Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 8391

Term deposit yields drop

YIELDS on term deposits declined on Wednesday. — BW FILE PHOTO

YIELDS ON THE central bank’s term deposit facility (TDF) continued to go down despite lower bids on hints of possible easing from the central bank to cushion the economy against risks from the continued spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Tenders for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) term deposits amounted to P168.216 billion on Wednesday, higher than the P120 billion auctioned off by the central bank. However, this was lower than the P173.668 billion seen last week for the P130-billion offer.

Broken down, tenders for the one-week papers hit P48.697 billion, failing to fill the P50 billion on offer and also lower than the P50.263 billion in tenders seen last week for the P40 billion offered by the BSP.

Yields for the tenor ranged from 3.75% to 3.85%, a slightly slimmer margin compared to the 3.75% to 3.8844% logged last week. This brought average rate to 3.7821%, inching down by 4.29 basis points (bps) from last week’s 3.825%.

Meanwhile, the 14-day term deposits attracted bids totaling P52.454 billion, higher than the P40 billion on offer but lower than the P69.91 billion in tenders logged last week for the P50 billion on the auction block.

Lenders asked for returns from 3.765% to 3.85%, coming from the 3.8 to 3.9% band seen on Wednesday last week. This brought the average rate to 3.8102%, down by 5.52 bps from the 3.8654% seen on Feb. 26.

On the other hand, bids for the 28-day papers hit P67.065 billion, more than double the P30 billion up for grabs and also surpassing the P53.495 billion worth of tenders logged last week for the P40-billion offering.

Yields sought by banks for the one-month tenor ranged from 3.75% to 3.8%, a narrower margin compared to the 3.785% to 3.95% seen last week. With this, the average rate for the 28-day papers settled at 3.786%, inching down by 10.58 bps from the 3.8918% seen a week ago.

Analysts said the lower rates came after new hints of further easing from the BSP chief.

“The bigger week-on-week declines on the BSP TDF auction yields may have to do with increased market expectations that the BSP could have greater leeway to make any further cuts on local policy rates,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in an e-mail.

“Expectations for eventual policy easing from the BSP helped push bond yields lower after the Fed cut policy rates by 50 bps overnight in an emergency move,” ING Bank NV-Manila Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said in an e-mailed response.

“What’s more interesting was the oversubscription in the 28-day tenor with investors locking in higher yields for as long as they can knowing fully well that rates are likely on the downtrend from here,” he said.

The US Federal Reserve on Tuesday slashed its key rate by 50 bps in a surprise move to temper economic risks that could arise from the coronavirus outbreak.

Meanwhile, BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said earlier this week another 25-bp cut is on the table this year, adding that they will assess anew the impact of the virus on the economy during the Monetary Board’s policy-setting meeting on March 19. Last week, he also said the central bank is not ruling out cuts worth 50 to 75 bps this year.

After pausing in the latter part of 2019 following 75 bps in cuts, the Monetary Board slashed benchmark rates by another 25 bps on Feb. 6 as a preemptive move to cushion the country from the impact of COVID-19, partially offsetting the 175 bps in hikes done in 2018.

The rates on the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase, overnight lending and deposit facilities stand at 3.75%, 4.25% and 3.25%, respectively.

RCBC’s Mr. Ricafort said the market will take cues from local data in the weeks ahead.

“The next major factor is the latest inflation data for the month of February to be announced on March 5, as a source of new market leads, especially for local interest rate benchmarks, including BSP TDF auction yields,” he said.

A BusinessWorld poll of 17 economists last week yielded a three percent median estimate for February headline inflation, falling into the upper end of the 2.4-3.2% estimate penciled by the BSP on Friday. — L.W.T. Noble

ERC approves Meralco’s solar power supply deal

THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved the power supply agreement (PSA) jointly applied for by the country’s largest power distribution utility Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and Solar Philippines Tanauan Corp. (SPTC).

In its decision promulgated on Feb. 28, the commission said it had approved the applicable rate applied for by the two entities at P5.39 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) and subject to a 2% annual escalation as provided in the agreement.

“The applicable rate is inclusive of the costs associated with the dedicated point-to-point facilities for the two power plants of SPTC; however, this is still without prejudice to the evaluation to be made on the point-to-point application by the Commission,” the ERC said.

Separately, Meralco told the stock exchange on Wednesday that the PSA, which the two entities executed on Dec. 22, 2016, is in support of renewable energy, and that the rate approved by the ERC is “significantly lower” than the prevailing solar feed-in tariff rates.

Under the PSA, Solar Philippines is to supply Meralco electric energy generated by the former’s solar power plant at 25 megawatts (MW) from a site in Tanauan town in Batangas. Another 25 MW are to come from a second site in Naic, Cavite or other locations as determined by Solar Philippines. The supply contract is for 20 years.

The PSA approval comes more than three years after Meralco put out an advertisement on Sept. 23, 2016 calling on power generation companies to challenge the offer of Solar Philippines for the utility’s power supply requirements.

Distribution utilities are required by the ERC to subject power supply offers to a competitive selection process (CSP) to ensure that they agree to the least costly deals from generation companies. Generation charges are pass-through costs that are billed monthly to consumers.

Solar Philippines’ offered price is P3.3-per-kWh lower than the second round of guaranteed FiT of P8.69 per kWh that solar farm developers receive under the feed-in tariff system, an incentive scheme aimed at encouraging the growth of renewable energy. The scheme ended with the 500-MWsolar installation target fully subscribed.

Meralco previously said that adding solar capacity to its portfolio would serve to lower the entire power generation cost. If a deal is closed, it would be the utility’s first supply contract for solar energy. — VVS

Discovery Suites Ortigas marks 20th anniversary

DISCOVERY Suites Ortigas, the first hotel of the Discovery Leisure Company, Inc. hospitality group, celebrated its 20th anniversary last month, thus commemorating everything else that followed the hotel’s 2000 opening: the various properties located in Makati, Tagaytay, Boracay, and Palawan.

Discovery Suites was founded by Ruben Tiu in 2000, and in 20 years, has managed to develop Discovery Primea, Discovery Country Suites, Discovery Shores in Boracay, and Club Paradise Palawan. During the anniversary dinner, guests were updated on a development in Siargao.

“Kip&Kin is a new brand for the Discovery Group, targeting the market with a millennial lifestyle with a youthful approach to all the amenities and services. It has a hotel and a hostel concept, which started construction two years ago in Siargao. The target opening date is Q1 of 2021,” said Maria Nicola Nievera, Marketing and Communications Manager for Discovery Suites in an interview with BusinessWorld.

While the first hotel boom in the country was prompted in the 1970s by the IMF-World Bank Meeting, a second boom happened in the 2000s, this one dominated by local brands (the previous boom saw more foreign chains). Of these, Discovery Suites was one of the first and proudly stood by its homegrown origins, even to this day.

As it stands too, Discovery Suites was the first serviced apartment in the Ortigas Business District, according to Ms. Nievera. “No other hotels have trailblazed the Filipino brand of hospitality. We have proudly leveraged on that and transformed it into action, having that culture and promise of ‘Service That’s All Heart,’ with the hand in heart gesture. We have started it early on, and have been known for this, making it a distinction of what a Discovery property is,” said Ms. Nievera. “It’s always being true to our promise and commitment in delivering the trailblazing Filipino hospitality — tasteful, memorable, and meaningful experiences that feels like home.”

Since its opening in 2000, it has won several awards, including a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence in consecutive years from 2012-2018, as well as a Conde Nast Readers’ Choice Award for Top 20 Hotels in Asia.

Meanwhile, the dinner at the hotel’s 22 Prime honored various guests and employees of the hotels who have stayed on for the past 20 years. We asked Ms. Nievera why they stayed, and she said, “It is the people that make our guests and employees stay for years, it’s the sense of family and care that we make them feel.”

Promotions to celebrate the hotel’s 20th anniversary were also announced, such as special rates for suites, but also an Anniversary Sharing Platter, a combination of 22 Prime’s bestsellers. For more information on these, visit https://www.discoverysuites.com/. — J.L. Garcia

Apple to pay up to $500M to settle lawsuit over slow iPhones

APPLE Inc. has agreed to pay up to $500 million to settle litigation accusing it of quietly slowing down older iPhones as it launched new models, to induce owners to buy replacement phones or batteries.

The preliminary proposed class-action settlement was disclosed on Friday night and requires approval by US District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California.

It calls for Apple to pay consumers $25 per iPhone, which may be adjusted up or down depending on how many iPhones are eligible, with a minimum total payout of $310 million.

Apple denied wrongdoing and settled the nationwide case to avoid the burdens and costs of litigation, court papers show.

The Cupertino, California-based company did not immediately respond on Monday to requests for comment.

Friday’s settlement covers US owners of the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7Plus or SE that ran the iOS 10.2.1 or later operating system. It also covers US owners of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus that ran iOS 11.2 or later before Dec. 21, 2017.

Consumers contended that their phones’ performance suffered after they installed Apple software updates. They said this misled them into believing their phones were near the end of their life cycles, requiring replacements or new batteries.

Apple attributed the problems mainly to temperature changes, high usage and other issues, and said its engineers worked quickly and successfully to address them. Analysts sometimes refer to the slowing of iPhones as “throttling.”

Lawyers for the consumers described the settlement as “fair, reasonable, and adequate.”

They called payments of $25 per iPhone “considerable by any degree,” saying their damages expert considered $46 per iPhone the maximum possible.

The lawyers plan to seek up to $93 million, equal to 30% of $310 million, in legal fees, plus up to $1.5 million for expenses.

Following an initial outcry over slow iPhones, Apple apologized and lowered the price for replacement batteries to $29 from $79.

The case is In re:Apple Inc. Device Performance Litigation, US District Court, Northern District of California, No. 18-md-02827. — Reuters

Fed cuts rates to blunt impact of coronavirus; markets drop

WASHINGTON — The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Tuesday in a bid to shield the world’s largest economy from the impact of the coronavirus, but the emergency move failed to comfort US financial markets roiled by worries about a deeper, lasting slowdown.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated his view that the US economy remains strong, but said the spread of the virus had caused a material change in the US central bank’s outlook for growth.

“The virus and the measures that are being taken to contain it will surely weigh on economic activity, both here and abroad, for some time,” Mr. Powell said in a news conference shortly after policy makers unanimously decided to cut rates by a half percentage point to a target range of 1.00% to 1.25%.

Underscoring how grave the central bank views the fast-evolving situation, it was the first rate cut outside of a regularly scheduled policy maker meeting since 2008 at the height of the financial crisis.

“We’ve come to the view now that it is time to act in support of the economy,” he said. “I do know that the US economy is strong and we will get to the other side of this; I fully expect that we will return to solid growth and a solid labor market as well.”

Powell acknowledged the outlook is uncertain and the situation “fluid.”

The pathogen, which originated in China, causes respiratory illness that has been fatal in an estimated 2% of cases, and governments and companies have shut schools and restricted travel and large gatherings in response, crimping factory output in China and disrupting production of goods worldwide.

All three major US stock market indexes closed nearly 3% lower, while the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note dropped below 1% for the first time ever.

President Donald Trump, arriving at the White House as US markets closed, told reporters he had not seen the market’s drop on Tuesday and was focused on the federal coronavirus response.

“I think they should do more. I think they hinted that they’re not going to do much more, and that’s unfortunate. He gave a very bad signal, in my opinion,” he said of Mr. Powell.

Traders believe the Fed is not done. Futures tied to the Fed’s policy rate were pricing in another rate cut by June. Fed policy makers will provide their own rate path expectations, along with forecasts for economic growth, at the end of their March 17-18 meeting.

TURNAROUND
Just over a week ago, most Fed officials said they expected the effects of the virus to be temporary and stuck to their view that after three rate cuts last year, the US economy was well-positioned to weather shocks.

“The questions now become whether, how much, and when the Fed might deliver further monetary policy easing,” Oxford Economics analyst Gregory Daco wrote after Mr. Powell’s news conference. “If Fed officials deem that odds of an impending recession are elevated, they’ll continue to be very aggressive in cutting rates.”

With 90,000 cases worldwide in 77 countries and territories, the virus has upended global supply chains, with companies warning daily of hits to their sales and profits.

On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank canceled their April meetings in Washington, joining the list of organizations pulling the plug on planned events.

Central bank easing can lubricate credit markets and boost demand by lowering the cost of borrowing. But, Mr. Powell noted, it cannot repair disrupted global supply chains or convince people to fly, attend meetings or even go to school, especially if local governments or companies bar such activities.

“We do recognize that a rate cut will not reduce the rate of infection, it won’t fix a broken supply chain; we get that, we don’t think we have all the answers,” Mr. Powell said. Still, he said, it will help support “overall economic activity.”

Mr. Powell earlier on Tuesday participated in a conference call with the top finance authorities from the world’s seven largest advanced economies, which concluded with a statement that they would take all appropriate measures to support the global economy. At his news conference, he said the Fed was in active discussions with other central banks and said future coordinated action could yet occur.

Already, there has been action by other central banks. Earlier on Tuesday, central banks in Australia and Malaysia cut rates and on Monday the Bank of Japan took steps to provide liquidity to stabilize financial markets there.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin applauded the Fed’s decision, saying it would help the US economy. In a tweet after the Fed move, President Donald Trump kept up what has been constant pressure on the central bank to do even more. “More easing and more cutting,” he said. — Reuters

Cisco says 5G rollout to boost telco revenues

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter

TECHNOLOGY firm Cisco Systems, Inc. (Cisco) said the rollout of fifth-generation (5G) network services in the Philippines could increase the annual revenues of telecommunications companies by as much as $650 million beginning 2025.

Citing the latest study conducted by management consulting firm A.T. Kearney, Cisco Managing Director for Philippines Karrie C. Ilagan said in a news conference in Taguig City on Wednesday that the 5G penetration in major countries in Southeast Asia is expected to reach 25% to 40% by 2025.

She said the total number of 5G subscriptions in the region, which includes the Philippines, is expected to exceed 200 million in 2025.

In the Philippines, Ms. Ilagan said the rollout of 5G services could boost the annual revenues of Philippine teleco operators such as Globe Telecom, Inc., PLDT, Inc., and new player Dito Telecommunity Corp. “by as much as $650 million starting 2025.”

Cisco said the initial growth of 5G adoption will come from high-value customers and high-value devices.

“Subscriptions will start to scale as devices become more affordable,” it added.

Telco companies in the region, Cisco said, are likely to invest by 2025 about $10 billion in 5G infrastructure.

For his part, Cisco President for ASEAN Naveen Menon said enterprise customers are expected to contribute 18% to 12% of the telco firm’s revenue growth in the region by the same year.

The consumers are seen to contribute 6% to 9%, he added.

Mr. Menon also presented some challenges that telco firms will have to address as they rollout 5G in the region, which include the slow availability of spectrum for 5G services.

He noted that operators are indulged in a price war with 3G and 4G, consumers are excited about 5G and are willing to pay for better quality, and they will also need to bundle enhanced connectivity with solutions and applications.

“Telecom operators need to partner with ICT vendors and application providers to co-create customized use cases,” he added.

Ms. Ilagan noted that Filipinos, who lead in social media usage globally, are spending “billions of dollars” on online shopping.

“The rollout of 5G services will not only give them better experience but also increase the reach of digital connectivity across the country. Together, these trends will play a key role in boosting the Philippines’ economic growth in the coming years,” she explained.

For his part, Cisco Managing Director for ASEAN Dharmesh Malhotra said the company is working with telecom operators in their journey to 5G rollout.

He added that Cisco is “ready to engage with customers in ASEAN on 5G transformation.” — Arjay L. Balinbin

Germany’s Ice Wine might become a rarity amid global warming

EVERY AUTUMN, wine makers in Germany’s Mosel valley leave hectares of vines unharvested, hoping that a deep-enough winter freeze will allow them to produce the region’s famous ice wine. Yet the process is becoming a riskier business each passing year.

2019 was the first vintage in which no vintners in the nation were able to produce the sweet dessert beverage, according to the German Wine Institute, which cited a too mild winter. In order to make ice wine, producers in Germany must wait until temperatures drop below -7° Celsius (19.4° Fahrenheit), allowing grapes to freeze while still on the vine and creating a more concentrated juice.

“Global warming is progressing and it’s making it increasingly difficult,” said Thomas Loosen from the Dr. Loosen wine estate, which counts ice wine among one of its key products. “Many smaller vintners aren’t even trying anymore because the financial risk is too high.”

Climate change has come in the way of ice wine creation for several years now, with few producers being able make it amid increasingly warm winters and hotter summers, which can cause grapes to ripen earlier. Dr. Loosen’s last successful vintage was 2016, though the estate attempts to produce it every year.

In 2019 they left about one hectare of grapes for ice wine production, Loosen said. That plot size can translate to a loss of roughly 10,000 bottles if the grapes go unused. The retail price of a bottle of the 2016 vintage is listed at around €40 ($45) on some websites.

“If global warming continues the way it’s currently progressing, I could imagine that ice wine might some day be a thing of the past,” he said.

At the same time, German wine quality has also benefited to some degree from climate change, he added, with hotter summers helping traditionally cooler regions achieve more frequent and reliable harvests.

The volume of German wine exports grew by an annual 3% in 2019, a separate report said Tuesday. 2020 could be more challenging for overseas sales, the German Wine Institute said, as trade tensions, Brexit, and risks related to the coronavirus outbreak could increase competition. — Bloomberg

Huawei makes end-run around US ban by using its own chips

HUAWEI Technologies Co., the Chinese technology giant barred from doing business with US suppliers, is finding a way around the strict limits imposed by the Trump administration.

The Commerce Department, citing national security concerns, has largely forbidden American companies from selling Huawei the computer chips it needs to make a piece of equipment integral to newly introduced high-speed wireless networks. In response, China’s largest technology company ramped up its own capabilities to manufacture the gear, which is known as a base station.

In a sign that the self-reliance is working, Huawei in the fourth quarter sold more than 50,000 of these next-generation base stations that were free of US technology, according to Tim Danks, the US-based Huawei executive responsible for partner relations. That’s only about 8% of the total base stations that Huawei’s sold as of February, but the company is quickly ramping up at its secretive HiSilicon division to make more of these American component-free devices, Danks said.

“It’s still our intention to return to using US technology,” he said. The longer Huawei goes without access to US suppliers, the more unlikely it is to be able to return to using them, Mr. Danks added.

A base station is a typically suitcase-sized piece of machinery that’s used to help connect wireless phones to fixed-line networks carrying internet traffic, and it’s an essential ingredient in the next, or fifth, generation of mobile networks. Popular among telecommunications providers, Huawei’s base stations are widely considered among the most reliable for the price.

US officials accuse Huawei of stealing valuable intellectual property and violating a trade embargo with Iran. The Trump administration blacklisted the company last year, saying there’s a risk Huawei could give Beijing access to sensitive data coursing through telecommunications networks that employ its gear. Huawei has denied the allegations. Critics also said the US government imposed the sanctions to hobble China’s leadership in key aspects of 5G technology.

As of early February, Huawei had shipped about 600,000 5G base stations to mobile phone companies racing to upgrade networks to the new standard, which is designed to deliver data at faster speeds to a broad range of wirelessly connected devices — not just mobile handsets. Most of these base stations were made using stockpiled chips bought before the ban.

While Huawei doesn’t disclose its suppliers, base stations typically rely on a kind of processor called a field programmable gate array that’s made by Intel Corp., a chipmaking colossus based in Santa Clara, California, and Xilinx Inc., in neighboring San Jose. Those chips provide flexibility that makes it easier to update machines as new standards and features are added. Huawei’s chips are application-specific, meaning they’re tailored to particular functions and it takes more time and money to replace them. That’s a disadvantage at a time when new technology, such as 5G, is in its infancy and still subject to big changes.

The US initially clamped down on all shipments of US supplies to Huawei, which had spent more than $10 billion a year on US products, but later began making some exceptions. Xilinx and fellow chipmakers Micron Technology Inc. and Broadcom Inc. have all reported falling earnings on reduced or eliminated sales to Huawei.

TECHNOLOGY GETS POLITICAL
Attempts by the US to persuade European and other allied countries to ban Huawei equipment have fallen short, and chipmakers in Asia and Europe continue to supply it.

For their part, American chipmakers have argued that banning the supply of parts that Huawei can get elsewhere is counterproductive, saying that the lost revenue crimps research and development budgets and the ability to produce the best chips in the future. Huawei’s HiSilicon chip unit designs semiconductors and has them manufactured by industry-leading plants owned by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. But Washington is even now said to be looking into ways to curb the world’s largest contract chipmaker on grounds of national security, and deprive Huawei of its largest semiconductor manufacturing partner.

The Chinese company led the market for base stations with a 28% share last year, according to New Street Research. The investment company predicts demand for that equipment will rise this year with the 5G network buildout. Nokia Oyj and Ericsson AB are its two largest competitors in this market. — Bloomberg

China’s central bank keeps borrowing costs steady

CHINA’S CENTRAL BANK kept its short-term rates steady even as the US Federal Reserve eased its stance. — REUTERS

SHANGHAI — China’s central bank kept short-term borrowing costs steady on Wednesday, shrugging off the US Federal Reserve’s emergency policy rate cut overnight.

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) skipped open market operations, it said in a statement on the website, leaving reverse repurchase agreements unchanged.

But markets widely believe the authorities will continue to move to lower financing costs for business and roll out powerful measures prop up the economy, which has been hit by a coronavirus outbreak.

The decision by the PBoC on Wednesday comes hours after its US counterpart delivered an emergency 50-basis-point (bp) rate cut to mitigate the widening economic fallout of the coronavirus.

The Federal Reserve’s move, however, failed to calm US financial markets roiled by worries about a deeper, lasting slowdown.

Major economies have kicked off a new round of easing globally to combat disruption to economic growth from the virus epidemic, which was first detected in China, has now spread beyond to some 80 nations and could turn into a pandemic.

Central banks in Australia and Malaysia cut rates on Tuesday and on Monday the Bank of Japan took steps to provide liquidity to stabilize financial markets there.

However, analysts and traders in China said the PBoC’s decision to keep short-term market rates steady largely matched their expectations.

“Pressure from consumer prices remained huge, and Consumer Price Index (CPI) was likely hovering at elevated level in February,” said Yan Se, chief economist at Founder Securities in Beijing, adding chances for the PBoC to follow the US move to lower rates were low in the near term.

Instead, he expects the PBoC to make targeted reduction to reserve requirement ratio (RRR) in the short term to support key sectors.

Zhang Yu, chief macro analyst at Huachuang Securities, who also expected a targeted RRR cut this month, said the Fed’s emergency move overnight could prompt China’s central bank to lower its benchmark deposit rate this month.

Reductions to central bank’s medium-term lending facility (MLF) rate and reverse repo rate were “more of stabilizing short-term market sentiment,” she said.

“If declines in China’s equity market are not huge and the virus situation is not getting worse again, China does not necessarily have to follow the United States,” Mr. Zhang said in a note.

China’s stock markets traded broadly flat on Wednesday morning.

Multiple PBoC officials have recently said China should make timely adjustments to benchmark deposit rates, and should pay more attention to changes in real interest rates.

The PBoC lowered the reverse repo rates by 10 bps in February, as authorities stepped up measures to relieve pressure on the economy.

With no reverse repo maturing on Wednesday, the PBoC did not inject or withdraw any cash from the interbank money market. — Reuters

Bloomberry Resorts net income up 38% to nearly P10B

Bloomberry Resorts Corp. (Bloomberry) posted an attributable net income growth of 38% in 2019, driven by the robust growth of its gaming segment.

In a regulatory filing disclosed to the stock exchange yesterday, the Razon-led operator of Solaire Resort & Casino said its attributable net income last year stood at P9.96 billion, backed by a 21% rise in consolidated revenues to P46.34 billion.

The gaming segment made up P38.47 billion of the revenues to increase 22% from the figure in 2018. Hotel, food and beverage added P4.3 billion for a 14% increase year-on-year, while retail and others contributed P3.56 billion for a growth of 25%.

Breaking down its gaming business, Bloomberry said its total gross gaming revenues at Solaire grew 17% to P59.8 billion, driven by higher hold in VIP and strength in the mass gaming segments.

While VIP volume slipped 5% last year, gross gaming revenues from this segment still managed to rise 20% to P26.2 billion as VIP win rate improved to 3.4% from 2.69% in 2018.

Revenues from mass tables advanced 10% to P16.7 billion, and from electronic gaming machine (EGM) coin-ins by 21% to P16.8 billion, which the company attributed to higher domestic and international discretionary spending.

Solaire Korea’s Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino also contributed P573.1 million in gaming revenues last year, up 18% from a year ago.

For its non-gaming business, Bloomberry posted a 21% growth in revenues to P8.2 billion, where Solaire accounted for P8 billion despite a decline in hotel occupancy to 90.5% from 92.6% in 2018. Jeju Sun in Korea added P129 million, slumping 41% from a year ago due to renovation works at the hotel.

“I am pleased to report another record year of profits for Bloomberry… Despite increasing competitive pressure, Solaire maintained its market-leading position and has again proven itself as the premier integrated resort of the Philippines,” Bloomberry Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Enrique K. Razon, Jr. said in a statement.

But he noted 2020 would be a more challenging year for the company as the global tourism industry is threatened by the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak.

“We are off to a rough start in 2020 as we contend with the tourism impact of an official world health emergency. However, we remain steadfast and aim to demonstrate our resilience by working towards another year of operating excellence,” Mr. Razon said.

“We continue to focus on our next leg of growth as work on Solaire North progresses smoothly. We are on track to complete the project in the second half of 2023,” he added.

Bloomberry is building the 40-storey Solaire North on a 1.5-hectare land within Vertis North, Quezon City. This is seen to cater to markets from north of Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga.

Shares in Bloomberry at the stock exchange fell 37 centavos or 4.63% to P7.63 each on Wednesday. — Denise A. Valdez

Philippine users experienced nearly 28 million internet-based attacks in 2019: Kaspersky data

INTERNET SECURITY firm Kaspersky said the Philippines climbed to fourth place from 11th in its 2019 ranking of countries with the highest number of web threats.

Citing data from the Kaspersky Security Network, the internet security firm said in its report e-mailed to reporters on Monday that nearly 28 million internet-borne attacks against Philippine-based Kaspersky users were monitored and prevented last year.

It said the number accounts for 44.40% of the Philippines’ total number of Kaspersky users who encountered web threats from January to December last year.

The company added that 26.62% of them were “individual users” while 7.58% were “business users.”

Taking the first spot was Nepal with 51.4% of users experiencing web-borne threats, followed by Algeria (51%), and Albania (46.1%).

Ranked fifth after the Philippines was Djibouti (43.3%), followed by Mongolia (43%), Belarus (42.9%), Tunisia (42.7%), Bangladesh (42.5%), and Azerbaijan (42%).

In Southeast Asia, the Philippines led the top three countries with the highest number of web threat detections, followed by Malaysia (41.50%) at 13th and Vietnam (40%) at 17th.

Indonesia (36.10%) was 39th, followed by Thailand (29.10%) at 92nd, and Singapore (14.20%) at 156th.

Browser attacks remained the top method for infecting web users, according to Kaspersky.

Yeo Siang Tiong, general manager for Kaspersky Southeast Asia, was quoted as saying: “As far as web threats are concerned, among the noticeable changes we’ve seen in the region reflect the same scenario worldwide — strong activity of web-miners in the beginning of the year followed by a dropdown. There was also a growth of online skimmers that we’ve recorded. In the case of local threats, the overall situation in SEA is the same — there’s a drop in the number of cryptocurrency miners and a slight decrease in crypto ransomware.”

“In the Philippines, we believe the stern warnings against the use of cryptocurrencies and the newly enacted law which imposes harsh penalties against bank account fraudsters and credit card skimmers, are among the possible reasons for the changes in numbers. Despite these though, we can’t drop our guards and be complacent. The overall increase in awareness and level of security among individual Internet users and businesses only mean that typical attacks will be more difficult to carry out. And we see that cybercriminals will intensify their efforts towards social engineering tactics more and will veer away from PCs to focus on attacking mobile devices and other internet-connected hardware,” he added. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Wine decline would be enough for France’s grape gurus to see red

“WINE makes every meal an occasion, every table more elegant, every day more civilized,” the French wine writer, Andre Simon, famously wrote.

He would be appalled at the latest data from France’s national statistics agency Insee, which show people there are consuming less and less of their nation’s trademark tipple — as younger generations prefer beer.

The French still spend slightly more on wine, but what used to be a predilection for reds, whites, and rosés has all but evaporated compared with the heady highs of half a century ago. In 1960, the earliest records Insee has, wine accounted for 44% of drinks spending, while in 2018 it was only 18%.

Between 2010 and 2018, the share of beer in the drinks budget of households rose without interruption to reach a 29-year high of 13%.

Wine consumption is suffering as the French spend less on alcohol in any form. That, according to Insee, can be explained partly by government campaigns in the 1990s to discourage daily drinking, which particularly hurt some cheap wines. Overall, the share of alcoholic beverages in drinks spending declined to 60% in 2018 from 78% in 1960.

A renaissance of alternatives isn’t helping. For an aperitif — a pre-dinner ritual for many French people — beer is now the preferred drink, the statistics agency said.

“Since 2010, beer drinking started to rise again, driven by artisanal and fruit-flavored beers that have created a more diverse supply and changed the image of the product,” Insee said.

The French still drink more alcohol overall than the European average. Citing Eurostat statistics, Insee said the country is eighth in Europe in terms of total quantity of pure alcohol consumed annually. — Bloomberg

1...8,3908,3918,392...12,834Page 8,391 of 12,834
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube