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AEV slashes year’s budget by 36% to P47 billion as quarantine hits businesses

ABOITIZ Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) is slashing its 2020 capital expenditures (capex) by about 36% to P47 billion in a bid to cut spending as it factors in the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

In a statement Monday, the listed holding firm of the Aboitiz Group said it was removing P26 billion from its initial capex of P73 billion to “[consider] the impact [of the pandemic] on the group’s and country’s future growth.”

It said most of the reductions were originally allocated for its infrastructure, power and land units covering operating, maintenance and expansion costs.

“Most of our businesses are in industries that are vital to keeping the economy running. Filipinos need electricity, food products, and money, for example. And for our other businesses, we have been prudent in capital expenditure spending so this should not be much of a problem,” AEV President and Chief Executive Officer Sabin M. Aboitiz said in the statement.

The implementation of an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) since middle of March had varying effects on AEV’s different business segments.

Power unit Aboitiz Power Corp. said it noticed a slowdown in power demand, but consumption is starting to rise because of the warmer weather. The first unit of its GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. power plant in Bataan is set to start operations by the second quarter of 2021.

Banking unit UnionBank of the Philippines observed a tenfold increase in digital customers since the start of the ECQ. It has now boosted its services to allow direct fund transfers to remittance centers nationwide.

Pilmico Foods Corp. said its facilities and farms remained operational during the ECQ period. It plans to continue the integration of Pilmico and Singapore-based Gold Coin Management Holdings, Inc. this year, which will “[optimize] synergies in procurement, cross-selling across countries, and shared services in its corporate services units.”

Infrastructure arm Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc. is still reviewing the impact of the pandemic on its projects, particularly those in the airport sector. Its bulk water supply unit Apo Agua Infrastructura, Inc. is coordinating with contractors on how to address the ECQ in Davao City.

Real estate unit Aboitiz Land, Inc. is continuing plans to build townships and logistics facilities as it anticipates a surge in demand after the pandemic. “AboitizLand expects the local real estate market to be quite resilient, with the large unmet demand for housing a significant contributing factor,” it said.

Construction unit Aboitiz Construction, Inc. also remains in operation for projects in Balamban, Cebu and Mindanao. For projects in areas under ECQ, work is still suspended at the moment.

“Digital infrastructure investments in previous years and regular business continuity planning has allowed us to cope with the adverse impact of COVID-19. While it’s anyone’s guess how the future will unfold, we assure our stakeholders that we are fully equipped and prepared to guarantee the continuity of all business transactions,” Mr. Aboitiz said.

AEV booked a net income of P22 billion last year, 1% lower from a year ago, due to a double-digit profit decline in its power unit because of power outages. Shares in AEV at the stock exchange gained P1.85 or 4.55% to P42.50 each on Monday. — Denise A. Valdez

Like Money Heist? Learn more about it through an online lecture

INSTITUTO Cervantes de Manila is holding an online lecture featuring Javier Gómez Santander, the head writer and co-executive producer of the popular Netflix series La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) on April 28, 7 p.m., via Zoom.

In his lecture, Mr. Gómez Santander will talk about his career as a screenwriter and his work on the Emmy Award-winning crime drama series, including “secrets and details of the creation” of Money Heist, according to a release.

Before being involved in the series, he worked as a radio, press, and TV journalist for 15 years.

The series first aired in 2017 and was created by Alex Piña. It follows two well-planned robberies led by the Professor (played by Álvaro Morte) and his gang on the Royal Mint of Spain and the Bank of Spain.

Money Heist was initially intended as a two season limited series but when streaming service Netflix acquired the global streaming rights, the show was renewed for two more seasons. The fourth season aired in April.

The show’s creators also released a behind-the-scenes documentary about the series on the same day that the fourth season was released. The documentary, titled Money Heist: The Phenomenon, showed “the audience some facets of the show involving the producers and the cast.”

The show received several awards including Best Drama Series at the 46th International Emmy Awards in 2018. In the same year, Netflix named the series as the “Most Watched Non-English Language Series” and one of the most watched series overall on the service.

The online lecture with Mr. Gómez Santander is presented by Instituto Cervantes de Manila in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines.

It will be in Spanish with simultaneous English translation. Questions in English and Spanish will be entertained.

Admission is open to all and is free on a first-come, first-served basis via Zoom. For further information and updates on the event, visit http://manila.cervantes.es or Instituto Cervantes’ Facebook page: www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila. — Zsarlene B. Chua

Singularly pleasing blend of genres

Azur Lane: Crosswave
Sony PlayStation 4/Personal Computer via Steam

CHINESE developers Shanghai Manjuu and Xiamen Yongshi had a hit in their hands when Azur Lane made its way to mobile platforms in 2017. Aside from banking on stellar features that combined shoot-‘em-up, simulation, and role-playing game elements, it stood out for its unique interpretation of World War II ships. Indeed, its use of moe anthropomorphism to present shipgirls gave it the industry support it required to cross the borders of the world’s most populous country and venture into Japan within six months of its release. And while Compile Heart’s offering didn’t quite reach the scale of already-established titles from fellow publishers Kadokawa Games and DMM.com, it nonetheless managed to claim a base big enough to allow it to cross over to popular culture.

If nothing else, Azur Lane has proven its capacity to stay relevant for the long haul. Between the release of manga and anime adaptations, it found its way to the personal computer and Sony PlayStation 4 via a reworked narrative and presentation. Even as Azur Lane: Crosswave features cel-shaded three-dimensional graphics and new characters, however, it has wisely kept its winning formula: It combines an easy-to-pick-up but nonetheless engaging battle system with a humor-laced and fan-service-heavy story thread. That said, the latter doesn’t make any pretentious; for all its seeming richness and faithfulness to franchise canon, it ultimately comes off as a contrived call for action.

Fortunately, the combat is worth the setup. Azur Lane: Crosswave’s Story Mode has newcomers Shimakaze and Suruga steer other ships of the Sakura Empire through seven chapters’ worth of encounters with counterparts from the Eagle Union, the Royal Navy, and Iron Blood. While in the Joint Military Exercises, gamers get to do crafting and equipping, and even some experimentation after productive exchanges of blueprints. Combined with loot spawning after any given battle, the new items then serve as upgrades for the next mission. And so on and so forth, with the stylized setups tested against enemies at sea and in air.

The configuration of six ships, with three controllable and three for artificial-intelligence support, works like a charm, although Azur Lane: Crosswave can be uneven. Engagements are engrossing, but some go by quickly (okay, very quickly). Battlegrounds are fairly large squares, albeit with invisible boundaries that identify themselves mostly by accident. More characters are unlocked over time, and with hardly any difficulty. For good measure, the Extreme Battle Mode gives gamers the opportunity to go for standalone skirmishes that yield special gear; more than a hundred are on tap.

Needless to say, the presentation is at par with Idea Factory’s standards — which is to say uniformly topnotch. Characters and backgrounds are vibrant and replete with visual information, and the well-acted Japanese voice tracks blend well with music and ambient sounds. It’s just too bad that the visual-novel approach to furthering the narrative keeps things static outside of the occasional facial twitches. Thankfully, the work remains rock solid during combat, with the level of detail so stellar as to be distracting.

Azur Lane: Crosswave isn’t cheap by any means. Its PlayStation 4 version carries a $49.99 tag, although geographical pricing lops off three-fifths of the price on Steam for PC gamers on this side of the globe. In any case, it provides reasonable value for money with its singularly pleasing blend of genres. Those familiar with the series name, or with Compile Heart’s library of releases, certainly won’t be disappointed. Highly recommended.

THE GOOD:

  • Excellent audio-visual presentation
  • Unique gameplay
  • Faithful to source material
  • Engaging combat elements

THE BAD:

  • Weak narrative
  • Screens can stay static for long periods
  • Fairly short campaign

RATING: 8/10

POSTSCRIPT: Rune Factory 4 Special isn’t exactly new. In fact, it’s a direct port of the RPG developer Marvelous worked on and released eight years ago for the Nintendo 3DS. That said, it’s a worthy addition to the already-expansive library of titles on the Switch as arguably the best in the Rune Factory series. While littered with elements followers of the franchise — and, yes, of other releases in the genre — know too well, it elevates itself with its crafty use of crafting, pun wholly intended, as critical to character development. And it’s certainly aided by a compelling story arc that has gamers invested in outcomes.

Rune Factory 4 Special begins with the main character heading to Selphia to deliver an offering to its deity, only to suffer from amnesia following a fight with hijackers. Ejected from the airship, he (or she, depending on gender choice at the start of the game) is then mistaken for royalty and tasked with running the town. Which he does even after the arrival of the real prince (who would rather do other things). And so he goes after its upkeep, maintains crops, makes friends, and even takes monsters as pets — all while, on whim and fancy, exploring dungeons in an effort to get to the bottom of a bigger mystery.

If Rune Factory 4 Special sounds a lot like a fantastic Animal Crossing: New Horizons, that’s because it is. It certainly puts its Harvest Moon roots to good use with a polished take on farming; better tools and better grounds make for better fruits of labor. And, in this regard, it makes use of a sophisticated crafting system that accounts for items picked up after battles, as well as of intertwined skill trees that improves character stats. Gamers are continually provided with incentives to level up, and thus have the wherewithal to keep exploring dungeons for rare finds, which are then crafted for town improvement.

The cycle is evident, and, in Rune Factory 4 Special, repeated at leisure. Those who have already played the original on the 3DS will have no trouble getting hooked anew. Meanwhile, gamers picking it up for the first time on the Switch will be pleased to note the smoothness of the interface despite the absence of a second screen. Controls are spot-on and intuitive, and rightly serve to help rather than hinder. The visuals have been reworked for high-definition appreciation, but the unavoidable reliance on a dated source material is clear. Moreover, the translation has rendered the text sharp but small — perhaps too small for comfort. It fares much better aurally, and benefits from the option to toggle between Japanese and English voice tracks.

In typical Rune Factory fashion, Rune Factory 4 Special is likewise into relationship-building. Depending on gamers’ preferences, any of six characters from the opposite gender can be wined and dined, and then married. Make no mistake, though; wooing takes effort, and compatibility concerns do arise. Parenthetically, it bears noting that randomly triggered town events are crucial to progression. In other words, it’s a boon to those perfectly fine with idyllic settings and setups, and far from perfect for those who feel like time is a valuable resource that cannot be wasted.

On the whole, Rune Factory 4 Special earns its $59.99 sticker price, and not just because of the additional content not previously available on the 3DS. Filled with surprising depth and integration, it figures to keep gamers occupied for tens, even hundreds, of hours on end.

THE GOOD:

  • Pace dependent on choice
  • Deep and engaging
  • Interesting characters
  • Varied gameplay elements
  • Smooth interface

THE BAD:

  • Reliance on dated source material
  • Still blocky visually
  • Text can be too small to read without straining
  • Randomly triggered events required to progress

RATING: 9/10

THE LAST WORD: Paris-based independent game developer Parallel Studio aims high with EQQO, an adventure that leans on Ethiopian mythology for visual cues and on the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra to bring creator Nicolas Bredin’s compositions to life. The good news is that it hits more than misses its targets in presenting the tale of the title character, a blind child pushing an egg through a temple filled with obstacles, as told by his mother. There are five chapters all told, each increasing in difficulty and requiring exploration and puzzle solving in equal measure.

EQQO relies on various perspectives to consider the tasks at hand. Gamers need to continually move the camera to predetermined angles, either through the Switch Joy-Cons or by touchscreen controls, in order to comprehend the choices they have, and thereby need to make in order to progress. Those steeped in similar gameplay mechanics — notably from The Legend of Zelda series — will hit the ground running. Otherwise, there’s a learning curve that needs to be negotiated. In either case, enjoyment won’t be compromised.

All told, EQQO lives up to billing. It’s not perfect, particularly in the way its implementation of gyroscope functions can induce no small measure of discomfort. It‘s also short at under five hours from start to finish. Nonetheless, it’s a steal at $6, and lives up to billing as an emotive experience that won’t easily be forgotten.

THE GOOD:

  • Lives up to billing as an emotive experience
  • Visually stunning homage to Ethiopian mythology
  • Superb score
  • Puzzles challenging, but not to the point of frustration

THE BAD:

  • Camera angles can be hard to control
  • Visual discomfort on occasion
  • Short

RATING: 7.5/10

Office space demand to slow

OFFICE space demand in Metro Manila is expected to slow in the near and medium-term, as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to disrupt businesses.

“Downward trend in the growth rate of supply and demand of office space is expected in the short-to medium-term due to disruption of business activities,” Cushman & Wakefield said in its first quarter 2020 investment report.

Since mid-March, the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) has halted economic activity in Luzon. Government and private offices, shopping malls, hotels and restaurants have been shuttered as millions of Filipinos are placed under strict home quarantine to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The government extended the ECQ in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon and other key provinces until May 15.

“As the ongoing ECQ measures severely impacts the operation of the retailers and mall development, developers have committed to provide rental concessions. The return to normalcy will be determined by the ability of the shopping mall developments to design step-up hygiene-enhancing measures,” Cushman & Wakefield said.

The country’s biggest mall operators, SM Group, Ayala Malls, Megaworld Corp., Robinsons Land Corp. and Ortigas & Co., have earlier announced they will waive rent for all tenants in its shopping malls that are not able to operate.

Starting May 1, shopping malls in areas downgraded to general community quarantine (GCQ) can re-open non-leisure shops, as long as social distancing and stringent hygiene etiquette are observed.

As malls remain closed in Metro Manila, many have turned to e-commerce platforms to purchase groceries and other essential goods which are delivered straight to their homes.

Cushman & Wakefield said it expects robust demand for logistics facilities and warehouses this year, as “the COVID-19 pandemic presents increased demand for facilities to support e-commerce growth.”

“On the other hand, supply chain disruption due to designated checkpoints in Metro Manila is hindering the flow of goods and services and hampering the operations of manufacturing facilities outside of the capital,” it added.

Cushman & Wakefield has an optimistic outlook for the residential sector, saying “the sector is seen to remain resilient as consumers tend to hold out decision to invest in residential developments.”

However, the hotel industry may continue to see pain, as tourist arrivals plunge due to travel restrictions here and abroad.

“Decline in occupancy rates due drop in tourist arrivals to linger until threats associated with COVID-19 pandemic were lifted,” Cushman & Wakefield said. — Cathy Rose A. Garcia

AboitizPower targets Bataan power plant’s commercial run in early 2021

ABOITIZ POWER Corp. said it is eyeing to finish the preparation for a 668 megawatts (MW) power plant unit in Bataan this year before it can commercially run in the first quarter of 2021.

In the virtual annual stockholders’ meeting on Monday, AboitizPower Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel V. Rubio said the listed energy firm plans to complete the construction and synchronization of one unit of the supercritical 1,336 megawatts (MW) power plant by GN Power Dinginin Ltd. Co. (GNPD).

“Unit one will synchronize and earn commissioning revenues by the fourth quarter and will commence commercial operations by the first quarter of 2021,” Mr. Rubio said.

The power plant in Mariveles, Bataan is the company’s joint venture project with Ayala-led AC Energy Corp., formerly AC Energy Philippines, Inc.

As for the plant’s second unit, it will be synchronized and will earn commissioning revenues by the first quarter of next year, and start commercial operations by the second quarter.

Synchronization is the process of matching the speed and frequency of a power generation to a running network to deliver power in electricity grids.

First-line commissioning activities were initially expected to begin by the first quarter of the year.

The energy company is expecting a total attributable capacity of 4,432 MW by the end of the year. “Currently, 968 MW of this pertains to GNPD and its other construction,” Mr. Rubio added.

Meanwhile, the drop in electricity demand throughout the country upon the implementation of the ECQ due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the power firm’s revenue targets for 2020.

As businesses started to slowly return in operations after temporarily closing, the company saw a cause for optimism as there has been a slight increase in power demand.

“We’re seeing [an] uptick in demand, mainly brought about by some return to normalcy in some businesses that we are seeing, and increase in temperature,” Mr. Rubio noted.

Recently, the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission posted their advisories, which task energy stakeholders to provide a grace period in the payments of electricity bills and allow these to be paid in four installments in the next four billing months starting mid-May.

“We initially adjust[ed] our collection targets downwards to reflect these advisories,” Mr. Rubio said. “But good news, we are seeing more collection than initially forecasted, and we hope that this continues,” he added.

On Monday, shares in AboitizPower increased by 2.45% to close at P27.20 apiece. — Adam J. Ang

Treasury raises P24 billion from T-bills on strong market demand

THE GOVERNMENT upsized its award of Treasury bills (T-bills) on Monday due to strong demand following central bank’s remarks on further monetary easing and the Treasury’s announcement of a dollar bond issue.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P24 billion via T-bills yesterday, larger than its initial plan to raise P20 billion, after total bids reached P91.1 billion or more than four times the original offer.

The BTr also opened its tap facility for another P10-billion offer of 364-day T-bills to accommodate strong demand.

Broken down, it upsized its award of the 91-day papers to P7 billion from the original P5-billion plan after total tenders hit P29.133 billion. Average rate for the three-month papers dropped 49.6 basis points (bps) to 2.617% from the 3.113% fetched in the auction on April 20.

The government also raised P7 billion via the 182-day T-bills, up from the original program of P5 billion, out of total bids worth P27.576 billion. The six-month papers yielded an average rate of 2.831%, down 40.8 bps from 3.239% previously.

For the 364-day T-bills, it made a full award of the P10-billion offer from total tenders of P34.445 billion. The one-year papers fetched an average rate of 3.054%, lower by 24.1 bps from 3.295% previously.

Yesterday was the second time this month the BTr upsized the volume of government securities it awarded as it seeks to beef up state coffers. Last week, it also increased the T-bills it accepted to P24 billion from the initial P20-billion plan.

National Treasury Rosalia V. de Leon said they decided to increase the award as demand continued to be robust and as rates declined across-the-board.

“Market flushed with liquidity and rates dropped with reassuring statements from Gov. Ben. Additionally, NG (national government) resources augmented by ODA (official development assistance) inflows and NG announcement of issuing in dollar market,” Ms. De Leon said in a Viber message to reporters.

A bond trader also said the market “rallied on comments” from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno on Monday.

In an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), Mr. Diokno said “we’ll do anything to get us through this crisis, so that’s still in the agenda” when asked if benchmark interest rates can be trimmed further.

The BSP cut interest rates by 50 bps in an off-cycle meeting on April 16 to bring down the rates on the overnight reverse repurchase, deposit and lending facilities to 2.75%, 3.25% and 2.25%, respectively.

The central bank chief said they will continue to observe the banking sector as monetary policy works with a lag.

“Also, the issuance of dollar bonds (announcement) this morning led people to believe that government will first prioritize foreign debt,” the trader added.

The trader said the timing of the announcement of dollar bond issuance somewhat eased the pressure on the domestic capital market.

The government has made an announcement to return to the global bond market on Monday to issue multi-year US-denominated bonds, according to Bloomberg.

“Yes, we are out,” Ms. De Leon confirmed in a mobile phone message yesterday.

Data from the Bloomberg Terminal showed the papers to be offered are 10-year and 25-year US-denominated senior unsecured bonds. The proceeds of the fundraising activity will be used for general purposes and budgetary support.

On Tuesday, the BTr will offer P30 billion in reissued two-year Treasury bonds with a remaining life of one year and nine months. — Beatrice M. Laforga

A love letter to mothers

By Zsarlene B. Chua, Reporter

Television Review
Hi, Bye Mama
Netflix

Hi, Bye Mama presents an intriguing concept from the get-go: what if your dead wife returns after five years but you’re already married to someone else? That was how the Netflix series was marketed in its early days before it aired in March, but as a person who bawled through all 16 episodes, the show is much more a love letter to parents (mostly mothers) than a love story.

The show marked the return of South Korean actress Kim Tae-Hee to the small screen after a five-year hiatus during which time she married K-Pop star Rain (Jung Ji-Hoon) and had two daughters. Her last series was Yon-pal in 2015.

The return to TV of one of South Korea’s great beauties was met with much fanfare and high expectations. The show has steadily ranked in the Top 10 trending shows in the Philippines.

Is the show any good though? Well, it is — and sometimes it isn’t.

(I will try to keep the review as spoiler-free as possible for those who still haven’t watched the show until the end.)

The premise of the show has Cha Yu-Ri (Kim Tae-Hee) inexplicably coming back to life after spending five years as a ghost trailing her loved ones.

At first, she is happy people can finally see her and relishes the feeling of being able to eat everything she missed, but the kicker comes when she was told by a local shaman that her return is only for 49 days and that if she doesn’t get back her place — as the wife of Cho Gang-Hwa (Lee Kyu-Hyung) and mother of Cho Seo-Woo (Seo Woo-Jin) — she will reincarnate to a new life, but if she does, she will get to live again. The problem is that Cho Gang-Hwa has a new wife, Oh Min-Jeong (Go Bo-Gyeol).

For much of the series, Cha Yu-Ri isn’t overly concerned about getting her husband back and concentrates all her efforts in interacting with the daughter she knew only as a ghost. She says that her overarching goal is to stop her daughter from seeing the ghosts who have been tormenting and presumably delaying her growth — we see in later episodes that Cho Seo-Woo is a bit slower than her peers as she gets distracted and only plays with ghosts.

It is a simple enough premise but Yu-Ri eventually learns that she has to fix more things beyond her daughter’s third eye: her husband, a surgeon, was so traumatized by her death (she was in a car accident days before she was due to give birth) that he hasn’t stepped foot in the operating room since; and her family which has been trying to live normally after her death but can’t.

While undeterred, Yu-Ri does try to hide from her loved ones because of the time limit (she doesn’t want to hurt them again when she has to say goodbye). In fact, she has quite a cheerful personality and tackles the problems head-on.

There are no shortages of tear-jerking moments as the series tells the story of how people grieve when someone passes unexpectedly and how a mother’s love transcends living. Beyond the story of Yu-Ri, we are also treated with side stories from her ghost friends, most of them mothers, who still linger in the mortal world as they continue to guide their children. There’s a family of ghosts who linger around their son, an airline pilot, because they’re afraid he isn’t eating well enough because he was left all alone after their death in an accident.

Each episode has three parts: a prologue, the episode itself, and an epilogue which works well in story-building as the prologues show Yu-Ri before she died and the epilogues are also flashbacks, but this time showing how people grieved her death.

Sixteen episodes and more than a box of tissues later, the series ends on what I think was the original intent of its creators — director Yoo Je-Won and writer Kwon Hye-Joo — but if they were given a bit more time or if they managed their time better, some side stories wouldn’t have ended half-baked.

But all in all, it is a heartwarming (sometimes funny) story of tying one’s loose ends after an untimely death and how parents are still parents even after death.

Is it worth watching? Yes, especially in a time of pandemic when you need to keep your family closer.

Hi, Bye Mama streams on Netflix.

Fruitas to reopen more stores this week

FRUITAS Holdings, Inc. is opening more stores across the country with the downgraded quarantine in select areas starting May 1.

In a statement Monday, the operator of food and beverage kiosks said it will have more than 60 active stores by the end of this week as it gradually expands store reopening with the shift of some regions to a general community quarantine (GCQ).

It will also ramp up its delivery operations with more than 10 Fruitas brands on-boarded for delivery.

“As we resume operations in more stores, we will continue to adapt our business model and optimize the use of our resources,” Fruitas President and Chief Executive Officer Lester C. Yu said in the statement.

“We are harnessing our model of maximizing sales and profits with limited space, including the utilization of kitchen capacity in our foodparks to fulfill delivery orders. We will also repurpose or upgrade some stores into delivery hubs,” he added.

Fruitas said it had reopened more than 10 stores in the past week and is preparing to reopen at least 10 more this week.

The government is set to downgrade the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in regions that are considered low-risk or medium risk after April 30. The ECQ in Greater Metro Manila and other high-risk regions will remain until May 15.

Areas that will be under GCQ may gradually reopen more establishments and facilitate mass public transportation but still at reduced capacity.

Quarantine measures in the Philippines have been in place since middle of March due to the ongoing spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Since then, Fruitas said it had strengthened its delivery network and partnered with food companies to boost revenue streams.

At present, the company said it was looking at partnerships with more on-demand delivery service providers.

“We are confident that we will emerge stronger and thrive in the post-pandemic environment,” Mr. Yu said.

Fruitas operates brands such as Fruitas Fresh from Babot’s Farm, Buko Loco, Buko ni Fruitas, De Original Jamaican Pattie, Johnn Lemon, Juice Avenue, Black Pearl, Friends Fries, The Mango Farm, 7,107 Halo Halo Islands, Kuxina, Shou La Mien Hand Pulled Noodles and Sabroso Lechon.

Shares in Fruitas at the stock exchange inched up one centavo or 0.71% to P1.41 each on Monday. — Denise A. Valdez

Portugal to move asylum seekers to tourist flats

LISBON — Portugal will test 500 asylum seekers for the coronavirus and move some into apartments left empty by tourists, after an outbreak at an immigrant hostel last week prompted scrutiny of overcrowded conditions that could lead to contagion.

Portugal is housing 800 asylum seekers in hostels across the country while they wait for their applications to be processed. A single case at one hostel in Lisbon last week prompted all 175 residents to be tested, revealing that 138 had contracted the virus.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Sunday it was planning to “take advantage of the reduced pressure on the housing market in the capital” to move some asylum seekers to hostels and apartments left empty because of the lack of tourists this summer.

Applications for asylum increased in Portugal nearly threefold in the past five years to 1,716 in 2019.

The Council for Refugees (CPR), responsible for housing people while their applications are being processed, has capacity for just 150, and puts up the remaining applicants in hostels or social housing.

CPR head Monica Farinha told Reuters she was concerned that the conditions of the hostels, with several people to a room, meant there was a high risk of contagion.

Health minister Marta Temido said on Sunday that a study of nearly 3,000 of the country’s 23,864 cases indicated that co-habitation and contagion in concentrated spaces such as care homes and the Lisbon hostel were the top causes of transmission of the disease.

The country is preparing to ease a lockdown imposed on March 18 and currently in place until May 2, but the health minister urged people to remember that social distancing measures would need to continue to avoid a resurgence in cases. — Reuters

UnionBank net income climbs 22% in 1st quarter

UNIONBANK of the Philippines, Inc. saw its net profit rise in the first quarter. — WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/UNIONBANKPH

UNIONBANK OF THE Philippines, Inc. booked a higher net profit in the first three months of the year amid better revenues and higher net interest income.

The bank’s net income grew 22% year on year to P2.641 billion, according to the lender’s filing with the local bourse on Monday.

Revenues also jumped 37% to P9.5 billion. This was bolstered by its net interest income which surged 47% to P6.8 billion.

The bank’s loan book increased 24% to P391.8 billion on the back of growth in commercial lending (35%), consumer loans (34%), SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) banking (25%) and its credit card business (15%).

The potential impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has also been factored in by UnionBank as it boosted its provisions for loan losses to P1.3 billion, 7.6 times higher than the P174.6 million it allotted in January to March 2019.

“We deemed it prudent to set aside higher provisions for the year given the uncertainties brought about by this unprecedented health crisis,” UnionBank Treasurer and Chief Financial OfficerJose Emmanuel U. Hilado said in a statement.

“Our solid financial performance and capital base shall provide us the cushion to withstand the economic impact of the enhanced community quarantine,” he added.

Meanwhile, the lender’s margins increased by 114 basis points to 4.5% from 3.4% in the previous year. This was boosted by lower funding costs due to the 22% growth in current account, savings account deposits, paired with the reduction in policy rates and reserve requirement ratio by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

UnionBank’s total assets as of March stood at P751.855 billion.

“UnionBank is committed to support the economy and its customers by ensuring access to liquidity and other financial needs amid this crisis,” UnionBank President and Chief Executive Officer Edwin R. Bautista said in a statement.

In February, the bank raised P6.8 billion through its series A unsecured subordinated notes eligible as Tier 2 capital. With an interest rate of 5.25%, the papers will be callable in 5.25 years and will mature in 2030.

The Aboitiz-led lender’s shares finished trading at P54.40 apiece on Monday, up by 40 centavos or 0.74% from its previous close. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

US property market in ‘chaos’ as laws waived on rent, debt payments

TOM Barrack said the US property market is in “chaos” and still on the verge of collapse because the federal government and local authorities are allowing renters and homeowners to skip payments because of the coronavirus.

“We haven’t had a crisis like this,” Mr. Barrack, chief executive officer of Colony Capital, Inc., said in an interview Friday on Bloomberg Television. “We’ve never had one where we just have a government taking of revenue.”

The stimulus bill passed by Congress last month included a provision allowing borrowers to defer payments for as long as a year without penalty on federally backed mortgages. At the same time, cities and states throughout the country have suspended evictions and foreclosures to help the tens of millions of Americans who’ve lost their jobs.

Normally, lenders and landlords can use the legal system to enforce rent and interest obligations, but “all those options are out the window,” Mr. Barrack said.

A month ago, Mr. Barrack, 72, was among the first big real estate investors to warn publicly about the perilous state of the industry and to call for government intervention. He proposed an orchestrated forbearance, a “time out” in which any payments could be accrued onto leases and loans.

Many of the measures he sought then, including market liquidity from the Federal Reserve and delays in new accounting rules, were adopted. Others, such as a halt on margin calls by banks and a suspension of mark-to-market requirements on financing arrangements, weren’t.

Federal efforts such as the Paycheck Protection Program and Main Street Lending Program are “difficult to utilize” for companies like Colony, which is structured as a real estate investment trust, Mr. Barrack said.

“We’re not using those,” he said. “We’re encouraging many of our borrowers and our users to rely on whatever subsidies they can get to continue to make their payments.”

Colony’s real estate portfolio was valued at almost $50 billion as of Dec. 31. Mr. Barrack said its digital infrastructure investments — cell towers, data-storage facilities and fiber-optic networks — are holding up best. Retail and hospitality assets are the worst performers.

In April, the number of Colony tenants who made rent payments was “amazingly good,” dropping only 3% to 5% from normal levels, Mr. Barrack said. He expects fewer will remain current next month.

Mr. Barrack, who first saw property prices collapse during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, predicted that big companies like Colony, which he said still has “plenty of liquidity,” will survive the recession and real estate shakeout.

“The people who’ll be crushed are the people who own the equity, the people who own bonds and debt, the pensioners,” he said. “At the end of the day, the government is going to have to step in and subsidize it all if people don’t go back to work.” — Bloomberg

ICTSI, Bloomberry start mass-testing 2,500 employees

RAZON-LED firms International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) and Bloomberry Resorts Corp.’s Solaire Resort & Casino said they have started testing their employees for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“Complementing the Philippine government’s thrust to help curb the spread of the coronavirus disease, ICTSI and Solaire partnered with the Tropical Disease Foundation (TDF) and Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AC Health) to screen employees for the COVID-19 virus, both for those who have been working from home and for those who have been working at the very front lines to help keep the economy moving,” ICTSI said in a news release.

In an e-mailed reply to a question, ICTSI told BusinessWorld that the mass testing initially involves “about 2,500 employees.”

Enrique K. Razon Jr., chairman of ICTSI and Bloomberry, was quoted as saying in the news release: “Our employees are our number one asset. As we try to overcome this most difficult phase and [as we move] into the ‘new normal’, we do so without letting our guard down. Consistent with our aim of helping the country’s health infrastructure in tackling the extent of the pandemic, our decision to invest in mass testing will give us, our employees, and their loved ones the reassurance that they will have a safe working environment, which ICTSI and Solaire are well-known for.”

ICTSI said the Bloomberry Cultural Foundation, Inc. (BCFI) recently bought 100,000 test kits from China and South Korea approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help the government in its battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

It said the foundation had also donated P60 million worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) and N95 masks to the Department of Health. — Arjay L. Balinbin

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