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Reelected Tolentino seeks to give POC a permanent home

AS HE begins his fresh term as Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president, Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino shared that one of his goals in the next four years is to give the sports agency a permanent home.

In his session with members of media at the online Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday, Mr. Tolentino underscored that the local Olympic body for the longest time does not have an office that it can call its own, something he hopes to change after given another term to lead the POC.

“Since the POC was established, it has not had a permanent office building. While we’re not ‘informal settlers,’ for the longest time, we’ve been sharing space in the facility of the PSC (Philippine Sports Commission) under a memorandum of agreement,” said Mr. Tolentino, referring to the facility of the PSC inside the Department of Education compound in Pasig City.

“In the world, or in Asia, or in ASEAN, we may be one of the countries which do not have a permanent office building for their national Olympic committee. Hopefully, under my term, we’ll be able to address that,” the POC head said.

In line with it, Mr. Tolentino, also the president of the Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines and a sitting congressman representing the eighth district of Cavite, said he will bring up the matter, along with other concerns, when the POC convenes for its first assembly next week.

Mr. Tolentino said they hope the national government will back their push for a permanent home, seeing how such will go a long way in giving sports administration and the Olympic movement a boost in the country.

They are looking at the Cultural Center Complex in Pasay City or a part of the Aseana reclamation area in Paranaque City as possible site for POC office.

“Maybe, we can be given at least a thousand square meters from those lands to build our office. I don’t know how it will work because it’s between government and private sector, but we’re hoping it can be done,” Mr. Tolentino said, adding possible areas as well are Clark in Pampanga, Bonifacio Global City in Taguig and Tagaytay City in Cavite.

MOVING ON
Meanwhile, Mr. Tolentino also shared that coming off a tough 2020 and a highly contentious POC election in November, they in the agency can move on and accomplish more under his latest term.

“The push is the same for me. Despite the hardships that we had last year and the limitations, I think we still accomplished some things. Coming from that experience, maybe we can handle the challenges moving forward. We survived, even if we were a minority in the executive board. So, now we have a new majority and maybe we have more good vibes towards a new direction,” he said.

Mr. Tolentino got another nod to lead the POC after beating lone challenger Clint Aranas of the archery federation, 30-22.

Last year’s election was one of the more contentious proceedings in the POC’s history, with the parties not seeing eye-to-eye on certain issues and took one another to task.

The new batch of POC officials began their new four-year term on Jan. 1. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Cristiano Ronaldo shines again as Juventus thump Udinese, 4-1

CRISTIANO Ronaldo scored twice and created another goal as Juventus got back to winning ways in Serie A with a 4-1 victory over Udinese in Turin on Sunday, moving the champions up to fifth in the standings.

Ronaldo opened the scoring with a trademark drive, after latching on to Aaron Ramsey’s pass in the 31st minute, before threading a perfect through ball into the path of Federico Chiesa to score Juve’s second goal four minutes into the second half.

The VAR had a busy evening in Turin. First, the referee was asked to consult the pitchside monitor before ruling out what Udinese thought was the opener for a handball early on, before Aaron Ramsey suffered the same fate when he was penalized for handball, after a second look.

Ronaldo’s second goal put the result beyond any doubt as he took his goal tally to 14 league goals for the season — two more than anyone else in Serie A — in the 70th minute, with Marvin Zeegelaar scoring an injury-time consolation for Udinese.

There was still time for Paulo Dybala to score another goal for Juventus as Andrea Pirlo’s side moved 10 points behind leaders AC Milan, with a game in hand, while Udinese drop to 13th and are without a win in their last four games.

Pirlo admitted his team had initially struggled to make an impact as the players were still haunted by memories of their shock 3-0 defeat by Fiorentina in their final game before the winter break.

Juventus thought they had again fallen behind when Rodrigo de Paul fired home from close range.

Udinese celebrated, but the referee was asked to look again at whether De Paul had handled earlier in the move, before the goal was ruled out.

Ronaldo then took centre stage with his emphatic first-half finish, an even better pass for Juve’s second and a fine third. — Reuters

Dominant Curry

It’s never in good form to draw conclusions off a small sample size, and especially from the start of the season. Yet, not a few quarter chose to write the Warriors’ eulogy following blowout setbacks in the first two outings of their 2020-21 campaign. To be fair, the unexpected loss of Klay Thompson due to a freak injury hurt their chances. And, with cornerstone Stephen Curry emerging from a long layoff, even more uncertainty beyond that engendered by the pandemic threatened to hamper their competitiveness.

Still, there should be no counting out the Warriors, whose dynastic run from the middle of the last decade has at least earned it the benefit of the doubt. True, one-man offensive juggernaut Kevin Durant is gone. And, true, defensive anchor Draymond Green showed signs of regression last season. On the other hand, Curry is, well, Curry, and if there’s anything the two-time — and lone unanimous — National Basketball Association (NBA) Most Valuable Player brings, it’s the capacity to lift the games of those around him. Indeed, his mere presence makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts. It comes with the territory of the greatest shooter, and one of the best point guards, in league history.

No doubt, the less-than-imposing figure Curry cuts gives the wrong impression. At 6’3” and a shade under 190 pounds, he doesn’t fit the mold of the athletic marvel à la LeBron James. On the flipside, pro hoops annals have never seen anyone like him. There’s a reason he’s earning a whopping $40 million: He can launch shots from any angle anywhere on the court with both uncanny swiftness and deadly accuracy, and he compels multiple coverages that invariably lead to teammates getting open looks. Considering his already-stellar accomplishments, there isn’t any need for him to remind all and sundry of his capacity to take over matches at any given instant.

But remind the NBA he did the other day in leading the Warriors to an emphatic triumph over the highly rated Blazers. And as he put the finishing touches on a ridiculous 62-point effort, a career high that not coincidentally came with Green’s return to action, social media denizens exploded in recognition — as if he hadn’t already repeatedly been there and done that. The irony is that he figures to be taken for granted less were he more physically imposing and emotionally demanding as a player.

In any case, the Warriors are only too glad to see Curry back to his dominant self in a manner only he can display. They certainly need him to be if they’re going to stay relevant in the highly competitive Western Conference. The problem, of course, is his relative fragility; they don’t want to wear him out by riding him hard too early in the season. Then again, they have no choice; even with Green once again orchestrating on both ends of the floor, new acquisition Kelly Oubre Jr. likely to progress to the mean, and rookie James Wiseman improving by the day, they’ll be going only so far as he will take them.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Iran resumes uranium enrichment

DUBAI — Iran has resumed 20% uranium enrichment at an underground nuclear facility, the government said on Monday, breaching a 2015 nuclear pact with major powers and possibly complicating efforts by US President-elect Joe Biden to rejoin the deal.

Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Iran’s arch foe Israel, said the move was aimed at developing nuclear weapons and Israel would never allow Tehran to build them.

The enrichment decision, Iran’s latest contravention of the accord, coincides with increasing tensions between Iran and the United States in the last days of President Donald Trump’s administration.

Tehran started violating the accord in 2019 in a step-by-step response to Mr. Trump’s withdrawal from it in 2018 and the reimposition of US sanctions lifted under the deal.

The agreement’s main aim was to extend the time Iran would need to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear bomb, if it chose to, to at least a year from roughly two to three months. It also lifted international sanctions against Tehran.

“A few minutes ago, the process of producing 20% enriched uranium has started in Fordow enrichment complex,” government spokesman Ali Rabiei told Iranian state media.

The UN nuclear watchdog confirmed that Iran had started the process of enriching uranium to 20% purity at its Fordow site.

“Iran today began feeding uranium already enriched up to 4.1 percent U-235 into six centrifuge cascades at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant for further enrichment up to 20%,” the IAEA said in a statement on a report that was sent to member states.

The step was one of many mentioned in a law passed by Iran’s parliament last month in response to the killing of the country’s top nuclear scientist, which Tehran has blamed on Israel.

“Our measures are fully reversible upon FULL compliance by ALL (parties to the deal),” tweeted Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Tehran insists it can quickly reverse its breaches if US sanctions are removed. Mr. Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20, has said the United States will rejoin the deal “if Iran resumes strict compliance” with the pact.

The Biden transition team declined to comment on Monday about Iran’s enrichment move.

NUCLEAR WATCHDOG
Tehran’s move could hinder efforts to salvage the nuclear pact as its breaches have increasingly worried some of the deal’s other parties, which have urged Iran to act responsibly.

However, it could also be accumulating bargaining chips that could be negotiated away in talks with the Biden administration.

A US State Department spokesperson accused Iran of “nuclear extortion.” In Brussels, a European Union Commission spokesperson said that the “move, if confirmed, would constitute a considerable departure from Iran’s commitments”.

On Jan. 1, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Tehran had told the watchdog it planned to resume enrichment up to 20% at the Fordow site, which is buried inside a mountain.

“The process of gas injection to centrifuges has started a few hours ago and the first product of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas will be available in a few hours,” Mr. Rabiei said.

Iran had earlier breached the deal’s 3.67% limit on the purity to which it can enrich uranium, but it had only gone up to 4.5% so far, well short of the 20% level and of the 90% that is weapons-grade.

US intelligence agencies and the IAEA believe Iran had a secret, coordinated nuclear weapons programme that it halted in 2003. Iran denies ever having had one.

In Jerusalem, Mr. Netanyahu said Iran’s enrichment decision could be explained only as a bid to “continue to carry out its intention to develop a military nuclear programme”.

“Israel will not allow Iran to produce nuclear weapons,” he added. — Reuters

Tiny apartment sales skyrocket in world’s priciest home market

IN THE world’s least affordable housing market, one in eight homes sold is a nano apartment, a term widely used to describe tiny homes in Hong Kong.

A record 13% of apartments sold in 2019 were less than 260 square feet (24 square meters), or smaller than two car-parking spaces, according to a report by Liber Research Community released Monday. These tiny units accounted for just 0.2% of total sales in 2010.

Hong Kong’s sky-high property prices have made it difficult for the younger generation to get on the housing ladder. The city’s property affordability is the worst in the world, topping other housing hot spots like Vancouver, Sydney and Los Angeles.

Developers in recent years have turned to offering smaller homes to buyers so they can afford them. Even though these tiny apartments can still fetch more than HK$5 million ($645,000), they can barely fit the basic necessities.

Among the 8,550 nano apartments examined by Liber Research between 2010 and 2019, 85% didn’t have a separate bedroom, and 70% were lacking a window in the toilet. Almost all had an open kitchen.

Cramped living space has long been a problem in Hong Kong. Low-income earners have resorted to so-called coffin homes that are essentially just a bed space. Some who can’t afford residential rents but prefer a larger space live illegally live in industrial buildings or container homes.

Henderson Land Development Co. was the biggest seller of nano-apartments, accounting for one-third of sales in the period, the report said. 

Even though the city’s economy has been under pressure during the pandemic, with unemployment climbing to a 15-year high, the property market remains resilient. Home prices declined just 1% in 2020, data from Centaline show. — Bloomberg

Major airlines back global COVID-19 testing program

Passengers from international flights arrive at Heathrow Airport, following the coronavirus outbreak in London, Britain, July 29, 2020. — REUTERS/TOBY MELVILLE

WASHINGTON — A group representing major US airlines on Monday backed a proposal by public health officials to implement a global testing program requiring negative tests before most international air passengers return to the United States, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Airlines for America, which represents American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and other major carriers, also urged the Trump administration in a letter to Vice President Mike Pence “to move ahead with recommendations to rescind current entry restrictions on travelers from Europe, the United Kingdom and Brazil as soon as possible … concurrently with the testing program.”

In November, Reuters reported that the White House was considering rescinding restrictions that ban most non US citizens from traveling to the United States from the 26 members of the Schengen area that allow travel across open borders in Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Brazil.

“We believe a well-planned program focused on increasing testing of travelers to the United States will further these objectives in a much more effective way than the blanket travel restrictions currently in place,” the airlines’ letter said.

Airlines support a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) proposal to implement “a global program to require testing for travelers to the United States,” the letter added.

A senior administration official said the CDC proposal to expand international testing requirements faces significant opposition at top levels of the administration, including in Mr. Pence’s office. The White House coronavirus task force is expected to meet Tuesday and the issue is scheduled to be discussed, officials said.

The CDC on Dec. 28 began requiring all airline passengers arriving from Britain — including US citizens — to test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of departure.

A CDC spokeswoman declined to comment Monday but the agency said last week that “efforts are currently ongoing in the US to assess the risk reduction associated with testing and other recommended preventative measures… and gain some level of agreement on standards for a harmonized approach to testing for international air travel.”

Airlines are seeking at least 14 days before new requirements take effect and “consideration of inadequate testing and results availability in specific countries rather than a blanket worldwide requirement is also needed,” the letter said.

Starting Thursday, Canada will require that air travelers five and older test negative for COVID-19 before arrival. — Reuters

How shoe tycoon Steve Madden got back on his feet

NEW YORK — Steve Madden, founder and design chief of a multibillion-dollar eponymous shoe brand, knows something about being sanguine in a tough situation.

In 2002, Mr. Madden was convicted of stock manipulation, money laundering, and securities fraud. He was sentenced to 41 months in prison. Mr. Madden had to resign as CEO of Steven Madden Ltd., the company he founded in 1990 with just $1,100 in the bank. He remains the company’s creative and design chief.

“First thing I learned in prison is to not whine about my situation. It was not helpful,” Mr. Madden said. “You can easily get into ‘woe is me’—everybody does. But you’re better off looking at the positive.”

Last fall, Mr. Madden published a memoir, The Cobbler: How I Disrupted an Industry, Fell From Grace & Came Back Stronger Than Ever, about his experiences building his company, his conviction, prison time, and recovery from drug addiction.

Mr. Madden, 62, talked to Reuters about all the lessons he learned along the way and how he is surviving this pandemic. Edited excerpts are below.

Q. What is the toughest job you have had?

A. Working in a shoe store. I started when I was 20, at Jildor in Cedarhurst, New York. It rivals prison as the longest two years of my life.

As a shoe salesman, you have to learn how to be subservient and work hard and pay attention. But the biggest thing I learned was how to sell and what women want. That was a big thing.

Q. What kept you going in prison?

A. I worked out a lot, and I read a lot of novels. I was always a reader but being able to take flight and go to another place when you read the book—it was really wonderful. I read a lot of ’70s and ’80s novels because that’s what was available to me—Herman Wouk’s War and Remembrance, The Winds of War. I read all the books by Mario Puzo and Dominick Dunne. I like novels that ring true.

Q. What is your biggest challenge now?

A. Spending a lot of time alone is not the greatest place for someone who’s a recovering addict. An alcoholic by himself is behind enemy lines. So I’ve been talking to other alcoholics and addicts online.

I’ve found that a little bit of fear can help you stay sober. I know once I open that trap door there’s no coming back—and that’s very scary.

Q. What big lesson did you learn in 2020?

A. I always thought it would be bad shoes or something that would do me in—I didn’t think it would be a bug. While you’re never prepared for something like this, I think you should be prepared to lose some things.

Anything can happen. Stay somewhat humble and know that some of the gifts in our lives can be taken away.

Q. What is the best piece of advice you have received?

A. The little things are hugely important. It’s something I learned from this fellow I worked for at the shoe store. If one of the shoe displays in the window was messed up, he would just lose his mind, because what is the message you are sending about your business to the public?

There’s a line from a W.H. Auden poem that I love, “The crack in the tea-cup opens / A lane to the land of the dead.” I don’t even know what Auden meant, but I know what it means to me—it’s my business philosophy.

Q. What advice do you have for those starting out right now?

A. There’s always time for a new idea, good ideas, and hard work. I can’t remember ever in my life feeling that I’d hate to be a newcomer starting out now. I don’t buy that. There’s always room for something new.

Q. What do you think work attire will look like after the pandemic?

A. Right now, I wear my pajamas a lot. I do Zoom calls and I try to wear a nice T-shirt, but I’m in pajamas. You can’t see them because you can only see me from the chest up.

After work-from-home, I think people are going to be more casual. Sneakers are going to be more important. I think dress shoes will be a casualty of war.

— Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan/Reuters

How the pandemic will shape the workplace trends of 2021

Data from a project called eWorkLife revealed increases in working hours when it wasn’t obvious when the working day ended. In 2021, work-life balance must become recognized as a public health issue and the eWorkLife project is urging policy makers to act. Image by Joshua Miranda/Pixabay

By Dave Cook

The economist John Maynard Keynes predicted in 1930 that the amount we work would gradually shrink to as little as 15 hours a week as technology made us more productive. Not only did this not happen, but we also began to spend extra time away from home due to commuting and suburban living patterns, which we often forget are recent historical inventions.

However, 2020 has changed all that. In my new history of remote work during COVID-19, I marvel at how much it has shaken up our lives and how much we took for granted. My research also points to a number of trends that will help shape working life in 2021.

OVER ‘IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS’
At the start of 2020 remote work was a gradually rising long-term trend. Only 12% of workers in the US worked remotely full time, 6% in the UK. Naturally, the world was unprepared for mass remote work.

But COVID-19 instantly proved remote work was possible for many people. Workplace institutions and norms toppled like dominos. The office, in-person meetings, and the daily commute fell first. Then the nine-to-five schedule, vacations, and private home lives were threatened. Countries even started issuing remote work visas to encourage people to spend lockdown working in their territory.

As old norms vanished, a rapid procession of novel technologies marched uninvited into our homes. We had to master Zoom meeting etiquette, compassionate e-mail practices, navigate surveillance, juggle caring responsibilities. The list goes on.

In the face of grim statistics—the United Nations predicted 195 million job losses—only the tone-deaf complained about working from home. Nonetheless, COVID-19 created the biggest remote work experiment in human history.

In July, UK prime minister Boris Johnson—with Edwardian optimism—daydreamed a sense of normality would return “in time for Christmas.” Fast forward through summer to lockdown 2.0 and the fantasy of a 12-week experiment faded into sepia-tinged memories. One interviewee joked: “I really thought we’d be back in the office by July, what fools we were!”

ARE YOU DISCIPLINED?
Silicon Valley companies Google, Apple, and Twitter were among the first to announce employees could work from home. Ahead of the curve, they were well practiced. Predictably, they already had a fancy term for it: distributed working. In 2021 concepts such as distributed and hybrid working will proliferate.

Most were less prepared than Silicon Valley. In March, I published findings from a four-year research study tracking remote workers. I warned, to be a successful remote worker deep reserves of self-discipline were required, otherwise burnout followed.

We understand this now. But I spent the first lockdown patiently explaining to news outlets why working from home was so hard. When I suggested returning to the office might be considered a luxury—because it helped people structure their days—a news presenter laughed. For good or ill, conversations about disciplined routines will intensify in 2021.

By May 2020 many reported experiencing Zoom fatigue. I naively predicted Zoom use would subside.

I’d have been right if we’d returned to the office. Instead, necessity dictated we up our Zoom game—even if they were draining. Zoom simultaneously saved and ruined working from home, and it’s not going away anytime soon.

THE COMMUTING PARADOX
Remote workers, grateful to still have jobs, also reported a gnawing sense of survivors’ guilt. Overwork was one way of expressing this guilt. Many felt working extra hours might secure their job.

In April 2020, I joined other academics researching work-life balance on a project called eWorkLife. The research data revealed increases in working hours when it wasn’t obvious when the working day ended. Especially with no obvious signal to end the working day.

In my four-year remote study, I had noticed a strange pattern. Participants initially said “escaping the commute” was a key benefit of remote working. Yet months later these same workers started recreating mini commutes.

The eWorkLife project uncovered similar findings. People wanted to create “a clear division between work and home.” Study lead Prof. Anna Cox urged people to do pretend commutes so they could maintain a work-life balance. In 2021, work-life balance must become recognized as a public health issue and the eWorkLife project is urging policy makers to act.

THE RIGHT TO DISCONNECT
What’s happened to the time previously lost to commuting? Many are using it to catch up on admin and e-mail. This taps into a worrying trend.

Pre-pandemic warnings about an encroaching 24/7 work culture were intensifying. Social scientists argued that contemporary workers were being turned into worker-smartphone hybrids. In 2016, French workers were even given the legal right to disconnect from work e-mail outside working hours.

A hopeful wish list for 2021 includes continued increases in workplace activism and for companies and governments to reveal their remote working policies. Twitter and 17 other companies have already announced employees can work remotely indefinitely. At least 60% of US companies still haven’t shared their remote working policies with their employees. Remote workers tell me until bosses reveal their post-pandemic policies—planning for their future is impossible.

The late activist David Graeber described the failure to achieve Keynes’s 15-hour workweek as a missed opportunity, “a scar across our collective soul”. COVID-19 may have started conversations about alternative futures where work and leisure are better balanced.

But it won’t come easily. And we will have to fight for it. — The Conversation

Dave Cook is a PhD candidate in Anthropology at University College London.

UK scientists worry vaccines may not protect against South African coronavirus variant

Scientists say both the South African and UK variants are associated with a higher viral load, meaning a greater concentration of virus particles in patients’ bodies, possibly contributing to increased transmission.

LONDON — UK scientists expressed concern on Monday that COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out in Britain may not be able to protect against a new variant of the coronavirus that emerged in South Africa and has spread internationally.

Both Britain and South Africa have detected new, more transmissible variants of the COVID-19-causing virus in recent weeks that have driven a surge in cases. British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday he was now very worried about the variant identified in South Africa.

Simon Clarke, an associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said that while both variants had some new features in common, the one found in South Africa “has a number additional mutations … which are concerning.”

He said these included more extensive alterations to a key part of the virus known as the spike protein—which the virus uses to infect human cells—and “may make the virus less susceptible to the immune response triggered by the vaccines.”

Lawrence Young, a virologist and professor of molecular oncology at Warwick University, also noted that the South African variant has “multiple spike mutations.”

“The accumulation of more spike mutations in the South African variant are more of a concern and could lead to some escape from immune protection,” he said.

Scientists including BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin and John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford, have said they are testing the vaccines against the new variants and say they could make any required tweaks in around six weeks.

Public Health England said there was currently no evidence to suggest COVID-19 vaccines would not protect against the mutated virus variants. Britain’s health ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The world’s richest countries have started vaccinating their populations to safeguard against a disease that has killed 1.8 million people and crushed the global economy.

There are currently 60 vaccine candidates in trials, including those already being rolled out from AstraZeneca and Oxford, Pfizer and BioNTech, Moderna, Russia’s Sputnik V, and China’s Sinopharm.

Scientists say both the South African and UK variants are associated with a higher viral load, meaning a greater concentration of virus particles in patients’ bodies, possibly contributing to increased transmission.

Oxford’s Mr. Bell, who advises the UK government’s vaccine task force, said on Sunday he thought vaccines would work on the British variant but said there was a “big question mark” as to whether they would work on the South African variant.

BioNTech’s Sahin told Germany’ Spiegel in an interview published on Friday that their vaccine, which uses messenger RNA to instruct the human immune system to fight the virus, should be able to protect against the UK variant.

“We are testing whether our vaccine can also neutralize this variant and will soon know more,” he said. — Reuters

Jack Ma’s disappearing act fuels speculation about billionaire’s whereabouts

The absence of Alibaba founder Jack Ma from public view triggered speculation on Twitter, which is blocked in China. It was not a significant trending topic on social media in mainland China, where sensitive topics are subject to censorship. Photo via PhilStar

BEIJING — Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s absence from public view in the past two months, including missing the final episode of a TV show on which he was to appear as a judge, has fueled social media speculation over his whereabouts amid a Chinese regulatory clampdown on his sprawling business empire.

China’s highest-profile entrepreneur has not appeared in a public setting since a late October forum in Shanghai where he blasted China’s regulatory system in a speech that put him on a collision course with officials, resulting in the suspension of a $37 billion IPO of Alibaba’s Ant Group fintech arm.

The Financial Times reported on Friday that Mr. Ma was replaced as a judge in the final episode in November of a game show for entrepreneurs called Africa’s Business Heroes.

An Alibaba spokeswoman told Reuters on Monday that the change was due to a scheduling conflict, declining further comment.

While news coverage of Mr. Ma’s absence from public view triggered speculation on Twitter, which is blocked in China, it was not a significant trending topic on social media in mainland China, where sensitive topics are subject to censorship.

Chinese regulators have zeroed in on Ma’s businesses since his October speech including launching an antitrust probe into Alibaba and ordering Ant to shake up its lending and other consumer finance businesses including the creation of a separate holding company to meet capital requirements.

“I think he’s been told to lay low,” said Duncan Clark, chairman of Beijing-based tech consultancy BDA China. “This is a pretty unique situation, more linked to the sheer scale of Ant and the sensitivities over financial regulation,” he said. — Reuters

This is what Asia’s stock investors are betting on in 2021

After narrowly beating their US peers for the first time in three years in 2020, Asian stocks could see another strong year, analysts say.

Asia’s outperformance is seen continuing in 2021, with cyclicals expected to catch up to technology stocks as optimism over vaccine rollouts grows. Analysts on average predict that the MSCI Asia Pacific Index will rise about 8% over the next 12 months, versus an estimated 7% gain for the S&P 500 Index, Bloomberg surveys show.

A strengthening economic rebound in China and Asia’s low valuations relative to the US and Europe are also key positives that are seen helping regional stocks tide over potential risks arising from any fresh virus outbreaks, hurdles in vaccine distribution, and worsening of Sino-American relations.

“Asian equities will be the asset class of choice in 2021,” said Gary Dugan, chief executive officer at the Global CIO Office in Singapore. “Growth fundamentals and the ability to rebound quickly as COVID issues clear make the region particularly attractive.”

The S&P 500 sank the most since late October on Monday as investors assessed the possibility of a slower-than-expected economic recovery amid a global surge in COVID-19 infections. Even so, the MSCI Asia Pacific gauge was little changed on Tuesday.

Here are five themes that Asian stock investors say are key to their strategy in 2021:

GREEN IS GOOD

Investing on environmental, social and governance grounds should reap benefits, thanks to a slew of favorable government policies.

Take renewable energy for instance. China, Japan, and Korea are all pushing to become carbon neutral this century, while the US is preparing for a climate-friendly president to take over.

“Renewable energy has never been cheaper,” said David Smith, a portfolio manager at Aberdeen Standard Investments Asia. “China’s recent pledge to be a net-zero emitter of greenhouse gases by 2060 has added impetus to the case.”

Solar- and wind-energy-linked stocks could get a boost as China upgrades its climate goals. Meanwhile, India plans to have 40% of its power generation coming from non-fossil sources by the end of the decade, which should help companies in that space.

Electric vehicles are still hot. BNP Paribas’ Energy Transition fund is among those betting on stocks in the electric-vehicle supply chain, which includes Korean battery makers such as LG Chem Ltd. and firms involved with hydrogen fuel cell technology. Japan’s auto stocks are in focus as the country prepares to phase out new gasoline cars by mid-2030s.

IT IS REALLY VALUE’S TURN

Value shares have lagged and recovered time and time again in the last decade, but this time, investors are expecting a more robust pick up in stocks that look cheap on measures like price-to-earnings or price-to-book multiples. Barring widespread lockdowns, the rebound in old-economy stocks that were shunned by investors flocking to pandemic plays like tech and health-care is expected to continue.

Investors seeking exposure to companies that will benefit as business activity normalizes are picking up banks, industrials, and consumer discretionary stocks—heavyweights in the MSCI Asia Pacific index. Funds from BlackRock Inc. to UBS Asset Management are touting equities in Southeast Asia and India as part of their recovery trade playbook.

It’s not just sectors that could benefit from rotation into value; cheap markets too stand to gain.

Analysts estimate that Singapore’s Straits Times Index, Asia’s worst-performing major national gauge last year, could gain 10% over 2021, boosted by the signing of the world’s biggest regional trade pact late last year.

Another market that was shunned but is getting love: Japan. Foreign investors are seen returning to Japan’s cyclical-heavy stock market, bolstered by Warren Buffett’s $6 billion bet on the nation’s trading houses and expectations for policy changes under Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

TECH IS STILL YOUR FRIEND

That’s not to say tech—the hottest trade of 2020—is going on the back-burner. The pandemic has accelerated trends such as e-commerce and remote working, which means Taiwanese and Korean chipmakers, Internet names in China, and data center stocks are among favorites in the new year.

M&G Investments is among asset managers investing in game-content developers in Japan, Korea and China. Nintendo Co., the maker of hit game Animal Crossing, rallied 50% last year while Sony Corp., known for the Playstation console, was up 39%.

Japan’s tech shares are also set to benefit from the Suga administration’s digital reform agenda aimed at transforming the country’s paper-heavy and inefficient public sector.

That said, there is a caveat to this trend: regulation. China has escalated scrutiny on billionaire Jack Ma’s Internet empire, kicking off an investigation into alleged monopolistic practices at Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., and also ordered affiliate Ant Group Co. to overhaul its operations.

Worries that antitrust scrutiny will extend beyond Mr. Ma’s companies have weighed on shares of Alibaba and its rivals such as Tencent Holdings Ltd. and food delivery giant Meituan.

DIVIDEND DROUGHT SHOULD END

Dividend stocks are expected to make a comeback in 2021 as companies loosen their purse strings. Another catalyst is the easing of regulatory curbs placed on payouts by banks to conserve capital amid the pandemic.

Payouts at Australian and Thai lenders could grow after the lifting of related restrictions, and the same goes for dividends at HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc after the UK eased its ban. Singapore’s banks, which have long had a reputation for being generous with payouts, could be back in play once the country’s regulator follows suit.

Double-digit increases in Asian dividends “are more than possible,” said Mike Kerley, a portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors.

Banking isn’t the only space investors are watching here. Material stocks, like Australian miners gaining from a commodity price boom, as well as consumer discretionary stocks may see an increase, said Kerley.

CHINA DELEVERAGING IS BACK

After a string of bond defaults at state-linked firms, China is focusing once again on stabilizing debt levels and tightening liquidity in its financial system.

That’s bad news for China’s brokerages—a source of margin financing and a barometer of stock market sentiment. Companies listed on Shenzhen’s tech-heavy ChiNext board and the country’s other small-cap stocks may also face selling pressure as they are vulnerable to liquidity leaving the system.

However, beyond short-term pain, the derisking trend will likely lead to better asset quality at Chinese banks, giving their shares a boost. Investors will watch for cues on deleveraging plans at China’s annual National People’s Congress meeting in March. — Ishika Mookerjee and Abhishek Vishnoi/Bloomberg

December inflation accelerates to 3.5% yr/yr

MANILA – Philippine annual inflation picked up faster than expected to 3.5% in December, driven by the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages sector to hit the highest level since February, 2019, the statistics agency said on Tuesday.

That brought the full-year 2020 average to 2.6%, still comfortably within the official target range of 2%-4%.

But the December headline figure came in above the median 3.1% forecast in a Reuters poll and was near the top end of the central bank’s projected range of 2.9%-3.7%.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel prices, picked up to 3.3% from 3.2% in November. — Reuters

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