Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 9400

Smartphone sales tank in China as coronavirus dampens demand — data

SHANGHAI — Sales of smartphones in China tumbled by more than a third in January, government data showed on Monday, in a sign of how the coronavirus outbreak is hurting consumer demand.

China started putting curbs on travel and asking residents to avoid public places in late January, just ahead of the Lunar New Year festival, a major gift-giving holiday.

Mobile phone brands shipped a total of 20.4 million devices that month, down 36.6% from 32.1 million in January 2019, data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology showed.

China’s smartphone market has been shrinking for a number of years as demand became more reliant on consumers replacing existing handsets than buying new ones. However, January’s drop was far larger than was seen in the same month last year, when sales fell 11.4%.

For early 2020 analysts had predicted a fall of this magnitude. Research firms IDC and Canalys forecast earlier this month that shipments would drop roughly 40% in the first quarter as the virus outbreak hurt demand and sparked supply chain issues.

Last week Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook wrote a letter to investors warning it would not meet its initial revenue guidance for the current quarter due to demand issues, and the coronavirus’ impact on suppliers.

Foxconn, Apple’s most important partner, has yet to fully resume work across its plants in China, though some of its facilities are operating at partial capacity.

Apple meanwhile shut its branded stores across China, following similar moves by most other major retailers in the country.

Earlier this month Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun unveiled the company’s new line of flagship devices via an online livestream, in lieu of a live audience.

In the stream, he thanked Xiaomi’s suppliers for helping the company in the run-up to the release and warned consumers that there might be some delays in delivery.

China’s smartphone brands are planning to release a range of 5G-enabled phones this year in hopes of reviving growth in the sector.

The bulk of the drop stems from Android brands, which collectively saw shipments decline from 29.9 million units in January 2019 to 18.1 million.

Shipments of Apple devices held steady at just over 2 million.

Analysts say that despite Apple’s struggles in China recently, the iPhone 11, released late last year, remains one of the best-selling 4G phones on the market in China. That bodes well for its first 5G phone, expected to arrive in autumn 2020.

IDC said in December, before the virus caused the China to enter a state of semi-quarantine, that it expected phone shipments in China to return to growth in 2020. — Reuters

McDonald’s says spending hit P3B in 2019

MCDONALD’S Philippines reported spending more than P3 billion last year in capital investments to record a double-digit growth in its business.

In a statement Wednesday, the local unit of the global food giant owned by businessman George T. Yang said it booked P55 billion in systemwide sales last year, more than a 15% increase from 2018. This is equivalent to a compound annual growth rate in systemwide sales of 14% over the past 10 years.

The company also said it was able to open 58 new stores last year to reach new areas in the countryside. McDonald’s set foot in Camarines Sur, El Nido, Coron, Mangatarem in Pangasinan, Digos in Davao del Sur, Mati in Davao Oriental, Lagao in General Santos, Silay and Cadiz in Negros Occidental, Danao in Cebu and Caibaan in Tacloban in 2019, closing the year with a total of 669 stores across the Philippines.

The company said most of these newly opened stores have a drive-thru feature, resulting in a growth in this business segment. The company’s McDelivery service was likewise a growth driver last year, boosted by partnerships with food aggregators like Grab Food and Food Panda.

After announcing last year that it wants to roll out more “NXTGEN” stores — or stores equipped with modern designs and self-order kiosks — it successfully completed 140 of these stores at the end of 2019. The first store of such kind was opened in Taguig City in October 2018.

“The continued rollout of NXTGEN is a strategic investment as we continue to grow in the Philippines,” McDonald’s Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Kenneth S. Yang said in the statement.

“It has always been our priority to constantly evolve and introduce innovations for our customers to enhance their experience across different touch points,” he added.

Mr. Yang noted McDonald’s generates an average of 80 new jobs every time it opens a store, and has so far directly hired more than 60,000 employees across the country.

It also taps senior citizens and persons with disabilities through an alternative workforce program, where it partners with local government units such as Manila, Pasig, Pasay, Caloocan and Antipolo.

“Beyond the growth we experienced in the previous year, we have also made strides in making an impact in the lives of Filipinos through employment and our direct-hiring policy,” Mr. Yang said. — Denise A. Valdez

Movie magic: Spanish La Vista potato chip sales boom on Korean film cameo

ARTEIXO, Spain — Cesar Bonilla is still baffled by a surge in demand for the canned potato chips made by his company in northwestern Spain after they appeared in award-winning Korean film Parasite.

The movie this month became the first non-English language film to win an Oscar in the Best Picture category and the 87-year-old Bonilla is grateful to its director Bong Joon-ho.

“I’d say to him a thousand thanks and I have tears in my eyes when I think about it,” Bonilla told Reuters while watching a clip from the dark comedy in which the scheming Kim family feasts on food and drink at the house of their rich employers.

“It was a mystery how this movie showed this can of Bonilla a La Vista, made with so much affection and hope, and then the movie got so distinguished. My hope has been fulfilled,” Bonilla added

Parasite also snapped up awards for the Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature after last year becoming the first South Korean film to win the Palme d’Or in Cannes.

Bonilla’s family-run company’s online sales in Spain surged 150% and distributors have been increasing orders at home and abroad. Four more staff have been hired, adding to around 100 employees.

“Now that we are selling a lot with all this impact, we hired people because otherwise we can’t cope,” Bonilla said.

The company makes 540 tons of crisps per year, exporting 60 tons to 20 countries. South Korea, where the crisps were popular with high-end consumers long before the movie’s release, accounts for the bulk of exports, around 40 tons.

Cesar’s father Salvador started the company in 1932 selling from a market stand. A former navy sailor, he modeled the company’s name on his standard reply to a duty officer: “Bonilla here!”

Cesar started delivering the product, fried and canned by his mother, on a motorbike in 1950 and later decided to open a proper factory, sticking to tins as his main trademark packaging because they preserved the flavor so well.

Clients and friends alerted the company after seeing the distinctive can on the big screen.

“We never thought we could get this far with a can of crisps. It moves me a lot as it should move anyone knowing that you are making something that gets so much acceptance. Makes me proud,” Bonilla said. — Reuters

BIR clarifies central bank’s income tax exemption

THE BUREAU OF Internal Revenue (BIR) has clarified that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) tax exemption only applies to the income generated from its governmental functions, as the rest of its earnings are considered proprietary income.

The BIR issued Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 14-2020 dated Feb. 24, distinguishing BSP’s income derived from its governmental functions from those considered as proprietary income.

“All other income not considered as derived from its governmental functions shall be considered as proprietary income and shall be subject to all national internal revenue taxes,” the memorandum signed by BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay read.

Last month, the bureau issued Revenue Regulations No. 2-2020, effectively implementing Republic Act. (RA) No. 11211 that exempts the central bank from all national internal revenue taxes on its governmental functions.

The latest circular also clarified that the tax privileges provided under the law already took effect on March 6 last year, which was the 15th day after RA No. 11211 was first published on Feb. 19, 2019.

According to the latest issuance, the central bank is exempted from 12% value-added tax “as provided under RMC No. 65-2008” while its transactions are exempted from documentary stamp taxes.

On income tax exemption, the kind of earnings included are revenues generated from interests, sale of its own and acquired properties interests, fees and commissions, penalties it receives from financial institutions or from the gains on its trading activities and the premiums it receives.

Also, those considered as miscellaneous income like those earned from demonetization of currency, recovery of asset accounts with valuation reserves, dividend income, teller’s overages, premiums on foreign exchange currency shipment, among others, are all exempted from income taxes.

Meanwhile, the BIR said the BSP’s proprietary income are subject to income taxes, such as the revenue that the central bank earns from the sale of printed securities, BSP forms, scrap items, commemorative medals, commemorative medals; demonetized commemorative notes and coins, shredded records, car and security passes and its scrap materials.

Other taxable income are those derived from parking fees as well as rental of vault space and BSP-owned and acquired properties. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Mapping a virus: South Koreans turn to online tracking as cases surge

SEOUL — As the new coronavirus spreads in South Korea, private software developers have set up websites and apps to help people track cases and shun places where infected people have been in the hope of avoiding the fast-spreading virus.

The government, stung by criticism of how it handled past outbreaks, initially released very detailed information on confirmed cases, including the age, gender and daily routes infected people took before being quarantined.

Identities were not published but the information that was enabled web developers to build detailed maps tracking the movements of patients.

“We experienced a public backlash after a mass infection took place during the Middle East respiratory syndrome or MERS outbreak five years ago, because we didn’t make public where those patients had gone,” a health official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.

A button on one of the sites, Coronamap.live, is labeled “See whether I am safe.” A click shows users if there are any known coronavirus cases in their vicinity.

Many South Koreans have been logging on to the sites, with some saying the thought of becoming infected and appearing on an online map is so mortifying it keeps them from going out.

Seo Su-sung, a 21-year-old student who finds Coronamap.live the most useful, said the more information, the better for everyone.

“It keeps society at ease to avoid the contaminated areas when you can,” Seo said.

“Otherwise I could not only harm myself, but also others around me.”

Ryan Jun-seo Hong, 19, a computer science major who set up the Coronamap.live site while waiting for his mandatory military service to begin, said more than 300,000 people have been viewing the site every day.

But the increase in cases over recent days with confirmed infections surging from 31 to more than 763, including seven deaths, in less than a week, has made it nearly impossible to keep up.

“Currently adding 600+ places,” said a message on Monday on Coronamap.live, which offers an interactive map in Korean, Chinese and English.

‘TAKING A TOLL’
Health authorities also just can’t keep up with the new cases and in recent days have been forced to publish more general summaries and regional information on cases.

Still, the government regularly releases updates and discusses cases in briefings, and Hong said he uses a wide range of other open-source resources like news reports to supplement official data.

“I gather all kinds of information for updates, and I include personal feedback from users,” Hong said.

Another developer, Kwon Young-jae, runs a similar site with his wife, Ju Yeun-jin, who is also a software developer, but they’ve been overwhelmed by the surge in cases.

Their Wuhanvirus.kr shows a real-time tally of the infections, deaths and discharged patients from both South Korea and the world.

But Kwon said the soaring numbers meant he and his wife were hardly getting any sleep.

“It was easy to update the page up until the beginning of last week,” he said.

“But with tens of new patients every few hours, it’s starting to take a toll on us.” — Reuters

Grab Philippines president asks LTFRB to maximize driver slots

GRAB Philippines has called on the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to maximize the slots given by the government agency to the transport network vehicle service.

In a media briefing yesterday, Grab Philippines President Brian P. Cu said that the LTRFB has allocated the company with a supply cap of 65,000 slots, which have not been maximized. He said that a total of 55,000 slots have been opened but there are 10,000 slots yet to be awarded.

Mr. Cu added that of the 55,000 slots that had been awarded, some slots are occupied by vehicles that were previously active but are now inactive, or slots that were reserved by applicants but ended up not proceeding with the application process.

According to Grab Philippines (MyTaxi.PH, Inc.), as of February 2020, there are around 33,000 active drivers daily, a decline of 2,000 drivers from the 35,000 count in December 2019. The current count is well below the 55,000 total registered slots allocated by LTFRB. In addition, an estimated figure of 10,000 drivers out of the 55,000 awarded slots are inactive.

Mr. Cu asked LTFRB to heed the calls of Grab Philippines to open up the remaining 10,000 slots allocated to Grab PH or recycle slots occupied by the inactive drivers with existing franchises in order to provide a better service to the commuting public.

The company was doing everything it could to deter the drivers from “churning out,” he said. It also extends its assistance to its drivers by giving out churning incentives, reaching out to the operators, and offering car servicing loans to cars that have logged high mileages.

It also provides the LTRFB with a list of inactive drivers in order to determine who should be cut off and deactivated.

“We hope that these insights and findings would enable them to form informed decisions on policies, especially those affecting the welfare of both our commuters and driver-partners,” Mr. Cu said.

The decline in the number of active drivers resulted in a commuting problem where three million booking requests are served by the 35,000 active drivers, causing many commuters to wait for hours for a ride or are left stranded.

“Our main goal of urging the LTFRB to maximize the current supply cap is for us to be able to service the ride-hailing passengers more effectively, and to hopefully avoid the December 2019 situation from happening again, where commuters are unable to get a car for hours or worse left stranded during the holidays,” Mr. Cu added. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Roero DOCG 2017 and Roero Riserva 2016

MY NEXT few columns, starting with this one, will look deeper into the wines I blind tasted at the Nebbiolo Prima 2020. For this week I will center on the Roero DOCG wines from vintage 2017, and the Roero Riserva from vintage 2016.

Roero is the least known and smallest of the three wine regions (the other two being Barolo and Barbaresco) featured at Nebbiolo Prima.

It is also the youngest among the three when it came to being established as a wine designated zone. Roero became a DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) in 1985 and was promoted to DOCG (adding the “Garantita”) — the highest ranking among Italian wine classifications — in 2004. While Barolos and Barbarescos only have their famous reds, made from 100% Nebbiolo grapes, Roero has a white version, one of Piedmont’s proudest white wines, Arneis, classified as Arneis Roero DOCG. Roero DOCG reds are often known as a poor man’s Barolo or Barbaresco, given that the price is normally 30-50% cheaper than their more illustrious counterparts, with a bigger gap with Barolo than those of Barbaresco.

ROERO DOCG PARTICULARS
Based on numbers released by the Nebbiolo Prima organizers for the newly released vintages, Roero DOCG (red) only has 249 hectares of vineyards versus Barolo’s 2,091 hectares, and Barbaresco’s 750 hectares. The total production from the vineyards is just slightly below 500,000 bottles, or a miniscule 2.6% of the over 18.7 million bottles produced by the combined DOCG regions of Barolo, Barbaresco, and Roero. Roero’s better pricing against the other Nebbiolo DOCG wines is because of the less-strict rules on commercial release and barrel aging requirements that apply to it. For Roero DOCG, a minimum of 20 months aging, of which a minimum of six months should be in a barrel, are required before the earliest commercial release, and this is basically pegged at July 1 in the second year from vintage. For Barolo, it is 38 months minimum, with 18 months in a barrel. For Roero Riserva DOCG, a minimum of 32 months, of which a minimum of six months should be in a barrel, are required before the earliest commercial release on July 1 of the third year from vintage. A Barolo Riserva needs to be aged for 62 months, of which 18 months is in a barrel. Therefore, in reality, at our Nebbiolo Prima 2020 which took place late January, the Roero DOCG 2017 vintage and the Roero Riserva DOCG 2016 vintage that we were blind tasting were already being sold, either export or domestically, since July of 2019.

While Roero DOCG requires only 95% of the wine to be made from Nebbiolo grapes, the vast majority of the Roero producers use 100% Nebbiolo on their wines, same as neighboring Barolo and Barbaresco.

ROERO DOCG IMPROVEMENT
Roero is not a household name in wines and would probably never be given its miniscule size. My first Roero wine experience was when I attended Nebbiolo Prima 2015. Prior to that I had tasted Roero Arneis, the white Roero, but not the red version. In my first Nebbiolo Prima, Roero DOCG was previewing its 2012 vintage. I only gave three of the 24 Roero DOCG entries a score of 90 and above, or a measly 12.5%.

But in at this last Nebbiolo Prima, the 2017 vintage (not exactly a poster year for the region) of Roeros still seemed to be improving. I had some very animated conversations with my fellow journalists, and the common theme was that Roero wines are getting better with every new vintage. This year, we had slightly more Roero wines than last year: a total of 14 Roero 2017, versus last year’s 11 Roero 2016 entries. But my scores were higher too, with six of the 14 wines rated at 90 points and above, equivalent to 43% of total wines tasted. Last year, only four of 11 Roeros scored 90 points and above, equivalent to 36%. For the Roero Riserva 2016, the blind tasting result was even better. I loved several of the Roero Riserva 2016, scoring 10 of the 18 participating wines at 90 points or more, equivalent to an impressive 55.6%.

THE 2017 VINTAGE
The 2017 vintage in this entire Piedmont region stood out against its previous years because of its hot climate and little rainfall. The 2017 also came at the heels of two extremely good vintages in 2015 and 2016. Speaking to a few wine producers during our get-togethers, most admitted that the harvest of Nebbiolo grapes began in September, the earliest in memory from recent vintages. But quality is somehow still out for the jury to decide, as some wineries are talking of exceptional quality, while others experienced too much “burn” resulting in a lack of that much needed acid backbone.

MY RATINGS:
Please note these wines were tasted blind, and each wine was tasted for only a few minutes, given the huge quantity being tasted at any given morning during the entire Nebbiolo Prima event. Also understand that judgment of these wines was purely based on my personal biases and experience drinking, appreciating, and enjoying wines.

BEST ROERO DOCG 2017
My top six wines from this lot of 14 are the following:

1. Doltetto 1953 Roero 2017: 93 points. “fragrant nose of vanilla, figs, deep and luscious, minerally, yet easily approachable, and silky at the end”

2. Monchiero Carbone Roero 2017: 92 points. “deep and flavorful nose, notes of lavender, sweet oak, luscious and lingering finish”

3. Battaglino Fabrizio Roero 2017: 92 points. “lavender, perfumed, very round, minty, herbaceous, supple all the way”

4. Marsaglia Roero 2017: 91 points.

5-6. Both with 90 points. Bric Castelve Roero 2017 and Cascina Val Del Prete Roero 2017

Not surprisingly, in the blind tasting last year of Roero 2016 DOCG wines, I also gave Battaglino Fabrizio and Marsaglia a score of over 90 points.

BEST ROERO RISERVA DOCG 2016
My top 10 with 90 points score and over from a group of 18 wines:

1. Deltetto 1953 Roero Riserva 2016: 94 points. “tangy, very fresh, ripe, full bodied, screaming out of the glass, cassis, raisins, just incredible fruit power, full, viscous, long delicious finish”

2. Pelassa Roero Riserva 2016: 92 points. “hawthorn berries, deep and very lengthy, figs, well-structured, medium bodied, satin-like, suave all the way”

3-7. All with 91 points. Pace Roero Riserva 2016; Valdinera Roero Riserva 2016; Renato Buganza — Radici E Filari Roero Riserva 2016; Taliano Michele Roero Riserva 2016

Lorenzo Negro Roero Riserva 2016: 91pts.

8-10. All with 90 points. Malvirà Roero Riserva 2016; Monchiero Carbone Roero Riserva 2016; Cascina Del Pozzo Roero Riserva 2016

The biggest revelation to me was that Deltetto 1953 came as my No. 1 in both Roero DOCG 2017 and Roero Riserva DOCG 2016 in my blind tasting… an amazing feat indeed. When I checked my notes from Nebbiolo Prima 2015 and 2016, I found that Deltetto 1953 only participated in Nebbiolo Prima in 2016, and even then, I gave their Roero Riserva 2012 a high score of 91 points. Roero Riserva is the real bargain for me, and if you come across this wine region, please buy a few bottles as Roero no longer lives under the shadows of Barolo and Barbaresco, and their Riserva range is already an exceptional expression of what Nebbiolo grapes bring to the wine.

In my next column, I will tackle the Barbaresco 2017 vintage.

The author is a member of the UK-based Circle of Wine Writers (CWW). For comments, inquiries, wine event coverage, wine consultancy and other wine related concerns, e-mail the author at protegeinc@yahoo.com.

JPMorgan executives say bank is big enough to weather any storm

JPMORGAN CHASE & Co. signaled an expectation of slow, steady growth over the medium term. — REUTERS

JPMORGAN CHASE & Co. executives tried to reassure investors on Tuesday that the bank can thrive during times of market and economic stress, due to the sheer size and breadth of its global operations.

At its annual investor day in New York, management offered updates on JPMorgan’s four main business lines but did not upgrade profit targets — signaling an expectation of slow, steady growth over the medium term.

JPMorgan has spent much of the last decade capitalizing on healthy markets and strong customer demand to prepare for hard times, Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said. That means the bank’s balance sheet is strong enough not only to get through a downturn but make investments in the future, he said.

“Downturns present great opportunities,” Mr. Dimon said.

As executives spoke, major stock indexes were falling on concerns about the coronavirus epidemic. The illness, which has now spread from China and neighboring countries to Europe, the Middle East and North America, is the latest in a string of problems that have whipsawed markets recently.

JPMorgan is the largest US bank by assets, with operations spanning the globe and a leading market share in many of its businesses. That poses natural obstacles for growth, but it also gives JPMorgan the flexibility to invest where weaker rivals pull back, and to fund experiments in the future of financial services.

For instance, JPMorgan has opened dozens of new locations in targeted markets and installed sleek, new ATMs across its branch network, each one costing about $30,000.

The bank is chasing 40,000 prospective small-business customers it found at new branches across the East Coast and Midwest, said Doug Petno, head of commercial banking.

Thasunda Duckett, who runs JPMorgan’s consumer bank, highlighted efforts to attract younger customers. Roughly 25% of the bank’s new checking accounts come from college students in targeted cities like Durham, North Carolina, she said.

JPMorgan’s new digital wealth-management tool was another initiative highlighted by Mary Callahan Erdoes, head of asset and wealth management.

The product, called You Invest, is offered through a smartphone app and targets customers with relatively little wealth. In addition, JPMorgan handles investments for just 5% of US households with $1 million to $10 million in assets but hopes to expand that in the coming years, Ms. Erdoes said.

JPMorgan developed You Invest to compete with tools offered by rivals, as well as standalone “roboadvisors” like Betterment and Wealthfront.

In his typically blunt style, Mr. Dimon noted that JPMorgan is big enough to invest in novel products to one-up the competition.

“We earn $47 billion; we can burn a billion in order to do something better, rather than be disrupted,” Mr. Dimon said.

HO-HUM TARGETS
Though executives sprinkled their presentations with new details, JPMorgan kept stable the forward-looking benchmarks that investors and analysts focus on the most.

Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Piepszak said the bank continues to aim for a return-on-tangible-common-equity (ROTCE) of 17%. That metric determines how much profit a bank can wring from shareholder funds. Last year, JPMorgan produced an ROTCE of 19%.

JPMorgan cut its outlook for net interest income to $57 billion for 2020 from $57.8 billion in 2019, blaming lower interest rates. It forecast $60 billion or more in net interest income for 2021, which was above analysts’ estimates.

The bank also forecast higher expenses of $67 billion, compared with $65.3 billion last year, despite a “reduction in structural expenses.”

Management’s outlook for the bank’s returns on equity in each of its four units — Consumer & Community Banking, the Corporate & Investment Bank, Commercial Banking, and Asset & Wealth Management — remained unchanged.

The one target JPMorgan did raise relates to financing of environmentally friendly, socially responsible or economic development initiatives.

JPMorgan pledged to put $200 billion toward such projects by 2025 as a lender, underwriter or intermediary, up from a prior $175 billion goal it had set in 2017.

The update came after years of criticism from environmental activists. Some stood outside JPMorgan’s investor day, partially blocking some entrances and demanding that the bank get rid of fossil-fuel clients.

Although JPMorgan’s financial targets did not change, analysts said they were generally in line with expectations. The bank’s shares were down 2.7% at $128.56 in afternoon trading, tracking lower than the broader market.

Evercore ISI analyst Glenn Schorr noted that the bank has posted better revenue growth, profits, returns on equity and overhead expenses than major rivals, which he characterized as “amazing given their size.” — Reuters

How PSEi member stocks performed — February 26, 2020

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Wednesday, February 26, 2020.

DTI’s Lopez: multinational HQ decisions driving plant closures

TRADE-SECRETARY Ramon M. Lopez warned that multinationals could continue to rationalize their operations amid trade tensions and epidemics and acknowledged that the Philippines might not be viewed as a significant market by many corporate headquarters.

“Look at the world, we’re a small country compared to global world demand so you can expect a lot of this rationalization ‘pag global HQ ang nag-aral ng mga resources nila (when global organizations review the distribution of their resources,” he told reporters on Monday.

He was being asked about the recent plant closures and job losses in the Philippine operations of multinational companies.

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) announced that it would halt operations at its Laguna facility in March. Wells Fargo & Co. is planning to cut 700 Manila jobs and Nokia Technology Center Philippines is closing its research and development unit in Quezon City.

After a meeting with HCPI on Monday, Mr. Lopez said that Honda’s global headquarters decided to shutter its Philippine operation after overall weakness in automotive industry influenced the company to review its global operations.

Mr. Lopez said US-China trade tensions and the coronavirus outbreak as factors that have impacted the world market.

Mr. Lopez said the Philippines is not the only country vulnerable to factory closures, noting that companies will retain manufacturing in certain locations if they are competitive.

“They may not be competitive in the Philippines, but it has something to do with the competitiveness structure ng industry nila (of their industry)… Look at Honda. Ang patok dito ‘yung (What sells here are the) motorcycles, not the cars,” he said, referring to Honda’s continued manufacturing of motorcycles in the Philippines.

“In reality, ‘yun ang malakas na negosyo nila dito, so meron sila negosyo na bagay dito i-ke-keep nila.” (In reality, the motorcycle business is strong here, so they will keep the business that suits this market).

He said that if the global economy improves, multinationals may once more expand and diversify their production bases. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Cayetano calls for public-works stimulus to offset epidemic

SPEAKER Alan Peter S. Cayetano said economic managers must fast-track infrastructure projects to help cushion the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on the economy, particularly on the tourism sector.

“’Yung appeal ko sa economic team… habang ‘yung uncertainty ng Covid-19 nandiyan, at habang maaapektuhan ang international tourism, agahan niyo ang pag-release at pagpapagawa ng infra projects (My appeal to the economic team is that while the uncertainty generated by Covid-19 is affecting international tourism is that it accelerate the funding release and construction of infrastructure projects),” Mr. Cayetano told reporters on Feb. 24, referring to the formal name of the coronavirus epdemic originating in China.

He added that the construction projects lined up under the “Build, Build, Build” program as well as other government programs can “create jobs in various parts of the country and boost local economies.

He believes that these can help absorb the possible “temporary displacement” in tourism-related jobs during this “uncertain period” as authorities struggle to contain the epidemic, with measures including travel bans.

“Number one, so ‘yung ibang tourism-related jobs, pwedeng tumulong sa construction. Number two, para tamaan niyo ‘yung March, April, May na tag-init na mas maraming magagawa. (the first point is that displaced tourism workers can be redeployed to the construction sector. Second point, we need to maximize the peak construction months of March, April and May,” Mr. Cayetano said.

He urged local government units to ensure their national funding is released promptly by the national government to prevent delay in project implementation.

“God willing, after the second half of this year, wala nang Covid-19 or under control na, so dagsa na naman ang tourists. So, in the meantime, itong first two quarters, sana “Build, Build, Build” tayo (By the second half maybe Covid-19 will dissipate or be under control, which will mean tourism could return. In the meantime, we should let “Build, Build, Build” carry the load),” he said. — Genshen L. Espedido

MRT-7 QC Memorial Circle station redesign to be presented Friday

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) said that it will meet with the Quezon City government and holders of the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7) concession on Feb. 28 after the city suspended construction of a station of the commuter rail line near the Quezon City Memorial Circle (QCMC).

“Yung concern na ni-raise ng Quezon City… is currently being addressed both by our concessionaire, San Miguel (Corp.) and the DoTr. In fact, sa Feb. 28, sa Friday, we are expecting ’yung initial proposal ng concessionaire natin on how to address those concerns (Quezon City’s concerns are being addressed by San Miguel Corp. and the DoTr. In fact, San Miguel will present its initial proposals on the station redesign on Friday, Feb. 28,” Undersecretary Timothy John R. Batan told reporters on the sidelines of a House hearing Wednesday.

Mr. Batan said that the department will need to review the additional cost of changing the design of the station. The initially-proposed design has raised concerns it will unduly interfere with the Quezon City Memorial Circle, a monument and city landmark as well as a public park.

“Itong additional cost is something that we will review as the proposal comes in. Siguro we will update you na lang once the plans are more definite (We wll review the cost as the proposal comes in. We will update you once the plans are more definite),” he said.

“We absolutely agree that there’s a cost to delaying projects. Unfortunately, malaki po talaga yung naging delay sa MRT-7 (The delays to MRT-7 are really significant),” Mr. Batan said, adding that the main concern of the redesign is to ensure that reductions to system capacity are minimized.

He said that the redesigned station should be large enough to handle expected passenger volumes.

“We have to make sure po na upfront, especially po if it’s an underground structure… ay sapat po yung kapasidad natin in terms of floor area and in terms po of yung mga circulation area (We need to ensure upfront that the underground structure is sufficient in capacity in terms of floor area and circulation area),” Mr. Batan said.

Mr. Batan said that the “win-win” solution in the MRT-7 case would be to “reduce the footprint” and to avoid disrupting the public’s use of the QCMC monument and park. “Ayaw naman nating matakpan ’yung vista ’nun. And at the same time, to the extent na kayang underground yung mga… facilities natin, we will do that (We don’t want to block any views. At the same time, to the extent that we can build facilities underground, we will do that),” he said.

He said MRT-7 construction is “still on track” for partial operability by the end of 2021.

The city government issued a temporary cease-and-desist order against the “above-ground construction” of the MRT-7 station at QCMC, saying that “environmentalists and historians pointed out that the station was encroaching on the integrity” of the site.

Separately, Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) spokesman Hernando T. Cabrera assured that repairs on the LRT-2 line will be completed on or before June.

“We’re confident that in June or even prior to June we can complete the repair and (start) provisional operations,” he said.

Mr. Cabrera also noted that the LRTA board decided to engage a third-party expert to assist in the restoration of the damaged railways.

“The board decided to get a third-party expert to validate the findings of the LRTA engineering team and also to validate prices as well as to assist in the implementation and the interface of the different systems,” he said..

“The bids and awards committee has completed the bidding process and made its recommendation to the board last Friday. It was reported during the board meeting and the board has required time to evaluate the findings. And we’ll soon be coming out with the approval of the recommendations for award,” he added.

The next activity for the restoration of LRT-2 is procurement of the project’s power, telecommunications and signaling equipment, Mr. Cabrera said. — Genshen L. Espedido

1...9,3999,4009,401...13,813Page 9,400 of 13,813
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube