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China Bank raises P20 billion from three-year bonds

CHINA BANKING Corp. (China Bank) raised P20 billion from its issuance of three-year bonds to be used for its expansion programs and other strategic initiatives.

The issued volume was four times its original offer of P5 billion, the lender said in a statement on Thursday.

“This successful issuance represents a strong start of the year for China Bank. The strong demand we garnered underscores the investing public’s sustained confidence in China Bank amid these challenging times,” China Bank President William C. Whang was quoted as saying.

The papers carry a coupon rate of 2.5% per annum to be paid monthly and are set to mature in 2024.

“The proceeds from the offer will be used to support China Bank’s strategic initiatives and expansion programs,” the lender said.

China Bank Capital Corp. served as the issue coordinator, structuring advisor, joint lead arranger and joint bookrunner for the transaction.

Meanwhile, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. and Philippine Commercial Capital, Inc. were joint lead arrangers, joint bookrunners, and selling agents for the bond sale.

This issuance was the second from the bank’s P45-billion bond program established in 2020. China Bank in October raised P15 billion via an offer of two-year bonds.

China Bank’s net earnings increased 21% to P3 billion in the third quarter of 2020 from P2.5 billion in the same period in 2019, supported by the growth of its core businesses.

This brought the bank’s nine-month net profit to P8.2 billion, higher by 23% year-on-year.

China Bank shares rose by five centavos or by 0.21% to close at P24.10 apiece on Thursday. — L.W.T. Noble

Alsons appoints Nicasio Alcantara as president, chairman

ALSONS Consolidated Resources, Inc. (ACR) on Thursday has named a new president and chairman to lead the firm starting March.

In a disclosure to the local bourse, ACR said that Nicasio I. Alcantara would be the next president and chairman of the company, which was helmed by Tomas I. Alcantara.

It said Tomas Alcantara decided to retire for health reasons, but would remain a director of the company. His retirement would take effect on March 1, the firm said.

Nicasio Alcantara previously led ACR as its chairman and president from 1995 to 2001. From 2001 to 2009, he was the chairman and chief executive officer of Petron Corp. At present, he is the chairman of ACR Mining Corp. and an independent director of Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc.

“We welcome Nicasio Alcantara and his many years of leadership experience in various corporations as he once again assumes the top posts in this company,” ACR Executive Vice-President Tirso G. Santillan, Jr. said in a statement.

Mr. Santillan said the outgoing president had “helped end the power shortage situation in Mindanao by bringing online two facilities, which added 313 megawatts (MW) to the island’s power supply.”

“It was because of his vision and guidance that ACR is now a major power generator with four power facilities serving over eight million people in 14 cities and 11 provinces in Mindanao. ACR will continue to benefit from his wisdom and experience as he continues to serve in the board,” Mr. Santillan said.

ACR also announced that its board of directors named Alexander Benhur M. Simon as vice-president and group chief finance officer, and Antonio Miguel B. Alcantara as the chief investment and strategy officer.

The development comes as the Alcantara-led firm is in the middle of building its 14.5-MW Siguil run of river hydro power plant in Maasim, Sarangani. The P4.5-billion project, which is expected to begin its commercial run next year, is ACR’s first foray into renewable energy.

One of the firm’s pipeline projects is the 105-MW San Ramon Power, Inc. baseload coal-fired power plant in Zamboanga City, which is scheduled to go online in 2024.

Last month, the listed firm said that it had earmarked P6.54 billion as capital expenditure budget for four projects under development, including the Siguil hydro plant and the San Ramon coal-fired power plant.

ACR, which claims to be the first private sector power generator in Mindanao, has an aggregate installed capacity of 468 MW.

ACR shares improved 4.51% or 0.06 centavos to close at P1.39 apiece on Thursday. — Angelica Y. Yang

DoTr starts seeking bidders for Cebu BRT package 1

THE Transportation department has started seeking bidders for the first package of the World Bank-funded Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (Cebu BRT) project.

The P1.05-billion contract covers sidewalk improvement and construction of trunk lines, stations, and other appurtenances from “Capitol to Cebu South Bus Terminal, including urban realm enhancement (link to the port) along Osmeña Boulevard,” the department said in an announcement on its website.

The contractor should complete the project within 240 days, it also said.

The department will conduct the bidding through the World Bank’s international competitive bidding procedures.

A firm participating in a procurement process under a World Bank-financed project should not have a conflict of interest, according to its policy.

“Any firm found to have a conflict of interest shall be ineligible for award of a contract,” the World Bank said.

A firm is considered to have a conflict of interest in a procurement process if it is “providing goods, works, or non-consulting services resulting from or directly related to consulting services for the preparation or implementation of a project that it provided or were provided by any affiliate that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with that firm.”

Also considered to have a conflict of interest is a firm with close business or family relationship with a professional staff of the borrower or of the project implementing agency, or of a recipient of a part of the loan, and when a firm “submits more than one bid, either individually or as a joint venture partner in another bid, except for permitted alternative bids.”

The department said the bidding documents may be downloaded from its website or from the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System website from Feb. 8 to March 23. Firms should pay the non-refundable fee of $250 for the bidding documents not later than the submission of their bids.

A pre-bid conference will be conducted on March 2.

The department expects to receive bids through the Special Bids and Awards Committee for the project until March 23.

“All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in the amount and form indicated in the bidding documents,” it said.

The government is eyeing the partial operability of the Cebu BRT this year, Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said in a recent statement.

“The 13.2-kilometer bus rapid transit lane will traverse the South Road Properties (SRP) through Mambaling, up to IT Park, with 17 stations, two terminals, and one depot. Along with the BRT, there will be a 20.2-kilometer bus feeder system to run with mixed traffic, complemented with sidewalk bus stops/shelters along the following routes: Cebu IT Park-Talamban, Mambaling-Bulacao, and Talisay-SRP,” the department said.

The Cebu BRT, once fully operational, is expected to serve around 60,000 passengers a day. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Wanted: New K-Pop band, American style

THE COMPANY behind South Korean boy band BTS on Wednesday announced a project to find the next K-Pop sensation, through a global audition program that is expected air in the United States in 2022.

Big Hit Entertainment said it was teaming with Universal Music Group to find, develop and train the new K-Pop boy band.

Lenzo Yoon, Big Hit’s global chief executive, said the new project would “apply Big Hit’s success formula established over the past 16 years to the US, the center of the global music market.”

The new K-Pop group will record on a new Los Angeles-based record label within the Universal Music Group.

BTS, the seven-member band which made its debut in South Korea in 2013, went on to conquer the highly competitive US music market with top-selling singles and videos featuring a sunny, positive vibe. Last year BTS, which has a vast and fervent fan base, was named entertainer of the year by Time magazine.

Universal Music Group Chief Executive Sir Lucian Grainge said in a statement that the joint venture “will further accelerate K-Pop as a global cultural phenomenon.”

The K-Pop industry, which involves rigorous training in dance, singing, and language skills, also has produced bands like girl group BlackPink that have expanded beyond Asia to gain international success.

The two companies did not say which US media outlet would broadcast the audition program.

The collaboration has echoes of American Idol, the popular TV reality show that holds nationwide auditions for a new pop star and whose winner gets a recording contract. The show, now in its 18th season, has produced bona fide stars like Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson. — Reuters

Banking industry groups welcome FIST law

BANKING GROUPS welcomed the signing of the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer (FIST) Act and hope it will spur bolster credit growth as the crisis continues.

“With this measure, banks can gradually recover from non-performing loans (NPLs) that have increased due to the pandemic. As financial institutions utilize the special purpose vehicles, banks may now continue to increase lending activities to help spur economic activity,” the Bankers Association of the Philippines said in a statement on Thursday.

The group said they are waiting for the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the new law.

The law covers the transfer of non-performing loans and assets from banks to asset management companies or FIST corporations. Loans and assets classified as non-performing as of Dec. 31, 2022 will be eligible for transfer.

“All those NPLs (non-performing loans) and NPAs (non-performing assets_ that become such on or before Dec. 31, 2022 are eligible, that’s just the cut-off,” Noel Neil Q. Malimban, deputy director at the BSP Office of General Counsel and Legal Services, said in an online briefing on Thursday.

“There’s no distinction as to whether it’s from the start of the lockdown because all of these [NPLs and NPAs] are affected by the pandemic, whether it’s directly due to the lockdown or not. The aim is to help the financial institutions get rid of these bad assets,” he added.

Chamber of Thrift Banks Executive Director Suzanne I. Felix said the FIST law’s enactment was “just in time”, noting credit raters have warned about the industry’s asset quality which will likely deteriorate further this year as the loan moratorium expired in December last year.

Ms. Felix said they also welcome the tax exemption measures in the law and considers it “pain sharing” with the government.

Under the law, exemptions will be applicable for payments of documentary stamp tax, capital gains tax, creditable withholding income taxes and value-added tax (VAT) in relation to the transfer of non-performing assets from a financial institution to the FIST corporation or from a FIST corporation to a third-party buyer or borrowers.

Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines President Elizabeth C. Timbol meanwhile said they are hopeful the law’s implementing rules will be inclusive of the needs of smaller lenders.

“We expect that the IRR would provide simple and efficient procedures that will allow different stakeholders to avail of the benefits and privileges FIST aim to provide specially for rural banks like us,” Ms. Timbol said in a text message.

“We are hoping that this law will not only focus on big loan accounts but also with micro-loans, where a big portion of rural banks’ portfolio is allocated to,” she added.

The banking industry’s NPL ratio stood at 3.61% as of December, higher than the 2.08% a year earlier but still better than BSP’s 4.6% projection.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno has said the law could trim banks’ non-performing loan ratio by 0.63 to 7 percentage points. He said the IRR for the law is being circulated among industry players to garner sentiments.

Estimates from the National Economic and Development Authority showed the law could free up P1.19 trillion in bad loans from banks’ portfolio, according to a statement from the Department of Finance. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

Listed companies paid nearly P343-B in cash dividends last year

A TOTAL of 105 of the 271 companies listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) paid P342.88 billion in cash dividends to common stock stockholders last year, providing investors a yield of 2.5%, the exchange said on Thursday.

“We are pleased that listed firms continued to pay attractive dividends in 2020 despite the disruptive impact of the pandemic to their operations and cash flow. These dividends provided investors additional income during one of the most financially challenging years in the history of Philippine business,” PSE President and CEO Ramon S. Monzon said in a statement.

In 2019, investors were paid the same yield, with 115 of 268 listed companies paying out P368.03 billion in cash dividends.

A total of P157.05 billion in cash dividends meanwhile was paid to common stockholders by 29 of the 30 index stocks, with a yield of 1.76%. It is 12.03% lower than what PSEi companies paid common stockholders in 2019, which totaled P178.52 billion with a yield of 1.85%.

Financials led the sectoral indices with the largest recorded dividend payout in 2020, as 12 out of its 30 companies paid a total of P159.05 billion in cash dividends.

Mr. Monzon is hoping the rollout of the vaccines for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will help companies increase or maintain dividend payouts in 2021. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Demi Lovato says 2018 overdose led to three strokes and heart attack

LOS ANGELES — Pop star Demi Lovato said she had three strokes and a heart attack when she was hospitalized for a drug overdose in 2018, and was also left with some brain damage.

Lovato, 28, was promoting a new documentary on Wednesday that she said would give full details of the widely-publicized overdose that almost killed her.

“I had three strokes. I had a heart attack. My doctors said that I had five to 10 more minutes,” she said, in an excerpt of the Dancing with the Devil documentary to be released on YouTube on March 23.

Although the “Sorry Not Sorry” singer has spoken openly about her addiction to drugs and alcohol in the past, she said on Wednesday there was much that the public did not know about her overdose and the pressures that led up to it.

In 2018, the former Disney Channel child star was found unconscious at her home in the Hollywood Hills from an overdose, reportedly of opioids laced with fentanyl. Only a few weeks earlier she had released a song called “Sober” in which she sang about relapsing after six years of sobriety.

“For the past couple of years, I’ve heard a lot of stories about my life and what people think has happened. I wanted to set the record straight and reveal it all for my fans,” Ms. Lovato told reporters on Wednesday in an online interview.

“I was left with brain damage and I still feel the effects of that,” she said, saying that she does not drive because of blurry vision that can make reading difficult.

Ms. Lovato has said in the past that she suffered from eating disorders and that she first started using cocaine when she was 17. She first entered rehab at the age of 18 and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

The four-part documentary will include Ms. Lovato talking about past traumas in her life and the pressures of conforming to expectations in the entertainment business.

Ms. Lovato made her big public comeback at the Grammy Awards show in January 2020, and she is now a spokesperson for the mental health app Talkspace. — Reuters

LANDBANK to expand branch, ATM network

STATE-RUN Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) is planning to open 23 new branches and other offices this year and set up 190 automated teller machines (ATMs) to expand its physical presence even as its online reach surged last year.

The planned expansion will involve 16 branches and branch-lite units, five agricultural hubs and two mobile branches to bring the bank’s brick-and-mortar branch network to 500 and double its agri-hubs to 10, LANDBANK said in a statement on Thursday.

LANDBANK’s agri-hubs offer mixed banking and lending services for borrowers from the agriculture sector, such as farmers and fisherfolk.

Meanwhile, the new mobile branches, which are meant to provide uninterrupted banking services to areas hit by natural disasters, will be located in a branch in San Pablo, Laguna and at the Bajada branch in Davao del Sur.  

The bank is also looking to install 190 new ATMs across the country, including 10 mobile ATMs, to bring its total network to over 2,500 by the year’s end.

Its total lending centers will reach 57 this year as it plans to add two new ones to extend more loans to small farmers and fishers, agrarian reform beneficiaries, small and medium enterprises and local government units.

“LANDBANK remains aggressive in expanding its extensive network to serve more clients and meet emerging needs. While the usage of our e-banking channels continue to rise under the new normal, our branches and other physical touch-points remain equally important in servicing our clients, especially those in the countryside,” LANDBANK President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo was quoted as saying.

The state-run bank has waived fees for online interbank fund transfers via InstaPay and PESONet until end-March for transactions done through its mobile application.

It said it waived fund transfer fees for 9,353,938 online transactions worth P50.32 billion from March 18 to Dec. 31 last year amid the coronavirus pandemic. This resulted in P223 million in foregone revenues for the bank, it noted.

The bank saw its online transactions rise by 21% in volume and by 36% in value last year against 2019 levels.

“The LANDBANK Mobile Banking App recorded the highest volume of transactions of 71.9 million amounting to P85.12 billion,” it said.

LANDBANK’s net income dropped by 7.57% to P17.1 billion in 2020 from P18.5 billion the prior year. — Beatrice M. Laforga

A year after Parasite, Korean-language movie Minari is talk of Hollywood

A YEAR after South Korean satire Parasite took Hollywood by storm, another Korean-language movie, Minari, is making waves during awards season. Yet the two films could not be more different.

Parasite, which made history in 2020 by becoming the first film in a foreign language to win a best picture Oscar, is a dark satire about class and contemporary society in South Korea.

Minari, now in US movie theaters and arriving in South Korea in March, is a tender, quintessentially American story about an immigrant family in the 1980s trying to better themselves by starting a farm in Arkansas. Unlike Parasite, it was conceived, produced and filmed in the United States.

“They speak Korean and it’s about a family and there’s some Korean culture involved, but I think this film speaks a lot to what America is. It contains a lot of people doing many different things, many different walks of life, and in that way it’s quite different from Parasite,” said director Lee Isaac Chung.

An intensely personal story, the film is based partly on Mr. Chung’s own life as a boy growing up in Arkansas, but there is no satire and barely any mention of racism. Instead the film, which has already won multiple awards nominations, including the Golden Globes, has been widely embraced for its universal humanity. Nominations for the Oscars have not yet been announced.

Korean-American actor Steven Yeun, who plays the father, said he was terrified at taking on the role.

“It was scary to approach my father’s generation on a level that isn’t just caricature but really just trying to get into their humanity. It opened my own eyes into the ways in which I might misunderstand my own father and that generation as well,” Mr. Yeun said.

Mr. Yeun, best known for his TV role in The Walking Dead, is joined by Korean actors Yeri Han as his stressed wife, and Yuh-Jung Youn as his idiosyncratic mother in-law, who all live together in a sweltering trailer in a remote and unforgiving field.

Mr. Chung said the warm response to the film so far has been more than he hoped for. “I do feel hopeful and glad that it seems like audiences are willing to read subtitles, and to watch films that don’t reflect their own experiences,” he said. “It seems like they identify with what they’re seeing, and they’re looking more to this shared humanity.” — Reuters

Deposit insurance payouts hit P124 million in 2020

THE Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) paid P124.11 million in deposit insurance last year for 7,072 accounts affected by the closure of five banks, it said in a statement on Thursday.

The state deposit insurer said the value made up 76% of the estimated 9,305 total deposit accounts of the five closed banks and 69% of total insured deposits worth P208.07 million.

The PDIC took over five lenders that the central bank’s Monetary Board (MB) closed down in 2020, namely Providence Rural Bank, Inc.; Rural Bank of Tibiao (Antique), Inc.; De La O Rural Bank, Inc.; San Fernando Rural Bank, Inc.; and Cooperative Bank of Aurora.

PDIC provides a maximum insurance coverage of up to P500,000 per depositor for all valid accounts of closed banks. It allows depositors to file their claims within two years after the bank takeover.

Amid quarantine protocols due to the coronavirus pandemic, the state deposit insurer said it sent payouts through direct mail of postal money orders for deposits P100,000 below, and check payments worth more than P100,000.

It also facilitated the electronic filing of deposit insurance claims through email and extended additional payment modes such as transfer of deposit and over-the-counter withdrawals through the state-run lender Land Bank of the Philippines.

“It is important for PDIC to sustain the trust of the depositing public through adequate and timely delivery of deposit insurance payments to closed banks’ depositors. Despite the pandemic and the community quarantines imposed across the country, we continue to deliver critical frontline services by maximizing the use of technology and other channels to provide much

needed assistance to stakeholders,” PDIC President Roberto B. Tan was quoted as saying. — B.M. Laforga

ATN Holdings suffers P2.56-M net loss

ATN Holdings, Inc. incurred a P2.56-million net loss for the third quarter of its fiscal year that ends on March 31 despite higher revenues.

In a regulatory filing on Thursday, the company said its net loss for the October-to-December period is a reversal of the P3.57-million net income it had in 2019.

Its revenues for the quarter reached P78.68 million, higher than the P11.41 million it posted in 2019.

For a nine-month period, ATN Holdings disclosed a P4.70-million net loss, reversing the P1.28-million net income it posted in 2019.

The company’s revenues for the April-to-December period rose to P87.16 million compared with P31.69 million in the previous year.

ATN Holdings said no foreseeable event would have a material impact on its short-term liquidity.

“With the company’s sound financial condition, ATN can ride the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic,” the disclosure said.

“The company expects to continue its focus on its existing principal activities and actively pursue opportunities for investment in the construction materials supply business and renewable energy sectors in the Philippines,” it added.

ATN Holdings previously disclosed that it secured an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from a unit of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for its 82-hectare integrated aggregates project in Rodriguez, Rizal.

The ECC covers an annual extraction rate of 7 million dry metric tons (DMT) of aggregates in the project area.

In a separate disclosure, ATN Holdings said it was planning to supply more rock aggregates to the 38-kilometer segment of the North-South Commuter Railway that spans from Tutuban, Manila to Malolos, Bulacan. This is after the company announced that it received additional purchase orders for the project.

ATN operates rock extractions facilities and has business interests in real estate and renewable energy.

On Thursday, ATN “A” shares at the stock exchange fell 4.17% or P0.04 to close at P0.92 apiece, while ATN “B” stocks dropped 3.16% or P0.03 to end at P0.92 each. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

SSS subsidy bill for PWDs hurdles House panel

A COMMITTEE at the House of Representatives approved on first reading a bill granting an initial 70% subsidy on the Social Security System (SSS) contributions of self-employed persons with disabilities (PWDs).

The Committee on PWDs approved House Bill 2806, which authorizes subsidies on the first three months’ SSS payments of self-employed PWDs.

The Committee’s Chair, Representative Ma. Lourdes T. Arroyo said at the hearing that the measure passed “subject to style.”

Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez said in the bill’s explanatory note that PWDs “must be commended for their sheer determination to rise above their own limitations” and expressed the hope that such legislation encourages PWDs to become members of the pension fund to help them be “better prepared (for the) exigencies of sickness and old age.”

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said at the hearing that the subsidy is expected to cost the government over P200 billion if the program is offered to PWD members of the SSS.

“If this was implemented by 2022, it will (lead to) a reduction in the National Government share of P234 billion which will be added to the local government units’ internal revenue allotment,” according to Jane V. Abella, an assistant director with the DBM’s Budget and Management Bureau-C, which oversees budgeting for government-owned and -controlled corporations. — Gillian M. Cortez

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