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A slice of rural life in cosmopolitan Hong Kong

Lai Chi Wo, a village in Hong Kong’s New Territories

AT THE fringes of the cosmopolitan Hong Kong lies a village that represents hundreds of years of history, as well as a slice of rural life surviving to this day.

On Jan. 20, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) gave guests a virtual tour of Lai Chi Wo, a village in Hong Kong’s New Territories. The village was mainly populated by the Hakka people for over 300 years, but saw population decline in the 1960s.

According to the HKTB website, “Lai Chi Wo has more than 200 houses, laid out in precise horizontal and longitudinal rows according to geomancy rules, and protected by rustic walls, were home to over 1,000 residents, before a sharp drop in population beginning in the 1960s. But it has gained a new lease of life as part of the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark and is now a popular destination for hikers and ecotourists. Farmers are back growing rice and vegetables and grazing cows, and some old homes have been transformed into shops and visitor centers. At weekends or on public holidays, you will find village stores and stalls offering a variety of Hakka foods and dishes, such as salty chicken, braised pork and omelets with preserved radishes, dumplings and chicken congee.”

During the tour, a native Hakka woman was interviewed. She said through a translator, “It was lush farmland before. In the years in between, because of the farm produce competition from Mainland China, farming was abandoned. In recent years, there has been revitalization.”

She left the village in 1966, but came back in 2014 to care for her parents. Around the time she returned, there were people who were attempting to farm there again, and she was asked to stay because “she has the knowledge of the original villager(s) of Lai Chi Wo.”

The interview took place near the village’s cultural center, built like a traditional Hakka house, with some clear tiles in the roof to allow for natural lighting. The clear triangular tiles symbolized the sun, moon, and stars.

Meanwhile, ecologist Ryan Leung introduced the hiking and ecological highlights of Lai Chi Wo, including the mangrove wetlands and the Feng Shui woods. “The villagers planted the trees in accordance with feng shui philosophy of being in harmony with nature, in the hope that the woods would bring them good luck and greater wealth,” he said. These include trees such as the five-finger camphor, and the strangler fig.

The tour included a few minutes with artist-in-residence Benjamin Hao, who taught guests about the art of soil painting, as well as talked about the journey that took him there. He said that he had found the town by chance three years ago, and tried to develop products with the herbs found there. “Our aim is to promote the sustainability of Lai Chi Wo,” he said.

Mr. Hao paints sometimes with soil found in the village. “I collect soil from Lai Chi Wo to paint, because this can help people have a closer relationship with the piece of land.” He then taught guests (using mineral powder, and not soil) how to paint a traditional Hakka diamond pattern found embroidered on hats.

“I’m fascinated with the Hakka culture here, and a great intangible heritage with 300 years of history,” he said. Lai Chi Wo had been awarded a Special Recognition for Sustainable Development by UNESCO in 2020. “All of these give me inspiration for my new art creations.”

Mr. Hao said he cherished a bit of Hakka village life that he wouldn’t get anywhere else. “You can go to your neighbor’s house and knock at their door and talk to them. You can hardly find it in the city area.”

The virtual tour can be found here: Lai Chi Wo | Hong Kong Tourism Board (discoverhongkong.com) —  JLG

SEC clears Century Properties’ P6-B debt securities program

CENTURY-PROPERTIES.COM

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the registration of Century Properties Group, Inc.’s P6-billion debt securities program, “subject to certain remaining requirements.”

In a statement on Wednesday, the regulator said Century Properties may offer the shelf-registered bonds in one or more tranches within three years.

The initial tranche will be offered to the public in February, which comprises P2-billion five-year fixed-rate bonds due 2027 along with an oversubscription option of up to P1 billion.

The SEC said Century Properties may net up to P2.94 billion from the initial bond offer should the oversubscription be taken up.

Net proceeds will be used to refinance company debt, fund capital expenditures for horizontal affordable housing developments, as well as fund general corporate requirements.

According to the latest timetable submitted to the regulator, Century Properties plans to offer the first tranche of the bonds from Feb. 14 to 18, while its listing at the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. is set on Feb. 24.

Century Properties tapped China Bank Capital Corp. to be the sole issue manager, sole lead underwriter, and sole bookrunner of the offer.

Shares of Century Properties at the stock exchange closed unchanged at 40 centavos apiece for the third consecutive day since Jan. 21. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Merger of state-led UCPB and LANDBANK to start on March 1

LAND BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES FB PAGE

LAND BANK of the Philippines’ (LANDBANK) merger with the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) will take effect on March 1, LANDBANK said in a public notice.

LANDBANK in a notice posted on its Facebook page on Tuesday announced the merger to its creditors, depositors, and clients as it assures them of continued services.

“Clients of both LANDBANK and UCPB are assured that banking services will remain unhampered during the implementation of the merger,” the state-run bank said.

“The merger shall become effective on March 1, 2022,” LANDBANK said.

UCPB shareholders approved the planned merger last month, with the combined entity producing a bank with nearly P3 trillion in assets.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte in June last year signed an executive order approving the merger, in which all assets and liabilities of UCPB will be transferred to LANDBANK.

The order noted that the banks both have a compatible development mission.

LANDBANK said all UCPB branches will continue to operate until all its systems and accounts have been moved.

“Clients will be advised accordingly prior to any operational adjustments due to the merger,” the bank said.

LANBANK’s net profit grew by 21.2% year on year to P16.72 billion in the first nine months of last year, with total assets growing by 13.6% to 2.564 trillion. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Alec Baldwin seeks dismissal of civil suit over fatal Rust shooting

ALEC BALDWIN/IMDB.COM

LOS ANGELES —  Attorneys for Alec Baldwin and other producers of the movie Rust are asking a court to dismiss a civil lawsuit filed by a script supervisor who was on the set when the actor fatally shot a cinematographer.

In a filing in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, the attorneys said the claim by Mamie Mitchell should be thrown out because there was no evidence that Mr. Baldwin or any of the producers intended harm. Mr. Baldwin was the lead actor and a producer of the independent film, a Western.

“Despite Plaintiff’s attempt to label claims as intentional, nothing about Plaintiff’s allegations suggest that any of Defendants intentionally committed harmful conduct,” the filing said. Ms. Mitchell claimed in a lawsuit filed in November that Mr. Baldwin should have checked the Colt .45 revolver he was holding to make sure it did not include live ammunition. Mr. Baldwin has said the assistant director told him the gun was “cold,” or safe to use and that he did not pull the trigger.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was wounded when the gun discharged as Mr. Baldwin was rehearing on the New Mexico film set.

Ms. Mitchell, who said she was in the line of fire, alleges assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and deliberate infliction of harm, and is seeking unspecified damages in the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Gloria Allred, Ms. Mitchell’s attorney, said on Tuesday that the claim should be allowed to proceed.

The producers are “trying to avoid explaining their conduct before a judge and a jury in a court of law,” she said in a statement. —  Reuters

MSI to release new gaming laptops

TRUSTPAIR.COM

MSI on Monday announced it will release new gaming laptops equipped with 12th generation Intel H series processors.

“MSI demonstrated their determination and vision for the coming era of the metaverse. The new laptops boasting the Meta-ready logo are equipped with Intel CoreTM i7 or above processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 or above, for anyone who’d like to experience Metaverse-compatible performance,” MSI said in a statement.

The company said NVIDIA GeForce RTX laptops are based on the Ampere architecture, with second generation RT Cores for ray tracing and third generation Tensor Cores for deep learning super sampling and artificial intelligence.

The new GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU features 16GB of GDDR6 memory. It is up to 70% faster than RTX 2070 SUPER laptops and can deliver 100 frames per second at 1440p resolution, MSI said.

“Additionally, the new fourth generation of Max-Q Technologies, with CPU Optimizer, Rapid Core Scaling, and Battery Boost 2.0, further enhance efficiency, performance, and battery life.”

MSI said its latest lineup of gaming laptops have a “significant” improvement versus previous models, such as a 30% to 45% increase in CPU performance, as well as a new cooling mechanisms called the Phase Change Liquid Metal Pad.

The Stealth GS77/66 features a larger touchpad and keycap size, as well as six speakers for improved sound and webcam lock switch and support for better security and mobility.

MSI said the Stealth GS66 12UG S-086PH and the Stealth GS66 12UG S-011PH will be priced at P209,995 and P177,995 respectively.

Meanwhile, the Stealth 15M, priced at P114,995, has a stylish design and is portable at 1.8kg and 18.2mm thin.

On the other hand, the Raider GE series’ performance can reach up to a total of 220W with GeForce RTX 3080 Ti via MSI OverBoost. It has displays up to 4K with the support of Discrete Graphic Mode. Two Raider GE laptops will be released in the Philippines: the Raider GE76 12UHS-228PH will cost P272,995 and the Raider GE66 12UGS-020PH will be priced at P172,995.

The Vector GP76 12UH-088PH, priced at P177,995, and the Vector GP66 12UH-095PH (P167,995), meanwhile, are geared for those doing gaming, engineering, or scientific computing. With Cooler Boost 5 Technology, the Vector’s performance can reach up to 210W via MSI OverBoost.

Meanwhile, the Crosshair GL series, a collaboration between MSI and Ubisoft, feature a futuristic design with exclusive sci-fi elements inspired by the feeling and mood of gameplay, and are equipped with Intel CoreTM i9 processors and Cooler Boost 5 Technology.

The Crosshair GL Series comes in three variants: Crosshair 15, Crosshair 17, and also the limited edition Crosshair 15 Rainbow Six Extraction Edition. The Crosshair 15 B12UG SZ-207PH and Crosshair 15 B12UG SZ-206PH will be priced at P156,995 and P135,995 respectively.

The MSI Pulse GL66  12UEK-028PH, priced at P114,995, has a titanium power armor and Cooler Boost 5 increases airflow by 15%, even with a 33% reduction of wall thickness.

Lastly, the slick and thin Katana GF66 12UGS-269PH will cost P125,995.

Vitaly Petrov defends EJ Obiena

WORLD-CLASS TRAINER VITALY PETROV — VITALY PETROV FB

VITALY PETROV has a Facebook page but never really posts that much except for reading messages and answering birthday greetings. In fact, his last post came on June 24, 2019 when he updated his profile picture.

On Wednesday, the 84-year-old pole-vault coach, who has produced a world champion in legendary Sergey Bubka and Olympic gold medalist Thiago Braz, made the exception to defend Filipino Olympian and Asian record-holder Ernest John “EJ” Obiena.

“From the seven years of work that I have done with EJ, I have never heard PATAFA (Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association) or Mr. Philip Juico ask me what they can do to help me develop EJ,” said Mr. Petrov. “I have coached EJ for seven years and have helped him jump 5.93m, which is the current Asian record.

“Money has never been an issue. There are even times where I spend my own money, like paying for a gymnastic coach to help EJ improve,” he added.

Mr. Petrov said the controversy was bad timing since Mr. Obiena is now on the cusp of achieving greater heights and the impasse derails the latter’s development.

“We are now a true contender in the event and one of the best pole-vaulters in the world. Now that the time has come for EJ to realize his hard work, reap the reward of our time and effort then suddenly PATAFA cancels me as their coach,” said Mr. Petrov.

Mr. Petrov was referring to the recommendation of the PATAFA fact-finding body expelling him and Mr. Obiena from the national team. The implementation of the proposal was temporarily shelved due to the mediation.

But now that Mr. Obiena has formally declined it, PATAFA is expected to drop the hammer on Messrs. Obiena and Petrov soon.

Mr. Petrov said he is aghast that a world champion coach like himself is getting this kind of harsh treatment.

“I am a coach who have trained and prepared multiple World Champions, Olympic Champions/Record holder and 30 world records under my 57 years of coaching Pole Vault. Never have I been scorned by any federation of any nation that I have worked with,” said Mr. Petrov.

“Now, PATAFA and Mr. Philip Juico who has never done anything to help me, drops me as a coach and remove my athlete that has a great future in this sport.

“If this Federation is dropping a world-class athlete instead of helping; drops his coach who have trained him to be one of the best pole-vaulters, brands a sport patron persona non grata who has done nothing but helped bring this Filipino boy to where he is now, then I ask what is this federation doing,” he added. — Joey Villar

AllDay Supermarket opens store in Worldwide Corporate Center

ALLDAY Marts, Inc. launched its 35th branch along Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City in line with the Villar-led supermarket’s goal to grow its store network to 100 by 2026.

The company told the exchange on Wednesday that it opened AllDay Worldwide Corporate Center (WCC) just a month after it launched AllDay Eastlake in Muntinlupa.

“The opening of AllDay Supermarket WCC not only adds to the convenience and promise of one of our busiest commercial developments in WCC but is also a key addition to our Metro Manila presence,” AllDay Chairman Manuel B. Villar, Jr. said.

“We believe that this is a timely addition to the AllValue portfolio, as we anticipate a surge in the need for essentials as we manage the latest challenges posed by the pandemic,” he said, referring to AllDay’s parent firm AllValue Holdings Corp.

The company said the new store “is the product of the infusion of fresh capital into chain operations,” following its successful P4.53-billion initial public offering in November last year.

“On the strength of our sustained success thus far, we believe that our 35th store will not only perform to our expectations but also bring delight to our newest community in Mandaluyong,” AllDay President and Chief Executive Officer Frances Rosalie T. Coloma said.

AllDay’s WCC branch also features the company’s so-called “elevated in-store experience,” including wider aisles, calibrated lighting, upgraded design elements, and “intuitive customer-facing technology.”

The branch will also be carrying AllDay’s grocery products, which include an international selection.

“What’s more, we recognize that the Mandaluyong market is one that will truly benefit from our dual-format model, as this newest location adds a ready e-commerce hub for www.allday.com.ph, further strengthening our e-commerce reach in the Metro Manila area,” AllDay Vice-Chairman Camille A. Villar said.

The Villar-led supermarket now has 35 stores across the country. It previously said it aims to have 45 stores by the end of 2022 and reach a 100-store network by 2026.

AllDay shares at the stock market went up 1.69% or one centavo to close at 60 centavos apiece on Wednesday. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

BSP approves lower foreign borrowings in 2021

THE CENTRAL BANK approved $13.1 billion in foreign borrowings last year that were meant to fund pandemic response and the government’s infrastructure projects and general financing.

This is lower by 25.9% than the $17.7 billion in foreign borrowings reviewed in 2020, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said in a statement on Wednesday.

The decline in foreign public borrowings was due to lower bond issuances and program loans, the central bank said.

Foreign borrowings that were allocated to pandemic response amounted to $5.9 billion. This includes vaccine procurement, social protection and support to economic recovery.

Another $5.9 billion was used for the national government’s general financing requirements, while $400 million will be for infrastructure projects.

In the fourth quarter alone, the BSP reviewed $3 billion in public foreign borrowings that will finance the country’s pandemic response and disaster risk reduction.

This is lower by 28.4% year on year from the $4.2 billion approvals given in the October to December 2020 period, the BSP said.

It was also smaller by 28.6% than the amount worth $4.66 approved in the third quarter.

Broken down, $2.7 billion of the borrowings will fund the pandemic response and economic recovery programs of the government, while $300 million will be allocated for disaster risk reduction.

The BSP assessed two project loans amounting to $500 million and six program loans worth $2.5 billion.

Under the 1987 Constitution, the Monetary Board is mandated to give its approval to any foreign loan agreement entered into by the National Government.

Latest data from the BSP showed the country’s external debt inched up 4.7% quarter on quarter to $105.929 billion as of end-September. This is the latest since at least 2011, bringing the external debt to gross domestic product ratio higher to 27.3% from 26.5% as of end-June. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

Imagine no possessions: Beatles memorabilia (virtually) up for auction

photo from uliensauctions.com/

LONDON — John Lennon’s son Julian is auctioning off pieces of memorabilia relating to the Beatles, including three guitars given to him by his father and handwritten notes about the 1968 song “Hey Jude” —  but not physically.

Instead, the auction is a sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), a type of digital asset. Each winning bidder will be able to claim ownership of a digital file described as an “audio/visual collectible” in which Julian Lennon narrates a “”specific heartfelt memory.”

“I feel incredibly lucky to live in a day and age where innovation allows me to share such personal pieces of my Lennon family history,” said Julian Lennon, who is a singer-songwriter, writer and artist.

“Through this NFT collection, I’m able to grant exclusive access to special items that I cherish and carry on the legacy of my father in a new way.”

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) use blockchain to record who owns a digital file, such as an image, video, or text.

Although NFTs are sometimes sold alongside physical items, as a sort of digital certificate of authenticity, owning an NFT does not confer ownership of the underlying item – rather, it can be thought of as a kind of digital bragging rights.

Such sales have nevertheless exploded in popularity, with NFT artworks selling for millions of dollars.

In this case, the buyers of the Beatles NFTs will not receive a guitar or physical piece of paper. What they will get is a unit of blockchain data recording that their crypto wallets own an NFT linked to a digital file showing the item.

So for the “Hey Jude” notes, which show Paul McCartney’s doodles and drawings, the buyer will receive an NFT of an image of the object “brought to life in an even more personal way through Julian Lennon’s exclusive audio narration,” the auction website says.

Bids on this NFT were at $50,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.

“It really made me learn to love Dad again because I just saw him the way I remembered him back in the day when I was a kid and when I was with him around those years,” said Julian Lennon in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday.

“So it was very special to me.”

The sale also includes an NFT representing an image of an Afghan coat that John Lennon wore on the set of the 1967 film Magical Mystery Tour and an NFT of an image of a black cape he wore in the 1965 film Help!. Bids on these were last at $8,000 and $6,000 respectively.

Surging interest in crypto assets has led traditional auction houses such as Christie’s into NFT sales. The Lennon auction is run by Julien’s Auctions and YellowHeart NFT and closes on Feb. 7.

Bids can be placed online or at a physical auction in Beverly Hills. Payments are allowed in various cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, ether, and dogecoin.

An unspecified portion of the proceeds will be donated to the White Feather Foundation, which Julian Lennon said in a Tweet would “offset” the carbon emissions linked to the auction via a carbon removal marketplace called Nori. The blockchain technology used for NFTs and cryptocurrencies has been criticized for their large carbon footprints. —  Reuters

Darwinbox raises $72M, to invest in Southeast Asia talent

TRUSTPAIR.COM

DARWINBOX, an Asia-based human resources (HR) technology platform, is looking to invest in more talent in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, after it raised $72 million from a new funding round.

The Software as a Service (SaaS) startup raised $72 million through a funding round led by Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV). This boosted its valuation past $1 billion.

“We made a conscious decision to really invest in offices and people in the Philippines,” said Juancho Jerusalem, Darwinbox’s vice-president and head of expansion in Asia Pacific and Japan, at a virtual briefing on Tuesday. “We want to revolutionize the user experience of every person. We want to help both white-collar and blue-collar workers.”

Darwinbox provides a cloud-based platform that caters to digital HR needs in all industries across the entire employee lifecycle, from the recruitment and onboarding process to streamlined employee data and work force management. 

It is used by over 650 enterprises across the globe, including Filipino enterprises such as JG Summit Holdings, Inc., Robinsons Bank Corp., and NutriAsia, Inc. among others. Most recently, it partnered with Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures, Inc. to optimize HR tech for over 1,000 employees.

With a 300% revenue growth year on year, the platform aims to grow the team by three times in the Philippines in order to sustain this momentum, added Mr. Jerusalem.

“A lot of things have happened globally that have fast-tracked the recognition of HR management solutions in all industries… Entering the pandemic, it’s unanimous that companies now believe that the most important piece in the puzzle is people,” he said.

He also noted the wide range of industries that can benefit from Darwinbox, including retail, banking and finance, manufacturing, which has a large number of blue-collar workers, and fast-growing startups that want systems to sustain their growth.

Jayant Paleti, co-founder of Darwinbox, pointed out in a statement the importance of technology in helping organizations unlock their employees’ potential.

“This has especially found resonance in this rapidly evolving world of work over the last two years, with companies having to rethink how they attract, manage and retain their talent,” he said.

Mr. Jerusalem added they are in talks with some Philippine universities interested in partnering for training programs.

POC withdraws recognition of Philip Ella Juico as PATAFA chief

PATAFA President Philip Ella Juico — PHILIPPINE STAR FILE PHOTO

THE Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) upheld the decision of its executive board declaring Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) President Philip Ella Juico persona non grata in its hybrid general assembly (GA) meeting on Wednesday.

POC president Abraham Tolentino said 36 members, headed by athletes’ commission representative and Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn F. Diaz, voted in favor of the withdrawal of recognition from Mr. Juico.

There were five who were against, three who abstained, and 10 who did not vote.

“We’re just following the procedure and he (Mr. Juico) was given a chance to speak, explain his side,” said Mr. Tolentino.

This came less than a month after the POC executive board upheld the recommendation of the ethics committee to withdraw sanction from Mr. Juico for alleged harassment that Ernest John “EJ” Obiena had accused him for.

The PhilCycling chief said they could withdraw the decision if PATAFA and Mr. Obiena patch things up.

“Anytime Mr. Juico and EJ can reconcile and EJ withdraws his complain, the GA and executive board can revisit it,” said congressman from Tagaytay.

But it looked like the persona non grata tag could remain for a long time since Mr. Obiena declined the mediation proposed by the Philippine Sports Commission that could have put an end to the issue. — Joey Villar

PAL says passenger insurance now has COVID coverage

An airplane is seen on the runway at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila, March 14, 2016. — REUTERS/ROMEO RANOCO/FILE PHOTO

PHILIPPINE Airlines, Inc. (PAL) on Wednesday said its insurance package for passengers now covers coronavirus-related medical expenses.

The package includes emergency medical evacuation and repatriation, travel cancellation in case the passenger or a family member is infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) within 30 days prior to flight departure, and trip curtailment in case the passenger is hospitalized due to COVID-19, the airline said in a statement.

“Passengers departing from the Philippines and traveling within the Philippines may avail of the COVID Max Protect for maximum coverage during their travel,” it added.

The underwriter is the flag carrier’s program partner Alliedbankers Insurance Corp.

The insurance package includes a medical expense benefit of P1.2 million for domestic travel and up to $125,000 for international travel.

Policyholder must be a minimum of one month old up to 75 years old.

“With the ongoing pandemic, it is important to invest in peace of mind and preparedness,” said Oscar Enrico Reyes, PAL senior vice-president for marketing and sales.

“PAL’s travel insurance with COVID coverage is designed to give our passengers a financial cover against their medical expenses, if affected by the virus. One can select from a variety of insurance packages for their flights,” he added. — Arjay L. Balinbin

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