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DENR pushes, DoF backs tax on use of plastic

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), with the support of the Finance department (DoF), is pushing an environmental tax on companies to discourage the use of plastic, with a goal to implement the tax before President Rodrigo R. Duterte ends his term in mid-2022.
“How can we stop people and tell them to stop using plastic if it is not illegal to use plastic? Since that is the situation, we will just come up with an environmental tax proposal to the legislature and have them come up with a law imposing that environmental tax, which should not be that big. It will be minimal,” DENR Undersecretary Benny D. Antiporda told reporters on Thursday, explaining that the envisioned tax will help address the broader problem of solid waste management.
Asked for comment, Department of Finance (DoF) Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito G. Lambino II said the DoF was consulted in drafting the bill and supports it.
Asked for a timetable for turning the proposal into a law, Mr. Antiporda replied: “Before the end of President Duterte’s term is our target.”
He said the proposal includes exemption for companies based on a point system if they practice environment-friendly measures like operating solar power systems, waste segregation and water recycling. A company earning a certain number of points may be exempted from the tax, Mr. Antiporda said.
“We will start in January by consulting with stakeholders and of course the National Solid Waste Management Commission. I’m positive it will be welcomed because, basically, it is about the environment,” Mr. Antiporda said. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

Asia’s central banks have almost no reason to increase policy interest rates in 2019

HONG KONG — Weaker economic growth and tepid price pressures in Asia will leave central banks in the region with few reasons to tighten policy next year — especially as US rate hikes slow — unless a new bout of currency weakness forces them to do so.
The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised rates for the fourth time this year, as expected, but signalled a slower pace of hikes in 2019 than it previously projected.
The Fed policy outlook is a major factor driving emerging currencies in Asia and a less aggressive rate outlook next year generally eases foreign exchange selling pressure in economies like Indonesia, Philippines and India.
Central banks in these countries hiked rates repeatedly this year to mitigate portfolio outflows and moderate inflation.
On Thursday, Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady and central banks in Taiwan and Indonesia were expected to do the same at their respective meetings.
“What we forecast for Asia next year is based on the fact that the Fed is going to be more dovish and we have the same view after last night: there’s much less pressure to tighten,” said Irene Cheung, Asia strategist at ANZ.
A long pause in Asian central bank tightening could facilitate more inflows into Asian bonds and offer some respite to smaller-sized, low margin borrowers across south and southeast Asia.
Currency risks aside, there are almost no arguments for central bank rate hikes.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Asia’s economic growth to slow to 5.4% next year from 5.6% in 2018. But its APAC director Changyong Rhee told Reuters on Tuesday a further downgrade was possible at the IMF’s next review in January.
Economists say China’s could lose a full percentage point of economic growth next year if the current ceasefire in the trade war between Washington and Beijing falls apart and higher tariffs imposed in 2019. The rest of Asia could take a similar hit, given the region’s heavy reliance on China for trade and investment.
A depressed growth outlook will weigh on inflation, diminishing the argument for rate hikes.
Consumer prices have been surprisingly stubborn this year, despite double-digit currency declines in June-July and an almost 40% jump in the price of oil in the year to October, which has since completely reversed.
The only major Asian economy where consumer price growth has accelerated this year is the Philippines, which posted six percent annual inflation in November. However, inflation there is widely expected to fall back in line over the coming year.
“Inflation has been remarkably subdued across most of Asia this year, barely responding to weakening exchange rates and, for a while, soaring oil prices,” said Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asia economics research at HSBC
“Central bankers need to be careful about tightening further. If anything, policy may need to be loosened in some places. China is one example, but more places may follow in 2019 once the risk of excessive exchange rate swings dissipates.”
A December BofA Merrill Lynch fund manager survey showed 53% of respondents expected global growth to slow over the next 12 months, the weakest outlook since Oct. 2008. Only 37% expect global inflation to rise, down 33%age points from November and 45 points from an April peak.
A slowdown in inflation and fewer rate hikes — most economists now see one to two more in Indonesia and Philippines, if any — are good news for regional bonds.
Already the last two-to-three months have seen investors returning to Asian debt, signalling central banks may have done enough to adjust risk premiums.
The Philippine peso and the Indonesian rupiah are still down 5-6% year-to-date, while the Indian rupee is off 9%. These currencies, however, have bounced 5-6% off their troughs already.
The Philippines and Indonesia have hiked five and six times, respectively, this year by a total of 175 basis points each, while India has hiked twice by a total of 50 bps.
Thailand raised its benchmark rate for the first time in seven years on Wednesday, but signalled it had no plans for further hikes any time soon. Malaysia hiked once in January and South Korea once at their last meeting. Moves by all three central banks, however, were aimed at curbing household debt rather than inflation.
In Thailand’s case, there are growing concerns that more hikes could dent its auto sector, a rare bright spot in its economy. South Korea, one of the world’s hottest property markets, is now showing signs of cooling.
Bank of Korea governor Lee Ju-yeol said on Thursday a slower Fed gives global central banks more headroom to manage their monetary policy.
“Additional hikes are a risk but increasingly unlikely as growth slows,” said Philip Wyatt, APAC economist at UBS Global Wealth Management. — Reuters

Vaccination: Is it safe?

By Michelle Anne P. Soliman, Reporter
In April 2016, over a million public school students in the National Capital Region (NCR), Central Luzon, and Calabarzon lined up to take part in the immunization program of the first dengue vaccine. It was recommended that the three doses of the vaccine be administered at six-month intervals. It was more than a year into the program, in November 2017, when Sanofi Pasteur issued a warning that immunized people who had not previously been infected with one of the four known varieties of dengue may experience a more severe version of the disease.
The controversy surrounding the immunization program triggered fears of vaccination in general. According to the WIN/Gallup International Vaccine and Confidence Index, vaccine confidence among Filipinos dropped to 32% in 2018 from 93% in 2015.
In recent media reports, Department of Health (DoH) Undersecretary Eric Domingo was quoted as saying that Dengvaxia, the dengue vaccine, will probably not be getting a certificate of product registration (CPR) after the lapse of its one-year suspension. “The one year suspension of the Dengvaxia CPR is not yet lifted and I don’t see it being lifted anytime soon. Dengvaxia will not likely be making a comeback,” he said.
THE IMPORTANCE OF VACCINATION
Smallpox, an acute contagious disease caused by the variola virus, was believed to have originated in India or Egypt over 3,000 years ago. In 1798, English physician and scientist Edward Jenner demonstrated that inoculation with the vaccinia virus which caused cowpox could protect humans from the more virulent smallpox. In 1967, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a global immunization campaign to eradicate smallpox. The campaign worked. The last naturally occurring case of the disease was in Somalia in 1977.
“Vaccination has been one of the powerful achievements of modern public health apart from using antibiotics that help to control infections. It is really key that we do everything and that vaccination [be] provided to everybody who will need and can benefit from [it],” Dr. Gundo Weiler, World Health Organization (WHO) representative to the Philippines, said at a forum on vaccination on Dec. 3 at the Crowne Plaza in Ortigas.
According to the “10 Facts of Immunization” published on the WHO official website, 2 to 3 million deaths annually are prevented by immunization.
Dr. Weiler noted that vaccine coverage from birth to 12 months is crucial for protection from and prevention of diseases. Annually, the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) prepares a childhood immunization guide for the vaccines against diseases ranging from tuberculosis to German measles to be administered at recommended periods.
Vaccines prevent the spread of diseases and minimize the severity of illnesses.
“From a public health point of view, we are also interested to see how epidemics spread in communities. If only a few people are vaccinated in a community, the virus or disease will still continue to spread. But if we get to a critical mass of people being immunized [in the community], then we can break the chain of transmission,” Dr. Weiler said.
In her presentation, Dr. Anna Lisa Ong-Lim, president of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines (PIDSP) defined vaccines are substances containing inactivated or weakened micro-organisms [which are] “introduced into the body to train the immune system to defend itself quickly.”
When a person is vaccinated, Dr. Lim further explained, one does not just catch the disease but also avoids the complications that come with it.
IS IT EFFECTIVE?
This year, WHO reported that there had been 17,296 measles cases in the Philippines between January to November, a huge increase compared to the 3,706 cases recorded during the same period in 2017.
“Even if people refuse to call it an outbreak, it’s an outbreak,” Dr. Lim said, adding that the Philippines had progressed in the elimination of measles cases in 2014. However, “the loss of vaccine confidence has not helped.”
“Measles are an indicator of the strength of the immunization program. If you have good measles coverage, you know that you were able to bring a child through to their entire vaccination series successfully. Because in the current program, when you talk about a fully immunized child, this is a child who has received all the doses of vaccines up until measles which is the last dose [given] between nine to 12 months [of age],” she explained.
Parents understand the necessity of vaccines since these protect the child from disease. “It’s not some abstract disease that they have never seen [and] that they have difficulty comprehending. But for people to avoid being protected for a disease that they know can kill, you know there’s a problem,” Dr. Lim said.
KNOWING THE RISK-BENEFIT RATIO
Dr. Lim noted that vaccines are effective and safe, however, certain health problems are at times associated with vaccinations. For the benefit of public health, vaccines are administered despite the possibility of adverse reactions, an unintended effect caused by the vaccine.
“If a vaccine is benefiting 99% of the children you are giving it to, will you be using it or not? But we cannot say [that] for every vaccine that it is 100% effective and safe. That is a fact of it,” said Dr. Achyut Shrestha, medical officer at WHO Philippines.
“If you accept those benefits, it comes with a risk. In a public health perspective, you have to take a risk to benefit the larger population,” he said.
Physicians play a role in ensuring safe vaccination by conducting screenings.
“We ask questions with regards to the patient,” said Dr. Salvacion Gatchalian, president of the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS), adding that this consultation includes asking whether the patient has had previous vaccine reactions, allergies, or currently has a fever.
Continued safety monitoring of a new vaccine is also advised since the number of subjects in clinical trials is limited. “Even after the licensure of the vaccine, there must be continued surveillance to look at adverse reactions that may not have been identified during the clinical trials,” she noted.
Dr. Gatchalian said that safe vaccination entail that a person is prevented from “the danger of getting the disease and complications associated with it.”
For parents who remain in doubt about vaccination, Dr. Gatchalian said, “To do nothing is a greater risk than vaccinating.”

Something fishy


HOME to rare underwater species, Mabini, Batangas was the location of the 6th Anilao Underwater Shootout, mounted by the Department of Tourism (DoT).
The event brought together more than 220 divers and underwater photographers from all over Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America to showcase Anilao’s rich biodiversity and to promote the area as a world-class diving destination for all kinds of divers.
In the Open Class, Macro/Supermacro category, winners were Yun Na Thing from Indonesia, who bagged first place, with a photo of a wide-eyed fish, its vibrant orange color standing stark against the blurry background. In second place were China’s Cai Heng, and in third was Henley Spiers of the UK and France.
In the Open-Marine Behavior category, Dennis Corpuz from the Philippines took home the top prize for his photo of a shrimp struggling in the grip of a cephalopod’s tentacles. Brook Peterson from the US came in second, and Cai Heng from China came in third.
The Philippines’ Bebot Esteban bagged first prize in the Nudibranch category with her shot of a pastel-colored nudibranch. Taking the next two spots were Hong Kong’s Lai Kam Moon and Malaysia’s Mohan Thanabalan in second and third place respectively.
In the Fish Portrait category, Peri Paleracio of the Philippines bagged first place for his photo of a vibrant red fish with glowing eyes lurking in the shadows. PJ Aristorenas from the Philippines and Marco Steiner from Austria came in second and third.
For the Compact Class, the Macro/Supermacro category, the winners were Ericson Yee from the Philippines in first place, Narumon Pimsirinath of Thailand in second place, and Philippines’ Ex Liao in third place.
For the Marine Behavior category, Maria Nerissa Fajardo of the Philippines won first place for her photo of a translucent cephalopod against pitch black waters. Jayson Apostol from the Philippines took second place, and Korea’s Gyoungmi Lee settled for third.
In the Compact-Nudibranch category, first place went to the Philippines’ Marc Stephen De Leon for his beautiful close-up shot of a glowing nudibranch “dancing” in the darkness. China’s Haojie Lin took second place, while Ronald Dalawampo came in third.
In the Fish Portrait category, Regie Casia image of a fish opening its eyes and mouth wide open earned him first place. The two other winners were Sudong Lim from the US in second place, and Indonesia’s Ajiex Dharma in third.
Special prizes were given to Ria Crucero of the Philippines in the Special Beginners category, and China’s Cai Songda in the Blackwater/Bonfire category.
The Philippines took both DoT-PAL Photographers of the Year titles with Dennis Corpuz for his Open-Marine Behavior entry, and Regie Casia for his Compact-Fish Portrait photo.
The international event has been organized by the tourism department since 2013, in line with the identification of diving as a priority tourism product in the National Tourism Development Plan.
This year’s panel of judges was made up of published French naturalist photographer and marine biologist Laurent Ballesta; award-winning Belgian underwater and wildlife photographer Ellen Cuylaerts; macro photography expert and 2015 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Indra Swari; renowned Singapore-based underwater photographer William Tan; and Underwater360 founder and Asia Dive Expo’s official organizer John Thet.

PSE to tighten rules on selection of fairness valuation providers

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
THE Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) plans to impose stricter guidelines on the selection of fairness valuation providers for companies in need of valuation reports, in a bid to protect small investors.
“What we’re going to do now is if you’re going to do a tender offer or any offering that will require a fairness opinion, you will give the exchange a list of three fairness opinion providers acceptable to you,” PSE President and Chief Executive Ramon S. Monzon told reporters in a press briefing in Taguig on Tuesday night.
“And then we will engage them and they will report to us.”
This is opposed to the current practice of firms tapping a fairness valuation provider by themselves, although the selection is from a list of companies accredited by the PSE.
Mr. Monzon said they will charge the company for the valuation fees, which will then be used to pay the fairness valuation provider. This will ensure that the provider remains independent from the issuer.
PSE Chief Operating Officer Roel A. Refran said they are currently asking for public comments for the proposed rule change, after which it will be transmitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission for approval. This will amend PSE Memorandum No. 2011-0104, or the Guidelines for Fairness Opinion and Valuation Reports.
“We really are here to protect the small investors… Moving forward, that’s why we had this proposed rule change para mawala na ang reklamo sa (so there will be no complaints about) fairness opinion provider,” Mr. Monzon said.
The PSE decided to revisit the guidelines following concerns over the fairness valuation of Melco Resorts and Entertainment (Philippines) Corp. (MRP).
MRP’s largest shareholder, MCO (Philippines) Investments Limited (MCO Investments), had planned to conduct a mandatory tender offer in line with the listed firm’s intention to delist from the PSE.
MCO Investments engaged FTI Consulting Philippines, Inc. for the valuation of MRP’s shares, who priced them at P7.25 per share. The PSE however received several complaints from MRP shareholders, calling the price “unfair.”
“We had that valuation problem in Melco, they were attacking the fairness valuator. A lot of people were agitating for PSE to hire another one, another fairness opinion provider to validate what Melco did,” Mr. Monzon explained.
The PSE executive said they didn’t want to hire another fairness provider because of the nuances in valuation.
“You can value the same company but we can really come up with different answers, it’s an accounting problem,” he added.
While MRP withdrew its plan to file for a voluntary delisting at the PSE, MCO Investments still conducted a voluntary tender offer, citing its intention to consolidate its shareholdings in the firm. After the completion of its tender offer last Dec. 10, MCO Investments now owns about 96.1% of the outstanding capital stock of MRP.
Since MRP has fallen short of the minimum public ownership rule of 10% for listed companies, it will be subjected to involuntary delisting procedures by the PSE.

EU boy band tells Brits the love isn’t over

AMSTERDAM — As Brexit rapidly approaches, a pro-European Union boy band has made its debut with a ballad to the British people pleading for them to “come back to us” because the love is not over.
The five-member Breunion Boys, formed by a Dutch animation artist, launched the video of their first single, “Britain Come Back,” in Amsterdam this week.
Creator Julia Veldman was working on a movie in New York when she heard that the British had voted in a referendum to leave the European Union.
“I cried, I really cried my heart out. It was so unexpected and overwhelming and it made me feel powerless,” she said in an interview.
Inspired by the British boy band tradition of Take That, Ms. Veldman spent a year auditioning members who could sing and dance and also believed in Britain’s lasting relationship with the European Union.
Ms. Veldman said forming a boy band was a “final, desperate, ultimate attempt” to prevent Brexit before the March 29 departure date.
“I thought, what else will work better than the voice of Take That, or a boy band — the best thing Britain ever gave to us — to convince them to take us back?”
The result is a group of five boys, aged 22 to 25, three of them Dutch university students.
With Britain’s impending divorce from the EU stirring a political crisis and financial market jitters, Breunion Boys want to convey the emotion felt by millions of Europeans who want to stay together.
“I cannot believe this is the end (oh no)/ I still feel your love inside me,” they sing.
“Britain, you’re Great, but together we’re greater”
“Look how angry many Brits are towards the EU and how many Europeans are angry towards Britain for leaving,” said band member Joshua Alagbe, 24. “I think this emotion should be answered. We are kind of an answer to the emotion.”
Although they have not yet booked a single gig, the band hopes to tour British pubs to get their message out — one they stress has not been funded by the European Union or any political party.
The British should remain in the EU because “we love each other,” said Mr. Alagbe, who said he has been singing and dancing since he was a child but is only now learning to perform seriously. “We are in this because we belong together.”
“Britain Come Back” was written for the Breunion Boys by Flavia Faas, a Dutch song composer. The track doesn’t gloss over Britain’s bumpy relationship with the EU and blames Brussels for failing to fully appreciate its EU partner.
And as is sometimes the case in relationships nearing their end, the Breunion Boys promise Britain that things will get better.
“Britain, come back to us/It’s not too late to turn around/Steve Carell and Leslie Mann tell tale of hope from trauma/Britain, come back, Britain, come back/Promise we can change/Can we make you change your mind?”
See the video on breunionboys.net. — Reuters

Thanks to Star Wars, Lucas tops Forbes list of richest US celebs


NEW YORK — Filmmaker George Lucas’s Star Wars empire — the movie franchise, not Darth Vader’s fictional galactic government — planted him firmly atop Forbes magazine’s third annual ranking of the wealthiest US celebrities which was released on Tuesday.
The net worth of the 74-year-old writer, director, producer and creator of the enduring space saga was estimated at $5.4 billion, leading a list that also included athletes, musicians, and one wealthy illusionist.
Most of Mr. Lucas’s wealth came from the $4.05 billion sale of the LucasFilm production company to Walt Disney Co. in 2012, Forbes said.
The figures on the list are Forbes’ estimates based on the celebrities’ known holdings of real estate, art and shares of companies both public and private, as well as other assets and estimated lifetime earnings. Reuters has not independently confirmed the figures.
Fellow filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who turned 72 on Tuesday, came in second, with an estimated $3.7 billion net worth. Mr. Spielberg’s career as director, writer and producer spans some 50 years with credits that include Jaws, E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schindler’s List, and Saving Private Ryan.
The celebrities on the list had estimated combined assets of $18.7 billion, more than the gross domestic product of Iceland, Forbes said.
The richest female celebrity was Oprah Winfrey, 64, whose acting and media enterprises have yielded her a net worth of an estimated $2.8 billion, third overall.
Basketball legend Michael Jordan boosted his net worth by an estimated $400 million in the past year, mostly off his 34-year-long sneaker deal with Nike Inc. and his stake in the Charlotte Hornets. His estimated $1.7 billion net worth ranked him fourth.
New to the Forbes list this year was Kylie Jenner, whose growing wealth from her Kylie Cosmetics are on track to make the 21-year-old the youngest ever self-made billionaire, the magazine said.
Ms. Jenner was tied with Rapper Jay-Z at No. 5, each with fortunes estimated at $900 million.
Rounding out the list were illusionist and entertainer David Copperfield, who amassed his fortune through a grueling pace of 600 shows per year in Las Vegas, rapper Diddy, golfer Tiger Woods, and author James Patterson. — Reuters

Changi-led consortium wins contract to operate Clark airport

By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter
THE government on Thursday awarded the operations and management contract for the Clark International Airport in Pampanga to a consortium that includes the operator of Singapore’s Changi Airport, as well as the Gokongwei and Gotinanun groups.
In a statement, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said the contract was awarded to the North Luzon Airport Consortium (NLAC), which comprises Changi Airports Philippines Pte. Ltd., Filinvest Development Corp.; JG Summit Holdings, Inc.; and Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions, Inc.
This came after the National Economic and Development Authority Investment Coordination Committee (NEDA-ICC) gave the go signal for the award during its Dec. 19 meeting.
Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) Chairperson Joshua M. Bingcang told BusinessWorld the signing of the O&M contract is slated for January.
“In our award notice to them, we gave them 20 days to submit post-award requirements like performance security, evidence of registration with SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), etcetera. They need to submit those (before the signing of the contract),” Mr. Bingcang said in a phone interview.
NLAC submitted a financial bid committing an 18.25% annual gross revenue percentage share to the government, almost twice the minimum requirement set by the NEDA Board at 10%.
The consortium is set to take over both the existing passenger terminal at the Clark airport and the new one that Megawide Construction Corp. and GMR Infrastructure Ltd. (Megawide-GMR) is building. The contract will run for 25 years.
Aside from NLAC, another group comprised of Indonesia’s Angkasa Pura II, Michael L. Romero’s Globalport 900, Inc., Alfredo M. Yao’s Mazy’s Capital, Inc. and Desco, Inc. — collectively called X-Droid Consortium — also participated in the bidding. It was disqualified after having found eight deficiencies in its qualification documents.
Mr. Bingcang said the X-Droid Consortium was given 15 days to appeal its disqualification, which the group did not exercise until the period lapsed.
Earlier this year, Filinvest and JG Summit also submitted a P839-billion unsolicited proposal to develop the Clark airport, but was rejected because of the government’s plan to bid out the O&M contract.

DoLE bureau to help DSWD beneficiaries find employment

THE Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) said it will assist beneficiaries of a Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) program to find work, in accordance with a partnership signed between the DSWD and the BLE’s parent agency, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE).
In an interview with BusinessWorld, BLE Director Dominique R. Tutay said that BLE will play a role in the agreement signed between the two departments in finding jobs for the beneficiaries, who are among the country’s poorest.
“The agreement intends to facilitate the employment of the graduates of DSWD,” she said.
She said participants in the DSWD’s Expanded Students Grant-In-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA) and beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) have a more difficult time than other jobseekers and there is a need to improve their access to job-seeking services.
“They are in the poorest of the poor and they don’t have access at all, not even access to employment facilitation services,” Ms. Tutay said.
Ms. Tutay added that the BLE’ will provide career guidance, create a registry of the graduates, and give them access to the PESO Employment Information System (PEIS).
In 2018, the 4Ps program covered 4 million households nationwide. The program aims to give conditional cash grants to those below the poverty threshold, especially to children aged 18 and below.
On the other hand, the ESGP-PA grants its beneficiaries college education assistance and scholarships, with some 22,000 ESGP-PA graduating this year. — Gillian M. Cortez

McCartney, Stone star in anti-bullying music video

LONDON — Former Beatle Paul McCartney has teamed up with Oscar winner Emma Stone on the music video for his new single “Who Cares,” a song he hopes will inspire youngsters to stand up to bullying.
The pair are shown miming and dancing on an all black and white set alongside harlequin-like figures who torment Ms. Stone before she and Mr. McCartney make their escape in his car.
The veteran singer-songwriter has also joined forces with nonprofit organization Creative Visions to launch the #WhoCaresIDo campaign, inspired by a line in the song — “Who Cares About You, I do.”
“My hope is that if there are kids being bullied — and there are… maybe by listening to this song and watching this video, they might just think it’s not as bad,” Mr. McCartney said on his Web site.
“That it’s the kind of thing you can just stand up to and laugh off and get through.”
Mr. McCartney, who on Sunday was joined on stage by fellow Beatle Ringo Starr and Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood as he performed in London, has collaborated with other stars in the past including rapper Kanye West and singer Rihanna.
Ms. Stone won the Best Actress Academy Award for La La Land.
“Who Cares” features on Mr. McCartney’s 17th solo studio album, Egypt Station. — Reuters

Berjaya Philippines ups stake in 7-Eleven Malaysia operator

BERJAYA Philippines, Inc. has further increased its stake in the Malaysian operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores, acquiring P58.86 million worth of shares in the company.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Thursday, the listed firm said it has acquired 3.41 million shares in 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Berhad (SEM) for about P17.27 each, or 1.36 Malaysian ringgit. The shares are equivalent to 0.3% of the total outstanding shares of SEM.
The acquisition brought Berjaya Philippines’ equity interest in SEM to 1.9%, or 21.41 million shares.
Berjaya Philippines said the shares were acquired in the Malaysian open market from Sept. 7 to Dec. 19 for investment purposes.
SEM fully owns 7-Eleven Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., which owns and operates the chain of 7-Eleven convenience stores in Malaysia. It currently operates the largest chain of convenience stores in the country with more than 2,200.
Berjaya Philippines’ core business is to engage in the leasing of online lottery equipment and software support through its unit, Philippine Gaming Management Corp. (PGMC).
Last October, PGMC signed a deal with the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office extending its equipment lease agreement for another year, until Aug. 22, 2019.
Aside from its core business, the company also has investments in diversified sectors.
Berjaya Philippines owns Berjaya Auto Philippines, Inc., the distributor of Mazda Vehicles. It also secured ownership of England-based luxury vehicle distributor H.R. Owen Plc — the world’s largest retailer of Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Lamborghini, and Bugatti brands back in 2014.
The company is also invested in Ssangyong Berjaya Motor Philippines, Inc., which sells and distributes all types of motor vehicles.
Berjaya Philippines further has interests in the restaurant segment through its investment in Berjaya Pizza Philippines, Inc., the exclusive franchisee of the Papa John’s pizza brand in the Philippines.
The company also owns Perdana Hotel Philippines, Inc., which operates Berjaya Makati Hotel in Makati.
Berjaya Philippines generated a 37% increase in attributable profit to P587.48 million for the first nine months of the year, following a 10% uptick in gross revenues to P16.86 billion.
Shares in Berjaya Philippines jumped 2.34% or nine centavos to close at P3.94 each at the stock exchange on Thursday. — Arra B. Francia

Labor department inspections to continue for fireworks firms

LABOR Secretary Silvestre H. Bello said the department will continue to inspect labor conditions at firecracker manufacturers and pyrotechnic businesses despite his decision to suspend such inspections for the holidays.
In a statement on Thursday, The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said Mr. Bello issued Advisory No. 20, Series of 2018 which instructs all Regional Directors “to strictly monitor the compliance of business establishments, particularly those involved in the manufacturing of pyrotechnics and firecrackers, with Republic Act no. 11058, or the Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS) to prevent untoward incidents in the workplace.”
Labor Advisory No. 20 states that the Christmas and New Year season is accompanied by heightened manufacturing activity in the pyrotechnics industry.
The Labor Department announced earlier this week that it will halt inspections until Jan. 15, the advisory calls on labor law compliance officers to assist establishments who have deficiencies in OSHS compliance.
The advisory said lack of cooperation from businesses gives the inspector the authority to conduct an OSHS inspection.
On Dec. 28, regional offices are also required to submit to the Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC) a list of such manufacturers monitored and assisted. — Gillian M. Cortez

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