Happiness in a pill

May 20, 2021 | 12:02 am

wow-balance — *PHOTO FROM SHOPEE.PH/WOWHAPPYPH*

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IF there’s anything that the pandemic has taught us, it’s that time and health are this world’s most precious luxuries. WowHappy, a company that sells herbal supplements and essential oils makes sure that everybody can afford a little bit more of good health, but also have a better time.

The pills come in different blends. The company’s founder, Neeraj Peswani, told BusinessWorld about the Vitamin C supplements, which contain some zinc and also turmeric, ginger, and beetroot. “It offers complete nutrition,” he said during a phone call to BusinessWorld. “Very essential in these times of COVID-19.” He says that turmeric is effective in boosting the appetite and has anti-inflammatory effects, as well as being a strong antioxidant.

He then brought up their WowHappy Mood capsules, which he says reduces stress, boosts one’s mood, and “ncreases a positive frame of mind.” These contain vitamins, minerals, and several herbs, including St. John’s Wort. He says that the blends and ingredients his company uses are rooted in Ayurvedic medicine, a system of alternative medicine prevalent in India, from where he (as well as most of his ingredients) hails from. “These ingredients have been existing for centuries,” he says. “It’s only now that these ingredients are being recognized as being really effective.”

“I come from India,” he said, which he called “the world’s pharmacy.” “I have been exposed to these kinds of products from a very, very early age.”

To make their herbal supplements they use many parts of the herbs including roots, oils, seeds, and flowers.

The company also has a line of aromatherapy essential oils. Mr. Peswani said they can be used in creams and shampoos, in addition to inhaling or diffusing them, as is normally done.

Coming back to the WowHappy Mood supplements, they seem to be a contributing factor to the brand’s name. “Everybody in the nutrition company seems to have a very scientific name but cool-sounding name. We wanted our brand to be friendly, accessible, and simple,” he explained. “For me, my goal is to be happy — we thought of the word ‘happy,’ and we added ‘wow’ to it.”

While Mr. Peswani has other ventures in clothing and mobile accessories, he is concentrating on the WowHappy brand these days. Asked why, he said, “We are living through very hard and stressful times. Most of us forget that health is more than just the absence of illness.”

WowHappy is available through Shopee. — JLG

Philippine Infradev net loss widens as real estate sales fall

May 20, 2021 | 12:02 am

PHILIPPINE Infradev Holdings, Inc. incurred a first-quarter attributable net loss of P8.30 million, wider than P5.27 million previously, as real estate sales dropped amid a public health crisis.

The company’s total revenues stood at P1.37 million in the first three months of the year, an 88.7% decrease from P12.17 million in the same period last year, Philippine Infradev said in its quarterly report released on May 18.

Real estate sales dropped 89.5% to P1.25 million from P11.94 million previously. Cost and expenses declined 44.6% to P9.66 million from P17.44 million last year.

Philippine Infradev is primarily involved in the acquisition, reclamation, development, or exploitation of lands for the purpose of converting and developing them into integrated residential or commercial neighborhoods.

In 2020, it saw its attributable net income fall to P463.76 million from P3.14 billion in 2019.

The company takes charge of the Makati City subway project through its wholly owned subsidiary Makati City Subway, Inc.

On Friday, Philippine Infradev received its first tunnel boring machine for the subway project. It aims to finish underground civil works at the main site of the project in two years.

Philippine Infradev Holdings shares closed 2.17% lower at P1.35 apiece on Wednesday. — Arjay L. Balinbin

PLDT, Smart to utilize Nokia’s end-to-end solutions to enhance nationwide network

May 20, 2021 | 12:01 am

MULTINATIONAL telecommunications firm Nokia Corp. announced on Tuesday that it will deploy end-to-end service orchestration and assurance solutions across the nationwide network of PLDT, Inc. and its wireless arm Smart Communications, Inc.

The goal of the partnership is to enhance the nationwide network of PLDT and Smart, Nokia said in an e-mailed statement.

“As part of the agreement, Nokia [will] standardize PLDT and Smart’s network function virtualization infrastructure across the Philippines,” Nokia added.

The company also said it will supply PLDT and Smart with digital operations software, cloud infrastructure software and AirFrame servers.

“The suite of solutions will… standardize PLDT and Smart’s virtualization environment for multi-vendor applications. The deployment, which is already underway, will allow PLDT and Smart’s integrated network to increase agility, flexibility and reduce operating costs and time to market when deploying new consumer and enterprise services, with the primary focus of significantly improving customer experience, speed of delivery, and cost of production,” Nokia said.

Nokia will also deploy its digital operations software to automate the round-trip life cycle management of network operations.

PLDT and Smart Head of Technology Mario G. Tamayo said Nokia’s solutions allow the telcos to tap into “new levels of agility, flexibility, and efficiency.”

“By automating service, network and cloud operations, PLDT and Smart will not only be able to drive cost-savings, but also increase customer satisfaction — two business objectives that are typically challenging to do simultaneously but are possible with the help of Nokia’s solutions,” said Raghav Sahgal, president of Nokia’s Cloud and Network Services.

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

Metrobank upsizes bond issuance to P19 billion on strong investor demand

May 20, 2021 | 12:01 am

METROPOLITAN BANK & Trust Co. raised P19 billion from its offer of 5.25-year peso-denominated bonds. — BW FILE PHOTO

METROPOLITAN Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) has raised P19 billion from its offering of peso-denominated bonds, with strong investor appetite causing it to upsize the issue and close the offer period early.

The Ty-led bank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday that the offering, which was originally scheduled to run from May 6 to May 24, was closed on May 18 “due to strong investor demand from both institutional and retail clients.”

“The strong demand prompted the bank to raise the initial offering from an aggregate principal of P10 billion to P19 billion, which also led to a 1.9 times oversubscription,” Metrobank Head of Investor Relations Minda Claver A. Olonan told reporters said via e-mail.

The lender earlier said the proceeds of the bond offer will be used for general working capital needs and diversification of its funding sources.

The bonds Metrobank offered have a tenor of 5.25 years and carry a coupon rate of 3.6% payable quarterly. The rate is 35 basis points higher than current benchmark rates, which reflects investor optimism.

The bonds will be listed on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. on June 4.

First Metro Investment Corp. and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. (HSBC) were the joint lead managers and joint bookrunners of the offering.

The issuance is the last tranche of the bank’s P100-billion bond and commercial paper program approved in 2018.

Meanwhile, in July 2020, Metrobank sold $500 million in 5.5-year dollar-denominated notes to finance its short-term borrowings.

The bank’s net income increased by 27.1% to P7.83 billion in the first quarter, backed by strong non-interest earnings and stable asset quality.

Metrobank’s shares ended trading at P45 apiece on Wednesday, down by 95 centavos or 2.07% from the previous day’s close. — IBC

STI Holdings swings to P83-M profit

May 20, 2021 | 12:01 am

STI Education Systems Holdings, Inc. registered an P82.6-million net income for the third quarter of its fiscal year ending on June 30, a reversal of P211.6-million loss incurred in the same period last year.

The group said it implemented work-from-home arrangements for employees amid the shift to online classes.

In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, STI Holdings said it conducts online classes through the Online and Onsite Education STI Learning Model for the STI Education Services Group and STI WNU (West Negros University, Inc.)

iACADEMY, meanwhile, uses the Guided Online Autonomous Learning program.

“We have invested in online learning systems even before this crisis, so that with the power of technology and with just minimal adjustment, we can still facilitate classes even with the pandemic,” STI Holdings Chairman Eusebio H. Tanco said.

Total assets also increased to P15.1 billion in the first three months from P14.8 billion as of the end of June last year.

This is due to the 80% or P669.3-million increase in its cash and equivalents after it collected tuition and school fees from students, collected from the Department of Education senior high school vouchers, and tertiary education subsidies from the Commission on Higher Education.

Shares of STI Holdings at the stock market went up by 4.62% on Wednesday, closing at P0.34 each from P0.325. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Dining In/Out (05/20/21)

May 20, 2021 | 12:01 am

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SaladStop! offers Cauli-fornia Dreamin’ Salad

SALADSTOP!’S latest for the summer is the new Cauli-fornia Dreamin, a mix of romaine lettuce, red and white cabbage, cauliflower cheese patty, baked mushrooms, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, carrots, avocado, and peanuts, all tossed with a Lemongrass Turmeric dressing. Unique to this seasonal salad is the cauliflower cheese patty made with three types of cheese: parmesan, cheddar, and feta. The Cauli-Fornia Dreamin’ Salad is available at all SaladStop! branches in Metro Manila and Cebu. This limited offering is available in both wrap and salad variants for P365 until June 28. Learn more about SaladStop! and the nutritional information of its salad bowls and wraps by visiting www.SaladStop.ph. Updates are also up on @SaladStopPH on Instagram. There are SaladStop! branches at Central Square, Power Plant Mall, Greenhills, Glorietta 2, Burgos Circle, Alabang Town Center, Salcedo Village, Ayala Center Cebu, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, U.P. Town Center, Robinsons Cyberscape Gamma, Oakridge Business Park Cebu, TriNoma, and Ayala North Exchange.

Kenny Rogers Roasters launches online delivery website

KENNY Rogers Roasters launched an online delivery website — https://kennyrogersdelivery.com.ph — this week, that can be accessed via desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile phone. One can order from any Kenny Rogers store near you, and skip queues and waiting times by placing your order days in advance. The website also offers a wide range of payment options — pay with online wallets like PayMaya or GCash, with a credit or debit card, or with cash upon delivery. To celebrate the launch, Kenny Rogers Roasters has a Buy 1 Take 1 Half-Dozen Promo on its Kenny’s Corn Muffins. The promo is exclusively available for online orders until May 23. For details on other promos, follow Kenny Rogers Roasters on Facebook and Instagram to be notified.

Marvin Agustin tries Singaporean cooking on YouTube

SINGAPORE is a top-of-mind destination for its melting pot of flavours and unique dining experiences. From fine dining restaurants helmed by multi-awarded celebrity chefs, to family owned heritage restaurants serving local fare, Singapore is always a hit among Filipino foodies. And while people wait for borders to open, they make up for the wanderlust by satisfying the craving with different recipes from around the world. So here comes celebrity and restaurateur Marvin Agustin set to whet the appetites of Filipinos with the flavors of Singapore through a YouTube series, Singapore Reimagined. Done in collaboration with the Singapore Tourism Board, Mr. Agustin is joined on the show by Singaporean chef Bjorn Shen, where the two discuss the Lion City’s popular cooking style, zi char (it directly translates to “cook and fry”). As part of Singapore’s tourism campaign, the web series will have Mr. Agustin and Mr. Shen reimagining zi char recipes such as Cereal Prawns, Coffee Pork Ribs, and Seafood White Bee Hoon. Mr. Agustin will make the Singapore Reimagined-featured zi char dishes available in his restaurant, Secret Kitchen, starting this May. Singapore Reimagined series can be found on VisitSingapore’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/a7k0zFczMiM.

Philippines ranks 68^th in internet inclusivity list, lags behind Asian peers

May 20, 2021 | 12:00 am

How PSEi member stocks performed — May 19, 2021

May 20, 2021 | 12:00 am

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.

Philippines rejects 3-month Chinese fishing ban

May 19, 2021 | 9:19 pm

DFA-FB-e1604921164768 — DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS — *FACEBOOK/DFAPHIL*

THE PHILIPPINES on Tuesday rejected China’s fishing ban in parts of the South China Sea and asked it to stop violating the Southeast Asian nation’s sovereignty.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said China’s three-month fishing moratorium that started on May 1 covers areas over which the Philippines controls.

“These waters include areas over which the Philippines exercises sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction,” the agency said.

“The Philippines strongly urges China to desist from any action and activity that infringes on Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction, in contravention of international law,” it added.

DFA said China’s annual fishing moratorium extends far beyond its legitimate maritime entitlements under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea “and is without basis under international law,” DFA said.

“China cannot legally impose nor legally enforce such a moratorium in the West Philippine Sea,” it added, referring to areas of the sea within the country’s exclusive economic zone.

A United Nations arbitration court in 2016 rejected China’s claim to more than 80% of the South China Sea. The Philippines under President Benigno S.C. Aquino III filed the lawsuit that critics said Mr. Duterte had failed to pursue.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. on May 13 ordered his agency to file another diplomatic protest against China for the continued presence of almost 300 ships in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday night barred his Cabinet from talking in public about the country’s sea dispute with China, which some of his ministers had rebuked for its actions in the disputed waterway.

He said only his spokesman could talk about the issue publicly.

Mr. Locsin this month minced no words in telling the Chinese to get out of Philippine waters in the South China Sea, cussing at its neighbor for failing to reciprocate its goodwill.

The presidential palace later distanced itself from Mr. Locsin. Presidential spokesman Herminio L. Roque, Jr. said Mr. Duterte is against the use of profanities in the field of diplomacy.

Mr. Locsin later apologized to his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, after his expletive-laden tweet.

Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana had also told Chinese ships in the disputed sea to leave.

Mr. Roque on Tuesday said only he and Mr. Locsin could talk about the sea dispute in public.

He said a Philippine task force on border patrols had also been barred from commenting on the issue.

The task force earlier said 287 Chinese ships were still in Philippine waters, many of them spotted near artificial islands built by China, while some were near islands occupied by Manila, based on patrols made on May 9.

Two Houbei class missile warships were also near Mischief Reef, while two Vietnamese logistics ships and a VN Coast Guard vessel were at Grierson Reef, it said.

Thirty-four Chinese ships also remained at Whitsun Reef, which the Philippines also claims.

The government would continue to defend its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the “West Philippine Sea,” the task force said, referring to areas of the waterway within the country’s exclusive economic zone.

Mr. Roque said the Philippines would continue to “patrol relevant areas to assert what is ours.” “Our principled position and stand on the West Philippine Sea remains. Our vessels will continue.”

Aside from the Philippines and China, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also claim parts of the waterway.

Mr. Duterte had said the Philippines and China could settle the dispute peacefully. He also said China was a benefactor, citing vaccine donations and investments from its neighbor.

The tough-talking leader also said he never promised during his presidential campaign to retake the country’s territories in the South China Sea.

He rebuked retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio T. Carpio and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, who have spoken against his foreign policy on China, for forcing him to quarrel with his neighbor.

But Mr. Carpio belied the President’s claim, noting that during the campaign, he had promised to fight for Philippine sovereignty over the South China Sea.

He said Mr. Duterte had promised to ride a jet ski to Scarborough Shoal and plant the Philippine flag there.

Mr. Duterte earlier said he was just joking. — V.M.M. Villegas

Taiwan urges gov’t to scrap ownership limits on foreigners

May 19, 2021 | 9:18 pm

THE GOVERNMENT should scrap its 40% foreign ownership limit in certain industries to encourage more investments particularly from Taiwan, according to its ambassador in the Philippines.

“Please try your best to abolish the 40% restriction for foreigners in the Philippine Constitution,” Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines (TECO) Representative Michael Peiyung Hsu told an online forum on Wednesday.

“It’s very painful for many because we’ve lost a lot of money,” he said at the forum hosted by the University of Asia and the Pacific School of Law and Governance and BusinessWorld.

A Taiwanese science and technology university had considered opening a branch in Batangas province, but would not do so because of the limit, he added.

The 1987 Constitution prescribes a 40-60% ownership ratio in favor of Filipinos for many sectors. Foreigners are also barred from owning land and media enterprises, among other limits.

Philippine congressmen are debating on a proposal to ease economic restrictions of the Charter.

Taiwanese investments in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reached $2.66 billion (P127 billion) last year, $133 million of which went to the Philippines, Mr. Hsu said.

ASEAN is Taiwan’s second-biggest trading partner after mainland China, with a total trading volume of $890 billion last year.

Mr. Hsu said the Philippines is not efficiently linked to the global supply chain, which is a disincentive to Taiwanese investors. “Big companies have big concerns like how they are going to export their products overseas.”

Another concern is high electricity costs, he said.

Mr. Hsu said the Philippines has a “very good labor force.” Filipinos, he said, have the advantage of being able to speak English well, which is why companies still come to the Philippines.

He said Taiwan wants to boost cooperation with ASEAN countries including the Philippines especially in agriculture, health, higher education, the environment and tourism as part of its New Southbound Policy under President Tsai Ing-wen.

Mr. Hsu said the move is in response to geopolitical factors, regional integration and US-China trade wars, among other things. 

He said the Philippines is important to Taiwan not only because they are near each other, but also given that more than 150,000 migrant Filipinos are working there, mostly in Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. 

Taiwan is inviting more Filipinos and other Southeast Asians to work there given its aging population. 

Mr. Hsu said the first stage of a technological park for Taiwanese companies in Batangas had been completed. The first Taiwanese techno-park in the country — the Subic Bay Gateway Park in Olongapo City — now has 155 companies that have hired 16,000 Filipinos.

Other main Taiwanese investments in the country are in Clark, Bataan, Cavite and Manila.

Bernardo M. Villegas, an economics professor at UA&P, said lawmakers should change the Charter by lifting economic restrictions.

He said the Philippines needs Taiwan’s support for its agriculture sector, especially in the entire agribusiness value chain all the way to retailing, where two-thirds of Filipinos work.

The Philippines should boost its agribusiness sector once it comes out of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr. Hsu said Taiwan “will do its best to help improve (Philippine) agribusiness,” adding that Taiwanese agriculture experts were in Manila to see if they can stay here for three years to share their skills and knowledge with Filipinos.

He added that 49 young Filipino farmers would be trained in Taiwan for 11 months in fruit and vegetable farming, livestock and aquaculture. 

Taiwan is also training Filipino doctors and nurses to help improve the Philippines’ national health insurance system.  

The Philippines in 2019 approved Taiwanese investments worth P2.81 billion, which more than doubled in 2020 to P6.41 billion. Most of the investments were in real estate. 

Philippine exports to Taiwan fell by 8.78% to $2.06 billion last year after a 20.58% decline in the sales of semiconductor devices and a 44.17% fall in the export of other digital monolithic integrated circuits. 

Philippine imports from Taiwan also fell by 3.89% to $4.57 billion in 2020 from a year earlier. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

Senate OK’s tax amnesty extension bill 

May 19, 2021 | 9:17 pm

BIR-tax-filing — PHILIPPINE STAR/KRIZ JOHN ROSALES

THE Senate on Wednesday approved on second reading a bill extending estate tax amnesty for two years.

Senate Bill 2208 will amend Republic Act 11213 or the Tax Amnesty Act by extending the availment period to June 14, 2023.

Senator Pilar Juliana S. Cayetano, who sponsored the bill, earlier said travel restrictions amid a coronavirus pandemic affected applications for tax amnesty.

RA 11213, which took effect on June 15, 2019 and will expire on June 15, gives a one-time opportunity for taxpayers to settle their unpaid estate taxes as of Dec. 31, 2017. 

The ways and means committee removed the requirement for heirs to submit a “proof of settlement,” which had been a major stumbling block to amnesty applications. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Filipinos scramble to get coronavirus shots from Pfizer

May 19, 2021 | 9:16 pm

PFIZER BIONTECH VACCINE — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

ALMOST half of almost 200,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer, Inc. have been given out, the Health department said on Tuesday, almost two weeks after the government received the shipment under a global initiative for equal access.

About 30,115 Filipinos have received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, Health Undersecretary Myrna C. Cabotaje told an online news briefing.

Ms. Cabotaje, who heads the National Vaccination Operations Center, said the Philippines targets to finish the rollout of the country’s initial Pfizer vials by next week at the earliest.

Thousands of Filipinos reportedly flocked to vaccination sites in Manila, the capital and a nearby city on Tuesday morning to get the Pfizer shot.

Ms. Cabotaje said the government might order local governments not to announce the brand of vaccines being given out at vaccination centers. “People should avail themselves of whatever vaccine is available,” she said in Filipino.

Noreen Sapalo, a college lecturer on culture and politics at the University of the Philippines, said the long queues for Pfizer shots in the capital region showed the public’s “low trust” in other brands particularly Chinese-made CoronaVac.

People have relied on social media for vaccine information given the state’s ineffective communication campaign, she said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

The Philippines recently received about 1.5 million doses of CoronaVac. The country is set to take delivery of about 500,000 more CoronaVac doses on May 20.

A 2019 poll by the Social Weather Stations showed that most Filipinos do not trust China, which had a “bad” net trust score of minus 36.

The Department of Health (DoH) reported 4,700 coronavirus infections on Wednesday, bringing the total to 1.16 million.

The death toll rose by 136 to 19,507, while recoveries increased by 6,986 to 1.09 million, it said in a bulletin.

There were 49,951 active cases, 1.5% of which were critical, 92.8% were mild, 2.2% did not show symptoms, 2.1% were severe and 1.36% were moderate.

It said 17 duplicates had been removed from the tally, 10 of which were tagged as recoveries and one as death. Eighty-eight recoveries were reclassified as deaths. Seven laboratories failed to submit data on May 17.

About 11.9 million Filipinos have been tested for the coronavirus as of May 17, according to DoH’s tracker website.

The coronavirus has sickened about 164.9 million and killed 3.4 million people worldwide, according to the Worldometers website, citing various sources including data from the World Health Organization.

About 143.9 million people have recovered, it said.

About 3.3 million vaccine doses had been given as of May 18 — 2.5 million for the first dose and 786,528 for the second dose, according to the Health department. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza and Vann Marlo M. Villegas