering challenges. We welcome GerWeiss for joining us, and embracing this digital shift.” said Frederic Levy, Chief Commercial Officer of GCash.

“GerWeiss is first and foremost a sustainability company providing transportation solutions in the Philippines. We are an internationally acclaimed organization, with a mission to eliminate air pollution, starting in our backyard. With sustainability at our core, it is essential that we operate with like-minded organizations such as GCash, especially during the new normal. On top of the benefits of the partnership, we genuinely see value in cashless payments as well,” said Gabby Villoria, Chief Operating Officer at GerWeiss.

GerWeiss is an award-winning sustainable transportation company recognized by international institutions, such as the UN and the Asian Development Bank, with the goal of meeting growing transportation demands in a cost-conscious and environmentally responsible way.

GCash is constantly pushing for the adoption of cashless payments as it supports the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Digital Transformation Roadmap, where the agency aims to shift at least 50 percent of retail payment transactions to digital and to have at least 70 percent of Filipinos have their own e-wallet by 2023. GCash currently has over 33 million users nationwide.

Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), which operates GCash, is part of the portfolio companies of 917Ventures, the largest corporate incubator in the Philippines wholly owned by Globe Telecom Inc.

GCash is available for download on the App Store and Google Play. For more information, kindly visit https://www.gcash.com/.

[B-SIDE Podcast] Art Fair Philippines: out of the car park and into the world of NFTs

May 5, 2021 | 4:34 pm

Art Fair Philippines (AFP) is moving out of The Link car park in Makati City for its 2021 edition: it’s going online and entering the world of crypto art and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

An NFT is a digital asset (a drawing, an image, a meme, an animated GIF, a video, even a tweet) and it uses the blockchain, the same technology behind bitcoin, to keep track of who owns the file. In March, a digital collage by an artist named Beeple fetched almost $70 million at a Christie’s auction, making the JPG file the most expensive NFT thus far.

In this episode of B-Side, the three co-founders of Art Fair Philippines, Geraldine “Dindin” B. Araneta, Trickie C. Lopa, and Lisa O. Periquet, tell BusinessWorld reporter Michelle Anne P. Soliman how they transported the art fair from the car park into the world of crypto art.

TAKEAWAYS

The digital space is a platform unto itself.

Mses. Lopa, Periquet, and Araneta spent the early months of last year’s lockdown immersing themselves in international art fairs that moved online.

“We had time to review the art fairs because there was a development in the way they turned out over the months. Everybody was trying out different formulas and ideas,” Ms. Periquet said.

“For example, we decided to embed a video in each exhibitor’s page. Because with lack of the physical interaction between the viewer and the gallerist or the artist, this is a way to learn more about the art that was showing on the page. And then one of the methods that we decided to use to also break down that kind of lack of physical interaction is a messaging service,” she added.

Being online expands accessibility.

“Being online, the barriers of time and space and distance fall apart. So, there’s actually an easier way to connect because you don’t have to travel over here with a plane, if you’re from an international spot,” Ms. Periquet said of gathering more audiences.

The digital format opened the opportunity for new programs, such as artist residencies.

“With everyone feeling a bit cooped up indoors, the idea is also to be able to see how else we can reach out to the public and take them elsewhere,” Ms. Araneta.

Keep updated and stay curious (that means trying to understand NFTs).

AFP, together with London-based international contemporary art magazine ArtReview, is presenting a talk on NFTs.

“They [ArtReview] will be talking about NFTs from the point of view of non crypto natives and its effect on the contemporary art scene,” Ms. Lopa said. “At the same time, one of the NFT showcase talks will bring out alternative blockchain platforms that are said to be greener than the original blockchain platform.”

“With all the publicity surrounding [NFTs], it is becoming very attractive and very much an option,” Ms. Periquet said. “So, it tells me that this whole subject is really soaking in to a much wider audience than you would imagine. It’s not just people in the crypto world. It’s now people who are interested in both the art and in investing in it as a currency.”

This B-Side episode was recorded remotely on April 22. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo. Art Fair Philippines runs from May 6 to May 15.

Related B-Side episode: Art fair affairs

Japan faces longer state of emergency, casting doubt on Olympics

May 5, 2021 | 4:20 pm

TOKYO — Japan is considering extending a coronavirus-spurred state of emergency in the capital, Tokyo, and other major urban areas, sources said on Wednesday, a move that could cast doubt on the planned Summer Olympics.

Officials were leaning toward an extension of the measures in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo prefectures beyond May 11 as the country battles a surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, three sources told Reuters.

The government may make an official decision as early as Friday, one of the sources told Reuters. The Yomiuri Newspaper earlier reported that an extension of the state of emergency was likely.

Extending the measures, which were imposed on April 25, would likely fan persistent concerns about whether the Tokyo Olympics, scheduled to begin on July 23, can be held as planned.

The games have already been delayed once from last year due to the pandemic. The city of Sapporo, on the northern island of Hokkaido, hosted a half-marathon test event on Wednesday.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will meet with senior government ministers on Wednesday to discuss an extension, the Yomiuri reported without citing sources. The Yomiuri did not detail how long an extension might be.

One proposal that has emerged is an extension until the end of the month, according to two of the sources. All three people requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak with the media.

The governor of Osaka Prefecture said an extension of three weeks to a month may be necessary, according to domestic media.

Calls by Reuters to Mr. Suga’s office were not answered. Japan’s government buildings and financial markets were closed on Wednesday for annual Golden Week holidays.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach is expected to visit Japan later this month, but an extension of the state of emergency could prompt renewed calls from the public to cancel the games.

Under the state of emergency in Tokyo and other urban areas, the government required restaurants, bars, and karaoke parlours serving alcohol to close. Large department stores and cinemas were also shuttered, while spectators were banned from big sporting events.

It was uncertain whether the government would loosen any of the operating restrictions on the services sector, the Yomiuri said. — Stanley White and Yoshifumi Takemoto/Reuters

New Chia cryptocurrency promises to be greener than Bitcoin, but may drive up hard drive prices

May 5, 2021 | 3:34 pm

Crypto-bitcoin — Image via Chia Project/Instagram

It has been a big year for cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is worth six times what it was 12 months ago, and the joke currency Dogecoin has seen a hundredfold increase in price. A boom in “non-fungible tokens”, or NFTs — tradable tokens based on the same technology as cryptocurrency — is transforming the art market.

With this growth has come renewed scrutiny, with critics attacking Bitcoin in particular as a speculative bubble that uses vast amounts of electricity and produces no real value.

A new cryptocurrency called Chia, which has just begun trading, sets out to remedy these flaws while upholding cryptocurrency’s promise of a secure, decentralized form of payment.

Chia is the brainchild of Bram Cohen, who invented the BitTorrent peer-to-peer filesharing system. He claims it will be more reliable than other cryptocurrencies, and more environmentally friendly too.

Unlike traditional currencies such as the dollar or euro, which are issued by central banks and rely on trust in governments, cryptocurrencies rely on a decentralized database called a blockchain, secured by sophisticated cryptographic tools.

The first cryptocurrency was Bitcoin, released in 2009, and today there are at least 5,922 cryptocurrencies available. Bitcoin is still by far the biggest; the total value of all Bitcoin now in existence is some$1.2 trillion.

Despite this booming popularity, very few retailers accept cryptocurrency as payment.

Governments around the world are also exploring digital currencies. The Bank of England is hiring a dedicated team to explore the possibilities in this area, while the Australian Stock Exchange is reviewing applications for a cryptocurrency-based exchange-traded fund. Germany is one of the frontrunners in embracing crypto, and is heavily investing in blockchain solutions for institutional investment.

Bitcoin and most other cryptocurrencies use a system in which currency is created or “mined” using computers to solve mathematical puzzles. These are known as “proof of work” systems — solving the puzzle is proof that your computer has done a certain amount of work.

Doing this work takes specialized hardware and lots of energy. Bitcoin mining has helped create shortages of graphics processors, and by some estimates it is more energy-intensive than copper mining and uses more electricity than some entire countries.

Chia runs on a system that should use less energy, called “proof of space and time.” In this system, users need to show they have reserved a specific amount of hard drive space at a precise time.

So Chia won’t use huge amounts of electricity, and won’t see miners buying up every graphics card in sight. But the requirement for hard drive storage space may lead to other drawbacks.

Even before its official launch, Chia has used more than an exabyte of data storage. That’s the equivalent of about a million of the 1 terabyte hard drives you might find in an average desktop computer.

According to the South China Morning Post, hard drive prices in China have begun to soar as Chia miners stockpile storage. The price of 12-terabyte drives has increased by 59% since Chia was announced in February this year, and most professional-quality hard drives with more than 8 terabytes of capacity are sold out.

Vietnam is also seeing hard drive shortages as a result of China’s Chia craze.

We may well see similar effects in other countries in the not too distant future. At present, Chia lacks the name recognition and celebrity endorsements that have helped the likes of Bitcoin and Dogecoin to soar, but it has a clear cost advantage.

We can expect cryptocurrency miners will be inclined to try Chia, as a cheaper option than established cryptocurrencies. Eventually, hard drive manufacturers may also revise their prices to increase their own revenue.

Time will tell how Chia ends up performing on the market. If it takes off, we can expect a boom in hard drive prices. But on the flipside, it might also mean graphics processor prices come back down. — Mohiuddin Ahmed/The Conversation

Mohiuddin Ahmed is a lecturer of computing and security at Edith Cowan University, Australia.

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

4^TH GAIN Convention to tackle employment skills gaps and advocate global competitiveness

May 5, 2021 | 3:23 pm

True to its mission of addressing employment skills gaps and setting the competencies and standards to make Filipinos more globally employable and competitive, the Government-Academe-Industry Network (GAIN) will host the 4th GAIN National Convention on May 27 and 28, 2021 via Zoom platform.

The event brings together key decision makers from the public and private sectors, all of whom are invested in collaborating with unity and purpose to reinforce the competencies and global competitiveness of the Filipino workforce.

Shining the spotlight on the new normal, the 4th GAIN Convention will tackle the restructured requirements for success, covering digital literacy framework, global communication standards, micro credentials vis-à-vis a college degree, Philippine PISA results vis-a-vis national competitiveness, and the ability to adapt to remote work, the gig economy, hybrid workforces, and globally connected teams.

Day 1 will feature talks on the post-pandemic workplace and its impact on the Filipino workforce, global digital proficiency standards using Learning Management Systems, the gig economy and opportunities for remote workers, freelancers, and digital nomads, micro-credentialing and its impact on education, and future-proofing careers and companies.

Day 2 will focus on global communication standards for the digital economy, CEFR and Philippine PISA results vis-a-vis national competitiveness, with a resource speaker from the Educational Testing Service (ETS), one of the developers of the PISA test. Highlighting the event would be a panel discussion among the Government, Academe, and Industry on addressing skills gaps and setting competencies and standards.

For inquiries, contact Louise Anne Ferenal-Marquez at 0917-718-9910. Register now at gaininc.weebly.com/register to avail of early bird, group, and other special rates.

Strategic clarity on Taiwan policy carries ‘significant downsides’ — US

May 5, 2021 | 2:31 pm

WASHINGTON — The US policy coordinator for the Indo-Pacific on Tuesday appeared to reject calls for the United States to make a clear statement of its willingness to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack, saying there were “significant downsides” to such an approach.

Kurt Campbell told a discussion hosted by the Financial Times it was appropriate to be concerned about the situation over Taiwan, the self-ruled democratic island that has come under mounting military pressure from China, which considers it a renegade province.

However, Mr. Campbell said he believed there was appreciation in both the United States and China that maintenance of some degree of status quo over the island was in the best interests of both countries.

“I believe that there are some significant downsides to the kind of what is called strategic clarity that you lay out,” Mr. Campbell added, when asked about calls from some prominent US academics and others for Washington to give Taiwan a more explicit security guarantee.

While the United States is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, it has long followed a policy of “strategic ambiguity” on whether it would intervene militarily to protect Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.

Mr. Campbell said any conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan would not likely be contained to a small geographic area.

“I think it would broaden quickly and it would fundamentally trash the global economy in ways that I don’t think anyone can predict,” he said.

Mr. Campbell said there was some concern that China assessed it “got away scot-free” after its crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong and “could draw the wrong conclusions from that” when it came to its actions towards Taiwan.

The best way to maintain peace and stability was to send a consolidated message to China that combined diplomacy and US defense innovation, Mr. Campbell said.

He added that he expected in the next couple of months to see “practical diplomatic engagement” with China on North Korea and other issues of the kind engaged in by US climate envoy John Kerry over climate change and Robert Malley over Iran.

Mr. Campbell said the real short- and medium-term risks were from “accidents and inadvertence,” given the proximity of US and Chinese forces. It was important to build confidence between Washington and Beijing and ensure communications in moments of crisis, he added.

Those precautions resembled the checks and safeguards employed during the Cold War, Mr. Campbell said, but noted that China had been reluctant to use them.

“So we do have a hotline, it’s known to have, the couple of times we’ve used it, just rung in an empty room for hours upon hours,” he said without elaborating. — David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina/Reuters

Boeing faces new hurdle in 737 MAX electrical grounding issue — sources

May 5, 2021 | 1:40 pm

SEATTLE/WASHINGTON/CHICAGO — US air safety officials have asked Boeing Co. to supply fresh analysis and documentation showing numerous 737 MAX subsystems would not be affected by electrical grounding issues first flagged in three areas of the jet in April, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The extra analysis injects new uncertainty over the timing of when Boeing’s best-selling jetliner would be cleared to fly by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The electrical problems have suspended nearly a quarter of its 737 MAX fleet.

US airlines have said they expected Boeing to release the service bulletins as soon as this week that would allow them to make fixes and soon return the planes to service, but this latest issue will likely push that timeline back.

“We continue to work closely with the FAA and our customers to address the ground path issue in affected 737s,” a Boeing spokeswoman said.

Asked about the status of the planes, a FAA spokesman said “we are continuing to work with Boeing.”

Airlines pulled dozens of 737 MAX jets from service early last month after Boeing warned of a production-related electrical grounding problem in a backup power control unit situated in the cockpit on some recently built airplanes.

The problem, which also halted delivery of new planes, was then found in two other places on the flight deck, including the storage rack where the affected control unit is kept and the instrument panel facing the pilots.

The glitch is the latest issue to beset the 737 MAX, which was grounded for nearly two years starting in 2019 after two fatal crashes.

The slog of questions over a relatively straightforward electrical issue illustrates the tougher regulatory posture facing America’s largest exporter as it tries to emerge from the 737 MAX crisis and the overlapping coronavirus pandemic.

Late last week, Boeing submitted service bulletins advising airlines on how to fix the problems with grounding, or the electrical paths designed to maintain safety in the event of a surge of voltage, the two people said.

The FAA has approved the service bulletins but then, in ongoing discussions with Boeing, asked for additional analysis over whether other jet subsystems would be affected by the grounding issue, one of the sources said. The FAA will review Boeing’s analysis and any necessary revisions to the service bulletins before they can be sent to airlines.

Boeing has proposed adding a bonding strap or cable that workers screw onto two different surfaces creating a grounding path, two people said.

Boeing had initially told airlines a fix could take hours or a few days per jet.

The electrical grounding issue emerged after Boeing changed a manufacturing method as it worked to speed up production of the jetliner, a third person said. A fourth person said the change improved a hole-drilling process.

The FAA issued a new airworthiness directive last week requiring a fix before the jets resume flight, saying the issue impacts 109 in-service planes worldwide. Sources said it impacts more than 300 planes in Boeing’s inventory. — Eric M. Johnson, David Shepardson, and Tracy Rucinski/Reuters

COVID-19 vaccine patents dominate global trade talks

May 5, 2021 | 12:48 pm

BRUSSELS — World Trade Organization (WTO) members will assess on Wednesday signs of progress in talks on a proposal by South Africa and India to waive patent rights on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in order to boost supply to developing countries.

They want to ease rules of the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) agreement. WTO decisions are based on consensus, so all 164 members need to agree.

Ten meetings in seven months have failed to produce a breakthrough, with 60 proposal sponsors from emerging economies, backed by a chorus of campaign groups, Nobel laureates, and former world leaders, pitted against richer developed countries, such as Switzerland, the United States, and in the European Union, where many pharmaceutical companies are based.

WHERE ARE THE TALKS NOW?

After a tenth round of talks on April 30, the waiver proposal’s backers said they would revise their text from October in time for the next TRIPS council meeting in the second half of May before a further discussion on June 8–9.

The new text could be more limited than the current proposal.

Norway’s ambassador Dagfinn Sorli, the council chair who will brief Wednesday’s WTO General Council, expressed “careful optimism.”

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus talked on Monday of “encouraging progress,” but said the process needed to be completed as soon as possible. The WHO said in April that of 700 million vaccines globally administered, only 0.2% had been in low-income countries.

THE PROPONENTS ARGUMENT

The Indian/South African proposal in October says property rights such as patents, industrial designs, copyright, and protection of undisclosed information hinder timely access to affordable vaccines and medicines essential to combat COVID-19.

They say the waiver should last for an unspecified time period, with an annual review until it terminates, and call for unhindered global sharing of technology and know-how.

They say there cannot be a repeat of the early years of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, when a lack of access to life-saving medicines cost at least 11 million African lives.

The WHO head and 375 civil society and campaign groups such as Doctors Without Borders back the proposal and former leaders from Britain’s Gordon Brown to Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union have jointly written to US President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., urging him to support it.

THE COUNTER VIEW

Big drug companies oppose patent waivers, as do Britain, Switzerland and the United States. The main Western producers are Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and jointly Pfizer and BioNTech.

They say vaccine development is unpredictable and costly and that strong IP protection helped provide the incentive for the development of vaccines in record time and will do so again in work on tackling new variants or in a future pandemic.

Proponents counter that some of the money was public funds.

Big Pharma also says vaccine-making is difficult — witness the production problems non-specialist AstraZeneca has faced — so suspending patents alone will not bring more shots.

Complex vaccines require deep cooperation between developers and manufacturers. Any failure to make them properly could undermine public confidence in vaccine safety, they say.

They also point to over 260 partnership agreements already in place for production and distribution and comment that, under the existing TRIPS agreement, governments can allow producers to make a patented product without the consent of the patent owner. Developing countries have such “compulsory licences” to push down prices for HIV/AIDS medication from 2002 to 2007.

The situation though is fluid. In Brazil, the only developing country to oppose the waiver, the Senate has passed a bill to suspend COVID-19 vaccine patents. It has become quieter at the WTO since April.

The White House said last week it was considering options to maximise global supply of vaccines, including backing the waiver.

THIRD WAY

WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has suggested a “third way” as a compromise, laying out global action to increase vaccine access after a meeting with producers, governments, and others.

She urged vaccine makers to increase technology transfer to bring in new manufacturing capacity and to be transparent on contracts and pricing.

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai told the same meeting that extraordinary times required courage and sacrifice from governments and leaders — but also from industry. On Tuesday, she said economic recovery depended on addressing global vaccine inequity. — Philip Blenkinsop/Reuters

Philippines clears Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use

May 5, 2021 | 10:50 am

The Philippines has approved Moderna Inc.’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use, Food and Drug Administration head Eric Domingo said Wednesday.

The benefits of using Moderna’s shots to prevent COVID-19 outweigh known and potential risks, Domingo said at a virtual briefing.

Moderna recently signed a deal with the Philippine government and private sector to supply 20 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccines. Initial shipments are expected in June, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez said Tuesday. — Bloomberg

Inflation steadies in April

May 5, 2021 | 10:29 am

INFLATION_COMMONWEALTH_01_VARCAS_060121 — Photo by Michael Varcas, The Philippine Star

INFLATION sustained its pace in April from the preceding month even as core inflation eased to a five-month low, the government reported this morning

Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the consumer price index rose 4.5% year on year last month, unchanged from March, but faster than April 2020’s 2.2%.

April headline inflation was lower than the median 4.7% in an analyst poll BusinessWorld conducted late last week and settled within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) own 4.2-5% estimate.

Year to date, inflation averaged at 4.5%, slightly above the BSP’s 2-4% target band, as well as its inflation forecast of 4.2% for the year.

Inflation eased in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 4.8% in April from 5.8% in March; and alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 12% from 12.1%.

On the other hand, annual increases were noted in housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels (1.5% from 0.9%); furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house (2.1% from 1.9%); health (3.1% from 2.9%); transport (17.9% from 13.8%); communication (0.3% from 0.2%); and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services (3.4% from 3.1%).

The following indices saw steady inflation compared with the previous month: clothing and footwear (1.6%); recreation and culture (-0.6%); and education (1.1%).

Food inflation slowed to 5% in April from 6.2% in March, albeit still faster than last year’s 3.4%.

Core inflation, which is used in determining underlying price trends by stripping out volatile prices of food and fuel, stood at 3.3% in April, easing from 3.5% the preceding month. Still, this was higher than the 2.9% core inflation in April 2020.

Core inflation that month was the slowest since the 3.2% print in November 2020, as well as matching the 3.3% figure recorded in December 2020.

So far, core inflation averaged 3.4% this year compared with the 3.1% in 2020’s comparable four months.

Meanwhile, the inflation rate for the bottom 30% of income households stood at 4.9% in April, slower than the 5.5% rate recorded in the previous month, but still faster than the 2.9% in April 2020.

The inflation rate for the bottom 30% takes into account the spending patterns of this income segment. Thus, its consumer price index differs from that of the average household with the former assigning heavier weights on necessities. — Lourdes O. Pilar

Metro Pacific Investments Corporation sets stockholder’s meeting via remote communication

May 5, 2021 | 8:00 am

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