Discovery Hospitality to launch Kip & Kin brand in Palawan, Siargao

April 23, 2021 | 12:05 am

DISCOVERY World Corp.’s property management firm Discovery Hospitality Corp. (DHC) announced developments of lifestyle and “millennial-focused” brand, Kip & Kin, and other properties.

“With these properties in our plans, we are getting more excited to cater to a lot of travelers, whether the traditional ones or the more adventurous type,” Discovery Hospitality Senior Vice-President and Head of Sales and Operations Cathy Nepomuceno said in a statement on Thursday.

The concept of the Kip & Kin brand combines a hotel and hostel business in a single property. Discovery Hospitality named Palawan’s El Nido and San Vicente, and Siargao as some of the project locations.

Hotel rooms will be tailored for families, while the hostel located at the lower levels of the establishment will be designed for travelers “who wish to gather and meet new friends.”

Kip & Kin El Nido will be located at Vanilla Beach. It will face shopping center The Shoppes right in front, a full view of El Nido’s hillside, the seas, a rooftop pool, bar, and lounge area.

The El Nido resort is expected to open in June 2022, with 117 hotel rooms and 84 hostel beds.

Meanwhile, the San Vicente resort will be an “integrated tourism destination project” with 42 hotel rooms, 136 hostel beds, and two signature restaurants.

“The 165,000-hectare area is populated by local and indigenous people, embraces responsible and sustainable development standards, and will be open to private initiatives for the construction of resorts, hotels, and nature-focused amenities,” Discovery Hospitality said.

Kip & Kin Siargao will be located along General Luna near Cloud 9. The project aims to host “avid surfers and thrill-seekers” in its 34 hotel rooms, 48 hostel beds, and beverage outlets.

Discovery Hospitality said talks with resort developers regarding management contracts are ongoing with third-party resort owners for the Manami Resort in Visayas and a Mindanao project to be named Discovery Samal.

“These projects are part of the pipeline to reach different types of markets and unique experiences in unique destinations,” Discovery Hospitality said.

Shares of Discovery World at the stock exchange went down by 1.39% or P0.05 to close at P3.55 each. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Cinemalaya changes focus because of COVID-19

April 23, 2021 | 12:05 am

SINCE existing health protocols to cope with the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have made it impossible for the filmmakers of the 2020-2021 batch of the film festival to complete their films on time, Cinemalaya has had to re-think its direction and strategy in order to remain significant while continuing to fulfill its mission of discovering, encouraging, supporting, training and recognizing gifted Filipino independent filmmakers.

This includes the creation of the Cinemalaya Film Lab, a three-month-long film-laboratory mentorship program — conducted entirely online — which will be held from September to November this year, for filmmakers joining its 2023 edition.

The film lab will bring together resource persons from different aspects of filmmaking — from scriptwriting, directing, cinematography, performance, editing, production design, sound, music, production management to promotion strategies. By doing this, Cinemalaya hopes to expand the festival’s Main Competition to include feature-length documentaries while encouraging filmmakers to focus on subject matters that capture the heart of the Filipinos. Cinemalaya likewise encourages submissions that combine different genres (“multi-genres”) and even “multimedia” (live action with animation or purely animation).

At the same time, it intends to prioritize film concepts that are workable or manageable to produce.

To learn the requirements to join the film lab, interested parties can visit www.culturalcenter.gov.ph or www.cinemalaya.org. Entries can be sent through this link http://bit.ly/Cinemalaya2023EntryForm or to the Film, Broadcast and Media Arts Division of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City.

Deadline for submission of entries is at 6 p.m. on June 11.

BPI net profit down 21.6% in Q1

April 23, 2021 | 12:04 am

BANK OF THE Philippine Islands (BPI) booked a lower net profit in the first three months of the year due to a decline in revenues caused by lower net interest income.

The lender is moving forward under the leadership of its new President and Chief Executive Officer Jose Teodoro “TG” K. Limcaoco and plans to ramp up digitalization, expand its retail and small business portfolio, and veer away from financing coal projects, with the lender also looking into bidding for the retail business of Citigroup, Inc. in the Philippines.

The bank’s net income stood at P5 billion in the first quarter, it said in a filing with the local bourse on Wednesday. This is lower by 21.64% from the P6.381 billion booked a year earlier, based on BPI’s financial report for the first quarter of 2020.

BPI’s revenues slipped 1.5% to P24.3 billion last quarter as net interest income fell 6.5% to P16.9 billion, with net interest margin dropping by 31 basis points to 3.31%.

Meanwhile, non-interest income rose 12.1% to P7.4 billion, boosted by higher fees from its bancassurance, asset management, transaction banking, and investment banking businesses.

The bank’s credit book dropped 5% to P1.4 trillion as of March from a year earlier amid softer loan demand across all products except for mortgage (10.9%) and microfinance (10.5%), which registered growth.

Its nonperforming loan (NPL) ratio stood at 2.76%, while NPL coverage ratio was at 123.5%.

With the drop in credit, BPI’s loan loss provisions declined by 12.7% to P3.6 billion from the P4.1 billion it set aside in the first quarter of 2020.

On the other hand, BPI’s total deposits stood at P1.7 billion. The bank said its current account, savings account (CASA) deposits rose by 11.9%, offsetting the 34.4% decline in time deposits. Its CASA ratio and loans-to-deposit ratio stood at 82.6% and 81.6%, respectively.

Meanwhile, operating expenses incurred by the bank in the first three months of 2021 slipped by 2.3% to P11.8 billion. This caused BPI’s cost-to-income ratio to improve to 48.6% from 49% in the same period a year ago.

The bank’s assets were nearly flat at P2.2 trillion, while total equity rose to P280.8 billion.

BPI’s common equity Tier 1 ratio and capital adequacy ratio at end-March were at 16.6% and 17.5%, respectively, both above the minimum regulatory requirements. Its return on equity and return on assets were at 7.2% and 0.93%, respectively.

TARGETS
BPI’s annual stockholders’ meeting held virtually on Wednesday marked the transfer of the bank’s leadership to Mr. Limcaoco from former president and CEO Cezar P. Consing, who had headed BPI since 2013.

Mr. Limcaoco, who was Ayala Corp.’s chief finance officer prior to his new role at BPI, said he will continue the commitment of his predecessor to push the bank’s digitalization.

“What this means to me is that we need to invest in technology. We need to make our digital tools available for each and every customer…[and] to give access to digital tools to even non-customers,” Mr. Limcaoco said.

He added that they want to make their credit book “more inclusive” by increasing the share of retail and small business loans in their portfolio.

“I’ve always thought of myself as a retail banker, as a consumer banker. What we want to do is to continue to push our leadership in those two segments and make sure we serve more customers and provide more products,” Mr. Limcaoco, who also headed BPI Family Savings Bank and BPI Capital Corp., said.

Mr. Limcaoco and Mr. Consing both noted the bank’s target to beef up its sustainability efforts.

“It is our intent to achieve zero coal in line with the Paris Agreement target of 2037 for non-OECD Asia. In fact, we believe that we will be able to half the amount of our outstanding coal loans by the end of 2026,” Mr. Consing said.

The bank also expressed interest in bidding for the retail segment of Citi Philippines following its parent Citigroup’s announcement of its exit from the business in 13 Asia-Pacific markets.

Mr. Limcaoco said they find Citi Philippine’s retail portfolio very “complementary” for BPI and said some people have already reached out to them about this.

“We have told them that as soon as they have the information, to send us the information and we will take a look at it. Most likely, we will be interested, to be honest,” he said.

BPI’s shares closed at P82.20 apiece on Thursday, up by 10 centavos or 0.12% from the previous day. — L.W.T. Noble

MerryMart to launch MBOX Smart Lockers

April 23, 2021 | 12:04 am

MERRYMART Consumer Corp. is planning to launch smart lockers under a new venture called MBOX, which aims to roll out 5,000 self-service lockers with full-time accessibility by 2030.

The MBOX business will be the first unit under MerryMart’s consumer technology portfolio.

“We believe that MBOX will improve Filipinos’ online purchase experience and give consumers, couriers and merchants a more convenient, efficient, and secure alternative of delivering and receiving packages,” Edgar “Injap” J. Sia II, chairman of MerryMart, said in a statement on Thursday.

Like post office boxes, packages may be collected and dropped off via MBOX Smart Lockers at the customer’s or the delivery personnel’s convenience.

Receivers will be notified of their package deliveries through pick-up code, which will be sent through a mobile text message or a notice from a mobile app available for iOS and Android.

Sending packages and returns may be processed through the MBOX App, which will also include MBOX Smart Locker pick-up options to prevent people from getting their orders simultaneously.

“MBOX Smart Lockers would enable couriers to become more efficient and deliver more parcels in the same amount of time as seen in countries with an already established Smart Locker network,” the company said.

Multiple parcels may be delivered to one location in one go. The lockers would also eliminate the need for in-person contact.

“This pandemic has seen a record rise in deliveries and has highlighted the need for a contactless, efficient, green delivery alternative,” Mr. Sia said.

MerryMart Chief Financial Officer Hannah Yulo-Luccini pointed out how companies such as Grab, foodpanda, GCash, PayMaya, Lazada, and Shopee have made use of consumer technology, eventually making their way to become part of everyday life.

“We have also seen both their respective market share and revenues grow exponentially. We see MBOX to enhance and complement this inevitable evolution and further widen MerryMart’s revenue streams,” Ms. Yulo-Luccini said.

MerryMart will launch an initial 100 MBOX Smart Lockers in cities, MerryMart branches, commercial centers, LGU halls, condominiums, subdivisions, and office buildings in Metro Manila.

“We envision MBOX to soon be a must-have in practically each and every strategic spot in the country,” Mr. Sia said.

MerryMart shares at the stock exchange declined by 2% on Thursday to close at P5.38 apiece from P5.49. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

BRIT music awards to host 4,000-strong audience in UK pilot event

April 23, 2021 | 12:04 am

LONDON — Some 4,000 people will attend the BRIT Awards next month, in what organizers of Britain’s pop music honors said would be the first major indoor music event with a live audience as the country emerges from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown.

The ceremony, to be held on May 11 at London’s O2 arena, will form part of the UK government’s Events Research Program, looking at whether major events can take place in closed environments without social distancing. This means audience members, of which 2,500 will be key workers who will be gifted tickets, will not have to wear face masks inside the arena but will have to provide proof of a negative lateral flow test result to enter the venue. They also have to take a test after the ceremony and provide contact details as part of the country’s COVID test and trace system.

“This has been a long tough year for everyone and I’m delighted the night will honor the key worker heroes who have cared for us so well during that time and continue to do so,” singer Dua Lipa, who is nominated for four awards, said in a statement. “They are quite simply an inspiration. The BRIT Awards are always special and this will truly make it a night to remember.”

Ms. Lipa is among several singers who will perform at the event, the first live music show at the O2 in more than a year.

Like elsewhere, COVID-19 pandemic shut down music events with live audiences in Britain. Under Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s phased roadmap out of lockdown, entertainment venues can re-open their doors next month. — Reuters

Sun Life, Prudential top life and non-life insurers in 2020

April 23, 2021 | 12:03 am

Happy young Asian couple and realtor agent. Cheerful young man s — FREEPIK

Sun Life Canada (Philippines), Inc. and Prudential Guarantee & Assurance, Inc. (PGA) were named as the top life and non-life insurance companies, respectively, in terms of premium income last year, the Insurance Commission (IC) reported on Thursday.

Based on the unaudited quarterly report on selected financial statistics submitted by firms, the IC said Sun Life posted the highest premium income among life insurers at P39.27 billion, while PGA booked P4.55 billion in net premiums to top the non-life sector in 2020. The two insurers also claimed the top spots in 2019.

“[Net premium written] represents how much of the premiums non-life insurers get for assuming risks,” Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa said in the statement.

LIFE INSURERS
For the life insurance sector, Philippine Axa Life Insurance Corp. recorded the second-highest net premiums with P31.27 billion, followed by Pru Life Insurance Corp. of UK with P30.98 billion; the Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philam Life), with P16.77 billion; and BPI-Philam Life Assurance Corp. with P16.30 billion.

The rest of the top 10 firms were the Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Phils)., Inc. (P15.88 billion); Allianz PNB Life Insurance, Inc. (P15.76 billion); BDO Life Assurance Co., Inc. (P15.14 billion); FWD Life Insurance Corp. (P13.64 billion); and the Insular Life Assurance Co., Ltd. (P10.37 billion).

Sun Life Philippines also remained at the top spot in terms of net income with P8.47 billion, followed by Philam Life with P4.52 billion, Manulife with P4.05 billion, Pru Life UK with P3.27 billion, and AXA Philippines with P2.83 billion.

Rounding out the top 10 were Insular Life (P2.7 billion), BPI-Philam Life (P1.43 billion), Sun Life Grepa Financial, Inc. (P958.09 million), United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corp. (P674.22 million), and Manulife Chinabank Life Assurance Corp. (P382.85 million).

Meanwhile, Philam recorded the highest assets at P291 billion, followed by Sun Life Philippines’ P274 billion, AXA Philippines with P142 billion, Insular Life with P141 billion, and Pru Life UK’s P117 billion.

“The combined net worths of the top ten (10) life insurance companies accounted for a remarkable 87.04% of the industry’s entire net worth as of year-end 2020, amounting to P214.1 billion,” Mr. Funa added.

NON-LIFE SECTOR
Meanwhile, Malayan Insurance Co. Inc., posted a net premium income of P4.08 billion last year, the second biggest in the sector after PGA. This was followed by the Pacific Cross Insurance, Inc. with net premiums written of P3.32 billion; Pioneer Insurance & Surety Corp. with P2.97 billion; and BPI/MS Insurance Corp. with P2.82 billion.

The rest of the top 10 non-life insurers in terms of premiums were Charter Ping An Insurance Corp. (P2.64 billion); Mercantile Insurance Co., Inc., (P2.04 billion); Commonwealth Insurance Co. (P1.79 billion); FPG Insurance Co., Inc. (P1.69 billion); and Standard Insurance Co., Inc. (P1.51 billion).

In terms of net worth, Pioneer Insurance registered the highest at P17.42 billion, followed by Malayan Insurance (P4.44 billion); BPI/MS Insurance (P4.21 billion); Standard Insurance (P3.49 billion); and Philippines First Insurance Co. (P2.41 billion).

Meanwhile, Pioneer Insurance posted the highest assets in the sector in 2020 at P39.84 billion, followed by Malayan Insurance with P34.97 billion, PGA with P20 billion, BPI/MS Insurance with P15.3 billion and Charter Ping An Insurance with P11 billion.

Mr. Funa said the combined net worth of the top 10 non-life insurers reached P42.56 billion last year, making up 43% of the P98.44 billion net worth of the entire sector. — BML

Union opposes police clearance requirement for DoLE dealings

April 23, 2021 | 12:03 am

THE Philippines’ largest union said a police clearance requirement for transacting with the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) would represent an “added burden” for workers, hindering the resolution of labor cases.

In a statement Thursday, the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) said the proposal, made by the head of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Debold M. Sinas, involves obtaining a National Police Clearance to conduct dealings with DoLE.

“From the looks of it, the proposed police clearance in DoLE transactions would further delay the injustice among aggrieved workers and would drive away those seeking redress in DoLE’s conciliation, mediation and dispute resolution and workplace inspection processes and many other services,” according to ALU-TUCP National Executive Vice-President Gerard R. Seno.

Adding a bureaucratic layer to these processes will mean additional costs for workers. Mr. Seno said industrial peace processes are necessary “to make our economy productive and competitive.”

A letter dated March but released to the public this week outlined the PNP proposal. On Wednesday, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III was quoted as saying in a news report that the proposal is under consideration.

Other labor groups have expressed opposition to the police clearance requirement, including the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, the Kilusang Mayo Uno and the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition. — Gillian M. Cortez

Vista Land income declines by 45%

April 23, 2021 | 12:03 am

VISTA Land & Lifescapes, Inc. reported a consolidated net income of P6.4 billion, 45% lower than the P11.6 billion generated in 2019 due to the pandemic.

“The past year truly challenged our ability to move forward despite the presence of a global health crisis. However, it even proved to be one of our most innovative years yet as we accelerated our digital transformation to reach and to better serve our clients,” Vista Land Chairman Manuel B. Villar, Jr. said in a statement on Thursday.

The company’s consolidated revenues dropped by 26% to P32.7 billion from P44.4 billion.

Vista Land said rental revenues from its commercial business dropped by 7%, without disclosing specific figures.

The property developer launched P5-billion worth of residential projects in the last quarter of 2020, ending the year with a launch value of P10 billion.

“We are glad to have witnessed the sustained uptrend of our reservation sales registering 37% growth since the second quarter of last year and are looking at 2021 with optimism following the resilient overseas Filipino remittances in 2020 and its projected growth of up to 4% this year,” Mr. Villar said.

The company’s capital expenditures totaled to P24.6 billion for the year, while total consolidated assets as of the end of December amounted to P284.1 billion.

“Vista Land will continue to capitalize on its geographic reach as the demand and preference of affordable housing located outside Metro Manila continues to be seen. We are also looking at increased foot traffic with the start of the vaccination rollout this year,” Mr. Villar said.

Meanwhile, Vista Land’s leasing business was able to improve its operational gross floor area (GFA) to 95% as most of its tenants were deemed essential.

“We also added over 90,000 square meters of GFA for our leasing business, mostly commercial centers as we took advantage of the captive demand of our residents,” Manuel Paolo A. Villar, president and chief executive officer of Vista Land, said.

On Thursday, Vista Land shares at the stock exchange slumped by 0.27% or P0.01 to close at P3.68 each. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

‘Who will play me?’: Boy George launches casting search for biopic

April 23, 2021 | 12:03 am

Boy George — DEAN STOCKINGS / EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

LONDON — British singer Boy George launched a casting search on Tuesday, looking for an actor to portray him in a music biopic set to start filming this summer.

The Culture Club frontman, whose real name is George O’Dowd, took to social media to make the announcement. In a video he said Line of Duty actor Daniel Mays would play his father, and added teasingly “there’s rumors of Keanu Reeves popping in.”

“I’m very excited to announce the movie of my life and Culture Club called Karma Chameleon will be shot this summer in London and around the world,” he said. “There’s only one problem, and it’s quite major — who is going to play me? We’re looking for a brave young actor, from anywhere in the globe, to take on the role of his life.”

The film, written and directed by Sacha Gervasi, will follow the singer’s “humble beginnings in an Irish working-class family, through his rise to the top of the international charts with Culture Club,” according to a press release. — Reuters

New Mortal Kombat movie brings fantasy violence to screens

April 23, 2021 | 12:03 am

mortal-combat — Hiroyuki Sanada and Joe Taslim in Mortal Kombat (2021) — IMDB.COM

LOS ANGELES — The Mortal Kombat movie reboot from Warner Bros., which debuts Friday in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service, aims to better depict the extreme gore of the video game franchise than two toned-down cinematic spinoffs of the 1990s.

The video game has pushed the limits of violence and gore since it arrived in arcades in 1992 and was a main factor behind the establishment of a rating system for violence in video games by the industry.

“It would be crazy to ignore that violence is a fundamental part of the video game,” Josh Lawson, who plays brawler Kano in the film, said in an interview with Reuters Television. “If you pull punches on that part of the game, then I’d say you’re not doing … a true service to the game,” he added. “This does go as far as you possibly can.”

The movie follows Cole Young (Lewis Tan), a new character to the franchise, who finds he and his family are being hunted by the ice-wielding Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim) because he has a mysterious birthmark. He meets others who have the birthmark including fire-wielding Liu Kang and Kung Lao, who uses his metal hat as a weapon. All three are destined to fight in the mysterious Mortal Kombat tournament to help protect Earth.

The actors in Mortal Kombat hail from all around the world. Star Tan is of British and Chinese descent. “I’m proud to represent the Asian male in a way that is rarely represented, and by that, I mean in a heroic role,” Mr. Tan said. “We get represented as martial artists but not really as these heroes on this grand scale in Western cinema.” — Reuters

PayMaya, AMLC ink deal to address financial crimes

April 23, 2021 | 12:02 am

Digital payments firm PayMaya Philippines, Inc. announced on Thursday that it had signed a partnership agreement with the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to help the government in addressing financial crimes.

AMLC and PayMaya signed an information-sharing protocol agreement, which will serve as a bilateral agreement and cooperative framework “to prevent and mitigate financial crimes in the country,” the digital financial services company said in an emailed statement.

Under the agreement, AMLC and PayMaya will work together on information-sharing and capacity building.

PayMaya said the collaboration aims to “strengthen the integrity” of the country’s financial system.

The information-sharing protocol agreement, PayMaya also noted, can help address other crimes such as online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, human trafficking, terrorism financing, swindling or estafa, and donation scams, among others.

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

Microsoft says free courses reach 150,000 in Philippines

April 23, 2021 | 12:02 am

MICROSOFT CORP. said 150,000 trainees in the Philippines have acquired new digital-ready skills during the pandemic via its online courses.

In a statement Thursday, Microsoft said it “has helped over 30 million people in 249 countries and territories gain access to digital skills, of which over 150,000 are from the Philippines.”

The free courses and affordable certifications are offered in collaboration with GitHub, Inc. and LinkedIn Corp. These courses are on offer until the end of this year.

Microsoft Philippines General Manager Andres Ortola said in a statement Thursday, “COVID-19 has increased the need for digital skills, and we are committed to meeting that need, however we can — paving the way for a more resilient Philippines and allowing all sectors of society to contribute to the economic recovery.”

It will also partner with the National Government in providing training to 800,000 civil servants.

Microsoft also plans to launch an online service, Career Connector, which will career-match jobseekers to tech-enabled occupations. Microsoft aims to steer 50,000 people worldwide to new careers through the platform.

In partnership with LinkedIn, Microsoft also offers the Microsoft Teams app Career Coach, which aids students on potential career paths and connecting them with mentors to help them gain real-world skills. — Gillian M. Cortez