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Del Rosario says Marawi rehabilitation transactions ‘above board’ amid complaint filed

PHILSTAR/BOY SANTOS

TASK FORCE Bangon Marawi (TFBM) Chairperson Eduardo D. Del Rosario on Wednesday said they are ready to defend transactions relating to the rehabilitation of war-torn Marawi City following a complaint filed by a group of displaced residents. In a statement, Mr. Del Rosario, who also heads the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, said, “I am confident that all dealings and engagements with regard to the development in the most affected area are above board. While we respect freedom of expression that is freely exercised in our country, we welcome the complaints filed against TFBM and NHA (National Housing Authority) and we shall respond accordingly in the proper forum.” The complaint was filed by Datu Meno Manabilang, who claims to be the leader of a group of internally displaced persons in Marawi. Mr. Manabilang wants an investigation by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission and the Office of the Ombudsman over alleged anomalies in the awarding of a contract for the Demolition and Debris Management Project in parts of the most devastated areas. Mr. Del Rosario, on the other hand, said, “TFBM and all its fifty-six (56) member agencies do faithfully follow and strictly adhere to government accounting and financial rules as we continue to discharge our functions in the fulfilment of the instructions of the President to ensure that Marawi will rise as a prosperous city again.”

Bill creating Davao airport authority hurdles both chambers of Congress

THE HOUSE of Representatives adopted on Wednesday the Senate bill creating the Davao International Airport Authority (DIAA). The adoption of Senate Bill 2168, in effect, amends House Bill 8691 and eliminates the need for lengthy bicameral sessions to reconcile the two versions. The proposed DIAA — which will be similar to the two airport authorities handling the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila and the Mactan Cebu International Airport — will manage the existing Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City and other airports that may be constructed within the Davao Region. Under the bill, the DIAA’s mandate is to promote and develop air traffic “as a means of making the region a center of international trade and tourism.” Once enacted, the DIAA will be under the Department of Transportation. The bill also exempts the DIAA from realty taxes, and gives it authority to raise funds, either from domestic or international sources, by way of loans, credit or securities and other financing instruments, subject to the approval of the President. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras

Eagle foundation still in search of funds for expansion, Compostela Valley facility

THE PHILIPPINE Eagle Center in Malagos, Davao City, run by the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), is running out of space for its continued breeding program and other conservation initiatives. “There are three pairs being worked on with additional birds programmed for cooperative artificial insemination,” PEF Executive Director Dennis I. Salvador said in an interview. Mr. Salvador said they need to expand the 8.4-hectare facility, but there is no available area nor funding. Ms. Salvador also said that they are still looking for funding sources for the proposed construction of a new facility in a 23-hectare property in Moncayo, Compostela Valley that was donated by siblings Sammy and Alice Yap. The PEC has so far produced seven Philippine eagles through cooperative artificial insemination and 21 through the natural breeding method. As part of its risk management program, PEF, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), is sending a pair of Philippine eagles — named Geothermica (male) and Sambisig (female) — to the Jurong Bird Park operated by the Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS). “This move has been proposed to DENR 10 years ago as part of a larger risk management program for the species’ population,” Mr. Salvador said. DENR and WRS signed the loan conservation agreement last May 20. Geothermica and Sambisig are both captive-bred, which means they are more accustomed to human activities. Apart from being in excellent health, these eagles are considered to be in their breeding prime with Sambisig at 17 years old and Geothermica at 15. The two have already been undergoing a “pairing attempt process” at the Philippine Eagle Center. Geothermica and Sambisig have been adopted birds for over five years by Energy Development Corp. (EDC) and Dow Chemical Philippines, Inc. respectively. — Maya M. Padillo

Nation at a Glance — (05/30/19)

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

Nation at a Glance — (05/30/19)

Cloud-based fintech start up targets underserved rural banking sector

A fintech startup and mobile wallet enabler is set to begin a pilot test program for a new generation of cloud-based financial services set to be launched in the Philippines.

PearlPay has signed a 12 month pilot program agreement with BHF Rural Bank, Inc. (BHF), based in Dagupan City, operating seven branches. The agreement marks the first time a Philippine rural bank will utilize cloud-based technologies such as core banking solutions (CBS), agent banking solutions (ABS), and white-label eWallet solutions, all of which are designed to reach customers with limited or no access to the internet.

“Previously, it was nearly impossible for rural banks to become part of the e-money landscape,” said Armand Bonifacio, president of BHF. “The foremost concern is, of course, cost. It’s too expensive and risky for us. PearlPay will help us solve that challenge. Their framework gives us the much needed jump to pursue our digital transformation. This will allow us not only to offer better and high quality services to our customers but also become an excellent example of what rural banks could achieve given the right partners and resources.”

“PearlPay is one of, if not, the most promising enabler out there,” he added.

“Millions of Filipinos remain unbanked or underserved,” said Spark Perreras, PearlPay’s CEO. “While this remains a challenge for economic growth, it also presents an opportunity for organizations to tackle the problem. In the previous survey of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), only around 23 percent of Filipinos have access to formal financial products and PearlPay aims to improve the economic inclusion rate in the Philippines.”

Perreras also revealed 94 percent of Philippine rural banks do not have access to electronic money. “This is what we mean by ‘underserved’. The rural bank customers don’t get the same services as what customers get in the major cities. Instead of doing convenient online banking to pay bills, they need to line up for hours to withdraw funds and pay their bills,” he said.

The startup is an end-to-end solutions (E2ES) provider for financial institutions. End-to-end solutions mean providing application, software, system and hardware requirements of the customer, such that the customer won’t need to source out other providers to achieve his or her requirements.

“As a mobile tech wallet enabler, PearlPay will not compete with banks,” Perreras said. “Instead, it will actually enable institutions in the Philippines like rural banks, schools, pawn shops, sari-sari stores, gasoline stations, and other micro, small and medium enterprises.”

Meet the 11 startups representing the PHL in InnoVEX 2019

Over the next two days, 11 startup companies will be representing the Philippine startup community at InnoVEX 2019 in the Taipei World Trade Center, Taipei City, Taiwan.

The event, held between May 29 and May 31, 2019, showcases progressive startups and community builders that offer cutting-edge innovation utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Geospatial Mapping, Innovative Housing Solutions, Cyber Security, Smart Advertising and eCommerce, Education, FinTech, Logistics, and Data Science-enabled Market Research.

The 11 startups startups are the following: Antipara Exploration, Container Living Philippines, Cryptors, Gypsy, Investagrams, JazzyPay, Mober, Qwikwire, Retailgate, Rumarocket, and Senti.

Antipara Exploration offers automated-data analyses in their sub-sub-marine geospatial mapping technologies for the maritime industry and marine environmental mapping. In a country- archipelago such as the Philippines with more than 7,100 islands, this is a crucial home-grown technology with many important applications.

Container Living Philippines has a modular-construction approach to offer modern housing solutions using shipping containers that are disaster-resilient and highly customizable to the client’s needs.

Cryptors offers a free mobile app that can detect and block hackers preying on free public-wifi platforms. They also revolutionized cybersecurity trainings, making them available at very low rates compared to prohibitive market service fees.

Gypsy is a Philippine advertising technology platform, that offers advertisers, not only the market reach, but valuable data-gathering technologies and hyper-targeting solutions to effectively launch campaigns via proprietary-apps installed in tablets in ride-hailing services and public transportation alternatives.

Mober offers a mobile platform to easily find and book location-based, on-demand tailor-fit trucking and moving solutions for businesses and individuals, similar to how ride hailing solutions do their businesses.

Investagrams is a one-stop-shop platform that offers beginners guides and tips for individuals who want to invest in the stock market. Investagrams offers monitoring of hundreds of stocks realtime and the ability for users to engage on virtual trading transactions.

JazzyPay is a Philippine payment platform that offers efficient billing solutions for businesses from any part of the world, to bill their clientele. JazzyPay offers their services via their proprietary app, email, sms or other messaging platforms.

Qwikwire offers advanced business solutions such as Skas Property Management services, SAP- integrated billing and invoicing systems, cross-border settlements via their own proprietary blockchain powered multi-listing engine. Qwikwire also offers a niche service catered to provide comprehensive real estate solutions for brokers and property developers.

Retailgate uses its AI-powered solutions to help retailers gain competitive market intelligence through retail analytics. Employing artificial intelligence, they offer their platform to empower brick-and-mortar stores by providing access to AI-analyzed market information on customer traffic and dwell time, forecast demand levels, assess marketing effectivity and determine conversion rates.

Rumarocket developed its own AI-enabled algorithm that offers HR analytics and machine learning solutions for talent recruitment, management and retention for enterprises and companies in their HR and Recruitment functions. Rumarocket’s solutions are aimed ensuring meaningful impact on clients’ bottomline and strategic HR management.

Senti Techlabs offers its proprietary artificial intelligence-powered solutions to businesses for market and audience sentiment data collection and analyses, using natural language processing and machine-learning processes.

The Philippine-participants in this year’s event were selected following thorough selection criteria from a list of applicants after a call to participation was announced to the Philippine Startup community.

“We are proud to have an impactful participation and excellent representation this year composed of the high-innovation, talent and creativity of the Philippine Startup community at Taiwan’s Innovex 2019, to showcase the diverse and cutting-edge solutions from our startups that aim to solve very current day-to-day problems,” said Michael Alfred V. Ignacio, DTI Trade Representative and Manila Economic and Cultural Office’s Director of Commercial Affairs.

In addition to QBO Innovation Hub, another incubator-accelerator, Spring Valley Technology and Innovation Hub, located in Roxas City will join the Philippine delegation at InnoVEX. Spring Valley Technology and Innovation was created as a home for innovation and technology development both for local and international startups and technology developers in central Philippines. Spring Valley also partnered with the Province of Capiz and the DTI to create Capiz’s Fablab and Innovation Center.

64 CSR programs and leaders conferred Asia’s most prominent CSR awards

A total of 64 projects and business leaders across Asia were selected as recipients of Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA) 2019, which was an increase of 19% from last year. Regarded as the top corporate social responsibility (CSR) awards in Asia, this year’s ceremony was organized in Taipei, after being held in Macau, Singapore, Bangkok, and Manila previously.

Organized by Enterprise Asia, the leading non-governmental organization for responsible entrepreneurship in Asia, the AREA aims to recognize and honor Asian businesses and leaders for championing sustainable and socially responsible business practices. With the categories of Social Empowerment, Investment in People, Health Promotion, Green Leadership, Corporate Governance, and Responsible Business Leadership. The categories look beyond the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in incorporating the role of the government and the civil society in powering meaningful changes to the world, with the corporate community as the enabler and catalyst for this change.

Over 300 attendees were present at the by-invitation only event, comprising of industry leaders and leading CSR practitioners. Some of the dignitaries who graced the event include Mr. Chang San-cheng, former premier of the Republic of China (Taiwan); Mr. Jonathan Chen, vice mayor of New Taipei City; Tan Sri Dr. Fong Chan Onn, chairman of Enterprise Asia; Dr. Eugene Chien, Ambassador-at-Large of the Republic of China (Taiwan), former minister of foreign affairs and minister of environment of the Republic of China (Taiwan); and Dato’ William Ng, president of Enterprise Asia.

According to Mr. Ng, “Over the past decade CSR has evolved to creating shared values, which is based on the idea that companies can simultaneously increase profits and enhance competitiveness by reframing their corporate objectives to solve societal problems.”

He adds, “Apart from recognizing the outstanding ideas for sustainability, we aim to celebrate their important contribution, and encourage the institutionalization of sustainability. When sustainability, doing good and social change become part of our corporate DNA – they become permanent and not a subset of our profit and loss statement – but the reason for it. We hope to ensure CSR efforts are directed to the right areas following the judging parameters of effectiveness, relevance, impact, integration, and sustainability. This is in line with Enterprise Asia’s founding pillars of Responsible Entrepreneurship and Investment in People.”

This year, over 200 submissions from 16 countries were received from companies across Asia, with judges led by Dr. Chien, sieving through the submission over a three-month judging period.

According to Dr Chien, “The panel of judges were impressed by the quality and diversity of submissions this year and had the challenging task of evaluating and determining this year’s finalists. This is a far cry from when we first started giving out the awards in year 2009. Besides being able to demonstrate the design and execution of sound and effective CSR programs, much thought has been given to its impact and measurability.”

He adds, “This year, over 35% of the winners emerged from Taiwan, overtaking Thailand, which has been taking the lead in the number of winning entries over the past few years. This demonstrates the expertise and capability of the CSR practitioners in Taiwan and we congratulate them on their commitment in achieving the SDGs.”

Among the notable winning projects were “Less Carbon, Better Life” by Pacific SOGO Department Stores which instilled environment protection awareness by integrating its stakeholders to jointly create a green department store; and “Financial Education Program for Public Schools in the Philippines” by BDO Foundation, which raised the financial literacy of 24 million students in more than 47,000 public schools across the Philippines.

Mr. Ng concludes, “To date, our Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards has seen over 200 successful CSR projects being highlighted, with millions of communities uplifted and billions of lives touched and saved. Many of these projects has also served as a benchmark to other companies. Quite a few CSR departments and regional initiatives are now modelled after our categories and judging methodology, and we are quite happy to have played our part in drawing the direction for CSR across Asia.”

The AREA 2019 was supported by Official Local Partner – Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy; Official PR Partner – Fides Corporate Sustainability; Sponsor – Zero Emission Venture; Supporting Organizations – AmCham Taipei; British Chamber of Commerce; Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association; Circular Economy Club; CSRone; European Chamber of Commerce; Green Trade Project Office, Taiwan External Trade Development Council; Institute for Global Environmental Strategies; Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change, Malaysia; Taiwan Corporate Governance Association; Official News Release Distribution Partner – PR Newswire; and Official Media Partners – BusinessWorld; Commercial Times; SME Magazine; The Nation; Singapore Business Review and Tuoi Tre News.

Recipient List of the Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards 2019

Responsible Business Leadership
1. JOSEPH HUANG, CEO of E.SUN FINANCIAL HOLDING CO., LTD. (Taiwan)

Social Empowerment
1. AISECT (India) – AISECT Multipurpose IT Centre Model
2. APPLE DAILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION (Hong Kong) – Apple Bursaries
Scheme
3. BANK RAKYAT (Malaysia) – Autism #Anakkita (Our kids)
4. BDO FOUNDATION, INC. (Philippines) – Financial Education Programme For
Public Schools in the Philippines
5. BE INTERNATIONAL MARKETING SDN BHD (Malaysia) – Transforming the Lives
of Children in Vietnam, Myanmar & Malaysia
6. BEIJING ORIENTAL YUHONG WATERPROOF TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. (China)
– Shanghai Aihao Children Rehabilitation Center
7. CHINA MENGNIU DAIRY COMPANY LIMITED (China) – Mengniu Nutrition for All
Programme
8. CTBC FOUNDATION FOR ARTS AND CULTURE (Taiwan) – Love & Arts for
Dreams Initiatives Project
9. ELUSYF GLOBAL PTE LTD (Singapore) – Silver Screening 2-For-1
10. ENGRO FERTILIZERS LIMITED (Pakistan) – PAVE (Partnership and Value
Expansion) for Inclusive Seed Systems in Pakistan
11. FAR EASTERN BIG CITY SHOPPING MALLS CO., LTD. (Taiwan) – Co-hosting 8th
Vocal Asia Festival with Kehua Foundation to Realise Big City’s Vision of Promoting
with Profound Impact the Preservation of Taiwan’s Native Culture and Hakka Folk
Songs
12. FUBON LIFE INSURANCE CO., LTD. (Taiwan) – Guarding the Demented Patients
and their Families, and Promoting the Concept of Having Young People Accompany
Elders
13. GOVERNMENT SAVINGS BANK (Thailand) – GSB SMART Homestay
14. GRABTAXI HOLDINGS PTE LTD (Singapore) – Sustainable Urban Mobility
Initiative for All (SUMAI)
15. IRPC PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED (Thailand) – New Steps For New Life
16. KING POWER INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. (Thailand) – King Power Thai Power
17. NAGAWORLD LIMITED (Cambodia) – Football Development Programme in
Kampong Speu
18. PEPSI-COLA PRODUCTS PHILIPPINES, INC. (Philippines) – Water For Peace in
Marawi
19. PLANET TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION (Taiwan) – Educational Programme for
the Disadvantaged Children
20. PT BADAK NGL (Indonesia) – Selangan City
21. PT JAPFA COMFEED INDONESIA TBK (Indonesia) – JAPFA SiRepi Waste Bank
22. PT PEMBANGKITAN JAWA-BALI (Indonesia) – Bawean Eco Edu Tourism
23. PT PUPUK KALTIM (Indonesia) – Better Living in Malahing
24. PTT EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED (Thailand)
– Crab Hatchery Learning Center Project
25. REDTONE INTERNATIONAL BERHAD (Malaysia) – REDtone Kuala Lumpur
International Junior Open Squash Championship
26. REIJU CONSTRUCTION CO., LTD. (Taiwan) – Charity Express, Happiness Care
27. SAB KA MANGAL HO FOUNDATION (India) – Yoga Training at Orphanages
28. SHIN KONG LIFE INSURANCE CO., LTD. (Taiwan) – Create Shared Value with
Sustainable Thinking
29. SINO OCEAN HOLDING GROUP (China) – Little Friends Education Sponsorship
Scheme
30. SINOPAC FINANCIAL HOLDINGS COMPANY LIMITED (Taiwan) – Keeping the
Face to the Sunshine
31. TAIWAN LIFE INSURANCE CO., LTD. (Taiwan) – Taiwan’s New Era in Aging
32. THAI LIFE INSURANCE PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED (Thailand) – Sharing
Kindness By Thai Life Insurance People
33. VINCOMMERCE GENERAL COMMERCIAL SERVICES JSC (Vietnam)
Accompanying, Supporting and Promoting Vietnamese Production

Investment In People
1. ACBEL POLYTECH INC. (Taiwan) – We Strive to Uphold a Quality Joyous Work
Environment
2. AP (THAILAND) PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED (Thailand) – Navigating Happiness
3. BAXTER HEALTHCARE LTD (Taiwan) – Baxter is Making a Difference in our
Communities
4. CTBC FINANCIAL HOLDING CO., LTD. (Taiwan) – CTBC Human Capital
Comprehensive Enhancement Plan
5. DÖHLE SEAFRONT CREWING (MANILA) INC. (Philippines) – Dohle Seafront
Family Programme
6. MGM CHINA HOLDINGS LIMITED (Macau) – Making Great Moments
7. PROVINCIAL ELECTRICITY AUTHORITY (Thailand) – 1 Tambon 1 Electrician
8. TAISHIN FINANCIAL HOLDING CO., LTD. (Taiwan) – Dual Mentoring Programme
9. TAIWAN POWER COMPANY (Taiwan) – Building the Soft and Hard Capacity for
Professionals in the Power Industry

Health Promotion
1. AIA COMPANY LIMITED (Thailand) – AIA Sharing A Life Charity Run
2. JEBSEN GROUP (Hong Kong) – Project Morning Star – National Model of
Comprehensive Rural Eye Care Network Building Project
3. KBZ BANK (Myanmar) – KBZ Bank’s Cleft Mission with Smile Asia
4. METROPOLITAN WATERWORKS AUTHORITY (MWA) (Thailand) – School Tap
Water System Project
5. NAN SHAN LIFE INSURANCE CO., LTD. (Taiwan) – Nan Shan Charity Fund for
Community Health Care Programme
6. PT JAPFA COMFEED INDONESIA TBK (Indonesia) – JAPFA for Kids-Healthy
Food Ambassadors
7. SIAM FRESH ENTERPRISE CO., LTD (Thailand) – The Boss Run for Sharing

Green Leadership
1. ASIA CEMENT CORPORATION (Taiwan) – Deeply Rooting the Seeds of
Sustainable Hope – Asia Cement Eco-Environment Education Project
2. BETTER WORLD GREEN PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED (Thailand) – Green Energy
From Industrial Waste
3. CELCOM AXIATA BERHAD (Malaysia) – Tasik Chini Empowered-Harmonising
Digital Inclusion and Sustainability
4. GLOBAL POWER SYNERGY PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED (Thailand) – The Zero
Waste Village Project
5. MALAYSIA AIRPORTS HOLDINGS BERHAD (Malaysia) – klia2: “Embracing
Energy Efficiency for Sustainable Aviation”
6. NICE GARDEN INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. (Taiwan) – Sustainable Agri-Food
Practitioner – NEXTLAND
7. PACIFIC SOGO DEPARTMENT STORES CO., LTD. (Taiwan) – Less Carbon,
Better Life
8. PT HM SAMPOERNA TBK (Indonesia) – Carbon Footprint Management in Finished
Goods Transportation
9. TAIWAN CEMENT CORPORATION (Taiwan) – Turn Carbon Dioxide Into Green
10. TAIWAN COGENERATION CORPORATION (Taiwan) – Dedication to Circular
Economy, Low-carbon Emission, and Energy Sustainability

Corporate Governance
1. CATHAY FINANCIAL HOLDINGS CO., LTD. (Taiwan) – Sustainable Governance
2. CTBC FINANCIAL HOLDING CO., LTD. (Taiwan) – CTBC Financial Holding
Sustainable Governance Programme
3. E.SUN FINANCIAL HOLDING CO., LTD. (Taiwan) – Solid Corporate Governance
Led by Professional Managers
4. METROPOLITAN WATERWORKS AUTHORITY (MWA) (Thailand) – MWA
Corporate Governance Council

International CSR Summit 2019: Call for Business Leaders to Take a Stand on Delivering Global Goals

Taipei, 24 May 2019

Enterprise Asia, Asia’s leading non-governmental organization for responsible entrepreneurship hosted the 5th International CSR Summit (ICS) on 24 and 25 May 2019 at Hilton Taipei Sinban, New Taipei City.

The two day event themed “Take a Stand, Delivering on the Global Goals” convened over 300 corporate social responsibility (CSR) experts, leaders, and practitioners from across 16 countries to collaborate and exchange insights on the most stirring conversations in CSR today, and in deliberating solutions to current society issues.

The ICS 2019 urged participants to reflect upon the journey that the CSR community has embarked over the past decade, and the impact garnered from those initiatives. Echoing the movement of the 2019 World Economic Forum in Davos, the Summit called for business decision makers to mobilize their resources to aggressively deliver on the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and to achieve a low carbon future.

Welcome Address from Tan Sri Dr. Fong Chan Onn, Chairman of Enterprise Asia

The Summit was officiated byMr. Hou Yu-Ih, mayor of New Taipei City, and Mr. Lai Ming-chi, director-general of Department of NGO International Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the presence ofTan Sri Dr. Fong Chan Onn, Chairman of Enterprise Asia; Dr. Eugene Chien, Ambassador-at-Large of Republic of China (Taiwan), Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Environment of Republic of China (Taiwan);and Dato’ William Ng, President of Enterprise Asia.

According to Mr. Ng, President of Enterprise Asia, “Global warming is one of the greatest challenges of our lifetime and a moral imperative for future generations. Achieving a low-carbon economy not only makes good business sense, it is also necessary for fighting climate change.As heads of global businesses and conglomerates, it is our responsibility to send an urgent message to the world that we need to take a stand, and be more ambitious in driving actions to create a sustainable future.”

The ICS 2019 featured a full suite of speakers from the private sector that are well known in their fields of expertise sharing their experience on sustainability. Among the distinguished speakers were ErdalElver, CEO of Siemens Taiwan; Jean-Marc Champagne, head of environmental finance of WWF Hong Kong; Dr Niven Huang, Regional Leader of KPMG Sustainability Services Asia Pacific; Dr. Naoki Adachi, CEO of Response Ability, executive director of Japan Business Initiative For Biodiversity;Dr.LihChyi Wen, director of Center for Green Economy, Chung Hwa Institution for Economic Research; Alexandra Tracy, president of Hoi Ping Ventures Hong Kong; Shinji Onoda, policy researcher of Sustainability Governance Center, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies; Gennie Yen, CEO of Veda International, Co-chair, European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan; Joanna Fong of DHL and Shalom Chen of  L’Oreal.

The key takeaway of the Summit was to educate attendees on opportunities and strategies to decarbonize their businesses. Using case studies such as how a 170 years-old integrated company transformed itself into a low-carbon business amidst megatrend challenges, participants discovered strategies to accelerate the adoption of decarbonizing actions across the company. Topics on large scale collaborations across industry value chains, governance transformation, the significance of data collection, latest updates on science based targets initiatives, smart technologies and renewables that disrupt industry norms were discussed among panellists and keynotes.

The full day workshop on Circular Economy held on the second day of the Summit inspired participants to embrace innovative solutions and a circular approach in their strategy and actions to deliver resilient economic systems across their organizations.

The ICS 2019 was supported by official local partner – Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy; PR partner – Fides Corporate Sustainability; sponsor- Zero Emission Venture; supporting organizations – AmCham Taipei; British Chamber of Commerce; Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association; Circular Economy Club; CSRone; European Chamber of Commerce; Green Trade Project Office, Taiwan External Trade Development Council; Institute for Global Environmental Strategies; Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change, Malaysia; Taiwan Corporate Governance Association; official news release distribution partner – PR Newswire; and official media – BusinessWorld; Commercial Times; SME Magazine; The Nation; Singapore Business Review and Tuoi Tre News.

 

Media Contact
Ms Koo Tse Chien │ Enterprise Asia
(60) 3 7803 0312
tsechien@enterpriseasia.org

About Enterprise Asia

Enterprise Asia is a non-governmental organization in pursuit of creating an Asia that is rich in entrepreneurship as an engine towards sustainable and progressive economic and social development within a world of economic equality. Its two pillars of existence are investment in people and responsible entrepreneurship. Enterprise Asia works with governments, NGOs and other organizations to promote competitiveness and entrepreneurial development, in uplifting the economic status of people across Asia and in ensuring a legacy of hope, innovation and courage for the future generation. Please visit https://www.enterpriseasia.org/ for more information.

About theInternational CSR Summit (ICS)

ICS is a series of annual regional events in Asia which gathers top CSR leaders and practitioners to strengthen ties, share experiences and insights, as well as identify regional challenges and opportunities to shape Asia towards a more responsible, sustainable and progressive socio-economic market. Please visit https://enterpriseasia.org/area/ics/ for more information.

PHL improves edge, but still lags in Asia

THE PHILIPPINES has “partially recovered” in terms of global competitiveness, according to an annual report of the research group of Switzerland-based business school International Institute for Management Development (IMD) that put the country up four notches on improvements across four key factors after a nine-step fall last year.

But the improvement was not enough to lift the country from near the bottom in Asia and the Pacific.

IMD’s 2019 World Competitiveness Report placed the Philippines 46th out of 63 economies, up from 50th spot in the previous report.

But the country still languished in 13th place among 14 Asia-Pacific economies tracked by the IMD World Competitiveness Center, behind Singapore and Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, which bagged first to fourth places, respectively, in the region, as well Malaysia (seventh in the region), Thailand (eighth), Indonesia (11th) and India (12th). Mongolia was last in the region and 62nd globally.

Singapore, Hong Kong, the United States, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates occupied first to fifth place globally, while Venezuela languished at the bottom in 63rd place.

IMD said in an e-mail that the Philippines’ performance was “driven by a solid economic performance supported by sustained real GDP growth (6.2% in 2018) and an increase in labor force and employment levels.”

The study gauges competitiveness using 235 indicators grouped under four factors: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.

For the Asian Institute of Management’s Rizalino S. Navarro Policy Center for Competitiveness that has been IMD’s Philippine partner in this annual study since 1997, “[t]he country partially recovered this year” after it saw “improvement in ranking in all four factors”: a 12-notch improvement to 38th from 50th in terms of economic performance, followed by a climb to 41st from 44th in terms of government efficiency, a rise to 32nd from 38th in terms of business efficiency, as well as a marginal improvement to 59th from 60th place in terms of infrastructure which is “perennially the lowest-ranked factor for the Philippines.”

IMD’s Executive Opinion Survey also bared top indicators watched by Philippine respondents, who were asked to choose five factors out of 15 which they saw as the country’s key drivers of attractiveness: skilled workforce (84.9%), dynamism of the economy (73.3%), cost competitiveness (58.1%), open and positive attitudes (57%), as well as high education level (50%). Rounding up the list were: quality of corporate governance (31.4%), access to financing (27.9%), effective labor relations (20.9%), business-friendly environment (19.8%), reliable infrastructure (9.3%), strong research and development culture (9.3%), competitive tax regime (9.3%), policy stability and predictability (9.3%), competency of government (seven percent), as well as effective legal environment (3.5%).

“To improve, the Philippines needs to strengthen all aspects of the infrastructure factor (where it ranks 59th) particularly that of the education sub-factor (58th) because the latter is fundamental for the sustainability of competitiveness. The development of human capital (60th) remains a challenge for the country as well as the risk of political instability (44th),” Jose Caballero, senior economist at the IMD World Competitiveness Center, said in an e-mail.

“Advances in policy stability and predictability, and a more effective legal environment will boost investor and consumer confidence.” — Janina C. Lim

World competitiveness rankings 2019

World competitiveness rankings 2019

THE PHILIPPINES has “partially recovered” in terms of global competitiveness, according to an annual report of the research group of Switzerland-based business school International Institute for Management Development (IMD) that put the country up four notches on improvements across four key factors after a nine-step fall last year. Read the full story.

World competitiveness rankings 2019

Expected infrastructure spending pickup next semester to fuel growth

THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMY can expect to benefit from revived infrastructure spending in the latter half of this year after a four-month delay in enactment of the P3.662-trillion national budget weighed on “fiscal impulse” this semester, S&P Global Ratings said in a report e-mailed to journalists on Tuesday that tagged the impact of Sino-US trade tensions and potential price pressures from a prolonged El Niño episode and oil prices as key risks to the country’s growth prospects.

HSBC Private Banking said separately on Tuesday that the second half should see infrastructure spending pick up, but still kept its earlier projection that overall economic growth will slow this year from 2018.

ASSESSING FINANCIAL RISKS
Tuesday also saw the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announcing that the interagency Financial Stability Coordination Council (FSCC) has held its second quarter meeting to assess the impact on the Philippines of a possible global growth slowdown.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno, who chairs FSCC that has as members the Department of Finance, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Insurance Commission and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp., said in a statement that the financial market has remained on generally solid footing this quarter after an assessment of credit, liquidity and investment risks as well as availability of long-term funds for the government’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure development program.

“We worked against the backdrop of an anticipated global growth moderation. We agreed on a number of possible interventions, from shorter term initiatives to our longer term goals. This leaves us with a road map geared towards sustaining market resiliency,” Mr. Diokno said.

KEY GROWTH DRIVER
In the May issue of its Asia-Pacific Monthly Snapshots report, titled: Investment Is a Trade War Casualty, S&P said it expects Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth to edge up from a three-year-low 6.2% in 2018 to 6.3% this year — retained from its April estimate but down from 6.4% in January and 6.6% in November last year — as well as 6.5%, 6.6% and 6.7% in the succeeding three years, also retained from projections given last month.

“Despite the weaker-than-expected Q1 [GDP growth of 5.6%, which was the weakest in four years], we continue to expect GDP growth to come in at the low end of the 6-6.5% range this year,” the report read, noting that “[t]he fiscal impulse is definitely lower in the first half of 2019, but we expect infrastructure spending to ramp up again in the second half, making the overall impulse about neutral for 2019.”

In its second quarter investment briefing on Tuesday, HSBC Private Banking Chief Market Strategist in Asia Fan Cheuk Wan said the bank projects GDP to grow six percent this year, keeping the forecast it gave in January, citing the impact of delayed budget enactment and the 45-day public works ban ahead of the May 13 midterm elections.

“I think this mainly reflects the ban on public works, so that is the tempering hiccup in terms of infrastructure spending growth,” Ms. Fan told reporters yesterday.

“We [kept] our overall forecast for GDP growth at six percent after we took into account the slowdown in government spending on infrastructure in the first half…”

At the same time, she added, “the pickup of acceleration in infra[structure] spending in the second half [should provide some lift],” while “resilient consumer spending, post-election government spending and recovery in remittance would be key growth drivers to support Philippine economic performance improvement in the second half the year.”

The Bureau of the Treasury reported on May 24 that overall state spending dropped 3.2% year-on-year to P999.8 billion as of April due to the delayed national budget enactment that “constrained the government from implementing new programs and projects”, with expenditures “other” than interest payments — a category that includes infrastructure and other capital outlays — falling 9.1% to P131.3 billion in the same four months.

Expecting muted first-quarter economic expansion, state budget planners slashed their 2019 GDP growth target to 6-7% from 7-8% originally. Also partly weighing on overall economic growth was farm output that edged up just 0.67% annually compared to a downward-revised year-ago 1.08% increment and 1.8% in 2018’s final three months, as well as a 2.5-3.5% program under the 2017-2022 Philippine Development Plan, partly due to a dry spell brought about by El Niño that is now expected to last till August.

The government of President Rodrigo R. Duterte targeted overall economic growth to average 7-8% in his six-year term ending mid-2022 from 6.3% in 2010-2016 in order to make a significant dent on poverty. GDP growth in his first two years in office averaged 6.45%.

CATCHING UP
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) also reported on May 24 that the Cabinet’s economic development cluster (EDC) had mapped out a spending catch-up strategy for the rest of the year. “A catch-up plan is imperative. The EDC estimates that the government underspent by close to P100 billion during the first five months of the year due to the delayed passage of the 2019 budget. That is around P750 million to P1 billion a day,” a NEDA statement then quoted its director-general, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia, as saying. “To reach our full-year growth target of 6-7”, the economy will need to expand by an average of 6.1% over the next three quarters. This target is still within reach, should the private sector sustain its current performance and government be able to speed up the implementation of its ongoing programs and projects, and jump-start new ones.”

The Department of Budget and Management noted that state disbursement totaled some P778 billion last quarter, and that in order to hit the full-year disbursement program of P3.774 trillion, government must spend P2.996 trillion in the second to fourth quarters. Actual infrastructure disbursements totaled P207.2 billion in the first quarter. To reach the infrastructure-spending target of P1 trillion, government must spend P792.97 billion on infrastructure in the second to fourth quarters. The Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Transportation made a combined spending commitment of P803.1 billion for the remaining three quarters of the year.

OUTLOOK
The current administration targeted to reduce poverty incidence to 17.3-19.3% in 2018 — it was 21% in the first half of last year — from 21.6% in 2015. The rate is targeted to go down further to 14% when Mr. Duterte ends his six-year term in 2022.

S&P projects Philippine unemployment rate to decline from 2018’s 5.3% to 5.2% this year, to 4.9% next year, four percent in 2021 and to 3.8% in 2022, roughly in tune with the government’s target to bring the rate down to 4-5% by the time Mr. Duterte steps down as scheduled.

The global debt watcher also expects inflation to clock in at 3.6% this year (against the central bank’s downward revised 2.9% forecast), 3.5% next year (compared to the central bank’s upward revised 3.1%), as well as 3.2% in 2021 and 3.8% in 2022 from the actual decade-high 5.2% in 2018.

“Falling inflation allows BSP to cut [policy interest rates] further — at least once more this year — while spurring consumption growth as well,” S&P said in its report.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on May 9 partially dialed back its cumulative 175 basis point (bp) hike last year, cutting policy interest rates by 25 bp to 4.5% for the overnight reverse repurchase (RRP) rate, to four percent for overnight deposit and to five percent for overnight lending.

S&P now expects the RRP rate to slide further to 4.25% by yearend which will be retained throughout 2020, before it is cut further to 3.5% by end-2021 which will be maintained the following year.

HSBC’s Ms. Fan shares the expectation of “another 25 bp cut in policy rate cut in the fourth quarter” and “room for further reserve requirement ratio (RRR) reduction of 100 bp before the end of the year” after the BSP fired off in the last two weeks phased 200 bp RRR cuts to 16% for big banks and to six percent for thrift banks, as well as a one-time 100 bp cut to four percent for rural and cooperative banks.

“Risks to external financing and exchange rate volatility are back on the radar screen as the (US-China) trade war re-escalates,” the debt rater said.

“The spillovers of the trade war to the Philippine electronics sector [which contributes about half of total merchandise exports and which slipped by 1.7% to $8.841 billion last quarter] could also be larger than we anticipate at least in the short run,” it added.

“Domestically, a resurgence in inflation from El Niño or oil prices remains possible and could weigh on consumption recovery and the ability of BSP to ease (monetary policy) at a time when the fiscal impulse is already negative in the first half of the year.” — with KANV

Senate body nearly adopts House mining tax version

THE SENATE Committee on Ways and Means on Tuesday minimized differences with the House of Representatives’ version of a proposal to increase the government’s share in mining revenues in a bid to fast-track final legislative approval.

Committee Chairman Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara sponsored Senate Bill No. 2235, or “An Act Establishing the Fiscal Regime for the Mining Industry,” which proposed to reduce the royalty fee on large-scale mining within mineral reserves to three percent of gross output from five percent currently and introduce a 1-5% margin-based royalty on those outside mineral reserves.

“Our version is similar to the House of Representatives’ version except that the committee chose to remove the inclusion of the non-metallic mining operations,” Senator Angara said in his sponsorship speech, Tuesday.

“Throughout our hearings it became apparent that a majority of non-metallic mining in the country is in cement production. Stakeholders explained that any imposition of taxes on cement could result in higher prices which… could impair the government’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ program.”

The House version, which bagged final approval in November 2018, will impose a 1-10% margin-based windfall profit tax on income before corporate income tax as well as a provision discouraging excessive debt funding by disallowing deduction of interest expense once a company records a 3:1 debt-to-equity ratio.

The bill defined margin as the “ratio of income from mining operations before corporate income tax on gross output,” while gross output is “the actual market value of minerals or mineral products from each mine or mineral land operated as a separate entity, without any deduction for mining, processing, refining, transporting, handling, marketing or any other expenses.”

The royalty will be imposed on top of other taxes like corporate income tax, excise tax which Republic Act No. 10963 doubled to four percent, the royalty to indigenous people and local business tax.

TOBACCO TAX APPEAL
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said he hopes the House will adopt the Senate’s version of the proposal to raise tobacco excise tax as the 17th Congress’s days are numbered.

“We do not have any more material time for a bicam[eral conference committee]… dahil (because)… it’s Eid al-Fitr (holiday) on Wednesday; so meaning last day na namin ‘yung (it will be our last day next) Tuesday,” Mr. Zubiri told reporters on Tuesday.

Any measure that fails to secure ratification in the current Congress will have to be refiled in the 18th Congress that opens on July 22.

Kung ma-approve namin s’ya (If the Senate approves the bill) latest Monday, we’ll transmit immediately to the House, so that they can adopt our version or come up with a quick bicam[eral conference committee] for ratification on Tuesday the latest.”

The Senate proposed under SB 2233 to increase excise tax on tobacco products to P45 per pack from P37.50 in Jan. 2020; and by P5 annually until it reaches P60 in 2023. It will then be increased by five percent every year thereafter.

In comparison, House Bill No. 8677, which was approved in December last year, proposed rates of P37.50-45 by 2022 and a four percent increase annually thereafter.

At present, a P35 rate per pack is imposed on cigarettes, after RA 10963 raised it to P32.50 per pack from P30 in January 2018 and to P35 beginning July 2018. It is scheduled to go up to P37.50 in January 2020.

Asked on chances of the House adopting SB 2233, House Majority Leader and Capiz 2nd district Rep. Fredenil H. Castro said in mobile phone message, Tuesday, there is “no harm”, while Nueva Ecija 1st District Rep. Estrellita B. Suansing, chairperson of the House Ways and Means Committee, said in a separate text message that her committee has received “no instructions yet from SPGMA (Speaker Gloria M. Arroyo).” — Charmaine A. Tadalan