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As catwalks move online, luxury brands try to keep a human touch

LUXURY clothing houses have long valued direct personal interaction through their boutiques and fashion shows. Perusing the sumptuous goods in a shop, with a glass of champagne in hand, promises a superior consumer experience to the mundane act of ordering online, and sitting front row at a catwalk remains a coveted status symbol.

That’s why there has been more on display than the latest looks at the September fashion weeks in London, Milan and Paris. This year, they’re a proving ground for just how successfully the industry has reinvented itself for the age of social distancing to push its message and products through digital channels.

Burberry Group Plc’s show on Sept. 17 provided a snapshot of the challenges that await. A walk-up segment featured celebrities including supermodel Bella Hadid and soul artist Erykah Badu engaged in a halting conversation on the Twitch streaming platform. The actual show — without guests — was staged in a forest as a bold blend of postcard English country life and contemporary angst. Models stalked forth among the trees, while performance artists created a brooding backdrop that left some online viewers bewildered, calling it “satanic” and “creepy” in live-stream comments. Burberry’s Spring/Summer 2021 show was to be completely remote, with no guests attending in person.

Chief Creative Director Riccardo Tisci’s attempt to take the storied British brand out of its comfort zone of trench coats and Burberry plaid highlights the extra effort needed to interact with a fan base that is following the proceedings from tiny screens at home. The luxury-goods industry has been particularly hard-hit by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, as high-rolling shoppers stay home, boutiques remain shuttered for months, and more consumers migrate to online boutiques that many brands long eschewed.

“These are maisons which know how to do events and beautiful shows, and all of a sudden they have to reinvent their work to create an online experience,” said Anne Michaut, a marketing professor at business school HEC Paris. Most brands “have a century or half a century of know-how for shows. Obviously we don’t have this amazing experience in digital.”

BIG CIRCUS
Fashion shows have traditionally functioned as an important branding catalyst. There’s the buildup ahead of the event, with paparazzi chasing celebrities and models across Paris or Milan from one event to the next. Who sits where in the front row is fodder for endless gossip, and the shows can be infinitely recycled afterward in fashion magazines and online.

Staging the events is a huge logistical and financial undertaking. Chanel’s shows, in particular, are the stuff of legend. The Paris-based house routinely rents out the giant glass-domed Grand Palais in the French capital, where models in years past strutted among installations including a space rocket, a supermarket or an intricate replica of a French brasserie.

Chanel will return to the same venue this year, but the company hasn’t yet revealed details of the show, due to take place on Oct. 6. Neither has crosstown rival Dior, part of the LVMH luxury emporium. The French brands are holding out any announcements as virus cases spike again in the country where haute-couture was born, potentially forcing them to switch gears and go digital at the last minute.

DIGITAL LIMITS
Others are more sanguine. Italian silk-and-leather specialist Salvatore Ferragamo SpA plans to hold a physical show “to give a sense that business is back to normal,” according to Chief Executive Officer Micaela Le Divelec Lemmi.

Companies are trying to blend physical and online offerings to reach VIPs and the fashion press. Prada SpA staged local private screenings as well as virtual viewing events of its Sept. 24 show, while Victoria Beckham in London hosted a select number of journalists and celebrities by appointments only in a two-hour time slot before releasing her collection on film the following day.

It’s not necessarily a natural transition for brands that are still building their following. Many have long placed the focus on connecting directly with their client base, emphasizing the tactile experience of high fashion, said Jillian Xin, a buying director for Labelhood’s stores in China.

“With fashion, there’s a limit to how much can be replaced digitally,” said Ms. Xin, a regular attendee of Europe’s fashion shows in the past. “It’s a little easier for brands that we’re already familiar with, but for new brands, it’s important to see the collection in person, to touch and feel the clothes and build a relationship with the designer and their team.”

It’s not just the fashion houses that have to come to terms with the new pandemic reality. The cities that host the shows will also lose out on the spending circus that accompanies the events, from the priciest hotels to the hottest dinner and cocktail venues for the after-show parties.

ADIEU PARIS
For Milan, the drop in visitors during the fashion week will have an noticeably impact on the city economy. At the mid-point of the month, hotel bookings hadn’t experienced the surge that the event generated in years past, hovering instead at an occupancy rate of about 25%, according to Maurizio Naro, the chairman of the local Federalberghi hotel owners association.

Maison Valentino, among the biggest names in Italian high-end fashion, decided to host its show in Milan this season rather than in Paris, where it had traditionally presented its spring/summer collection. The company called the decision “more ethical” because it strengthens its identity and affiliation with the local and national economy.

While the pandemic has forced fashion houses to embrace a new channel, the risk is that brand value will suffer the longer they float in the fleeting digital universe.

And just like spectator-less soccer matches are a joyless affair, the absence of an audience at the shows stands to diminish the events’ impact, said Michael Jaïs, the head of technology platform Launchmetrics that tracks social-media data for brands.

“Celebrities and influencers won’t be present, and it’s hard to imagine that they’ll be followed as much when they’re just in front of their screens,” Mr. Jaïs said. — Bloomberg

Italian-Thai group to take part in PNR Clark Phase 2 project

THE Transportation department said Sunday the contract to build a 12-kilometer elevated viaduct and one train station building in Pampanga, as part of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) Clark Phase 2 project, has been awarded to the Italian-Thai Development Public Co. Ltd.

The station building will be located in San Fernando, Angeles, and Mabalacat in Pampanga, the department said in a statement.

“What we see here is the coming together of an impressive league of the biggest and the best players in the construction industry here and abroad, funded by the Asian Development Bank with its largest-ever financing package for a single project, to build the Philippine government’s single largest project in history,” Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John R. Batan said.

The Italian-Thai Development is the company behind the construction of Thailand’s Bangkok Transit System or BTS.

PNR General Manager Junn B. Magno said the project remains “on track.”

He said the PNR Clark Malolos-Clark segment has an “over-all progress rate of over 26%” as of August.

“We remain hopeful and we keep exerting not just double but triple effort to fast-track this project and at least make it partially operable before the end of President Duterte’s term,” he added.

Megawide Construction Corp. and its Korean partners Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. and Dong-ah Geological Engineering Company Ltd. are also part of the project. Their contract covers the construction of a 17-kilometer viaduct structure and elevated station buildings in Calumpit, Bulacan and Apalit, Pampanga.

“The PNR Clark Phase 2 project is the 53-km northern segment of the 147-km North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) System, which will run from Clark in Pampanga all the way to the town of Calamba in Laguna. The NSCR will have 37 stations, spanning 26 local government units, and connecting 3 regions. The project will feature the country’s first Airport Express service, which will slash travel time between the Clark International Airport in Pampanga and Makati City from more than two hours by car, to just under one hour via the Airport Express,” the Transportation department said.

The department said the contract to build a 16-kilometer elevated viaduct and one station building in Minalin in Sto. Tomas and San Fernando in Pampanga was awarded to the joint venture of Acciona Construction Philippines and Daelim Industrial Co., Ltd. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Our Lady of Reality

By Joseph L. Garcia, Reporter

FILM REVIEW
This is Paris
YouTube

LIKE it or not, Paris Hilton was the face of the early 2000s. Not Laura Bush, not Michelle Obama. Paris Hilton’s zeitgeist told the 2000s that it was okay to be — or want to be — rich, famous, and beautiful.

Ms. Hilton wasn’t the first blonde to be followed around by the media and the world. Her fellows in the early reality world, Jessica Simpson and Anna Nicole Smith, also had unwarranted and sometimes unwanted media attention, but then, Ms. Simpson had been a pop star, and Ms. Smith had been tabloid fodder for her marriage to a geriatric billionaire. We could go higher and compare her wattage to Diana, Princess of Wales, but then, she was going to be the mother of a future king. Ms. Hilton didn’t sing, dance, marry, or bear important children. Asked by TV host Matt Lauer in 2004 why people were so fascinated with her, she said, “People always ask me that, and I don’t know. I’m just living my life.”

There was a war raging in the 2000s, but new money was to be made and spent on the internet and as a celebrity. The world groped around in the dark trying to find out what it wanted to be in the new millennium, and a hotel heiress with a reality series and a sex tape was the light. The Simple Life, a reality series that followed heiresses Paris and Nicole (Richie; musician Lionel Richie’s daughter) around, and the media buzz around it (and their wild off-camera lifestyle, which has landed both of them in jail on separate occasions) created a pattern for audiences to want that life, no matter what the price.

Of course, the world has changed since then. The young people who watched The Simple Life from 2003-2007 had to grow up and get jobs during the Great Recession, and then endure everything else that would come after. With millions losing jobs and homes, the worship of Ms. Hilton’s world suddenly seemed odious. Even she had to get a job: Ms. Hilton has several lines of perfume and beauty products, along with a job as one of the world’s highest-paid DJs and product endorsers. Still, her imprimatur remains today. See those girls on Tiktok and YouTube? They’re all there because Kim Kardashian and her sisters taught them that the way (or the price) for fame and fortune was to show everyone everything — no matter how inane or insane. And who was Kim Kardashian’s former boss? That’s right: Paris Hilton.

“Everyone says I’m the original influencer. But sometimes, I feel like I helped create a monster,” said Paris Hilton herself in a documentary called This is Paris, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last April, and as a Youtube Original on the website two weeks ago.

It seems trite to say that it shows the real Paris Hilton when all the woman ever did was to sell a manufactured reality of herself, but that’s exactly what it tries to do. Peeling back the layers of glitter she plastered onto herself, the documentary shows us a woman we thought we knew, and a woman who doesn’t even know herself. “This is Paris Hilton,” she says while recording. She says this in several ways; in several tones, moods, and colors. “How many voices do I have?”

The documentary, directed and written by Alexandra Dean, starts off with a sequence of Ms. Hilton getting ready in the morning, to the tune of Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Just Like Honey.” It’s a somber 1980s track one might mistake as something from The Cure, with the curious line: “Listen to the girl/As she takes on half the world.” The song sets the stage for the first act of the documentary, a familiar crossover between Poor Little Rich Girl pieces and reality shows. It transports us back to her childhood and early teens, telling us about the pressures of growing up rich (“My mom just wanted me to be a Hilton. I just wanted to be Paris.”). In footage shot last year, she shows us her busy jetset lifestyle, no longer for leisure, but for work. One can say that Ms. Hilton is simply a relic of the 2000s, but it would not be correct to write her off that way. On a trip to Korea, she’s greeted by hundreds of fans; in a gig at a Belgian music festival, she’s watched by thousands. (Her set, and the rest of the film’s soundtrack, is on fire).

To show another side of this life, they show her restless, unable to sleep; muttering about nightmares and insomnia. Her well-dressed sister Nicky Hilton-Rothschild berates her for her insatiable drive. “I will not stop until I make a billion dollars. And then I think I can relax,” declared Ms. Hilton to her sister. Asked by her sister if she’s happy, she answers, “Sometimes.” She is still, however, surrounded by some of the world’s most beautiful things. I somehow find myself sorry for this girl, who has everything anyone could want but never anything she needs. It’s the same blonde — whatever that means — but with a deeper, more authoritative voice; insisting throughout the documentary that the girlish California purr we knew was for a character she created for herself. Here she casts herself as a convert: a businesswoman with an East Coast lockjaw, who just so happens to be funny and well-dressed. It’s easy to dismiss this as another one of her media manipulations, a new image for the more discerning 2020s, until we get to the second and third act. ‘When I look around my life, it’s like a cartoon,” she sobs in her glamorous closet during an emotional moment in the third act.

For you see, the second and third act of the documentary talks about the abuse she suffered while within several reform schools — rebranded as “emotional growth schools” when the Hilton family placed their wayward, partying daughter there. There, she said, she was beaten up and verbally abused. In one school, the Provo Canyon School in Utah, not only was she subjected to a staged abduction (an event also remembered by her sister); but also beatings, unauthorized medication, and a turn in solitary confinement. These experiences, according to her, cause her recurring nightmares. It almost seems like everything that came after — the partying, the spending, the reckless sex and relationships — could be traced back to those years. “They made me not trust anyone; not even my own family,” she said. “That started, just from this place.” It’s curious that when she says those things, she reverts back to that girlish whine, no longer annoying when one realizes she uses it when she’s vulnerable, or isn’t quite herself (when she’s Paris as “Paris”). Her testimony is validated by three of her former classmates who were also abused to differing degrees; most of them also suffering from some form of trauma from their experiences. The four join a campaign that seeks to expose the abuse in reform schools. This then sets it apart from other Poor Little Rich Girl films that end with some nebulous, easily forgotten statement. This becomes a call to action for the reform school system, and a message of empathy for adults carrying trauma. “I don’t know if my nightmares will ever go away. I do know there are probably hundreds of thousands of kids who are going through the same thing right now. Maybe if I can help stop their nightmares, it will help me stop mine.”

We can choose to be uncharitable, and clock this up as another one of her constructed realities. That would defeat the film’s premise, which showed that the world had once been uncharitable to her, because the world thought she was, and had, too much. The filmmaker asks her if she could finally leave behind the character she made for herself: “I’ll be like this, forever.” We know what we paid for Paris Hilton. Does Paris Hilton know what price she paid?

The film appropriately ends with a restrained rendition of “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.”

One can watch This Is Paris on https://youtu.be/wOg0TY1jG3w, with an extended cut available for subscribers of YouTube Premium.

Vivant keen on entering water business

CEBU-BASED Vivant Corp. is screening for opportunities to enter the water industry, while it maintains its growth perspective in the power sector.

The Garcia-led holding firm disclosed in a recent stockholders’ meeting that it aims to “address” water issues, not just in the Visayan province, but also in other areas. It is looking at different aspects of the industry value chain from supply to engineering.

“We intend to address the water problems in Cebu and other key areas in the country by looking at opportunities for bulk water supply, water distribution, waste water treatment, and water engineering and solutions,” Jess Anthony N. Garcia, the company’s head of business development for infrastructure, said in a statement over the weekend.

The company through its wholly owned Vivant Hydrocore Holdings, Inc. has interests in water treatment and sewerage projects.

It is co-developing a combined sewerage and septage facility of the Puerto Princesa City, Palawan government after acquiring a 45% stake from the local government unit’s former partner in February. In 2019, it formed a joint venture with Israeli firm WaterMatic International Ltd. to build and operate water treatment plants for the agriculture industry.

This expansion is aided by the continuing growth of its power business, according to Vivant Energy Corp. Chief Operating Officer Emil Andre M. Garcia.

“To continue supporting Vivant’s mission of bringing excellence to industries that improve everyday living, Vivant Energy will continue to grow its position in the power industry, so Vivant can endeavor to enter into new waters,” the official said.

The company’s power arm has earmarked more than P2 billion in renewable and energy storage technologies and hybridization of its existing power plants.

“Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, we are well-situated to carry on and thrive by adapting and future-proofing our investments in power,” he said.

In the first half, Vivant posted a 35% decline in net profit to P814.4 million, while its revenues fell by 43% to P1.8 billion as its income-driver power generation segment performed poorly with the slump in sales and demand.

Vivant is also engaged in electricity distribution and power retail businesses. — Adam J. Ang

The Air Jordan 35 is coming

THE STORIED tradition of the sneaker line of basketball legend Michael Jordan continues with the recent unveiling of its 35th iteration, which will be made available globally beginning in October.

Staying true to the Jordan Brand’s thrust of pursuing excellence in various aspects, the Air Jordan 35 is touted as a solid example once again of performance and aesthetic innovation.

The new shoe taps the technology behind the Eclipse Plate which was featured in the Jordan 34 for improved support. The plate helps unlock Zoom Air for a more responsive feeling in the heel and forefoot.

The Jordan 35 also takes some design cues from the Jordan 5, particularly the tongue and molded foam pods around the collar of the shoe.

Five colorways are initially part of its lineup, namely, “Warrior,” “Bayou Boys,” “Morpho,” “Center of Gravity,” and “DNA.”

“The Air Jordan signature shoe has and will always be the most important shoe we make each year. Basketball is where the Jordan Brand started, and it’s where we’ll continue to invest in and advance our never-ending pursuit of excellence on the court,” said Craig Williams, President of Jordan Brand, in a release.

The new Jordan shoe will be released globally on Oct. 17.

The Center of Gravity colorway of the Air Jordan 35, meanwhile, releases in the Philippines at select retailers this Holiday 2020. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Rates of T-bills seen inching up ahead of BSP’s policy meeting

RATES OF THE Treasury bills (T-bills) on offer today (Sept. 28) will likely inch up as investors seek higher yields as they expect the central bank to keep policy settings steady at its meeting this week.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) is set to borrow P20 billion via T-bills. Broken down, it is looking to raise P5 billion each via the 91-day and 182-day papers and P10 billion from the 346-day instruments.

A trader said T-bill rates may move sideways with an upward bias from the previous auction as the market is still awash with cash, with investors waiting for more economic stimulus as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is seen keeping borrowing costs steady.

“Although the Monetary Board of the BSP is widely expected to keep rates steady for the meeting on Oct. 1, market participants will look for statements and if there’s further guidance to spur economic activity,” the trader said in an e-mail.

The Treasury last week raised P20 billion as planned via the T-bills even as rates rose across-the-board as the offer was more than thrice oversubscribed, with bids amounting to P72.899 billion.

The BTr awarded the programmed P5 billion via the 91-day papers at an average rate of 1.156%, up from 1.15% previously.

It also raised P5 billion as planned from the 182-day T-bills at an average rate of 1.615%, higher than the prior week’s 1.589%.

For the 364-day securities, the Treasury awarded the programmed P10 billion at an average rate of 1.85%, up from 1.807% in the previous auction.

At the secondary market on Friday, the three-month, six-month and one-year papers fetched rates of 1.149%, 1.513%, and 1.841%, respectively, based on the Bloomberg Valuation Service Reference Rates published on the Philippine Dealing System’s website.

Meanwhile, the BSP will likely leave benchmark interest rates untouched this Thursday as previous cuts have yet to be completely felt in the financial system, with the central bank seen leaving some room to adjust in case recovery lags.

A BusinessWorld poll held last week showed 14 out of 15 analysts expect the Monetary Board to keep interest rates steady at its meeting on Oct. 1, which is its fifth policy review for the year.

The BSP has cut rates by 175 basis points thus far this year, bringing the rates on its overnight reverse repurchase, lending, and deposit facilities to record lows of 2.25%, 2.75% and 1.75%, respectively.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno last week said that the central bank may maintain the low interest rate environment in the next two years to support the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

ING Bank N.V. Manila Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa likewise sees an uptick in T-bill rates, saying investors are looking at longer tenors for yield.

“With the copious amount of liquidity in the market signalling rates may be lower for a bit longer, the BTr may opt to be more aggressive in securing long-term funding for what will likely be a decade-long hike back to economic resilience,” Mr. Mapa said in an e-mail.

The Treasury wanted to raise P160 billion from the domestic market this month — P100 billion via weekly auctions of T-bills and P60 billion via Treasury bonds to be offered fortnightly — but has made partial awards and rejections as investors asked for higher rates. Monday’s T-bill auction is its last offering for the month.

The government is looking to borrow around P3 trillion this year from local and foreign lenders to help fund its budget deficit expected to hit 9.6% of the country’s gross domestic product. — KKTJ

Agriculture dep’t seeks to double budget for NFA’s palay purchase

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will seek to effectively double the National Food Authority’s (NFA) procurement budget for palay, or unmilled rice, to about P20 billion.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said the strategy involves accelerating the turnover of funds used to buy palay at P19 per kilo by making quick sales and rapidly returning the proceeds to the procurement budget.

“We want to intensify this scheme of rolling over NFA’s limited funds so we can achieve a ‘double-multiplier’ effect. So, from its P10-billion procurement fund this year, it could buy P20 billion worth of palay,” he added.

During a recent visit to Nueva Ecija, Mr. Dar said all of NFA’s resources will be maximized to boost procurement.

“NFA is continuing to buy palay at P19 per kilogram at 14% moisture content. It also offers to buy palay right at the barangay,” Mr. Dar said.

NFA Administrator Judy Carol L. Dansal said the agency will still buy palay even if it does not meet the 14% moisture content requirement, adding that the buying price will be adjusted using the current NFA equivalent net weight factor.

Nueva Ecija Governor Aurelio M. Umali said he has set aside P2 billion for direct purchases of palay from the province’s farmers during the harvest season.

Nueva Ecija had the top palay harvest in 2019 of 1.95 million metric tons (MT), according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The province’s palay output accounted for 10.4% of the country’s total yield of 18.81 million MT in 2019.

The PSA reported that the average farmgate price of palay fell 2.2% week on week to P17.64 per kilogram during the first week of September, below the NFA’s support price. The NFA is the buyer of last resort for farmers if they cannot obtain favorable prices from private traders, but the agency does not have enough funds or storage to buy the entire harvest. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

PT&T to test 5G services

LISTED telecommunications services provider Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (PT&T) is planning to evaluate the viability of its plan to offer 5G fixed-wireless broadband services.

PT&T said in a statement e-mailed to reporters at the weekend that it would be “testing 5G fixed-wireless broadband on a proof of concept basis soon.”

“This is in line with the company’s initiative to get into 5G broadband services in the near future,” it added.

The company noted it had 23% revenue growth year-on-year for the first six months of the year due to the 22% increase in its broadband connections.

James G. Velasquez, president and chief executive officer of PT&T, said: “We are now benefiting from having spent the past two years transforming both PT&T’s operations and product offerings to be relevant in the digital age.”

“This makes us even more resilient during these times as the requirement for high speed internet and digital services becomes a priority,” he added.

The company said it had signed a partnership deal with Go Philippines, a social enterprise, to “offer critical broadband internet solutions for the academe, improving user experience for a quality education.”

PT&T said it currently has “a network reach of 13,500 fiber kilometers in high-growth areas and covering almost 40% of the total Philippine population.”

PT&T remains keen on its plan to provide mobile services in the country since the penetration of smartphones continues to grow and the advent of 5G technology provides an ability for the company to enhance various applications.

The company has been studying the latest concepts in implementing “vizualization of network components into data centers.”

“This will expectedly reduce the numbers of network elements deployed throughout the country and will substantially reduce cost and implementation period,” PT&T said in a statement in June. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Armani takes over prime-time TV for catwalk in the time of COVID

MILAN — Forty-five years after founding his fashion group, Giorgio Armani came up with a new way of showing his latest catwalk creations on Saturday — a prime-time TV show.

The show was one of the highlights of Milan’s fashion week, which has hosted a mix of live and virtual catwalks for its first edition since coronavirus restrictions made the heady mix of glamor, celebrity and hype at such events more complicated.

The 86-year-old Armani, affectionately called “King Giorgio” in his native Italy, presented his “Timeless Thoughts” Spring/Summer 2021 show for both men and women using soft, pastel tones, floral prints and intricate embroideries.

The show, preceded by a short documentary about Mr. Armani’s career curated by the designer himself, was broadcast on Italian free-to-air La7, one of the country’s main channels, with the aim of opening up to a wider public.

While there was no traditional VIP front row to applaud the designs, Mr. Armani’s trademark clean, elegant style was on display: trouser suits, short jackets with round collars, silk and organza blouses in pale grey, beige, light blue and green, and shimmering evening wear.

“Out there hell has broken loose, I prefer to think that we can keep the hell outside,” Mr. Armani said of his sober designs as he spoke to reporters at a preview of the collection.

He said that travel restrictions made presenting men’s and women’s designs together more sensible, although it was too early to say whether he would follow that model again in the future.

“We have to anxiously wait to see what happens,” said the designer, who has already announced that he will present his next haute couture show in Milan rather than Paris.

Italy enforced one of the strictest and longest lockdowns, from early March. Now new infections are just under 2,000 a day, steadily rising again, but below levels seen in France, Spain and Britain.

Its fashion and textile industry, with a turnover of 95 billion euros ($98 billion) and 600,000 workers is the second most important nationwide, is reeling from a plunge in sales.

According to business lobby Confindustria, exports of women’s’ fashion fell by 24% in the first six months of the year.

Mr. Armani’s collection ended with a model in an evening robe sporting the face of a black cat on a sequined, silvery waistcoat, a tribute to Mr. Armani’s pet Angel, who died in July. — Reuters

PESONet may soon allow two settlements daily

THE PESONet Steering Committee is targeting to increase settlements that can be done in a day and even on holidays and weekends by next year as more Filipinos shift to online payments.

“By Q1 or Q2, we will have two settlements per day, including holidays and weekends. This means beneficiaries can receive their funds earlier within the day, and even on non-banking days,” PESONet Steering Committee Head John Cary L. Ong said in a text message.

Aside from looking into increasing allowed settlements per day, Mr. Ong said they are exploring first-level account validation for PESONet that will allow the system to reject erroneous account number formats immediately.

“This means the senders can be notified immediately and their funds returned to them much faster, and will also greatly help the receiving banks as they will have less transactions to process and return,” he said.

PESONet is the electronic fund transfer service under the National Retail Payment System of the central bank which enables batch fund transfers for bigger amounts. The service allows fund transfers to be credited to the receiver by the end of the banking date.

Its retail counterpart, InstaPay, facilitates real-time fund transfer for amounts less than 50,000.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno has said the combined transactions of PESONet and InstaPay surged by 122% in terms of volume and by 59% in value in the second quarter. This, as more people opted for online transactions amid restrictions due to the pandemic.

The central bank wants 50% of transactions done digitally by 2023.

Mr. Ong, who is also Security Bank Corp.’s Transaction Banking Group and Channel Network Group Head, said PESONet was built for large volumes of transactions, enabling it to accommodate consumers’ shift to online payments.

“The challenge was really on the receiving banks which suddenly received a deluge of transactions,” he said.

“We are working closely with the banks that receive large volumes of inward transfers, to ensure that they credit the beneficiaries and provide status feedback in a timely manner,” Mr. Ong added.

E-payments in the country comprised 10% of total transactions in 2018 from a mere 1% in 2013, according to a United Nations-based Better than Cash Alliance report.

In terms of value, digital transactions made up 20% of the total in 2018 from just 8% in 2013. — LWTN

PhilRice develops seed distribution voucher system with PayMaya

THE Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) said it co-developed with PayMaya Philippines, Inc. and other groups a digital voucher system that will simplify seed delivery and distribution to rice farmers.

In a recent online event, PhilRice, PayMaya, the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), and the Nueva Ecija Seed Growers Multipurpose Cooperative unveiled the “Binhi e-Padala” system, which will dispatch claim codes to farmers via mobile phone. It will also serve as a record of seed claims and releases.

Digital vouchers can be used to redeem certified inbred rice seed from outlets of the Nueva Ecija Seed Growers Multipurpose Cooperative.

PhilRice Deputy Executive Director Flordeliza H. Bordey said the digital vouchers can also assist in project monitoring and reporting to enable faster payment settlement with the cooperative via the DBP, the authorized depository bank for the project.

“With this innovation, we hope to promote the more efficient and timely conduct of seed distribution activities, in which farmers’ transaction time is reduced, and payment for our partner-seed growers is hastened,” Ms. Bordey said.

DBP President Emmanuel G. Herbosa said the voucher system will play a crucial role in supporting the agriculture sector during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

“It’s an initiative that is timely as we are facing a global health crisis that has affected many sectors including agriculture. The project will help our government address those challenges. Moreover, we need to ensure the nation’s food security in a post-lockdown future,” Mr. Herbosa said.

The initial implementation of the voucher system will be in October, in time for the dry season initiatives under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund — Seed Program.

The system will be pilot-tested in the Nueva Ecija towns of Aliaga, Bongabon, Cabanatuan City, Cuyapo, General Natividad, Guimba, Licab, Llanera, Lupao, Nampicuan, Quezon, Rizal, San Jose City, Science City of Muñoz, Sto. Domingo, Talavera, and Talugtug.

It will also be implemented in parts of Tarlac, including Gerona, Paniqui, Pura, Ramos, Tarlac City, and Victoria.

“Binhi e-Padala is expected to benefit around 5,000 farmers in the pilot areas,” PhilRice said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Peugeot dials ‘508’ on its 210th birthday

 

This fast number is first offering of brand’s new high-performance division

IT MAY HAVE opened shop in the Philippines much later than the other car brands, but do not let that fool you: Peugeot is one of the three oldest car brands in the world. This year, it’s celebrating its 210th anniversary!

What started as a family-owned business, an old grain mill, was one day transformed into a steel foundry. This later moved on to produce steam tricycles, then bikes, and eventually cars. The beauty of the transformations was that it showed resilience — allowing the business to adapt to the changes of each age and therefore, survive and prosper. Think about it: The lion trademark lasted through the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression of 1929, the Economic Crisis of the ’80s, and even through two World Wars!

John F. Kennedy once said, “History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future.” And that seems to be quite aligned with the French car maker’s mantra these days. The brand wishes to take us from the past and into the future. This time, it doesn’t want to simply endure; it wants to continuously reinvent itself.

Along these lines of philosophy, Peugeot last week unveiled the very first model of its new Peugeot Sport Engineered (or high-performance) division, the 508 Peugeot Sport Engineered AWD plug-in hybrid. It is the most powerful Peugeot production car ever built, wielding 360hp and 520Nm of torque (thanks to its combined internal combustion engine and two electric motors, positioned at the front and rear). The car can carry a maximum speed of 250kph, and can go from standstill to 100kph in a quick 5.2 seconds. It appears lower, wider, and flashy with its 20-inch alloy wheels fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. Seen through those wheels are 380mm brakes that encapsulate this creation’s stopping power. And impressively, the vehicle only spits out 46 grams/km worth of CO2 emissions. That makes the Peugeot Sport Engineered AWD plug-in hybrid simultaneously eco-friendly, high-performance, and truly enjoyable to experience.

Compared to the standard 508, the new 508 Peugeot Sport Engineered vehicle has a lower driving position and a wider front and rear track. It has, however, adapted the chassis of the standard 508, to deliver its performance and agility. There are three modes available for its variable shock absorption, namely: Comfort, Hybrid, and Sport.

Within the 508 Peugeot Sport Engineered’s center console are five driving modes one can select from: Electric Mode, which is zero-emission and 100% electric driving with a range of 26 miles under the WLTP protocol; Hybrid Mode, which switches between using internal combustion and electric energy, depending on the driving circumstances; Comfort Mode, which is basically Hybrid Mode but with a softer suspension; Sport Mode, which delivers its maximum power of 360hp while simultaneously adjusting the car’s steering, suspension and accelerator pedal mapping to provide the ultimate performance; and 4WD mode, which delivers maximum traction for special off-road conditions.

As for its charging convenience, the 508 Peugeot Sport Engineered can fully charge in less than seven hours using a standard household socket, and can fully charge in less than two hours using a specially installed 7kW wall box charge point.

The newly-launched Peugeot Sport Engineered division also coined a new type of performance, which it likes to call “Neo-performance,” They describe it as symphony of sportiness and technology with low CO2 emissions. Its new signature mark is the three Kryptonite claws, which you will find on the 508 Peugeot Sport Engineered’s steering wheel and other locations.

Alongside the introduction of its new Sport Engineered high-performance division, Peugeot also made a big announcement — declaring its much-awaited return to the World Endurance Championship in the Le Mans Hypercar category, beginning in 2022.

Finally, when Peugeot’s CEO, Jean-Philippe Imparato was asked how he envisions Peugeot vehicles of the farther future, he said, “They will definitely be carbon neutral. Perhaps even, carbon-neutral flying cars!?”

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