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Congressmen back revival of talks with Maoist rebels

MORE than a hundred congressmen have backed a resolution calling for the resumption of peace talks between the government and Maoist rebels.

House Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani T. Zarate said 131 lawmakers signed House Resolution 636.

“This resolution sends a strong message of support from the members of the House in pursuing the peace process as a way of ending the root causes of the more than five-decade armed rebellion,” he said.

The lawmaker also warned the government against “saboteurs” who allegedly seek to derail the peace talks.

“It is good that more and more people like our fellow solons are seeing the need for genuine peace as paramount and they are not swayed by the lies of these militarists, in and out of government,” Mr. Zarate said.

Mr. Duterte earlier said he would send an envoy to the Netherlands to talk to Communist party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison, who is in self-exile there, to revive negotiations. — Genshen L. Espedido

Senator says it’s difficult to appeal massacre case

PROSECUTORS might have a hard time appealing the dismissal of the 58th murder case against two members of a powerful clan in Maguindanao province a decade ago, a senator said on Friday.

“From a legal standpoint, it is difficult to make a case on the 58th victim, if the intention is to re-open the trial,” Senator Franklin M. Drilon Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon told reporters in a group message.

The 58th murder case involved photojournalist Reynaldo Momay, whose body was never found. His denture and jacket, however, were recovered from the crime scene.

“All those who were tried for the murder of the 58th victim were acquitted, on reasonable doubt, and to reopen the case for him will constitute double jeopardy,” said Mr. Drilon, a former Justice secretary.

A Quezon City court on Thursday convicted almost a hundred people in the massacre of more than 50 people, including 32 journalists, in what a global media watchdog has called the single deadliest attack on journalists.

Among those convicted were former Maguindanao Mayor Datu Andal “Unsay” Ampatuan, Jr. and his brother Zaldy, who is a former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, along with 26 other principal accused for 57 counts of murder.

More than a dozen more people were convicted as accessories to the crime. Their other brother, Datu Sajid Islam Ampatuan, was acquitted along with more than 50 others. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

6 shortlisted for top justice post

THE Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) has shortlisted six nominees for a vacancy in the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Diosdado M. Peralta’s promotion in October left an opening at the high court.

Of the 15 applicants, the JBC nominated Manuel M. Barrios, Samuel H. Gaerlan, Ramon R. Garcia, Jhosep Y. Lopez, Jose Midas P. Marquez and Eduardo B. Peralta, Jr., according to a copy of the JBC’s letter to President Rodrigo R. Duterte. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Suspect charged for selling fake tax cards

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed charges against a suspect who illegally sold more than 100 fake tax identification number (TIN) cards to Chinese workers.

In a statement on Friday, the bureau said the suspect had sold and delivered 126 fake TIN cards to an informant with a promise to hasten the process.

The tax agency said the TINs were invalid and were registered under a different name or company. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Consumers, businesses remain bullish this quarter

CONSUMERS remained bullish this quarter, though less so than in the July-September period, while business confidence improved, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Friday.

Consumers’ “current quarter” confidence index (CI) slipped to 1.3% from 4.6% last quarter, with the reading in the National Capital Region going down to 7.7% from 13.2% and that outside NCR similarly dropping to 0.3% from 3.2%, according to results of the fourth-quarter Consumer Expectations Survey which the BSP conducted last Oct. 1-12 among 5,421 households nationwide.

The CI is computed as the percentage of households that answered in the affirmative less the percentage of those that answered when asked on specific indicators for the overall condition of the economy, household finances and household income.

CONSUMER CONCERNS
“According to respondents, their less favorable outlook for Q4 2019 was due to… higher prices of commodities, low or no increase in salary/income, increase in household expenses, and high unemployment rate,” the BSP said in a news release summarizing survey results, citing weakened sentiment across all three main indicators and across all income groups.

Consumer expectation for the “next three months” and the “next 12 months” slipped, to 15.7% from 15.8% and to 26.4% from 29.8%, respectively.

“Similar to Q4 2019, the lower CI for Q1 2020 and the next 12 months stemmed from households’ anticipation of higher prices of commodities, no or low increase in salary/income, high unemployment rate and increase in household expenses,” the central bank noted.

“…[F]or Q1 2020, consumer sentiment across component indicators was generally steady compared to Q3 2019 survey results,” it said, adding that “[f]or the next 12 months, respondents’ outlook on economic condition of the country and family financial situation was less favorable, while family income remained broadly steady compared to Q3 2019 survey results.”

The outlook for household spending on basic goods and services steadied at 37.1% for the first three months of 2020, compared to the “next quarter” reading in the third-quarter survey. “This indicates that respondents who expect to spend more on goods and services outnumbered those who said otherwise, but the number that said so remained generally unchanged compared to Q3 2019 survey result for Q4 2019,” the BSP explained.

Households’ spending outlook was mixed across commodity groups:

• steady for food, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages and tobacco, fuel, and personal care and effects;

• while more respondents expected an acceleration of expenditures on transportation, education, recreation and culture, clothing and footwear, medical care, communication, restaurant and cafes, and house rent and furnishing;

• and fewer respondents anticipated higher spending on electricity and water.

The percentage of households that considered this quarter as a good time to buy big-ticket items declined to 27.2% from the 28.9% recorded in the third-quarter survey.

The BSP noted that a “less sanguine outlook on buying conditions was evident” for consumer durables, motor vehicles, as well as house and lot, blaming respondents’ “waning” buying intentions to greater priority on food and other basic needs from big-ticket items, high prices of big-ticket items and low or insufficient income.

The percentage of those who intend to buy big-ticket items in the next 12 months similarly decreased across the three big-ticket items.

The latest survey also showed that consumers expect inflation, interest and unemployment rates to increase and exchange rate to depreciate in the the next 12 months.

BUSINESSES MORE CONFIDENT
Business CI improved to 40.2% in the “current quarter” from 37.3% in the third-quarter survey, with the NCR reading edging up to 42.2% from 40.4% and the reading outside the capital going up to 36.8% from 31.9%, according to the fourth-quarter Business Expectations Survey which the BSP conducted last Oct. 3-Nov. 25 among 1,477 firms drawn from a combined list of the 2017 BusinessWorld Top 1000 Corporations in the Philippines and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Top 7,000 Corporations in 2010.

The central bank said survey respondents attributed improved optimism to expectation of higher consumer demand during the holiday and harvest seasons; increase in sales, orders and projects; more favorable macroeconomic conditions such as faster economic growth and lower inflation and unemployment rates; bigger government spending, mainly in infrastructure and (e) business expansion.

The BSP also noted that respondents anticipated positive impact of the country’s hosting of the Nov. 30-Dec.11 2019 Southeast Asian Games in terms of availability of more jobs and increased consumer spending.

At the same time, business confidence for the “next quarter” fell to 40.3% from 56.1%, while the reading for the “next 12 months” improved slightly to 59.6% from 58.6%.

Optimism weakened for “next quarter”, with the CI dropping to 40.3% from 56.1% in the third-quarter survey due to expectations of lower consumer demand after the holiday and harvest seasons; decline in sales and orders; stiffer competition; and other factors like rising prices, concerns about the African Swine Flu outbreak and fishing ban period.

Businesses turned more optimistic about prospects for the next 12 months due to expectations of sound macroeconomic fundamentals such as more stable economic growth and lower inflation and interest rates; increased consumer demand; bigger government spending on infrastructure; development of new product lines/models and marketing and business strategies; business expansion; as well as new projects, clients and customers.

Respondents also expected financial conditions to remain tight, even as they saw easier access to credit.

Survey results also suggested that more firms will continue to hire in the next quarter and the next 12 months, although the number of those who said so was lower than in the preceding quarter’s survey.

Moreover, the percentage of industries that plan to expand “next quarter” slipped to 29.1% from 30.4% in the past quarter’s survey, with manufacturing; electricity, gas and water; as well as agriculture fishery and forestry turning more conservative, while mining and quarrying businesses turned more optimistic.

The reading for expansion plans for the “next 12 months” improved slightly to 38.1% from 37.9% on increases for manufacturing as well as mining and quarrying, while businesses turned more conservative in the electricity, gas and water as well as agriculture, fishery and forestry sectors.

The latest survey also showed that respondents expect the peso to appreciate, interest rate to decline and inflation rate to increase for the current quarter.

While they expected the overall increase in prices of widely used goods to keep within the central bank’s 2-4% target range for 2019 and 2020 they expected inflation to average 2.9% for this quarter, three percent for 2020’s first three months and 3.2 percent for the next 12 months.

They also expect the peso to average P51.5 to the greenback this quarter, P51.7 per dollar in 2020’s first three months and P51.8 to the dollar for the next 12 months.

Regulator to renegotiate Metro Manila water deals

THE ADMINISTRATOR of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) said on Friday that it had given the country’s two largest water concessionaires a chance to renegotiate new terms of their contract with the government, ending speculation on their fate while clarifying issues that have arisen since Dec. 3.

In a statement, MWSS Administrator Emmanuel B. Salamat said his office had been directed to discuss with Manila Water Company, Inc. and Maynilad Water Services, Inc. to remove the supposed “illegal and onerous provisions” of their contract.

“MWSS has been expressly directed to renegotiate the Concession Agreements with Manila Water and Maynilad in order to remove the illegal and onerous provisions of the same as determined by the Department of Justice, as well as to include such other provisions that are beneficial to the consumers and the entire nation,” he said.

Mr. Salamat said events and developments in recent weeks on the actions of MWSS through its board of trustees, and the pronouncements made by President Rodrigo R. Duterte and other government agencies and officials “have resulted in numerous, and at times, inaccurate speculations.”

He said the 25-year concession agreements spanning 1997-2022 with Maynilad and Manila Water “are still valid and subsisting contracts.”

He said the MWSS board resolution dated Dec. 9, 2019 only revoked the previous resolution dated April 16, 2009 involving the extension period from 2022 to 2037 of Manila Water’s concession.

The Dec. 9 resolution also revoked another board resolution dated Sept. 10, 2009 on the extension of Maynilad’s concession for the same period.

“This action of the Board did not result in the rescission or outright cancellation of the said contracts, which requires a separate and distinct act to be legally effective. As such, the government through the MWSS is giving the two Concessionaires the opportunity to renegotiate and agree on the new terms of the Concession Agreement,” he said.

He said MWSS “acknowledges the cooperation showed by both concessionaires not only in expressly declaring that they would no longer collect or enforce the recent arbitral awards but also in their expressed willingness to renegotiate the inequitable provisions of the Concession Agreement.”

“In view thereof, MWSS and the Concessionaires will exert all necessary efforts to comply with the directive of the President to execute a new water concession agreement after 2022 which is currently being drafted by the Department of Justice.

He said MWSS is “fully engaged” in ensuring the performance of its mandates under Republic Act No. 6234, as well as “to achieve the purpose for, and the intention behind, the directives of the President.”

“It is committed to materially contribute to the satisfactory resolution of the various issues for all the stakeholders,” he said.

He said the continuity of the water sector public-private partnership “depends on strong communication channels and handholding engagement so that the basic access to water and wastewater services will not be jeopardized, which includes fully addressing and accomplishing the urgent call for new water and sewerage infrastructure projects.”

Despite the clarification, share prices of listed companies concerned continued to weaken: Manila Water by four percent to P7.44 apiece (60.4% down from P18.80 last Dec. 3); Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (which owns more than half of Maynilad) by 4.12% to P3.26% (25.7% down from P4.39 last Dec. 3); and DMCI Holdings, Inc. (which owns a fourth of Maynilad) by 1.39% to P6.38 each (1.8% down from P6.50 last Dec. 3).

Metro Pacific is one of three Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group. — Victor V. Saulon

More major infrastructure projects near final approval

THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (NEDA) Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC-CabCom) approved projects on Friday with a total cost of P626.11 billion, officials announced in a press conference after the meeting.

In a statement yesterday, the Department of Finance (DoF) said the projects approved during the meeting were the:

• unsolicited operate-add-transfer (OAT) proposal for the Davao International Airport;

• unsolicited OAT proposal for Laguindingan Airport;

• Bataan-Cavite interlink bridge;

• Metro Rail Transit Line 4 project (MRT 4);

• EDSA Greenways project;

• Maritime Safety Enhancement program;

• Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge (BCIB) project

• fourth bridge of the Cebu-Mactan Bridge and Coastal Road Construction project;

• Davao City Coastal Bypass Road, including the Bucana Bridge project;

• Capas-Botolan Road Project;

• Panay-Guimaras-Negros Island Bridges project;

• change in scope, cost and supplemental loan of the the Davao City Bypass Construction Project;

• as well as implementation extension and increase in cost of the Samar-Pacific Coastal Road Project-Loan Validity.

With this development, these projects are a step away from final approval by the NEDA Board, which is chaired by President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

In a press conference following the NEDA ICC-CabCom meeting, Bases and Conversion Development Authority President and Chief Executive Officer Vivencio B. Dizon said the MRT 4 project and the proposed EDSA greenways will be financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Mr. Dizon said the Bucana bridge project will be “another huge and iconic bridge” and will be funded through a grant from China. “In fact, when this is done, this will be the longest bridge in the country by far,” he said.

A project that will be financed by China through official development assistance is the Panay-Guimaras Negros island bridge.

Meanwhile, Mr. Dizon said the approved Capas-Botolan Road project is not part of the infrastructure flagship list but is still considered a major project.

“Since the NEDA approved the new list, we’ve already approved a total of 14 projects, including those that were approved today, so you can see that we’re really accelerating the approvals in order for the implementing agencies to already begin within 6-8 months projects on the ground, and we say begin, heavy equipment on the ground. That’s the goal. We’re happy with the progress but we want to accelerate it further.” he said.

Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark A. Villar said: “We fast-track all these projects before the end of the year so that next year, we can focus purely on the detail engineering and procurement of these big-ticket project.”

“So with all of these projects, they are good to go and we can expect implementation will start sooner than later,” Mr. Villar said.

The government has overhauled its flagship project list, increasing the number to 100 projects from 75 originally. Projects deemed not feasible were dropped while those that are deemed more feasible and have higher impact on people’s quality of life were kept. The new list also includes more projects funded through public-private partnership. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Overall export growth picks up

BW FILE PHOTO

TOTAL EXPORT GROWTH accelerated to 5.1% in the third quarter from the preceding three months’ 4.3%, boosted especially by continued strong service export growth, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said in a statement on Friday.

Overseas service sales alone increased 8.6% year-on-year to $11.1 billion, while goods exports rose by 2.4% to $13.9 billion. Driving service exports in the third quarter were a double-digit increase in travel service exports due to more international tourist arrivals and a “good showing” by information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) services, the DTI said.

The nine months to Septembers saw goods and service exports growing 3.7% year-on-year to $70.4 billion. Service exports rose 7.7% to $ 30.6 billion, driven by travel services as well as technical, trade-related, and other business services, while goods exports edged up 0.7% to $ 39.8 billion primarily because of fruits and vegetables.

The Tourism department in November said foreign tourist arrivals increased by 14.4% to 6.16 million in the nine months to September from 5.39 million visitors in the same period in 2018.

The IT-BPM industry, however, tempered its revenue targets towards 2022 due to geopolitical and regulatory changes, protectionist policies, and automation. The outsourcing industry expects a 3.5-7.5% revenue compound annual growth rate from 2020 to 2022, compared to the nine percent goal set in 2016.

Service exports’ growth was expected as a consistent performer in the Philippine economy, UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. chief economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said in an e-mail. “It has been a major driver of export performance in the economy for quite some time now,” he said.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. economist Michael L. Ricafort noted in an e-mail that “services exports continued to be resilient in view of the availability of higher skilled workforce in the country at relatively lower cost compared to developed countries.”

“[The workforce is] a source of competitive advantage with other countries by finding market niches in the upper part of the value chain/supply chain, such as in BPOs, where the Philippines ranks second biggest in the world (after India) and the country is the world’s biggest destination of call/contact center operations.”

In terms of goods exports, DTI said that electronics products, bananas, forestry and mineral products accounted for the modest growth.

“This year’s growth recovery is a welcome development despite the major challenges brought by the US-China trade tussle,” Mr. Asuncion said.

Mr. Ricafort said that export growth continues because of improved diplomatic relations with major trading partners.

“The resilience in the country’s exports growth may have reflected the diversification of the country’s exports to new/fast-growing/fast-developoing countries in Asia, Europe, Americas, Africa and other countries worldwide that are outside the country’s traditional export markets.”

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in the Friday statement that the Philippines is looking to expand its free trade agreements in the coming year, as the country pushes for the conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the Philippine-Korea Free Trade Agreement.

DTI is also working on a possible free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates and exploring export markets in Africa.

“President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive of being a friend to all nations allowed the Philippines to grow our exports despite the ongoing US-China trade war, which may have caused the decline in exports of other countries,” Mr. Lopez said.

Mr. Asuncion expects further growth going into 2020.

“As market uncertainties begin to dissipate with the partial resolution of the US-China trade war, it is anticipated that services export will continue to excel while goods export will more likely further its growth recovery.” — Jenina P. Ibañez

Panel admits two more firms for extended motorcycle taxi trials

AN inter-agency technical working group (TWG) on Friday decided to extend the pilot program for motorcycle taxis to March, and took in two more industry entrants.

In a statement, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said the TWG on motorcycle taxis met with short-listed companies on Friday for the extension of the pilot program, which will end on Dec. 26.

“Pursuant to the mandate of the TWG, after careful evaluation, inspection, and validation of the overall operational readiness of the applicants, an additional (2) providers — JoyRide and Move It, were chosen to (participate) in the extension of the MC (Motorcycle) Taxi Pilot Implementation,” it said.

The two companies will join Angkas (DBDOYC, Inc.) in the extended pilot program “starting 23 December 2019 up to 23 March 2020 with an overall allotted cap of thirty-nine thousand (39,000) registered bikers — ten thousand (10,000) bikers per Transport Network Company (TNC) for Metro Manila and three thousand (3,000) bikers per TNC for Metro Cebu operations,” the LTFRB said.

The regulator said that six motorcycle taxi firms had submitted their proposals to the TWG to be included in the pilot program.

“Upon initial qualification, four (4) companies were considered, evaluated, and inspected in terms of company profile, operational plans, facilities and equipment as basis of their compliance,” it said.

The transportation department earlier said that it heard proposals on Nov. 20 from six new motorcycle taxi companies: Citimuber, JoyRide, MoveIt, EsetGo, Sakay, and VroomGo.

Commuter rights associations called last week for a Congressional hearing into the decisions made behind the scenes by government agencies regarding the extension of the pilot program for motorcycle taxi services, claiming they were not consulted on the matter.

A group has also asked a Quezon City court to stop We Move Things Philippines, Inc. (Joyride), Habal Rides Corp., I-Sabay, Sampa-Dala Corp. and Trans-Serve Corp. from operating, claiming such companies are inadequately organized and expose their customers to undue risk. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Domestic trade rises over 20% by value in third quarter

DOMESTIC TRADE rose 20.1% year-on-year by value in the third quarter led by machinery and transport equipment, despite nearly flat volumes overall, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

According to preliminary data, the total value of domestic trade rose to P204.53 billion in the three months to September from P170.33 billion a year earlier.

By volume, domestic trade grew 0.8% to 5.09 million tons.

In the three months to September, machinery and transport equipment accounted for 30.4% of total value, up 13% year-on-year at P62.15 billion.

Food and live animals accounted for 23.42% of domestic volume, and increased 20.7% during the quarter to 1.19 million tons. In terms of value, the category grew 20.9% to P51.58 billion.

The biggest volume gains were posted by the “other” category, covering traded goods not otherwise classified in the Philippine Standard Commodity Classification (335.4%); animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes (118.4%); miscellaneous manufactured articles (38.9%); manufactured goods classified chiefly by material (24.7%); machinery and transport equipment (12.1%); and beverages and tobacco (7.1%).

Double-digit declines in volume were posted by crude materials, inedible, except fuels (minus 57.3%); chemical and related products (minus 52.9%); and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (minus 27.1%).

The National Capital Region remained the top source of commodities with outflows amounting to P77.48 billion. It recorded a domestic trade surplus of P61.37 billion during the quarter.

Central Visayas, meanwhile, was the top destination of commodities with total inflows amounting P51.02 billion, bringing the region’s domestic trade deficit to P42.02 billion in the three months to September.

Asked to comment, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said: “The resilience of the domestic trade growth may reflect increased economic activity and faster economic growth in various regions [across] the country…”

He noted that the movement of goods, services, and people in “fast-developing and high-growth” regions have increased, as “big retailers, property companies, and other business chains have been aggressively expanding in key regions.”

“New or additional sources of revenue, including the creation of township projects, BPO office spaces, POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators) spaces (have increased) since the costs of doing business such as rentals or leases and labor are much lower compared to those in Metro Manila,” he said in an e-mail.

Mr. Ricafort added that the government’s increased spending, especially on infrastructure as well as the creation of more tourist destinations apart from “traditional” areas, has created “more opportunities for trade, investments, employment, and other business opportunities.

Economic growth was 6.2% in the third quarter, the highest so far this year In the earlier part of the year, government spending was hampered by the four-month delay in the passage of the 2019 budget.

Government spending growth picked up in the third quarter at 9.6%, higher than the 7.3% in the second quarter, but lower than the year-earlier 14.3%.

Going forward, Mr. Ricafort said: “(T)he relatively faster growth in domestic trade could still be sustained for the rest of the year, reflecting the resilience of the growth in consumer spending… (and) the catch-up spending by the government, especially on infrastructure.”

He also noted the “sharp decline” in headline inflation and benchmark interest rates will make “financing costs cheaper and encourage more business/economic activities and faster economic/GDP growth.”

Third-quarter headline inflation was 1.7% in the third quarter, down from 3% in the second quarter. In the year to date, inflation averaged 2.8%. The relatively low inflation environment follows successive 175-basis point (bp) rate hikes by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in 2018 to rein in inflation within the government’s 2-4% target range. — Jobo E. Hernandez

SRA announces start of applications to fill US export quota

THE Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said it is taking applications to fill the US export quota of 142,160 metric tons in raw value or 136,201 metric tons in commercial weight for 2019-2020.

SRA in an order dated Dec. 10 urged producers to fill the full quota in the “national interest.”

“Sugar traders and/or exporters are hereby advised to apply with SRA for export allocations… in order to fill up the allocations of the US Sugar Quota for Fiscal Year 2019-2020,” according to the order.

All sugar shipments to the US, it said, will be made on a “first-in, first-out” basis.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri in September said more sugar should be allocated to the domestic market rather than exported.

SRA reported that sugar production in the third week of November fell 29.05% year-on-year.

Fitch Solutions in a report tempered its Philippine sugar production projection for crop year 2019/2020 by 4%, and projected an output of 2.1 million tons. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Phinma education unit takes over Republican College

PHINMA Corp. said Friday that its education subsidiary acquired a controlling stake in The Republican College, Inc. and made new investments in the acquisition to buy “essential” properties.

“The transaction involves the acquisition of shares from existing shareholders of The Republican College, Inc. as well as investment in new shares of stock of The Republican College, Inc.,” it told the stock exchange.

The holding firm said the move would strengthen the position of its unit Phinma Education Holdings, Inc. in its industry. It estimated the investment at P247 million.

Phinma Corp., which also operates in the steel, housing, and business process outsourcing sectors, said the transaction closed on Dec. 19. The acquired 24,114 shares represent 94.5% ownership.

The deal is subject to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of the increase in capital stock.

The listed firm described The Republican College, based in Cubao, Quezon City, as offering the accountancy and business management strands and the general academic strand with specialization in criminology for senior high school.

The college also offers undergraduate courses in political science, education, business administration, and criminology, along with graduate degrees in business administration, education, and criminology.

In particular, the number of shares to be acquired when the deal is completed amounts to 25,250 shares or 100% of the college’s outstanding shares at P673 each.

“The purchase price takes into account various factors such as the number of enrollees and the appraised value of properties registered under the name of the school and its owners,” Phinma Corp. said.

It said Phinma Education made a P10 million down payment on Nov. 11. The remainder of the purchase price was due to be delivered by the unit upon close of the transaction on Dec. 19.

The investment in The Republican College will add to the subsidiary’s network of colleges and universities. The college is its seventh school in the Philippines.

Phinma Education also owns Phinma-Araullo University, Phinma-Cagayan de Oro College, Phinma-University of Iloilo, Phinma-University of Pangasinan, Phinma-Saint Jude College, and Southwestern University.

On Friday, Phinma Corp. rose 2.78% to P9.97. — Victor V. Saulon

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