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Nationwide round-up

Malacañang to look into Espenido’s alleged illegal drug link

MALACAÑANG will “validate the veracity” of reports that Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido, the controversial police officer who led a bloody operation against members of an influential family allegedly involved in the narcotics trade, is among the 357 police officers who are under investigation for illegal drugs. “If that is officially received by the Office of the President, then the President will investigate,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said in a phone interview with reporters on Wednesday. A Philippine Star source at the Philippine National Police (PNP) has confirmed that Mr. Espenido is among those under investigation. “He (Espenido) is included in that group,” said the PNP official who spoke on condition of anonymity. PNP Chief Archie Francisco F. Gamboa declined to comment on the matter when asked by reporters. Mr. Gamboa stressed that all those under investigation are still presumed innocent. Mr. Espenido was relieved from his post last week as deputy chief for operations and head of the drug enforcement units in Bacolod City. The relief order was issued by Maj. Gen. Cesar Hawthorne Bing, chief of the PNP directorial staff. Mr. Espenido is currently assigned to the Office of the Chief PNP at the police headquarters in Quezon City. Mr. Espenido did not reply when sought for comment. — Gillian M. Cortez and Emmanuel Tupas, PHILSTAR

1st-time jobseekers required to submit certified documents

A crowd of jobseekers during a government-organized job fair in Metro Manila in 2019. — DPWH

EMPLOYERS ARE directed to accept only certified true copies of required documents from first time jobseekers (FTJs), based on a new advisory by the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE). In DoLE Labor Advisory No. 07 series of 2020, the department said all employers from the private sector should only accept a true copy of the required government papers, which are issued for free to new jobseekers. “Private establishments are hereby enjoined to accept certified true copy from the issuing government authority of the pre-employment documents of the FTJ during the application process,” states the advisory dated February 11. DoLE, however, clarified that original pre-employment documents will only be kept once the FTJ is officially hired for the job. Republic Act 11261, or the First Time Jobseekers Act, provides that all government establishments concerned in the issuance of needed documents for job application will waive fees and charges for first-timers. — Gillian M. Cortez

Nation at a Glance — (02/13/20)

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 — (02/13/20)

IMF wants tax evasion covered by AMLA

THE Philippines should add tax evasion among the crimes covered by its law against money laundering, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“Tax evasion should be added to the list of predicate crimes,” the IMF said in its Feb. 6 report on the Philippines.

Customer due diligence for politically exposed persons and risk-based supervision of the gaming sector should also be intensified, it added.

Quirino Rep. Junie E. Cua said a technical working group of the House of Representatives Committee on Banks, which he heads, has been tweaking the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA).

“It is one of the priorities of the government to enable us to achieve grade A rating, so that’s very important,” he said in an interview on Tuesday.

Mr. Cua filed House Bill 6174 to include tax crimes and violation of the Strategic Trade Management Act as predicate offenses to money laundering.

The bill also wants to include real-estate agents as covered persons that will be monitored by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

The congressman said his committee would address IMF concerns about tax evasion, saying it is “one of the areas where we need to improve.”

Mr. Cua said there is a long list of crimes that fall under tax evasion, some serious and some not so serious.

“We’re looking into that as well. But we need to be very careful with these things because we do not want also abuses to be committed,” he said.

The lawmaker said his committee was “fast-tracking” the measure “without sacrificing thorough and exhaustive consultations with stakeholders.”

These changes are needed so the country could avoid being gray-listed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Mr. Cua said.

“This is about the international effort to curb the laundering of money resulting from terrorism, the funding or financing terrorism,” he added.

He also said they would look at the offshore gaming industry to ensure it does not become a dirty money haven.

“We don’t want it to become a venue for money laundering as well, and we want to be very cautious about these Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators,” he said.

The country’s law against money laundering was passed in September 2001 and was first amended in 2003 to address concerns about the high threshold level for covered transactions, the coverage of institutions and bank secrecy.

Lawmakers lowered the threshold for covered transactions to P500,000 from P4 million, empowered the central bank to examine deposits or investments with any banking institutions without a court order during a periodic or special examination, and allowed the law to be applied retroactively.

Congress again amended the law in 2012 by allowing the issuance of a freeze order and empowered the AMLC to conduct a bank inquiry within 24 hours after filing a court action.

The FATF upgraded the country to a “gray list” from a “dark gray” list as a result, just a notch away from being taken out of a watchlist of noncompliant nations.

The following year, lawmakers again changed the law by increasing the number of illegal activities related to money laundering to 34 from 14.

These included human trafficking, bribery, counterfeiting, fraud and other illegal exactions, forgery, malversation, various environmental crimes, and terrorism and its financing.

The law needs to be improved further so the Philippines won’t be included in the FATF list of areas with serious deficiencies in combating terrorist financing, the IMF said.

Meanwhile, Senator Francis N. Pangilinan filed a bill repealing a 65-year-old law that guarantees deposit secrecy.

His Senate Bill 634 or the proposed Deposits Disclosure Act will allow scrutiny of all deposits for possible tax evasion, money laundering and corruption, among other financial crimes.

This will cover all deposits, regardless of currency denomination, issued by banks and nonbank financial institutions.

“It is necessary and timely to lift all pertinent laws on the secrecy of bank deposits to ensure rightful declaration of taxes and efficient revenue collection,” Mr. Pangilinan said in the bill’s explanatory note.

“Through this measure, the government will be able to effectively combat domestic and global tax evasion, money laundering and other financial crimes, and corruption,” he added.

Once the bill becomes law, banks must disclose and report deposit account information. Violators will be fined at least P200,000 or jailed for at least three years or both. — Genshen L. Espedido and Charmaine A. Tadalan

PHL tourism to lose P23 billion a month due to COVID-19

THE tourism industry alone could lose P22.7 billion in revenues per month amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, with Philippines also seen to be among the most vulnerable countries that might suffer from disruptions in global supply chains after some factories in China halted operations.

This as the Department of Health (DoH) on Wednesday reported that the number of patients under investigation for the new coronavirus from China rose to 408.

“Applying ’yung (the) multiplier effect of tourism, we expect that per month, kasama na rin ’yung (including) domestic airline receipts, we think it’s (foregone revenue) in the order of about P22.7 billion per month,” National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary, Rosemarie G. Edillon said in a hearing at the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Fatima T. Romulo-Puyat said their estimates showed the tourism sector could lose a total of P42.9 billion from February until April — P16.8 billion this month, another P14.11 billion for March and P11.98 billion for April — as citizens are expected to cancel scheduled flights and postpone events, among others, amid the virus scare.

For airlines, Roberto Lim, executive director and vice-chairman of the Air Carriers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (ACAP) said they are expecting to lose around P3 billion from ticket refunds in the next two months following the China travel ban.

NEDA’s Ms. Edillon added that if the outbreak persists up to six months, affected industries, including tourism-related businesses, could also lay off some workers.

Earlier, NEDA estimates showed a prolonged outbreak could reduce the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.3% if the virus lingers until June, while the impact could further rise to 0.7% if it persists until December. The projections were made considering inbound Chinese tourists will be cut by 100% and foreign tourists coming in will be reduced by 10% from the baseline during the given period.

CHINA’S SLOWDOWN TO AFFECT ASIA
The COVID-19 outbreak’s effect on China’s growth could also spill over to the region, including the Philippines, and will affect the aviation industry, tourism sector, services, and global supply chains.

ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) said in a report on Wednesday that the outbreak could slow China’s growth by 0.5 percentage point this year, and with widespread spillovers to the region, ASEAN+3’s growth could also be reduced by 0.2 percentage point.

Based on AMRO’s estimates culled from its Global Vector Autoregression (GVAR) model, a one-percentage-point decline in China’s economic activity would hit Thailand the most, along with Singapore and Hong Kong, while the Philippine economy will likely suffer a 0.27 percentage point reduction, same as Malaysia, Japan and South Korea.

“The main spillover channels to the region would be through a sharp drop in Chinese outbound travel and tourism, a drop in regional travel and tourism reflecting fear of contracting the disease, a decline in China’s imports through the supply chain as manufacturing production is disrupted and as domestic demand is affected, and the spread of the disease to regional economies,” AMRO explained in its analytical note published Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Oxford Economics said the Philippines is one of the countries most vulnerable to global trade disruptions, which could happen as the outbreak has forced some factories in China to temporarily halt their operations.

“The rapid spread of coronavirus will weaken China’s GDP (gross domestic product) growth sharply in the short term, causing disruption for the rest of the world,” Oxford Economics said in a Feb. 10 report. “Weaker Chinese imports and tourism and disruption to global supply chains will take a toll on the rest of the world, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.”

According to Oxford Economics data, 30.8% of the country’s core intermediate goods that its imports come from China and Hong Kong, making the Philippines the third-biggest export market of China and Hong Kong combined.

“After Vietnam, the South Korean and the Philippines economies look vulnerable to coronavirus, based on this metric. The share of intermediate goods imports from China is in excess of 20% in all the other Asian economies on the list, bar Singapore.”

Philippine authorities earlier said the country could find other sources for the raw materials and goods it currently imports from China if supply will be disrupted.

However for Oxford Economics, “even if substitutes for Chinese suppliers exist, their capacity to increase production and meet global demand may be limited in the short term and could increase production costs across the supply chain.”

For the Economic Research Unit (ERU) of the UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc., the “Philippine economy’s significant trade exposure to China puts the anticipated export recovery this 2020 in a quandary ahead of China’s anticipated economic slowdown due to the still unknown eventual impact of the coronavirus outbreak.”

If the virus spreads further and stays longer, UnionBank’s ERU said it may also threaten the country’s remittance inflows, which is a major component driver of growth, particularly flows coming from China, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore.

DISRUPTIONS WILL AFFECT BANKS
In a report on Wednesday, Moody’s Investors Service also warned that the fallout from the virus’ spread could also hurt the asset quality and profitability of Asia-Pacific (APAC) banks.

Considering disruptions in supply chains, Moody’s said banks in the Asia-Pacific region could suffer from potential loan defaults if the borrowers, specifically the companies involved in these sectors, will face prolonged suspensions in their operations.

“APAC banks provide working capital and investment financing for companies in supply chains. The main source of asset risk for banks in this area is financing for subcontractor or suppliers, rather than loans to major manufacturing companies. For example, if production is suspended for a prolonged period, subcontractors of major manufacturers can be at risk of default. Industries that can take a hit include technology and auto manufacturing,” the credit rater said.

Meanwhile, a more immediate impact will be felt by banks as private consumption is seen to decline amid the virus scare, “resulting in declines in earnings at corporates in industries that are reliant on consumer spending, such as general trade and commerce, mall operators and real estate firms.”

“This would lead to higher problem loans at the banks,” it said.

Moody’s added that while the market has already recovered from virus-related sell-offs, prices of financial assets could decline if the outbreak continues.

“While short-term volatility can be good for bank earnings from financial markets, sustained market declines will be credit-negative for the banks due to mark-to-market losses on financial investments and falls in revenue from financial markets,” the debt watcher said. — Beatrice M. Laforga and Genshen L. Espedido

KAPA founder, officers ordered arrested for fraud

By Denise A. Valdez
Reporter

THE founder and other key officers of Kapa-Community Ministry International (KAPA) — which the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) tagged as possibly “the largest investment scam in the Philippines in recent years” — have been ordered arrested by the Regional Trial Court of Bislig City on fraud charges.

In a statement, the corporate regulator said the court on Tuesday issued the warrants of arrest against KAPA Founder and President Joel A. Apolinario, Trustee Margie A. Danao and Corporate Secretary Reyna L. Apolinario.

The court also called for the arrest of KAPA promoters identified as Marisol S. Diaz, Adelfa Fernandico, Moises Mopia and Reniones D. Catubigan.

The issuance of arrest warrants followed the criminal charges filed by the Department of Justice against KAPA last year for violations of the Securities Regulation Code.

“It is about time that the people behind KAPA answer the criminal charges filed against them,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said in the statement. “May this serve as a reiteration of the Commission’s resolve to stamp out investment scams and shield the investing public from fraud and other abuses in the corporate sector.”

In an e-mail to BusinessWorld, Officer-in-Charge Oliver O. Leonardo of the SEC Enforcement and Investor Protection Department said the regulator has been pressed in recent years by the surge of illegal investment schemes.

“Among others, we have noticed how the internet — particularly social media — has made it easier for fraudsters to recruit investors and somehow evolve from one form to another,” he said, noting how KAPA was able to recruit millions through Facebook and YouTube.

KAPA is estimated to have collected about P50 billion from supposed five million members when the SEC ordered its closure last year. The organization operates by masking as a religious group that solicits P10,000 in “donations” from each member, in exchange of monthly returns of 30% in “blessings” or “love gifts” for life.

“We recognize the need to continue educating the public about investing. We know that many victims of investment scams only wanted the best for themselves… Unfortunately, a few saw this as an opportunity to satisfy their greed,” Mr. Leonardo said.

Since the year started, the corporate regulator has issued 10 advisories against illegal investor groups. These advisories are uploaded on the SEC website, with at least 69 groups flagged by the regulator last year alone. This is on top of cease-and-desist orders against 12 groups, the revocation of registrations of three groups and the filing of criminal complaints against five groups.

“The SEC is scaling up its information, education and communication campaigns to empower the public and keep them from falling for investment scams,” Mr. Leonardo said.

He added it is important to educate the public that investment scams are “nothing but a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

“Investment scams are doomed to fail, putting their victims’ future in jeopardy,” Mr. Leonardo said.

Philippines improves score in International Intellectual Property Index

THE Philippines’ score improved by nearly four percentage points in the US Chamber of Commerce’s (USCC) 2020 International Intellectual Property Index, after its implementation of additional anti-counterfeiting and piracy measures and the addition of new indicators in the index.

The country kept its ranking of 37 out of 53 countries. Last year, the index included 50 countries.

The index, released by the USCC Global Innovation Policy Center, reported that the Philippines index score stood at 39.94%, garnering 19.97 points out of 50 indicators. In comparison, the Philippines score reached 36% or 16.2 points out of 45 indicators in last year’s index.

The Philippines’ key strengths, the report said, is in fast-tracking the trade mark registration period, amendments to the intellectual property (IP) code to strengthen criminal sanctions, research and development incentives, IP rights legislation, and capacity building.

But the report said the country has barriers for licensing and technology transfer, significant gaps in life sciences and content-related IP rights, and rampant online and software piracy.

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) in a statement on Wednesday said that considering the three additional economies in the index, the Philippine standing is 70% to the top, from 74% in the previous year.

“We are most glad for its careful and positive observation on the progress of the country’s intellectual property rights environment, especially on enforcement which is entrenched in IPOPHL’s endeavor to protect creativity and innovation,” IPOPHL Officer-in-Charge Director General Teodoro C. Pascua said.

The Philippines’ strongest areas, or the indicators where the country scored a full point, included patent term of protection, plant variety protection, trademarks’ term of protection, world intellectual property organization internet treaties, and membership of the convention on cybercrime.

The report noted that the country’s strong performance was in part due to an increase in its “availability of frameworks that promote cooperative private action against online sale of counterfeit goods.”

IPOPHL in 2019 held a focus group discussion with online platforms to discuss interventions to counterfeit goods.

“One of the Philippines’ biggest online retailers, Zalora, recently introduced tougher filtering procedure for sellers to be granted access to the commercial platform. Similarly, in 2019 another of the biggest retailers, Lazada, joined Alibaba’s IP Protection Platform, which works as a one-stop shop for rights-holders to submit and track infringement notices,” the report said.

The report said the Philippines is also moving closer to making substantive changes to its copyright environment, with two pending bills in Congress.

House Bill 9148 would allow IPOPHL to issue notice-and-takedown orders addressing online piracy and counterfeiting, giving way for copyright owners to claim damages.

The new Philippine Online Infringing Act would allow IPOPHL to recommend to the National Telecommunications Commission the cancellation of an ISP’s operating license if it fails to remove infringing content within a given time period.

Mr. Pascua said IPOPHL’s enforcement team, the IP Rights Enforcement Office (IEO), will be ironing out enforcement guidelines to keep up with modern business models.

“(IEO) has also identified critical players in the supply chain of counterfeit trade with whom we believe we should engage,” he said.

“We want to encourage them to set up their own mechanisms that will prevent counterfeiters, including those indirectly contributing to counterfeit trade, from utilizing their channels for criminal operations.” — Jenina P. Ibañez

How does the Philippines compare with other Asian economies in terms of intellectual property enforcement and protection?

LRT-1 Cavite extension on track to partly operate by end-2021

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter

LIGHT RAIL Manila Corp. (LRMC), operator of Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1), said it is on track to meet the Department of Transportation’s (DoTr) timeline to open the first phase of the Cavite extension project for partial operations by the last quarter of next year.

“The DoTr is pushing us to finish as early as possible. I think kaya naman (it’s possible) based on the timeline nila (of the department). They requested to finish by next year. We are coordinating with them. Right now it seems na kaya naman s’ya (it can be met),” LRMC President and Chief Executive Officer Juan F. Alfonso told reporters on Wednesday on the sidelines of the operator’s launching of its annual “LRT-1 Love Train” ahead of Valentine’s Day.

The P64.9-billion LRT-1 Cavite extension project, a public-private partnership (PPP) venture that the National Economic and Development Authority board approved in November 2013, aims to add an 11.7-kilometer Baclaran-Bacoor, Cavite segment to the existing 18.1-kilometer train line. The new stretch will have eight stations.

The first phase of the extension consists of a seven-kilometer stretch with five stations between the Redemptorist Church area in Baclaran and Dr. Santos Ave. in Parañaque.

As for the status of the rights-of-way acquired for the first phase, Mr. Alfonso said it remains over 90% as what was reported in October last year.

“May ilang inaaayos sa ibang stations pero (Some issues are being resolved for some stations, but) I think we have solutions,” he said.

Mr. Alfonso said piling works for the first phase are “continuing,” and that construction works have started in the Parañaque portion of the extension project.

He said right-of-way is being worked out for the second phase, which will have three stations from Las Piñas to Niog.

The remaining three stations are scheduled for completion in 2022.

Mr. Alfonso said part of the project is the acquisition of 30 new train sets from Mitsubishi Corp. and its technical partner Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles.

“I think may darating na (some are arriving) — for the pilot test — two or three train sets. In fact, ‘yung engineers namin papunta na sa abroad, tsini-check ‘yung train sets natin (our engineers are going abroad to check our train sets),” he said.

Once LRT-1’s Cavite extension opens to the public, the DoTr expects daily ridership along the entire line to increase to 800,000 passengers from 500,000 currently, and Baclaran-Bacoor travel time to be cut to 25 minutes from up to two hours.

LRMC is the joint venture of Ayala Corp., Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd. It holds the P65-billion, 32-year PPP contract to operate LRT-1 and build its extension to Cavite.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is one of three Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group which it controls.

SM Prime’s P100-B securities cleared

SM PRIME Holdings, Inc. has received clearance from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its proposed shelf registration of P100-billion debt securities.

In a statement Wednesday, the country’s corporate regulator said it has approved SM Prime’s plan to issue the fixed rate bonds, and has likewise given it permit to sell securities for the offering’s initial tranche.

The initial tranche covers the issuance of P15-billion Series K and Series L bonds, which may be oversubscribed by up to P5 billion. The Series K bonds have a tenor of five years and the Series L bonds have a tenor of seven years.

“In its meeting on Feb. 11, the Commission En Banc rendered effective SM Prime’s registration statement and approved the issuance of the corresponding order of registration, as well as the permit to sell securities to the public… subject to the company’s compliance with certain requirements,” the SEC said.

SM Prime is expected to net P14.79 billion from the issuance, and an additional P4.94 billion if the oversubscription option is utilized. This will be used to finance the company’s capital expenditures for mall expansion projects until 2022.

The SEC said the P80-billion remainder from SM Prime’s shelf registration may be offered within three years from its approval of the registration statement.

SM Prime earlier said it plans to start offering the first tranche in February, where the bonds will be offered in minimum denominations of P20,000 and in multiples of P10,000 thereafter.

The five-year Series K bonds may be redeemed by SM Prime in whole at 101% on the sixth and seventh interest payment dates, or at 100.5% on the eight and ninth interest payment dates. Then the seven-year Series L bonds may be redeemed at 101% on the 10th and 11th interest payment dates, or at 100.5% on the 12th and 13th interest payment dates.

BDO Capital & Investment Corp., China Bank Capital Corp., BPI Capital Corp., East West Banking Corp., First Metro Investment Corp., RCBC Capital Corp. and SB Capital Investment Corp. have been tapped as joint lead underwriters for the offer.

The bonds will be listed at the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp.

SM Prime reported an attributable net income of P27.6 billion as of September last year, 18% higher compared with the same nine-month period in 2018 after a 14% jump in revenues to P85.03 billion.

Shares in the company at the stock exchange fell 40 centavos or 0.94% to P42.30 each on Wednesday. — Denise A. Valdez

Concepcion Industrial after-tax profit up 27%

CONCEPCION Industrial Corp. (CIC) reported a 27% jump in profit after tax and minority interest in the fourth quarter, driven by a larger volume from its consumer segment.

The listed manufacturer of refrigerators and air-conditioners said the figure for the last three months of 2019 stood at P305 million. This took a push from a 13% growth in overall sales and a 6% rise in net sales to P4.1 billion during the period.

For the full-year 2019, CIC’s after-tax profit climbed 4% to P947 million, as overall sales increased 12% and net sales grew 6% to P15.1 billion.

In a statement Wednesday, the company said its improved performance last year may be attributed to the growth of its consumer segment as it introduced new products across categories. The recovery of its commercial business also helped in boosting profits.

“I am happy with the second half results for the company as it reflected a strong recovery in the market, traction on operational efficiencies, and cost reduction initiatives,” CIC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Raul Joseph A. Concepcion was quoted in the statement as saying.

CIC Chief Financial Officer Victoria A. Betita said 2019 was a “tough year,” but the company was able to sell more than 1 million units last year and has taken initiatives to sustain its growth in the near term.

CIC is yet to submit its 2019 financial statement to the exchange.

CIC is behind brands such as Carrier, Toshiba, Condura, Kelvinator and Midea. It controls seven subsidiaries, namely: Concepcion-Carrier Air Conditioning Co.; Concepcion Durables, Inc.; Concepcion-Otis Philippines, Inc.; Concepcion Business Services, Inc.; Cortex Technologies Corp.; Alstra Inc.; and Teko Solutions Asia Inc.

It also has two associates: Concepcion Midea Inc. and AllCare Technologies Philippines, Inc.

Shares in CIC at the stock exchange closed flat on Wednesday at P30.15 each. — Denise A. Valdez

ABS-CBN says it has no unpaid bank obligations nor tax liability

AMID criticisms and the latest move from the government to revoke its franchise, embattled media network ABS-CBN Corp. on Wednesday clarified that it has no unpaid taxes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) nor unpaid obligations to any bank.

In a statement, ABS-CBN said it had secured last year a tax clearance certificate from the Tax bureau, and that it has “no outstanding tax liability.”

ABS-CBN also said that it has been cited as one of the top 200 non-individual taxpayers in the country.

“We have no unpaid obligations to any bank or financial institution,” it added.

On Monday, Solicitor General Jose C. Calida filed a lawsuit accusing ABS-CBN of violating several laws, including one against foreign ownership in media.

The media network called the lawsuit “an effort to shut down ABS-CBN to the serious prejudice of millions of Filipinos who rely on the network for news, entertainment and public service.”

It said it complies with “all pertinent laws governing its franchise and has secured all necessary government and regulatory approvals for its business operations.” — Arjay L. Balinbin

Boeing says Southeast Asia needs 4,500 new planes over 20 years

BOEING CO. said airlines in Southeast Asia will need 4,500 new aircraft over the next two decades to meet demand from the region’s growing middle class.

The expected new orders in the region are worth $710 billion at list prices, the company said Wednesday in its market outlook briefing at the Singapore Airshow.

Regional growth will be driven by carriers from Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, which have made the top 10 list of countries that added the most airline seat capacity since 2010, according to Randy Tinseth, Boeing’s vice president of commercial marketing.

“With an expanding middle class, in a market that continues to liberalize, coupled with a strong domestic, regional and international tourism sector, Southeast Asia has become one of the world’s largest aviation markets,” Mr. Tinseth said.

The Chicago-based planemaker maintained a bullish outlook amid a decade of supercharged aerospace growth, even after failing to sell any commercial planes in January, extending a slump that has strained the company’s finances since two deadly crashes grounded the best-selling 737 Max.

The jet has been grounded worldwide since March, after a pair of crashes within five months killed 346 people. Global trade tensions, centered on the dispute between the US and China, have also cast a shadow on the company.

The company’s projection underscores the importance of getting the Max — Boeing’s most popular model and the workhorse for many airlines across the world — back in service. It also has to convince customers the jetliner will be safe. — Bloomberg

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