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Tips when attending the 19th Grand Wine Experience

THE Grand Wine Experience, the country’s biggest, longest running, and undisputed leading wine extravaganza of the year takes place anew on Nov. 15 — its 19th year! The Marriott Grand Ballroom in Newport City will again be the host venue, its 9th consecutive year to do so. While the Grand Wine Experience had evolved over the years, including welcome additions of other inebriating beverages, from spirits and craft beers, to even sakés, wines will obviously still be the main draw. This year, there will be 700+ wine choices. Some wines from lesser known wine countries will also make their Philippine debut on Nov. 15. These include Domaine Sigalas and Kir-Yianni from Greece, and Golan Heights from Israel, among others.

With so much to look forward to in what is perhaps the largest food and wine buffet ever created, I believe there is a need to come a little bit prepared, especially for first timers. I come with some solid experience and Grand Wine wisdom as I have missed only three of the past 18 events. Here therefore are my 10 unsolicited, but nevertheless useful tips for those attending the 19th Grand Wine Experience, subtitled “Generations.”

1. Come Early. Being early means getting to do a quick ocular and survey of all the available wines and then planning your drinking route. Too often people come in late, get overwhelmed by the multitude of wines, and ended up drinking wines randomly. While events like this is really meant for wanton wine enjoyment, the ticket price this year is P6,500 so you want to maximize your quality wine intake. Planning means zeroing in on the “must try” or “wish list” wines in your drinking route. It could be a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, a French Bordeaux Grand Cru wine, or even a specific wine like a Montes M or a Jim Barry Armagh. It is important to get your glasses filled with these wines early too as most of them may be limited in quantity and will run out as the evening progresses.

2. Always Start With Champagnes. As much as I enjoy a good Cava, Prosecco, and Aussie bubblies, nothing comes up to the status of sparkling wines like those from Champagne, France… Champagnes are just not substitutable. But understandably, champagnes are also super premium in price, and therefore will be limited in quantities. So, jot down “champagne” as priority one to taste. On top of this, champagnes are exceptional aperitifs. It is always the best starter drink before taking food and still wines.

3. Eat Food From Time To Time. This is often overlooked in lieu of the temptations of getting to the finer wines first. Admittedly this is my own problem too. I get so busy searching for the best wines and trying to taste as many of them as I can in the event, that I neglect eating. But by not eating, you get drunk faster — and this is a shame in light of the abundance of choices available. Food always lowers the potency of alcohol in our body so it is vital to have some food throughout the tasting, or at least in the beginning, before any serious wine drinking. Safe food to take with wine are generally the sashimis with your champagnes, dimsums with your whites, and steak carvings with your reds.

4. Know What You Drink. Despite the tendency of most attendees to just ask for a recommendation and then drinking that, this is a bit too narrow for me. Imagine the opportunity to try and taste multiple kinds of wines, and doing this in front of wine pourers who are representatives of importers, and even occasionally representatives of the wineries themselves. These pourers can tell you most of the details about the wines you are tasting, from varietals, to wine region, to awards won, and even important trivia. I believe that the Grand Wine Experience is still about learning. Tasting and remembering the wines you like will go a long way, as this will help you make intelligent wine buys the next time you need to purchase wine in stores or order in restaurants.

5. Always Ask For The Prices. While quality is not always commensurate with a higher price, it is still a good consideration. Think about wine verticals in each brand, in particular when it applies to New World wines. The Reserves are always priced higher than the standard labels, so go for the Reserves immediately. But some caution here, the reserves are normally more complex with higher oak treatment, so if you are not very keen on oak-influenced wines, then just stick with standard wines. Also, if you happen to be the very “calculative” type, it may actually make you feel good that you have recouped your investment on your ticket with the prices of the wines you are drinking. Just like No. 4, tasting wines with knowledge of their price points can help you make intelligent wine buys when the need arises

6. Variety Over Quantity. Meaning, try as many different wines as possible but at smaller portions per wine. The best way to learn and train one’s wine palate is to try as many wines as possible without getting drunk. In an event like this, the opportunities are enormous, but limited to this one long evening only. Move from table to table, select a handful of wines per table while mentally trying to recall the taste profiles of each wine. It takes only around 25 ml. to appreciate and appraise a wine. After all the tasting, some wines should stand out, return to them for your second pours. Now you can relax and enjoy your new wine discovery with your favorite buffet dish.

7. Be Adventurous. Go after wines you have always been curious about and yet have not tried before. Perfect case will be those wines I mentioned earlier, Greek and Israeli wines that are making their debut in the Grand Wine Experience — how do Greek varietals Xinomavro and Assyrtiko taste like, or how does Israeli Cabernet Sauvignon compare to those from Napa, Coonawara, or even Bordeaux. This is a chance to brush up on your knowledge of the different grape varietals, as you can try Gewurztraminer, Viognier, Nebbiolo, Corvina, Dolcetto, Carmenere, Petit Verdot and much more. Why limit your wine varietal vocabulary to Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Merlot?

8. Take Photos Or Get Brochures And Price Lists. While the set-up in the Grand Wine Experience is more of a drinking event than a trade show, there will be plenty of brochures and price lists around. If you want to remember the wines you are trying, take a brochure or any handout available, and check or mark the ones you are trying. Or simply get your smartphone and take pictures of the ones you like. What I do, especially when attending wine tasting events abroad, is I always scribble my tasting notes on the brochures I get. This way, I have notes to refer to before the “booze effect” creeps in and impairs my tasting skills. It is also important to get the importer’s contact numbers in case you want to order the wines you like.

9. Take Plenty of Water. It is a must to have water after so much alcohol. While it will be difficult to seek water given the insane amount of wines present, I strongly suggest that one stays conscious about drinking water in between huge doses of wines. Not only can water help you rehydrate, water also offers a good palate break between one wine and another. Take good quantities of water especially if you plan to drink the night away, even if the effect will be more trips to the toilet.

10. Stay Safe And Sound. I would be remiss if I do not add this. The Grand Wine Experience is a wine drinking odyssey, and the temptation to over-indulge will always be there. Just be careful not to drink too much and drive. The danger is real. Having a driver or taking Grab would be the best. Or, in the worst case scenario, you are so wasted… well, a night at the Marriott or one the several hotels in Newport City is probably a good idea too.

Tickets for the 19th Grand Wine Experience are available online (www.grandwineexperience.com) or you can purchase them at the venue on Nov. 15.

The author is a member of the UK-based Circle of Wine Writers. For comments, inquiries, wine event coverage, and other wine-related concerns, e-mail the author at protegeinc@yahoo.com. He is also on Twitter at twitter.com/sherwinlao.

Alipay, WeChat Pay open apps to foreigners in China

CHINESE PAYMENTS giants Alipay and WeChat Pay, long a source of worry among competitors abroad, plan to open up their platforms to foreigners visiting the mainland as regulators ease restrictions.

The apps, which dominate payments across the world’s second-largest economy and have even supplanted cash at some businesses, announced the plans in rapid succession after previously requiring users to have local accounts. Opening up to visitors may give an incremental boost to spending on the platforms — but for overseas firms, it has big implications, potentially helping pave the way for future adoption abroad.

“Although there will be some revenue coming from the foreigners using the card, the more interesting aspect is how seamless the cross-border Alipay and WeChat Pay experience is becoming,” said Zennon Kapron, founder and director of research consultant Kapronasia.

Behind the scenes, China’s central bank recently told a number of payments firms they will soon be allowed to plug foreign cards into their apps for use in China, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. Previously, regulatory concerns about money laundering and cross-border cash flows had prevented that from happening. The central bank offered no immediate comment to an inquiry sent by fax.

The move will provide relief to some of the more-than 30 million people who visit China annually and sometimes struggle to find alternate payment methods. Alipay and Tencent account for 94% of the country’s mobile-payment market.

Already, Alipay and WeChat Pay’s logos are visible in stores and taxis in major cities around the world as the firms focus on helping Chinese travelers there. The expectation across the industry is that the apps will someday use that infrastructure to attract locals in those destinations.

To be sure, the ability to work with credit cards is still pending. In its announcement, Ant Financial’s Alipay laid out a system that will work around current restrictions and can start immediately.

Alipay said it’s letting travelers use a prepaid card service provided by the Bank of Shanghai. That means customers will have to periodically top off that account, which will be limited in amount.

In contrast, Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat Pay intends to let people more directly connect their existing cards to its app. Visa described that plan in a statement of support early Wednesday in China, saying it will essentially enable its cards to work across China.

“This is a great step forward, both for consumers traveling to China and the overall payments industry,” Visa said. “This partnership means that we’ll be working towards an environment where Visa cardholders will be able to use their Visa card in China at the millions of places where WeChat Pay is accepted, instead of having to rely on cash.”

The companies didn’t provide a time frame.

Tencent, acknowledging that it’s working under guidelines from regulators, said it has been discussing cooperation with US card-network operators Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover as well as Japan’s JCB to support the linking of overseas credit cards to Wechat Pay. — Bloomberg

3 Philippine companies to export chicken to South Korea

THE South Korean government has given the green light for three Philippine poultry manufacturers to start exporting chicken to South Korea.

In a statement, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) identified the three approved facilities as LPD Farms Food Corp. in La Union; Carino and Sons Agri-Development, Inc. in Batangas; and Ana’s Breeder Farms, Inc. in Davao City.

“The BAI, in cooperation with the Philippine Agriculture Attache in South Korea and the National Meat Inspection Services (NMIS) facilitated the inspection mission of the poultry farms,” it said.

The inspection was done from Sept. 23-30 by South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs — Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

South Korea lifted its ban on the export of Philippine poultry products and pet birds on July 4 since the country was able to restore its highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)-free status.

South Korea, along with Japan and Singapore, banned poultry products and pet birds from the Philippines in 2017 when an outbreak of bird flu was confirmed.

Korea imported 140,000 metric tons (MT) of chicken in 2018. This is expected to increase to 145,000 MT this year with the continuous increase in demand for processed chicken products and lower priced imports.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that chicken production in the first nine months of the year increased by 5% to 1.401 million MT year on year. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Activision touts new games at fan event in bid for turnaround

ACTIVISION Blizzard Inc. announced new versions of its Overwatch shooting game and Diablo role-playing title in a bid to re-engage disenchanted fans.

Overwatch 2 will include a mode that lets players compete against computer-controlled enemies rather than just other players. The refreshed game will feature additional characters and terrain — providing something new for a three-year-old title that some fans say had grown stale. Existing Overwatch customers will be able to access some content in the new game.

Overwatch is a key title in Activision’s growing esports business. The company made the announcements on the opening day of BlizzCon, a two-day fan event it puts on yearly in Anaheim, California. Tickets for the event, modeled after fan conclaves like Comic-Con, started at $230 each. The event is staged for fans of the company’s Blizzard Entertainment division, which is headquartered nearby.

The company also announced Diablo IV, a new version of the demonic dungeon game that debuted in 1996, and World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, an expansion of its long-running subscription-based game, which will be available for order this year. It’s also expanding Hearthstone, its free-to-play digital card game.

Activision has struggled with falling sales over the past year. A poor company forecast and critical reviews at the 2018 BlizzCon sparked a decline in the stock. A mobile game called Diablo Immortal, showed at a conference largely catering to PC-gaming fans, turned into a disappointment for attendees who were expecting Diablo IV instead.

In January, the company cut ties with the publisher of Destiny, one of its larger franchises. Amid an overall dearth of new titles, Activision laid off hundreds of employees and replaced the heads of its three main divisions.

BETTER DEBUTS
Recent product debuts have been better, however. The company introduced a mobile version of one of its most enduring franchises, Call of Duty, in conjunction with Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. It was downloaded by more than 35 million people in the first three days.

On Wednesday last week, Activision said the latest version of Call of Duty for game consoles like PlayStation 4 generated sales of more than $600 million in its first three days.

The company has been under fire in recent weeks for imposing stiff penalties on a professional gamer who spoke out in favor the Hong Kong protests after a match. Gamers in the US, outraged by the censorship, mounted a boycott of the company’s products.

Some protested Friday outside the Anaheim Convention Center, where BlizzCon was being held. They handed out T-shirts donated by a group called Freedom Hong Kong that feature Mei, a character from Overwatch who has become a symbol of the Chinese resistance.

BlizzCon opened Friday with an apology from Blizzard President J. Allen Brack — not for punishing the player, but for moving too quickly and not explaining the decision sooner to fans. — Bloomberg

Chefs talk about ingredients

THE Food Writers Association of the Philippines presents Toques and Texts, culinary inspirations from the award-winning book Sangkap. It will be held on Nov. 16, 3 p.m., at the Palm Grove, Amorsolo Square, Rockwell, Makati. It will feature chefs Myrna Segismundo who will talk of vinegar, Jessie Sincioco who will discuss rice, Jill Sandique who will tackle coconut, Ariel Manuel who will discuss herbs, and Josh Boutwood who will talk of bagoong (fermented fish paste). There will also be a sangkap (ingredients) bazaar there from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets are P1,000, and seats are limited. For inquiries call 0956-994-0160, 0977-683-6566, and 895-4040.

Thailand cuts interest rate to record low to rein in baht

THE BANK OF Thailand cut its benchmark interest rate for the second time in three months and said it will ease rules on outflows to curb a surging currency.

Five of the seven Monetary Policy Committee members voted to cut the key rate by a quarter-percentage point to 1.25%, the central bank said in a statement. That matches a record low and was in line with the forecasts of 16 of the 26 economists in a Bloomberg survey.

Thai exporters are feeling the pain of Asia’s strongest currency

Officials told reporters in Bangkok that the central bank is worried about the strength of the baht, which may continue to weigh on the economy. The bank will ease rules on outflows and consider further steps to rein in the currency, they said.

The baht extended losses, falling as much as 0.7% to 30.399 per dollar, and was at 30.327 as of 3 p.m. in Bangkok.

Thai authorities are stepping up monetary and fiscal support to spur an economy that’s on course for its weakest growth in five years in 2019. The baht has gained more than 8% against the dollar in the past year, the best performer in emerging markets, curbing exports and tourism in the trade-reliant nation.

Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob said the currency steps would address the imbalance in capital flows to make it easier to take money out of the country. These are some of the measures that will take effect on Nov. 8:

• Exporters with proceeds below $200,000 per bill of lading will be allowed to keep proceeds abroad without a time limit. The previous threshold was $50,000.

• Retail investors will be allowed to invest up to $200,000 a year in foreign securities, without having to invest via a Thai intermediary institution.

• No restriction on outward transfers, except for a few specific purposes.

• Thai investors will be allowed to trade gold in foreign currencies. Previously, these transactions could only be done in baht.

Analysts said the measures may have a limited effect on the currency.

The baht’s slide “stands a greater chance of being reversed as the currency continues to have a strong backing of large current surplus, while there is little incremental benefits for the economy” from a small adjustment in the interest rate, said Prakash Sakpal, an economist at ING Groep NV in Singapore.

Inflation remains subdued, slowing to a more than two-year low of 0.11% in October, well below the central bank’s 1%-4% annual target. Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana said this week the central bank has proposed to narrow the band for next year for better monetary policy management.

With Thailand at risk of being added to a watchlist of potential currency manipulators in a forthcoming US report, policy makers have limited room to take more aggressive action to curb the currency.

The US on Oct. 25 said it will suspend $1.3 billion in trade benefits for the Asian nation, which some analysts interpreted as a warning shot.

“It’s hard to introduce tools that could be seen as manipulating the exchange rate and so, it’s hard to change the underlying trend,” said Masakatsu Fukaya, an emerging-market currency trader at Mizuho Bank Ltd. in Tokyo. “The rate cut is also not seen as entering into further easing cycle like Turkey, so the baht will face appreciation pressure again.” — Bloomberg

Cal-Comp defers IPO for 2nd time

COMPANY HANDOUT

CAL-COMP Technology (Philippines), Inc. has withdrawn its plan to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) for a second time, saying the initial market valuation “do not fully reflect” its strong financial performance.

In a letter to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) dated Nov. 4, Cal-Comp said it has decided to defer its IPO after extensive discussions with its underwriters, BDO Capital & Investment Corp. and Maybank Kim Eng Securities Pte. Ltd.

“The issuer believes that the initial valuations indicated by the market does not fully reflect the issuer’s strong performance and growth prospects,” the local unit of Taiwan-based New Kinpo Group said.

“Furthermore, due to volatile market conditions, the issuer has decided that it will be in its best interest to defer its offering and re-evaluate its listing plants,” it added.

Last year, Cal-Comp postponed its IPO due to market volatility.

Cal-Comp’s plan this year was to offer 371,423,100 common shares with an over-allotment option of 55,713,500 common shares from Nov. 11 to 18. Each share was priced at a maximum of P25 and will be equivalent to 28.87% of the company.

The company hoped to raise P8.834 billion from the IPO, which will be used to expand its facilities, fund capital expenditures, repay debts, finance research and development, and boost its working capital.

Cal-Comp is in the business of manufacturing electronic products such as data storage products, calculators, pachinko displays, smart home appliances and smart beauty products.

Moving forward, Cal-Comp said it wants to “focus on the growth of its business in the Philippines and ensure that its targets continue to be met.”

Among the plans it earlier disclosed is building a 24,000-square meter facility in Lipa, Batangas and undertaking the expansion of its manufacturing complex in Sto. Tomas, Batangas.

With Cal-Comp deferring its IPO, only one more public listing is scheduled until yearend — Fruitas Holdings, Inc., which will offer 533,660,000 shares with an over-allotment option of up to 68,340,000 shares on Nov. 18-22.

Three companies have so far gone public this year: Kepwealth Property Phils, Inc. in August and Axelum Resources Corp. and AllHome Corp. both in October. — Denise A. Valdez

Samsung to shut down US CPU research division

SEOUL — Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. said on Tuesday it will shut down a CPU research division at one of its US facilities, a move that analysts said dimmed prospects for the tech giant’s Exynos-branded mobile chips.

Exynos mobile processor chips are considered a hallmark of the South Korean firm’s attempts to reduce its reliance on memory chips and increase sales of logic chips that are used to power mobile devices and autonomous vehicles.

But the proprietary chips, which are found in Samsung’s flagship Galaxy series smartphones and compete against Qualcomm Inc.’s marquee mobile processors, have struggled to find external customers.

The decision to shut down the division, which will make some 300 jobs redundant, point to challenges Samsung faces in promoting Exynos chips, analysts said.

“(Exynos) chips are not really used anywhere else and continue to lose ground in the mobile processor market, raising concerns about the company’s competitiveness,” said Park Sung-soon, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities.

The move has led to speculation that Samsung will use core designs from ARM or semi-custom designs. Park added that Samsung is not likely to give up the Exynos business entirely.

Samsung said it will continue to develop and produce Exynos chips regardless of the termination of CPU (central processing unit) core projects, and some of 300 affected employees could be relocated to different projects.

“Based upon a thorough assessment of our System LSI business and the need to stay competitive in the global market, Samsung has decided to transition part of our US-based R&D teams,” it said in a statement, referring to its logic chip business.

Affected employees will mostly come from its Austin R&D Center, which had been researching CPU core since 2010, while a small number of employees at its CPU project team at Advanced Computing Lab in San Jose will be let go or relocated to other divisions, a company spokeswoman said.

Samsung said it has more than 20,000 employees in the United States focused on design, research and development, investment and manufacturing next-generation technologies, adding it remained committed to increasing its American workforce.

The termination of its CPU core projects comes after Samsung, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, said in April that it plans to invest $116 billion in logic chips through 2030. — Reuters

Dining Out (11/07/19)

The Pen’s Christmas tree and Gingerbread House

THE FESTIVE spirit arrives at The Peninsula Manila on Nov. 8, 5:30 p.m., when children from the Make-A-Wish Foundation Philippines light up The Lobby’s 45-foot-tall Christmas tree, and the musicians of the Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra play holiday music. The resulting scene, which resembles a holiday greeting card brought to life, heralds the start of the season. On that day, the Gingerbread Store will open at The Lobby, and guests may make holiday dining reservations, order Christmas hampers, or take selfies. The store will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. In support of those less fortunate, six “Stories from the Tree” characters will be available to purchase in the form of tree ornaments and pins, with P250 from each purchase donated to Hands On Manila Schools’ “Galing Mo Kid” program that mentors high-achieving public school students.

2K Prime Thanksgiving

‘TIS the season to be jolly as 2K Prime again partners with Premium Wine Exchange on Nov. 28. Guests can look forward to indulging in unlimited servings of soup, USDA Prime Rib, sides and wine again. This time around, in celebration of Thanksgiving, the menu also includes unlimited servings of roast turkey, all for the same price of P2,000 nett. Meanwhile, the restaurant is offering three take-out holiday party packages, good for 10 persons and which feature a wide variety of 22 Prime’s Signature Holiday dishes such as Kung Pao spaghetti, Grilled ham and queso de bola sandwich, Bonton fried chicken, Turkey slices with cranberry sauce, Seafood paella, Cajun fish with mango salsa, Pork cracklings with prune sauce and Slow roasted beef with garlic sauce. Prices start at P6,800 nett. 22 Prime is located at the 22nd floor of Discovery Suites, 25 ADB Ave., Ortigas Center, Pasig City. For inquiries and reservations call 7719-6822, e-mail reservations@ds.discovery.com.ph, or visit https://www.discoverysuites.com/bars-restaurants/dining-offers/

Jollibee’s Cookies ‘n Cream Sundae Twirl

JOLLIBEE has added Cookies ‘n Cream Sundae Twirl to its roster of desserts. The vanilla soft-serve is now with crushed Oreo cookies, with sweet white chocolate coating, and topped with a whole Oreo cookie. Cookies ‘n Cream Sundae Twirl is available for P39, dine-in, take-out, delivery, and drive-thru at all Jollibee stores nationwide.

McDonald’s Happy Meal throwback

MCDONALD’S around the world celebrate 40 years of Happy Meal with throwback toys from the past four decades. Filipinos can join in starting Nov. 21 (promo runs while supplies last) at select branches. Fourteen of the most memorable Happy Meal toys of the last 40 years will be offered. Diners are in for a surprise as they will not known which throwback Happy Meal toy they will receive when purchasing a Surprise Happy Meal as each one is packed in a blind bag.

Video game shows what it’s like inside Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests

IN the concrete jungle of a modern metropolis, a black-clad young man gears up to battle hostile cops armed with tear gas and live ammunition. Masked and helmeted, he navigates metal barricades, flaming cars and flickering neon signs, one misstep away from getting busted — or worse.

This isn’t Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty. This is a game about Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests.

Assembled in a week by a ragtag group of students and office workers, Liberate Hong Kong is an extremely rudimentary first-person simulation of the often violent anti-China movement that’s gripped the semi-autonomous city since the summer. The game depicts the bleak experience of a front-line protester dodging swarms of projectiles from riot police, and it will launch this month in both PC and virtual reality versions, the developers said.

It’s the latest example of how Hong Kong’s internet-savvy population is using technology to mobilize a leaderless movement and spread the message internationally. Protesters have taken to Telegram to plan and execute demonstrations and broadcast their cries for self-determination in popular online video games like Activision Blizzard Inc.’s World of Warcraft. Now, they’ve gone one step further and begun to fashion their own virtual simulation of the action on the ground, hoping to target a broader millennial population while inspiring a vast gaming community that’s shown a readiness to support their cause.

The developers of Liberate Hong Kong hope their simulation of the city’s democratic movement will help outsiders better understand what’s unfolding on the streets of Kowloon and Wanchai. They put the game together after Blizzard’s decision to ban esports player Ng Wai Chung, better known as Blitzchung, for staging an impromptu protest during a post-game webcast. That triggered a backlash, including calls for a boycott and demonstrations during the annual BlizzCon event starting Nov. 1 in California.

“The team can’t help thinking what will happen, and how the game industry will respond, if we are having a whole new game that is about the protests,” said a 30-year-old developer who asked to be identified only as Jane Lam because she took part in the often-illegal protests.

Last week, the developers offered a first glimpse of their game by releasing a trailer. Ng streamed himself playing it on Twitch in an hour-long session that garnered more than 14,000 views. While the gameplay is crude — consisting mostly of dodging bullets and throwing tear gas canisters back at faceless police — the purpose of the creators is to educate rather than entertain.

Constrained to a two-block radius and scoring only canisters collected, a Liberate Hong Kong session rarely exceeds 10 minutes. All end in one of two ways: the player ends up shot or arrested.

“There is no winning in the game, just like the current situation,” said Lam, who covered her face with a mask while talking to reporters on camera.

To make the game more true to life, the developers recorded chants directly from Hong Kong’s streets and recreated protest expressions from spray-painted slogans to the creative “Lennon Walls” of Post-it notes that have sprung up across town.

The team behind Liberate Hong Kong said it has submitted the title to Valve Corp.’s game distribution platform Steam, which has yet to grant approval. Forcing Valve to make a decision either way was itself intended to keep the Hong Kong matter in the global public eye, Lam said. If Valve declines, the developers plan to post their own download link online, keeping the PC version of the game free and charging HK$100 ($12.80) for a VR edition. All profits will be donated to a fund raiser for protesters, Lam said. Valve marketing chief Doug Lombardi did not respond to a request for comment.

In a touch of levity, Liberate Hong Kong’s creators added a collectible Winnie the Pooh toy into their game, a wink to the A.A. Milne character that became a meme for its perceived resemblance to Chinese President Xi Jinping. It’s the only item players can grab and toss other than tear gas canisters.

“From the very beginning we just wanted to start an issue in the gaming industry and wait for the feedback,” Lam said. “It is a very short-term imitation of real-life experience.” — Bloomberg

Money market gets boost from BSP easing

THE MONEY MARKET has been seeing the effects of the monetary easing of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), according to the Money Market Association of the Philippines (MART).

However, the organization is also calling for improvements in the country’s tax system to boost their industry.

In a media roundtable, MART President and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Senior Vice President Steven Michael T. Reyes said the money market has seen interest rates go down, which has benefitted the market.

“You’re seeing it already from the market. Rates have fallen dramatically…while the reserves is actually a very positive for the market because it releases much needed liquidity in a system where the government wants to facilitate growth,” Mr. Reyes said.

He added that the BSP’s signals to the market on its policy direction has been helpful to the industry.

“We really appreciate the current regulators for allowing us to be participative in the development,” he said.

However, Mr. Reyes said the tax system is something that should be looked into in order to beef up the country’s still “shallow” capital markets.

“Our factor is the fact that tax system is a hindrance to seeing offshore [investors] coming in and participating in our markets. For example, our withholding tax, and compared to other countries, ours is relatively high.”

When asked about the proportion of foreign investors going into the capital markets, Mr. Reyes said: “I’d be very happy if offshore is actually even close to 20% [of investors]… We’re definitely below that.”

According to Mr. Reyes, initiatives to boost cross-border investments in Asia are currently being explored.

“There is this initiative by a lot of Asian central bankers to have a borderless environment where people can invest between one country to another. It is a good concept but implementation is still a hurdle because of the taxes and policies per country,” he said.

Interest income from trust funds as well as deposit substitutes in the Philippines by a domestic entity or resident foreign firm are imposed with a final withholding tax of 20%. Meanwhile, interest income from a non-resident foreign firm is imposed with a final withholding tax of 30%. — LWTN

Bond listings hit P300 billion so far this year

THE Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx) has breached the P300-billion mark for new bonds listed in 2019, a new record for bond listings in a year.

Ayala Land, Inc (ALI) listed P10 billion in fixed-rate bonds at the exchange yesterday, pushing PDEx’s count of new bond listings this year above P300 billion.

“Today makes listing number 31, level of P308.92 billion of new bonds listed for the year and a total of P1.27-trillion corporate bonds listed at PDEx (as of Nov. 6),” Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx) President and Chief Operating Officer Antonino A. Nakpil said in his speech at the listing ceremony yesterday.

Mr. Nakpil said he expects new records in the coming weeks as several banks are set to conduct bond issuances before the year ends. This will raise 2019’s new listings well beyond the P256.4 billion the PDEx saw in 2018.

“We are delighted to announce that today also marks the effectivity of our SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)-approved framework for listing and enrollment of bank bonds issued under a bank bond issuance program… [T]his means that documentary requirements dropped from 25 to 11 for a so-called follow-on tranches within such bank bond issuance programs,” the PDEx chief said.

“We look forward to seeing the efficiency metric shortened much more in the coming year,” he added.

Mr. Nakpil earlier said the new guidelines for bank bond issuances, or the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Circular No. 1010, have attracted several banks to enter the bond market because of the simplified process for universal and commercial banks and quasi-banks.

By the end of the week, the SEC-approved trading and settlement guidelines for floating rate bonds will also take effect, which Mr. Nakpil said will help spur more interest in the PDEx.

“We would like to thank the SEC for its development-enabling regulatory approach to our fixed-income market,” he said.

ALI’s P10-billion bond listing yesterday is its third listing this year, after P3 billion in bonds were listed last month and P8 billion in bonds were listed in May.

“ALI has raised on a year-to-year basis a total of P50 billion, comprising P21 billion in bonds, P19 billion in bilateral loans and P10 billion in alternative financing… This is the highest amount of total debt financing in a year for ALI,” Chief Finance Officer Augusto Cesar D. Bengzon said in his speech at the ceremony.

The P10-billion bonds listed yesterday is the company’s first-ever offer of such size under two tranches with polarizing tenors of two years and seven and a quarter years. Proceeds from the offer will fund its 2.8-hectare development project in Makati City.

ALI’s net income in the nine months to September grew 12% to P23.2 billion due to the growth of its real estate business. — Denise A. Valdez

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