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Megawide board okays increase of authorized capital stock of preferred shares

MEGAWIDE Construction Corp. on Monday said its board of directors recently approved a resolution that seeks to increase its authorized capital stock of preferred shares.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, Megawide said its board of directors agreed to the increase by 26 million to a total of 150 million “cumulative, non-voting, non-participating, non-convertible, perpetual preferred shares.”

The move will increase the company’s total authorized capital stock to P5.08 billion.

The board likewise agreed to accept the subscription of Citicore Holdings Investment, Inc. to 25% or 6.5 million preferred shares of the increase. The holding company is involved in renewable energy projects through its subsidiaries.

A special meeting will be held on May 11 for the approval of the increase in authorized capital stock of preferred shares.

Moreover, they approved the offering for sale of up to 40 million preferred shares by way of public offering or private placement transaction. It will consist of “one or more sub-series, from the unissued authorized capital stock,” Megawide said.

Also on Monday, the company announced that its board of directors had approved the reallocation of the use of proceeds (P4.33 billion) from its “Series 2A and 2B” preferred shares offering in November last year.

The outstanding balance of the proceeds as of Jan. 18 was at P4.11 billion.

Megawide had initially planned to use P1.22 billion of the proceeds for the rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, but on Dec. 15, the Manila International Airport Authority revoked the company’s original proponent status for the project.

The amount, according to the company, will be used for its existing projects, including Mactan Cebu International Airport multi-use development, development of lot 2 of the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange and other landport locations, and development of the Cebu Integrated Transport Hub, among others.

The company said the scope of such projects will be expanded.

The reallocation of the use of proceeds will be implemented “not earlier than 30 March 2021,” Megawide said. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Prince Harry tells Oprah he worried history would repeat itself

PRINCE HARRY — EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/

LOS ANGELES —  Prince Harry, who shocked Britain last year when he and his wife Meghan stepped back from royal duties, told US interviewer Oprah Winfrey that he had worried about history repeating itself, according to excerpts released on Sunday.

The CBS broadcast network released two brief clips from Ms. Winfrey’s interview of the couple, which is scheduled to air on March 7. It is the first TV interview the couple, formally known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have given since making their homes in California last year.

“My biggest concern was history repeating itself,” Prince Harry said, apparently referring to his mother Princess Diana, who was hounded by the British press and died at age 36 in a car crash in Paris after her divorce from Prince Charles.

Prince Harry, 36, was seated next to Meghan, 39, and holding her hand. The couple announced this month that they are expecting their second child.

“I’m just really relieved and happy to be sitting here talking to you with my wife by my side,” Prince Harry said. “Because I can’t imagine what it must have been like for her (Diana), going through this process by herself all those years ago.

“It’s been unbelievably tough for the two of us, but at least we had each other,” Prince Harry added.

In the clips, Ms. Winfrey said that no subject was off limits and at one point tells the couple “you have said some pretty shocking things here,” including that their situation had been “almost unsurvivable.”

Before they moved to California, the couple had complained about the British tabloids’ treatment of Meghan, whose father is white and mother is African-American, some of which they said amounted to bullying or racism.

Earlier this month, Buckingham Palace announced that the couple would not be returning to their lives as working members of the royal family. — Reuters

Experts say gov’t should consider property tax hike

GOVERNMENTS should consider increasing the taxes on properties and wealth to raise more revenues to fund post-pandemic relief programs and at the same time, narrowing the gap between the poor and the rich, according to Asian Development Bank (ADB) experts.

“Governments will need to raise taxes once the pandemic abates. A possible solution lies in taxing property and wealth,” tax policy consultants Sissie Fung and Brian McAuley, along with public management specialist Go Nagata, wrote in a blog published on the ADB website on Friday.

Governments, they said, will eventually need to hike taxes to boost revenues to support a long-term and sustainable recovery. This includes programs to reduce poverty and to address inequality.

“To this end, taxes on property, such as recurrent taxes on immovable property, recurrent taxes on net wealth, taxes on estates, inheritances and gifts, as well as progressive income taxes should be considered as part of countries’ medium and long-term revenue strategies,” the experts added.

A December study by the ADB showed enhancing the outdated real property valuation system of local governments in the Philippines could drive real property tax collections up by 25% starting 2023.

“We already have all of these taxes. The tax code has all of these items without exception. The only problem with taxes on property and wealth is that the dependability of the revenue stream depends on the reliability of valuation used. That’s why we are pushing for the real property valuation and assessment reform, which is Package 3 of tax reform. That will help us value real assets better,” Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey S. Salceda said in a Viber message on Friday.

He was referring to the third package under the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program of the administration aiming to provide a single, uniform valuation base for taxation of real properties.

The House of Representatives passed its version of the bill on third reading in November 2019, while the Senate version is still pending at the committee level.

The bill is also one of the nine priority bills that the members of Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council will endorse to President Rodrigo R. Duterte to certify as urgent.

Aside from raising taxes, Mr. Salceda said the government also has to manage its ballooning debt and the rising deficit to attain fiscal stability.

“We have plenty of work to do. Fiscal stability does not just have to be passing taxes,” he added. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Century Pacific Food cuts freshwater consumption of tuna facilities

CENTURY PACIFIC Food, Inc. (CNPF) has lessened the freshwater consumption of its tuna manufacturing facilities by 30% in 2020 after designing a new thawing method.

In a regulatory filing on Monday, the listed company said the method reduced by half the water used by its manufacturing plant in thawing frozen tuna.

According to CNPF, its General Santos-based manufacturing plant which produces its Century Tuna brand has consumed a total of 2.2 billion liters of water in 2019 — with around 30% used for thawing frozen tuna.

“The success of this initiative and other water reduction projects translated to the conservation of 660 million liters of water annually,” the disclosure said.

Teddy C. Kho, CNPF vice-president and general manager of tuna OEM business, said the effort to reduce its freshwater consumption is part of the company’s initiative to improve its natural resource efficiency.

“We know how precious water is, especially now when the country needs it more to combat the pandemic via health and hygiene practices,” Mr. Kho was quoted as saying.

“Our formula is simple: Reduce, Reheat, Reuse. We will continue to look for ways to continue our sustainability strategy and accelerate initiatives that contribute to protecting the environment,” he added.

Meanwhile, CNPF said it recently approved a 4.5-megawatt solar project in its General Santos manufacturing base as part of an initiative to lessen greenhouse gas emissions. Solar panels will be installed on the roofs of all the facilities in the area, which are estimated to be online by the middle of 2021.

The solar project will let the company source almost 15% of its total power requirements via renewable energy, and decrease emissions by 123,900 metric tons.

Further, CNPF will continue its 100% plastic neutral initiative through the partnership with Plastic Credit Exchange for plastic offsetting, together with the verification and certification of the said activity.

The initiative collects municipal waste equivalent to the tonnage of post-consumer plastic used by CNPF products and co-processes the plastic into energy instead of using coal.

“The company also expects its coconut subsidiary, Century Pacific Agricultural Ventures, Inc. (CPAVI), to be ‘carbon neutral’ by 2028 with the planting of 100,000 coconut seedlings annually, offsetting about 416,680 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the next eight years,” the disclosure said.

On Monday, CNPF shares at the stock exchange fell 2.22% or 40 centavos to finish at P17.60 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

New RLC brand targets young professionals

ROBINSONS LAND Corporation (RLC) has launched a new brand, RLC Residences, that targets young professionals and families.

RLC Residences General Manager and Senior Vice-President Henry L. Yap said the brand is targeting home buyers aged 30 to 49. These include heads of young families; urban workers; those who seek convenience and “save time and energy going to work;” and those who prefer “spending leisure time indoors,” he said in an e-mail to BusinessWorld.

The brand’s residential projects will feature an “elevated lifestyle experience” with elegant lobbies and living spaces.

“Future projects under the RLC Residences brand will offer innovative storage solutions for condo- dwellers, smart home features, dedicated spaces for work-from-home nooks, allocated areas for daycare or learning and many more,” the company said in a statement.

RLC Residences will be collaborating with its new brand ambassador Love Marie Ongpauco Escudero, also known as Heart Evangelista, in the next few months.

“You have to make sure that the company that you invest in is someone you trust,” Ms. Evangelista said during the press launch on Feb. 23.

Ms. Evangelista said one should consider the location, credibility of the developer, and quality of the project before investing in property.

RLC Residences projects are located in townships or central business districts, and are transport-oriented.

These include The Sapphire Bloc Ortigas Center, Pasig City; The Westin Manila Sonata Place Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City; Cirrus in Rosario, Pasig City; and the Magnolia Residences New Manila, Quezon City. — M.A.P. Soliman

Pandemic forces Berlin Film Festival to go online

BERLIN —  The Berlinale, one of the world’s most open and public film festivals, begins on Monday in a decidedly low-key, private fashion, being streamed to a select audience of journalists and industry professionals rather than playing to packed cinemas.

The organizers of the Berlinale, or Berlin Film Festival, now in its 71st year, have always prided themselves on running screenings that are open to an enthusiastic public, unlike Venice and Cannes, its main rivals in the festival calendar.

This year, because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, is different.

“It’s a huge blow,” said Scott Roxborough, Hollywood Reporter’s Europe bureau chief and a Berlinale veteran.

“Berlin is the biggest public festival in the world and it lives from its audience, the thousands of people in Berlin who go to watch the movies.”

Despite that, organizers hope they can stay true to the Berlinale’s roots as the home, especially, of independent art house cinema with a political bent, as befits an institution born in a divided city on the front lines of the Cold War.

“The disruption brought on by the events of 2020 has led filmmakers to make the most of this situation and create deeply personal films,” said Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian.

Last year’s festival ran as normal, coming just before the pandemic hit Europe, forcing cinemas along with most other public venues to shut.

FILMING UNDER LOCKDOWN
The public will be invited to screenings from this year’s festival in June, when authorities hope that vaccinations will have allowed cinemas to reopen.

Most of the 15 films competing for the Golden Bear were made either under lockdown or between lockdowns, by filmmakers who Roxborough said had shown “incredible ingenuity.”

But the pandemic meant there were no big-ticket US films this year since studios there had chosen to hold back films until the cinemas reopen.

Among the competitors is German actor Daniel Bruehl’s directorial debut Next Door, a comedy about travel, city life and fame.

Another is I’m Your Man, in which Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens plays a robot built to be a perfect match for museum custodian Alma. It is directed by Maria Schrader, who was also behind the hit Netflix series Unorthodox.

In keeping with Berlin’s political roots, the festival will also premier its first Belarussian movie, Aliaksei Paluyan’s documentary Courage, about the protests that have swept Belarus since August’s contested presidential election. —Reuters

Greenergy to acquire 51% stake in U-Pay from ABS-CBN

ABS-CBN Corp. said Monday Greenergy Holdings, Inc.(GHI)  is acquiring a majority stake in U-Pay Digital Technologies, Inc., the media company’s joint venture with iBayad Online Ventures, Inc.

The Tiu-led Greenergy Holdings executed a legally binding term sheet with ABS-CBN and iBayad for its acquisition of 51-million fully paid common shares of U-Pay from the listed media company, ABS-CBN’s disclosure to the stock exchange said.

The deal would result in GHI “owning 51% of the outstanding capital stock of U-Pay,” the media company said.

“GHI shall pay the total amount of P54 million as consideration for the transaction,” it added.

The media company noted that under the term sheet, “the execution of the definitive agreements is conditioned on a satisfactory legal, financial and environmental, social and governance due diligence by GHI.”

“GHI is given 45 days from execution of the term sheet within which to complete the due diligence,” it said. “The transaction is also subject to approvals of pertinent government authorities.”

According to its website, U-Pay is engaged in the business of digital commerce and payment services.

It also develops and provides mobile payment and technology solutions and services.

“Our mission is to help aid in the digital transformation of the unbanked and underbanked sector of the society by equipping them with tools that help them easily, conveniently and securely do mobile payment transactions,” U-Pay said.

Moreover, ABS-CBN said U-Pay is also engaged in advertising, producing, distributing, and marketing products and services that are connected to its operations.

“Under the term sheet, iBayad shall provide expertise in financial technology, programs and software applications it has developed and will develop for U-Pay, including the service and maintenance thereof,” ABS-CBN said. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Shopee taps Willie Revillame as endorser

WILLIE Revillame, host of TV’s game show Wowowin (the latest of many hosting gigs), is no stranger to Shopee, hosting its “Tutok to Win” segment on Wowowin. So it comes as no surprise that he is the platform’s newest ambassador.

Martin Yu, Director at Shopee Philippines, speaking at a Zoom press conference announcing Shoppe’s month-long 3.3-4.4 Mega Shopping Sale, explained the choice. “When you think of Mr. Revillame, you think of his generosity, his fun-loving nature, and the excitement he brings whenever he’s in front of the camera. There’s never a dull moment on his show,” he said. “Willie’s generous heart and playful personality perfectly represents Shopee and how it helps Filipinos during these challenging times.”

For his part, the longtime TV host said, “Proud ka eh (You’re proud). A big company like Shopee, na na magtiwala sa iyo, ibig sabihin (to trust you means) there’s something in you: which is what you call pagmamahal (love).”

The 3.3-4.4 Mega Shopping Sale runs from Mar. 3 to Apr. 4. Along with this announcement, they showed a new commercial starring actress Kris Aquino with a marching band singing a theme song to the tune of “Hey Mickey!.”

E-commerce has been doing well during the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic and its related quarantines which have kept people from going to brick and mortar stores.

“Last year was a specially transformative year for e-commerce,” said Mr. Yu. “Due to social distancing measures, more consumers turned to online platforms, not just for their daily needs, but also for entertainment and interaction.”

Mr. Yu says that the company saw a “fourfold uplift” in the total number of orders completed through its mobile wallet, Shopee Pay. “With this, we are seeing that digital payment is becoming the preferred mode of transaction for both consumers and businesses,” he said.

He also highlighted the increased importance of logistics companies. Shopee, for example, saw an increase in the geographical coverage of Shopee Xpress, its integrated logistics service, which can now service customers in rural areas. According to him, Shopee saw an increase  in food, health, and home-related items shipped from the Shopee warehouses. “Brands and sellers need to ensure parcels are delivered on time and in a cost-effective manner by tapping into the extensive and integrated logistics networks of e-commerce platforms,” he said.

Here’s what shoppers on Shopee can expect from 3.3 to 4.4 —  a month and a day of sales.

There is Mega Free Shipping with no minimum spend; 20% cashback on various categories; and ShopeePay ₱1 deals from top F&B merchants like Jollibee, Dunkin’ Donuts, and McDonald’s. Shoppers can also enjoy exclusive discounts and promotions from Shopee’s brand partners across all categories on Shopee Mall, which include Havaianas Philippines, Huggies Philippines, Realme, P&G Beauty, Pampers, Unilever Beauty, Nestlé, Garnier, Enfagrow, and Vivo.

There will be themed shopping days such as Mega Vouchers Day on Mar. 2, Payday Sale on Mar. 15, and Mega Free Shipping Sale on Mar. 27. Shoppers also have a chance to snag discounts and win millions worth of cash prizes at the 3.3 Shopee Milyonaryo TV Special on Mar. 3, 5 p.m., on GMA 7 and Shopee Live. — JLG

W Group unit breaks ground for new industrial park

THE W GROUP unit Portuguese Land, Inc. (PLI) started work on its industrial park project at the Lima Technology Center in Malvar, Batangas.

In a statement, the W Group said a groundbreaking ceremony was held last Feb. 7.

PLI is planning to develop a 20-hectares industrial park located on the northern part of Lima Technology Center. The project will have five blocks, subdivided into a maximum of 31 lots that will cater to different locators. It will also have an amenity lot with a two-storey building and open space parking.

AirAsia’s logistics venture Teleport partners with McDonald’s for food delivery

Teleport, the logistics venture of low-cost carrier AirAsia, and fast-food chain McDonald’s Philippines signed a partnership agreement on Monday for deliveries of meals.

Under the partnership, ordering, payment, and delivery tracking will be through McDonald’s channels, while Teleport will ensure the deliveries of meals from McDonald’s stores to customers, officials from both companies said at a virtual briefing.

“This partnership with McDonald’s forms part of AirAsia’s pivot to digital transformation and opening of other lines of businesses that will provide job opportunities to everyone who have been severely impacted by the ongoing pandemic,” Philippines AirAsia, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Ricardo P. Isla said.

Teleport, an end-to-end logistics solution for modern businesses, is currently available in the National Capital Region, Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, General Santos, Iloilo, Kalibo, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, Tagbilaran, Clark, Cagayan de Oro, and Zamboanga, according to its country head, Ernest Bernal.

“We hope to partner with McDonald’s in these (locations) to service more McDonald’s stores in the country,” he said.

According to AirAsia, Teleport also runs air cargo operations using its fleet and network of flights, utilizing existing space on passenger planes to reduce transport costs while accessing more than 125 cities in Southeast Asia.

Kenneth S. Yang, chief executive officer of McDonald’s Philippines, said: “We have seen the tremendous growth of our delivery business last year, which, enabled by digital technology, allowed us to serve more customers conveniently and safely from the comfort of their homes.”

“Our partnership with AirAsia is part of the company’s on-going digital transformation journey which started in 2009 with the launch of our McDelivery website, followed by the launch of our McDelivery App in 2014, use of 3POs in 2018 and cashless payment for McDelivery in 2020,” McDonald’s Philippines Managing Director Margot Torres said. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Gov’t fully awards T-bills even as rates climb on inflation bets

THE GOVERNMENT made a full award of the Treasury bills (T-bills) it offered on Monday even as the papers fetched higher rates due to market expectations of a quicker rise in the consumer price index.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P20 billion as planned from the T-bills at yesterday’s auction as demand amounted to P41.052 billion, more than double the amount on offer but lower than the P50.051 billion in bids seen last week.

Broken down, the Treasury borrowed the programmed P5 billion via the three-month debt papers, even with total tenders dropping to P7.595 billion from P12.613 billion a week ago. The 91-day papers’ average rate increased by 16.5 basis points (bps) to 1.04% from the 0.875% in the previous auction.

It likewise raised P5 billion as planned from the 182-day T-bills from total bids of P8.462 billion, down from the P13.127 billion seen last week. The tenor’s average rate stood at 1.226%, going up by 15.9 bps from 1.067% previously.

Lastly, the government made a full P10-billion award of the 364-day debt papers on offer which attracted P24.995 billion in demand, higher than the P13.127 billion logged a week ago. The one-year tenor’s average rate was at 1.68%, climbing 15.3 bps from the 1.527% seen a week ago.

A bond attributed the rise in T-bill yields to concerns over faster inflation, which was reflected in the jump in the rates of the three- and six-month papers.

Headline inflation likely breached the central bank’s target for a second straight month in February as food and fuel prices remain elevated, according to economists.

A BusinessWorld poll of 16 analysts last week yielded a median estimate of 4.8%, near the upper end of the 4.3% to 5.1% estimate range given by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) but beyond the 2-4% annual target.

If realized, the median will be quicker than the 4.2% in January and the 2.6% a year earlier. It would also be the quickest since 5.1% print in December 2018.

The central bank expects inflation to average at 4% this year.

The Philippine Statistics Authority will report February inflation data on March 5.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno last week said inflation is likely to breach their goal until the third quarter of 2021 due to supply-side pressures before decelerating to the midpoint of the 2-4% target by the fourth quarter.

Mr. Diokno has said they will remain accommodative to support the economy towards recovery, noting raising rates is “too early” at this point.

The Monetary Board is set to meet on March 25 for its second policy meeting for the year.

The BSP last year slashed rates by a total of 200 bps to provide support to the virus stricken economy. This brought down the overnight reverse repurchase, lending, and deposit rates to record lows of 2%, 2.5%, and 1.5%, respectively. — L.W.T. Noble

Tom Holland goes through transformation in opioid crisis movie Cherry

LONDON —  British actor Tom Holland, best known for playing Spider-Man, went through a physical transformation to play a drug addict war veteran suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) in the new Russo brothers’ movie Cherry.

Mr. Holland, who rose to global fame when he was cast by the Russo brothers as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the 2016 superhero movie Captain America: Civil War, said he wasn’t sure if he was ready to take on the title role in the new gritty crime drama.

“It was incredibly daunting … at the stage I was in my career, I was very new to this type of project,” the 24-year-old told Reuters.

“I was questioning whether I was the actual guy for the job. And it took some convincing from the Russos that they had the confidence in me that I could do this.”

Cherry is inspired by Nico Walker’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same name and tells the story of 23-year-old Ohio-native Cherry who, disenfranchised and heartbroken after believing he has lost the love of his life Emily (Ciara Bravo) enlists in the army and soon finds himself serving in Iraq.

He returns home a hero but his life quickly unravels as symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder incapacitate him and he spirals into drug addiction, bringing Emily with him. To finance their addiction, Cherry starts robbing banks.

The film is divided into six chapters detailing different parts of Cherry’s life as he transforms from a college student into a bank robber. Mr. Holland said he lost and gained about 30 pounds (13.6 kg) to play Cherry at his lowest.

“It was the most brutal thing I’ve ever done,” he said.

Anthony and Joe Russo said they drew inspiration from their own background.

“We are from Cleveland … It’s part of the country that suffered a lot of economic strife over the last few decades. And there’s a general sense of a lack of forward momentum when you grow up there,” said Joe Russo.

“We’ve had friends and family members who have died from overdoses and others who are struggling with their sobriety. So this was a very important issue for us to spotlight.” — Reuters

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