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ICTSI improves yard utilization at MICT

INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) said yard utilization rate at its flagship Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) has decreased to 70% at the start of the month from 90% in January.

In a statement on Monday, the port operator said government efforts to move out overstaying containers by ensuring faster movement at the yard helped in easing congestion that has been blamed, among others, for slower improvement of factory activity in recent months.

“Roughly a month after the PPA issued an ultimatum for overstaying containers, yard utilization at the Manila International Container Terminal rapidly decreased by about 20 percent[age points] from 90% in January this year to 70% at the start of April,” it said, referring to the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

“The healthy yard utilization happened despite higher volume handled, especially in March where MICT handled a record monthly volume. The terminal was able to accept almost double the number of empty containers it was receiving, freeing up trucks in the process which, in turn, resulted in more import pull outs. Shipping lines have now been able to bridge the gap in achieving their weekly empty container evacuation targets.”

The company also noted its import dwell time — or the period a container stays in the port — went down to 6.6 days in April from 11 days in January.

On March 15, the PPA, together with the Department of Transportation, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Bureau of Customs agreed with private port operators to improve efficiency at the latters’ facilities. Containers were given a 30-day limit to stay in terminals after which they are to be transferred to these operators’ inland container yards.

The statement quoted ICTSI Global Corporate Head Christian R. Gonzalez as saying that with the government “taking a hard stand in fast-tracking the disposal and reduction of overstaying and empty containers at Manila ports… [t]he results have been immediate and… show what determination and focus of purpose can do.”

“We are optimistic that most have understood the need for containers to move regularly and in a timely fashion, but the proof will come after Easter which historically has seen overstaying boxes surge.”

ICTSI, whose 4.94% stock price surge to P129.60 helped fuel the Philippine Stock Exchange index’s 0.53% climb on Monday, grew attributable net income by 22% annually to $221.5 million in 2018 on strong operating income from its terminals. — Denise A. Valdez

Hollywood’s guessing game: Which Disney movie will top 2019?

BETWEEN high-priced coffees and sushi, movie executives meeting in Las Vegas last week had one heated argument: Which Disney film will be the year’s top blockbuster?

Attendees at the annual CinemaCon show at Caesars Palace weren’t doing much gambling. But they did debate whether Avengers: Endgame, The Lion King, or Star Wars: Episode IX would lead the box office in 2019, according to Rich Gelfond, chief executive officer of Imax Corp.

It says something about Walt Disney Co.’s dominance in Hollywood that no other studio appears to have a shot at this prize. The Burbank, California-based company added to its film slate last month when it acquired 21st Century Fox, Inc.’s entertainment assets in a $71-billion deal.

CinemaCon attendees got a peek at clips from The Lion King and Endgame, helping them formulate opinions about their prospects. But Disney didn’t show any footage from Episode IX, which won’t be released until the end of the year.

For now, Avengers: Endgame has the edge. It’s forecast to take in $585 million during its domestic box office run, according to analysts at Evercore ISI Research. Episode IX will yield $551 million, while The Lion King is pegged at $495 million. But overseas ticket sales may tip the scales.

Early US demand for Avengers: Endgame tickets crashed websites and set records last Tuesday, suggesting it’s on track to deliver the biggest opening weekend of all time later this month. The Lion King opens on July 19 and the final installment of the current Star Wars trilogy is set for Dec. 20. — Bloomberg

The eclectic musical style of Jose Mari Chan’s boys

THE SONS of singer-songwriter Jose Mari Chan, Jose Mari “Joe” Jr. and Michael “Mike” Chan, have released a self-titled full-length album with 10 tracks exemplifying their mastery of several genres including rock and ballads.

“[This is us] making our own playlist,” Mike Chan said during a press conference on March 29 at Alba’s restaurant in Quezon City.

He recalled that when they had their father listen to the album, he called it “diverse” because the Joe & Mike Chan album contains several genres. He then explained to his father that “it’s the age of playlists” where people create their own song sequences jumping from one genre to another — it is with the same concept that the brothers did their album.

GENERATIONS
Both Joe and Mike Chan were part of the band called Generation which was composed of the children of musical greats. It included Kowboy Santos who is the son of rock legend Tessy “Sampaguita” Alfonso, and Ige Gallardo, the son of singer Celeste Legaspi. The band released a self-titled album in 2014.

“We’ve worked on our own album for about two years after we were done with the promotion of the Generations album,” Mike Chan said.

And while the 2014 album featured mostly original rock songs, for their own album, the Chan siblings focused on creating original songs showing their varied musical influences, from bossa nova to The Beatles and The Beach Boys.

“The album is very eclectic. We do have some rock songs which are a carry over from our Generation days… but some of these songs — it’s messages — are very personal and very telling of our emotions and our style,” Joe Chan said.

The album also features two instrumental songs, “Fernandina,” a bossa nova-influenced track featuring horns and strings, and “If I Knew You Were Coming,” a rock instrumental with Generations member Kowboy Santos on the guitars.

THE SOUND OF THE ’60S
Other songs in the album are “With Me Tonight,” a ballad influenced by the sound of the 1960s British invasion — according to Joe Chan, the song is a homage to the period and its “clean guitars.” “Seven Lakes Drive” meanwhile, features a horn section and is about the brothers looking back at their childhood in New York and how they would go “for a drive.”

Joe Chan said that “The Waning Moon” is a poem by poet Rafael Alonso that he set to music, and the result is a reiteration of the 1960s psychedelic movement featuring “very few chords and a drone-like simple melody.”

“Tell Her” was inspired by the music of American rock band The Beach Boys, and features a four-part harmony and layered vocals.

And because the brothers are such fans of The Beatles, they opted to have their songs mastered in the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London where the British band recorded most of its albums from 1962 to 1970. The Chan siblings worked via the studio’s online mastering service.

Joe & Mike Chan is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and other digital music stores. — Zsarlene B. Chua

US comic Tom Green to perform in Makati

CANADIAN-AMERICAN funny man Michael Thomas “Tom” Green is set to make Filipinos laugh as he makes a stop in Makati on his ongoing Asia Comedy Tour. The show will be held on April 13 at the ballroom of the City Club of Alphaland Place in Makati City.

The 47-year-old comedian, who counts George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Jerry Lewis as some of his influences, described his form of comedy as “high energy” and promises a “hilarious show that deals with the crazy world we live in today and how technology is ruining it,” he was quoted as saying in a press release.

Mr. Green started doing comedy at 16 “because I love making people laugh” before going off to get a degree in television broadcasting which he credits to have led him to star in his self-titled MTV show in 1994.

Aside from cracking jokes about how technology is making it harder for people to live their lives, Mr. Green starred in films such as Road Trip (2000), Charlie’s Angels (2000), and Shred (2008). He was also briefly married to actress Drew Barrymore from 2002 to 2003.

In 2003, he served as a guest host on the Late Show with David Letterman after which he started hosting his own late-night talk show on MTV titled The New Tom Green Show. From 2006 to 2011 he hosted an internet talk show, Tom Green’s House Tonight, from his living room.

He started doing stand-up in 2010. His Asian comedy tour includes stops in Japan and Thailand. “[My main source of inspiration for my material] is this crazy world we live in! You can’t make this stuff up!” he said in the release.

While this might be his first time to be performing in the Philippines, Mr. Green isn’t unfamiliar with Filipinos as his manager is John Schneider, the brother of actor/comedian Rob Schneider. The Schneider’s maternal grandmother is Filipina.

“I’ve met his mother Pilar… so I have a lot of Filipinos already in my life. John’s mom Pilar is wonderful and always says she’s praying for my success. I better not disappoint… I hear the Filpino people love to laugh,” Mr. Green said, before adding that he is “looking forward to having some delicious adobo and lumpia and maybe a little [bibingka] for desert.”

The Tom Green Asia Comedy Tour in Manila will be on April 13, 8:30 p.m., at the Ballroom of the City Club, Alphaland Place, Ayala Ave., Makati City. Tickets are P1,600 and P3,000, and are available via www.ticketworld.com.ph or 0920-971-7055 or 0917-570-3057. For more information, visit www.comedyfest.asia. — ZBC

Bill Cosby settles defamation suit brought by 7 women

CONVICTED sex offender Bill Cosby on Friday settled a federal defamation lawsuit brought by seven women who said the former actor and comedian sexually assaulted them and wrongly called them liars when they went public with their charges years later.

The settlement ends a court fight that predates the 81-year-old’s conviction a year ago for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, a former Temple University administrator, in 2004. Mr. Cosby is currently serving a three- to 10-year sentence for that crime, though his lawyers plan an appeal.

He was the first celebrity convicted of sexual misconduct since the rise of the #MeToo movement, which cast a harsh light on widespread patterns of sexual harassment or abuse in multiple spheres of American life and ended the careers of dozens of powerful men in American media, politics, and business.

The settlement covers seven of some 50 women who emerged over the past decade to level sex abuse charges against the once-beloved star of The Cosby Show, who built a decades-long career on a family friendly style of comedy.

All the allegations but Ms. Constand’s were too old to be the subject of criminal prosecution, which prompted the seven women to sue for defamation when Mr. Cosby accused them of lying.

“Each Plaintiff is satisfied with the settlement,” attorneys for Mr. Cosby said in papers filed in US District Court in Springfield, Massachusetts, near one of Cosby’s homes. They did not disclose the terms of the agreement.

The defamation suit was filed in December 2014. One of the seven, Louisa Moritz, an actress best known for appearing in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, died in January at age 72.

The other plaintiffs were Barbara Bowman, who said she was a 17-year-old aspiring actress when she was assaulted in 1985; Tamara Green, who said she was a young model in the early 1970s when she was attacked; actress Angela Leslie, who said her attack took place in 1992; Therese Serignese, now a registered nurse who said she was 19 when she was attacked in 1976; Joan Tarshis, who said she was 19 at the time of her attack in 1969; and Linda Traitz, who said she was an 18-year-old waitress when she became a victim in 1969.

Mr. Cosby has denied the accusations and maintained his innocence. — Reuters

Chicago will sue actor Smollett for refusing to pay for police overtime

LOS ANGELES — Chicago will sue actor Jussie Smollett for the costs of police overtime spent investigating his claims that he was the victim of a hate crime, which prosecutors say were false, a city official said on Thursday.

The lawsuit was being prepared after Mr. Smollett, 36, refused a demand by the city for $130,000, said Bill McCaffrey, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Law.

“Mr. Smollett has refused to reimburse the City of Chicago for the cost of police overtime spent investigating his false police report on Jan. 29, 2019,” Mr. McCaffrey said. “The Law Department is now drafting a civil complaint that will be filed in the Circuit Court of Cook Country.”

Mr. Smollett, who is black and gay, touched off a social media fire storm by telling police on Jan. 29 that two apparent supporters of US President Donald Trump struck him, put a noose around his neck and poured bleach over him.

But the actor, best known for his role as a gay musician on the Fox Television hip-hop drama Empire, was charged in February with staging the incident himself and filing a false police report.

Prosecutors dropped all charges against Smollett in March, infuriating police and outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Prosecutors said they stood by the accusation but that an agreement by Mr. Smollett to forfeit his $10,000 bond was a just outcome.

The case file was sealed by a Chicago judge, which critics suggested was evidence of a cover-up.

The actor’s criminal defense attorney, Mark Geragos, could not be reached for comment.

On Monday, some 300 people, including off-duty Chicago police officers, took to the streets to protest, calling on Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx to resign over her handling of the case.

Mr. Smollett was written out of the final two episodes of Empire this season after he was charged with staging the hate crime. Fox executives have not said if he will return should the show be renewed for another year. — Reuters

Record labels are said to demand more money for songs on the TikTok app

THE three biggest record labels are demanding more money for songs played on TikTok and its Chinese counterpart Douyin, setting up a showdown with the hugely popular video apps, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Deals between the labels and the Chinese owner of the services, ByteDance Ltd., expire this spring, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. The two sides have made little progress in negotiations that have been going on since last year, they said.

If the talks fail, the labels — Universal Music, Sony Music, and Warner Music — could ultimately pull their catalogs from the applications.

TikTok and Douyin are two of the fastest-growing apps in the world, and they rely heavily on music. Their users — typically teenagers and young adults — record short dancing clips, memes, and comedy routines, often set to popular songs. The TikTok app has been installed more than 1 billion times via the App Store and Google Play, according to Sensor Tower.

SOARING VALUATION
The burgeoning popularity of the apps has helped boost the valuation of ByteDance to at least $75 billion, and emboldened record labels to seek better terms. They want ByteDance to pay them hundreds of millions of dollars in guaranteed money, the people familiar with the situation said. ByteDance has agreed to increase its payments, but balked at the labels’ demands, they said.

TikTok argues that it’s not a music-streaming service and shouldn’t be treated that way.

“TikTok is for short video creation and viewing, and is simply not a product for pure music consumption that requires a label’s entire collection,” said Todd Schefflin, who oversees global music business development at ByteDance. “The platform provides an exciting way for content to trend and break through to wider audiences.”

TikTok has gotten big enough that it can help turn an obscure song into a hit. “Old Town Road,” a mashup of country and hip-hop from Lil Nas X, reached the Billboard charts after going viral on TikTok.

“A short video on TikTok can become a valuable promotional tool for artists to grow their fan bases and build awareness for new work,” Mr. Schefflin said.

INDUSTRY REBOUND
The music industry grew 9.7% in 2018, thanks largely to the rise of paid streaming services Spotify and Apple Music. But big record labels have also been trying to increase the money they get from social-video apps.

A previous iteration of TikTok was known as Musical.ly, an app focused on lip-sync videos. ByteDance acquired that service in 2017 and later folded it into its TikTok app.

The idea is to take the long view when it comes to music, Mr. Schefflin said.

“TikTok’s music team partners with many great labels every day around the world forming long-term relationships, rather than just relying on transactional deals for a catalog of full songs,” he said. — Bloomberg

AppleOne Properties ramps up investments in Central Visayas

By Mark Louis F. Ferrolino
Special Features Writer

APPLEONE Properties, Inc. (API) plans to expand its portfolio by putting up more hotels in Cebu and Bohol, banking on the country’s robust tourism industry.

“I’m really bullish on the tourism industry in the Philippines. [For] our next projects, we’re buying properties in the prime locations right now, some in Mactan, some in Cebu; and it’s our first time to buy a lot in Panglao, it’s a very good location,” Ray Go Manigsaca, API president and chief executive officer, told reporters on the sidelines of the groundbreaking ceremony for its integrated complex, Mahi, in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

“We’re heading there, in putting up more hotels, because I believe we still lack rooms for our visitors,” Mr. Manigsaca added.

Asked why API continues to pour in investments in Cebu, Mr. Manigsaca said — in addition to familiarity — the company sees the growing potential of the province compared to other areas.

“After Manila, it’s Cebu,” he noted. “We’re very comfortable here.”

As a homegrown company based in Cebu City, API prides itself with more than 25 years of real estate mixed-use and residential development experience.

The Manigsaca-led firm’s entry into vertical developments started with the launch of AppleOne Equicom Tower in 2010. The 19-storey structure is the first mixed-use development in the region’s premier business district — Cebu Business Park.

Following the success of AppleOne Equicom Tower, API in 2013 launched AppleOne Banawa Heights, the first gated condominium in Cebu and the first to utilize the private cluster concept, keyless access, and multiple swimming pools in condominium.

The 2.8-hectare residential development, inspired by the San Francisco Bay Area’s Pacific Heights, features three residential concepts: the Towers, Villas and Mansionettes.

Barbara P. Cabo, API senior vice-president of sales and marketing, said that the three 12-storey towers of AppleOne Banawa Heights were completed and the units were already turned over to the owners.

For Villas and Mansionettes, Ms. Cabo said that turnover of units at Villas 1 and 2 and Mansionettes 1 and 2 is ongoing, while Villas 3 and 4 and Mansionettes 3 and 4 are still being constructed.

API expects to complete the whole development by 2021.

LUXURY PROJECTS
Meanwhile, AppleOne Mactan, Inc., the premier development arm of API, is looking to open its five-star resort hotel, Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort, before the year ends.

Located in Punta Engaño, Lapu-Lapu City, Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort will offer more than 250 guest rooms and suites. It is the first resort in the region to be built according to international brand standards.

Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort will feature an all-day dining and specialty restaurants, ballroom and function spaces, and recreation facilities, among others.

Dottie V. Wurgler-Cronin, general manager of Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort, said that the resort hotel brings additional value to the island of Mactan as a tourist destination.

“It is being welcomed by the community in Mactan and also in Cebu as a province, because this is a return of Marriott International into this medium,” Ms. Wurgler-Cronin said in a March 20 interview.

AppleOne Mactan also targets to turn over units of its luxury condominium development, The Residences at Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort, a year after the resort hotel opens.

The Residences is a 22-storey tower with four-storey courtyard villas, which will house 190 residential units. It is the first Sheraton-branded residence in Southeast Asia.

Amenities include courtyard lagoon pool, fitness center, multi-purpose function room, dedicated parking and access to private beach club.

“It supports the Filipinos who would like to have a different kind of environment, the lifestyle of being able to relax by the beach,” Ms. Wurgler-Cronin said.

Citing a report from the firm’s sales team, Ms. Wurgler-Cronin shared that The Residences has only 51 units left in its inventory. Around 70% of the demand for the project comes from local buyers, while the rest are from foreigners, primarily Japanese nationals.

“When you put up an international brand, [it] doesn’t mean that you’re only catering to the foreigners. We have recognized in the past five years that domestic tourism has really increased, and then the spending capacity of domestic market is also increasing,” Ms. Wurgler-Cronin said.

TARGETING MICE MARKET
API’s subsidiary Sunsky Development Corp., on the other hand, is looking at increasing its room inventory by constructing another Diamond Suites & Residences in Cebu City to cater to the growing Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) market and tourism industry.

Kathy S. Angala, general manager of Diamond Suites & Residences, said that its current branch of Diamond Suites, fronting the Cebu Business Park, enjoys an average of 85-90% occupancy rate.

“That explains why we need more rooms,” Ms. Angala said in a separate interview.

Ms. Angala said that the new hotel is planned to have 60 to 70 rooms, and will be located near its first branch. The construction is expected to begin by the end of the year or early next year.

To cater to the growing needs of the market, Ms. Angala said renovations at Diamond Suites are ongoing.

“Within this year, we’re renovating 34 rooms on the fourth floor. And, year after year, we’re going to renovate the other floors,” Ms. Angala said, adding that there are also plans to improve hotel’s pool area and lobby lounge.

API has also established its footprint in Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental through its subsidiary, Brickwall Construction & Development, that operates Apple Tree Resort & Hotel. It also operates Boardwalk City Residences in Mandaue City, Cebu and a mall under the Double Dragon Properties’ City Mall chain, CityMall Danao in Danao City, Cebu.

New music coming from DJ Avicii, 1 year after his death

LOS ANGELES — The family of Swedish DJ Avicii, who took his own life last year, is releasing new music that he was working on before his death.

The electronic dance music star, who had a huge following in Europe, was found dead in Oman on April 20, 2018, at the age of 28. His family said at the time he was a perfectionist who struggled with stress and who “could not go on any longer.”

Avicii, whose real name was Tim Bergling, left behind a collection of nearly finished songs and was close to completing a new album, his representatives said in a statement on Friday.

“The family decided not to keep the music locked away. Instead they wanted to share it with his fans all around the world,” the statement said.

A single, called “SOS,” will be released on April 10 and an album, called TIM, will be released on June 6.

Profits will go to the Tim Bergling foundation, whose causes includes suicide prevention and mental illness. — Reuters

Philippine Geogreen sees growing demand for green construction technology products

By Vincent Mariel P. Galang
Reporter

PHILIPPINE Geogreen, Inc. is looking to expand distribution of its green construction technology products in the country, as it takes advantage of greater awareness spurred by the government’s recent environmental clean-up efforts.

“We’re hoping to target all the industrial (market)… like 100% of the industrial kasi [because] we could go into condo buildings,” Liza Morales-Crespo, chief executive officer of Philippine Geogreen, said during a recent media roundtable.

Celebrating its 10th year anniversary, Philippine Geogreen is a green construction technology supplier for both industrial and residential markets. Among its products are Big Ass Fans, which are large fans used for warehouses or big areas; Solatube Daylighting Systems, which are tubes that bring in natural light into a room requiring no use of lightbulbs; and Green Roof Coating, which radiates heat back to atmosphere cooling the building and reduces solar greenhouse effects.

“The products that we distribute what they have in common is that they are the best when it comes to sustainability,” Ms. Crespo told BusinessWorld.

Ms. Crespo said the company expects to see strong sales, with wastewater treatment as the growth driver. She noted wastewater treatment had accounted for 5% of annual sales before the Boracay closure, but this is expected to grow as much as 40% as the government turns its focus on Manila Bay.

“In the past ten years, we’ve experienced every year… a growth of 20% to 35% annually. This year we’re targeting for 40% with the new product and with this growing awareness for water treatment,” she said during the event.

For wastewater treatment, Geogreen offers US green technology that primarily uses microbes to clean the waste water to meet quality standards.

“We also have a wastewater treatment that uses microbes so it’s very sustainable because you don’t use a lot of energy and you can retrofit now with a lot of issues coming up with water treatment like the closures in Manila Bay and also Boracay. This one actually allows for them to treat water without having to use a lot of energy and a lot space,” Ms. Crespo said.

Since January, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has stepped up efforts to rehabilitate Manila Bay. Several establishments, including restaurants, hotels and condominiums, faced fines and closure orders for failing to have proper wastewater treatment facilities.

“For this year we’re introducing new products to complete our line-up because we feel that with the product that we previously offered, we’re just scratching the surface and we’re serious. Our mission and vision is to make the Earth greener and if we were to do that, we need a lot more products to offer so that we could achieve our goals of making earth sustainable,” Ms. Crespo added.

With a water shortage and El Niño phenomenon affecting the country, Geogreen is offering the atmospheric water generator (AWG) — a machine that produces potable water from humid air. Ms. Crespo said depending on the capacity, AWG can produce anywhere from 30 to 10,000 liters of water a day, making it ideal for both residential and commercial customers.

Another product it offers is Drywired, a transparent coating that protects the paint’s color and cleans the air. This can be used for both indoors and outdoors.

Ms. Crespo said these green products can help individuals and companies to reduce energy use and operating costs.

For example, she noted that SM Malls reduced its monthly electricity costs by 30% after using Big Ass fans.

“They are big on energy savings, so aside from we’re helping lessen the carbon footprint it’s also big because the ROI (return on investment) makes sense… It’s not just, okay we want to be sustainable, but you’re also helping your bottom line because your operation expenses… were able to help you bring down your operational expenses,” Ms. Crespo said.

Alliance Global sets P85-billion capex for 2019

ALLIANCE Global Group, Inc. (AGI) will be spending P85 billion in capital expenditures (capex) this year, as the company seeks to further expand its property, liquor, gaming, and restaurant businesses.

This year’s capex is higher by 15% compared to the P74-billion AGI spent in 2018. The listed conglomerate said about 90% of the budget will be used for property unit Megaworld Corp. and gaming and leisure unit Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc. (TIHGI).

“We remain unrelenting in our expansion plans as we view with optimism the country’s economic prospects despite some temporary challenges,” AGI Chief Executive Officer Kevin L. Tan said in a statement.

The higher spending follows AGI’s 6.23% increase in profits to P23.7 billion last year, compared to the P22.3 billion it posted in 2017. The company noted that it restated its 2017 profit to reflect changes in accounting standards.

Consolidated revenues also jumped 14% to P160.7 billion, higher than its restated topline worth P141.3 billion in 2017.

“Now, all our major business segments are contributing strongly to the group’s growth. We look forward to sustaining this momentum in the coming years,” Mr. Tan said.

Megaworld reported an attributable profit of P15.2 billion in 2018, 16% higher year on year, after revenues went up 15% to P57.4 billion. The company attributed its strong performance to the 21% growth of its rental income, accompanied by an 11% increase in real estate sales.

The listed property developer ended the year with 1.5 million square meters in gross leasable area for its commercial segment. It also managed to book P135 billion in reservation sales coming from new projects launched in the previous year.

For TIHGI, the owner and operator of Resorts World Manila, attributable profit almost quintupled at P1.4 billion, compared to its 2017 figure of P290 million. This followed a 17% increase in its gross revenues to P24.7 billion, as property visitation reached an average of 28,500 people per day.

The company benefited from the opening of a new gaming floor at RWM’s Grand Wing, boosting gross gaming revenues 17% higher to P20 billion. At the same time, the company opened Hilton Manila last year, lifting its non-gaming revenues 17% higher to P4.7 billion.

Meanwhile, Emperador, Inc posted a 5% increase in attributable profit to P6.7 billion, after revenues advanced 10% to P47.1 billion. The listed brandy producer was driven by its international whiskey operations under the brand Whyte & Mackay.

Golden Arches Development Corp. (GADC), which holds the exclusive franchise to the McDonald’s brand in the country, posted P1.6 billion in attributable profit on the back of P28.3 billion in sales revenues. Same-store sales growth stood at 4% for the period.

McDonald’s now has 620 stores under its network, higher than the 566 stores it had in 2017. It is set to add another 60 stores this year, all of which will feature self-ordering kiosks, modernized menu boards, and cashless payment modes under its NXTGEN model.

Shares in AGI jumped 2.76% or 44 centavos to close at P16.40 each at the stock exchange on Monday. — Arra B. Francia

Marco Polo Davao aims to grab bigger slice of MICE market

DAVAO CITY — Marco Polo Davao’s new general manager, Colin Healy, is aiming to strengthen the hotel’s position in the meeting, incentive, conference, exhibition (MICE) market by hosting more big events.

“We are more into MICE and we have great food, great facilities and we can let guests explore. We can host business events and we have enough experience,” Mr. Healy said in an interview last Friday.

Marco Polo, one of the first high-rise and high-end hotels in the city, has six function rooms, two ballrooms, and 245 rooms and suites.

“At the moment I need to know the team. There is always competition in town. I told the team not to worry about the competition because it is how we take care of our clients and that is how we will attract them,” said Mr. Healy, who started his career in the hotel industry as an executive chef.

Mr. Healy has previously worked across Europe and Asia with various international hotel chains, including Marriott International and Double Tree Resort by Hilton.

He said Marco Polo has built its reputation on showcasing the arts and culture of the city with warm Davaoeño hospitality for over 20 years, and hosting prestigious meetings and events.

The Easter season launch was also intended to raise funds for charity as part of the hotel’s corporate social responsibility program. — Maya M. Padillo

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