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AstraZeneca to miss second-quarter EU vaccine supply target by half — EU official

BRUSSELS — AstraZeneca Plc has told the European Union (EU) it expects to deliver less than half the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines it was contracted to supply in the second quarter, an EU official told Reuters on Tuesday.

Contacted by Reuters, AstraZeneca did not deny what the official said, but a statement late in the day said the company was striving to increase productivity to deliver the promised 180 million doses.

The expected shortfall, which has not previously been reported, follows a big reduction in supplies in the first quarter and could hit the EU’s ability to meet its target of vaccinating 70% of adults by summer.

The EU official, who is directly involved in talks with the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker, said the company had told the bloc during internal meetings that it “would deliver less than 90 million doses in the second quarter.”

AstraZeneca’s contract with the EU, which was leaked last week, showed the company had committed to delivering 180 million doses to the 27-nation bloc in the second quarter.

Asked about the EU official’s comment, a spokesman for AstraZeneca initially said: “We are hopeful that we will be able to bring our deliveries closer in line with the advance purchase agreement.”

Later in the day, a spokesman in a new statement said the company’s “most recent Q2 forecast for the delivery of its COVID-19 vaccine aims to deliver in line with its contract with the European Commission.”

He added: “At this stage, AstraZeneca is working to increase productivity in its EU supply chain and to continue to make use of its global capability in order to achieve delivery of 180 million doses to the EU in the second quarter.”

A spokesman for the European Commission, which coordinates talks with vaccine manufacturers, said it could not comment on the discussions as they were confidential.

He said the EU should have more than enough shots to hit its vaccination targets if the expected and agreed deliveries from other suppliers are met, regardless of the situation with AstraZeneca.

The EU official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, confirmed that AstraZeneca planned to deliver about 40 million doses in the first quarter, again less than half the 90 million shots it was supposed to supply.

AstraZeneca warned the EU in January that it would fall short of its first-quarter commitments due to production issues. It was also due to deliver 30 million doses in the last quarter of 2020 but did not supply any shots last year as its vaccine had yet to be approved by the EU.

All told, AstraZeneca’s total supply to the EU could be about 130 million doses by the end of June, well below the 300 million it committed to deliver to the bloc by then.

The arrival of fewer AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines in the European Union in the second quarter has been factored into Irish forecasts that were updated on Tuesday, Prime Minister Micheál Martin said after Reuters reported the shortfall.

The EU has also faced delays in deliveries of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech as well as Moderna’s shot. So far they are the only vaccines approved for use by the EU’s drug regulator.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine was authorized in late January and some EU member states such as Hungary are also using COVID-19 shots developed in China and Russia.

OUTPUT BOOST DOWN THE LINE?

While drugmakers developed COVID-19 vaccines at breakneck speed, many have struggled with manufacturing delays due to complex production processes, limited facilities, and bottlenecks in the supply of vaccine ingredients.

According to a German health ministry document dated Feb. 22, AstraZeneca is forecast to make up all of the shortfalls in deliveries by the end of September.

The document seen by Reuters shows Germany expects to receive 34 million doses in the third quarter, taking its total to 56 million shots, which is in line with its full share of the 300 million doses AstraZeneca is due to supply to the EU.

The German health ministry was not immediately available for comment.

If AstraZeneca does ramp up its output in the third quarter, that could help the EU meet its vaccination target, though the EU official said the bloc’s negotiators were wary because the company had not clarified where the extra doses would come from.

“Closing the gap in supplies in the third quarter might be unrealistic,” the official said, adding that figures on deliveries had been changed by the company many times.

The EU contracts stipulate that AstraZeneca will commit to its “best reasonable efforts” to deliver by a set timetable.

“We are continuously revising our delivery schedule and informing the European Commission on a weekly basis of our plans to bring more vaccines to Europe,” the AstraZeneca spokesman said in his initial comment.

Under the EU contract leaked last week, AstraZeneca committed to producing vaccines for the bloc at two plants in the United Kingdom, one in Belgium and one in the Netherlands.

However, the company is not currently exporting vaccines made in the United Kingdom, in line with its separate contract with the British government, EU officials said.

AstraZeneca also has vaccine plants in other sites around the world and it has told the EU it could provide more doses from its global supply chain, including from India and the United States, an EU official told Reuters last week.

Earlier this month, AstraZeneca said it expected to make more than 200 million doses per month globally by April, double February’s level, as it works to expand global capacity and productivity. — Francesco Guarascio/Reuters

Gov’t to borrow P160 billion from local market in March

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) wants to raise P160 billion from the domestic bond market in March, an advisory on its website showed.

The BTr is planning to borrow P100 billion via its weekly auction of Treasury bills (T-bills) and P60 billion in Treasury bonds (T-bonds) to be offered fortnightly.

The Treasury will offer P20 billion of T-bills every Monday next month beginning March 1. This is broken down into P5 billion each in 91-day and 182-day debt papers and P10 billion in 364-day instruments.

The T-bonds will be auctioned off every other Tuesday: P30 billion in 7-year securities on March 9 and P30 billion via 10-year notes on March 23.

The government raised P127 billion from the local debt market this month, breaching its P110-billion borrowing program for February, as the government opened its tap facility several times to take advantage of lower rates.

The initial borrowing program was at P140 billion in February but the BTr canceled a scheduled offering of P30 billion worth of three-year papers to give way to its retail Treasury bond (RTB) sale.

The government is selling three-year RTBs until March 4, unless the offer period is closed earlier. The bonds bear a coupon rate of 2.375% and can be availed for as low as P5,000.

The Treasury sold an initial P221.218 billion in RTBs at the rate-setting auction held on Feb. 9 as total bids reached P284.183 billion.

The government is looking to borrow P3 trillion this year from domestic and external lenders to help fund its budget deficit seen to hit 8.9% of gross domestic product. — B.M.Laforga 

Transforming education through digital tools

With a lockdown enforced in most of the country since March of last year, schools and universities were forced to close and halt face-to-face classes. In turn, the entire education system was pushed to shift further to digital as well as utilize various modes so that students can still learn at their homes.

As much as it has transformed several aspects of life at an accelerated pace, digital technology is expected to shape education. While there are issues in online learning that remain to be addressed, and while offline modes will still be a part of learning, digital tools are expected to stick further in the ‘now normal’.

Online tools have started to emerge even before the pandemic altered education, benefitting both individual learners as well as large institutions. The past months, nonetheless, further showed the potentials of online learning, as Jess Obana, senior managing consultant at P&A Grant Thornton, observed.

“Online learning is not new. What is new is that schools are embracing it as vital to how the next generation[s] of learners are taught,” Mr. Obana wrote in an article that can be viewed on the firm’s website.

Since the lockdown, classes have been held through video conferencing platforms such as Zoom and Google Meets. This is coupled with the use of social networking applications such as Messenger and even Discord for announcements and submissions.

There are also learning management systems (LMS) such as Google Classroom, Moodle, Blackboard Learn, and Canvas. These are seen by Mr. Obana to be further employed by schools and universities as these “enable students to complete assignments, deliver presentations, take assessments and receive immediate feedback from their teachers online.”

Open educational resources (OER) have also emerged, and they are likewise expected to be further adopted in the future. With their wide range of content and tools, OERs such as MIT Open Courseware, OER Commons, Lumen Learning, Merlot II, and OpenStax CNX allow netizens to learn various courses without having to get enrolled in a university.

The Department of Education (DepEd) has launched its own OER, DepEd Commons, which supports both public and private school students and teachers in learning online with its wide range of resources that can be accessed free of charge.

More than enabling learning beyond the bounds of physical classrooms, online tools are also making learning accessible for students with special needs.

Virtual class platform TinyLabs, for instance, has made it easier for a hard-of-hearing student to understand the lesson being taught online, as the platform’s co-founder and executive director, Shaina Tantuico, shared in a BusinessWorld report last year.

Global education technology company D2L, meanwhile, is collaborating with schools in designing digital courses and educational tools that support specific learning needs. Such technology has been applied at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s (DLS-CSB) School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies, where students can use sign language to deliver their essays as well as receive feedback (also in sign language) on D2L’s LMS.

“Students are provided with options regarding the time, place, and pace at which they want to learn,” DLS-CSB’s Educational Technology Office Head Rogelio Dela Cruz, Jr. was quoted as saying in a statement, adding that differentiated learning is now possible with this technology.

Given the various benefits of these digital tools, online learning is expected to be at the core of every school’s strategic plan. “Online education will be a priority not only as a potential source of revenue, but also acknowledged as core to every school’s strategic plan for institutional resilience and academic continuity,” Mr. Obana said.

Addressing digital divide

Digital’s influence in learning, however, is challenged by the digital divide that has emerged amid the increased use of online tools.

Initial data from DepEd’s enrollment survey last year showed the primary concerns of parents in relation to adopting distance learning. A total of 6.9 million cited unstable mobile and internet connections as a primary concern, while 6.8 million noted lack of available gadgets and equipment for distance learning, and 6.2 million cited insufficient load or data allowance.

Also spotting digital gaps in learning, Gloria Tam and Diana El-Azar of educational innovator Minerva Project observed that as the quality of learning is starting to become more dependent on the level and quality of digital access, many are getting left behind.

“The less affluent and digitally savvy individual families are, the further their students are left behind. When classes transition online, these children lose out because of the cost of digital devices and data plans,” Misses Tam and El-Azar wrote in a piece on World Economic Forum’s website.

They warned that the gap could widen further if educational access is dictated by access to the latest technologies and if access costs and quality of access remain compromised.

For Mr. Obana, addressing this divide should involve the development of developing long-distance and offline multimedia teaching modes and learning systems that can allow users to study courses using their personal computers while allowing faculty to track and record their learning.

As online learning gradually shapes education, blended learning is thus expected to come along. “We will also see a mix of live broadcasts, prerecorded (on-demand) content and educational programs on broadcast media,” Mr. Obana added.

It is undeniable that technology has been further used since the pandemic broke out. Now, in the ‘now normal’, rapidly emerging innovations are set to blend with traditional modes of learning and enhance education in general. — Adrian Paul B. Conoza

Philippine mining: A contributor to economic recovery

During the long wait for the COVID-19 vaccine, officials from the National Task Force Recovery Cluster said that they expect the Philippine economy to be up for a long-term growth trajectory following the 9.5% contraction in 2020. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) indeed launched the Updated Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022, gearing the country towards economic recovery by responding to the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Such a recovery hinges on the continued efforts of the government to stimulate the economy, address the devastation the pandemic has wrought on micro, small, and medium enterprises, and revive consumer consumption.

“Now more than ever, the Duterte government must find ways to raise revenues and generate business activities to hasten economic recovery. Fortunately, the country has an untapped treasure trove of resources to fall back on,” economist Andrew J. Masigan wrote for BusinessWorld in December.

Mining could be the answer. According to data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), the country’s mining sector contributed around US$4.38 billion to the economy in 2019 through the exports of metallic, non-metallic minerals, and mineral products, with Japan, Australia, Canada, and China as the major buyers.

That year, the total estimated production value for metallic minerals was P130.73 billion, up by 7.03% or P8.59 billion compared to 2018’s P122.14 billion. Around P107.4 billion was estimated to be Gross Value Added (excluding crude oil) in mining at recorded prices.

Mr. Masigan notes that gold deposits in the Philippines are among the largest in the world with reserves estimated at 101.6 million metric tons. Iron ore reserves are at 298 million metric tons. Among non-metallic minerals, limestone reserves are approximately 19.5 billion tons while marble reserves are at 14.5 billion tons. The Philippines leads the world in chromite resources as well.

“Despite our enormous mineral resources, the contribution of the mining industry to the economy remains minuscule. As of last year, the share of the mining output to GDP (gross domestic product) was a mere .06%. It contributed only 1.2% to national tax collection, and comprised only 6.3% of exports. In terms of jobs, it employed less than .04% of the workforce. In contrast, the mining sector in Indonesia accounts for 21% of exports and 7% of GDP,” Mr. Masigan wrote.

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, the Philippine mining sector is hopeful that the country’s government will recognize the importance of the industry in the wake of the pandemic, representing a potential silver lining after almost a decade of struggling with a moratorium on new permits and a ban on open-pit mining.

“In general, we feel that the pandemic will make the government realize that this sector of our economy can even be more important during times of crisis given the support that large-scale operations provide to their local government units and host communities through social expenditures and crisis management teams,” Gerard H. Brimo, chairman of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines and president and CEO of Nickel Asia Corp., told S&P Global Market Intelligence.

“What stymies the industry’s growth and its ability to further contribute to the economy are policy roadblocks, principally the moratorium on new mining permits that has been in place since 2012 under Executive Order 79 and the ban on open-pit mining,” he added.

A new tax bill in the House of Representatives has been passed at the committee level, pending approval in plenary, that could potentially see the lifting of the moratorium. Mr. Brimo added that the new tax structure is competitive and progressive in nature, and will be beneficial both to the sector and the government, with the latter’s coffers currently hit by social amelioration programs implemented during the pandemic.

“If this happens, three pending mining projects can bring the industry’s exports to over 9% of the total Philippine exports and increase the industry’s contribution to about 1.4% of the country’s GDP,” he added, noting that mining accounted for 5.99% of exports and 0.69% of GDP as of 2018.

Meanwhile, the MGB echoed the optimism on the mining industry’s potential role in the economic rebound in the coming years if those hurdles are lifted.

Speaking to S&P Global Market Intelligence, MGB Director Wilfredo G. Moncano said, “The mining sector is in a struggle right now, but I am positive that the industry will rebound. It may not be seen this year but in the succeeding years. We, in the industry, are confident that the mineral sector will play a crucial role in the recovery of the economy in the next two to three years.”

He added that the lifting of the moratorium on new projects will open the doors to at least 12 new mining projects worth several billions of pesos, all without sacrificing the environment and the rights of indigenous people following the MGB’s recent issued order to mining companies to realign their annual social development and management program or community development budget and to use it instead in assisting workers and affected local communities. — Bjorn Biel M. Beltran

How does the Philippines stack up with its neighbors in terms of legal gender equality?

LEGAL GENDER EQUALITY in the Philippines regressed as no new reforms were implemented since late 2019, a World Bank study showed. Read the full story.

How does the Philippines stack up with its neighbors in terms of legal gender equality?

Legal gender equality slips in the Philippines

The World Bank noted the Philippines is one of the countries, along with Montenegro and Pakistan, who created online platforms for women needing help. — PHILIPPINE STAR/MICHAEL VARCAS

LEGAL GENDER EQUALITY in the Philippines regressed as no new reforms were implemented since late 2019, a World Bank study showed.

The World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law (WBL) 2021 report, which identifies the laws and regulations restricting economic opportunity for women across 190 economies, showed the Philippines’ score stood at 78.8 out of 100. This was lower than its 81.3 score in the previous year’s report.

Despite the dip, the Philippines’ latest score remained higher compared with the global average WBL score of 76.1 and East Asia and the Pacific region’s average score of 71.9.

The World Bank study used eight indicators to compute the WBL overall score, namely: mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets and pension.

The report used data collected between Sept. 2, 2019 to Oct. 1, 2020, and showed the countries’ unweighted average of all eight indicator scores on a scale of 0-100, with 100 being the highest.

The Philippines scored 60 out of 100 in marriage, parenthood and assets; 75 in mobility and pension; and 100 in workplace, pay and entrepreneurship.

However, the Philippines did not adopt new policy reforms or made significant changes to existing ones during the period, according to the World Bank.

The World Bank noted the Philippines is one of the countries, along with Montenegro and Pakistan, who created online platforms for women needing help, especially related to gender-based violence.

“Diverse responses to domestic violence such as these are fundamental, but prevention measures, which are equally essential, are largely absent. Governments still have room to enact measures and policies aimed at addressing the roots of this epidemic of violence,” the World Bank said.

Of the 190 economies tracked, only 27 nations recorded policy changes during the period.

Among East Asian economies, Taiwan (91.3), Hong Kong (89.4) and Laos (88.1) had the highest WBL scores.

The Philippines also lagged behind South Korea (85), Timor-Leste (83.1), Mongolia (82.5), Japan (81.9) and Vietnam (81.9).

Across the globe, the World Bank noted progress in adopting policy reforms towards gender equality slowed down in 2020, compared with previous years.

“Still, many laws continue to inhibit women’s ability to enter the workforce or start a business. On average, women have just three-quarters of the rights of men. New measures may also be necessary to safeguard their economic opportunities during this time of crisis,” it said.

Higher-income economies still led the overall improvement in gender equality with an average score of 85.9. Only 90 nations saw their higher scores in this year’s index.

“Progress in the rest of the world was slower during 2020, with other regions recording fewer reforms than in previous years,” it said.

The World Bank also said the lasting social and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic would affect men and women disproportionately, with the women appearing to suffer more.

“Because they make up the majority of health, social service, and unpaid care workers, women are uniquely susceptible to the effects of the pandemic. In addition, women continue to earn less than men for the same work, as well as face a higher risk of violence in their homes,” it said.

The report is the seventh edition since the bank started releasing its Women, Business and the Law series in 2009. — Beatrice M. Laforga

How does the Philippines stack up with its neighbors in terms of legal gender equality?

House open to ‘safe harbor’ provision in Bank Secrecy Law amendments

By Luz Wendy T. Noble, Reporter

THE HOUSE of Representatives is open to the banking industry’s request for a “safe harbor” clause in the proposed amendments to the Bank Secrecy Law.

Quirino Rep. Junie E. Cua, chair of the House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries, said the request by the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) is “well taken,” noting the provision could be included in the bill to ease concerns of the industry.

“Those things will further be clarified in the IRR (implementing rules and regulations). The first safeguard in the bill is that it provides for a thorough study from the Monetary Board, before it approves (the request to open an account),” Mr. Cua told BusinessWorld in a phone interview.

He added the banking industry will also be part of crafting the IRR to ensure their concerns are addressed.

Mr. Cua authored House Bill 8634 that seeks to expand the central bank’s supervisory powers to examine deposits, provided the Monetary Board finds “reasonable ground” of a deposit’s link to a fraud, serious irregularity or other unlawful activities.

Under the bill, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ supervisory powers is extended to foreign currency deposits in banks with Philippine operations as well as foreign units of local lenders.

Results of the examination will only be available to the BSP, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp., the Anti-Money Laundering Council, the Department of Justice and the courts.

BAP President Cezar P. Consing supported amendments to the Bank Secrecy Law, saying it will make the Philippines less prone to “dirty money” flows. However, he said there should be a provision that will protect banks from possible civil liability in relation to deposits examined by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

“Now, when banks open up an account [within the mandates of the bill], what banks want to make sure is that they are not subject to frivolous suits or to other things like that,” Mr. Consing said in a One News interview on Tuesday.

“[I]f the central bank comes to us and says open up that bank account because we think something is happening there…let’s make sure that by complying with one law, we are not breaking another law. That’s why we are asking for protection,” he added.

Republic Act No. 1405, the country’s governing Bank Secrecy Law, was passed in 1955 with a primary aim to “deter private hoarding, boost the economy, and enhance state protection of privacy rights,” Mr. Cua said in the bill’s explanatory note, noting the financial sector landscape has evolved since then to allow transactions to become more complex and funds to flow faster.

“There are depositors who hide behind the cloak of deposit secrecy to perpetuate their ingenious ways of defrauding counterparties, regulators or the government,” Mr. Cua said.

Banks are also mandated to protect their clients’ information in observance of the Republic Act No. 10173 or Data Privacy Act of 2012.

Mr. Cua said the bill will fast-track the process of running after culprits or flows that are involved in unlawful transactions. Currently, the law only allows a deposit account to be opened by authorities once court approval is secured.

“Kasi siyempre sa korte, may appeal process ’yung mga ’yan, so hindi ganoon kabilis ’yun, matagal-tagal talaga ’yun. Baka by the time na nabuksan ’yung account wala ng laman (In a court, there is an appeal process which could take a long process. By the time an account is approved to be opened up, it is possible the funds are not there anymore), he explained.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in November last year that the country’s Bank Secrecy Law should be updated since it is preventing the BSP from effectively supervising the industry. The IMF said the BSP should be granted “unimpaired access to information on all customer accounts” for prudential purposes.

Gov’t eyes insurance subsidy for hog raisers

THE GOVERNMENT is considering giving an insurance subsidy for commercial hog raisers, who have been affected by the prolonged outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the country.

In a briefing on Tuesday, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles said they are studying giving a 50% insurance subsidy to hog raisers in an effort to boost production and increase supply.

He said the proposed subsidy will be sourced from the Quick Response Fund (QRF) of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

“This is just one initiative being considered to help our hog farmers increase supplies,” Mr. Nograles said.

Commercial hog raisers have been struggling as the ASF outbreak reduced the supply of hogs, which in turn pushed pork prices higher.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte early this month signed an executive order imposing price caps on selected pork and poultry products in Metro Manila for 60 days, on the DA’s recommendation.

However, many traders and vendors have decided to go on a “pork holiday,” closing their stalls in protest of the price caps.

“Ikatlong linggo pa lang ng implementation ng price cap, marami na ang nagsasarang tindahan at ang kababayan natin na nawawalan ng kita (This is the third week of the implementation of the price cap, and many stalls have closed and many have lost their income). Clearly, imposing these price ceilings has only worsened our food crisis,” Senator Risa N. Hontiveros-Baraquel said in a statement.

She said the DA should consider more feasible approaches to lower food prices, such as expanding the number of hog raisers and suppliers covered by the insurance program of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC).

Senator Francis N. Pangilinan last week called for adequate government support after the DA reported that backyard and farm hog raisers lost P56 billion due to the ASF.

Hog raisers from the southern Philippine island of Mindanao have been shipping live hogs and frozen meat to the capital to tame soaring meat prices. — K.A.T. Atienza

PSALM plans to cut debt by P25 billion this year

THE POWER SECTOR Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) is aiming to further bring down its debt by 6.45% this year, the Finance department said.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Finance department quoted PSALM President Irene Joy Besido-Garcia as saying the state-run firm plans to cut its P381.72-billion outstanding debt at the end of 2020 by P24.63 billion.

PSALM reduced its debt stock by P40.3 billion last year, breaching the target of P10.18 billion. At the start of the year, its total obligations stood at P422.01 billion.

Ms. Besido-Garcia said the company is also planning to prepay P19 billion of its existing obligations with the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

To boost revenues, PSALM plans to collect P10.33 billion in power sales by year’s end, although this is 20% lower than the P12.89 billion collected in 2020.

PSALM also aims to collect P359 million from overdue or delinquent accounts by end-2021. Last year, it collected P2.61 billion.

The state-run company set a 98% collection goal for the universal charge (UC) after attaining the same rate in 2020. It also aims to have a 100% disbursement rate for the UC for missionary electrification and renewable energy (RE) development.

Ms. Besido-Garcia said P948.93 million worth of real estate and power assets of the PSALM are scheduled to be sold this year, including the Malaya Thermal Power Plant (MTTP) in Pililla, Rizal.

It disposed of P51.65 million worth of real property assets last year and collected deferred privatization proceeds worth P38.66 billion.

Ms. Besido-Garcia was quoted as saying that their average interest rate on borrowings has also been reduced to 4.17% by end-2020, from an average of 5.07% the year before. PSALM also increased the share of its domestic loans in its debt mix to 33.55% to minimize risks from foreign exchange fluctuations.

It remitted P92.24 million of dividends to the BTr last year to boost the government’s war chest against the coronavirus pandemic.

PSALM is a state-owned corporation created by law to manage the outstanding debt of National Power Corp. capital lease payments to independent power producer administrators, and other financial obligations of electric cooperatives to the National Electrification Administration and other government agencies.

It aims to privatize the power generation assets built during the crippling energy crisis in the 1990s. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Yamaha allots nearly P3 billion for manufacturing expansion

YAMAHA MOTOR Philippines, Inc. has launched a P2.7-billion factory expansion at the Lima Technology Center in Batangas to increase its Philippine manufacturing operations.

The Japanese motorcycle manufacturer noted an increase in demand for its automatic models as fewer people used public transportation during the lockdown, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said in a press release on Tuesday.

Yamaha Philippines President Hiroshi Koike was quoted as saying: “Generating a huge number of products will result to creation of more jobs — roughly about 1,500 employees for old factory and additional recruitment of 1,300 workforce for this newly-built factory.”

Registered with PEZA since 2007, Yamaha announced the expansion project in 2019.

“PEZA welcomes YAMAHA’s Expansion Project, especially during this time that we are reeling from the uncertainties at hand,” PEZA Director General Charito B. Plaza said.

Overall motorcycle sales in the country decreased during the lockdown last year.

The Motorcycle Development Program Participants Association (MDPPA) said that despite busy motorcycle-based delivery services during the lockdown, product sales fell 33.3% to 941,260 units in the first 10 months last year compared to the same period in 2019. The organization represents motorcycle brands in the Philippines: Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha.

“While almost a million-unit sales is already a victory in itself, given the present state of the economy, it is by no means an indication of growth as some would speculate,” the group said in December.

“It does, however, suggest that even as the motorcycle industry suffered under the current business climate, it is coping as well as can be expected.”

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) plans to issue an order against installment-only payment schemes for vehicles, including motorcycles. Consumers must have the choice to pay either the full amount in cash to avoid interest or by installment, DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in a recent Senate hearing. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Coca-Cola to invest P3 billion to boost production in Luzon

By Jenina P. Ibañez, Reporter

THE Coca-Cola Company plans to invest an initial $63 million (around P3 billion) in its Philippine operations this year to expand Luzon-based production.

Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI), the local bottling partner of the beverage giant, will invest in improving production capacity in Santa Rosa and Canlubang, as well as in its logistics and returnable glass systems.

“This is our first tranche of investment into 2021, coming from over $90 million that we spent last year,” CCBPI President and Chief Executive Officer Gareth McGeown said in a press conference on Tuesday.

Last year, Coca-Cola’s investments were focused on expanding the company’s production capacity in Mindanao. Potential additional manufacturing investment in Mindanao could happen in the third or fourth quarters this year, he added.

“Assuming that the business continues to progress and do well, we will be asking for more investments to continue to build capacity and capability across our system. The majority of them do go to production capability and capacity, mainly in our manufacturing sites,” Mr. McGeown said.

Antonio V. Del Rosario, Jr., Coca-Cola Philippines president and vice-president of franchise operations for Coca-Cola East Region, said investments would go into the company’s brands as well.

“When you look into 2021, we are gonna grow the investments around our brands well ahead — double digit versus the prior year — in the belief that you invest now, you will come out and emerge stronger,” he said.

The company last year reported lower sales as it lost demand from restaurant clients. But Mr. McGeown said that the company was able to “weather the storms” better than many other fast-moving consumer goods because of its scale.

Coca-Cola Philippines, Mr. Del Rosario said, performed slightly better than overall global sales, which he attributes to the distribution system.

“We have a very, very strong network of retailers that are close to (customers’) homes, particularly the sari-sari stores,” he said.

The local firm is targeting sales that mirror pre-pandemic levels this year.

“Our peg is to make sure that in 2021, we are back to kind of pre-COVID levels, looking at 2019, and that will obviously show that we would be growing. It is a difficult target, but one that we believe we’re gonna be able to do,” Mr. Del Rosario said.

DITO available in Mindanao, Visayas starting March 8

DITO Telecommunity Corp. is set to start commercial operations in 17 cities and municipalities in Mindanao and the Visayas on March 8.

Adel A. Tamano, DITO’s chief administrative officer, said at an online briefing on Tuesday that the telco startup’s commercial rollout will be done in phases.

The third telco player will start offering its services in 17 cities and municipalities in Mindanao and the Visayas, he added.

Mr. Tamano expects DITO services to be available nationwide by June.

According to its officials, DITO recently signed interconnection agreements with PLDT, Inc. and Globe Telecom, Inc.

In an e-mailed statement, PLDT said it would establish and manage the interconnection facility.

“The interconnection hub will deliver the intercarrier requirements of DITO, which will benefit all fixed and wireless subscribers of PLDT and DITO by enabling them to communicate and connect to all the services needed,” PLDT said.

The new telco’s mobile number prefixes are: 0991, 0992, 0993, 0994, 0895, 0896, 0897, and 0898.

The National Telecommunications Commission announced on Monday that DITO was compliant with its commitments to cover 37.03% of the country’s population and provide a minimum average broadband speed of 27 megabits per second (Mbps) in its first year of service.

Independent auditor R.G. Manabat & Co. said in its report that DITO’s national population coverage reached 37.48%, while its minimum average broadband speeds delivered reached 85.9 Mbps and 507.5 Mbps for all 4G and 5G sites, respectively.

DITO Chief Technology Officer Rodolfo D. Santiago said at the briefing that speeds may differ from the audit results when the telco starts getting subscribers.

“We don’t want to overpromise that we’ll give more,” Mr. Tamano said. “We want to maintain the minimum average speed of 27 Mbps once we operate.”

The telco has a commitment to achieve 55 Mbps and 85% coverage during its second to fifth year of commercial operations.

The company is confident that it will pass the second technical audit in July, according to Mr. Santiago.

DITO spent P150 billion last year, and it aims to spend P26 billion more this year.

Asked about DITO’s marketing strategy, Mr. Tamano said the company will not be spending “millions” to get endorsers.

“We’d rather spend our money on towers than on K-Pop stars,” he said.

Both Globe and PLDT have hired Korean celebrities as their brand ambassadors.

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

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