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Cavite expressway operator sets proposed link to Sangley base

By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

THE operator of the Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEx) aims to submit in the coming month a proposal that will connect the toll road to the Danilo Atienza (Sangley) Air Base.

Roberto V. Bontia, president of Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. (CIC), told BusinessWorld on Monday a joint proposal with the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) is in the works for submission to the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) by end August or early September.

“We are working together with PRA to submit a joint proposal of our alternative Segment 5 (which includes the Sangley spur) to TRB,” he said in a text message.

PRA is CIC’s joint venture partner in operating CAVITEx. Part of its concession is the construction of a CAVITEx Segment 5, which was originally an extension of the toll road from Kawit to Noveleta.

However, the Department of Public Works and Highways built a road on the supposed alignment of Segment 5 in 2015, pushing the operators to look for an alternative to it.

Mr. Bontia said earlier that CIC was looking at a 22-kilometer, three-part alignment for Segment 5. It will connect Kawit to Noveleta, Kawit to Sangley and Noveleta to Rosario, with a spur road to the Cavite Export Processing Zone.

The whole Segment 5 has an estimated cost of P21-22 billion, of which the link to Sangley is priced at approximately P10 billion.

Mr. Bontia said the government’s push for increased air activity at the Sangley air base is a motivator for the company in paving a road link to the gateway.

“Right now kasi wala talagang maayos na [there’s no decent] road network that will connect Sangley to any major road in Cavite. So that makes the road viable with the upgrade of Sangley,” he told reporters last month.

The government aims to open the Sangley air base for general aviation flights by the end of the year. It is aimed to improve operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, which is operating beyond its capacity.

CIC is under Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., the tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., others being PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.

T-bond rates to decline on BSP’s dovish stance

THE GOVERNMENT will likely see lower yields for the reissued 10-year Treasury bonds (T-bond) to be auctioned off today following the central bank’s rate cut and amid dovish signals from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) chief.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) is offering on Tuesday P20 billion worth of reissued 10-year bonds with a remaining life of nine years and five months.

Traders expect the bonds to fetch a lower rate versus the previous auction following dovish pronouncements from BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno.

“Looking at 4.15% to 4.30% range for 10-year reissue given the possibility of 100 bps (basis points) RRR cut before next MB (Monetary Board) meeting and another 25 bps policy cut on Sept. 26,” a bond trader said in a phone message on Sunday.

Robinsons Bank Corp. peso debt trader Kevin S. Palma said the BSP’s rate decision last Thursday will likely lead to lower rates for the bonds on offer, with the average yield expected to settle within 4.175%-4.275%.

“The central bank’s move did not disappoint bond market participants as Governor Diokno quickly pronounced a dovish rhetoric after he said that he still sees another 25-bp policy rate cut and a 100-bp cut in RRR within the year,” Mr. Palma said in a phone message on Sunday.

The government made a full award of the 10-year T-bonds when they were last offered on May 28, raising P20 billion as planned with total tenders amounting to P65.8 billion.

The bonds fetched an average rate of 5.644%, 31 basis points lower than the 5.954% quoted when the debt papers were issued in April. This was also well below the bonds’ 6.875% coupon.

At the secondary market on Friday, the 10-year bonds were quoted at 4.372% according to the PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service Reference Rates published on the Philippine Dealing System’s website.

At its fifth policy review for the year on Thursday, the BSP’s Monetary Board cut key policy rates by 25 basis points, bringing the overnight reverse repurchase rate to 4.25%, and the overnight deposit and lending rates to 3.75% and 4.75%, respectively.

This followed a “prudent pause” in June as well as a 25-bp cut last May that partially dialed back a cumulative 175-bp hike implemented through five meetings last year in order to arrest rising inflation that peaked at a nine-year-high 6.7% in September and October.

In a Bloomberg interview last Friday, Mr. Diokno said policy makers may slash key rates further in their next meeting in September or in the first few weeks of the fourth quarter.

In a separate interview with ABS-CBN News Channel, Mr. Diokno said banks’ RRR may be reduced by another 100 basis points before the Sept. 26 policy meeting.

Mr. Diokno said the already reduced RRR, which is currently at 16% for big banks after the phased 200-bp cut, “is still very high.”

The timing of RRR cut, he said, will still depend on liquidity, as the BSP watches if reductions earlier this year, which are estimated to have released more than P200 billion into the system, resulted in lending to productive economic activities.

Mr. Palma said developments abroad are also pushing investors to park their funds in local government securities.

“There are offshore factors that have been supporting demand for local bonds, such as lower US Treasury yields given the recent flare-up between the US-China trade tensions,” he said.

Last week, the People’s Bank of China devalued its own currency to 7 yuan against the dollar in retaliation against Washington’s plan to impose an additional 10% tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods starting Sept 1.

Tensions between the two countries escalated further after the US called China a “currency manipulator.”

The government plans to borrow P230 billion from the domestic market this quarter through Treasury bills and T-bonds.

It is looking to raise P1.189 trillion this year from local and foreign sources to fund its budget deficit, which is expected to widen to as much as 3.2% of gross domestic product. — B.M. Laforga

Studio cancels The Hunt movie release after criticism

LOS ANGELES — Universal Pictures on Saturday canceled the release of The Hunt, a satirical thriller about a group of Americans who are captured to be hunted and killed for sport, following apparent criticism by President Donald Trump and a recent series of mass shootings.

The Comcast Corp. division had held back on marketing the film, slated for release on Sept. 27, after the shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, last week.

It gave no reason for the cancellation. A Universal Pictures representative did not return an e-mail seeking comment.

“We stand by our filmmakers and will continue to distribute films in partnership with bold and visionary creators, like those associated with this satirical social thriller, but we understand that now is not the right time to release this film,” Universal said in a statement.

Trump, taking to Twitter on Friday, criticized “liberal Hollywood” and an unnamed film with a pending release.

“The movie coming out is made in order to inflame and cause chaos,” Trump tweeted.

Trailers released online for the film depicted a group of wealthy villains orchestrating the open-field hunting of several Americans held against their will.

The film came from Blumhouse Productions, which has produced a number of popular horror films such as The Purge and Get Out.

A Blumhouse representative did not immediately respond to calls on Saturday. — Reuters

Meralco prepares to showcase vehicle-to-grid project

MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) expects to complete “soon” a study that will prove whether electric vehicles (EVs) can help power the grid and help ease energy demand during times when supply is deficient.

“It will happen soon,” said Anthony Agoncillo, Meralco’s EV charging station product manager, when asked about the status of the utility’s vehicle-to-grid project.

“It’s still in the test case,” he said, referring to the partnership with Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. “They’re our partners. They’re the vehicle providers for that test.”

He said test would try to prove whether the vehicle-to-grid concept is feasible, and how it would affect the power distribution utility in terms of power quality, changes in frequencies, and how safely it can be integrated into system

“We saw that one of their units, Outlander model 2019, worked for vehicle-to-grid technology. So, yes, there’s a breakthrough in terms of us proving that it can power a small room in the house,” he said.

Mr. Agoncillo said it would be far-off to consider the project as helping to ease power demand similar to Meralco’s interruptible load program in which it enlist entities with their own power generators to run their systems when the grid’s reserve power reaches critical levels.

He said globally, similar studies are also conducted to answer whether power from vehicles or from utility-scale batteries can help energize the grid, or the interconnected network of power transmission lines and substations.

“But as of now, what we can only say is what we’ve tested and what we’ve seen from Meralco [is] Mistubishi Outlander powering a small room in the Meralco power lab using a V2G (vehicle-to-grid) charging pod. So it’s not only about the vehicle itself. There’s also a necessity to put up a charging facility, a charging pod, that can draw the energy from the battery,” he said.

He said the company has yet to demonstrate the project’s viability to the Department of Energy, although the agency is aware of Meralco’s EV power lab and the vehicle-to-grid project.

“For us, again we’re really doing this mostly to be able to test EV technologies,” he said. “We’re looked at as the expert not only in electricity but also in innovations related to electricity,” he said.

“So again, these technologies like vehicle-to-grid, even the vehicle itself, the chargers, AC charging, DC fast chargers, we really try to understand what it will do because we also need to understand what will be the impact to the grid afterwards,” he added. — Victor V. Saulon

Accor picks Makati for Pullman, Novotel apartments

The Pullman Living and Novotel Living serviced apartment brands will make their debut in Makati City. — COMPANY HANDOUT

MULTINATIONAL hospitality group Accor SA is developing the world’s first Pullman Living and Novotel Living standalone apartments in Makati City.

In a statement, Accor said it has teamed up with privately held PTC Holdings for the two apartment complexes, which will rise near Ayala Avenue and Greenbelt shopping mall. The exact location was not disclosed.

Pullman Living Manila will have 200 rooms, while the Novotel Living Manila will have 300 rooms. Both serviced apartments will cater to guests looking for long-term and short-term stays.

Accor unveiled the Pullman Living and Novotel Living brands earlier this year. Both will feature many of the services and design elements of the Pullman and Novotel hotel brands.

“Pullman Living provides a stylish and intelligent private sanctuary with re-imagined hospitality experiences including unique dining concepts, the Pullman Porter, seamless and intuitive technology and a bold, vibrant art-led design. Novotel Living brings a co-living experience to the serviced apartment category. Novotel Living is all about making everyday moments matter in a warm, relaxed and friendly environment,” Patrick Basset, Accor chief operating officer for Upper Southeast and Northeast Asia and the Maldives, said in a statement.

Guests at Novotel Living will have exclusive access to a Clubhouse, which will have a shared kitchen, library, and play area. It will also have retail outlets, an all-day dining restaurant and bar, a spa, fitness center, meeting rooms, business centers and a ballroom.

“We are very excited to introduce Pullman Living and Novotel Living to Asia… A highly innovative dining experience sets the Pullman Living brand apart, including pop-up restaurants and food trucks, while Novotel Living focuses on welcoming and relaxing social spaces where residents can meet, work, play and dine,” Jeff Tisdall, senior vice-president of development, residential and extended stays at Accor, said.

Pullman Living Manila and Novotel Living Manila are scheduled to open its doors in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Gerardo A. Borromeo, chief executive officer of PTC, said the company is excited to partner with Accor for the projects.

“Novotel Living Manila and Pullman Living Manila will offer distinct character, incorporating the local culture, heritage and architecture, while staying true to each brand’s personality,” Mr. Borromeo was quoted as saying.

PTC Holdings is described as a privately-held investment company with roots in the maritime industry. Aside from shipping, it has businesses in real estate development, energy and infrastructure, aviation, health and international professional placement.

Accor is the largest operator of extended stay and serviced apartment properties outside of the United States. It has around 300 extended stay properties, such as serviced apartments and apart-hotels under brands including Mondrian Living, Swissotel Living, Movenpick Living, Mercure Living, Hyde Living and more.

Accor currently operates eight hotels in the Philippines under the Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel, Movenpick, Novotel and Mercure brands. It has a pipeline of 12 hotels and serviced apartments scheduled to open over the next five years. — Cathy Rose A. Garcia

Won extends fall to near one-week low

THE South Korean won eased to a near one-week low on Monday, while China’s yuan took a breather from having racked up its biggest weekly drop in over a year last week on the increasing likelihood of a long-drawn Sino-US trade war.

Trading in other currencies was subdued due to some regional financial markets being shut for holidays.

The won, the worst-performing regional currency so far this year with more than an 8% fall, eased as much as 0.5% and extended its fall on Friday. The currency is set for a fifth session of losses in seven trading days in August.

Already reeling under strain due to the impact of the Sino-US trade spat on South Korea’s heavily export-oriented economy, the won is also under pressure from rising tensions on the Korean peninsula.

North Korea fired two short-range missiles on Saturday, its fifth within two weeks, in what South Korea called a show of force against joint new military drills with the United States.

Currencies in Asia have been dampened lately by several regional central banks easing policy to support growth, while there has also been no resolution between the United States and China on their protracted trade war, hurting the outlook on global growth.

The Indonesian rupiah weakened as much as 0.3% to 14,220.00 against the dollar.

Data on Friday showed Indonesia’s current account deficit widened in the second quarter, sending the country’s overall balance of payments into deficit.

Analysts at Maybank said in a note that going forward, the current account deficit would improve due to lower oil prices and a stable currency.

“Foreign direct investment will likely rise significantly due to political stability, more business-friendly regulation, robust domestic demand and a low interest rate environment,” Maybank analysts said.

The yuan eased slightly but losses were capped as authorities sent signals to stabilize the yuan through the central bank’s daily official guidance rate.

The Chinese currency fell 1.7% against the greenback last week as Beijing let the yuan fall past the key 7 per dollar level for the first time since the global financial crisis. The decline followed the United States’ threat to slap a 10% tariff on $300 billion of Chinese goods.

The Singapore dollar and the Taiwan dollar were little changed.

The Thai, Indian and Malaysian markets were closed for a holiday.

Meanwhile, among global emerging market currencies, the focus will be on the Argentine peso as early official results showed the Latin American country’s voters soundly rejected President Mauricio Macri’s austere economic policies in primary elections on Sunday, casting serious doubt on his chances of re-election in October. — Reuters

China seen saving monetary stimulus for trade war winter as yuan weakens

CHINESE policy makers are holding back from rolling out the big guns of monetary stimulus, keeping options in reserve as the trade standoff with the US risks morphing into a global currency war.

The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) late Friday called for a “rational” view on current headwinds, signaling that the targeted approach to shoring up output would continue. Investment, retail sales and credit data due this week are expected to confirm the ongoing slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

Officials are sticking to a cautious monetary strategy even after tensions with the US worsened, with President Donald Trump’s accusations of Beijing’s currency manipulation adding sensitivity to any stimulus measures that would depress the yuan. At the same time, the weakening of the currency past 7 per dollar removes one barrier for a cut to interest rates should the trade war deteriorate to the point where stronger action is needed.

“Policy makers are fine with the current state of the economy,” said Larry Hu, head of China economics at Macquarie Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. “But if growth continues to slow, at certain point, the priority will shift to growth stabilization.”

Former central bankers gathered for a policy symposium in the far North East warned Saturday that the confrontation with the US is deepening.

The US’ labeling of China as a currency manipulator “signifies the trade war is evolving into a financial war and a currency war,” and policy makers must prepare for long-term conflicts, Chen Yuan, former deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), said at a China Finance 40 meeting in Yichun, Heilongjiang.

Former PBoC Governor Zhou Xiaochuan called for efforts to improve the yuan’s global role to deal with the challenges of a dollar-denominated financial system.

The challenges aren’t just from the dollar. The International Monetary Fund said in its annual report on the Chinese economy released Friday in Washington that if the US escalates its current threat to add 10% extra tariffs on the remainder of its imports from China to 25%, growth would be trimmed by 0.8 percentage point, leading to “significant negative spillovers globally.”

It’s in that kind of scenario that China may be forced to turn to more aggressive monetary support, even in the face of rising domestic debt risks and asset price bubbles. Efforts to prop up growth have already propelled the stock of corporate, household and government debt to more than 300% of gross domestic product (GDP), according to an Institute of International Finance report last month.

Nevertheless, having allowed the yuan to weaken past 7 per dollar, the PBoC has freed itself from an artificial constraint that it has been bound by for years, allowing borrowing costs to be reduced further without — in theory — the need to prop up the currency.

So far, policy makers haven’t given any hint of changes to the 1-year lending rate which would affect the price of borrowing across the whole economy, or reducing the price of loans to banks in the wake of the US Federal Reserve’s latest cut. Instead, officials from PBoC Governor Yi Gang downward have signaled that an impending reform of the interest rate system could do the work of a rate cut, by transmitting policy more effectively.

In the meantime, China’s leadership appears to want to manage the economy’s long-term slowdown rather than arrest it, and smooth shorter-term weakness in consumption and output with about 2 trillion yuan ($283 billion) in tax cuts, as well as localized investment incentives.

An “objective and rational view” should be taken on those headwinds, the PBoC said in the report released Friday evening. The central bank should “stay confident, be focused, mind our own business,” and use a combination of tools to form new growth drivers, it said.

“Stability is still the focus with quality growth, and the employment market more important than GDP,” said Jeff Ng, chief Asia economist at Continuum Economies in Singapore. “China will allow a slowdown and is prepared to do so.” — Bloomberg

Beverly Hills, 90210 returns to US TV this week

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The cast of the 1990s hit Beverly Hills, 90210 returns to US television on Wednesday, much older but promising lots of the juicy drama that made their teenage characters famous.

The six, one-hour episodes of BH90210 on the Fox broadcast network are not a typical remake. The series features seven of the original stars playing exaggerated versions of their real-life selves who reunite to create a reboot of the show that had been a pop culture phenomenon.

The idea originated with co-stars Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling and was fleshed out with input from the rest of the returning cast, the actors said.

“We wanted to leave it to the audience to decipher what’s real, what’s based on something real, what’s completely fictionalized,” Spelling said at a Television Critics Association event where networks preview new shows. “We think they will have a lot of fun doing that,” she added.

Spelling described the tone of the series as “a blend of drama, comedy and soap.” Garth emphasized the soap part of the formula, dubbing it a “soap-edy.”

The series also squeezes in dream sequences and throwbacks to the original shows to feed fan nostalgia, the actors said.

Critics have generally embraced the approach. Sixty-five percent of reviews were positive on the Rotten Tomatoes website.

“As mid-life crises go, you could do a lot worse than Fox’s BH90210, a clever and intentionally cheesy reunion,” wrote Hank Stuever of The Washington Post.

Beverly Hills, 90210, which aired from 1990 to 2000, told the story of a group of high school students living the sweet life amid Southern California affluence while dealing with teen angst, as well as more serious issues such as date rape, AIDS, and teen pregnancy.

Now, the characters face challenges such as broken marriages and growing older and wondering if they have fulfilled their potential, star Gabrielle Carteris said.

Also returning are Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Ian Ziering, and Brian Austin Green.

Doherty said she had rejected offers to reunite with the cast on screen until the sudden death of co-star Luke Perry, who died in March following a stroke at age 52. Perry’s death will be addressed in the new series.

“When Luke passed away, things drastically changed for me,” Doherty said. “It felt like it was a great opportunity to honor him. We went on this amazing journey together, to sort of heal through losing someone who means the world to us.” — Reuters

Smart identifies 71 sites for common tower with partners

SMART Communications, Inc. said it has initially identified 71 sites for its common tower partnership with the joint venture of edotco Group Sdn. Bhd. and ISOC Infrastructure, Inc.

“Our agreement with the edotco-ISOC Group is a welcome development that will enable us to roll out our LTE, and, soon, our 5G base stations in a quicker and more cost-effective manner,” Smart Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said in a statement over the weekend.

The company announced the tower agreement in a government-organized meeting last week. Smart said engaging tower providers will help hasten its rollout of services across the country, adding discussions are still ongoing for more tower agreements with other providers.

Smart is the third company to sign a deal with common tower providers for its personal infrastructure needs, aside from Globe Telecom, Inc. and Now Telecom Co., Inc.

Since last year, the government has been encouraging telcos to tap independent tower companies to build passive infrastructure for them. Opposed to the towers built by telcos, the towers built by independent providers may be shared by more than one tenant.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology is currently working on a common tower policy that will spell rules for independent tower providers wishing to participate in the initiative.

Its goal is to have 50,000 shareable towers across the country in the next seven to 10 years.

Ray C. Espinosa, senior advisor to the president and CEO of Smart, said the company is supportive of a policy that will allow telcos to tap tower providers “that meet the operator’s commercial, technical and financial qualifications and requirements.”

Smart is currently in the process of deploying its LTE and LTE-Advanced network nationwide, supported by PLDT’s P78.4-billion capital expenditure allocation this year.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Denise A. Valdez

Azuela Cove’s restaurant row to offer corporate meeting packages

DAVAO CITY — The restaurant row at the Azuela Cove, the township project being developed by the Ayala Group and the Alcantara Group, is getting a marketing boost through corporate meeting packages that are being lined up for promotion.

“We are planning to sell corporate meeting packages so offices and organizations will dine and have their meetings in our restos. We feature their menu as well in our Facebook account,” Jesreal R. Gallogo, Azuela Cove operations and marketing officer, said during a “food walk” event with the media.

Located at the retail strip called The Shoppes, restaurants include homegrown Dulce Vida, Union Market, Nord’s Bread Hub, Café Laguna, and Bless Okiniiri Japanese Resto.

“The merchants are doing well so far, but a boost in marketing will help them a lot,” Mr. Gallogo said.

Dulce Vida Bakery and Resto — owned and operated by the Rodriguez family who also own Paradise Island Beach Park and Resort in the Island Garden City of Samal — is popular for its cakes. It is the pastry shop of the Tiny Kitchen, a restaurant that serves international cuisine, but is particularly known for its Spanish dishes.

“This is our third Dulce Vida in Davao City. I opted to open at Azuela Cove to be able to reach the market in the northern part of town. It is my goal to reach more market and to serve them,” said owner-chef-baker Vincent L. Rodriguez.

Cafe Laguna — which started in 1991 in a small space in Lahug, Cebu and has now grown to several branches in major cities in the Visayas and Mindanao — first opened a branch in Davao through a franchise in Abreeza Mall.

Issues with the franchisee forced its closure and the Laguna Group opened a new one, this time company-owned, at Azuela Cove in May 2018.

“We are now stricter when it comes to standards and quality of our food,” Laguna Group Managing Director Grace Urbina-Absin told the media.

The restaurant serves traditional Filipino favorites like puto bumbong (purple rice cake), kare-kare (stew in peanut sauce), and fresh lumpia.

It offers “Filipino high tea” with a spread of local delicacies such as espasol, puto with chicken adobo flakes, banana turon, and bibingka.

Mr. Gallogo said the promotion of meetings and group events for the restaurants is in line with efforts to position Azuela Cove as Davao’s premier lifestyle district.

Azuela Cove has been hosting events like the Big Bad Wolf book sale, Moira Braver Concert, and Alveo Ironman to drive traffic in the complex.

“We have also partnered with event organizers to do their events inside Azuela Cove, like fun runs, corporate team buildings and sports fest,” he said.

Aside from The Shoppes, among the operational facilities inside the Azuela Cove include the 2,000-square meter event tent and sports facilities managed by SPARCorp. — Maya M. Padillo

Well worth the wait

Date A Live: Rio Reincarnation
PlayStation 4/PC via Stream

DATE A LIVE has been around since the turn of the decade, and it’s a testament to the franchise’s appeal that it picked up a loyal following off the bat and, more importantly, developed the legs to cross media platforms over time. Written by Kōshi Tachibana, the light-novel series parodies the invasion proposition common to Japanese mecha offerings and runs with it via Idea Factory mainstay Tsunako’s distinct art style; it deftly mixes science fiction and romantic comedy, with organized undertakings to prevent alien annexation deemed successful only when the occupying beings wind up falling for the principal protagonist.

The evidently ludicrous premise notwithstanding, Date A Live works, and how. It centers on the exertions of kind-hearted high school student Shido Itsuka to have “spirits” from other dimensions — the cause of “spacequakes” which have plagued Eurasia for the last three decades — love him. With the aid of foster sister Kotori, classmate Origami Tobiichi, and other members of the Anti-Spirit Team, he sets out to “seal” any given spirit’s power with a kiss. Interspersed with his efforts to hone his unique capacity to attract affections via dating-sim training exercises are those of defenders to keep would-be conquerors at bay by engaging them in battle.

Date A Live does have serious undertones, but sticks to its conceit with its fatuous but self-aware treatment of its narrative. Needless to say, it offers fan service in spades, but always in support of the overarching plot. Characters are well developed, literally and figuratively, and tackled with surprising depth even amid seemingly silly situations. Parenthetically, the proficient handling of the intellectual property extends to other media; the short-lived manga and continuing anime adaptations of the 20 volumes so far published by Tokyo-based Fujimi Shobo are, if nothing else, faithful to their source material.

Considering the popularity of Date A Live, its branching out to video gaming was a matter of when, not if. And, true enough, it made its industry debut with Date A Live: Rinne Utopia, which made its way to the Sony PlayStation 3 in 2013 and to the PS Vita two years later. Date A Live: Arusu Install hit store shelves between the two releases, followed by Date A Live Twin Edition: Rio Reincarnation. Significantly, four years would pass before developer and Idea Factory subsidiary Compile Heart would bring localized versions of the titles to Western audiences.

Still and all, here’s the good news: Date A Live: Rio Reincarnation is well worth the wait for gamers bereft of any knowledge of the Japanese language. Above all else, it contains all three visual novels; more than the apparent value-for-money proposition, the presentation allows for complete appreciation of the material whether on the personal computer or on the PS4. Incorporating events in the first four volumes of the light-novel series, Date A Live: Rinne Utopia has Shido dealing with his supposed best friend since childhood. Meanwhile, Date A Live: Arusu Install and Rio Reincarnation come after the first seven volumes, and sees him facing off first with an artificial intelligence while stuck inside a virtual-reality game, and then with a new spirit in search of “the most important thing.”

As with most other visual novels, Date A Live: Rio Reincarnation makes heavy use of text over static backgrounds for story exposition. That said, it can be counted among the best of the genre for its excellent writing and restrained audio-visual presentation. Given the subject matter and its fan service obligations, it could easily have given in to temptation and gone over the top; instead, it exhibits remarkable subtlety and nuance even as it sets out to deliver on its promise. Moreover, it boasts of gameplay mechanics that give gamers ample freedom of choice; in the six hours or so it will take them to finish each title on first pass, they’re provided with options to frame the ending as they see fit.

Considering the amount of reading gamers have to go through, Date A Live: Rio Reincarnation creditably sports spot-on English subtitles (outside of the occasional typographical or translation error) backstopped by stellar Japanese voice tracks (which, for some reason, Shido is devoid of). At the same time, they’re compelled to wade through dating-sim conditions numbering in the triple digits, thus enhancing the games’ replay value. As there is hardly any aspect of the collection testing the upper limits of hardware processing, the interface is similarly relaxed and trouble-free on the PC and PS4. However, it must be noted that the Steam version remains faithful to the original Japanese releases, while Sony has, in choosing to stick to stringent community guidelines, seen fit to modify two cutscenes and excise four images from its console’s iteration.

Nonetheless, Date A Live: Rio Reincarnation is a boon to the library of visual-novel enthusiasts in general and of franchise faithful in particular. It honors its source material with consistently excellent character designs, lighthearted treatment of proceedings, and understated fulfillment of fan-service commitments. It comes highly recommended, and should tide gamers over until the release of Date A Live: Ren Dystopia next year.

THE GOOD:

• Faithful to source material

• Outstanding presentation

• One of the best in the VN genre to date

• Tons of content to go through

• Excellent character designs

THE BAD:

• Steam version sports oversized text that cannot be customized

• Keyboard binding/remapping limitations

• PS4 version modifies two cutscenes and omits four images

• Hardly any variations in gameplay over the three included titles

• Requires some background knowledge of the franchise

RATING: 8.5/10

POSTSCRIPT: First things first: Epic Astro Story is Japan-based Kairosoft’s latest in a series of ventures to port its mobile-gaming intellectual properties to the Nintendo Switch. Moreover, the simulation title is far from a new one, and even as it made its way to the Android and iOS platforms seven years ago, its roots continue to be evident in its hybrid-console iteration. From the home screen thumbnail to the presentation to the interface, there are aspects that will undoubtedly serve as reminders of its small-screen origins. That said, it’s nothing short of excellent, succeeding in its intent to keep gamers engrossed in its proceedings.

Like any other simulation title, Epic Astro Story essentially makes gamers operations managers of its realm. Unlike any other simulation title, it dreams big. It’s not about building a tennis club or ski resort or even a village from scratch. Rather, it sets as its main objective the management of a colony in space and, concomitantly, the exploration of other planets. Needless to say, proper handling and investment of resources are required, and doing so enables progress. Development leads to more citizens attracted, which leads to more demand for land, which leads to the fostering of harmonious relations with neighboring planets (or, as the case may be, the conquering of hostile forces), which leads to more areas to forage. And so on and so forth.

Epic Astro Story may sound daunting, but, in truth, it’s rollicking good fun helped in no small measure by its irreverent humor especially pandering to Trekkies. If there’s any negative, it’s that the proceedings can drag; the option to speed up and fast-forward the colony’s evolution is made available only after one playthrough. In sum, though, it’s a delightfully stress-free game that time and again provides a sense of accomplishment. Perfect for easy negotiating on the go, it generates tons of replay value and figures to be on any self-respecting simulation buff’s steady rotation of titles for some time to come. (9/10)

Furwind is long on promise as an ode to action platformers of decades past. All of the usual factors making the genre popular are present in Boomfire Games’ offering. First, it makes use of an animal as the title character out to save the world. Second, it has its leading man — or, rather, fox — and his surroundings presented in colorful pixel art. Third, it employs immersive music and ambient sounds to keep gamers transfixed as they explore cave after cave. Fourth, it requires hand-eye coordination, no small measure of tactics, and a willingness to grind in order to attain success.

If Furwind works for the most part, it’s because the tasks at hand are diverse but not entirely unfamiliar, stimulating but not to the point of frustration, and rewarding by way of preparation for the next challenge. The story itself is far from unique, and the game sometimes stumbles in pushing it forward with passable voice acting and myriad text screens that exhibit the occasional grammatical error. Not so the undertakings, which are designed to keep the adrenaline pumping. Movement is fluid and animations are crisp while in the midst of timed jumps, item collection, and enemy fights, more than making up for the evident reuse of background assets.

Perhaps Furwind could have benefited from more polish; its official Nintendo site, for example, doesn’t do a good job of selling its strengths. Considering its Spanish roots, however, its stumbles with a language that isn’t its developers’ native tongue can be forgiven. And it does have plenty of strengths to boast of. At $9.99, it’s likewise a good value-for-money proposition designed to keep gamers glued to the screen for a good half a dozen hours of fun and entertainment. It presents a variety of routes, tough but fair battles, intriguing level designs, and ingenious attack modes that place it a cut above others in its price point. (7/10)

THE LAST WORD: Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble on the Switch arguably provides more bang for the buck vis-à-vis its Steam version (reviewed on this space last week) owing to its portability. Even as it loses absolutely nothing in the translation to the hybrid console, it gives gamers the option of taking it in while on the go. Controls are responsive, and while some stuttering is evident when the screen gets busy, the gameplay remains unaffected in the face of its turn-based mechanics. A can’t-miss release in any case. (9/10)

Japan’s love of foreign insurance set to wane

TOKYO — Japan’s craze for overseas insurance products, driven by a need for better yield than the near-zero ones at home, has been a long-standing headwind for the yen as domestic insurers bought foreign bonds.

But demand is likely to cool as the authorities clamp down on aggressive marketing for these foreign-currency denominated insurance products, which will curb their sales, and hence the selling of yen from Japan.

That is bad news for Japanese policy makers who are concerned that a stronger yen hurts export competitiveness, especially as the currency has strengthened 2.7% against the dollar so far this month on flight to safety flows boosted by an escalation in Sino-US tensions.

Industry sources say a surge in demand for foreign-currency denominated life and pension insurance since Japan’s move to negative interest rates three years ago has seen at least 4 trillion yen ($37.8 billion) of such products being issued, or one percent of the bloated Japanese insurance market.

Japan’s life insurers, big players in the global financial markets, thus hold foreign-currency bonds as a hedge against the currency risk stemming from these products.

For instance, Taiju Life Insurance, the country’s fifth-largest private life insurer, has been increasing holdings of foreign bonds by 350 billion yen a year in recent years.

Such flows can exert downward pressure on the yen, because by far, the majority of other foreign bond investments by investors are currency-hedged, thus having a neutral effect on the Japanese currency.

Some analysts say heavy demand for the US and Australian dollar for these Japanese insurance products is likely to have helped to cap the yen in recent years.

“Together with foreign asset buying by the government’s pension fund, they are helping to curb the yen’s strength,” said Yoshinori Shigemi, global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.

But now, the products are coming under more intense scrutiny due to a rise in complaints, and many analysts think yen selling stemming from these products will likely slow.

That would be a headache for policy makers as the yen — considered a safe-haven currency and hovering at seven-month highs versus the dollar — is likely to stay resilient with the trade war unresolved amid growing uncertainty about the global economy. The yen tends to strengthen during times of economic stress as Japan is the world’s largest creditor.

The Life Insurance Association of Japan said the number of complaints from customers who bought such products at banks, a major distribution channel for the product, doubled in three years to 2018/19.

The biggest complaint was that sales staff at banks did not fully explain risks, including the possibility investors will not get back what they paid for if the yen strengthens sharply.

The country’s financial watchdog is also tightening its grip on foreign insurance products.

“We have been checking whether flyers insurers hand out to investors properly explain the risks. We are also starting to enhance our product review,” said an official at the Financial Services Agency.

“A lot of consumers have the impression that ‘insurance’ is safe when in fact they are taking financial risks,” said JPMorgan Asset’s Shigemi. “Foreign currency-denominated insurance, in a way, is a bit like an oxymoron.” — Reuters

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