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Remittances up for 2nd straight month

MONEY SENT HOME by Filipinos abroad rose for a second straight month, albeit at a slower pace as the global economic slowdown continued, the central bank said on Tuesday.   

Data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed cash remittances coursed through bank channels rose 2.9% to $2.747 billion from $2.671 billion a year ago. This is the second straight month of year-on-year growth of remittances after the 9.3% recorded in September.

The October inflows were also higher by 5.6% than the $2.601 billion in September.

“The growth was attributed to the increase in remittances from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more to $2.374 billion in October 2020, 3.3% higher than the $2.298 billion recorded in October 2019,” the BSP said in a statement.

Money sent by OFWs with less than a year of contract also inched up 1.2% to $612 million.

Analysts said the remittance trend in recent months proved to be better than expected given the ongoing crisis. UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said he was actually expecting a 3.6% decline in inflows for October.

“The big story here is more of the OFWs’ resiliency and the timeless Filipino spirit of family first, such that, crisis times further amplifies this warm tradition,” Mr. Asuncion said in an e-mail.

Meanwhile, ING Bank N.V. Manila Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said the slower pace of remittance growth in October from the September print may be due to some renewed restriction measures in some host nations as infections surged. These include some industry-specific restrictions for European countries such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany, among others.

Despite this, the recovery of remittance inflows is a welcome development to temper the impact of weaker incomes in the recession-stricken local economy, he said.

“The fact that remittances continue to rise even after 300,000 OFWs were repatriated and the global economy faces recession is truly impressive and a testament to the grit and heart of our modern-day heroes,” Mr. Mapa said in an e-mail.

Meanwhile, cash remittances for the 10 months to October slipped 0.9% to $24.633 billion from $24.858 billion in the same period of 2019.

“By country source, cash remittances from Saudi Arabia, Japan, the United Kingdom (UK), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Germany, and Kuwait declined, while those from the United States (US), Singapore, Qatar, Oman, Hong Kong and Taiwan increased,” the central bank said.

The biggest remittance market was the US, where 40.2% of the inflows were sourced. Remittances from the US, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, UK, UAE, Canada, Hong Kong, Qatar and Taiwan made up 78.7% of the total.

“The US economy has largely remained open even amidst the coronavirus outbreak and this has somehow helped with continuing positive levels of OFW remittance inflows,” Mr. Asuncion said.

Cash remittances could fall by 2% this year, based on BSP projections.

Meanwhile, personal remittances — which include inflows in kind — rose 2.5% to $3.044 billion from $2.969 billion a year ago. Year-to-date inflows dipped 1% to $27.346 billion from $27.612 billion in the first 10 months of 2019.

The remaining two months of 2020 will bring in continued growth in remittances given the usual holiday flows, said Mr. Asuncion. He expects remittance could range from a growth of 0.1% to -2% for 2020.

Amid the likely increase in remittances for the Christmas season, OFWs may be forced to send more as the peso appreciation story stretches on, Mr. Mapa said.

The peso has been playing around the P48-per-dollar level in recent weeks. It closed at P48.063 on Tuesday, depreciating by 1.30 centavos from its P48.05 finish on Monday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

Congress OK’s extension of Bayanihan II validity

Public utility vehicle drivers, who were displaced by the pandemic, register with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board service contracting program, Nov. 26. The program is funded by Bayanihan II. — PHILIPPINE STAR/MICHAEL VARCAS

CONGRESS has approved the bill extending the validity of the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan II) by six months, a few days before the law was set to expire on Dec. 19.

The House of Representatives approved the bill on third reading on Monday evening, while the Senate passed the House version on final reading on Tuesday afternoon.

With 179 affirmative votes, six negatives, and no abstention, lawmakers approved House Bill (HB) No. 8063, which extends the validity of Republic No. 11194 or Bayanihan II until June 30, 2021.

The Senate approved the measures extending the validity of Bayanihan II and the 2020 national budget on Tuesday, after the Finance Committee adopted the House versions.

The House on Monday approved on final reading HB 6656, which extends the effectivity of the P4.1-trillion national budget until Dec. 31, 2021.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte certified the measure as urgent, which allows Congress to skip the three-day interval between the second and third reading approval.

The Senate panel adopted HB 6656 without amendments, but proposed to exclude the special powers granted to Mr. Duterte from the extension of Bayanihan II.

“We cannot agree more with President Duterte on the need to extend the effectivity of Bayanihan II in order to accelerate the country’s socioeconomic recovery from the adverse impact brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Speaker Lord Allan Q. Velasco said in a statement.

Bayanihan II, which took effect in September, allocated P140 billion for relief programs for sectors hit hard by the pandemic and another P25 billion in standby funds.

Mr. Velasco said “a huge portion of the allocation has yet to be released.”

A total of P105.775 billion has so far been released under Bayanihan II, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) reported.

“If not extended, the government will have to release the remaining funds by Dec. 19, or else the funds will revert to the Bureau of the Treasury,” Mr. Velasco said.

Since March, the DBM has released a total of P498.5 billion in funds to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on Filipinos. This included fund releases under Republic Act No. 11469 or Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan I) which reached P386.1 billion from March to June.

EXTENSION OF BUDGET’S VALIDITY
In Tuesday’s session,  Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara sponsored the bill extending the 2020 budget’s validity. Citing data from the Budget department, he said some P110 billion of the budget have yet to be released as of Nov. 13.

“With the adoption of the cash budgeting system, that means this P110 billion would need to be released and obligated before the year ends or else these are returned to the national treasury,” Mr. Angara said during the sponsorship speech.

“With just a few weeks left in the year, it would be extremely difficult for agencies with pending releases to submit the requirements.”

The extension of the 2020 national budget would help boost public spending, which was disrupted when Luzon was placed under a strict lockdown starting March to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

“So unfortunately, hindi nagastos this year, that’s why you had the economy contract by roughly 10%,” Senator Ralph G. Recto said in a television interview on Tuesday.

“It would be more difficult to recover, for the economy to recover if the government spent less. Government is 25% of the total economy. The private sector will not be making those investments, which we need.”

The Philippine economy contracted by 10% in the first nine months of the year, amid weak consumption and sluggish government spending.

Congress on Wednesday will go on a month-long break until Jan. 17, 2021. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza and Charmaine A. Tadalan

Dutch firm to start preparation work for Bulacan airport in Q1

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Senior Reporter

CONSTRUCTION of the P740-billion airport project in Bulacan is set to begin in the first quarter of 2021, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said on Tuesday, with land development work to be undertaken by a Dutch company.

The Manila International Airport project “is set to take off in the first quarter of 2021, after it awarded global firm Boskalis a $1.73-billion contract” to restore the land where it will be built, SMC said in an e-mailed statement.

The company in October said groundbreaking for the Bulacan airport would take place “by the end of the year.”

SMC said it selected Dutch firm Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V., through its local unit Boskalis Philippines, Inc., to undertake land development work for the project, which will be built in the coastal areas of Bulakan town, Bulacan.

“Our selection of a global giant in dredging shows how ready, willing, and committed we are to do everything necessary to make sure this airport project is developed properly and sustainably,” SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang said in the statement.

Mr. Ang said the mega-airport is expected to be fully completed by 2024.

He noted the Dutch dredging firm, which has been involved in development projects in South Korea, Panama, Indonesia, and Amsterdam, will prepare the area to “withstand potential large earthquakes, local typhoon conditions, and even future sea level rise.”

To recall, SMC’s airport project has faced criticism from various groups over its environmental impact.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said during a Senate hearing in September that the airport project is at risk of flooding and ground shaking.

Mr. Ang said the company will use engineering intervention to avoid the risks that come with building an airport in a coastal area.

To address such concerns, SMC has tapped Groupe ADP (Aeroports de Paris), Meinhardt Group and Jacobs Engineering Group for the construction of the airport. These firms are behind Singapore’s Changi airport, France’s Charles de Gaulle airport, and the United States’ Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International airport.

WRIT OF KALIKASAN
Meanwhile, Oceana Philippines in a statement said fisherfolk and civil society groups filed a petition for a Writ of Kalikasan against SMC’s airport project before the Supreme Court.

The petitioners included Bulacan-based fishermen Teodoro Bacon and Rodel Alvarez, Oceana Philippines Vice-President Gloria Estenzo Ramos, Archbishop Roger Martinez of the Archdiocese of San Jose del Monte, and Aniban ng mga Mangagawa sa Agrikultura led by Renato de la Cruz.

Oceana Philippines said the petition was filed to stop the reclamation of Manila Bay in order to save marine life, endangered birds and mangroves and ecosystems. They also claimed that the airport project did not have an environmental compliance certificate (ECC), as it was SMC’s contractor Silvertides Holdings that was issued an ECC on June 14 last year.

“We have to keep on working together in the protection, rehabilitation, and conservation of Manila Bay, not only for its economic importance and contribution to national food security, and for its historical, cultural, and aesthetic value but to make ecosystems and people resilient to the impacts of climate change,” Oceana’s Ms. Ramos said.

The case respondents include Mr. Ang, Silvertides President Hercules V. Galicia, Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, Environmental Management Bureau Region III Regional Director Wilson L. Trajeco, and Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade.

A Writ of Kalikasan is a legal remedy that protects the people’s constitutional right to a healthy environment.

As of press time, SMC has not yet replied to BusinessWorld’s query for comment.

SMC shares closed 1.08% lower at P137.70 apiece on Tuesday. — with Angelica Y. Yang

Dollar reserves hit new record as of end-Nov.

THE COUNTRY’S foreign exchange buffers reached a new all-time high as of end-November, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The gross international reserves (GIR) stood at $104.51 billion as of end-November, increasing by 21.2% from its $86.227-billion level a year ago and up 0.68% from end-October’s $103.802-billion dollar stash.

This is the third consecutive month that the GIR level is beyond the $100-billion projection by the central bank.

The BSP said the month-on-month uptick in the dollar buffers got a boost from inflows from its foreign exchange operations and income from overseas investments.

On the other hand, foreign currency withdrawals during the month meant for debt obligations and revaluation losses from the gold stash were offsetting factors to the GIR buildup.

“The latest GIR level represents an adequate external liquidity buffer, which can help cushion the domestic economy against external shocks. This buffer is equivalent to 11.2 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income,” the BSP said in a statement.

At its end-November level, the GIR is also about 9.3 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 5.3 times based on residual maturity.

Sufficient buffers cushion financial markets from volatility and assure foreign investors and debt watchers of the government’s capacity for debt payments despite the crisis.

The continued rise in the GIR also reflects the narrower trade deficit trend due to the slow recovery in imports, said Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed imports continued to shrink for the 18th consecutive month by 19.5% to $7.979 billion. Trade deficit in October was at $1.777 billion, narrower than the $1.783 billion in September 2020 and $3.573 billion in October 2019.

Broken down, reserves in the form of gold stood at $10.747 billion as of end-November, increasing by more than a third (34%) against its $8.015-billion standing a year ago.

Gains from foreign investments, which make up the bulk of the GIR, climbed 21.5% to $89.063 billion from $73.295 billion in November 2019.

On the other hand, foreign currency deposits decreased 15.7% to $2.681 billion from $3.18 billion.

Meanwhile, the country’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund surged 44.1% to $809 million from $561.8 million. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

AboitizPower seeks to raise P30B from retail bonds

PROCEEDS of the first tranche will be used for debt refinancing and/or for general corporate purposes. — ABOITIZPOWER.COM

ABOITIZ POWER Corp. is looking to raise P30 billion by issuing retail bonds, which it plans to sell in tranches depending on market conditions, the energy company told the stock exchange on Tuesday.

It said its board had approved on Dec. 14 the filing of a registration statement under the shelf registration program of the Securities and Exchange Commission for peso-denominated fixed-rate retail bonds.

AboitizPower also said its board had approved on Monday the issuance of the first tranche of retail bonds worth P4 billion, which is scheduled to be rolled out in the first quarter next year.

The retail bonds have an oversubscription rate of P4 billion, and they will be made available to the public “subject to market conditions” next year. The company intends to list the first tranche with the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx).

“Proceeds of the first tranche of the Retail Bonds will be used for refinancing of corporate debts and/or for other general corporate purposes,” AboitizPower said.

The company’s planned debt offering comes after its announcement last month that it had scheduled the two units of a subsidiary’s 1,336-megawatt (MW) supercritical coal-fired power plant in Dinginin, Bataan to start operating commercially around the middle of next year.

AboitizPower said the first unit of GN Power Dinginin Ltd. Co. is set to synchronize with the grid by the end of the year and start operating by the second quarter of 2021.

The second unit will be synchronized and start earning commissioning revenues by the second quarter of next year. It is scheduled to start operating commercially by the third quarter. The two units have an identical capacity.

AboitizPower, which accounted for nearly half of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc.’s income as of the third quarter, said its ownership of the plant allows it to surpass its 4,000-MW target “attributable” capacity while serving the country’s base load energy demand.

AboitizPower did not give details on its attributable capacity or its share in the new energy generating project. GNPower Dinginin is a joint venture of AC Energy, Inc., AboitizPower subsidiary Therma Power, Inc. and Power Partners Ltd. Co. — Angelica Y. Yang

Lopez Holdings files petition to delist from stock exchange

LOPEZ HOLDINGS Corp. has asked that its common shares be delisted from the bourse’s main board after its stocks’ public float fell below the minimum public ownership requirement with the completion of an associate firm’s tender offer.

In a statement dated Dec. 14 but disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, the holding firm said it had filed a petition for voluntary delisting of its 4,628,672,611 common shares from the Philippine Stock Exchange, which requires listed companies to have a minimum public ownership of 10%.

The voluntary delisting follows Lopez Holdings’ disclosure on Dec. 1 about its board’s nod on the tender offer of First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH) to acquire from shareholders a minimum of 20% and a maximum of 45.56% of the total issued and outstanding common shares. The shares were priced at P3.85 apiece.

Excluded from the tender offer are the shares owned by its ultimate parent entity, Lopez, Inc., which has agreed not to tender its common shares.

Lopez Holdings also said that a fairness report from independent financial adviser KPMG/R.G. Manabat & Co. dated Dec. 14 provides that the fair value of the listed common shares ranges from P2.34 to P3.92 each as of the cut-off date, Sept. 30, 2020.

As such the tender offer price of P3.85 per share is within the computed range of Lopez Holdings’ equity value per share, the firm said.

It quoted the financial adviser as saying that the price is deemed “fair and reasonable from a financial point of view, as of the cut-off date.”

As of Nov. 30, Lopez, Inc. owned 54.44% of the listed and outstanding common shares of Lopez Holdings, while the remaining 45.56% was owned by the remaining shareholders.

On Tuesday, shares in Lopez Holdings at the stock exchange were down 0.27% at P3.72 each.

Gov’t makes full award of bonds as yield drops on strong demand

THE GOVERNMENT on Tuesday made a full award of its offer of reissued 10-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) as its yield dropped, with investors continuing to prefer safe-haven securities as the coronavirus pandemic stretches on.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P30 billion as planned via the reissued 10-year papers. Demand for the T-bonds reached P70.45 billion, more than double the offered amount. This brought the outstanding volume for the series to P94.94 billion.

To accommodate the excess demand, the Treasury also opened its tap facility to borrow another P10 billion via the tenor.

Yesterday’s offering was the Treasury’s last regular auction for the year.

The 10-year T-bonds, which have a remaining life of six years and four months and carry a coupon rate of 4.75%, were quoted at an average rate of 2.791% yesterday, declining by 194.1 basis points (bps) from the 4.732% fetched during the previous auction of the series.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon told reporters after the auction that investors continue to favor government securities in their search for returns, as seen in the demand logged yesterday.

“We saw big volume tendered and lower bids versus secondary for the security. [We] saw interest shift to belly of curve for yield pickup as GS [government securities] auctions wrapped up for the year,” Ms. De Leon told reporters in a Viber message.

She added that within-target headline inflation prevented yields on government debt from climbing.

Headline inflation stood at 3.3% in November, quicker than the 2.5% in October on the back of an uptick in food prices and energy costs.

Despite this, the year-to-date increase in the consumer price index settled at 2.6%, still within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) target of 2-4% for 2020.

The central bank expects headline inflation to average at 2.4% this year.

Meanwhile, a trader said investors continue to tread the market cautiously amid uncertainties caused by the pandemic.

“With ample liquidity and with BSP seen to keep its monetary policy settings accommodative, investors continue to place their funds to safer options such as government securities,” the trader said in a Viber message.

The BSP’s policy-setting Monetary Board will hold its last review for the year on Thursday, Dec. 17.

The central bank will likely keep its key policy rates at their current record low levels as it considers the recent uptick in the country’s inflation rate, according to analysts.

A BusinessWorld poll last week showed all 15 analysts do not expect the Monetary Board to go for another rate cut at its seventh and final policy meeting for the year.

The BSP unexpectedly slashed rates by 25 bps last month, citing the need to provide support amid continued uncertainty caused by new virus cases globally and the impact of a recent string of typhoons.

The central bank has lowered policy rates by 200 bps this year.

However, many analysts believe the BSP will resume its easing cycle as early as the first quarter of 2021 to help the economy bounce back as recovery prospects remain dim.

The Treasury wanted to borrow P120 billion from domestic lenders in December: P60 billion in weekly T-bill auctions and P60 billion in fortnightly T-bond offerings. It made full awards of all its offerings even as rates on some papers inched higher.

The government wants to raise around P3 trillion this year from local and foreign lenders to help fund its budget deficit, which is expected to hit 7.6% of the country’s gross domestic product. — LWTN

Cost-cutting measures help boost Victorias Milling’s profit

LISTED sugar miller Victorias Milling Co., Inc. (VMC) posted a 2.8% rise in attributable net income to P840.03 million for its fiscal year that ended on Aug. 31, 2020, carried by higher revenues and lower operating expenses.

“Efforts were focused in attaining target production efficiencies, which delivered optimum results as well as in adopting cost reduction measures that helped protect profit margins and lowered operating expenses considerably,” the company said in a stock exchange disclosure on Tuesday.

In the previous year, the company’s attributable income was at P817.49 million.

For its 2020 fiscal year, revenues rose 24.7% year-on-year to P6.96 billion, against P5.58 billion in 2019, due to higher milling service income at P2.21 billion.

VMC said sugar sales dropped, but this was offset by its distillery segment results. Refined sugar and raw sugar sales went down 23.1% and 7.1% to P1.86 billion and P1.56 billion, respectively.

However, ethanol sales climbed 18.7% to P705.11 million, from P594.26 million in 2019, while alcohol sales jumped to P118.37 million. 

“Ethanol volume sold increased by 10% and price was favorable compared to last year. The group also introduced a rubbing alcohol brand V-Protect to the market due to necessity and increased demand during the height of the pandemic,” the disclosure said.

Meanwhile, VMC’s operating expenses fell 30.1% to P594.25 million against P850.11 million last year.

“The level of operating expenses significantly decreased compared last year due to lower professional fees and contracted services, representation, taxes and licenses, among others,” the disclosure said.

Located in Negros Occidental, VMC has business interests in integrated raw and refined sugar production, food, power, distillery, and recreation.

The company’s subsidiaries include Victorias Foods Corp., Canetown Development Corp., Victoria’s Golf & Country Club, Inc., Victorias Agricultural Land Corp., and Victorias Green Energy Corp.

On Tuesday, shares in VMC at the stock exchange remained at P2.50 per piece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Citigroup mocked by asset managers on $900-M error: ‘Take the money and run’

RECIPIENTS of Citigroup, Inc.’s $900-million error couldn’t help but mock the bank — and that could help it get the money back.

As it fights to recover funds it sent Revlon, Inc. lenders in August, Citibank is working to convince a judge that the 10 asset managers it’s suing knew the payment was a mistake. At a trial on Monday, lawyers for the bank cited electronic chats between employees of some of the investment firms as evidence.

“I feel really bad for the person that fat-fingered a $900-million payment,” a vice-president at HPS Investment Partners told another executive the day after the Aug. 11 transfers, according to an excerpt highlighted in court. “Not a great career move.”

“How was work today, honey?” the vice-president said a little later, imagining both sides of the dinner table conversation that night at home. “It was OK, except I accidentally sent $900 million out to people who weren’t supposed to have it.”

By Aug. 14, after major news media had reported the bungled payment, another HPS vice-president was discussing the transfer with a third, and riffed on the title of a 1970s hit by the Steve Miller Band, according to a court filing by Citibank.

“As Steve Miller said, ‘take the money and run,’” he quipped.

The response came with a smiley face: “We have not paid the money back :).”

However embarrassing to Citibank, the mocking chatter at HPS in the wake of the biggest banking error in recent memory could work in its favor. The bank, acting as administrative agent on the Revlon loan, wired the $900 million out of its own pocket. It argues that the lenders must return the money since it was clearly sent in error and isn’t theirs to keep. It has cited the language to show the firms knew it didn’t mean pay off the Revlon loans.

The trial, which is being held by videoconference without a jury before US District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan and is in its fourth day, shines a light on a mistake that Citibank has already had to explain to federal regulators and that has forced it to tighten its controls. The case is being closely followed on Wall Street, especially in the syndicated loan industry.

CHANGE OF HEART
Citibank, which meant to make a far smaller periodic interest payment, has recovered about $390 million of the whopping error and sued asset managers for creditors that refused to give back $508 million.

The defendants say the transfers were the exact amount owed their clients under a 2016 loan to the struggling cosmetics company and that nothing about the payment led them to think it was a mistake. Among the 10 firms the bank sued are HPS, Symphony Asset Management, Brigade Capital Management and New Generation Advisors.

Frederick Bailey Dent, an equity member and portfolio manager at New Generation, initially advised his team to return the wires and keep only the funds that were due, according to written testimony. But in subsequent internal messages read out in court on Monday, Mr. Dent said “wait” and told his team to hang on to the money — though he added that the firm “probably can’t recognize the gain until we’re sure we can keep it.”

Scott Crocombe, managing director at HPS, testified that he took part in discussions at the firm of the huge unexpected transfer the day after HPS received it. Under questioning by John Baughman, a lawyer for Citibank, Mr. Crocombe said he didn’t know about the payment until learning of an error notice the bank sent out almost 20 hours later.

The judge, who will determine the outcome of the case, asked Crocombe to explain his thinking on why Revlon would pay off the loan rather than make a much smaller payment on unsecured bonds outstanding that triggered a November due date.

“There are situations in which a borrower or management, or the board of a borrower, if they become concerned about preference payment issues,” would make the decision to pay secured debt, Mr. Crocombe said.

HPS manages investments for 18 clients that hold about $134.1 million of Revlon’s 2016 term loans, according to a filing Mr. Crocombe made with the court.

The case is Citibank NA v. Brigade Capital Management, 20-cv-6539, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan). — Bloomberg

Have a ballet Christmas

WHAT was ostensibly a webinar about shopping and gift-giving proved to be wrapping for Ballet Philippines’ gift for this season: a Facebook Live premiere with the cooperation of Rustan’s called “A Season of Giving” became a launchpad for Ballet Philippines’ Christmas productions, Christmas Fantasy and Maligayang Pasko.

The speakers at the webinar — which was held on Dec. 14 at the Ballet Philippines (BP) Facebook page — included Rep. Cristal Bagatsing, Tessa Prieto-Valdes, Pinky Tobiano, Dina Tantoco, BP President Kathleen Liechtenstein, and BP Core Dancer Jemima Reyes. The other ladies discussed what they plan to give and hope to receive on Christmas, while Ms. Liechtenstein discussed the production.

“This is Ballet Philippines’ gift of gratitude to you all; our way of saying thank you for supporting BP OnStream,” she said during the webinar. BP OnStream was launched last July to offer an alternative to the performances canceled due to the community quarantine restrictions in place. These included master classes, seminars, and performances. “Through your support, we are able to continue helping the arts and beauty of ballet.”

Christmas Fantasy was choreographed by BP’s new Artistic Director, Russian Mikhail Martynyuk, with music from Tchaikovsky’s Children’s Album. The performance begins with a gentle rendition of Tchaikovsky’s Maman. It was staged and shot at the SDA Theater of De La Salle – College of St. Benilde’s School of Design and Art Campus. The staging was understandably spartan: a single candle on a carved table, with a projected backdrop, changing from an Italian village to a Russian ballroom, to a snow scene. Musical accompaniment was provided by a piano, dispensing with an orchestra. Other excerpts performed were from the same album, including “The Sorcerer,” a Polka, the “Italian Song,” the “Tarantella,” and the “Prince and the Sugarplum Fairy” (this time from holiday classic The Nutcracker).

Maligayang Pasko, meanwhile, was choreographed by guest artist Joseph Philips, and was accompanied by classic Christmas carols performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Dancers in Filipiniana costumes created by Patis Tesoro dance to the familiar strains of “Silent Night,” “Good King Wenceslas,” and “The First Noel.”

Core Dancer Ms. Reyes spoke about the differences of performing then and now, used as she is to the Christmas pageantry at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), where Ballet Philippines holds court. “I grew up performing in the CCP. It’s been my home, and I really hold on to that place so dearly. Given the circumstances, given the pandemic, I’m very grateful we’re still able to dance and perform for people who are staying home. Maybe it feels a little different performing in an empty theater, with just cameras in front of us moving.

“But it still is a performance, onstage,” she said. “I still felt like it was a show. For some reason, I was nervous at some point. It felt like the feeling like [when] I’m about to go onstage. That kind of rush. I don’t know why.

“The stage was different, the view while we were dancing was different, but the joy of dancing on stage was the same. Maybe even more now, because I know how precious our time onstage is.”

Watch the performance and other offerings by Ballet Philippines at facebook.com/balletphilippines and at ballet.ph. — Joseph. L. Garcia

Fast Group prepares for COVID vaccine distribution

FAST LOGISTICS Group is planning to expand its existing facilities in the country and take part in the distribution of coronavirus vaccines, after CVC Capital Partners, a private equity and investment advisory firm, committed to invest P6 billion in the company.

“The investment of CVC here amounting to P6 billion, which goes directly to the company, will be used to accelerate our growth here, including expansion of the present facilities that we have. We will definitely be investing also in digital transformation and technology, and looking also at other opportunities [to increase our footprint through] mergers and acquisitions here,” Bonifacio O. Doroy, Fast Group director, said at a virtual press briefing on Tuesday.

William B. Chiongbian II, the group’s president and chief executive officer, said Fast Group would “definitely be in the supply chain for vaccines.”

“We have a number of customers… We are now trying to liaise with the offices, the vaccine czar, and the private side,” he added.

Brice Cu, managing director at CVC, said the equity and investment advisory firm had been working closely with Fast Group “for a year” now.

“[We] have made excellent progress on a number of important strategic initiatives, most notably in building a pipeline of attractive acquisition opportunities,” he added.

Fast Group said its clients include Nestlé, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, and NutriAsia.

It also works with healthcare services provider Zuellig Pharma and consumer goods company Green Cross. — Arjay L. Balinbin

China offers $145B to banks as liquidity tightens

CHINA INJECTED CASH into the financial system by offering medium-term loans, in the government’s latest effort to ensure the country’s banks have sufficient liquidity.

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) added 950 billion yuan ($145 billion) of one-year cash via the medium-term lending facility (MLF) on Tuesday, more than offsetting the 600 billion yuan that matures in December. That’s the fifth straight month of net injections using the tool. It kept interest rates on the loans unchanged at 2.95%.

The need to buoy the amount of liquidity in the financial system has becoming more pressing after a spate of corporate defaults squeezed lending in China’s interbank market. As the PBoC seeks to stabilize the amount of debt in the economy, its policy of tapering stimulus has pushed up money-market rates. Higher borrowing costs spilled over to government bonds, which are on track for an eighth month of losses. That would be their longest losing streak in 13 years.

Demand for cash typically increases toward the end of the year, as banks withhold it for regulatory checks. This month, lenders also need another 2.4 trillion yuan to repay short-term interbank debt and buy newly issued government bonds.

“Banks are still under rather big funding pressure,” said Ming Ming, head of fixed-income research at Citic Securities Co. The move was not in conflict with the authorities’ plan to exit pandemic-related emergency measures, he added.

China’s money market rates declined following the MLF injection, with the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate sliding 6 basis points to 2.04% as of 10:38 a.m. local time. Futures on 10-year government bonds climbed 0.23%.

The economy strengthened in November, supported by strong demand from home and abroad, data released on Tuesday showed. The country’s industrial output rose 7% last month from a year earlier, in line with the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Its retail sales expanded 5% in the period.

In its monetary policy report released last month, the PBoC said the macro leverage ratio will likely stabilize, following comments from a deputy governor earlier in the month that exiting emergency support measures was only “a matter of time” and “necessary.” A gauge tracking China’s level of debt has surged to 277% of the country’s gross domestic output, the highest since Bloomberg started compiling the data in 2014.

Government bonds have continued to retreat this month, even after the PBoC unexpectedly added 200 million yuan via the MLF at the end of November. The yield on China’s 10-year notes is still near the highest since May 2019.

The PBoC typically conducts MLF operations on or around 15th day of every month. Some 300 billion yuan of one-year funds matured on Dec. 7, and another 300 billion yuan will come due Dec. 16. Separately, the central bank on Tuesday drained a net 50 billion yuan in short-term funding by letting most of its seven-day reverse repurchase agreements mature. — Bloomberg

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