Livestock trade show moved to 2020 amid swine fever fears

June 24, 2019 | 12:06 am

THE LIVESTOCK Philippines trade show has been postponed to 2020 at the request of the industry and the Department of Agriculture amid fears the exhibition may serve as a vehicle for spreading African Swine Fever (ASF), organizers said.

In statement, UBM Exhibitions Philippines said the expo has been moved to May 28-30, 2020. BusinessWorld reported earlier that the trade show was to take place on June 26-29 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

“The Department of Agriculture (DA) has implemented tightened quarantine controls as one of its strategies since the outbreak started last year. As a result, the Department and the local swine industry have raised the possibility of ASF entering the country through exhibitions such as Livestock Philippines, as some of the foreign exhibitors and/or participants may come from ASF infected countries,” UBM said in a statement.

UBM supplied media outlets with a letter from the DA said the postponement decision to 2020 was “mutually agreed.” The DA said another date is also possible “until such time ASF is officially controlled in accordance with the recommendations of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).”

It also attached a statement from the Philippine Veterinary Medical Association recommending that the trade show be postponed.

Keeping the bloom of youth

June 24, 2019 | 12:05 am

OUR FACES show the passage of time, in the same way sweeping hands on a clock’s face do. A frequent criticism of the youth is their lack of experience, and this may be because the world has hardly marked their pure, unmarked faces.

Actress Jasmine Curtis-Smith is a pretty girl; there’s no other way to say it. But not having enough experience is something that can’t be said of the young actress. At her young age (she was born in 1994), she has been nominated and awarded many times for her acting. Ms. Curtis-Smith has been nominated as Best Supporting Actress from the Gawad Urian awards for her role in Siargao, and won the Metro Manila Film Festival award for the same role. She’s also well-known in the indie circuit, and won Best Actress from the Cinema One Originals Film Festival for her role in Baka Bukas.

Ms. Curtis-Smith is the new endorser for Mecca Aesthetic Clinic and Spa, specifically for their Ulthera Youth service.

Ulthera Youth is of the same Ulthera family of which actress and presidential daughter and sister Kris Aquino is an endorser. Ulthera uses ultrasonic energy to lift and tighten skin, a noninvasive procedure that takes no downtime.

While lifting and tightening seems to be in the realm of what Ms. Curtis-Smith calls the “tita audience,” she said in a mixture of Tagalog and English, “We’re also busy, same as our titas (aunts).”

“It doesn’t mean that our beauty regimen has to stop, or has to be on hold.”

According to her and Dr. Gigi Rodriguez, an aesthetic consultant at Mecca, the Ulthera Youth service is meant to rejuvenate and prevent collagen degradation by stimulating cells that produce collagen — the original Ulthera service seeks to repair damage that has already been done.

“It keeps you young, it keeps your wrinkles and fine lines hidden, or at least [tucked] somewhere hidden,” says Ms. Curtis-Smith.

It’s also Mecca’s first anniversary in the business. Mecca CEO Mars Balajadia said that she founded the clinic last year due to her own skin issues, which included acne. “I want[ed] to build a clinic where the younger generations can come in without being intimidated,” the 36-year-old said in a mixture of English and Tagalog.

At some skin clinics, for example, treatments can go as high up in the six-digit figures. While this can also happen at Mecca, Ms. Balajadia emphasizes the flexible installment plans. “We continue to update and upgrade and make sure that we give… with the highest standards and offer machine treatments that actually give results without breaking the bank.” — Joseph L. Garcia

EEZ deal with Indonesia to take effect this year

June 24, 2019 | 12:05 am

THE agreement clarifying the Philippine maritime boundary with Indonesia where their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) overlap is expected to take effect within the year, following a meeting between President Rodrigo R. Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo Saturday.

The agreement, signed in May 2014, delimits the overlapping EEZs of both states. The Philippine Senate ratified the agreement on June 3.

“Both leaders look forward to the entry into force of the agreement within this year, upon the formal exchange of the instruments of ratification by their respective Foreign Ministers,” the Philippine and Indonesian governments said in a joint statement, released by the Department of Foreign Affairs Sunday.

The two Presidents met on the sidelines of the 34^th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Bangkok.

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which both the Philippines and Indonesia are parties, entitles them to a 200 nautical-mile EEZ. The EEZs of the Philippines and Indonesia, however, overlap in the Mindanao and Celebes Seas and in the southern section of the Philippine Sea.

“The agreement provides legal certainty on the EEZ boundary between the two countries, promotes deeper cooperation in their respective maritime sectors and thus contributes to the prosperity and economic development of both countries and the larger region,” it added.

The President’s Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo on Sunday said the agreement can serve as a model in addressing maritime concerns between states.

“The Palace views this legal instrument as a good precedent on how to address maritime concerns and settle disputes in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), bearing in mind the archipelagic nature of the Philippines which inherently shares common borders with many ASEAN member-states,” Mr. Panelo said in a statement.

“In line with the independent foreign policy course that PRRD (President Rodrigo R. Duterte) charted for our country — where we are friends to all and enemies to none — we hope that this accord would serve as a benchmark for future agreements with other countries with shared or similar concerns as we continue to deepen cooperation with our strategic allies in the region,’ Mr. Panelo also said. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

Fall armyworm invades crops across Asia, smallholders worst hit

June 24, 2019 | 12:05 am

BAN NONG TOR, THAILAND/SINGAPORE — Looking out at his empty, red-earth field, Thai farmer Puang Timdon said his two-week-old maize crop didn’t stand a chance against the fall armyworm pest.

“All the 8 rai (1.28 hectare) I planted were all heavily infested,” said the 42-year-old from his farm in Ban Nong Tor town in Pak Chong district, 180 km (120 miles) northeast of the capital Bangkok.

“The worm ate the whole field in three days, leaving so much damage that it wasn’t worth saving.”

Fall armyworm, a caterpillar that got the name because it invades croplands in droves, much like an army, has rapidly spread across Asia since it was detected in southern India late last year. Fields in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia and Taiwan have fallen victim. In Thailand, it has badly affected the country’s corn crop, much of which is sold to the animal feed industry.

In recent months, the pest has also been found in 18 of China’s 33 provinces and regions and is now threatening to spread across the key corn region in the northeast. China is the world’s second biggest corn consumer and producer.

“It is a major issue for crops. It could pose a food security threat,” said Phin Ziebell, an agribusiness economist at National Australia Bank. “Management cost is an issue for small farmers.”

Marjon Fredrix, an agricultural officer at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said some countries have reported damage to crops hit by the pest at 1.2% to about 10%, while others had put the figure at 20% to 40%.

“Once the fall armyworm has arrived, it can’t be eradicated, and farmers will have to manage it,” Fredrix said.

A dip in the production of corn, largely used in Asia to feed animals, could force hog, poultry and cattle growers to rely on expensive imports and dent incomes of millions of small farmers.

The fall armyworm invasion comes against the backdrop of planting delays in the United States which lifted benchmark Chicago corn futures Cv1 by nearly a fifth last month.

“AWFUL COMBINATION”
Asia’s millions of smallholder farmers — many with less than an acre of land — are likely to take a bigger hit from the pest than larger growers given their reluctance to adopt new technologies to combat production threats.

“There is an inertia about new technologies,” said Paul Voutier, Singapore-based director at Grow Asia, a World Bank funded organization that works with small farmers and other stakeholders to improve productivity.

“And the treatment for fall armyworm has the awful combination of being both costly and difficult,” he said, noting the pest’s tendency to burrow low into the stem of the crop made it hard to combat with traditional pesticide sprays.

Asia is the world’s biggest consumer and importer of corn. The region accounts for 34% of global corn imports and nearly 36% of world corn consumption, according to the US Department of Agriculture data.

The pest, which has been known for almost 200 years in the Americas, was first reported in Africa in 2016 and has since spread across the entire continent, according to FAO.

In July 2018, fall armyworm — which can fly up to 100 km in one night — was spotted in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, and by the end of February this year it was reported in 10 of India’s 29 states. The armyworm has been detected in more than 50 of Thailand’s 76 provinces, and is concentrated in six western provinces with large maize areas. It has a preference for corn, but can attack 80 crops, including rice and sugarcane.

The pest thrives in tropical and sub-tropical climates. Its life cycle is 24 days to 40 days, and so two or three generations of it can feed off a single crop during a growing season before moving on.

“Fall armyworm attacks the corn crop in all stages, right from the germination of seeds and early establishment of the crop, which is the most vulnerable stage, till the harvesting stage,” said Prasanta Patra, who heads the corn and row crops market in Asia for global agrichemicals firm Corteva.

“As the fall armyworm larva prefers to stay in the central part of the young corn plant, a very specific application technique needs to be applied to ensure that the insect comes in contact with insecticide.”

LOWER FEED DEMAND
China has seen corn and sugarcane crops damaged by the pest, according to a government official at one of the provinces hit by armyworm.

“It is very challenging. Corn farmers don’t use much pesticide usually as corn is considered easier to grow and manage, compared with other crops,” said a manager at a pest-trapping equipment producer that works with the Chinese government on fighting the armyworm.

The invasion of fall armyworm has hit China at a time the world’s most populous nation is battling African swine fever which has resulted in culling of millions of pigs.

Demand for animal feed in China will therefore fall, and a drop in the production of corn may not immediately impact local prices, people in the industry said. — Reuters

Picture perfect: Chinese tourists flock to lake to recreate viral photos

June 24, 2019 | 12:04 am

DALI, CHINA — Chinese tourists are flocking to a lake in southwest Yunnan province to recreate photos that have gone viral on social media, the country’s latest selfie craze.

Visitors to Erhai lake say photography sets offering everything from rare animals to fields of brightly colored flowers are essential to creating their Kodak moment.

“A lot of my friends have come here to take their photos, so I thought I would try it too,” said Zeng Xinyue, 18, a recent high school graduate.

She decided to visit after seeing videos and photos of Erhai lake on Douyin, a video platform owned by startup ByteDance Technology.

Erhai is one of China’s biggest freshwater lakes and a backdrop to the city of Dali, which drew 47 million visitors last year, more than triple the number in 2010.

Hotels and homestays have sprung up along a 50-km (31-mile) stretch of lakeside road to accommodate tourists. But officials ordered some hotels demolished after President Xi Jinping during a 2015 visit called for the lake to be protected.

The selfie seekers can take a picture with woolly alpacas imported from South America’s Andes Mountains. Others can take a picture sitting in a hanging bubble chair or on a mirror-covered platform.

A package of 35 photos costs 199 yuan ($29), said Zhang Hongtao, who manages a photo stall.

Yan Mengjie, a tourist from Shanghai, wore a sequined dress with a mermaid tail as she struck a pose in a bubble chair. She was surprised by the half-demolished buildings nearby.

“I did feel a little disappointed, because it didn’t look like the pictures,” Yan said, referring to images she had seen on social media.

“But I can photoshop it,” she said. — Reuters

DTI counting on TRABAHO bill to expand supplier networks

June 24, 2019 | 12:04 am

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it hopes the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities (TRABAHO) bill will help develop supplier networks here to make economic zones more attractive for potential locators.

DTI Undersecretary for Industry Development and Trade Promotion Group Ceferino S. Rodolfo said the bill, particularly the version approved by the House, provides for a 50% additional deduction on the increment of domestic input expense incurred in the taxable year — provided that the inputs are directly related to and actually used in the registered export activity.

“Para samin, its importance is core. Gusto namin mawawala nationality bias and export bias and… (For us the importance of the bill is core. Se want to remove nationality bias and export bias) encourage behavior to develop local supplier base, (which) is very important,” Mr. Rodolfo told reporters in Makati City last week.

Mr. Rodolfo noted the Philippine Economic Zone Authority’s export performance in the past three years, where for every $1 worth of goods exporter-locators ship out, only $0.25 derives from local value added activity.

“Ibig sabihin $0.75 iniimport natin. Ano yung $0.25, labor cost lang halos yun eh. Imagine if yung $0.75 na yun madevelop mo pa na maging locally sourced… Malaki yung multiplier (What this means is that the $0.75 represents the value of the imports. The $0.25 was just the labor cost. Imagine how that will change if we develop local sourcing (of parts). The multiplier effect will be huge),” he added.

The House version of the TRABAHO bill allows the use of this incentive for only five years. Mr. Rodolfo is hoping to have discussions on extending the use of the incentive.

The DTI recognizes that the country’s lack of raw materials and parts sourcing networks represents a major gap in boosting the country’s contribution to the global value chain.

“Currently, many of our industries are performing low-value, back-end processes in the value chain (for instance, legacy products and activities like assembly, process, testing electronics) and to be able to upgrade and move up in the value chain, we need to grow our domestic supply of raw materials, parts, and components similar to what successful manufacturing countries like Thailand and China, and now Vietnam (which has already overtaken the Philippines) have done,” the DTI has said in a leaked document which showed the agency’s negotiating point for the TRABAHO Bill.

The report said the country’s lack of components can be addressed by offering incentives, which “have an important part to play in addressing the issue of missing markets.”

“Without addressing the market failure, the Philippines might not be able to grow and develop new and high value-added exports which put the country at risk of incurring higher trade deficits in the near future,” it added.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that the country posted in 2018 a record trade deficit of $41.440 billion, which the central bank projects to widen this year.

Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. President Danilo C. Lachica said the industry has much to do in local sourcing.

“One of the knocks against our electronics industry is, on one hand, we are the biggest dollar generator, but on the other hand we’re also the biggest dollar exporter. We have to import a lot of materials,” Mr. Lachica said in a briefing last month.

Although electronics account for over half of the country’s exports by value, the industry’s imports make up about a quarter of total imports by value. Mr. Lachica cited as one of the big factors behind this as the high use of power in wafer fabrication.

SEIPI said it has launched an “aggressive” parts localization program, to bring small and medium enterprises into the supply chain,” Mr. Lachica said.

“We will match them with local companies if they have products that can be supplied.”

Part of the program is also growing the supplier network, most of which are concentrated in the Calabarzon region where 70% of SEIPI members are located. Mr. Lachica said the association has secured initial deals with electronics suppliers based in Mindanao. — Janina C. Lim

T-bill rates seen moving sideways at BTr auction

June 24, 2019 | 12:04 am

YIELDS ON Treasury bills (T-bill) on offer tomorrow will likely move sideways following the decision of the central bank to keep interest rates steady.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) is offering P15 billion worth of Treasury bills (T-bill) on Tuesday, broken down into P4 billion and P5 billion for the three- and six-month instruments, respectively, and P6 billion in one-year papers.

Two traders interviewed expect rates of the T-bills to move sideways from the previous auction.

Last week, the Treasury fully awarded the T-bills on offer, raising P15 billion as planned out of bids worth P43.1 billion.

Rates of the 91-, 182- and 364-day papers went down to 4.453%, 4.856% and 5.05%, respectively.

At the secondary market on Friday, yields on the three-month and six-month debt instruments were at 4.567% and 4.839%, respectively, while the one-year tenor fetched a 5.029% rate.

“We only expect rates to move sideways from the previous auction. The BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) did not hike interest rates during their meeting,” a trader said in a phone interview.

The central bank’s policy-setting Monetary Board left the interest rate on the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase facility untouched at 4.5%, it announced after its review on Thursday. The interest rates on the overnight lending and deposit facilities were likewise held steady at five percent and four percent, respectively.

“A prudent pause allows the BSP to observe and assess the impact of prior monetary adjustments including the phased reduction in the reserve requirements to be completed by the end of July,” BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said.

At its meeting last May 9, the MB cut key rates by 25 basis points. The BSP also reduced the reserve requirement ratios (RRR) of lenders by a percentage point effective May 31 to 17% for universal and commercial banks, 7% for thrift banks, and 4% for rural and cooperative banks. The reserve ratios of big banks and thrift lenders will be reduced further to settle at 16% and 6%, respectively, on June 28 and July 29.

BSP Deputy Governor Diwa G. Guinigundo said these RRR reductions are expected to unleash a total of P200 billion into the financial system once the phased implementation is completed.

“Since the BSP didn’t cut the rates, we expect yields to move sideways until the market finds fresh leads,” the trader added.

Meanwhile, Robinsons Bank Corp. peso debt trader Kevin S. Palma said yields on the T-bills may move sideways from the previous auction ahead of the release of the BTr’s borrowing plan for the third quarter.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon earlier said the Treasury’s programmed borrowing for the next quarter will be lower than the April-June program due to “slow” government spending earlier this year.

Despite the sideways movement of yields, Mr. Palma said the auction could be “another will-bid auction” as steepening bias of the local yield curve will continue driven by expectations that the US Federal Reserve may ease its policy rates as soon as July.

“[Y]ou have your usual reinvestment requirement ahead of a P9.3 billion T-bill maturity on July 26 that will further boost demand for the front-end of the curve,” Mr. Palma added.

The government is looking to raise P1.189 trillion this year from local and foreign sources to fund its budget deficit, which is expected to widen to as much as 3.2% of the country’s gross domestic product. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Taiwanese firm mulls PHL expansion

June 24, 2019 | 12:04 am

By Charmaine A. Tadalan
Reporter

TAIPEI — Taiwanese electronics firm Protech Systems Co., Ltd. is setting sights on Southeast Asia, including a possible expansion in the Philippines in the next two years.

“We have to move our focus outside of the Japanese market like the Southeast Asia. The Southeast Asian market is very high. It has high potential,” Protech Vice-President for Sales Simon Teng said during the recent Taitronics 2019 pre-show in Taiwan.

“We are spreading our focus to the market we are not operating well in the past.”

Protech largely manufactures retail point-of-sales systems, kiosks, and industrial PC products, which the company can also customize according to their clients’ needs.

The company will be among the participants of this year’s Taipei International Electronic Show, Taitronics 2019, which will be held on Oct. 16-18.

At present, majority of the company’s revenue is generated from the Japan market with 42%, followed by Europe and America with 35% and 18%, respectively. The remaining 5% is from other regions.

“The first move that we made in Southeast Asia, we opened branch in Singapore because we set up a holding company there, by way of the Singapore holding company. Then we will make further step of moving to a branch office to the Philippines or Malaysia,” Mr. Teng said.

“I think I can foresee in the coming future, maybe just one or two years later, we can have overseas branch in the Philippines, in Manila.”

Aside from its Taiwan headquarters, Protech also has a global office, particularly in Tokyo, Japan; California, USA; Madrid, Spain; and Dusseldorf, Germany.

Mr. Teng noted there is a high demand for Protech’s kiosk products in the Philippines.

“It can run 24 hours a day for seven times a week. You don’t have to pay overtime salary and there’s no problem for the kiosk,” he said.

“The purpose of developing kiosk is not to replace human being job, it’s to replace the regular boring job from the people, and the people can do higher value-added job.”

HSBC Research forecasts Q3 policy rate cut, Q4 RRR reduction

June 24, 2019 | 12:04 am

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is expected to cut policy rates in August and resort to further reducing banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) in the fourth quarter, according to a forecast made by HSBC Global Research.

According to HSBC Economist Noelan Arbis, the BSP maintained its policy rates during the monetary board meeting Thursday because a previous cut made on May 9 “will take some time before its impact filters through to the real economy.”

“That said, we see scope for further monetary easing ahead, given relatively tepid domestic growth, a less hawkish Fed, and a more benign inflation trajectory in the second half of the year. We forecast a 25 basis point (bp) policy rate cut in 3Q (likely in August) which coincides with the release of the country’s 2Q GDP (gross domestic product) print,” Mr. Arbis said.

The BSP decided to keep its benchmark policy rate at 4.5% as it “believes that the manageable inflation outlook and firm domestic growth prospects support keeping monetary policy settings steady for the time being” according to BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno.

On May 9, the MB decided to reduce overnight borrowing and lending and deposit rates by 25 basis points to 4.5%, 5%, and 4% respectively, after a major tightening last year due to rapidly-growing inflation. RRR meanwhile was cut to 16% from 18% this year.

“Overall domestic economic activity is likely to remain firm, supported by a projected recovery in household spending and the continued implementation of the government’s infrastructure spending program,” according to Mr. Diokno.

Mr. Arbis, meanwhile, also said that he expects the reverse repurchase (RRP) rate to be at 3.75% by the end of 2020 with cuts possibly staggered at 50 bp each quarter.

This is “to reduce financial stability and inflation risks,” Mr. Arbis said.

He added that the RRR is expected to be reduced to 15% by the end of this year and to 13% by end-2020.

Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa, senior economist at ING Bank Manila, also said that slashing policy rates is possible in the third quarter if inflation is proven to be in a downtrend and growth remains slow.

“If inflation shows that it will indeed revert to its downward path and if signs point to still-anemic growth despite the initial stimulus from both the monetary and fiscal side, we could see the BSP slashing policy rates further in 3Q to help reverse 2018’s aggressive rate hike cycle,” Mr. Mapa said.

“The next policy meeting (Aug. 8) coincides with the release of 2Q GDP growth, which should by all indications be an improvement from the 1Q print with the economy benefiting from the recent round of policy easing (RRP and RRR cuts) with the fiscal support also seen to boost growth momentum after being sidelined for most of the year,” according to Mr. Mapa. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

Rice farmers urged to consider vegetable farming amid more liberal import regime

June 24, 2019 | 12:04 am

EAST-WEST Seed Group said rice farmers must consider diversifying their crops to improve their income in the face of liberalized rice imports.

“I think rice farmers need to diversify. They need to diversify into high-value crops, into vegetables, which gives them… better income than rice. I know because of the Rice Tariffication Law the rice farmers are really worried that the price of palay would go down,” Mary Ann P. Sayoc, public affairs lead of East West Seed told reporters in a briefing on Friday.

Ms. Sayoc said a vegetable farmer can earn more in 2,000 square meters than from one hectare of rice.

“Vegetable farming contributes to improved livelihood of farmers. If you compare the income of farmers from vegetable compared to rice, vegetable farmers earn more per hectare,” she said.

In a text message to BusinessWorld, she said a farmer planting bitter gourd, or ampalaya, can earn P500,000 per hectare against P75,000 from rice.

The equivalent earnings from eggplant and tomato are P360,000 per hectare, and pumpkin P230,000.

East-West Seed Group was founded in the Philippines in 1982 by Simon Groot of the Netherlands, with seed trader Benito Domingo in Lipa City, Batangas. It is engaged in research, development, production, and distribution of vegetable seed, specifically of vegetable varieties that are adapted to tropical markets and growing conditions and generate increased yield and productivity for farmers. It also helps farmers maximize their yields and income through better understanding of vegetable production.

The Rice Tariffication Law allows rice to be imported more freely by private entities, in exchange for a 35% tariff. The threat of cheaper rice from more efficient producers in Southeast Asia has pressured the price of palay, or umilled rice, producers of which may have to compete with rice grown in Vietnam or Thailand.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said that in the first week of June, the farmgate price of palay, the form in which it is sold by domestic farmers, fell 0.8% to P18 per kilogram.

“We can offer them ways to diversify their income and teach them vegetable farming,” Ms. Sayoc said during the briefing.

To date, the company has reached 20 million smallholder farmers in 60 tropical countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America through its 900 improved vegetable varieties.

She said the domestic seed industry still has room for growth from still-untapped markets.

“I think the Philippines still has many things to offer. For one, there are still many areas where seed companies could grow their seed, produce their seed, especially in the far-flung areas. I think we could still produce more and the seed industry could really contribute a lot to food security through improved varieties,” she said. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Chanel, Fendi host tribute to couturier Karl Lagerfeld

June 24, 2019 | 12:03 am

PARIS — Amid colossal portraits and clean lines of black, white and red, Chanel, Fendi and a gaggle of stars paid homage to the fashion titan and Kaiser of mode Karl Lagerfeld on Thursday.

The mythic kingpin of the cutting edge died in February, aged 85, devastating the industry after his decades as head of legendary labels Fendi and Chanel as well as his eponymous brand.

Stars including Pharrell Williams, Tilda Swinton, Helen Mirren, and Cara Delevingne paid homage to Lagerfeld on the stage during a tribute entitled Karl For Ever.

Blurring the lines of haute couture, theater, and film much as Lagerfeld was known to do, the event consisted of live performances and dramatic readings montaged with a short documentary.

Featuring the ever reticent co-owner of Chanel Alain Wertheimer, the film was narrated by Lagerfeld himself, sewn together from dozens of clips before his death.

Looking on, the celebrity-studded crowd featured Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, singer-songwriter and supermodel Carla Bruni, Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli, Valentino himself, model Gigi Hadid, editor-in-chief of Vogue Anna Wintour, and the first lady of France, Brigitte Macron.

The show, conceived by Canadian opera director Robert Carsen, was held in the glass-domed Grand Palais — the same quintessentially stylish structure that housed some of Lagerfeld’s most sensational shows, which included elements as spectacular as a 265-ton iceberg and a replicate Eiffel tower.

Karl For Ever sought not only to highlight Lagerfeld’s long list of achievements as grand couturier, photographer or publisher, but to highlight the man behind the glasses. The celebration explored his personal passions like tango, literature and music, and highlighted anecdotes from those who knew him well.

Lagerfeld created iconoclastic, spectacle-driven fashion. In this Lagerfeldian world, to be boring was a cardinal sin.

He also brought Chanel back from death’s door, reinvigorating the wilting couture house with the modern moxie that has since kept Chanel a lucrative and industry-defining fashion house, a job that required constant reinvention.

“It’s up to us to adjust to our times,” Lagerfeld said in one video. “Evolution can’t be stopped, and will not be stopped tomorrow.”

The tribute punctuated Paris’ men’s fashion week for Spring/Summer, which wrapped up Sunday. — Reuters

Yields on gov’t debt drop on dovish Fed, BSP meet

June 24, 2019 | 12:03 am

YIELDS ON government securities went down last week due to dovish remarks from the US Federal Reserve and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) decision to stand pat on policy and slash its inflation forecasts.

On average, debt yields — which move opposite to prices — dropped by 12.5 basis points (bp) from a week ago, according to PHP Bloomberg Valuation (BVAL) Service Reference Rates as of on June 21 published on the Philippine Dealing System’s website.

“Yields for government securities in the secondary market moved lower week on week due mostly to the dovish Fed… The pause by the Monetary Board, however, slowed the downward trend down,” Carlyn Therese X. Dulay, first vice president and head of Wholesale Treasury Sales at Security Bank Corp., said in an e-mail interview.

Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa, senior economist at ING Bank NV-Manila Branch, said expectations of further rate cuts from the Fed pushed global bond yields lower.

“Local market yields tracked the move of US Treasuries given the dovish outlook for rates,” Mr. Mapa said in an email.

“Meanwhile, despite BSP keeping policy rates untouched, traders reacted to the latest BSP inflation forecasts which showed slightly lower inflation for both 2019 and 2020,” he added.

At its June 18-19 meeting, the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) kept interest rates unchanged but hinted possible rate cuts before yearend. The Fed said it would continue to “act as appropriate” amid market uncertainties.

Meanwhile, back home, the BSP’s policy-setting Monetary Board (MB) similarly held rates steady at its meeting on Thursday on expectations of steady inflation and economic growth in the coming months.

The MB left the interest rate on the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase facility untouched at 4.5%, it announced after its review on Thursday. The interest rates on the overnight lending and deposit facilities were likewise held steady at five percent and four percent, respectively.

The central bank also revised its inflation forecasts to 2.7% (from 2.9%) for this year and to 3% (from 3.1%) for 2020.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said the central bank decided to stand pat on its policy stance to assess the impact of previous adjustments.

At its meeting last May 9, the MB cut key rates by 25 basis points. The BSP also reduced the reserve requirement ratios of lenders by a percentage point effective May 31 to 17% for universal and commercial banks, 7% for thrift banks, and 4% for rural and cooperative banks. The reserve ratios of big banks and thrift lenders will be reduced further to settle at 16% and 6%, respectively, on June 28 and July 29.

At the secondary market last Friday, yields were lower than week-ago levels across the board. The three-month, six-month, and one-year Treasury bills (T-bill) went down by 7.5 bps, 9.6 bps, and 18.4 bps, respectively, to yield 4.567%, 4.839%, and 5.029%.

Rates of the debt papers at the belly of the curve also fell, with the two-, three- and four-year bonds dropping 9.4 bps, 10.8 bps, and 11.6 bps, respectively, to fetch 5.005%, 5.011%, and 5.024%. Yields on the five- and seven-year notes also declined by 12 bps (5.043%) and 12.4 bps (5.087%).

Yields on the 10-, 20-, and 25-year tenors likewise dropped by 12.3 bps, 10.3 bps, and 23.4 bps, respectively, to 5.125%, 5.275%, and 5.275%.

“We expect yields to trade within range [this] week as there are no new catalysts in the street,” Security Bank’s Ms. Dulay said, adding that she expects “yields to follow the US Treasury yield movement” in the meantime.

She noted the Philippine Statistics Authority’s release of inflation figures next week and the third-quarter borrowing program of the Bureau of the Treasury as major catalysts in the coming days.

Headline inflation accelerated in May following six consecutive months of slowdown, settling at 3.2% last month, up from the three percent in April but still slower than the 4.6% recorded in May 2018. Year to date, inflation averaged 3.6%, past the midpoint of the BSP’s 2-4% target for the year.

For his part, ING Bank’s Mr. Mapa said the “[m]arket will take its cue from global developments (G20 meeting up next) for direction.”

US President Donald J. Trump confirmed on Tuesday that he is set to meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in the G20 Summit in Japan this week to discuss a possible trade deal. Both leaders launched a truce in the last G20 Summit in December 2018 that was interrupted after both sides slapped higher tariffs on each other’s goods in May. — Marissa Mae M. Ramos

1...9,5609,5619,562...12,964 Page 9,561 of 12,964