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About 10 local banks received funds from Westpac

FUNDS from Westpac Banking Corp. were channeled through a local lender. — REUTERS

ABOUT 10 LOCAL commercial banks were recipients of funds from scandal-hit Westpac Banking Corp. channeled through the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), the local partner of the Australian bank’s remittance arm, a senior Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) official said.

BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi G. Fonacier said BPI has already submitted findings from their initial report which showed that funds involved were of small value and are lower than those required to be flagged and looked into under the country’s anti-money laundering regulations.

She also noted that BPI was only the entry point for the involved funds, which were also channeled to other local banks.

“What makes this different is that [they’re] small transactions. So hindi siya (they are not) required to be reported to AMLC (Anti-Money Laundering Council). It’s very retail,” Ms. Fonacier told reporters on the sidelines of the BSP’s launch of the P20 coins and the enhanced P5 coins.

Ms. Fonacier said they will go through their own review to determine their regulatory action depending on the situation.

“We’re doing a review and then if there’s a need for us to go on-site, then we will go on site [to see] whether banks are complying with the anti-money laundering regulations,” she said.

Under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), covered cash transactions are those exceeding P500,000 in cash or in other equivalent monetary instrument.

Asked whether they will look into lowering the threshold for transactions covered by the AMLC, Ms. Fonacier said: “It’s difficult to say at this point kasi (because) this one, we still need to see what exactly happened. And that’s where siguro (maybe) we’ll be anchoring our recommendations later.”

She also said the probe from the BSP’s end may continue until January given that the holiday season is approaching.

“Andoon pa lang naman sa tinitignan (We’re still looking at) whether there was really a some kind of a behavior or pattern doon (in the) sa transaction. That’s the one we are still looking at and evaluating,” she said.

BPI last week said they have already suspended their partnership with Westpac’s LitePay facility.

This was after news broke out regarding the dirty money scandal alleging Westpac to have breached money-laundering laws by more than 23 million times, of which a big chunk were transactions of online purchases or received as pensions from foreign countries. — L.W.T. Noble

China’s CCCC, Macroasia win $10-B Sangley airport project

MANILA — China Communications Construction Co. Ltd. (CCCC) and its local partner have won an auction for a $10 billion airport on the outskirts of Manila, the latest move by Chinese state firms to gain a foothold in the Philippines.

CCCC joined airline service company Macroasia Corporation in a consortium with the Cavite provincial government to carry out the Sangley Point International Airport project, Jesse Grepo, legal officer of the selection committee, told reporters.

The $10 billion project, which involves land reclamation and expansion of an existing small airport, is part of the government’s major infrastructure overhaul plan that government has been criticized for stalling on.

It is one of two proposed multi-billion dollar airport projects that aim to decongest the country’s main gateway in Manila, which has been rated as one of the world’s worst airports.

Under President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines has pursued warmer ties with rival China, setting aside a territorial spat in exchange for billions of pledged loans, investment and aid, most of which has yet to materialize.

Chinese state firms have won contracts this past year to enter telecommunications, energy and construction sectors. — Reuters

Language of tsinelas art

THE COLORFUL canvases hanging in the Avellana Gallery illustrate positive words. In the aptly named exhibit Kumpas ng Kamay, the paintings feature hands spelling out words in Philippine Sign Language — and reading the gestures is not a problem a series of smaller paintings hung along the three walls serve as a guide to the English alphabet.

One might assume that the realistic illustrations of human hands were done in oil or acrylic paint, but actually they are made from recycled rubber.

Bataan native Alger Guevarra moved to La Union as an adult where he developed an enthusiasm for surfing. During Mr. Guevarra’s frequent surfing adventures, he noticed the increasing amount of plastic and trash littering the shoreline. In 2015, he came up with the idea of reusing some of the trash, creating a new painting medium of tsinelas (slippers) art.

“The materials are recycled. They are slippers left along the shores of the beach and some are old slippers donated by my friends,” he told BusinessWorld at the exhibition opening on Dec. 7, adding that some of the materials are also the rubber mats of surfboards.

In the early days of his practice with the medium, Mr. Guevarra would cut up the rubber slippers manually, then he discovered a rubber grinder which simplified the process.

The old slippers and mats are ground down into a very fine powder, Mr. Guevarra explained. It is then filtered then mixed with a liquid emulsifier before it is brushed onto the canvas. The vivid colors of the slippers dry like paint.

He was inspired, he said, by the old masters who would grind their own pigments in the days before commercial paints.

Humanap [ako] ng identity na walang katulad (I was looking for a unique identity),” Mr. Guevarra said on finding a niche medium as an artist.

The paintings in the exhibit spell out words such as “Joy,” Love,” and “Hope.”

“This way, my stories can be expressed in a simple manner. Although sign language is mainly for the deaf and mute, but in ancient times, sign language was used as a primary means of communication,” Mr. Guevara said of the subject, in the curator’s note.

Lahat tayo pwedeng maka-relate (We can all relate),” he said.

Mr. Guevarra is a self-taught painter who began a career as a visual artist in 2008 and facilitated art workshops for children through the Bantay Bata program. He has received honorable mentions and awards at the Recycle Competition by Ripley’s Believe It or Not in 2015 and in the Robinsons Land National Art Competition in 2018.

Kumpas ng Kamay is on view until Jan. 31, 2020, at the Avellana Art Gallery located at 2680 F.B. Harrison St., Pasay City. The gallery is open Mondays to Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Bank of England tweaks capital rules to give banks £500-B loan war chest

LONDON — The Bank of England (BoE) said on Monday it planned to adjust the rules on how much capital British banks must hold, to allow them to keep lending in an economic crisis.

The BoE said its plans would leave the average amount of capital that lenders need to hold broadly unchanged, but would allow it to vary more during the course of an economic cycle.

“These changes improve the responsiveness of capital requirements to economic conditions by shifting the balance … towards buffers that can be drawn down as needed,” BoE Governor Mark Carney told a news conference.

Major British lenders currently hold so-called Tier 1 capital equivalent to just under 14% of risk-weighted assets on average.

The BoE designates 1% of risk-weighted assets as a “counter-cyclical capital buffer” (CCyB) during normal economic times, which can be used to support lending in a downturn.

On Monday the BoE said it would double this buffer to 2%, to take effect by the end of 2020, and then lower other capital requirements by a similar amount.

This would allow major British lenders to absorb up to 23 billion pounds ($29.5 billion) of losses in a downturn without restricting lending, supporting up to 500 billion pounds of loans to British homes and businesses — the equivalent of five years’ borrowing.

Reuters reported last week that Britain’s mid-tier banks had asked the BoE to ease rules they say make it difficult for them to compete with the likes of HSBC, Barclays, RBS and Lloyds on an equal footing.

The BoE said on Monday that when it consults on the detail of the CCyB changes, it would try to ensure they did not lead to any net increase in smaller banks’ capital requirements.

For larger banks, the BoE said the changes would increase Tier 1 capital requirements by about 0.35 percentage points to just over 14%.

STRESS TESTS PASSED
Alongside this, the BoE said all of Britain’s seven main lenders passed an annual test of their ability to withstand financial and economic shocks for the second year running.

The BoE tested HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered, Santander UK, and Nationwide Building Society for their ability to withstand financial market stresses.

The BoE said no lender failed to meet a firm-specific hurdle for the minimum amount of capital at the end of the test, in a repeat of last year’s result on a test that was similar in toughness.

“UK banks are well above capital required hurdle rates and as a result, capital distributions through dividends and stock buybacks should increase,” said Fernando de la Mora, managing director at business consultants Alvarez & Marsal.

All the banks in the stress tests said they would not need to find fresh capital as a result of the tests.

The BoE said Barclays and Lloyds would need to convert some of their AT1 capital into equity during a stress scenario, if new accounting rules that fully take effect in 2023 were applied.

The BoE had already said lenders held enough capital to cope with the harshest form of Brexit, though a cliff-edge departure that would severely damage the economy now looks off the table for Jan. 31.

Britain’s newly reelected government has a comfortable majority to push through a divorce settlement that will see Britain leave the bloc at the end of next month and enter an 11-month transition period that lasts until the end of 2020. — Reuters

Subanen ritual now in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list

BUKLOG, the thanksgiving ritual system of the Subanen, an indigenous group in Zamboanga, is now inscribed in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).

During the 14th Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Meeting held from Dec. 9 to 14, the Buklog was formally inscribed along with the rituals and practices associated with the Kit Mikayi shrine of Kenya; the Spring rite of Jurauski Karahod of Belarus; the Seperu folk dance and associated practices of Botswana; and the Sega tambour Chagos of Mauritius.

Buklog is conducted “to appease and express gratitude to the spirits for reasons such as bountiful harvest, recovery from sickness or calamity, or acknowledgement of a new leader,” according to the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) website.

The ritual is planned by the head of a host family or a village chief called timuay. It is performed to ensure harmony among family, community members, and the spiritual worlds.

The Philippines’ first nomination since 2015, Buklog is also the first to be inscribed on the List of ICH as “In Need of Urgent Safeguarding.” The ICH is made up of elements that “require urgent measures to keep them alive,” according to UNESCO. Being inscribed to the list helps “to mobilize international cooperation and assistance for stakeholders to undertake appropriate safeguarding measures.”

According to the NCCA, the organization safeguards the tradition “through a Subanen School of Living Tradition, a community-based, non-formal center of learning which teaches traditional knowledge and skills to the Subanen youth.”

The Darangen epic of the Maranao people of Lanao Lake, the Hudhud chants and the Punnuk tugging ritual of the Ifugao were previously added to the UNESCO list.

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage meets annually to provide guidance and recommendations on measures for the safeguarding of the ICH. — MAPS

Cebu Pacific becomes IATA member

CEBU PACIFIC on Tuesday said it has formally joined the International Air Transportation Association (IATA), a trade association for the global airline industry.

“We are pleased to join IATA as we can gain access to expertise and learnings on best practices and innovations among global airlines, as well as help formulate policies on critical aviation issues. Moreover, we will also be able to share our own operational experience and contribute to further developing the airline industry as a whole,” Lance Y. Gokongwei, President and CEO of Cebu Pacific, said in a statement.

The budget carrier said it is the largest IATA member among Philippine carriers, as it accounts for 44% of the total domestic passenger volume and 46% of total domestic cargo volume, citing data from the Civil Aeronautics Board.

IATA has more than 290 member-airlines from 117 countries, representing 82% of global air traffic.

Conrad Clifford, IATA Vice-President for Asia Pacific, said it is looking to encourage more low-cost carriers like Cebu Pacific to join the organization.

“We warmly welcome Cebu Pacific, Asia’s oldest low-cost carrier, to the IATA family. Today about 20% of our members globally are low-cost carriers and we encourage more to join. We look forward to working together with the Cebu Pacific team to help shape industry standards, best practices and policies that ensure the safe, efficient and sustainable growth of aviation in the Philippines and Asia. Together with our 290+ member airlines, we make aviation the business of freedom,” Mr. Clifford said.

Cebu Pacific said it has fully complied with the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA). There are 437 carriers worldwide that has complied with the evaluation system that assesses the operational management and control systems of an airline.

The budget carrier grew its capacity by 23% as of end-September, reaching 19 million seats. It flew nearly 16 million passengers on 121 domestic and international routes.

Cebu Air, Inc., the listed operator of Cebu Pacific, said its nine-month profit surged 142% to P6.75 billion, as it added flights and raised average fares.

Asian financial firms face ‘benchmark-aggedon’ as tough EU rules take effect

HONG KONG — Banks and asset managers that use Asian benchmarks like the Hang Seng or Nikkei indices face a “perfect storm,” with two major regulatory changes slated to take effect the same day, a financial industry group said on Tuesday.

Financial contracts worth billions of dollars are based on the performance of certain benchmarks, while investment funds often track or hope to beat a benchmark’s performance.

However, global authorities, particularly those in Europe, are now seeking to regulate benchmarks more tightly.

Those measures include replacing the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) by the end of 2021 after the world’s largest investment banks paid millions in fines to settle accusations that they had rigged that index.

Organizations that compile and publish market indexes outside the European Union (EU) were in February given an extension to the end of 2021 to comply with the EU’s benchmark regulation (BMR).

However, a survey by the Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA), released on Tuesday, found publishers have made little progress in meeting these standards.

“It is clear that non-EU administrators continue to face many of the same issues that they have struggled with in our first survey in 2017,” said John Ball, an ASIFMA managing director.

EU banks and asset managers can only use compliant benchmarks for hedging or funding. If one does not exist in a market, that could force EU entities to leave, the report said.

Fifty-five important benchmarks in the region could be affected by the rules, including some in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea.

Will Hallatt, head of Asia financial services regulation practice at law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, said a separate, stronger focus on MifID II, another European Union law, when BMR was being drafted meant the latter got less attention.

“Now, ironically the two-year delay means it may not get attention again because it becomes effective the same day that US dollar and GBP Libor cease to exist,” said Mr. Hallatt, whose firm co-wrote the report.

“I’m calling 1 January, 2022, benchmark-aggedon.”

It is unclear which benchmarks in Asia can comply in time.

Administrators can comply if their local jurisdiction is considered “equivalent” to the EU’s regime, if they are “recognized” by a regulatory authority in an EU member state, or if they are “endorsed” by an EU benchmark administrator.

Administrators surveyed by ASIFMA reported practical difficulties with all three.

If EU companies cannot use a benchmark, local business may not be sufficient to sustain it.

“Everyone knows Libor is going, but which other benchmarks will disappear will only be known much closer to the deadline,” said Mr. Hallatt. — Reuters

Vatican’s ‘vampire’ prints of rarely seen 20th century art on show

VATICAN CITY — They could be called the Vatican’s vampire prints — works by masters such as Henri Matisse, Edvard Munch and Salvador Dali so delicate that they usually lie dormant for years in dark storage in its museums.

Now, 150 etchings, woodcuts, aquatints, lithographs, and other types of 20th century graphic art are being shown in the light of day — many for the first time — at the Braccio Carlo Magno exhibition hall off St. Peter’s Square.

Called The Signs of the Sacred — The Imprints of the Real, the show is a mix of works on spiritual themes, modern interpretations of biblical scenes, still lifes, nature scenes and pieces reflecting everyday life, war, and maternity.

“They definitely don’t love the light,” said Francesca Boschetti, the exhibition’s curator, explaining they can be shown only for a brief period to avoid fading and deterioration.

They are emerging from what Micol Forti, head of the Vatican Museums’ department of modern and contemporary art, calls a “hidden and secret life, spent in the darkness of cabinets and vaults”.

Some of the artists whose works are on display, such as Edvard Munch, most famous for The Scream, lived bohemian and at times hedonistic lifestyles and were not known to be religious.

But they were attracted by spiritual themes and Munch’s Old Man Praying, a 1902 woodcut on Japanese rice paper, is one example.

“In times of personal travails or great social upheaval such as during and between the two world wars, even artists who did not normally do religious themes turned to them as a metaphor for suffering and violence,” Boschetti said.

The exhibition includes Dali’s Christ of Gala, a stereoscopic suite of two lithographs, which the surrealist intended to give a three dimensional effect when viewed together.

The exhibition, which is free of charge, closes at the end of February, when the works will be returned to dark storage with temperature and humidity controls.

The 150 works, which also include pieces by Max Ernst, Paul Klee, Oskar Kokoschka, and Marc Chagall, hail from the Vatican Museums’ contemporary arts collection.

Many were donated, some by the artists themselves, to Pope Paul VI, who reigned from 1963 to 1978. Unlike some of his predecessors, Pope Paul appreciated modern art and founded a collection entirely dedicated to 20th century works. — Reuters

Developer drops plan to use Supercity as vehicle for backdoor listing at PSE

By Denise A. Valdez Reporter

THE plan of Manila Bay Development Corp. (MBDC) to use Supercity Realty Development Corp. (SRDC) as vehicle for a backdoor listing at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is no longer pushing through.

In a stock exchange disclosure yesterday, listed SRDC said it received a letter from MBDC on Monday indicating it is withdrawing its plans due to market volatility.

“The target new investors, MBDC and (its president George T. Chua), communicated today that due to unfavorable market conditions, they have decided not to proceed with the Property-for-Share Swap Agreement and that the backdoor listing will no longer push through,” SRDC said in the minutes of its annual stockholders’ meeting submitted to the PSE.

As a result, SRDC said it is no longer increasing its authorized capital stock and issuing new shares, which it initially planned to do to accommodate the backdoor listing of MBDC.

“SRDC shall continue to serve institutional or corporate clients and focus on the construction of horizontal residential house and land development works for residential subdivisions,” it added.

SRDC first announced it May that its board of directors approved increasing the company’s authorized capital stock to P1.5 billion divided into 1.5 billion shares from P155 million divided into 155 million shares.

It was also planning to create 990 million new common shares in the firm which the new investors will subscribe to acquire 90% of the company’s resulting outstanding capital stock.

In exchange, MBDC would be giving SRDC 12 parcels of land located within the reclamation area in Parañaque City which has a total land area of 227,510 square meters. SRDC was planning to use it as source of recurring rental income, considering the location’s proximity to several commercial sites.

SRDC’s business is primarily in real estate development, with activities generally involving serving as contractor for land development and housing projects.

MBDC, on the other hand, is focused on developing and leasing reclaimed land in Parañaque City.

SRDC posted a net income of P11.46 million in the first nine months of the year, surging from P1.41 million a year ago, amid an almost five-fold growth in its revenues to P157.91 million.

BSP launches new P20, P5 coins

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) has launched the coin version of the P20 denomination which has a longer life span compared to its bill counterpart.

Likewise, the central bank has also revealed the look of the enhanced P5 coin under the BSP’s New Generation Currency (NGC) Coin Series.

“BSP will be issuing a token quantity of about 500,000 pieces before Christmas and will issue in bulk the P20 coins starting the first quarter of next year…and these coins will coexist with the P20 banknotes until the supply in P20 banknotes last around 2021,” BSP Assistant Governor Dahlia D. Luna said in her speech at the launch of the coins held at the central bank on Monday.

Ms. Luna described the P20 coin as a “two-tone featuring brass-plated steel and nickel-plated core.” Meanwhile, the enhanced P5 coin will have a new shape having nine sides.

“Essentially, these design enhancements in the currency will further promote the ease of recognition by the public and at the same time maintaining the highly secure and durable characteristics of the coins in the NGC series,” Ms. Luna.

Meanwhile, BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno assured that having the P20 as part of the coin denominations will not mean depreciation of its value.

Kasi ang P20 bill at P20 coin pareho lang ang purchasing value (Because the P20 bill and the P20 coin have the same purchasing value). There’s no such thing as depreciation,” he said at the briefing that followed the launching program.

Mr. Diokno also said digitization initiatives such as QR PH will likely end the transformation of other denominations from bills to coins.

“Most likely wala na kasi magkakaroon na tayo ng QR PH… ’Yun ang magre-replace ng everything. (Most likely there will be no more [transformation] because we will already have the QR PH. It will replace everything). We will be using that system,” he explained.

Same faces, only revamped for distinction

In his speech, Mr. Diokno said that President Manuel L. Quezon remains to be the face of the coin version of the P20.

“Prominently featured on the obverse of the P20 coin is Manuel L. Quezon, the first president of the Philippine Commonwealth who advocated the adoption of the national language; created the National Economic Council, the precursor of the National Economic and Development Authority; and worked passionately to regain Philippine independence,” he said.

Meanwhile, the flip-side of the coin has the BSP logo, the Malacañan Palace, and the picture of nilad, which is believed to be the origin of the name of the capital city Manila.

“These design elements put emphasis on the cultural and historical significance of coins to Philippine society,” Mr. Diokno added.

Currencies produced by the BSP have featured prominent figures related to the country’s history. In addition to this, the BSP’s NGC also consistently included a native flora in the bills and coins.

Mr. Diokno added that the BSP was recognized for Excellency in the Currency 2019 Coin Awards at the biennial Coin Conference held in Rome, Italy last October. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

Transport network companies asked to explain why fares spiked in December

THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said it summoned Transport Network Companies (TNCs) over complaints from commuters that fares have spiked starting December.

In a statement on Tuesday, the LTFRB said it has called for a meeting with TNCs this week to tackle commuters’ complaints of alleged increase in fares.

“According to commuters, some ride-hailing applications have started to charge higher fares since the Christmas season began, particularly this month,” the regulator said.

The LTFRB said ride-hailing firms have a standard rate of P40 as base fare, P10-15 per kilometer, P2 per minute, and a 2x surge limit based on traffic flow.

LTFRB Chairman Martin B. Delgra IIII said the agency is looking into the complaints it received.

“The agency is at the forefront of ensuring public transportation remains safe, convenient, and also affordable,” he added.

The regulator said it aims to settle the matter with accredited TNCs “within this week.”

Grab Philippines Public Relations Manager Arvi Persan P. Lopez told reporters via Viber group message that the company has yet to receive the invitation from the LTFRB.

“We have yet to receive the official invitation from the LTFRB on this subject, but we will definitely comply and attend to this discussion,” he said.

Earlier this year, the Philippine Competition Commission slapped Grab Philippines with a P23.45 million fine for breaching its initial pricing commitments. — Arjay L. Balinbin

BoJ’s next move to dial back stimulus

WIKIPEDIA.ORG

TOKYO — The Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) next move will be to dial back its massive stimulus, according to an increasing number of analysts polled by Reuters, reflecting receding market expectations of imminent monetary easing by the central bank.

But any such withdrawal of stimulus will begin from 2021 at the earliest, the survey showed, a sign that monetary policy in Japan could be in a holding pattern for the time being.

“There’s a chance growth in overseas and Japanese economies could pick up next year,” said Nobuyasu Atago, chief economist at Okasan Securities.

“The yen is stable and stock prices are firm,” which could allow the BoJ to hold off on expanding stimulus, he added.

Twenty-five of 41 economists, or 61% of the total, expect the BoJ’s next move to be a withdrawal of stimulus, the poll taken between Dec. 4-16 showed. That was up from 44% in a survey in November.

Most of them say it could happen in 2021 or later.

Sixteen of the economists, or 39%, think the BoJ will top up stimulus as its next step, down from 56% in last month’s survey.

The BoJ is set to keep monetary policy steady this week as receding fears of a disorderly Brexit and signs of progress in US-China trade talks take some pressure off the central bank to use its dwindling ammunition to underpin growth.

Japan’s core consumer price index, which includes oil products but not fresh foods, is forecast to rise 0.6% this fiscal year and next year — well short of the BoJ’s 2% inflation target.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Japanese policy makers have been under pressure to do more to underpin a fragile economic recovery, hit by the global trade war, typhoons and a sales tax hike that rolled out in October.

The world’s third-largest economy is forecast to have shrunk by an annualized 3.2% in the fourth quarter, which would be the biggest contraction since April-June 2014, the poll found.

“Consumer spending is expected to worsen sharply in the current quarter as the tax increase puts a burden on households,” said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.

“Capital spending also likely weakened after having boosted before the tax hike. The economy will pick up next year but the pace of recovery is expected to be moderate.”

Growth will rebound by 0.9% and 1.2% in the first and second quarters of 2020, according to median forecasts. The economy will expand 0.9% in the current fiscal year ending in March 2020 before slowing to 0.5% the following year, the poll predicted.

Some economists responded to the poll before the government announced its plan to compile a 13.2 trillion yen ($122 billion) fiscal package to support growth.

Based on information on media reports of the spending plan, most analysts expect the stimulus package to lift growth by less than one percentage point.

“Labor shortage will be a bottleneck” and dent the effect of the stimulus package as the government could face difficulty executing public works projects smoothly, said Shuji Tonouchi, senior market economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. — Reuters