Car sales show hint of recovery in January

February 12, 2021 | 12:31 am

Car sales slipped by 1.4% in January, industry data showed. — PHILIPPINE STAR/MICHAEL VARCAS

THE AUTO INDUSTRY is showing hints of recovery, as car sales in January dipped by 1.4% year on year, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) reported on Thursday.

The joint report said that sales fell to 23,380 units in January, from 23,723 in the same month in 2020, as passenger car sales growth failed to offset the continued drop in commercial vehicle sales.

In a statement, CAMPI said the slight year-on-year decline in January sales was a “positive sign” that the industry was slowly recovering.

Car sales slumped by 39.5% to 223,793 units in 2020 compared with the previous year after restrictions declared to contain pandemic lowered demand. Sales fell by as much as 99% at the height of the strict lockdown in April.

But January 2021 sales were still 15.3% lower than December sales, which stood at 27,596 units.

To recall, sales in January last year declined by almost 12% after manufacturing plants and dealerships in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) temporarily stopped operations due to the Taal Volcano eruption.

CAMPI President Rommel R. Gutierrez said the industry is cautiously optimistic.

“The pandemic still poses a challenge to the automotive industry,” he said in a statement. “We are also monitoring how the market will react with the imposition of the provisional safeguard duties starting February, which could potentially impact on the prices of imported motor vehicles.”

The Trade department slapped duties on imported cars to protect local industries after its investigation found a link between a surge in imports and the decline in local employment. Industry groups like CAMPI criticized the move, saying that it would impede auto recovery in the country.

Commercial vehicle sales, which account for 68.8% of the market, slipped 6.4% to 16,085 units in January. Broken down, sales of light commercial vehicles dropped 11.9% to 12,318 units and light trucks sales fell 8.8% to 333 units.

Asian utility vehicle sales climbed 25.8% to 3,118 units.

On the other hand, passenger car sales rose 11.5% to 7,295 vehicles.

Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. (TMP) continued to have the largest market share at 46.28% after selling 10,820 units in January. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. followed with 3,518 units sold, representing 15.05% market share, while Nissan Philippines, Inc. sold 2,321 units, representing 9.93% market share.

Nissan Philippines plants to shut its Almera assembly in Laguna next month, and will continue to sell to the country through its regional network.

Nissan said that the closure is not related to the safeguard duties or the pandemic, but is part of a global restructuring plan announced last year. — Jenina P. Ibañez

ABS-CBN’s franchise can wait, says House Speaker

February 12, 2021 | 12:07 am

THE franchise renewal of ABS-CBN Corp. will have to wait until the next Congress as measures to address the pandemic will be the priority of lawmakers, House Speaker Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco said on Thursday, days after the President vowed to block the network’s operations.

“Calls to revive the franchise of ABS-CBN will have to wait until the next Congress,” Mr. Velasco said, as he broke his silence on moves to grant a franchise to the media company after lawmakers last year pulled the plug on its broadcast at the height of the health crisis.

On Monday, President Rodrigo R. Duterte said he would not allow ABS-CBN to operate, even if lawmakers will grant its franchise.

On several occasions, Mr. Duterte had expressed tirades against the network, and had said that it would not “see the light of day.” He cited unaired presidential campaign ads that were never refunded. ABS-CBN apologized in 2020, which he accepted, but called for the company to donate the refund to charity.

ABS-CBN’s 25-year franchise expired on May 4, 2020. Lawmakers voted against its renewal on July 10 as the country was under a strict lockdown imposed to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Mr. Velasco said the government was setting its focus on finishing the remaining priority measures promised by the President, whose term ends next year.

The House Speaker also said lawmakers were prioritizing measures that would help revive the economy after a pandemic-led recession. Among the priority bills is the passage of the P420-billion Bayanihan to Arise as One bill, the third economic stimulus package after the Bayanihan to Heal as One and Bayanihan to Recover as One laws.

“We would like to see the passage of Bayanihan III, as well as other economic bills geared toward rebuilding the Philippine economy shattered by the devastating impact of the global pandemic and rebuilding the lives of every Filipino disrupted by the health crisis,” he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker and Buhay Partylist Rep. Jose “Lito” L. Atienza, Jr. said lawmakers should stop its pursuit of loans availed by the Lopez group of companies that were allegedly condoned by state-led Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

Claims that the loans were written off were among the issues during hearings on ABS-CBN’s franchise extension before lawmakers voted against its renewal.

Mr. Atienza said that the issue is “unvalidated” since documents related to the alleged write-off were from two decades ago, with DBP saying in a House probe in January that these documents were already disposed of.

DBP also denied any condonation, saying the loans were sold to Lehman Brothers Asia Ltd. through a special purpose vehicle of the non-performing assets of the state lender.

The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability voted on the motion to issue a subpoena for the said documents of the transaction, even if the National Archives of the Philippines Act states the retention of documents must only be for five years.

“We should protect the integrity of this House and not allow ourselves to be used for allegations like this that have no basis whatsoever, especially since this particular transaction took place almost 20 years ago. There is always a presumption of regularity, and it is up to the accuser to prove otherwise,” Mr. Atienza said.

“And if there is proof, then let the proper agency such as the Ombudsman investigate and pursue the case. This is not Congress’ job,” he added. — Gillian M. Cortez

SEC warns against unregistered cryptocurrency trading service

February 12, 2021 | 12:06 am

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned the public against an unregistered “crowdfunding international platform” for cryptocurrency named BitAccelerate, BitAccelerateProject.com, BA, and BitAccelerator.

In an advisory, the commission said the entities promise returns depending on the number of referrals and membership fees collected, thus gaining new investors is crucial to the platform.

The platform claims that people may earn up to two to eight percent daily, or a total of 350% of their total investments. Investments will be sent through a robot on messaging app, Telegram.

The SEC said that investors enter a “smart contract,” where passive income may be collected as long as money is put into the platform to earn profit.

However, the commission maintains that the platform is neither registered nor does it have a license to engage in such activities.

“The public is advised not to invest or stop investing in any scheme offered by BitAccelerate/BitAccelerateProject.com/BA/BitAccelerator or any other entities using the same scheme in digital asset trading, which promises ridiculous rates of return with little or no risk,” the commission warned.

It also said penalties would be imposed on those involved as salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents and on entities engaging in unauthorized transactions and activities for violating the Revised Corporation Code.

Those recruiting for these services may face sanctions and they may be criminally liable, the commission added.

In its advisory, the SEC reminded the public of the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies.

“Digital asset trading is highly speculative and involves a higher degree of risk. Hence, any promise of [a] fixed rate of lucrative return is truly ambiguous,” it warned.

The commission said it was not discouraging the public from investing in cryptocurrency, and that it was not threatening authorized businesses and projects.

The SEC said the warnings and laws “are intended for the protection of both the registered entities and the investing public from any anomalies and/or irregularities, which tend to result from any unlawful or unauthorized operations.” — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

PHL needs to prove measures vs money laundering boosted guard

February 12, 2021 | 12:05 am

THE PHILIPPINES has to prove its revised anti-money laundering and terrorism financing measures boosted safeguards and ensure it does not go back to the “gray list” of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the head of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said.

“For technical compliance, the question is really on whether we have laws, rules, and regulations. For the AMLA (Anti-Money Laundering Act) amendments and the Anti-Terorrism Act, these laws address technical compliance,” AMLC Executive Director Mel Georgie B. Racela said in an online briefing on Thursday.

“In terms of effectiveness compliance, it’s another matter… We should indicate our effectiveness compliance in the post-observation period report,” Mr. Racela said, noting the FATF report is due for submission “at least first week of April.”

Republic Act (RA) No. 11521 which further strengthened the AMLA was signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Jan. 29 with immediate effectivity, only two days before the Feb. 1 deadline given by the FATF to the country to address gaps in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures.

The law allowed the AMLC to enforce targeted financial sanctions such as asset freezing in relation to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their financing. Its provisions also expanded covered persons to include real estate developers and brokers, as well as Philippine offshore gaming operators

On Jan. 31, the AMLC published the updated implementing rules and regulations of the amended law as well as Republic Act No. 11479 or the Anti-Terror Act of 2020.

“So anything we can add to demonstrate positive and tangible progress in implementing these laws (RA 11521 and RA 11479) before the submission may be included [in the post-observation period report],” Mr. Racela said.

The central bank last year also updated its gauge to determine “dirty money” and terrorism financing risk through the Money Laundering/Terrorism Financing Risk Assessment System. The system uses a four-point rating scale to gauge money laundering and terrorism risks, ranging from low to high.

Factors to be assessed include inherent risk, quality of risk management, self-assessment systems, and the net money laundering/ terrorism financing and proliferation risk in BSP-supervised financial institutions.

Under the new scheme, more supervisory resources will be allocated to BSP-supervised financial institutions found to have higher net risk exposures and those that pose heightened risk to the safety and soundness of the financial system. In this case, BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said the system will contribute to the overall stability of the financial system.

The Philippines was removed from the FATF’s gray list of countries deemed to have lax measures against dirty money and terrorism financing in February 2005, five years after its inclusion in 2000. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

Foreign demand seen to boost nickel industry

February 12, 2021 | 12:05 am

THE country’s nickel industry is projected to have a strong year in 2021 as demand from foreign markets is expected to improve despite the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Philippine Nickel Industry Association President Dante R. Bravo said the group was optimistic that rising nickel consumption would continue because of the demand from the infrastructure and home appliance equipment sectors, and the electric vehicle industry.

“The mining industry has kept to employ 190,000 people in the entire country and this is very important, especially that the Philippine government is trying to implement economic recovery efforts from the impact of the pandemic,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

Citing data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, the industry association said the country’s nickel sector in 2020 produced 18.5 million dry metric tons (DMT), a 14% drop compared with the 21.6 million DMT output the year earlier, due to the strict quarantine measures between March and May that hampered logistics across the country.

Despite the lower output, the group said the nickel industry’s export value improved to almost P25 billion during the January-September period, from P24 billion in the same period in 2019.

Mr. Bravo said the higher export value was due to higher world nickel prices created by the steady demand in China.

For 2020, he said association members contributed almost 50% of the country’s total nickel production, producing a total of 7.9 million DMT with an export value of P11.6 billion based on the bureau’s data.

“The industry is grateful that we were able to perform well despite the pandemic and that we were able to contribute to the economy during these trying times. We’re all aware that a large number of businesses closed down in 2020 and some are closing down this year,” Mr. Bravo said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bravo said the group’s members spent P166.8 million under the social development management program in Palawan, Zambales, and Caraga region. Under the program, the mining industry provides assistance such as livelihood and education to local communities.

He added that P49 million had been allocated by member companies in 2020 for COVID-19 efforts that were focused on providing food, protective equipment, medicines, and medical assistance to the community and neighboring local government units.

“Some of these efforts included build-up of isolation rooms and testing centers, provision for ambulance, transportation, supplemental supply of thermal scanners, test kits and personal protective equipment to local hospitals as well as provision of food packs, facemasks and hygiene kits to local health workers and frontliners,” Mr. Bravo said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Google releases videos, poetry aimed at becoming better netizens

February 12, 2021 | 12:05 am

GOOGLE Philippines has launched a collection of animated videos and spoken word poetry as part of its 2021 Safer Internet Day celebration which aims to teach digital responsibility and help Filipinos be better netizens and stewards of the internet.

The content — uploaded on Google Philippines’ official YouTube channel — is developed by the youth volunteers of Teach Peace Build Peace Movement (TPBPM), an NGO which aims to build peace online and in vulnerable communities nationwide.

The Safer Internet Day playlist includes five animated videos and five spoken word poetry videos. (Watch the videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAAsONeUBlk&list=PLVoNArkTf3agusmCOzaLktpxNC4hEOjtd)

The themes of the YouTube videos are: kindness; the value of strong passwords and online security; critical thinking, oversharing prevention, and courage online. Google aims to reach over 40 million people and teach them about digital responsibility through the program.

The animated videos were illustrated and animated by Christwin Felix, a volunteer who has been teaching multimedia arts for more than 10 years, while the stories were written by Grace Bufi, a housewife and a passionate storyteller. Ms. Bufi, together with her husband, established the Basa Bookstore and The Storytelling Project, a non-profit organization that aims to spark hope, inspiration, and imagination through storytelling.

“Everyone has a role to play in making the internet a safer environment. We can use our voice, social media accounts, and our skills to promote it to our friends, our family, and communities. All of us can teach it and all of us can actively evangelize the importance of digital responsibility,” Bernadette Nacario, country director of Google Philippines, said during a digital press conference on Feb. 9 held via Google Meet.

Actor Dingdong Dantes and YouTube creator Janina Vela took part in the videos in voiceover roles.

“YouTube creators play an important role in teaching digital responsibility. We can use our voice and platform to raise awareness on how we can all be better stewards of the internet. I hope that beyond Safer Internet Day, we can always practice healthy digital habits online and offline,” Ms. Vela said.

During the 2019 Safer Internet Day, Google and TPBPM launched a campaign called Cyberpeace to teach at least 10,000 high school students about digital responsibility. Amid the pandemic, with the help of several volunteers, the campaign reached more than 416,000 people nationwide through digital means such as social media and webinars. — Zsarlene B. Chua

Robinsons Bank, Pru Life extend bancassurance deal

February 12, 2021 | 12:04 am

ROBINSONS BANK Corp. and Pru Life UK have renewed their bancassurance partnership amid an increase in demand for insurance products due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The bancassurance product called IPONsurance has been available to clients of the lender since the two firms inked their partnership in 2018.

“I don’t have the exact number but total balance in the product, it’s already at P500 million. That’s the take-up,” Robinsons Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Elfren Antonio S. Sarte said during the virtual signing ceremony on Thursday.

“For another three years, this alliance will benefit Robinson Bank’s customers by providing them with easy access to Pru Life UK’s solutions that meet their growing protection needs,” Pru Life UK President and CEO Antonio G. de Rosas said.

Pru Life and Robinsons Bank have been working on digitizing their operations during the pandemic and are looking forward to continuing these efforts this year amid the new normal.

“Now we’re planning on strategies to further increase this (take-up of IPONsurance) and push it through our digital channels,” Mr. Sarte said.

Ramon C. Garcia, Vice-President for Bancassurance and Business Development at Pru Life UK, said they have adjusted their operations amid restriction measures.

“It actually gave us the opportunity to fully utilize the digital resources that we have and also provide comfort to our clients who are hesitant to visit the branches. It’s been working to our advantage,” Mr. Garcia said.

Pru Life UK was the second-biggest life insurer in the country in 2019 based on premium income which hit P26.965 billion. — L.W.T. Noble

GNPower Dinginin power plant targets full commercial operation by June — DoE data

February 12, 2021 | 12:04 am

THE 1,336-megawatt (MW) supercritical coal-fired power plant of GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. is scheduled to begin its full commercial run by June this year, latest data from the Energy department show.

GNPower Dinginin in Mariveles, Bataan is a joint venture of AC Energy, Inc., Aboitiz Power Corp. subsidiary Therma Power, Inc. and Power Partners Ltd. Co. Its two units have an identical capacity of 668 MW each.

In its list of committed private sector-initiated projects in Luzon as of end-December, the Department of Energy (DoE) said that the first and second units of GNPower Dinginin were targeting to “start commercial operations in March and June,” respectively. The list was published on the department’s website on Thursday.

Construction of the Dinginin coal plant is underway, with around 5,060 jobs generated due to the project, according to the DoE.

“The plant and equipment is subcontracted through the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor to numerous Philippine and Chinese companies,” the department said.

It added that “technical and construction-related matters have been encountered and dealt with, as normal, during the construction phase.”

This comes around three months after AboitizPower announced that the two units of GNPower Dinginin in Bataan are scheduled to start operating commercially around the middle of 2021.

In an earlier statement, the listed firm said that the first unit of the supercritical coal plant is “set to synchronize with the grid by the end of the year (2020) and start operating by the second quarter of 2021.” It added that the second unit “will be synchronized and start earning commissioning revenues by the second quarter of next year (2021).”

BusinessWorld reached out to a source at AboitizPower who confirmed receipt of the questions, but has yet to respond to them as of writing.

Shares in AboitizPower inched down 0.57% or 0.15 centavos to close at P26.30 apiece. — Angelica Y. Yang

Oscars ceremony in April to be live, in person and from many locations

February 12, 2021 | 12:04 am

LOS ANGELES — The Academy Awards, or Oscars, ceremony in April will be an in-person event that will air live from multiple locations, organizers said on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said in a statement that despite the coronavirus pandemic that has caused havoc in the entertainment industry, the group was “determined to present an Oscars like none other, while prioritizing the public health and safety of all those who will participate.”

“To create the in-person show our global audience wants to see, while adapting to the requirements of the pandemic, the ceremony will broadcast live from multiple locations, including the landmark Dolby Theater.”

The Dolby Theater in Hollywood has been the venue for the Oscars show for a number of years. Normally, hundreds of the world’s top movie stars would gather in the 3,400-seat theater for a live show preceded by a red carpet packed with photographers and camera crews.

Wednesday’s statement said more details would be forthcoming. No host has been announced.

California on Tuesday surpassed New York as the US state with the most coronavirus deaths and the Los Angeles area has been particularly badly hit.

The Academy re-scheduled the 2021 Oscar ceremony, the highest awards in the movie industry from Feb. 28 to April 25 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Other awards shows in recent months have replaced the usual gatherings at gala dinners and on stage with pre-recorded appearances or virtual events.

The Grammy Awards in January postponed its ceremony to March just three weeks before the scheduled date after talks with health experts and musicians.

The delayed Golden Globes ceremony for film and television on Feb. 28 will take part in both Los Angeles and New York with nominees taking part from locations around the world, organizers said last week.

Nominations for the 2021 Oscars will be announced on March 15. — Reuters

Companies signal some willingness to hire in 2021

February 12, 2021 | 12:03 am

MORE THAN a third of companies participating in a study conducted by recruitment firm Michael Page Philippines said they are looking to hire more employees.

In a statement Wednesday, Michael Page Philippines said its Talent Trends 2021 Report found that 35% of companies surveyed are “looking to increase their headcount” in 2021.

The report also found that 45% of employers chose to retain their employees this year even during the downturn in business caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Michael Page reported that “56% of companies cited their continued investment in employees by upskilling the workforce with training while 56% turned to the use of automation for basic processes.”

It found strong hiring demand for technology professionals in financial technology, logistics, and consumer platforms.

Michael Page Managing Director Olly Riches said in a statement, “Acquiring and retaining high-potential talent will be crucial to enable companies to build sustainable operations to position for future growth.”

In-demand jobs apart from tech, Mr. Riches said, are in healthcare startups, adding “The talent demand in the healthcare and life sciences industries remain strong, as businesses continue to navigate the challenges of a pandemic and acknowledge the importance of having the right people at the top to maximize their outcomes.” — Gillian M. Cortez

Cua files bill seeking to lift bank secrecy

February 12, 2021 | 12:03 am

A LAWMAKER is pushing amendments to the Bank Secrecy Law to lift certain provisions to prevent criminal activities by giving the regulator authority to look into bank accounts.

In a House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries hearing on Thursday, the committee chair Junie E. Cua said he wants to be “extra careful” in amending the 65-year-old law while emphasizing the need to revise provisions in the law as it “is used as a shield” for money laundering and other anomalous activities.

The Bank Secrecy Law currently prohibits the disclosure or inquiry into deposits as these are confidential in nature.

Mr. Cua authored House Bill 8634 amending the law to give the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) the authority to access accounts for investigative purposes. He said the proposed amendments will give parameters that will need to be satisfied before the BSP can check bank accounts.

“The basic objective is to empower the BSP or to authorize BSP to look into accounts of bank owners or bank stockholders, bank officials, or dummies in order to be able to investigate wrongdoings of that confined set of account holders, namely stockholders of the banks, officials of the banks who the BSP sees and believes that by some machinations, are doing activities that are fraudulent,” he added.

Mr. Cua said the proposal was crafted after the World Bank and International Monetary Fund recommended the relaxing of the strict Bank Secrecy Law.

BSP Senior Assistant Governor and General Counsel Elmore O. Capule said in the same hearing that the “very narrow lifting” of the Bank Secrecy Law will allow the central bank to effectively handle crimes committed by bank personnel. He said during the past three years, over P6 billion involved incidents within bank personnel.

“We’ve had 1,419 incidents relating to deposits. These are crimes and losses and had around 2,200 personnel of banks involved and it amounts to P6.3 billion from 2017 to 2020. We are…alarmed that there are a lot of insider abuses being done in the banks and we do not have the proper legal weapon to ensure that these kinds of abuses are…utilizing bank deposit secrecy as shield,” he said. — G.M. Cortez

PayMaya enters online shopping business

February 12, 2021 | 12:03 am

DIGITAL payments firm Paymaya Philippines, Inc. launched on Thursday its platform’s “digital mall” feature, where users can buy products from its partner merchants.

The new feature called Paymaya Mall is expected to “help foster the growth and recovery of local businesses,” Mark Jason Dee, head of PayMaya’s Growth Marketing and Partnerships, said in an e-mailed statement.

The digital payments company added that the innovation is also seen to “boost” e-commerce transactions in the country amid the ongoing pandemic crisis.

It noted that the coronavirus pandemic has drastically affected both consumers and retail merchants.

Among the merchants whose products are now available in PayMaya’s digital mall are Jollibee, McDonald’s, Goldilocks, Rustans, Park Outlet, Mercury Drug, Rose Pharmacy, Landers, AllHome, and Boozy.

“More brands are coming soon as PayMaya taps into its network of over 116,000 merchant touchpoints,” the company said.

PayMaya President Shailesh Baidwan said, “With this initiative, we are bringing our partner merchants closer to our more than 28 million customers nationwide.”

“Consumers, on the other hand, can get their regular shopping done from the convenience and safety of their own homes while enjoying exclusive perks and rewards — all through the PayMaya app,” he added.

PayMaya is a subsidiary of Voyager Innovations, Inc., the digital arm of PLDT, Inc.

Voyager’s portfolio, aside from the PayMaya e-wallet and app for consumers, includes PayMaya Enterprise for end-to-end merchant-acquiring solutions and Smart Padala, which has over 37,000 partner agent touchpoints nationwide.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Arjay L. Balinbin