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Tweaks in TP’s 4th rerun of Mabining Mandirigma

A NEW lead actor, a fliptop rap number, and gender-bender roles are few of the updated elements in the fourth rerun of the musical on the “sublime paralytic” Apolinario Mabini’s life.

As part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), Tanghalang Pilipino (TP) open’s its 33rd season with the steampunk musical Mabining Mandirigma this month.

According to TP artistic director Fernando “Nanding” Josef, the theater company’s theme for this season is makidigma (to engage in war), with the opening showcase focusing on the revolution against colonialism.

After the Declaration of Independence on June 12, 1898, Apolinario Mabini was appointed by General Emilio Aguinaldo as his chief adviser. Through Mabini’s supervision and Aguinaldo’s leadership, the revolution against Spain and other enemies continued towards the goal of achieving a new Filipino nation.

Written by Nicanor Tiongson, with music and composition by Joed Balsamo, and directed by Chris Millado, the musical was originally staged in 2015 and won 12 Gawad Buhay awards including Outstanding Musical (Original Translation/Adaptation) and Outstanding Ensemble Performance for a Musical.

WHAT’S NEW
Joining the cast for this itteration is veteran theater actress Monique Wilson, who is working with TP for the first time since 1995. She takes on the role of Apolinario Mabini.

“Nakaka-inspire talaga ang musical na ito sapagkat limited ang ating options as artists na makilahok sa musical na rebolusyonaryo (This musical is really inspiring since artists have limited options to take part in a revolutionary musical),” Ms. Wilson said of her role, during the press conference at the CCP on July 24.

According to CCP artistic director and the show’s director Chris Millado, the role of Mabini began as a technical problem since the production team wanted the character’s voice to be unique from the rest of the cast’s. It was resolved by casting a female actor for the role of the sublime paralytic.

“In Asian tradition, especially in Indonesian theater, all noble characters like priests, nobles, and intellectuals are played by female actors… So, bakit hindi? (So, why not?),” Mr. Millado explained. “It’s even nicer because it also plays out the marginalization of Mabini and how he was feminized by the whole patriarchal setup during that time para lang mapaisantabi ’yung kanyang mga (just to set aside his) propositions that were revolutionary and radical.

“After a few minutes of the show, we found out that audiences were not questioning it at all and totally accepting it,” he added.

Aside from casting a woman in the role of Mabini, the American generals will also be played by female actors, and the Mark Twain character will be played in drag.

Joining Ms. Wilson are Arman Ferrer and David Ezra who alternate in the role of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo.

Ejay Yatco joins also the artistic team as musical director. “It takes a beloved piece of our history added with a modern twist to resound with Filipino audiences especially the youth,” he was quoted as saying in a press release. “One exciting thing you can expect is a new rap number. So, watch out for that.”

SOCIAL RELEVANCE
For Ms. Wilson, artists play an important role in awakening audiences to the realities of society.

“I think in our perilous times these days, kailangan talaga natin (we really need) more than ever ng social provocative political theater na magtra-transform ng consciousness,” Ms. Wilson said.

“Malaki ang challenge sa aming mga artists ngayon (It is a big challenge for us artists today) to keep upholding that vision, not just for entertainment but to provoke and to awaken, and to incite people to action through theater,” she added.

Mr. Millado noted that Philippine theater is currently at “a good time” considering the recent reruns of various theater productions — there are, for example, currently productions of Huling el Bimbo and Rak of Aegis which are on their 3rd and 7th run, respectively. “[It] gives us a sense of where we are at in terms of original music theater productions,” he said.

“Mabining Mandirigma joins this phenomenon that is happening elsewhere,” Mr. Millado added.

Mabining Mandirigma will have performances at the CCP’s Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (Little Theater) from Aug. 16 until Sept. 1. Tickets are available at the CCP Box Office, Ticket2me, Bliimo, and all Ticketworld outlets. For details visit the TP Facebook page at http://fb.com/tanghalangpilipino or email tanghalangpilipinomarketing@gmail.com. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Smart rolls out VoLTE services in Metro Mla

SMART Communications, Inc. said it will now start offering its Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services to select subscribers in Metro Manila.

The wireless arm of PLDT, Inc. said in a statement yesterday it is commencing the commercial rollout out of the VoLTE service, which will enable users to make and receive calls over an LTE (long term evolution) network.

“After activating VoLTE across its LTE sites in Metro Manila, Smart is making the latest technology in voice calls initially available to selected Smart subscribers. The service will soon be available to Smart Signature plan holders as well,” it said.

VoLTE is a service that will allow customers to make calls using an LTE connection through the native dialer of their VoLTE-capable mobile phones, removing the need to install a third-party calling application.

Compared to traditional mobile voice services, VoLTE transmits high-definition voice calls which Smart said is of “superior quality.” It added that “VoLTE-to-VoLTE calls are crystal-clear, with almost no background noise.”

Smart made its first successful VoLTE mobile call in 2017. It said the VoLTE service it is now launching commercially will require VoLTE-capable devices, which so far are limited to products such as Samsung Galaxy S8 and higher, Huawei Mate 20 and P20.

Aside from VoLTE, the company is also studying Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi) services over its network, which it successfully tested last year. This service will allow any WiFi calling-capable mobile phone to make calls over a WiFi network.

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. — Denise A. Valdez

Homespun

By Menchu Aquino Sarmiento

Movie Review
Children of the River
Directed by Maricel Cariaga Cabrera
Cinemalaya

AS A coming of age story, Children of the River is as gentle and flowing as the river of its title. Like her first feature length film Pitong Kabang Palay (winner in 2017 of both the Golden Owl Award at the 22nd Aichi International Women’s Film Festival and also best children’s film in the Dhaka International Film Fest), Maricel Cariaga Cabrera’s 2019 Cinemalaya entry revolves around the regular lives of ordinary folks in rural areas.

The young protagonists: sensitive Elias (Noel Comia, Jr.), the merry prankster Agol (Ricky Oriarte), loyal Robin (Dave Justin Francis) whose pretty twin Agel (Elyshah Dinn Rasa) is Agol’s crush, and the spunky Pepsy (Junyka Santarin), the only female in this gang of four, have all just entered adolescence. They are not in thrall to screens or social media, but still play together in the nearby forest with guns fashioned from young green banana stalks, taking turns at role-playing the army vs. the insurgents. Tellingly, no one is killed in their make-believe encounters. Every game ends with a playfully negotiated and peaceful surrender. The prospect of death is only too real in their tender young minds since their fathers are all soldiers, stationed far from home in the battle zone. Every morning, they await their fathers’ phone calls, a ritual kamustahan (how-are-you) to reassure one another that all is well in their part of the world. It is a moving revelation that soldiers are also family men, not mindless killing machines.

There are troubles too during the idyllic summer in which Children of the River unfolds. Elias’ baby sister Emily is often sick. Their worried mother Elvy (Rich Asuncion) resorts to an Ilocano folk remedy locally known as talado for inexplicably persistent childhood ailments. The concerned mother brings her ill child, along with her chosen coterie of trusted relatives or kumare to their town arbolario (folk healer, usually a respected elder). In the film, the venerable, white-bearded Tata Isko (Nick Ramos) presides over the talado. Each of the mother’s companions takes turns in setting an egg on its rounded end on the tabletop, while pronouncing the new name she or he has chosen for the sick child. If the egg remains upright, that is the new name by which the child must henceforth be called by family and friends. It is a practice which is believed to confuse the malevolent spirits who had targeted the child (binati) in the first place.

Growing up in Santiago, Isabela, Cabrera Cariaga had been through a talado herself. The simple, rustic world she depicts in her films is one which she knows well since she does not come from the usual showbiz or film school background. She is the daughter of a farmer and an OFW who still works as a domestic worker. Like many Filipinos, she struggled to get an education, but managed to become an IT college professor in her own city. She married a simple farmer herself, and has two young daughters. Her spare time is spent, not in partying with the terminally hip and angsty film crowd, but tending to her home garden. However, despite motherhood and a teaching career, the passion to express herself through film would not be appeased. Relatively recently, she managed to send herself to the Asia Pacific Film Institute in Mandaluyong. Her commitment to her vision is what drives the best among our independent filmmakers. Yet, in all honesty, she remains true to the simple homespun truths she has known all her life, as plain and forthright as the abel Iloco (Ilocano plain weave) which is part of her heritage.

In Children of the River, the main protagonist Elias is beset by new confusing emotions when he meets hunky, handsome Ted (Juancho Trivino), the maritime academy classmate of Robin’s older brother Fernan (Jiro Custodio), who is visiting for the summer. Elias’ latent homosexuality is lightly treated. It’s not a scandal or a tragedy, but just who he is growing up to become. Nonetheless his burgeoning feelings over Ted, leave him in a fevered state and he is also compelled to undergo talado with Tata Isko. The name chosen for him is “Elia.” a homonym to the Spanish ella meaning “she.” This is in keeping with traditional and conventional concepts of male homosexuals as having exaggeratedly and stereotypically feminine attributes (binabae), such as a taste for the home arts (Fernan asks Elias to do the décor for his birthday party) and being more nurturing (Elias is often tasked with caring for his baby sister).

Without giving away any spoilers, another crisis changes forever the lives of Elias’ three friends. Being children of the river, they have the wisdom and resiliency to go with the flow. They will go on.

Cebu Pacific takes delivery of cargo plane

CEBU PACIFIC said it has recently taken delivery of its first aircraft that was converted into a freighter last year, as the Gokongwei-led carrier enters the cargo market.

In a statement Tuesday, Cebu Pacific said it received the first of its two ATR 72-500s passenger aircraft that were converted into cargo planes.

“The freighter, the first of its type in the Philippines, gives Cebu Pacific the ability to bring cargo in and out of destinations served by airports with short runways that can land only turboprop aircraft,” it said.

The converted aircraft has a carrying capacity of eight tons of cargo. It will be operated by Cebu Pacific subsidiary Cebgo.

Last year, Cebu Pacific tapped Switzerland-based service provider IPR Conversions Ltd. to convert two of its ATR 72-500s. The second converted aircraft is scheduled to be delivered later this year.

The Gokongwei-led carrier said then that the conversion of its passenger planes into freighters is seen to support the growing logistics industry in the country, fueled by the continuous growth of e-commerce businesses.

“One other thing that we’re very excited about and very proud of is we are revolutionizing cargo operations and we will be the first (local) airline to actually have dedicated cargo aircraft,” Candice Jennifer A. Iyog, Cebu Pacific vice-president for marketing and distribution, said then.

Listed Cebu Pacific operator Cebu Air, Inc. posted a 138.4% growth in net income to P3.43 billion in the first quarter, driven by an increase in passenger volume and higher average fares. — Denise A. Valdez

Boytoy Story

By Menchu Aquino Sarmiento

Movie Review
F#*@BOIS
Directed by Eduardo W. Roy, Jr.
Cinemalaya

(Spoilers ahead)

AMONG TODAY’s young filmmakers, it is perhaps Eduardo W. Roy, Jr. who most closely approximates the sensibility and legacy of Lino Brocka’s passion projects, particularly in his sympathetic portrayals of the oppression and exploitation of the desperately poor and marginalized in Philippine society. He considers himself a protégé of the “Found Story” School of Filmmaking as codified by his mentor Armando “Bing” Lao. This is an attempt to better express certain inherently Filipino realities. Found Films co-produced this movie.

Roy’s 2013 Cinemalaya entry Quick Change, which dealt with the domestic situation of an aging transsexual who supports her boyfriend and his small son as a cosmetologist to other trannies, evokes Brocka’s Ang Tatay Kong Nanay (1978) which starred Dolphy and Niño Muhlach. In F#*@BOIS, the domesticity and homosexuality are not so down-home and cozy, but dark and depraved.

The upbeat beginning of F#*@BOIS shows Mico Ramos (Kokoy de Santos), angelically wide-eyed and not quite legal being only 17, livestreaming. His older best friend, the sultry, ripped 23-year-old Ace Policarpio joins him. Even innocuous videos of them munching on chips immediately draw thousands of likes. They are cocky and self-assured, confident that their popularity on social media counts as real power and that the world is at their feet.

Their mama-san Mother Dan brings her stable of young studs to Mankind, a gay bar, which is the venue for the Mr. Galaxy pageant. During the van ride to the competition, a TV producer calls with the good news that young Mico passed his audition for a supporting role in a popular teleserye (the director Roy was a teleserye writer for many years). The future looks bright indeed for the little provinciano who dreams of becoming another Coco Martin.

The high point of the pageant is the bikini contest. Each contestant struts his stuff (body paint is judiciously used to strategically enhance abs) while delivering groan-worthy pick-up lines to the audience, such as: “You must be ketchup because I just want to dip my hotdog in you.” Ace’s sugar mommy (Yayo Aguila) drops by to deliver his and Mico’s new passports. They are a B1T1 (Buy One Take One) deal it seems, and she has promised to take both of them on a pleasure trip abroad. It’s another happy prospect to look forward to.

A former mayor and provincial warlord whom the boys creepily call “Daddy” (Ricky Davao) is the fly in their ointment. “Daddy” can’t let go of Ace, his current main squeeze. He threatens to publicly release a phone video he took of Ace and Mico fellating each other. Mico, whom Daddy calls “Bunso” (Baby Boy), in keeping with their sick pretense at being a family, pitifully pleads him to delete the video, fearing that once uploaded, it will go viral and his mother might see it.

Sparing their families is a recurring refrain. It’s why good-looking young men (and women) might choose the flesh trade over minimum wage contractual labor which might otherwise suffice for their own personal needs. Our societal mores deem it the duty of those who are better endowed (whether physically or intellectually), or who have more lucrative opportunities, to suck it in and sacrifice for the sake of their families back in the barrios.

Ricky Davao gives an over-the-top, tour de force performance as Daddy, the closeted head of a political dynasty, who can only cut loose in private. In the privacy of his boudoir with his two boytoys, he is giggly, jiggly, and girlish. His cellphone alias is Brithany Gaile, a name worthy of a Southern belle. Daddy’s perversion of patriarchy raises disturbing issues of Filipino familial and political power dynamics. As “Daddy,” he demands absolute obedience from the two feckless young men.

In the manner that a doting mother kisses her infant’s feet, Daddy greedily gorges on Ace’s and Mico’s tootsies — but only after he orders them to first scrub themselves clean (mag-kuskos kayo). The boys are always reminded that they are lesser beings who must serve and perform at his pleasure. In response to their pleas that he delete the new sex videos he has taken of them, Daddy snaps back: “Anong ipinagmamalaki ninyo — ’yang mga titi ninyo?” (What do you have to be proud of — your pathetic dicks?) It is this ultimate insult to and degradation of their very personhood which drives Ace over the edge.

As it was in several Brocka films about warlord politicians (as most notably played by the late Eddie Garcia), the weaker party loses out in the end. It’s like the Filipino proverb about the clay pot going up against the iron skillet (Walang laban ang palayok sa kawaling bakal.) Centuries ago, our ancestors already got that right. It was just as true then as it is now. In F#*@BOIS a cruel twist has a witness live-streaming Ace and Mico’s sorry fate. Small consolation if any though, for them to know that they would go viral till the very end.

Tourism estate developer’s income drops in Q2

GLOBAL-ESTATE Resorts, Inc. (GERI) delivered a five percent decline in attributable profit amid double-digit growth in revenues for the second quarter of the year.

In a regulatory filing, the integrated tourism and leisure developer of tycoon Andrew L. Tan showed that net income attributable to the parent reached P387.65 million in the April to June period, lower than the P406.21 million posted in the same period a year ago.

Second-quarter revenues increased 23% to P2.23 billion, but costs and expenses rose at a faster clip at 26% to P1.78 billion. The company saw costs of hotel operations balloon to P170.44 million for the period, from only P25.83 million in the same quarter in 2018.

On a six-month basis, GERI’s attributable profit climbed 16% to P865.13 million, against the P744.74 million seen during the same period in 2018.

Revenues jumped 22% to P3.9 billion, excluding non-recurring gains. Costs and expenses also increased by 25% to P3.1 billion, mainly due to higher rentals, hotel operations, operating expenses and income tax.

For the first half, residential sales, which accounts for almost 70% of GERI’s revenues, were flat at P2.8 billion, while the office and hotel units posted strong growth.

“Our growth story hinges on our rental and hotel businesses, which have been growing rapidly this year. On the rental side, the office segment in particular saw a huge swing in revenues due to the fact that both office towers in Southwoods City have already begun realizing full-year rentals,” GERI President Monica T. Salomon said in a statement.

Rental income in the first half surged 113% to P377 million by end-June, as the company benefited from the completion of Southwoods Office Towers in Biñan, Laguna. The two-tower project covers about 46,000 square meters in leasable space catered toward the business process outsourcing sectors.

Hotel revenues also jumped 286% to P484 million during the semester, following the opening of Twin Lakes Hotel in Tagaytay late last year.

“On the hotel side, the opening of Twin Lakes Hotel around late last year have boosted revenues significantly as the development continues to gain popularity amongst people visiting Tagaytay,” Ms. Salomon said.

Twin Lakes Hotel added around 130 rooms to GERI’s portfolio, complementing Savoy Hotel Boracay and Fairway & Bluewater in its Boracay Newcoast township.

GERI is part of listed property firm Megaworld Corp., which in turn is a subsidiary of Mr. Tan’s Alliance Global Group, Inc. The conglomerate also has interests in liquor, gaming, quick-service restaurants, and infrastructure.

Shares in GERI were flat at P1.36 each at the stock exchange on Tuesday. — Arra B. Francia

Laughter in dark places at most international Edinburgh Festival yet

LONDON — The world’s biggest celebration of the performing arts began last Friday in Edinburgh, with its most international line-up yet grappling with issues every bit as weighty as those that set the tone for the city’s first festival in 1947.

Then, the scars of World War II were still healing. Now the globe faces grave new threats in the form of climate change and a divisive wave of political populism.

Scottish comic and fringe performer Mark Nelson is tackling Britain’s experience of polarized views in Brexit Wounds, his take on the island’s chaotic departure from the European Union.

As a subject for comedy he considers Boris Johnson too good to be true, labeling Britain’s Prime Minister — along with US President Donald Trump — as “almost beyond satire.”

“They make so many gaffes themselves, anything they do is almost funnier than anything you can come up with,” he said.

Nelson’s solution so far has been to let his daughter Isla deliver the killer lines in “News at Three,” a reference to the age she made her debut. It’s an online sensation, scoring more than 140 million views to date.

Now six, Isla has “retired” to go to school. Of Johnson, she said: “He couldn’t do one of my jigsaws.”

While the festival’s aim to boost morale through culture has been a constant, its structure has radically changed over the decades.

In 1947 only eight theater groups turned up uninvited, beginning the original fringe.

Now fringe shows numerically dwarf the official festival and comedy is the biggest category, accounting for 37% of well over 3,000 shows. Theater is second at 27%.

Shona McCarthy, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society chief executive, said this year’s events feature work from a record 63 countries and will “challenge perceptions, stimulate conversation, entertain, make you laugh, make you cry and inspire you.”

As British comics tour the globe and stand-ups from far-flung places head to Edinburgh, the appeal is truly international, with the rise of women comics helping to generate a more personal humor.

British opera singer-turned-cabaret-artist Melinda Hughes in Off the Scale also sends up politics, as well as fretting about climate change and exploring the deeply painful.

Another artist who stretches the boundaries of when we’re allowed to laugh is Daniel Sloss.

Brought up in nearby Fife, he has shot to fame with Netflix shows streamed in 190 countries.

He takes responsibility, he says, for 110 divorces and 40,000 break-ups because of a sketch that’s high-risk for anyone in a fragile relationship.

Finding laughter in dark places is a skill Sloss developed as a child after the death of his younger sister.

“It was when I realized how important laughter was,” he said. — Reuters

BPI eyes digitalization, ‘measured’ expansion

DAVAO CITY — Top officials of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) announced the opening of two new branches in the Davao Region within the year, but at the same time stressed they are “carefully” phasing the expansion of physical offices in view of the continued development of online banking services.

“We want to make sure that our branch growth and people growth is in a measured phase,” BPI President and Chief Executive Officer Cezar P. Consing said in an interview with the media here Monday.

“We have to keep one eye on the fact that we are on a digitalization journey… Digitalization makes every process more efficient and every conversation more valuable,” he added.

One BPI branch in Davao City will be opened within the month. Another BPI branch and one BPI Direct BanKo office are lined up in Compostela Valley province before the end of the year.

In the Davao Region, there are currently 19 BPI, 3 BPI Family Savings Bank, and 11 BPI Direct BanKo branches.

Mr. Consing said they are looking to have a balance between the growth of their manpower alongside technological innovations, and avoid a tipping point wherein they will “have too many branches” and “too many people.”

“And we don’t want that to happen,” he said.

HUMAN TRANSFORMATION
BPI Chief Operating Officer Ramon L. Jocson, for his part, said the digitalization process includes “human transformation” for strengthening “face-to-face channels.”

He explained that even with the growing use of technology, clients need to be reassured that transactions without human intervention are still overseen by the bank.

“Especially in the provinces, the human factor is important…you have to balance technology with ‘high touch’,” said Mr. Jocson, who was an executive of technology giant IBM before joining the Ayala-led bank.

He said one of the key challenges in their digitalization program is migrating all clients to paperless accounts. The bank aims to achieve this within the next five years.

At present, some 1.2 million of about eight million clients still do not want to do away with passbooks, he said.

Mr. Jocson added that BPI is partnering with financial technology companies to help them identify and pursue new revenue streams.

BPI Corporate Affairs and Communications head Owen Cammayo said they will also be launching a mobile phone app for micro-entrepreneurs under their microfinance unit BPI Direct BanKo.

The application is currently under pilot testing, he said, and will be going live soon.

“Most of the benefit is that they can now open (an account) through BanKo on the phone mobile app. They can deposit and borrow money via the app. The benefit there is access to funds because we made it easier for them to apply for loans and easy availment of loans,” Mr. Jocson said.

Mr. Cammayo said there were 200 BPI Direct BanKo branches nationwide as of end-2018.

“Digitizing BanKo is part of BPI’s goal to increase the number of users of its digital channels,” Mr. Cammayo said. — Carmelito Q. Francisco and Maya M. Padillo

ArthaLand acquires property in Cebu City

ARTHALAND Corp. acquired a 2,245-square meter (sq.m.) property in Cebu City, where it plans to build an upscale residential condominium.

In a statement, ArthaLand said its special purpose company Bhavana Properties, Inc. bought the parcel of land from Union Bank of the Philippines. The property is at the corner of Samar Loop Road and Ayala, Hipodromo, in Cebu Business Park.

ArthaLand said it plans to develop the “first premier, dual certified, sustainable residential condominium in Southern Philippines” on the property.

“We are very optimistic about our prospects in Cebu City following the success of our Cebu Exchange, which is the largest green office building in the Philippines. There exists a growing desire for sustainable and high quality developments in the area which propels us to continuously look for opportunities to expand our presence,” Leo T. Po, executive vice-president and treasurer of ArthaLand, said in a statement. — V.M.P.Galang

Edinburgh Festival took pound hedges to sign up foreign artists

ORGANIZERS of Edinburgh’s performing arts festival took hedges on the pound earlier this year in order to sign up international artists amid Brexit-induced currency volatility.

Managers hedged most of their currency dealings between six and eight months ago, shielding the festival’s budget from sterling swings, director Fergus Linehan said in an interview with the Financial Times. The three-week event features theater, dance and musical events with performers from 41 countries, from Russia to Nigeria.

“No one wants to do deals in sterling any more,” Linehan said. “So you’ve got to do all the arrangements in dollars and euros.”

The arrangements highlight how sterling’s volatility is affecting economic activity across the UK there may be further weakness if Prime Minister Boris Johnson takes the country closer to leaving the European Union without a deal.

The pound lost almost 6.5% against the dollar in the last 12 months, and more than 2.5% since Johnson became leader on July 24, putting at risk the purchasing power of the festival organizers. Last year, their budget was £13 million ($16 million), according to the Financial Times.

“Our buying power is down” with the pound at these levels, Linehan said. “Obviously our currency being in the toilet doesn’t help.”

Uncertainty over Brexit is also triggering a paralysis in long-term planning with some of the Edinburgh Festival’s partners, Linehan said.

“No one wants to say ‘OK, in five years’ time this is what we are going to do’ because there are so many variables that haven’t been really established yet,” he said. — Bloomberg

RBA holds rates at low as trade tensions rage

THE RESERVE Bank of Australia held rates at an all-time low even as the US-China tensions continue to roil markets. — REUTERS

SYDNEY — Australia’s central bank held rates at an all-time low of 1% on Tuesday as it weighed the impact of past easing, though markets are wagering the tide of policy stimulus sweeping the world will compel it to cut again before yearend.

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) quarter-point cuts in June and July have, in reality, struggled to gain traction in the face of hard-pressed consumers at home and global uncertainty cast by the Sino-US trade dispute.

RBA Governor Philip Lowe acknowledged there might be more to do after its monthly board meeting, adding it was “reasonable” to expect lower for longer interest rates to help boost employment growth and inflation.

Futures are pricing in a cut to 0.75% by October, and 0.5% by early next year.

“You do get the sense that if they are concerned about the unemployment rate going in an upward trajectory they will move again,” said JPMorgan Chase & Co economist Ben Jarman.

JPMorgan expects the RBA will pause this year before resuming easing in early 2020.

The RBA will issue updated economic forecasts this Friday and Lowe offered a taster on the outlook, noting that consumer prices would stay subdued for a long time to come.

Inflation is not seen reaching the floor of the RBA’s 2% to 3% target band over 2020. The jobless rate is also not seen hitting the RBA’s aspirational 4.5% target over the next two years.

Governor Lowe will appear before a parliamentary economics committee on Friday where he will field questions from lawmakers on the economy and the future course of monetary policy.

Lowe has already taken what is seen as a step toward forward guidance by saying it was “reasonable to expect that an extended period of low interest rates will be required in Australia.”

This tactic has been used by many central banks to put downward pressure on both long-term borrowing costs and their currencies.

The ploy has had some success with Australia’s 10-year bond yield diving 21 basis points in just the past month to hit an historic trough of 0.993%.

The local currency has shed 1.2% in the same period to touch seven-month lows at $0.6748, a huge boost to export earnings from resources which are priced in US dollars.

TRADE BOOM AMID THE GLOOM
Data out Tuesday showed the country’s trade surplus ballooned to a record A$8 billion ($5.43 billion) in June capping easily the best quarter on record for exports.

Australia may have even enjoyed its first quarterly current account surplus since 1975, lessening its reliance on foreign funding at a time when global markets are stressed and providing scope for some fiscal stimulus.

“We do think…there will be capacity for fiscal policy at some point,” JPMorgan’s Jarman noted. “That will certainly take some pressure off the RBA but we don’t think that’s coming anytime soon.”

Economists are unsure whether Australia can maintain its strong trade position in the face of a sudden flare-up in Sino-US trade tensions, which is prompting a new round of global policy easing.

New Zealand’s central bank is considered certain to cut its rates on Wednesday while markets are now pricing in 115 basis points of easing from the Federal Reserve out to the end of next year.

There was no mention in the RBA’s statement of the most recent tariff war escalation. But Lowe will likely be asked about the impact from trade war at his Friday testimony while Deputy Governor Guy Debelle speaks on “Risks To Outlook” next week.

“Given Governor Lowe’s previous concerns about adverse trade developments, Australia’s stronger external position and resilience in key exports to key export destinations is a marginal argument in favor of stable monetary policy right now,” Citi economist Josh Williamson said.

“However, we aren’t expecting further gains in the trade surplus and instead expect some moderation in the second half of the year,” he added.

“Regardless, domestic labor market developments are likely to be the key behind ongoing RBA policy discussions going forward outside of the risk of negative global shocks.” — Reuters

Nickel Asia’s profit falls on foreign exchange losses

NICKEL ASIA Corp. reported a 48% decrease in attributable net income for the first half of 2019, due to foreign exchange losses.

In a disclosure on Tuesday, the listed miner said earnings dropped to P713.75 million during the six-month period from P1.39 billion it booked in the same period last year.

Revenues went up 1.14% to P7.46 billion during the January to June period.

Nickel Asia attributed the earnings decline “primarily to the impact of a stronger peso relative to the US Dollar which resulted to a net foreign exchange loss of P198.8 million, a turnaround from a gain of P525.4 million recognized last year.”

The company said it incurred P81-million net loss from its equity investments in Coral Bay Nickel Corp. and Taganito HPAL Nickel Corp. (THPAL) versus net earnings of P526 million last year due to lower nickel and cobalt prices.

The miner sold 9.08 million wet metric tons (WMT) of nickel ore during the January to June period, 2% up from last year’s 8.89 million WMT. Limonite ore deliveries also increased 10% to 4.41 million WMT, which offset the decline in ore export volumes by 4% to 4.67 million WMT.

“The Company realized an average of $5.56 per pound of payable nickel on its shipments of ore to the two THPAL plants, the pricing of which are linked to the LME [London Metal Exchange]. This compares to an average price of $6.27 per pound of payable nickel sold in 2018. With respect to export sales, the Company realized a higher average price of $20.70 per WMT compared to $18.77 per WMT in the prior year,” Nickel Asia said.

It noted the higher ore export price was due to increase in average nickel ore grade of 1.44% from 1.35% last year.

“Nickel ore shipments from Indonesia increased significantly in the first half of 2019 as compared to last year, dampening ore export prices. Nevertheless, we remain positive as to the outlook for LME nickel on the back of expectations of the stainless steel industry and the steep rise in electronic vehicle production over the next five years. The LME nickel-linked segment of our market accounts for close to 50% of our total shipments,” Martin Antonio G. Zamora, president of Nickel Asia, said in a statement. — VMPG

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