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Cebu Pacific, Axa to offer ‘non-travel’ insurance 

BUDGET CARRIER Cebu Pacific and insurance company Philippine AXA Life Insurance Corp. have partnered to offer non-travel insurance products.

“The lifestyle insurance packages are available for everyone. People won’t need to have a Cebu Pacific flight scheduled in order to purchase an insurance product,”  Candice A. Iyog, Cebu Pacific vice-president for marketing and customer experience, told BusinessWorld in a phone message on Wednesday.

The non-travel insurance products can be viewed by anyone on Cebu Pacific’s official website, and he or she will be redirected to AXA’s website for fulfillment of purchase.

“Starting September 8, Cebu Pacific is launching the CEB Health Protect which provides coverage for top three critical conditions, namely cancer, stroke, and heart attack,” the low-cost airline said in a statement.

It also said it provides insurance benefits of up to P1 million, “allowing families to receive up to 20% coverage for nine minor critical conditions.”

“Families and individuals can tailor fit the insurance coverage according to their personal needs and budget, with coverage available for as low as P535 monthly, along with flexible payment terms of up to 20 years,” the airline added.

Cebu Pacific likewise said it will be launching more lifestyle insurance packages in the coming months.

“Our passengers have always been at the heart of our business and now more than ever, we strive to always give them peace of mind when flying with us. Our commitment to ensuring they have a safe and seamless journey with us does not only cover their actual flight, but even beyond,” Ms. Iyog said.

For her part, AXA Philippines Chief Customer Officer Amor T. Balagtas said: “We are very excited over this partnership because now, we are able to reach out to more Filipinos who will have access to insurance and financial services.” — Arjay L. Balinbin

Apple rolls out virtual fitness service, subscription bundle

APPLE INC. rolled out a new virtual fitness service and a bundle of all its subscriptions, Apple One, focusing a holiday-season product launch on services that are the backbone of Apple’s growth strategy and that cater to customers working at home during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Apple also introduced a new Apple Watch Series 6 that monitors blood oxygen and will cost $399 and a more basic Apple Watch SE for $279.

But the bevy of incremental updates to existing hardware and subscription price tinkering disappointed investors, with Apple shares closing up 0.2%.

The Apple One bundle will cost $15 per month for an individual plan or $20 per month for a family plan and includes television, music and games. Apple is also offering a bundle for $30 per month that adds news, the fitness service and more storage.

“It’s a lot more aggressive pricing than I thought,” said Ben Bajarin, principal analyst for consumer market intelligence at research firm Creative Strategies, adding that Apple customers already paying $15 a month for family plans to some of the company’s content servers would likely find the largest bundle a “no-brainer.”

Apple’s top streaming music rival Spotify Technology criticized the bundle, saying Apple was abusing its dominant market position to favor Apple Music. Spotify, which is pursuing an antitrust case against Apple in the European Union and has spoken with US authorities probing the iPhone maker, charges $10 a month for its streaming service that competes with Apple but will not be eligible for Apple’s bundle.

In a statement responding to Spotify’s criticism, Apple said the bundle was aimed at existing users of its services and that “customers can discover and enjoy alternatives to every one of Apple’s services.”

Apple said both new watches and a new eighth-generation iPad can be pre-ordered starting Tuesday and will be available on Friday. Apple also introduced the Apple Fitness+ service, powered by its watches, that will deliver virtual workouts for $10 per month or $80 per year and be available before the end of the year.

Apple’s fitness service puts it closer to competition with Peloton Interactive Inc., which makes connected exercise gear and sells subscriptions to online fitness classes. Apple said that most of its workouts were designed to be conducted with either no equipment or minimal gear such as a set of dumbbells. Peloton’s workouts typically require either a bike or a treadmill. Shares of Peloton closed up 4%.

The ability of the Apple Watch to monitor blood oxygen seeks to beat a similar feature already available on watches from rival Fitbit Inc., which Alphabet Inc.’s Google is buying for $2.1 billion. Apple said its watch will be able to take absolute blood oxygen measurements on-demand while the user is still, while Fitbit’s devices currently show either variations in blood oxygen levels or a set of measurements taken while the user is sleeping.

Apple also for the first time offered a way to use an Apple Watch without pairing it one-to-one with an iPhone, offering what it calls “Family Setup.”

FASTER IPAD CHIP
Apple added a faster chip to its base model iPad, which it priced at $329 for consumers and $299 for education customers. Apple’s new iPad Air will cost $599 and look more like its iPad Pro models and a new A14 processor chip that Apple says will be the first to use a 5-nanometer chip manufacturing process.

An update of Apple’s biggest seller — the iPhone — is expected to be announced next month after executives have said its launch will be delayed by several weeks because of pandemic-related disruptions.

Apple said flu investigators in Washington state will study heart rate and blood oxygen data from Apple Watch for potential early signs of respiratory conditions like influenza and COVID-19.

Apple shares have soared this year even as the virus has crippled economies around the world, thanks in large part to booming sales of work-from-home items.

Apple shares gave up gains to trade flat on Tuesday after climbing more than 50% for the year, well ahead of the 23% gain for the Nasdaq. Even though Apple stock has fallen from a record high earlier this month, it remains near a $2-trillion stock market valuation. — Reuters

No pandemic can keep The Pen from marking its 44th year

AS THE coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdowns in the metro slowly ease, certain industries are still tightly restricted, particularly the hotel and restaurant industry. But this can’t keep a good hotel down. The Peninsula Manila is bent on celebrating its 44th year with special promos and menus — and if people can’t come to its popular restaurants to dine on their specialty dishes yet, then the dishes will come to the diners.

The Pen, opened in 1976 in time for the hosting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conference in Manila, marks its anniversary until the end of the month by offering some of its most popular dishes at prices that take note of the date its doors first opened — all for takeout and delivery.

The “Our Birthday – Your Birthday” offers include dishes from The Lobby, Spices, and Old Manila; cocktails from Salon de Ning and The Bar; and cakes, breads, French pastries, and packed lunches from the bakery. They will be available for takeout and delivery at The Peninsula Boutique from Sept. 14 to 30.

“We have missed having our guests these past few months. As we celebrate our 44th anniversary on Sept. 14, we would like to express our sincerest gratitude by taking them traipsing down memory lane with our nostalgia-laden signature Peninsula dishes that our talented Food and Beverage team has created just for them,” said The Peninsula Manila General Manager Masahisa Oba in a statement.

To mark the occasion, The Peninsula Boutique’s assorted French pastries, 70% Dark Chocolate Cigar, Coffee Eclair, banana bread, sourdough ciabatta loaf, and a whole lot more are priced at P197.60. Whole cakes, including Truffle Chocolate Cake and Strawberry shortcake are P1,976. Also on the menu are The Lobby favorites like Pancit Luglug and Grilled Schüblig Sausage, Oven-baked Lasagna, Pen US Beef Burger, and Kimchi Fried Rice, and Spices classics like Nasi Goreng and Phad Thai, Murgh Makhani and Salmon Fillet Tikka Masala, among many others, for P444. Old Manila’s Angus Beef Ribeye Steak and Beef or Salmon Wellington are a veritable steal at P1,976 (they come with a choice of one side), while starters like Old Manila’s Nicoise Salad, Salmon Rillettes, and Steak Tartare are available for P444.

And one must have drinks to enjoy with the dishes — so Beverage Manager Rico Deang’s bottled batched Aperol Spritz, Margarita, and Negroni can be enjoyed for P1,976.

Complimentary delivery within Makati City will be extended to guests making a minimum single-receipt purchase of P2,000. For inquiries and orders, call 8887-5747, 8887-2888, e-mail penboutiquepmn@peninsula.com, or do so through PenChat, The Peninsula Manila’s 24-hour e-concierge (https://bit.ly/PenChatFacebook).

Yields on BSP’s term deposits inch down ahead of bond offer

YIELDS ON term deposits auctioned off by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) mostly fell on Wednesday ahead of the central bank’s maiden offering of securities on Friday.

Tenders for the BSP’s term deposit facility (TDF) reached P527.984 billion on Wednesday, well beyond the P350 billion on the auction block. However, it failed to beat last week’s P541.442 billion, which was against P360 billion up for grabs.

Broken down, for the seven-day papers, tenders totaled P212.569 billion yesterday, going beyond the P160 billion auctioned off by the central bank as well as the P197.394 billion in bids logged a week ago.

Accepted yields ranged from 1.785% to 1.89%, a narrower band compared to the 1.7788% to 1.9% recorded on Sept. 9. This caused the one-week paper’s average rate to rise to 1.8377%, inching up by 1.01 basis points (bps) from the 1.8276% seen in the previous auction.

Meanwhile, the 14-day papers attracted bids worth P265.685 billion, higher than the P170 billion on the auction block and the P250.278 billion in tenders logged the previous week for the P160 billion on offer.

Banks asked for yields within the 1.8% to 1.87% range, a slightly lower band compared to the 1.82% to 1.875% seen last week. This brought the average rate of the 14-day papers to 1.846%, down by 0.19 bp from the 1.8479% logged on Sept. 9.

On the other hand, demand for the 28-day papers amounted to P49.73 billion, more than the P20 billion on offer but lower than the P93.77 billion in bids logged for the P50-billion offering a week ago.

Rates for the one-month paper ranged from 1.783% to 1.8522%, a wider band compared to the 1.825% to 1.87% recorded a week ago. This caused the tenor’s average rate to settle at 1.8409%, decreasing by 1.09 bps from the 1.8518% seen last week.

The TDF is currently the central bank’s primary tool to shore up excess liquidity in the financial system to better guide market interest rates.

Yields were mostly lower at yesterday’s auction as investors were looking ahead to the offering of the central bank securities, said Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort.

“The markets are anticipating the BSP’s 28-day debt auction on Friday as this would lead to the phaseout of the 28-day TDF tenor,” Mr. Ricafort said in a text message.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said the central bank will auction P20 billion worth of 28-day securities on Friday, marking its first issuance of its own debt papers.

Mr. Diokno added the 28-day term deposits and BSP bills will be offered simultaneously on different days for now but the one-month deposits will soon be phased out.

“The inclusion of BSP securities issuance in the standard monetary operations of the BSP provides an additional instrument for managing liquidity in the financial system and supports the implementation of monetary policy under the interest rate corridor framework,” the BSP said in a statement last week. — L.W.T. Noble

Search for top finance exec returns in November

THE ING-FINEX CFO of the Year Award is coming back in November to mark the 14th year of the annual search for the best chief finance officer, who has now evolved into a dynamic, multifaceted game changer.

“As a strategist and catalyst, the CFO plays a significant role in creating value for the corporation. As steward and operator, the CFO is expected to protect the reputation of the finance function, and that of the company as a whole, with both internal and external stakeholders,” said Jose Jerome Pascual III, president of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX), in a statement.

FINEX, the country’s premier organization for finance and business professionals, and Dutch financial giant ING Bank N.V, are behind the CFO of the Year Award to honor today’s top finance executive who needs to fulfill four roles: strategist, catalyst, steward, and operator.

Introduced in 2006, the ING-FINEX CFO of the Year Award has become the most prestigious honor for the country’s finance chiefs with a different theme every year.

“Today, the CFO has become even more critical,” said Domingo C. Go, liaison director of ING-FINEX CFO of the Year Award committee. “That goes not only for the all-encompassing financial function, but also for the critical stewardship of the company’s assets, and to navigate the sea of uncertainty in this time of a pandemic.”

The committee said this year’s theme — “Game-Changing CFO” — refers not only to the awardee’s winning character of being able to make a difference “but also serves as a challenge for the winner to live up to the title in this time of a global crisis when the world, the industry, or the very game itself, has changed.”

FTC prepares possible antitrust lawsuit against Facebook, source says

US COMPETITION enforcers are preparing a possible antitrust lawsuit against Facebook Inc., according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been investigating Facebook for more than a year over whether the social media giant has harmed competition and could file a case by the end of the year, said the person, who was granted anonymity because the inquiry is confidential. No final decision has been made, the person added.

A lawsuit by the FTC would mark another major escalation by US officials in their campaign against America’s technology giants, which have come under intense scrutiny in Washington over their dominant market positions. The Justice Department is preparing to sue Alphabet Inc.’s Google in a matter of weeks.

Facebook and the FTC declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on the agency’s lawsuit preparation. It is standard practice for antitrust enforcers to prepare for litigation as part of an investigation, and filing a lawsuit would require a majority vote of the FTC’s five commissioners.

Technology giants are grappling with sprawling inquiries by federal agencies, Congress, and state attorneys general. The US House antitrust panel is preparing recommendations for reining in the power of tech companies like Facebook after a yearlong investigation of the industry. On Tuesday, a Senate Judiciary panel laid out a case for how Google has used its dominance in search and digital advertising to benefit its products and harm competition.

The FTC opened the Facebook investigation in June 2019 just as it leveled a $5 billion penalty against the company for privacy violations. The probe is focused in part on whether Facebook’s past acquisitions, like its deals for Instagram and WhatsApp, violated antitrust laws. Facebook Chief Executive Office Mark Zuckerberg was questioned last month by FTC officials.

To critics, the Instagram and Whatsapp takeovers allowed Facebook to acquire two smaller companies that could have have emerged as real competitors to the company. Although the FTC investigated and approved both deals, it has the authority to revisit past transactions and go to court to unwind them if it determines they were anticompetitive. FTC Chairman Joe Simons said last year he is prepared to take such action.

At a hearing in July, House lawmakers investigating US tech giants accused Zuckerberg of acquiring smaller companies as a strategy to eliminate competition from rivals. Documents showed Zuckerberg internally discussed how Instagram “could be very disruptive to us.”

He countered that Instagram succeeded because of investments Facebook made after the 2012 acquisition and that it was far from certain that the photo-sharing site would become as big as it is today.

In addition to the FTC, Facebook is facing an antitrust investigation by a nationwide group of attorneys general led by New York’s Letitia James. The states could join any FTC lawsuit against Facebook or pursue their own case against the company. — Bloomberg

Dining In/Out (09/17/20)

The Peninsula marks 44th year with special offers

THE Peninsula Manila is celebrating its 44th birthday from Sept. 14 to 30 with signature dishes at nostalgia-laden prices for takeout and delivery. The hotel is offering a slew of “Our Birthday – Your Birthday” offers at The Peninsula Boutique for those who — despite much of the city sheltering in place — find themselves missing the cuisine of The Lobby, Spices, and Old Manila; cocktails from Salon de Ning and The Bar; and cakes, breads, French pastries, and packed lunches from the bakery that are synonymous with The Peninsula name. They are now available for takeout and delivery at The Peninsula Boutique until Sept. 30. The hotel’s Executive Sous Chef Xavier Castello is offering many of The Pen’s most beloved culinary creations and libations at prices evocative of that day 44 years ago when the iconic Peninsula pages welcomed their first guests through The Lobby’s doors. The Peninsula Boutique’s assorted French pastries, 70% Dark Chocolate Cigar, Coffee Eclair, banana bread, sourdough ciabatta loaf, etc. are priced at P197.60. Also on the menu are The Lobby favourites like Pancit Luglug and Grilled Schüblig Sausage and Spices classics Nasi Goreng and Phad Thai for P444. Old Manila’s Angus Beef Ribeye Steak and Beef or Salmon Wellington are on offer at P1,976.  Beverage Manager Rico Deang’s bottled batched Aperol Spritz, Margarita, and Negroni can be enjoyed for P 1,976. Complimentary delivery within Makati City will be extended to guests making a minimum single-receipt purchase of P2,000. For inquires and orders, call 8887-5747 8887-2888, e-mail penboutiquepmn@peninsula.com or through PenChat, The Peninsula Manila’s 24-hour e-concierge by clicking https://bit.ly/PenChatFacebook.

Greenhills Shopping Center now hosts a weekend market

ORTIGAS Malls has partnered with Barangay Greenhills to bring a weekly Weekend Market at the V-Mall Parking at Greenhills Center. This initiative started on Aug. 22 and is being held every Sunday from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Greenhills Weekend Market aims to support small business enterprises (SMEs) during this unpredictable time, as well as to bring household essentials closer to Greenhills’ community. Food such as frozen and fresh seafood, meat and poultry, and vegetables can be found at the market from vendors such as Candy and Ronnie Vegetables, Alvin’s Fish, Eharvest Trading, D&G Fruits, and others. Some familiar vendors are Auntie Annie’s pretzels, Nacho Bravo, The New Albergus’ frozen foods, Hap Chan’s Chinese food, Sabroso’s Lechon, Ramen Nagi’s frozen Japanese food packs and many more. Aside from fresh produce and baked goods, the Weekend Market offers other souvenirs and household items, plus a variety of plants and florals. The arrangement of the stalls at the Weekend Market encourages social distancing to protect shoppers. Greenhills is also implementing thermal scanning as mandated by the IATF. Face masks and face shields are also required upon entry. For more information, visit Greenhills’ Facebook and Instagram pages and subscribe to Ortigas Malls’ newsletter.

Grab Food, Grab Express now operating 24/7

GRABEXPRESS and select merchants on GrabFood resumed their 24-hour operations across Metro Manila starting Sept. 16. The two services will be observing local government’s curfew policies, and will not be delivering liquor beyond curfew hours. The list of participating GrabFood merchant partners who will resume operating 24/7 can be found at  http://grb.to/gf247

September deals and more from Max’s Group

WITH the start of the “‘ber” months, Max’s Group continues to offer diverse dining experiences from its various brands. Max’s offers its fried chicken re-engineered into a juicy, no-frills sandwich that can be assembled at home yourself with the Build-Your-Own-Fried-Chicken set for P839 for takeout and P923 for delivery. From Sept. 16 to 20, customers who buy Yellow Cab’s Large Charlie Chan pasta dish will get a Regular Charlie Chan for an additional P20. Its Free 9” Cheese Pizza + Free Delivery promo is also back from Sept. 21 to 30 for every minimum purchase of P799 worth of Yellow Cab products — available in all Yellow Cab delivery stores nationwide. Pancake House has a new dish: Taco Chips with Baked Dip. For P399, enjoy a combination of crunchy taco chips served with specially-baked dip and taco salsa. Krispy Kreme’s best-selling Signature Coffee now comes iced. Starting at P75, choose from three variants — Iced Classic, Kremey Iced, and Kremey Iced Blend. Then there is the Perfect Together bundle — a combination of Original Glazed Doughnuts and a Brew Box Jr. starting at P599. Chocolate lovers can opt for one 12oz. Hot Chocolate and one Original Glazed for P135. To kick-off the holiday season, Jamba Juice introduces its new #BlendAnywhere frozen products: Live Fruitfully Kits and Superfood Smoothie Tubs.  The Live Fruitfully Kits are frozen fruit mixes that can blend with other ingredients to make the perfect smoothies at home. It comes in daily packs which starts at P300 for five days, and 500g packs which starts at P299. The Superfood Smoothie Tubs (P225 per pint) come in four different flavors: Banana Berry Blush, Creamy Strawberries Wild, PB is a Moo’d, and Mango-A-Go-Go. Meanwhile, Dencio’s celebrates its 30th year by offering free delivery for every minimum order of P1,000 done through Dencio’s website (https://www.dencios.com.ph/) until Oct. 3. This promo is available for all stores including Cloud Kapitloyo and Jupiter (except EDSA Eats). Over at Teriyaki Boy, Teriyaki Boy’s Donburi for 2 lets you enjoy two rice bowls from the following choices: Teriyaki Boy Chicken Tendon, Tonkatsu Tendon, Tori Karaage Tendon, and Teppanyaki Tendon, all for P499. Good things come in twos, especially with Sizzlin’ Steak’s Beef Salpicao Duo. For 499, get two orders of Australian Beef Salpicao served with plain rice and egg. Place orders for these deals and products by calling the delivery hotline 888-79000 or by placing an order via Grab, foodpanda, and LalaFood. You can also use the delivery website https://maxsgroupdelivers.com to place your order and to check out the list of available stores open for dine-in.

Hendrick’s Gin offer limited edition Midsummer Solstice variant

HENDRICK’S Gin launches Hendrick’s Midsummer Solstice, a limited-edition gin that captures the bright, aromatic intensity of a midsummer day. Midsummer Solstice contains an infusion of deeply floral essences that enhance the drink’s existing botanical bouquet: the result is a floral and refreshing gin that blossoms on the palate while remaining unmistakably Hendrick’s. Midsummer Solstice’s fragrant notes include zesty juniper with an initial brightness that melts to reveal hidden undertones of orange blossom and exotic ripeness. For recipes for cocktail mixes using Midsummer Solstice, visit the Hendrick’s Gin website. Meanwhile, Hendrick’s Gin has teamed up with the S&R supermarket chain where Midsummer Floral displays located within the aisles of selected S&R stores. Bring a Hendrick’s Gin Midsummer Solstice Twin Pack home (limited quantities which will be available starting Sept. 21) or search for QR codes hidden within the displays to watch some Midsummer magic come to life. Following Midsummer Solstice, additional new and unique gins will be released, replacing the previous expression and each variant will only be available exclusively during its launch year.  For more information on Midsummer Solstice, visit www.hendricksgin.com

Chocolate, coffee, tea take centerstage in DOT’s KAIN NA! food festival

THE FOUR-DAY KAIN NA! Food and Travel Festival 2020 kicked off on Sept. 15 with chocolate, coffee and tea taking the spotlight. Filipino products highlighted the launch of the virtual festival’s thematic approach in partnership with Ayala Malls. Virtual symposiums during the Sept. 15-18 Food Tourism Exchange will feature some of the most prominent chocolatiers, inspiring coffee entrepreneurs, and new and relaxing tea experiences around the country. One of the key features this year is the “KAIN NA!” Trading Post, the online store featuring Filipino products. The online store will go live at www.kainnastore.com for one month. The online learning modules will offer e-commerce training for food and farm tourism stakeholders and other micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) CTRL+BIZ Reboot Now program with the help of enablers Google, Facebook, Zomato, Eat In, GrabFood, Gcash, Air21, and Lazada. The Food Tourism 101 will feature Margarita Fores, JJ Yulo, Ivan Man Dy, and Michelle Cruz of Klook, who will present share-worthy food tourism experiences from food walks, market tours, foodie hotspots, and other inspiring food tourism experiences. Grab will roll out a Kain Na! tile on the homepage of the Grab app to increase the discoverability of partner merchants. To further promote the project, Guide to the Philippines (link to https://guidetothephilippines.ph/) published an extensive guide on places to try chocolate, coffee, and tea around the country. Zomato will also highlight Kain Na! in their Collections feature.

Conrad Manila launches ‘Meetings To Go’ packages

CONRAD Manila has launched “Meetings To Go,” a pioneering initiative which brings the hotel business meeting experience online and right to its guests’ doorsteps. The Meetings To Go package includes a Signature Takeaway Hotbox meal specially prepared by Executive Chef Daniel Patterson. It also houses an eco-tumbler, handcrafted bamboo utensils, among other stylish innovations that bring virtual meetings closer to home. Event attendees get to enjoy their meals hot and fresh “together online” with their colleagues. Virtual meetings at Conrad Manila are made more convenient with the hotel’s dedicated Events professionals taking care of every detail, high-speed Internet connection and Hilton’s EventReady with CleanStay that highlights elevated cleaning and sanitation best practices. For Meetings To Go inquiries or packages, call 0917-846-2282 or 8833-9999, or e-mail mayeth.gopez@conradhotels.com.

Mooncakes from New World’s Jasmine

THE NEW World Hotel Makati celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival with mooncakes from its Jasmine restaurant. The mooncakes are available in four classic flavors: red bean, red lotus, white lotus and five kernel (watermelon seeds, sesame seeds, walnuts, Terminalia seeds and almonds). Sealed in an elegant tangerine box with gold accents, these make a perfect gift to family and friends. A box of two is priced at P1,088 nett while a box of four is priced at P1,588 nett. Jasmine is offering a 20% discount for bulk orders with a minimum of 30 boxes. Dine-in guests for the restaurant’s dim sum buffet likewise can avail a 30% for a minimum of 10 boxes. Club Epicure members likewise can avail a discount of 15% while supplies last. For more information or to place an order, call Jasmine at New World Makati Hotel at 8811-6888 ext. 3679 or 0917-888-4194. To place orders online, the online form is available at https://tinyurl.com/yy4cbk2u.

Lung Hin sticks to tradition

AT A TIME when new habits are formed and practised, traditions remain treasured. Marco Polo Manila’s award-winning restaurant Lung Hin’s Executive Chinese Chef Ken Leung presents a new line of Hong Kong Chef’s Recommendations and a special selection of dishes for intimate dining groups. Until Oct. 31, guests may look forward to enjoying the featured dishes of Pan-fried minced pork chive dumplings topped with dried Sakura shrimp, Sauteed squid with three-kinds of onion, Steamed garoupa fillet with olive and ginger in soy sauce, and Chilled red bean with coconut milk jelly. This limited selection is available for dine-in only. Dine-in guests may also enjoy a special set menu while overlooking the cityscape in one of Lung Hin’s private dining rooms. For a minimum dining party of five adults, chef Leung presents a seven-course meal which includes the restaurant’s favourites: Deep-fried Japanese oysters in wasabi sauce, Crispy roasted baby duck in black pepper sauce, and Steamed live crab in Chinese wine and egg white served with e-fu noodle. This limited-time promotion is available at P3,888 per person, which includes the use of any of the restaurant’s private dining spaces. Advanced reservation of at least three days is required. For more information about Lung Hin and its ongoing dining promotions, call 7720-7777 or e-mail lunghin.mnl@marcopolohotels.com.   

Newport City holds farmers’ market this weekend

AS PART of Resorts World Manila’s 11th anniversary celebration, Megaworld Lifestyle Malls brings the fifth leg of “Harvest to Goodness” to Newport City this weekend, Sept. 18 to 20. The weekend farmers’ market — a collaboration with the Department of Agriculture (DA), non-profit group Resto PH — is offering a wide range of fresh, locally grown produce and lots of other healthy items. There will be premium lowland and highland vegetables straight from the farmers from Benguet, Baguio City, Bulacan, Quezon, and Batangas. Also available at affordable prices will be fruits such as lemons, pineapples, avocados, and lanzones, among others. The weekend market will also feature fresh seafood picks, including Dagupan boneless bangus (milk fish), salmon belly strips, crabs and prawns; fresh dairy products like milk and yogurts; and farm-to-table dishes from the members of Resto PH. Special and exclusive deals from participating hotels, mall merchants, and dining outlets including Hush Puppies, Pacsafe, Sunglass Haven, Hilton and Sheraton will also be offered in pop-up stores at The Plaza in Newport Mall. Guests can opt for cashless payment options powered by PayMaya and contactless transactions. As an added perk, Newport Mall will be offering free parking to guests until Sept. 30. Guests can also shop from home and have their orders delivered via personal shopping service app MyKuya. Cashless personal deliveries for all purchases from participating merchants can also be made via Lalamove and Mr. Speedy with exclusive promo codes (NEWPORTFAVES for Lalamove and NEWPORTVIBE for Mr. Speedy). The Harvest to Goodness farmers’ market is located at 81 Newport Blvd., Newport City, beside Savoy Hotel Manila and across Plaza 66. To ensure everyone’s safety, the weekend market will implement government-mandated health and safety protocols, such as mandatory temperature checks, footwear and hand sanitation, wearing of face masks and face shields, and strict observance of physical distancing.

UBX to boost e-commerce tools as online sellers grow

UNIONBANK OF THE Philippines, Inc.’s financial technology (fintech) arm is looking to boost e-commerce among small online sellers through its mobile-enabled marketplace application.

UBX Philippines Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer John Januszczak said in an online forum yesterday that the bank is looking to capitalize on its mobile application Sentro that builds online stores and uses Bux as its online payment tool as smaller businesses in the country continue to grow.

Bux enables online payment for all types of transactions, such as supply and delivery of products to small business owners. With this built-in tool, Sentro also connects them to courier mobile applications.

UBX said Bux can be integrated in other e-commerce platforms and has attracted at least 80,000 online sellers. Meanwhile, Sentro drew 17,000 sign-ups from various retailers.

Mr. Januszczak said these tools were developed to address the need of entrepreneurs for simple and affordable business solutions.

“The profile that we thought for these are casual sellers who typically sell over Facebook by fulfilling orders through Facebook or Viber chat. The ones who have aspirations to grow and are viable, something is keeping them from Shopify or Lazada. That’s the gap we want to fill,” Mr. Januszczak said at the virtual media discussion of UnionBank’s 4th E-Talk Tales: UBX: Weaving banking into everyday life.

“Our idea is that something is keeping them from using it. It’s probably cost or complexity or both,” he added.

UnionBank said based on its research, the Philippines has at least two million small online sellers, which it also calls the “shadow market of micro businesses” or “side hustlers.”

These sellers have contributed to the growth of the business landscape in the country, along with the 1.42 million micro, small, medium enterprises in 2019, it said.

The bank said more entrepreneurs have been forced to shift to online selling following the implementation of the nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Mr. Januszczak said UBX is consulting other firms to also upgrade Sentro to offer more “holistic” solutions to businesses as they expand.

“As they move their businesses to digital, they won’t need to access other digital tools. They will need access to digital ways of handling their taxes. Sky is the limit on what they will require,” he said.

He added that UBX remains open to collaborations with other fintech firms and online store providers.

“Not all businesses will ever use Sentro. Bux is an example as it integrates into other e-commerce platforms,” Mr. Januszczak said.

He added that he expects more Filipinos to build businesses in the next years as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies to “think out of the box.” — KKTJ

Chelsea’s new passenger vessel from Japan to sail soon

Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp. said its new passenger ferry from Japan, the MV Starlite Venus, will soon start plying the Batangas-Iloilo-Bacolod-Batangas route.

In a statement, Chelsea Logistics said the biggest vessel of its unit Starlite Ferries, Inc. will start sailing “soon.”

The new roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry arrived in the Philippines from Japan in August.

The new vessel was initially expected to arrive in April, but it was deferred due to the pandemic situation,  Chelsea Logistics President and Chief Executive Officer Chryss Alfonsus V. Damuy said at the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting in June.

The 97.78-meter MV Starlite Venus has a carrying capacity of 740 passengers, 22 buses, and six trucks.

The brand-new passenger vessel was built by Japan-based shipbuilder Kegoya Dock Co., Ltd.

Chelsea Logistics said on January that the MV Starlite Venus would bring its fleet to a total of 74 vessels, consisting of 22 roll-on/roll off passenger vessels, 11 fastcrafts, 9 cargo ships, 16 tankers, 13 tugboats, and 2 floating docks through its subsidiaries Chelsea Shipping Corp., Starlite Ferries, Inc., Trans-Asia Shipping Lines, Inc., and Supercat Fast Ferry Corp.

The listed shipping and logistics company is also awaiting the arrival of a 123-meter ro-ro passenger vessel from Japan’s Fukuoka Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Mr. Damuy said.

The vessel is “coming in the second quarter 2021,” he added.

He noted that once such ships are deployed, it will take a year for them to “mature on the revenue side.”

Chelsea Logistics posted a net loss of P941.11 million for the second quarter, swinging from a profit of P186.49 million in the same period last year.

The listed company attributed the decrease to the community quarantines measures imposed by the government starting around mid-March, which it said “restricted the travel of people via land, sea and air transport and allowed only the delivery of essential goods.” — Arjay L. Balinbin

Sony cuts PlayStation 5 forecast by 4 million due to chip woes

SONY CORP. has cut its estimated PlayStation 5 production for this fiscal year by 4 million units, down to around 11 million, following production issues with its custom-designed system-on-chip for the new console, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Tokyo-based electronics giant in July boosted orders with suppliers in anticipation of heightened demand for gaming in the holiday season and beyond, as people spend more time at home due to the coronavirus. But the company has come up against manufacturing issues, such as production yields as low as 50% for its SOC, which have cut into its ability to produce as many consoles as it wishes, said the people, who asked to remain anonymous because the deliberations aren’t public. Yields have been gradually improving, but have yet to reach a stable level, they added.

The company’s shares erased gains and closed down 2.4% on Tuesday, their lowest level since July.

After initially declining to comment, Sony released a statement on Wednesday denying the Bloomberg News report. “We have not changed the production number for PlayStation 5 since the start of mass production,” the company said.

“If the news is accurate, we would view the reduction as negative,” Citigroup analysts including Kota Ezawa wrote in response to the report of Sony’s revised production targets. The analysts also pointed out that challenges with SOC yields would increase the component’s cost and weigh on profit margins. Sony’s lowered forecast is only an estimate and could be revised again before the end of the fiscal year in March 2021. 

Close rival Microsoft Corp. last week revealed aggressive pricing for its two next-generation consoles, the $299 Xbox Series S and $499 Xbox Series X, putting added pressure on Sony. Pre-orders for the new Xbox models begin on Sept. 22. Sony is widely expected to reveal its own launch and pricing plans for the PlayStation 5 during an official video presentation scheduled for Wednesday. The full PS5 console may be priced as low as $449 while the slimmer, digital-only version may dip below $400, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Masahiro Wakasugi.

Sony started the year with conservative manufacturing plans for the PS5, and it has been grappling with the issue of how to price its upcoming console refresh. The COVID-19 pandemic led to an upward revision of the company’s projections as it saw the fastest-ever adoption of its PlayStation Plus subscription service and record-breaking sales from summer releases The Last of Us: Part II and Ghost of Tsushima.

Nintendo Co. plans an upgraded version of its Switch console, equipped with better components and potentially 4K output, for 2021. It’s set to be accompanied by a slate of new big-name games, challenging Sony and Microsoft’s efforts to get more players signed up for their services. — Bloomberg

How PSEi member stocks performed — September 16, 2020

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Wednesday, September 16, 2020.

Peso inches up as mart awaits Fed policy statement

THE PESO inched higher on Wednesday as investors expect positive local gross international reserves (GIR) data and a dovish tone from the US Federal Reserve’s policy review.

The local unit closed at P48.385 versus the dollar on Wednesday, up by 1.5 centavos from its P48.40 finish on Tuesday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

The peso opened Wednesday’s session at P48.43 per dollar. It climbed to as high as P48.35, while its weakest showing for the day was at P48.45 against the greenback.

Dollars traded dropped to $631.95 million on Wednesday from $884.3 million on Tuesday.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a text message that the peso went up as the markets expected the country’s reserve to have gone up in August following the release of data showing higher remittances in July.

“The peso appreciated as the markets anticipate the latest GIR data to new record highs after the release of the stronger-than-expected remittances data on Tuesday,” Mr. Ricafort said.

Money sent home by overseas Filipino workers stood at a seven-month high in July, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Tuesday. Cash remittances coursed through banks rose 7.8% year on year in July to $2.783 billion. This was the biggest monthly inflow since the $2.902 billion logged in December.

Meanwhile, the country’s dollar reserves stood at $98 billion at end-July, higher by 15% from the year-ago level and by 4.8% from its May standing. This is already more than the central bank’s $90-billion projection for this year.

The central bank was set to release August GIR data yesterday.

Meanwhile, a trader said the peso strengthened further against the dollar as the market expected the US Federal Reserve to keep its interest rates at near zero while it allows inflation to rise above 2% this year.

“The peso strengthened due to profit-taking ahead of likely dovish guidance from the Federal Reserve policy decision,” the trader said in an e-mail.

The Federal Reserve is expected to wrap up its latest policy meeting on Wednesday with somewhat rosier economic forecasts but a renewed pledge to keep interest rates low for as long as the world’s biggest economy needs to recover from its deepest downturn in decades, Reuters reported.

The two-day meeting is the US central bank’s first under a newly adopted framework that promises to shoot for inflation above 2% to make up for periods, such as now, where it is running below that target. The strategy means the Fed will not take its foot off the monetary gas pedal even if unemployment continues to drop at a faster-than-expected pace.

Fed officials don’t appear ready to translate that framework into an explicit promise to keep the central bank’s key overnight lending rate in its current range of 0% to 0.25% until certain economic benchmarks — say, 2.5% inflation — are met.

The rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to release its policy statement and a summary of fresh economic projections at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT). Fed Chair Jerome Powell is due to hold a virtual news briefing half an hour later.

For today, Mr. Ricafort sees the peso ranging from P48.30 to P48.45 versus the dollar while the trader expects the local currency to move from P48.30 to P48.50. — K.K.T. Jose with Reuters

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