Firms vie for a 3rd of oil, gas fields offered

August 20, 2019 | 12:33 am

By Victor V. Saulon
Sub-Editor

SEVEN GROUPS have bid for areas offered for petroleum exploration by the Department of Energy (DoE) in a contracting round that seeks to revive efforts to find another Malampaya.

“We’re happy to get a third of the pre-determined areas,” DoE Assistant Secretary Leonido J. Pulido III told reporters on Monday during the opening of bids.

Four entities bid for four out of the 14 pre-determined areas offered by the department, while three entities “nominated” or proposed to explore areas outside the department’s list.

RISK PERCEPTION
Mr. Pulido said the number of prospectors should be viewed based on how the country fared in terms of petroleum exploration over the years.

“If you look at the context of the Philippines, we are currently competing against markets from Africa, we’re currently competing for investments from the US,” he said.

“In a lot of these international companies, the tendency really is to — shall we say — invest in areas that are very, very stable, where the risk is less.”

The DoE on Monday opened the bids for the 14 pre-determined areas — mostly offshore — under its Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program (PCECP) that embodies the department’s bid to spur exploration of areas in the country with potential oil and gas reserves.

Up for grabs were: one in Cagayan, three in east Palawan, three in Sulu Sea, two in Agusan-Davao, one in Cotabato, and four in west Luzon. The application period is 180 days. None of the areas lies in waters contested by China and the Philippines.

The four companies that submitted bids were Israel’s Ratio Petroleum Ltd. (Area 3-East Palawan Basin); Sulu Sea Energy Resources Development Corp. (Area 6-Sulu Sea Basin); the partnership of The Philodrill Corp. and PXP Energy Corp. (Area 7-Sulu Sea Basin); and Esmaulana Global Ventures Company, Inc. (Area 6-Sulu Sea Basin).

Under PCECP, companies may also nominate other areas of interest at any time of the year. Their proposals will be subjected to challenge within a 60-day period.

The three companies that proposed to explore other areas are Sulu Sea Energy (Sulu Sea Basin); Troika Giant Power Corp. (Northwest Palawan Basin); and Superior (SG) Shipyards, Inc. (Southeast Luzon Basin).

“Please expect a formal notice regarding the completeness of your submission or the incompleteness thereof… within the next seven to 10 days,” Mr. Pulido told the bidders.

He said the bids are subject for evaluation and a final decision will be released after 15 working days.

Mr. Pulido added that DoE officials will continue encouraging other investors, especially foreign entities, to bid for the pre-determined areas or to nominate their preferred sites.

A delegation will be off next week to Argentina to promote the country’s exploration program, he added.

“The truth is we have to recognize the fact that the Philippines is essentially a frontier country as far as energy resource is development is concerned,” he said.

“We do have an existing territorial dispute. In the discussions that we’ve had with different agencies around the world, we do recognize that the Philippines is not exactly marketable,” Mr. Pulido noted.

“So there is difficulty, there is a challenge there and we are working on that.”

The department had expressed hope that the contracting round would result in finding another Malampaya, the offshore Palawan project that fuels five power plants in Batangas province with a combined capacity of 3,211 megawatts.

That natural gas field is estimated to be depleted by 2022-2024.

Filipino youth more ready than SE Asian peers to work abroad

August 20, 2019 | 12:32 am

By Gillian M. Cortez
Reporter

MORE THAN half of Filipino youth want to go abroad to land jobs, while the Philippines had the smallest percentage of this segment saying they would like to stay in the country to work, according to an online survey covering six Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members which the World Economic Forum published on Aug. 16.

The 2019 survey, which covered 56,000 individuals in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam aged 15- to 35-years-old and which was run last month, “examined the attitudes of ASEAN youths to jobs and skills, and the impact of technology on the future of work,” a summary of findings read.

The Forum conducted the survey online in partnership with Sea, the Singapore-based internet company that operates digital entertainment, e-commerce and digital financial service businesses known as Garena, Shopee and AirPay. Users of Shopee and Garena were invited to take part in the survey, with responses of only those aged 15- to 35-years-old considered for the report.

Survey results showed, among others, that 47.1% of Philippine respondents “would like to work in my home country”, the smallest percentage compared to 48.1% in Thailand, 51.5% in Malaysia, 54.5% in Vietnam, 60.4% in Indonesia and 65.7% in Singapore.

At the same time, 30.3% — the biggest percentage among respondents across the region — of Philippine respondents “would like to work in another ASEAN country” compared to 27% in Malaysia, 24.5% in Thailand, 23.1% in Vietnam, 22.6% in Indonesia and 12% in Singapore.

Intra-regional percentages were close in terms of wanting to work outside Southeast Asia: 21.5% in Malaysia, 22.3% in Singapore, 22.4% in Vietnam and 22.6% in the Philippines. Indonesia and Thailand were outliers with 17% and 27.4%, respectively.

Citing work by Ricardo Hausmann, professor on the Practice of Economic Development at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in the United States, the report said individuals seek “knowhow” — which is different from education in that it involves development of practical skills rather than theoretical knowledge — by working in foreign companies in a home country, through technology transfer brought by foreign workers or by “spending time overseas and learning new skills.”

Sought for comment, Calixto V. Chikiamco, board director at the Institute for Development and Econometric Analysis, Inc., said in a mobile phone message on Sunday that “[m]any of the jobs here are in low-level, unstable service jobs,” even as “[d]omestic growth has been strong the past five years compared to the past.”

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, there were around 2.3 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) worldwide as of 2018, with about 37.1% of them working in elementary occupations.

“Our youth may be more comfortable working abroad due to English proficiency and the OFW network [composed of friends and relatives]…” Foundation for Economic Freedom Fellow Vicente B. Paqueo said in a separate text message on Sunday.

Of the six ASEAN members covered by the survey, the Philippines also had the second-smallest percentage of respondents “who aspire to be an entrepreneur” at 18.7%, higher only than Singapore (16.9%). Indonesia topped the region in this regard with 35.5%, followed by Thailand (31.9%), Vietnam (25.7%) and Malaysia (22.9%).

In terms of acknowledgement of the need for “lifelong learning,” “the picture varies by country”: the Philippines had the highest percentage of respondents who believe their “current education and skills are already out of date,” Vietnamese had the highest proportion of those believing their skills need to be constantly updated over time, while Thai respondents were the most confident about the durability of current skills.

Global survey finds ASEAN youth willing to upgrade their job skills amid potential technological disruptions

August 20, 2019 | 12:32 am

More companies close in on maiden share sale

August 20, 2019 | 12:31 am

By Arra B. Francia
Senior Reporter

COCONUT PRODUCTS manufacturer Axelum Resources Corp. and home improvement retailer AllHome Corp. are one step closer to launching their market debuts after securing clearance from the Securities and Exchange Commission for their initial public offering (IPO).

In a statement issued Monday, the country’s corporate regulator said it has approved in its en banc meeting the IPO of Axelum Resources and AllHome, who plan to raise up to P7.695 billion and P20.7 billion, respectively.

In a preliminary prospectus posted on its Web site, Axelum Resources said it will offer 400 million treasury shares and 300 million new common shares to the public, alongside 430 million existing common shares held by CP Compass Singapore Pte. Ltd. The company has set a maximum offer price of P6.81 per share.

It has hired First Metro Investment Corp. as issue manager, bookrunner and lead underwriter for the transaction.

Under its timetable, the company looks to finalize the offer price by Sept. 19, with the offer period to run from Sept. 23 to 27.

It targets to list on the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) by Oct. 4.

Based on the sale of primary shares alone, Axelum Resources expects P4.408 billion in net proceeds from the IPO. Bulk of the proceeds will be used for the company’s target acquisitions in order to expand its reach further to the United States, Europe (including eastern Europe), Middle East and major countries in Asia.

Axelum Resources currently has its main production facility in Medina, Misamis Oriental. It also has two manufacturing and distribution facilities in the US and Australia, as well as distribution agents in key cities in the world.

Meanwhile, Villar-led AllHome plans to offer of up to 1.125 billion shares, consisting of up to 750 million primary shares and up to 375 million secondary shares. It will also offer up to 168.75 million shares as part of the overallotment option.

AllHome is looking at a preliminary offer price of up to P16 per share. Considering only primary shares, the company expects P11.46 billion in net proceeds from the sale which will be used for construction of 19 new stores this year and another 19 stores in 2020.

Part of the proceeds will also be used for debt repayment and general corporate purposes.

The company tapped UBS AG, Singapore Branch as the offer’s sole global coordinator and joint bookrunner. CLSA Limited and Credit Suisse (Singapore) Limited will act as joint bookrunners, while PNB Capital & Investment Corp will act as local lead underwriter. China Bank Capital Corp. will also serve as co-lead local underwriter.

AllHome targets to list its shares on the main board of the PSE by Oct. 1 after an offer period that will run from Sept. 18 to 24.

Both companies now await final clearance from the Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. to proceed.

“I think the performance of AllHome and Axelum Resources will be dependent on the market sentiment on their IPO dates and how optimistic investors will be,” Timson Securities, Inc. Equity Trader Jervin S. De Celis said in a mobile phone message.

KEPWEALTH SOARS AT DEBUT
SEC’s approval comes after the maiden listing of property leasing and asset management company Kepwealth Property Phils, Inc. (KPPI) on Monday, where it raised P384.8 million.

“I was told that the company intends to use the funds from this share sale to diversify its asset base and acquire office space in key cities in Metro Manila to boost its total leasable space. Expanding its leasing portfolio bodes well for the company, especially as prospects of the property sector remains upbeat. The growth potential of KPPI will surely be promising once additional revenue is generated from its planned acquisitions,” PSE quoted its chairman, Jose T. Pardo, as saying in his welcome remarks during the company’s listing ceremony.

Shares in KPPI soared 41.99% or P2.41 to close at P8.15 apiece on its first trading day, riding general optimism at the PSE index, which increased by 142.37 points or 1.82% to finish 7,938.35.

“KPPI’s strong performance today may be attributed to the presence of day traders who took advantage of the wide price range of the stock as well as retail investors who chased the price when it started rallying,” Mr. De Celis said.

PHL external payment position turns around

August 20, 2019 | 12:30 am

By Mark T. Amoguis
Senior Researcher

THE COUNTRY’s external financial position turned around in July from the preceding month and a year ago, fueled by dollar inflows from the central bank’s foreign exchange operations and income from its investments abroad, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a press release on Monday.

The Philippines’ balance of payments (BoP) position posted a $248-million surplus in July, a turnaround from deficits of $404 million in June and $455 million in July last year.

The BoP measures the country’s transactions with the rest of the world at a given time. A surplus means more foreign funds entered the Philippines compared to what was taken out.

The central bank said inflows from the BSP’s foreign exchange operations and income from its investments abroad “were offset partially… by outflows which were reflected in the payments made by the NG on its foreign exchange obligations” in July, the central bank said in its press statement.

The BoP in the seven months to July reached $5.036 billion, similarly turning around from a $3.712-billion year-ago deficit.

The central bank attributed the seven-month surplus to remittance inflows from overseas Filipinos last semester as well as net inflows of foreign direct investments in the five months to May.

The central bank noted that the latest BoP reflects the final gross international reserve level of $85.18 billion as of July, “a more than ample liquidity buffer” equivalent to 7.4 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.

This also translates to 5.2 times the country’s debt falling due in a year as well as 3.8 times such short-term debt plus principal payments on medium- and long-term loans of both public and private sectors due within the next 12 months.

“The month-on-month change can be attributed to the global uncertainties brought by the general sentiment on the US-China trade war,” Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc., said in an e-mail when sought for comment. “Inflows, portfolio and investment are influenced by how the protracted trade issues may conclude. These uncertainties may continue and may contribute to volatility in the BoP,” Mr. Asuncion said.

The central bank expects the country to book a BoP surplus of $3.7 billion this year, a turnaround from the $2.306-billion deficit recorded in 2018.

One Vertis Plaza set to become QC’s premiere office address

August 20, 2019 | 12:07 am

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Associate Editor

QUEZON CITY will soon have its first AAA, premium-grade office building, as Ayala Land Premier (ALP) starts work on One Vertis Plaza within the Vertis North complex.

Towering over the Vertis North skyline, the 43-storey One Vertis Plaza is poised to become the city’s premiere corporate address when it is completed by the second quarter of 2024.

“With our newest project, we’re able to expand our portfolio beyond the residential,” Paolo O. Viray, ALP head of sales and marketing, said during a briefing last Aug. 13.

One Vertis Plaza is the luxury developer’s first foray into office spaces for sale.

Asked what took ALP so long to venture into the office sector, ALP Managing Director Joseph Carmichael Z. Jugo said the company wanted to secure the right location and they found it in Vertis North.

“A growing demand for high-quality, headquarter-type corporate offices, coupled with Vertis North’s unrivaled accessibility to major thoroughfares, transportation hubs, and commercial centers presented an ideal address for ALP’s pioneer office tower,” he said.

Bordered by major thoroughfares EDSA and North Avenue, Vertis North was the perfect location for the project. It is also near an existing Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 station and the Unified Grand Central Station that is currently under construction. The central station will link MRT Lines 3 and 7, Light Rail Transit Line 1 and the Metro Manila Subway.

Vertis North, which was launched in 2012, now has high-rise condominiums, a Seda hotel, a shopping mall and corporate offices.

The Vertis North Corporate Center has over 123,000 square meters (sq.m.) of leasable office space in three towers, plus another two towers planned.

Below the corporate center is Ayala Malls Vertis North, which has more than 40,000 sq.m. of gross leasable space. Across from the mall is Seda Vertis North, which has 438 hotel rooms, conference rooms and a ballroom.

Ayala residential brands Alveo and Avida have also launched nine residential towers with nearly 7,000 units.

A two-hectare park called Vertis North Gardens is also being developed. Similar to the Ayala Triangles in Makati City, the wonderful park is meant to be the “green lung” giving residents and employees in the area a space to walk and relax.

BUILDING FEATURES
One Vertis Plaza will rise at the south end of the Vertis North Gardens.

“It has an all-glass facade that provides a timeless, elegant design. We expect this building to look good 20 years from now,” Mr. Viray said.

Aidea, Inc. was tapped as the architect and interior designer for the project.

One Vertis Plaza will have a sprawling motorcourt and a double volume-height lobby that will give tenants a grand sense of arrival. It will have 19 elevators, including 16 high-speed lifts with a destination control system.

The Plaza will feature restaurants and cafes that open up to the Vertis North Gardens, while The Square will be the main food hall.

One Vertis Plaza offers prime office spaces ranging from 101 to 325 square meters in floor area. There are 200 units available in the Mid Zone (5^th to 25^th floors) and 130 units in the High Zone (26^th to 38^th floors) — all for sale.

For the top floors or the Executive Zone (39^th to 43^rd floors), ALP will retain ownership of the 42 units which will be leased out.

While the nearby Vertis North Corporate Center already caters to business process outsourcing firms, One Vertis Plaza is looking to attract companies that need headquarter-type corporate offices in Quezon City — often considered the gateway to the north.

Mr. Jugo said companies in manufacturing, food, and pharmaceutical industries have already invested in the building. He noted these are companies that are looking to set up their headquarters, upgrade their existing offices, or open an extension office to cater to clients in Quezon City and north of Metro Manila.

As of August, the average selling price at One Vertis Plaza is P352,193 per square meters. ALP officials said nearly 70% of the available office spaces have been taken up.

Cignal to invest P200M in next 2 years on content production

August 20, 2019 | 12:06 am

By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

CIGNAL TV, Inc. is investing about P100 million annually over the next two years to produce its own content in order to future-proof itself as the local television industry goes digital.

Vitto Angelo P. Lazatin, Cignal TV vice-president and head for content management, acquisition and strategy, said Cignal is expanding its content library in preparation for the growth of digital platforms.

“After years of carrying other people’s channels and other people’s programs, we knew that we had to put ourselves in a position where we started to own some of our content. You could look at that as really kind of future-proofing ourself,” he told reporters on Monday.

“When you produce your own content, there are many different ways to monetize it…Certainly there’s going to be a lot of our resources that are going to be going into Cignal Entertainment and (creating) our original content,” he added.

Cignal Entertainment is the company’s original production unit, which announced yesterday it is bringing one of its original movies — Ang Babaeng Allergic Sa WiFi — to global streaming platform Netflix on Aug. 21.

The film will be the first from Cignal Entertainment’s library of five theatrical releases and about 10 series to make it to the international platform. It will be streamed globally except in China, Taiwan, Japan and India.

“We’re very proud that our film will finally be shown to a global audience by Netflix. The film’s acquisition gives Cignal Entertainment the opportunity to share our creative vision to the rest of the world,” Cignal TV President and Chief Executive Officer Jane J. Basas was quoted as saying in the company’s statement yesterday.

Mr. Lazatin said that in the four countries not covered by the Netflix contract, Cignal Entertainment signed different agreements to sell either a separate licensing deal for the movie or just its format.

“One more reason why we got into this business is because there’s more ways to be able to make revenue beyond ticket sales and subscriptions. You can sell the format and license of the shows,” he said.

Cignal TV currently has 2.1 million subscribers on its network. It also handles a mobile streaming platform Cignal Play, which Mr. Lazatin said will be relaunched in October as a standalone product for Cignal’s original content and shows from its partners such as HBO and AXN.

Cignal TV is a subsidiary of MediaQuest Holdings, Inc. Hastings Holdings, a unit of MediaQuest, has a stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.

Developers urged to tap traditional firms to offset declining demand from BPOs

August 20, 2019 | 12:06 am

By Bjorn Biel M. Beltran
Special Features Writer

OFFICE PROPERTY developers should tap the country’s traditional businesses to complement the continuous growth of offshore gaming operators and offset the weakening expansion of outsourcing firms, a global property services firm said.

According to the latest report from Colliers International, office space demand from business process outsourcing firms (BPOs) in the Philippines has seen a significant decline amid a government-issued moratorium on the processing of Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) applications in Metro Manila and uncertainty regarding the second package of the comprehensive tax reform program, which intends to reduce corporate income tax to foreign investors.

From 361,000 square meters (sq.m.) of transactions from BPO firms in the first half of 2018, the industry closed only 199,000 sq.m. of deals in the same period this year, 45% lower year-on-year.

Meanwhile, Chinese-run offshore gaming operators (POGOs) as well as traditional companies, including firms in the legal, engineering, construction, health care, food and beverage, and flexible workspace sectors, have picked up the slack.

Demand from POGOs continued to grow with office space transactions reaching 274,000 sq.m. in the first half of the year, in areas like Alabang, the Bay Area, Quezon City, Ortigas, Makati central business district (CBD) and its fringes. Colliers projected this take-up to breach 300,000 sq.m. this year, as government relations with China continue to warm, and new business hubs around the country become more accommodating to offshore gaming operators.

Traditional companies tallied at 271,000 sq.m. of office space transactions in 2019’s first half, surging 22% higher than the 222,000 sq.m. it closed in the same period last year. This is also expected to grow as the economy sustains its momentum, and government investment in infrastructure bears fruit.

“As business participants, we should focus on the opportunities now,” Dom Fredrick Andaya, director at Colliers International Philippines, Inc., said in a briefing on August 9.

“There’s the Build, Build, Build program. GDP (gross domestic product) growth came in below expectations, but we’re still hoping that the economy will continue to grow. This will fuel the growth of the traditional sector of the industry. And we’re seeing it. We’re seeing that growing not only in Metro Manila, but also in other locations in the Philippines.”

Mr. Andaya further noted that increasing demand from traditional firms would encourage tenant diversity in the property market and reduce the risks from over dependence on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators to drive demand.

Traditional firms and POGOs represent an equal share of 74% of all transactions in the office market, with outsourcing firms accounting for the remaining 26%.

Leasable office stock is projected to reach 14.3 million sq.m. in two years, around 31% higher than Metro Manila’s available stock of 10.9 million sq.m. as of the end of 2018. About 54% of the new supply will be in Ortigas Center, Fort Bonifacio, the Bay Area, as well as emerging sites in Cebu, Iloilo, Clark, and Davao.

Rents in Metro Manila are expected to rise by an annual 6% this year to 2021 as a result, as firms compete for PEZA-approved office space and limited supply.

Colliers saw an office vacancy rate of 4.9% in the previous three months, lower than the 5.4% recorded in the first quarter following substantial absorption of office space in Quezon City and Ortigas CBD and its fringes. Annual vacancy is expected to become 6.1% from the current year to 2021, equivalent to an annual supply of 1.08 million sq.m. and yearly net absorption of about one million square meters.

In the residential property market, sustained demand in both pre-selling and secondary condominium markets have encouraged the entry of upscale and luxury joint ventures developed by local and foreign companies.

These joint projects, though relatively expensive with total contract prices per unit ranging from P7.6 million to P31 million, have an average take-up rate of nearly 90% as of the first half of the year.

“Aside from the capital appreciation potential, investors and end-users are enticed by upscale facilities, innovative concierge services, and the advantage of being in a master planned development. We see strong take-up from similar projects in Metro Manila being sustained over the next three years and thus project more aggressive launches from both local and foreign developers,” Joey Roi Bondoc, senior research manager at Colliers International Philippines, Inc., said in the report.

Among the major foreign firms that either expanded or established their presence in the country through joint projects with local players are Hankyu Realty Co., Ltd., Mitsui Fudosan, and Nomura Real Estate Development Co.

In the previous three months, Colliers recorded the completion of 2,600 residential units, bringing the total of completed units in the first half of the year to 6,300. Condominium stock in Metro Manila was at 125,150, with the property experts projecting it to reach 128,050 by year end. Fort Bonifacio and the Bay Area is seen to account for nearly 80% of the new supply from 2019 to 2021.

The completion of new units pushed overall vacancy in Metro Manila to 10.6% in the second quarter of 2019. This is expected to reach 11% per annum until 2020 due to the significant number of new projects in the pipeline. However, leasing activities is seen to remain firm in sub-markets housing POGOs in the Bay Area, Ortigas Center, Makati CBD, and its fringes.

Offshore gaming is also expected to sustain modest rental growth in Metro Manila, growing at around 0.9% annually from this year to 2021.

Meanwhile, capital values in the metro grew by an average of 3.7% quarter on quarter, with average prices of prime three-bedroom units in the secondary market in Makati CBD, Rockwell Center, and Fort Bonifacio ranging between P145,000 and P362,000 per sq.m. Overall, the average price of residential units in Metro Manila are seen to rise by an annual average of 5.2% from 2019 to 2021.

Bollywood comes to the Shang

August 20, 2019 | 12:06 am

A FILM about a champion female boxer and the heroic deeds of a flight attendant who saved hundreds of passengers when a plane was hijacked are just some of the films featured in the first Mabuhay Bollywood film festival which runs from Aug. 23 to 25 at the Shangri-La Plaza mall in Mandaluyong City.

“We have the largest movie industry in the world — we produce more movies than Hollywood does. We want to give you a snapshot on the kind of movies [we produce]… we have different genres, from typical Bollywood movies with song and dance and about carefree life and there are inspiring stories about people who braved adversity and those which are on an epic scale… with thousands of characters,” Jaideep Majumdar, the Indian Ambassador to the Philippines, said during a press conference on Aug. 13.

In 2018, India produced over 1,800 feature films while the United States and Canada produced a combined 871 films, according to statistics portal Statista.

“It would be a good opportunity to introduce a movie festival from India where Filipinos can get to know more not only movies of India, but about the people of India and what makes us tick. You will be surprised that we are very similar — the same similar kind of social messaging, the similar issues that we face as a nation,” Mr. Majumdar added.

The film festival is held in celebration of 70 years of India-Philippine friendship. The festival is co-presented by the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).

The films in the festival include a selection of female-led films: the biopic Mary Kom (2014) by Omung Kumar which stars Priyanka Chopra as India’s “Magnificent Mary Kom” who won the 2008 World Boxing Championships; and Neerja (2016) by Ram Madhvani, a thriller-drama based on the true-story of Neerja Bhanot, a young flight attendant who died saving more than 200 passengers on the hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 in 1986.

Also included in the female-led lineup are thriller Pink (2016) by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury which follows how three young women try to clear their names after being accused of a crime by a well-connected man.

“Apart from the twists and turns of a court drama, the Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury-helmed movie puts women’s rights and dignity front and center of its story,” a press release said.

Mystery film Kahaani (2012) by Sujoy Ghosh, meanwhile, follows the journey of a pregnant woman who arrives in Kolkata from London to search for her missing husband, who might or might not even exist.

The festival also includes in its lineup two epic fantasy films because “it wouldn’t be a great introduction to Indian cinema without a taste of epic fantasy films,” according to the release.

Bahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Bahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017), both directed by S.S. Rajamouli, follows the life of Sivudu, a foundling at a small village who sets off to reclaim his identity and fulfill his destiny after meeting a beautiful warrior on a quest to save his queen.

Action-comedy Bang Bang! (2014) by Siddharth Anand is a remake of the 2010 Hollywood film, Knight and Day, on how the life of a staid bank receptionist changes after meeting a handsome thief.

A quintessential Bollywood film, Queen (2013) by Vikas Bahl, is all about a young woman who goes on a honeymoon trip alone after her fiancé calls off the wedding.

Finally, another failed marriage, this time with guns, goons, and fighting spirit, rounds up the festival. Tanu Weds Manu (2011) by Aanand L. Rai is a romantic drama about a London-based doctor who comes to India to choose a bride and finds one who does not believe in arranged marriages.

Mabuhay Bollywood runs from Aug. 23 to 25 at the Shangri-La Plaza Red Carpet Cinemas. The films are free on a first-come, first-served basis. For the screening schedule and other information, visit the Shangri-La Plaza Facebook page or call 370-2500 loc. 597. — Zsarlene B. Chua

TIHGI aims to delist by October

August 20, 2019 | 12:05 am

By Arra B. Francia, Senior Reporter

TRAVELLERS International Hotel Group, Inc. (TIHGI) targets to delist from the local bourse by October, after starting a tender offer for up to P8.71 billion worth of shares on Monday.

In a tender offer report filed with the stock exchange, TIHGI said the tender offer will run until Sept. 23, with cross transactions for the tendered shares scheduled for Sept. 30.

The owner and operator of Resorts World Manila looks to formally delist from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Oct. 15.

The company targets to buy all 1.58 billion shares held by the public, or a 10.4% stake. At the least, it looks to buy 838.2 million shares, enough to bring down its public float to five percent. Under PSE rules, the minimum required ownership of the bidder after the tender offer for a voluntary delisting is 95%.

TIHGI has set the tender offer price at P5.50, which is at the higher end of the P5-5.70 range based on the fair value opinion of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and its local partner Isla Lipana & Co.

PwC/Isla Lipana said it used three methods to come up with the fair value price for the offer, namely discounted cash flow, market approach, and income approach.

“Based upon and subject to the foregoing, it is our opinion that as of the valuation date, the fair valuation of TIHGI’s share is between P5 and P5.80 using the discounted cash flow approach, which we have cross-checked with the market approach,” PwC/Isla Lipana said in its report.

“The range values where the two approaches intersect is between P5 and P5.70 or equivalent to equity values of P79,143.7 million and P90,215.3 million, respectively.”

The tender offer price is above TIHGI’s volume weighted average price (VWAP) of P5.49 for the last three months, as well as P5.46 for the last six months.

Analysts had mixed reactions on the tender offer price, but advised stockholders that it is still better to tender their shares.

“A lot of clients were hoping that the price will be closer to the IPO level since they held their shares in expectations that the price would recover,” AP Securities, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Rachelle Cruz said in a text message, referring to the company’s IPO price of P11.28 per share in 2013.

“In any case, we advise investors to tender their shares… Though hard to accept, minority shareholders will once again be left holding the bag. We hope though that the PSE and SEC will address loopholes in the rules ASAP (as soon as possible) to protect small shareholders.”

Meanwhile, Regina Capital Development Corp. Analyst Beatrice Lopez said the offer price is still relatively overpriced.

“RWM’s tender offer price is actually still relatively overpriced compared to its peer and the sector as a whole. Furthermore, there is also a minimal upside from its last closing price before the offer period began. It is only 2.3% higher than RWM’s 6-month VWAP,” Ms. Lopez said in a separate message.

TIHGI will use internally generated funds to finance the tender offer. It added that BDO Unibank, Inc. has also guaranteed a P10-billion loan from the company’s existing credit facility for the offering.

Gov’t fully awards T-bills as yields decline further

August 20, 2019 | 12:05 am

THE GOVERNMENT fully awarded the Treasury bills (T-bill) it offered yesterday as rates declined across all tenors on the back of dovish remarks from central bank officials here and abroad and strong liquidity.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) made a full award of T-bills worth P15 billion yesterday as its offer was more than thrice oversubscribed, with tenders totalling P45.8 billion.

Broken down, the government raised P4 billion as planned via the 92-day T-bill, with tenders reaching P10.76 billion. The tenor’s average rate dropped to 3.254% yesterday, 14.4 basis points (bp) lower than the 3.398% fetched during the Aug. 6 offering.

For the 183-day debt papers, the Treasury fully awarded P5 billion as programmed out of bids worth P14.11 billion. The average yield declined 20.6 bps to 3.471% from the previous offer’s 3.677%.

The government also raised P6 billion as planned via the 365-day T-bills, with tenders amounting to P20.885 billion. The one-year tenor’s average rate declined 26.2 bps to 3.636% from the 3.898% logged during the previous T-bill offering.

The T-bill tenors were adjusted due to the advance settlement date of Aug. 20, with Aug. 1 being a non-working holiday.

At the secondary market yesterday, the three-month, six-month and one-year T-bills were quoted at 3.369%, 3.491% and 3.706%, respectively, based on the PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service Reference Rates.

Deputy Treasurer Erwin D. Sta Ana said the continued decline in T-bill rates was caused by dovish remarks from officials of central banks such as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the US Federal Reserve, as well as the trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies.

“There are several triggers. Pronouncements from the BSP for more manageable inflation in the third and probably in the fourth quarter as the government mentioned just recently. Information about further cuts on the RRR (reserve requirement ratio) and even in the policy rate not only here but also discussions with the Fed. And then there’s that continuing trade dispute between US and China,” Mr. Sta Ana told reporters after Monday’s auction.

“So it points to maybe a slightly lower rate moving forward but we can’t just pinpoint when it is going to stabilize,” he said.

In separate interviews, BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno hinted on another cut in key policy rates as well as a 25 bps cut in big banks’ RRR as early as next month.

Meanwhile, markets are betting on another cut from the US central bank amid rallying US Treasuries and Washington’s ongoing trade war with Beijing.

The US Treasury bond yield curve inverted last week for the first time since 2007, in a sign of investor concern that the world’s biggest economy could be heading for recession.

The inversion — a situation where shorter-dated borrowing costs are higher than longer ones — saw US two-year note yields rise above the 10-year bond yield.

US President Donald Trump and top White House officials dismissed concerns that economic growth may be faltering, saying on Sunday they saw little risk of recession despite a volatile week on global bond markets, and insisting their trade war with China was doing no damage to the United States.

Sought for comment, a bond trader said strong domestic liquidity and fears of a looming US recession drove T-bill rates lower.

“The biggest factor is the domestic liquidity, as seen in the tenders for the auction. And definitely supported by the recession seen by analysts in the US economy,” Amalgamated Investment Bancorporation peso fixed-income trader Rocky A. Bautista said.

The government is set to borrow P230 billion from the domestic market this quarter through T-bills and Treasury bonds.

It is looking to raise P1.189 trillion this year from local and foreign sources to fund its budget deficit, which is expected to widen to as much as 3.2% of gross domestic product.

TREASURY PLANS
Meanwhile, Mr. Sta Ana said the any domestic pre-funding for next year’s spending needs will depend on the ongoing implementation of the government’s catch-up plan, while offshore borrowings are likely done for the year.

“Depending on the catch-up in the spending towards the end of this quarter or fourth quarter, we still have that option for domestic [pre-funding],” Mr. Sta. Ana said.

He said they are currently working with the market, regulators and private sector for a capital market blueprint with a comprehensive three- to five-year road map for priority programs.

“Well, basically, we’re working with the market now on the capital market blueprint. Not only GS (government securities), although that’s obviously our lookout,” he said.

The official added that the Treasury may announce new market makers for government securities in November.

“So now we’re looking at the score cards — so who’s in, who’s out. There’s still an opportunity to catch up for those that did not make the cut but it’s very preliminary at this time,” he added.

The Treasury in December 2017 named 10 market makers under its Enhanced Government Securities Eligible Dealers program. The selection criteria include bond volume, bill volume, auction participation, bid efficiency, as well as the volume and number of trades on government securities.

Some privileges of market makers include the submission of both competitive and non-competitive bids in primary auctions of regular issues subject to max number of bids to be determined by Treasury bureau; participation in second round auctions; due consideration on participation in special issues and liability management transactions of the bureau; and participation in market consultations conducted by the Treasury, among others.

Mr. Sta Ana added that the Treasury is also trying to “revitalize” the repurchase or repo market and is planning to expand this to include to non-banks such as insurance companies and funds as the interbank repo market has not attracted enough people.

“[Due to] the market conditions over the past year and early this 2019…people shun away from trading, so that’s where the repo market should be. That’s what the repo market should be addressing,” he said. “So even when markets are difficult, you have a mechanism where participants can actually hedge their positions or get more liquidity. Apparently it’s not there.”

However, he said such plans are still being discussed.

The BSP, the BTr and the Securities and Exchange Commission set up the repo market in 2017 where banks could buy and sell securities which will generate liquidity.

Under a repo agreement, one party sells peso-denominated debt papers like T-bills and bonds to another dealer with the promise to buy these back at a set price and a future date. In the process, the seller gets hold of short-term liquidity to hand out fresh loans and service client withdrawals, among others. — B.M. Laforga

New DMCI Homes QC condo to rise near MRT station

August 20, 2019 | 12:05 am

DMCI PROJECT Developers, Inc. is building a new residential condominium just a few steps away from the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3), and a proposed subway station.

The Crestmont is located on a 3,000-square meter property along Panay Avenue in South Triangle, Quezon City. The 50-storey building will offer units with one to three bedrooms, with sizes ranging from 33 square meters (sq.m.) to 84.50 sq.m. Price of units range from P5.62 million to P13.43 million.

“As its name signifies — Crestmont means impressive peak — the condominium project will offer ample living spaces and premium amenities suited for today’s hectic yet still family-oriented lifestyle,” DMCI Homes said.

The resort-inspired project will feature units with bigger windows, spacious balconies and efficient air conditioning system. It will have a Sky Deck pool, a first in DMCI Homes’ projects.

The Crestmont is expected to be ready for occupancy by September 2025.

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