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PLDT targets more innovative solutions this year

PLDT, Inc. has said it is ready to invest between P88 billion and P92 billion this year to meet the requirements of its customers. — BW FILE PHOTO

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Senior Reporter

PLDT, Inc. is planning to produce more “innovative solutions” this year, as it expects that consumers would keep their digital lifestyle even after the coronavirus vaccine rollout.

“There definitely will be an outpour of innovative solutions that support flexible working conditions across different industry shapes and sizes,” Alfredo S. Panlilio, PLDT chief revenue officer, told BusinessWorld in an e-mailed reply to questions on Jan. 14.

He added: “Telco will come up with the best product portfolio that will champion mobility and other digital services.”

Mr. Panlilio, who also serves as president and chief executive officer of Smart Communications, Inc., believes that even when the coronavirus vaccine finally allows for increased face-to-face interaction, consumers will still prefer the online lifestyle through e-commerce, e-gaming, e-learning, virtual entertainment, e-sports, and e-health.

Such digital services have proven their “convenience and efficiency” versus how things were done over a year ago, he noted.

“Our recovery from this pandemic will not spell a return to the old normal. The change in behavior is already there and the final state will be both an online and offline modality, where online solutions will be more critical than offline. Internally, we are gearing up for a full hybrid way of working after seeing better operational efficiencies brought about by telecommuting and digitization,” Mr. Panlilio explained.

PLDT and Smart have started focusing on cost-efficiency and customer-centricity.

The pandemic has given PLDT and Smart an “urgent reason to review and rationalize” their costs and initiatives, he said. “It also has allowed us to work closely together as one PLDT-Smart.”

Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco, senior research analyst at Philstocks Financial, Inc., said the vaccine rollout would mean short-term losses for the home broadband segment.

“First and foremost, classes could go back to the face-to-face format. So that’s the thing that you have to consider,” he said in a phone interview on Jan. 6.

PLDT’s fixed-line home broadband revenues for the first nine month of 2020 grew 14.06% to P23.93 billion from P20.98 billion in 2019.

The telco saw its mobile service revenues for the January to September period of 2020 hit P71.79 billion, 10.54% higher than the previous year’s P64.94 billion.

The company’s attributable net income grew 23.1% to P19.68 billion during the nine-month period.

“But then again, with what happened because of the pandemic, some of the changes it has brought could remain permanent. I mean, because of what happened, people have started appreciating what is being done through the digital space such as e-retailing, business transactions being done online, and e-payments. These could be kept moving forward. These could keep the vibrance in data demand and help the telco sector,” Mr. Tantiangco said.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.

Tourism group to gov’t: do more to lend recovery funds

By Jenina P. Ibañez, Reporter

THE country’s tourism industry group said that there should be more efforts to help businesses avail of government assistance as it anticipates potential recovery only towards the end of 2021.

Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) President Jose C. Clemente III said that there are tourism businesses that have been hesitant to avail of government loans allocated in the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan II).

The same can be said, he added, about the cash-for-work program for tourism workers.

“We have to keep reminding affected workers that those are available for them,” he said in mobile messages last week, adding that the industry group is in talks with the government to help distribute funds.

The Trade department in 2020 approved only more than 2,000 loan applications valued at P430.1 million under the P10-billion Bayanihan II loans allocation for smaller businesses, missing its target of processing 15,000 applications for the year. The funding could potentially reach more than 50,000 borrowers overall.

Tourism revenues last year plunged 83% to P81.4 billion after pandemic-related travel restrictions led to an 84% decline in foreign visitor arrivals to 1.3 million. The Tourism department said it would be focusing recovery efforts on the domestic market and will be considering creating travel bubbles with neighbouring countries.

Mr. Clemente said that tourism recovery this year is still uncertain while the public refrains from travel as more strains of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occur.

“If we can get a significant portion of the population immunized towards the middle of the year, then we might see some activity towards the end of the year,” he said. The government is in talks with seven vaccine manufacturers for 148 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to inoculate 50-70 million Filipinos this year.

The Tourism department is also calling for unified contact tracing and requirements among local government units, which decide on the reopening of their areas for tourists. Areas that have reopened tourist destinations include Manila, Boracay, Palawan, Cebu, Bohol, Baguio, and Ilocos Norte.

Mr. Clemente also said that there should be standardized guidelines for all travel destinations.

“As of now, local governments have implemented their respective guidelines which, at times, makes it more difficult for travelers to visit. They are also confusing to most people, which goes against the tenet that travel must be easy,” he said.

The industry retains some optimism, Mr. Clemente said, after recent talks with global partners that continue to identify the country as a top travel destination, indicating potential quick recovery as soon as it is safe to travel.

But many tourism businesses, he added, have already closed shop entirely.

“It has been a cruel 10 months to the travel and tourism industry and we still can’t quite see yet when things will start to pick up, but we continue to cling to hope,” Mr. Clemente said.

Milan Fashion Week: Social commentary in fabric

FASHION’S power as social commentary has never been more evident than in this year’s first fashion show series, Milan Men’s Fashion Week Fall-Winter 2021. It’s ongoing until Jan. 19, all democratically shown through cameramoda.it, the website of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion. Every seat in the world thus becomes a front-row seat.

Pandemic restrictions on mass gatherings in hard-hit Italy have also forced designers to become more creative. Showing collections outdoors, once a novelty, have become a necessity.

ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA
Ermenegildo Zegna’s Fall Winter 2021 is an imaginative 15-minute fashion film showing the quiet that now marks most of Milan’s urban landscapes. The buildings they chose as backdrops to the fashion, such as the Piazza Olivetti, show stark modernity, itself contrasting with the softness of their offerings.

This new line, made with soft fabrics in soft lines, in neutrals, removes any notion of “looking sharp.” We suppose it’s a commentary for work-from-home individuals and executives. In fact, most of the offerings from this house, known for its suits, suspiciously look like loungewear. The collection, however, is taken from the decidedly youthful Ermenegildo Zegna XXX segment. Several coats look like they can double as dressing robes, passed off as their chic older brother, the smoking jacket.

The show itself shows the lives we lead now, locked in cubes, while we, and the fashion show, both ache for a narrative. It’s not often that we get to see runway clothes actually in action, especially in such stunning settings as a reimagining of the ghost world that replaced the spaces we once occupied.

Watch the show here: https://milanofashionweek.cameramoda.it/en/brands/ermenegildo-zegna-runway/

LAGOS SPACE PROGRAMME
We don’t usually associate Nigeria with luxury fashion, the avant-garde, or even progressive discussions on gender. But a maison founded there, Lagos Space Programme, tries to change all those notions.

A press release by the company, founded by English-educated Nigeria-based designer Adeju Thompson, says, “Lagos Space Programme is a conceptual, avant-garde, luxury Nigerian fashion brand. We offer intellectual, ready-to-wear high-end crafted collections while exploring parallel concepts through multidisciplinary collaboration projects.”

The collection is called Aso Lànkí, Kí Ató Ki Ènìyàn (translated as “We greet the dress before we greet its wearer”). It takes inspiration from the the Yoruba people, and according to the release,  “highlights an early example of gender-bending within Yoruba society” — a difficult conversation in a country where same-sex activity is illegal.

Shot in the Osun Sacred Grove (a forest dedicated to the Yoruba Goddess of Fertility), the collection contains a palate of rich blues, thanks to local and natural indigo dyes. The collection itself shows crispness in texture but softness in tailoring; with outfits worn by indigenous people in Nigeria combined with a bit of the West, perhaps showing a dialogue.

Watch the show here: https://milanofashionweek.cameramoda.it/en/brands/lagos-space-programme-runway/

FENDI
Luxury house Fendi, known for its cheeky sense of humor (they did make the impossibly small Baguette bag), opens its show with a very familiar event these days: a phone call. A woman named Silvia places a call (presumably Silvia Fendi, the house’s Creative Director) and says, “I just want to tell you about humanity, color, what is normal today; about light, and darkness.” The call is mixed and remixed to become the show’s background music.

The collection plays to this season’s theme of comfort, with loose cuts. Furthermore, the tailoring is also decidedly soft, ending in cuffs that appear convex; almost as if the clothes themselves had an introversion. The house also highlights the softness with tactility and texture: think suede, quilting fur, and silks; making the feeling of softness an overall sensorial experience.

Of course, Fendi is still Fendi, so any outfits that might have resembled loungewear (such as a robe/smoking jacket: a new trend?) are still undeniably luxe: a shimmering silk, quilted and splashed with flowers and the house’s name in cursive.

Watch the show here: https://milanofashionweek.cameramoda.it/en/brands/fendi-runway/ — Joseph L. Garcia

Cavitex, PRA seek TRB’s approval to collect add-on toll for R-1 Expressway

THE Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) said the Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. (CIC) and the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) have both filed a petition “for the approval of add-on agreed toll rate with application for provisional relief” for the Segment 1 (R-1 Expressway) Enhancement of the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway Project.

TRB Executive Director Abraham P. Sales said in a Jan. 11 notice that “any interested expressway user” can file a “petition to review” within 30 days from the date of its first publication.

In its petition, CIC, the joint venture partner of PRA for the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway Project, said they are entitled to recover the new investment for the enhancement of R-1 Expressway by way of an “add-on toll rate” as authorized by the Toll Operation Agreement (TOA) executed in 1996.

The enhancement project has two phases covering the construction of an additional lane, about 3.50 kilometers, from R-1 Toll Plaza to MIA Road Intersection; a 1.70-kilometer lane from R-1 Toll Plaza to Las Piñas Bridge; a southbound flyover for the Marina Left Turning Facility; widening from 2×3 to 2×4 lanes for the three mainline bridges along Segment 1; an additional lane for the remaining R-1 mainline carriageway from Las Piñas Bridge to Zapote Interchange; and upgrading of about 300 meters of the existing Pacific Avenue, from Segment 1 to Macapagal Boulevard.

The construction cost for Phase 1 is P481.25 million while for Phase 2 is P424.08 million.

The investment is sought to be recovered through a total add-on agreed toll rate of P0.45 per kilometer or P0.20 per kilometer for the completion of Phase 1 and P0.25 per kilometer for the completion of Phase 2, the CIC said.

The TRB approved on July 15, 2019, the implementation of an add-on toll rate for Phase 1.

Hence, the company currently collects adjusted fees of P25, P50, and P75 for Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 vehicles, respectively, for the use of R-1 Expressway.

The company said the second phase of the enhancement project was issued a certificate of substantial completion on Nov. 5 last year.

The CIC also noted that the regulator is mandated to issue a notice to start toll collection, which is a requirement before it can operate the completed Phase 2 of the enhancement project.

“CIC most respectfully seeks the honorable board’s immediate approval to implement the add-on toll rate…, which will result in a total investment recovery of P0.45 per kilometer,” the company said.

CIC is under Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., the tollway unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC). MPIC is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., others being PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Rice tariffs generate P15.5B for BoC, down 28%

THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) collected P15.494 billion in revenue from 2.38 million metric tons (MT) of rice imports last year, down 28% the Finance department said in a statement Sunday.

It said the collections in 2019, the first year the Rice Tariffication Law was in force, totaled P21.59 billion on volume of 3.13 million MT, down 24%.

In December, rice tariffs increased 51.7% year on year to P885.05 million.

Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero said the valuations arrived at for rice imports increased by 7% to P20,320 per MT in 2020.

The Rice Tariffication Law, or Republic Act 11203, sets aside P10 billion a year for use by the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, to support farm mechanization and other measures enabling farmers to better compete against imports.

The law removed restrictions on rice imports by private entities, which must pay a tariff of 35% on Southeast Asian. — Beatrice M. Laforga

T-bill, bond rates likely to drop

YIELDS on government securities on offer this week will likely inch down further as the investors continue to park their funds in these safe-haven assets.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) is looking to borrow P20 billion via its offer of Treasury bills (T-bills) on Monday: P5 billion each via the three-and six-month debt and P10 billion from the one-year securities.

On Tuesday, the BTr will offer P30 billion in reissued 10-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) with a remaining life of six years and three months.

Two bond traders expect T-bills rates to move sideways to five basis points (bps) lower at this week’s auction.

“There is still demand for T-bills as banks still have some excess liquidity and BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) will remain on the defensive and keep their policies accommodative,” the first trader said via Viber over the weekend.

The central bank will keep benchmark interest rates low to support economic recovery amid a coronavirus pandemic, its chief said on Wednesday.

It may also cut banks’ reserve requirements further to encourage lending and boost economic activity, BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said.

The BSP slashed rates by a total of 200 bps last year, bringing down the overnight reverse repurchase, lending and deposit rates to record lows of 2%, 2.5%, and 1.5%.

The second trader said the auction of short-term securities will be met with strong demand given upcoming T-bill maturities on Friday, Jan. 22, and the batch that matured last week that was worth a combined P31.7 billion.

“Investors continue to sit on the fence and opt to place in short term papers due to persistent uncertainties despite vaccine developments,” the trader said via Viber on Friday.

Meanwhile, for the reissued 10-year T-bonds, the first trader expects its average rate to settle within 2.75% to 2.85%, while the second trader gave a slightly lower band of 2.725% to 2.8%.

“Given the dearth in cash outlets at the moment, some yield chasers will look to the seven-year reissuance to put some excess liquidity into work,” the second trader said.

The BTr last week hiked the volume of T-bills it awarded to P22 billion and even opened its tap facility to take advantage of robust demand.

Broken down, it borrowed P5 billion as planned via the 91-day T-bills from P21.45 billion in bids. The average rate of the three-month papers inched down to 0.977% from the 0.987% quoted in the Jan. 4 auction.

The government awarded P7 billion worth of 182-day T-bills, up from the programmed P5 billion, at an average rate of 1.36%, slightly lower than the 1.369% seen previously.

Lastly, the BTr made a full P10-billion award of the 364-day securities on offer last Monday as tenders hit P43.045 billion. The one-year papers were quoted at an average rate of 1.605%, down 0.9 bp from the previous rate of 1.614%.

Meanwhile, the last time the BTr offered this series of reissued 10-year notes was in December where it raised P30 billion as planned as demand reached P70.45 billion, more than double the offered amount.

The 10-year T-bonds, which carry a coupon rate of 4.75%, were quoted at an average rate of 2.791% at that auction, declining by 194.1 bps from the 4.732% fetched during the previous auction of the series.

At the secondary market on Friday, the three-month, six-month and one-year T-bills were quoted at 1.129%, 1.387% and 1.607%, respectively, based on the PHP BVAL Reference Rates posted on Philippine Dealing System’s website. Meanwhile, the seven-year bonds — the benchmark closest to the remaining life of the reissued 10-year papers on offer this week — fetched a rate of 2.794%.

The Treasury plans to borrow P140 billion from the local debt market this month: P80 billion via weekly auctions of T-bills and P60 billion from fortnightly T-bond offerings. — B.M. Laforga

PHL auto industry closes 2020 with 275K units sold

Figure represents 40% decline from 2019 total

By Kap Maceda Aguila

THE PHILIPPINE auto industry finally puts a lid on a turbulent 2020 — a year when it ended up selling 275,512 units based on reported totals from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI), Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors, Inc. (AVID), and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA). This figure represents a hefty 40% decline from the 2019 total of 457,110 vehicles sold.

ILLUSTRATION BY: JOY D. DAGUN

CAMPI, TMA
CAMPI and TMA reported a joint sales total of 27,596 units last December — growing 19.1% over the previous month’s 23,162. The December 2020 figure is 18.1% below the 33,715 units sold over the same period in 2019.

In a release, CAMPI President Atty. Rommel Gutierrez said he sees the double-digit growth as a “positive development” in the industry’s desire to reach pre-pandemic performance levels.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP) continued to lead last December, accounting for 49.7% of sales. It sold 13,455 units compared to 11,455 in November (+19.7%). Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. ranked second (cornering 15.2% of total sales) with 4,195 units sold last month (from 3,221 in November, up 30.2%). Third place was held by Nissan Philippines, Inc. with 2,117 units moved (up by 24.3% from November’s 1,703 total), representing 7.67% of total sales. Ford Motor Company Philippines, Inc. moved up one place to fourth in December with 1,847 units sold (+30% from 1,421 units in November), cornering 6.69%. Fifth place went to Suzuki Philippines, Inc., which reported a 8.2% decline in sales from 1,665 in November to 1,529 in December. It still mustered 5.54% of total sales.

Said Atty. Gutierrez, “It is noteworthy that the holiday season has contributed to the uptick in demand for auto sales in December amid the improving business and consumer confidence.”

AVID
Meanwhile, AVID’s reported total reflects a 41% decline over the 87,169 vehicles it sold in 2019. In its release, the association representing 26 global brands attributed this decline “to the lockdowns, limited economic activity, and weak consumer demand.”

Said AVID President Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo: “Automotive was among the hard-hit sectors in this pandemic and we continue to feel the impact as sales, after-sales and auto-related services remain lackluster. Despite the hurdles, the industry quickly adapted to the new normal, survived, and are finally seeing some signs of revival. However, we see more headwinds in the coming months.”

AVID moved 5,683 units in December, a 15% uptick versus the previous month — indicating what it called “a slow but steady recovery coming from the most challenging period in Philippine automotive industry.”

Member companies saw a 46% dip in passenger car sales in 2020. Top performers were Hyundai (8,464 units), Suzuki (6,177 units), and Ford (1,005 units). Sales of light commercial vehicles fell by 38% year on year, and was paced by Ford (13,770 units), Suzuki (9,338 units), and Hyundai (7,882 units). Commercial vehicle sales shrunk by 66% to 305 units sold from 2019’s 907 total.

SAFEGUARD MEASURES
Car companies are expectedly bracing for the effects of the imposition of provisional safeguard duties on vehicle imports (P70,000 for passenger cars, P110,000 for light commercial vehicles), given teeth by Republic Act 8800 or the Safeguard Measures Act. The Act lets the government step in to protect local industries which it perceives to be “seriously injured” by imports.

This had followed an appeal from the Philippine Metalworkers Alliance to the Department of Trade and Industry to take action as the group said the local vehicle manufacturing industry was being adversely affected by the increased importation of vehicles. No tariff is currently exacted from the import of vehicles from Southeast Asian countries.

According to AVID, “Vehicle importers and consumers will soon feel the impact of the additional tariff.”

Atty. Gutierrez said in a text message to “Velocity,” “We will participate in the Tariff Commission public hearings.”

Concluded Ms. Perez-Agudo: “While the worst may be behind us, we still have a long way to go. If we are to restore consumer confidence and revive this sector, we should focus on creating more job opportunities, upgrade infrastructure and logistics, and improve the ease and cost of doing business. We are all for the long-term development of the auto industry in the new normal.”

Be like Bruce Lee with ONE’s limited-edition lifestyle, performance wear

ONE CHAMPIONSHIP and Bruce Lee LLC have teamed up for a limited-edition collection of lifestyle and performance wear celebrating the life of the iconic martial artist.

Available on ONE’s online athleisure store, ONE.SHOP, the collection has jackets, T-shirts, shorts, jogger sweatpants and accessories and also features Mr. Lee’s signature yellow and black color combination.

Mr. Lee, who would have been 80 years old by now, was born on Nov. 27, 1940 and widely regarded as the father of modern-day mixed martial arts, something ONE Championship is very much involved in on its way to becoming Asia’s largest sports media property.

He founded the art of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts discipline that combines aspects from multiple martial arts styles.

Bruce Lee became a global celebrity and action movie superstar in the 1960s and 1970s in films like The Wrecking Crew (1968), The Big Boss (1971), Fist of Fury (1972), Enter The Dragon (1973) and Game of Death (1978).

Born in San Francisco, Mr. Lee was a well-read person who inspired not only in what he did in the movies and martial arts but also in his thinking. One of his famous quotes is, “Empty your mind; be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”

The “Be water” quote is widely believed to be the inspiration for the founding of Jeet Kune Do and used as a reference for being able to adapt no matter the situation, not only by martial artists but other athletes and people as well.

Mr. Lee died in 1973 in Hong Kong but through the collection ONE Championship hopes to keep his wide-ranging legacy alive.

Also part of the ONE x Bruce Lee collection are face masks, caps and patches. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Refund for Linde affirmed by Court of Tax Appeals

THE COURT of Tax Appeals (CTA) affirmed its decision granting the tax refund of gas manufacturer Linde Philippines, Inc. worth P62.4 million.

In a 21-page ruling dated Jan. 5, the court, sitting en banc, said that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) failed to raise a new matter to reverse its division’s ruling.

“The Court En Banc stands by its ruling that while the issue on want of authority of revenue officer to conduct the audit investigation was not raised by the parties in the proceedings before the Court in Division, nor in the present Petition, the Court En Banc is not precluded from taking cognizance of the same,” the decision read, citing a Supreme Court ruling.

“The Supreme Court already definitively settled such issue. Needless to say, this Court has no other option but to faithfully uphold and apply the same,” it added.

The BIR claimed that the court’s special third division erred in ruling on an issue that was never raised by the company in the pleadings and pre-trial, violating the bureau’s right to due process.

It also said that the conduct of audit investigation and subsequent issuance of the subject assessments were pursuant to a valid letter of authority (LoA) and the continuation of the examination by another revenue officer not named in the LoA “does not invalidate the assessment.” It added that the Final Assessment Notice is valid and the company is not entitled to claim the refund.

The court noted its previous decision, ruling that the deficiency assessments were void because the revenue officers who actually conducted the audit investigation of Linde’s accounts were different from those named in the LoA.

It said that under the Tax Code, the commissioner and his duly authorized representative, or the revenue regional director, may authorize examination of any taxpayer. The revenue regional director is authorized under the Tax Code to issue LoA for examination of taxpayers within the region.

Revenue Memorandum Order No. 43-90 also stated that only the commissioner, deputy commissioner and regional directors are authorized to issue LoAs. Other officials may do so upon prior authorization by the commissioner himself.

The memo also provided that any reassignment or transfer of cases to other officers should require issuance of a new LoA.

The court noted that an LoA was issued in December 2008, but the revenue officers named were different from those who actually conducted the audit. The officers conducted the audit based on a memorandum referral by the officer-in-charge-chief of the Large Taxpayers Audit and Investigation Division I, who is not among the authorized representatives of the commissioner, it said.

It cited a Supreme Court ruling, which said that a deficiency tax assessment is null if the revenue officers who conducted the audit of a taxpayer’s accounts had no authority.

The court also upheld the division’s ruling that the firm proved its entitlement to refund.

“In view of the foregoing, the Court En Banc finds no substantial matter much less compelling reason to disturb the findings of the Court in Division in the Assailed Decision and Resolution,” it said.

Linde in March 2014 sought refund of P62.3 million of alleged erroneously and illegally collected deficiency final withholding tax and value-added tax from October 2006 to September 2007.

The court’s division granted its petition in March 2019 and upheld it in a resolution in November 2019. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Hog processors secure space in AIE’s upcoming cold storage facility

DAVAO CITY — The cold storage facility at the Anflo Industrial Estate (AIE) in Panabo City is expected to be operational by March with hog processors lined up as initial clients.

Ricardo F. Lagdameo, first vice-president of Damosa Land, Inc., which owns and manages the AIE special economic zone, said operations are on track with the construction of the 1,000-square meter facility and it will be ready within the first quarter for various sectors requiring refrigeration.

“This is open to all. First customers will include hog processors,” Mr. Lagdameo said in an online message.

The 63-hectare AIE is located in Panabo City, Davao del Sur and is adjacent to the Davao International Container Terminal, which is also owned by the Anflocor group. — Maya M. Padillo

BSP net income down 14.2% at end-November

THE CENTRAL BANK’S net earnings as of November declined from a year earlier, dragged by lower revenues caused by a decline in interest income.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed its net profit in the 11 months ended November dropped 14.2% to P34.51 billion from the P40.24 billion booked in the same period the prior year.

Revenues in the 11-month period stood at P108.5 billion, down 4.3% year on year from P113.43 billion.

By segment, the central bank’s interest income shrank 16.5% to P77.86 billion from P93.19 billion.

Meanwhile, miscellaneous income, which includes trading gains, fees, penalties, and other operating income, climbed 51.3% to P30.64 billion from P20.25 billion in the previous year.

This was despite a net loss of P5.67 billion from foreign exchange rate fluctuations, a reversal of the P14.46 billion worth of net gains seen in the same period in 2019.

For the 11-month period, the BSP’s expenses dropped 9.7% year on year to P68.14 billion from P75.49 billion.

The first 11 months also saw its interest expense inch up by 2.5% to P42.04 billion from P41 billion. On the other hand, other expenses incurred dropped 24.3% to P26.11 from P34.49 a year earlier.

The BSP’s income tax expense likewise slumped to P170 million in the period from P12.16 billion a year ago.

With the central bank turning a profit for the 11-month period, it is likely to seal its fifth consecutive year in the black since it posting a P17.51-billion net income in 2016 after years of losses. — LWTN

FIRST TAKE: Chery Tiggo 7 Pro

 

An advance look at Chery’s soon-to-launch SUV

CHERY PHILIPPINES will soon launch its latest product for the local market — the Tiggo 7 Pro.

Wherever you’re at with your impressions of Chery, I assure you that the Tiggo 7 Pro is bound to give you something to look forward to. It is a huge leap in sophistication from the previous-gen Tiggo 7, and is slated for an online public reveal sometime this end of January.

I had the opportunity to briefly drive the new Tiggo 7 Pro to gather some first impressions before the public launch, and to summarize my initial assessment: It was better than I expected. The exterior looks sportier and more attractive, the wheels are now a size larger, and the cabin offers a plethora of amenities that are delightfully premium in nature.

Immediately upon entering the vehicle, you will notice the full panoramic sunroof, the leather upholstery, and the soft-touch surfaces that collectively exude a more upscale vibe. It also carries a load of car technology for its price point — from an intelligent tire pressure monitoring system, to mobile phone wireless charging capabilities, to an amazing 360-degree HD panoramic camera that can be exploited not only for parking maneuvers, but even while driving.

Depending on your programmed settings, you could opt to get an impressive view of your vehicle’s surroundings on the side you are making a turn into, whenever you toggle your signal light switch. A generous 10.25-inch infotainment display is at your disposal to fully utilize the vehicle’s rear camera and all its front and rear sensors. The high-definition resolution is a plus, while Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility come as standard.

The car’s built-in technology also offers mobile phone integration with a mirror link function that allows the driver to activate or control some features even from outside the vehicle. Oh, and I also appreciate the other bells and whistles, such as the cabin’s customizable ambient lights, which can also be programmed to change color based on the beats of the music you’re playing, if you prefer.

The Tiggo 7 Pro carries a Euro 5-compliant, 1.5-liter turbocharged engine mated with a CVT with an electronic shifter. As I test-drove it along Alabang, I was happy with the output (145hp at 5,500rpm) and did not for a second feel that the vehicle was underpowered — a common issue among other affordable vehicles in this class.

Safety-wise, the Tiggo 7 Pro carries much of the usual safety functions, including ABS, EBS, emergency brake assist, hill descent control, hill hold control, a traction control system, emergency signal system (wherein the car’s hazard lights are made to flash when the driver suddenly steps on the brakes after driving at high speed), a front and reverse radar, and a dynamic track reverse image for backing up. But I also like the fact that it informs the driver which seat belts are engaged in the rear passenger row — so that he/she can be aware when any of the passengers (especially children) refuses to wear a safety belt.

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