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Global Ferronickel buys 40% of Mariveles port operator

GLOBAL Ferronickel Holdings, Inc. (GFNI) said it acquired a 40% stake in Seasia Nectar Port Services, Inc. (SNPSI) in order to improve the miner’s port access, particularly for its new steel plant.

The 1.67 million shares in SNPSI are valued at P450 million, GNFI said in a statement on Friday.

SNPSI operates a dry bulk terminal handling coal, clinker, silica sand, cement raw materials, steel, fertilizer, and other dry bulk cargoes at the freeport area of Bataan in Mariveles.

“Our investment in SNPSI paves the way for the successful operations of our steel processing plant located in proximity to the terminal,” GFNI president Dante R. Bravo said.

“It helps ensure we have easy and steady access to port services given that FNI Steel relies heavily on the importation of raw materials especially during this period of construction.”

SNPSI is a joint venture company of Seasia Logistics Philippines, Inc., Nectar Group Ltd., and Web Technologies Inc.

GFNI, the country’s second-largest nickel ore producer, is building a $50 million rebar steel rolling plant, which is expected to be operational by 2021.

The plant is a joint venture project with Hong Kong-based Huarong Asia Ltd.

GFNI closed at P1.70 Friday, up 9 centavos or 5.6%. — Jenina P. Ibañez

PSEi recovers, but still down for the week

LOCAL SHARES managed to recover towards the end of the trading day after falling early on Friday, giving investors some respite from a week that has seen some stocks stumbling on negative sentiments on those in the water business.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed 1.55% higher to end the week at 7,773.12, while the all shares index rose by 0.87% to 4,598.83. Most sectoral indices finished on a positive note.

Piper Chaucer E. Tan, client engagement officer and research associate at Philstocks Financial, Inc., said the market during the first half of the trading session plunged by almost 1.5%.

“Then the market recovered in the afternoon session of the trading day, respecting the 7,700 support line as investors hunt for bargain stocks and take position since the market has been battered by the sentiments coming from the water woes,” he said.

Mr. Tan said US markets’ good performance because of economic data and its shrugging off the impeachment case against US President Donald Trust contributed to the recovery of local shares.

“The market also was fueled by the locals since net foreign selling registered at P1.2[71] billion” compared to Thursday’s bigger P2.048 billion, he said.

Foreign buying on Friday was at P9.18 billion, compared to P10.45 billion in foreign selling.

Japhet Louis O. Tantiango, research associate at Philstocks Financial Inc., said aside from last-minute bargain hunting, the day’s trading was also active with value turnover reaching P13.153 billion, compared to Thursday’s P12.599 billion.

Week-on-week, however, PSEi was still down 1.33% from 7,877.63 last Dec. 13.

“… [W]e can attribute this first to the utility contagion which started with the water firms. At the same time, for this week, our market experienced huge foreign fund outflows,” Mr. Tantiango said.

He said the local market had been posting net foreign outflows for all five trading days of the week amounting to P5.9 billion.

He added that trading “had conviction” this week with value turnover averaging P10 billion, or above the P7.3 billion year-to-date average.

Only one of the six sectoral indices lost on Friday: industrials, by 130.73 points or 1.37% to end 9,367.59.

The rest gained: holding firms by 190.06 points or 2.56% to 7,599.65, financials by 31.2 points or 1.72% to 1,843.16, mining & oil by 101.65 points or 1.35% to 7,586.74 and property by 51.74 points or 1.26% 4,139.54, while services was flat as it edged up just 0.4 points or 0.02% to finish at 1,533.34.

Still, stocks that declined edged out those that advanced 92 to 78, while 55 others ended flat. — Victor V. Saulon

DTI renews partnership deal with microlender CARD

THE Center for Agriculture and Rural Development Inc. (CARD) is committing an additional P100 million pesos to its micro-financing partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

In a statement, DTI said that it signed a memorandum of understanding on Dec. 16 to renew the partnership with the micro-financing non-government organization.

The renewal involves increasing CARD’s Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) program revolving fund to P300 million since their partnership began in 2017.

The P3 program was created to provide alternatives to predatory “5-6” loans by providing low-interest, no collateral loans for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Managed by the Small Business Corp. (SB Corp.), P3 lends entrepreneurs P5,000 to P200,000 through CARD and other credit delivery partners.

CARD founder and chairman emeritus Dr. Jaime Aristotle Alip reported that CARD has disbursed P600 million in P3 loans to around 56,000 borrowers since 2017. CARD targets a P100 million yearly increase in its P3 allocations, funding about 100,000 entrepreneurs.

“DTI benefits from the partnership since CARD supplements the P3.5 billion P3 allocation from the government with their own funds,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez was quoted as saying.

CARD is one of the country’s largest micro-financing institutions, serving seven million borrowers nationwide. — Jenina P. Ibañez

2 cops dismissed daily for corruption

TWO policemen are dismissed daily on the average for corruption and other illegal activities, Philippine National Police (PNP) officer-in-charge Lieutenant General Archie Francisco Gamboa said on Thursday.

A total of 87 police officers accused of various grave offenses such as involvement in the illegal drug trade have been fire since he assumed office two months ago, Mr. Gamboa told GMA News.

Almost a thousand lawmen were dismissed from January to November this year.

Mr. Gamboa has intensified their internal cleansing program after controversies that hounded his predecessor Oscar Albayalde.

Mr. Albayalde resigned in October, almost a month before his mandatory retirement, due to allegations that he protected rogue cops involved in the recycling of illegal drugs seized from operations.

Mr. Gamboa, who is also a lawyer, cited the need to improve the image of the police force.

Mr. Gamboa declined to comment when asked if he thinks President Rodrigo R. Duterte will name him as the next police chief.

The other candidates for the top post are police deputy chief for operations Lieutenant General Camilo Pancratius Cascolan and Lieutenant General Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, the chief of directorial staff of the PNP. — Emmanuel Tupas, Philippine Star

More dollars flow in for 5th month

THE PHILIPPINES continued to get more dollars in November, driving a balance of payments (BoP) surplus that was the biggest in six months but still smaller than a year ago, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a press release on Thursday.

Central bank data showed the BoP — a summary of the country’s economic transactions with the rest of the world within a given period — in surplus for the fifth straight month at $541 million in November, the biggest surfeit since May’s $928 million though 36% smaller than the $847 million recorded in November 2018.

The central bank said that November dollar inflows reflected the “BSP’s foreign exchange operations, increase in the national government’s (NG) net foreign currency deposits and BSP’s income from its investments abroad.”

“These inflows were offset, however, by outflows representing payments made by the [national government] on its foreign exchange obligations during the month in review.”

UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said uncertainties from lingering global tensions capped inflows.

“Uncertainties brought by the US-China trade tussle have consistently and partly affected Philippine balance of payments,” Mr. Asuncion said in an e-mail when sought for comment.

“In addition, the lower-than-expected trade balance deficit has shown the challenge of institutional execution, as seen from the delay in the passage of the 2019 national budget, hindering the growth of imports and, consequently, capital accumulation.”

This year has seen the BoP for most part turn around from successive deficits in 2018’s first 10 months, with a $6.271-billion surplus as of November compared to the $4.747-billion deficit in last year’s comparative 11 months. “The surplus may be attributed partly to lower trade-in-goods account deficit, higher net receipts in the trade-in-services account and personal remittance inflows from overseas Filipinos, and net inflows of foreign direct investments and foreign portfolio investments,” the BSP said in its statement.

The BSP has updated its 2019 BoP surplus projection to $4.8 billion from the $3.7 billion it penciled in May.

Sought separately for comment, ING Bank-NV Manila Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said “…likely the most telling reason for the absolute turnaround in BoP has been the positive financial account with financial sector confidence at a high, in stark contrast to the 2018 episode which saw bout after bout of net foreign selling, with the US Fed(eral) Reserve hiking (interest rates) aggressively.”

Also noting this year’s successive surpluses, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in an e-mail that “on a year-to-date basis, overseas borrowings by both the government and the country’s biggest private firms increased amid near-record-low interest rates that made long-term borrowings more compelling.”

But a surplus is not always a “welcome” development, UnionBank’s Mr. Asuncion said.

“At a time when the economy is focusing on infrastructure development spurred by government spending, a trade balance surplus is the least expected result. Thus, this may imply an economy not working its full potential,” he explained.

Security Bank Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces cited a higher GIR that “pushed the BoP surplus higher.”

Gross international reserves (GIR)stood at $86.23 billion as of end-November, which the BSP described as “a more-than-ample liquidity buffer equivalent to 7.5 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income” and equivalent to 5.4 times the country’s external debt falling due within 12 months and 4.2 times such foreign liability plus principal payments on medium- and long-term loans of the public and private sectors falling due within a year.

RCBC’s Mr. Ricafort said both BoP and GIR data lend strength to the peso, which ended Thursday at P50.635 to the greenback, 3.7% stronger than its P52.58-per-dollar finish last year. “Relatively strong BoP data and record-high GIR data would provide greater buffer on the peso exchange rate and further bolster the strength of the country’s overall external position, which has partly supported upgrades on the country’s credit ratings in recent years,” he said.

Mr. Roces sees “higher net receipts due to increased remittances during the rest of the holiday season.”

“Downside risks, however, remain from lower FDI (foreign direct investments) due to a global slowdown,” he added, referring to FDI net inflows’ 36.9% drop to $5.118 billion in the nine months to September. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

Bourse readies new products for next year

THE PHILIPPINE STOCK EXCHANGE, Inc. (PSE) plans to introduce new products next year as well as new indices as part efforts to further increase investment options.

In a media gathering Wednesday night, PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Monzon said he is optimistic about the year ahead as the exchange has “at least two new products for next year, which is the REITs (real estate investment trusts) and short-selling (guidelines).”

“We have two or three more additional new products we want to launch… So we’re very excited.”

Also in the 2020 pipeline, Mr. Monzon said, are new market data products and new indices, particularly a “consumer index and all-return index” designed to provide a more accurate measure of index performance.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) targets to finalize revised rules on REITs, which will allow the public to invest in specific property projects, some time next year. The SEC said early this month it has been working with the Finance department on the revised rules which considered comments collected from stakeholders last month.

Also to be released next year are rules for short-selling, whereby an investor borrows a stock — betting its price will drop at some time — sells the stock in the open market and then buys the stock back at the lower price to return it to the lender.

“What’s our outlook for next year? Never mind the 9,000-9,200 (main index forecasts). But for the exchange, I think management is very bullish,” Mr. Monzon added, referring to outlooks of brokerages on the market’s performance next year.

BPI Securities Corp. previously said it is expecting the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSEi) to hit 9,000 next year, backed by the faster growth of the economy, especially the banking, property and consumer sectors. A report by Bloomberg also showed HSBC is projecting the PSEi to land 9,290 by end-2020.

“I think it was (HSBC) that forecasted 9,000-9,200… That’s how bullish we are for 2020,” PSE Chairman Jose T. Pardo told reporters in the same event, saying the exchange remains optimistic despite living in “the age of uncertainty with volatility as the only thing constant.”

The PSEi ended at 7,653.94 on Thursday, shedding 1.03% from Wednesday though still 2.78% stronger than its 7,466.02 end-2018 finish. — Denise A. Valdez

Economic managers slash budget gap ceiling

ECONOMIC MANAGERS have set lower fiscal deficit ceiling this year, slashing it to P610 billion from P624.37 billion previously.

Despite the revised figure, they kept the programmed budget deficit to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio at 3.2% this year until 2022, according to the updated medium-term fiscal program for fiscal year 2019-2022 as of Dec. 11.

In a mobile phone message, Budget Undersecretary Laura B. Pascua said the narrower budget gap assumption is due to lower projected nominal GDP of P18.779 trillion against the P19.219 trillion set in the July 18 meeting of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC). “The DBCC took note of developments for the year and lower inflation but still believes a six percent growth is possible for the year,” Ms. Pascua explained.

The updated fiscal program was set during the DBCC’s 177th meeting earlier this month.

In that meeting, the DBCC set a narrower growth forecast range this year at 6-6.5% from 6-7% previously, while slashing the GDP growth projections for 2021 and 2022 to 6.5-7.5% from 7-8% originally.

At the same time, economic managers maintained a 6.5-7.5% target for 2020.

This year, revenues are expected to reach P3.147 trillion and disbursements at P3.757 trillion.

Despite the scaled-down projection for this year, latest data showed the budget deficit in 10 months to October at just P348.3 billion amid lower-than-programmed state spending in the wake of a delayed enactment of this year’s national budget.

For next year, the fiscal deficit projection was also reduced to P671.2 billion from P677.56 billion previously.

In the medium term, the budget gap for 2021 and 2022 are projected at P737 billion and P811.2 billion, respectively.

These are both lower than the P747.65 billion projected for 2021 and P823.49 billion for 2022 that were set during the July 18 meeting.

Revenues are expected to total some P3.49 trillion next year, P3.84 trillion in 2021 and P4.313 trillion in 2022.

Meanwhile, state disbursement were programmed at P4.16 trillion next year, P4.586 trillion the following year and P5.124 trillion in 2022. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Programmed WB annual lending up threefold

THE WORLD BANK Group is increasing its financing support for the Philippines by up to threefold starting next year.

In an event on Thursday, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the country’s annual credit from the bank could average $1.5-2 billion starting next year, three times more than the $600-million annual average lending programmed in the last 10 years. “This will allow us to maximize the bank’s financing support as a donor institution, and its expertise and experience as a knowledge bank in various areas including strengthening governance, human capital development, disaster preparedness, and addressing fragility and conflict, among others. This financing support very clearly helps drive our general effort to build a resilient, and competitive society over the medium term,” Mr. Dominguez said in his speech.

The global lender’s new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for the Philippines for 2019-2023 has an average lending program of $1.5 billion annually.

Also on Thursday, the Department of Finance (DoF) and the World Bank signed the $400-million loan pact for implementing the Promoting Competitiveness and Enhancing Resilience to Natural Disasters Sub-Program 1. The facility is the first of the three tranches of the three-year loan program worth $1.2 billion that the bank committed to support, called the Promoting Competitiveness and Enhancing Resilience to Natural Disasters Programmatic Development Policy Loan Series.

The bank approved the $400-million loan earlier this week. Mr. Dominguez said the new loan will improve the country’s financial readiness for disaster response, help in formulation of public asset management policies and help insurers deal better with calamities.

He said it will also aid the government in ensuring food security, streamlining government and expanding economic inclusion.

World Bank acting Country Director Achim Fock said the second tranche of the loan program can be expected by the end of next year while the third part is targeted for signing in 2021.

“The World Bank has been working on disaster risk management and disaster risk financing for a long time,” Mr. Fock said during the press conference of the same event.

“Actually, we have a significant and long history of working with the Philippines in these areas and we have a larger program with the government on responding to and enhancing resilience to disasters… It works on asset management, it works on the private sector [and] the insurance market.” — B. M. Laforga

D.M. Wenceslao proposes new reclamation projects

D.M. Wenceslao and Associates, Inc. (DMW) is eyeing new reclamation projects in Parañaque City and Cavite.

The listed property and construction company said in a statement Thursday it has submitted two proposals to the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) for the reclamation projects.

In Parañaque City, DMW plans to reclaim a 400-hectare land in front of its flagship project Aseana City and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.’s (PAGCOR) Entertainment City to expand its previous agreements with the government. The new proposal involves giving the government a total of 200 hectares in the reclamation sites for free.

In the Cavite proposal, DMW is seeking to reclaim 335 hectares of offshore island at the old US naval facility in Sangley. It said this plan is in anticipation of the international airport eyed by the local government to be built there. It noted this is also being reviewed by the Office of the President, Department of Transportation and Department of Finance.

“We look forward to continuing our work with the government to strengthen the country’s development activities,” DMW Chairman Delfin J. Wenceslao, Jr. said in the statement.

Specific to the Parañaque City proposal, Mr. Wenceslao said the reclamation project is “in line with (the company’s) thrust to contribute to nation-building,” referring to the developments that currently stand on DMW’s reclamation projects in the city.

DMW has so far reclaimed more than 2.4 million square meters of land since 1965. It is the master developer and primary owner of the 107.5-hectare Aseana City located along Manila Bay’s coastal waters.

“We look forward to demonstrate once again our expertise in land reclamation. Over the last 50 years, we have reclaimed more than 2,400,000 square meters of land across the Philippines. We are pleased to draw on that experience to successfully deliver and safely execute these projects,” he added.

DMW, which raised P8.15 billion when it went public last year, said the two new reclamation proposals will not tap proceeds from its initial public offering.

Shares in DMW dipped 10 centavos or by 1.01% to P9.80 each on Thursday. — Denise A. Valdez

Filinvest-Mitsubishi JV gets PCC go signal

THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) green-lit a joint venture (JV) between Mitsubishi Corporation and Filinvest Alabang, Inc. (FAI) to develop upscale mixed-used projects in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

The competition watchdog in a decision issued on Dec. 10 said that the joint venture, which will be incorporated under the name Spectrum Alabang Properties, Inc., is not likely to result in substantial lessening of competition in the Grade-A office space and retail markets in the area.

The PCC determined that there is a sufficient number of market players in and outside the Alabang area to compete with Spectrum. It noted that the joint venture will not decrease market competition for the creation and development, as well as the management of commercial real estate development projects.

Mitsubishi will be acquiring 40% of the issued and outstanding shares of stock in Filinvest Alabang to develop and manage 16,928 square meters of land in the 244-hectare mixed-use estate Filinvest City.

A subsidiary of conglomerate Filinvest Development Corporation (FDC), FAI was incorporated to develop Filinvest City, a joint venture project with the Philippine government. FDC owns 80% of the Alabang-based subsidiary, with 20% ownership going to Filinvest Land, Inc.

The Mitsubishi Corporation Group has interests in automotive and mobility, natural gas, industrial materials, petroleum and chemicals, mineral resources, industrial infrastructure, food industry, consumer industry, power solution, manufacturing, and urban development.

PCC, the country’s anti-trust body, reviews mergers and acquisitions under the Philippine Competition Act of 2015.

The commission has approved 188 of 201 transactions for review, and blocked one merger. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Sindak 1941 wins big at 2019 ALIW Awards

PHILIPPINE Stagers Foundation’s musical Sindak 1941 bagged five awards at the 32nd ALIW Awards held on Dec. 17 at the Manila Hotel.

Written and directed by lawyer Vince Tañada with music by Pipo Cifra, Sindak 1941 tells the story of Filipinos living under the Japanese regime during the Second World War.

The musical won Best Original Musical Production, Best Ensemble Performance, Best Musical Director for Pipo Cifra, Best Child Actor for Dean Rafols, and Best Actor in a Musical for Vince Tañada.

The ALIW Awards Foundation, Inc. was founded by Alice H. Reyes in 1976 with the aim of developing Philippine live entertainment through a system of awards.

The OPM music festival Playlist Playlist 2019, which was put together by National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab, Moy Ortiz, and Noel Ferrer, bagged three awards: Best Special Events, Best Performance in a Convert (Male) for Gian Magdangal, and Best Performance in a Concert (Female) for Gerphil Flores.

Meanwhile, theater actress and singer Lea Salonga was honored as a Hall Of Fame award for Entertainer of the Year and bagged Best Actress in a Musical for her work in Sweeney Todd.

Ms. Salonga was also the People’s Choice Award winner.

“I just want to thank all the fans that voted for this. To all of the fans that voted and kept on voting, this one (the award) truly belongs to you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Ms. Salonga said in her acceptance speech.

The ALIW Awards decided to give the public a chance to vote this year for the People’s Choice Awardee. The voting was facilitated by mobile monetization company Zed Philippines Inc. through text votes submitted between Nov. 20 and Dec. 15.

The ceremony concluded with singer Regine Velasquez-Alcasid receiving the award as the 2019 Entertainer of the Year.

“Buti nalang umupo ako doon sa table nina Lea [Salonga]. Nanalo tuloy ako (It’s a good thing I sat at Lea Salonga’s table. I actually won),” Ms. Velasquez-Alcasid joked upon approaching the stage.

“Gusto ko lang sabihin na sa lahat ng mga nagbibigay ng parangal, katangi-tangi ang ALIW Awards dahil sila lamang ang nagbibigay ng awards sa lahat ng klase ng performers (I would just like to say that from all those that give recognition, ALIW Awards is distinct since they are the ones that give awards to all kinds of performers). I would like to honor you guys for always recognizing our talent,” she added.

Previous winners of the Entertainer of the Year Award include singers Pilita Corales, Martin Nievera, and Celeste Legaspi.

The list of winners follows:

• Entertainer of the Year — Regine Velasquez-Alcasid

• People’s Choice Award — Lea Salonga

• Special Award — Greenfield Development Corp. President and Chairman Jeffrey Campos; NutraVitals International Corp. President and CEO Danilo Bendong; Frontrow All In; Music Museum President Precy Florentino; Quezon City Councilor Patrick Michael “PM” Vargas; San Miguel Corp. Chairman Ramong Ang; PAGCOR Chairman Andrea Domingo; HC Diversifiera (Halili Cruz Dance Company); Frontrow founders RS Francisco and Sam Verzosa; theater actress and singer Shiela Valderrama-Martinez; and Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso

• Lifetime Achievement Awards were given to singers Eva Eugenio, Marco Sison, and Richard Merk, and Douglas Nierras, the founder, artistic director, and choreographer of Douglas Nierras Powerdance

• The Alice H. RTeyes Lifetime Achievement Award — Shirley Halili-Cruz, Founder and Artistic Director of the Halili-Cruz School of Dance

• Hall of Fame Awardees — Best Male Host, RJ Ledesma;

Best DJ, Jennifer Lee; Best Performer, Banaue Miclat-Janssen; and Entertainer of the Year, Lea Salonga

ENTERTAINMENT
• Best Female Host — Mitzi Borromeo

• Best Male Host — Jeremy Domingo

• Best Stand-Up Comedian — Ate Gay

• Best Special Events Director — Aleli Bustamante (Gabay Guro, PLDT)

• Best Special Events — 2019 Pinoy Playlist and Gabay Guro 2019

MUSIC AND DANCE
• Best New Artist Male — Ato Arman and Kiel Alo

• Best New Artist Female — Nina Campos

• Best New Artist Group — Perkins Twins

• Best DJ for Electronic Dance Music — Patty Tiu

• Best Instrumentalist — Jong Cuenco

• Best Choral Group — Ateneo Chamber Singers

• Best Festival Catalyst/Organizer — Nilo Augustin (Carabao Festival/Pulilan Bulacan) and Mayor Arthur Robes (Tanglawan festival/San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan)

• Best Festival Practices and Performances — Carabao festival and Tanglawan Festival

• Best Cultural Theater Group — Tanghalang Sandaang Pulo (Pangasinan)

• Best Cultural Dance Group — Tanghalang Bagong Sibul Theater and Dance Company (Malabon)

• Best Classical Dance — Abigail Olivero (Snow White/Ballet Manila)

• Best Classical Singer Female — Nenen Espina

• Best Classical Singer Male — Joseleo Logdat

• Best Blue/Jazz Artist — Skarlet

• Best Pop Artist — Janah Zaplan

• Best Crossover Performer Female — Jade Riccio and Ynez Veneracion

• Best Crossover Performer Male — Reuben Laurente

• Best Dance Production — Snow White (Ballet Manila)

THEATER
• Best Production for Children — The Quest for the Adarna (Repertory Philippines)

• Best Child Performer — Dean Rafols (Sindak 1941/Philippines Stagers Production)

• Best Choreographer — Douglas Nierras (Binondo: A Tsinoy Musical)

• Best Musical Rerun — Binondo: A Tsinoy Musical

• Best Actress in a Featured Role Musical — Bituin Escalante (Waitress/Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group)

• Best Actress in a Featured Role — Arriana Golondrina (Loob/Philippine Stagers Foundation)

• Best Actor in a Featured Role Musical — Nyoy Volante (Sweeney Todd/Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group)

• Best Actor in a Featured Role — Johnrey Rivas (Gemetzel/Philippine Stagers Foundation)

• Best Musical Revival — Himala: Isang Musikal (The Sandbox Collective)

• Best Ensemble Performance — Sindak 1941 (Philippine Stagers Foundation)

• Best Director for a Musical — Pipo Cifra (Sindak 1941, Philippine Stagers Company)

• Best Composer for Original Musical Theater — Pipo Cifra (Sindak 1941/Philippine Stagers Foundation)

• Best Director for a Play — Loy Arcenas (The Dresser/Repertory Philippines)

• Best Actor in a Play — Audie Gemora (The Dresser/Repertory Philippines)

• Best Actress in a Play — Gigi Escalante (Ang Bahay Ni Bernarda Alba/Dulaang UP)

• Best Play — Loob (Philippine Stagers Foundation)

• Best Stage Director for a Musical — Laurice Guillen (Magnificat, Lyric Opera of the Philippines)

• Best Actor in a Musical — Vince Tañada (Sindak 1941, Philippine Stagers Foundation)

• Best Actress in a Musical — Lea Salonga (Sweeney Todd/Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group)

• Best Original Musical — Sindak 1941 (Philippine Stagers Foundation)

LIVE MUSICAL PERFORMANCES
• Best Musical Director for a Concert — Butch Miraflor (Tribute to Rico J)

• Best Performer in Lobby lounge, Music Lounge, Bars (Solo) — Lloyd Mara (Astoria)

• Best Performer in Lobby lounge, Music Lounge, Bars (Group) — Brothers Unlimited, Noli Aurillo, and Skarlet (Propaganda)

• Best Foreign-Based Filipino Performer — Joey Albert

• Best Performance in a Concert (Male) — Gian Magdangal (2019 Pinoy Playlist)

• Best Performance in a Concert (Female) — Gerphil Flores (2019 Pinoy Playlist)

• Best Collaboration in a Concert — Sharon Cunenta and Regine Velas quez-Alcasid (Iconic/Araneta Coliseum) and Martin Nievera and Lani Misalucha (Timeless Classics/Plenary Hall, PICC)

• Best Concert Stage Director — Louie Ignacio (Julie Sings The Divas/Sunny Side Up Productions & Solaire)

• Best Major Concert for Group Category — Ely Buendia + Itchyworms (The Greatest Hits/Newport Performing Arts Theater, RWM) and Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (Gold: Classical Music Treasures/CCP)

• Best Major Concert Male Category — Gerald Santos (The Homecoming Concert, The Theatre at Solaire, Solaire)

• Best Major Concert Female Category — Julie Ann San Jose (Julie Sings The Divas/The Theater at Solaire) and Imelda Papin (Imelda Papin Queen @ 45, Philippine Arena) — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

CPG completes over 2,800 condo units this year

CENTURY PROPERTIES Group, Inc. (CPG) is bullish on its housing and commercial leasing business as it completed 2,853 condominium units in 2019.

In a statement Thursday, the Antonio-led property developer said it expects the newly completed projects to contribute significantly to its revenues in 2020.

Detailing on the condominium units it finished, CPG said it completed the ninth and last tower at the Azure Urban Resort Residences in Parañaque City last month. The project has 5,350 units with a sales value of P26.2 billion.

It also completed this year the 500-unit Roxas West Tower at The Residences at Commonwealth in Quezon City. The Quirino West and East Towers, which have a combined 1,015 units, are on track to be finished by end-2019.

Also, Acqua Iguazu YOO inspired by Starck tower, which has 492 units, was also completed this year, while Novotel Suites Manila will open next year. This marks the completion of the Acqua Private Residences project, which has 3,168 units with a sales value of P18.4 billion, in Mandaluyong City.

CPG likewise added 821 house and lot units through its PHirst Park Homes brand, a joint venture with Mitsubishi Corp., as of end-November.

For its commercial leasing business, CPG launched this year its Asian Century Center in Bonifacio Global City that has a gross floor area of 56,284 square meters. With this, the company targets to increase its gross floor area from commercial spaces to 300,000 square meters, which would help it generate P2 billion in revenues by 2020.

“Our record high completions and launches in line with our business expansion this year are testament to the company’s commitment to boost CPG’s growth trajectory over time and increase shareholder value,” CPG President and Chief Executive Officer Marco R. Antonio said in the statement.

The company committed to spend P30 billion for capital expenditures over the next three years to support its expansion plans and ongoing projects.

Shares in CPG at the stock exchange ended flat on Thursday at P0.56 apiece. — D.A.Valdez

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