philstar.com – Business – Page 164

philstar.com - Business

RLC expects profit recovery

Economy

Feb 232014

MANILA, Philippines – Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC), the property firm of tycoon John Gokongwei, expects its profits to recover in the second half of its fiscal year that will end in September. The listed property firm is looking to tap the debt markets in the next few months to fund the continuous expansion of its shopping malls and office space, its top executive said. “I’m very optimistic and positive about the second half of the fiscal year for RLC,” said RLC president and CEO Frederick Go. “Obviously, we had some challenges in the first half of the year but those are one-off like Typhoon Haiyan and the fire at the department store,” Go said. The Gokongwei family’s property development arm recorded a 13-percent decline in earnings to P1.03 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013 from P1.18 billion a year ago. RLC incurred losses from Typhoon Yolanda and a mall fire that negatively affected the operations of Robinsons Place Tacloban and Robinsons Galleria, respectively. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Non-recurring losses in the first quarter will likely be offset by the property boom. “The market looks good. Demand is strong across-the-board: for retail, office, condominium units and hotel rooms,” Go said. New office buildings and the opening of new shopping malls will also boost the company’s rental revenues, he said. With the opening of Robinsons Place Antipolo and Robinsons Place Las Piñas late this year, RLC will end 2014 with 39 shopping centers. RLC is jacking Read More …

Tough situation PR

Economy

Feb 232014

MANILA, Philippines – A forum on “How To Carry Out A PR & Communications Program In A Challenging Year” will be held on Feb. 27 & 28, 2014 (Thursday & Friday) at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ortigas Center, Quezon City. For more information you may call tel. nos. 475-9996, 631-9801 & 746-1468. E-mail: commbiz88@yahoo.com. Ber Pacheco, president of CommBiz, Inc. said crisis may come in many forms and the manner in which it is handled is critical to the situation, as well as to the organization. Top corporate & government executives today realize the imperatives of an efficient and prompt PR/communication function if the company interest will be successfully implemented. The forum will show participants how to undertake a PR function that measures up to the highest professional standard; how to deal with media professionally, and how to cope and manage crises situations efficiently. Invited speakers to are: Janette Toral, president, Digital Filipino, Inc. Owen Cammayo, external relations head, IBM Philippines, Inc.; Butch Raquel, president, BSR Public Relations Co., Inc., Amylyn de Quiros, president, Full Circle Communications, Inc & Jake Maderazo, broadcast journalist, Radyo Inquirer, Ritzi Ronquillo, president, International Association of Business Communicators — Philippines.

Mexico to trump Japan as No. 2 car exporter to US

Economy

Feb 212014

Mexico to trump Japan as No. 2 car exporter to US

Volkswagen Jettas produced in Mexico for export are parked at the port terminal in the Gulf city of Veracruz, Mexico. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez) CELAYA, Mexico — Mexico is on track to become the United States’ No. 1 source of imported cars by the end of next year, overtaking Japan and Canada in a manufacturing boom that’s turning the auto industry into a bigger source of dollars than money sent home by migrants. The boom is raising hopes that Mexico can create enough new jobs to pull millions out of poverty as northbound migration slows sharply, but critics caution that most of the new car jobs are low-skill and pay too little. Mexico’s low and stagnant wages have helped kept the poverty rate between 40 and 50 percent since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement two decades ago. An $800 million Honda plant that opened Friday in the central state of Guanajuato will produce more than 200,000 Fit hatchbacks and compact sport-utility vehicles a year, helping push total Mexican car exports to the U.S. to 1.7 million in 2014, roughly 200,000 more than Japan, consulting firm IHS Automotive says. And with another big plant starting next week, Mexico is expected to surpass Canada for the top spot by the end of 2015. “It’s a safe bet,” said Eduardo Solis, president of the Mexican Automotive Industry Association. “Mexico is now one of the major global players in car manufacturing.” When NAFTA was signed two decades ago, Mexico produced 6 Read More …

House body okays VAT exemption for PWDs

Economy

Feb 212014

MANILA, Philippines – The House committee on ways and means has approved in principle House Bill 1039, which seeks to exempt persons with disability (PWD) from the value added tax (VAT) on certain goods and services. Marikina City Rep. Romero Quimbo said the panel agreed to refer the bill —authored by Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez — to a technical working group (TWG) to fine tune it and reconcile the minor disagreements on the implementation aspect. “Essentially there has been a consensus already to give it (VAT exemption). We will just have to refer to the TWG for purposes of fine tuning and reconciling the minor disagreements on the implementation as to how and who will define a PWD,” Quimbo said, The lawmaker said the committee still needs clarification from Department of Health (DOH) for assurance that any VAT exemption given to PWDs will not be abused. As to the revenue loss issue being raised by those opposing the bill, he said such is miniscule relative to the social impact of the proposal. “The bigger picture here really is PWDs today, while nobody wants to admit it, a great majority of them are burdens. So they are economic burdens because they are not productive, they’re not doing anything that adds to the economy because of the lack of opportunities as well as to the stigma,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 He said what the bill aims to do is try to bring PWDs into Read More …

Holcim breaches P4-B profit mark in 2013

Economy

Feb 202014

Holcim breaches P4-B profit mark in 2013

MANILA, Philippines – Robust sales and improvement in operating efficiencies allowed cement maker Holcim Philippines Inc. to breach the P4-billion income mark last year. In a disclosure to the stock exchange, Holcim Philippines said its net income jumped 26 percent to a record P4.55 billion last year from P3.62 billion in 2012 on the back of strong demand and good cost management. The cement manufacturer expects further demand growth this year even as it has postponed its plan to invest $550 million for a new factory in Bulacan pending studies on the synergy with other Holcim offices in Southeast Asia, a company official said. “Our company benefited from the good business environment, which has allowed the construction boom to persist and cement demand to thrive,” said Holcim Philippines CEO Eduardo A. Sahagun. Revenues rose six percent to P28.89 billion from P27.15 billion. The firm said its revenues improved last year, buoyed by good price management and steady volumes on the continued growth of cement demand. “The market was made robust by the government’s heavy investments on infrastructure and the private sector’s commercial, residential and industrial projects,” Holcim Philippines said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In anticipation of continued demand growth this year, Sahagun said the company finished major projects in 2013 such as the capacity upgrades for its La Union and Misamis Oriental plants and the reactivation of its idle grinding facility in Batangas. “Strong cement demand seen on continued construction, with the industry recognized as Read More …

Globe sees better 2014 amid lower write-downs

Economy

Feb 202014

Globe sees better 2014 amid lower write-downs

MANILA, Philippines – Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc. is looking at better earnings this year as the amount of one-time write-downs arising from its $790-million network and information technology modernization and transformation program is expected to be completed in the first quarter of the year. Ernest Cu, president and chief executive officer of Globe, said in an interview with reporters that the accelerated depreciation arising from its transformation program is expected to be completed within the first quarter of the year. “There will some more left because I believe we still have in the first quarter some things to write off… The strength in the core business remains. It has been that way over the past three years and we expect it to continue that way,” Cu said. The company’s net income plunged 28 percent to P4.96 billion last year from P6.85 billion as accelerated depreciation charges related to assets affected by the modernization program jumped 78 percent to P9.06 billion resulting in a 17-percent rise in depreciation charges to P27.48 billion. However, Cu said the focus should be on the core income that measures the underlying financial performance of a company. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “The core net income of the company shows you the underlying performance is outside of these one time extra ordinary events of transformation. Transformation means we took away the old equipment, we threw them out or sold them at salvage value and we have to write them down. But it Read More …

Alphaland eyes add’l cash via loans, share sale

Economy

Feb 202014

Alphaland eyes add’l cash via loans, share sale

MANILA, Philippines – Upscale property developer Alphaland Corp. is planning to raise additional cash through loans and share sales. Proceeds from the equity offering, which will also increase its public float, will bankroll the construction of two new developments, the firm said yesterday. “In order to rectify the public ownership deficiency of the company due to the Ashmore Group misrepresentation, the board of directors authorized the management to make such number of private placements through the issuance of shares to non-related and qualified entities,” Alphaland said in a disclosure to the stock exchange. Management was authorized to sell shares at a minimum price of P2.50 each. Alphaland, whose shares were suspended from trading since Jan. 20, currently has a public float of 5.07 percent. “The board of directors also authorized management to secure sufficient funding, both through borrowings and equity placements either through private placements or public offerings,” Alphaland said. Fresh capital will augment the funding for projects including the P2-billion Alphaland Marina & Country Club and residential towers, and the Alphaland Baguio Mountain Log Homes. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Early this month, Alphaland completed a P270-million share sale exclusively for minority shareholders. Alphaland earlier said the stock rights offering will give minority shareholders a chance not to be diluted following a billion-peso capital infusion from large stakeholders early in January. Due to time constraints, the previous capital call was made only to owners of more than 10 percent via a private placement. The transaction Read More …

Joblessness and poverty

General

Feb 202014

The increase in the SWS joblessness rate in the last quarter of last year from 21.7 percent in September 2013 to 27.5 percent in December 2013 was reported to have sparked a full Cabinet meeting that took more than five hours. Last Monday, Economic Planning Secretary Arsi Balisacan called a press conference where he admitted that “growth is not denting poverty.” I like the honesty of Sec. Arsi who went on to explain why poverty is a tough nut to crack. High unemployment and poverty incidence, he admitted, will remain a big challenge for the government in the next 10 years or so even amid steady growth. Balisacan didn’t make a big thing of what he called a modest reduction of poverty incidence since 2009 – declining from 27 to 25 percent. Of course years of bad economic management and even squandered growth opportunities are responsible for our stubborn poverty situation. But past administrations are quick to resort to technicalities to highlight whatever little positive result they can squeeze out from the numbers. Indeed, it would have been easy for Sec Balisacan to say that journalists are being myopic for highlighting the single-quarter increase in joblessness. Arsi could have taken journalists like myself to task for failing to notice that the full-year data reveals a FALL in the SWS average from 2012 to 2013 as Malacanang apologists have always done. Arsi could have even castigated newspaper headline writers for disregarding the fact that the 21.7 was the lowest quarterly percentage Read More …

Nasdaq opens Manila support office

Economy

Feb 192014

The Nasdaq Video Wall facing Times Square in New York City. Nasdaq photo MANILA, Philippines — Nasdaq has opened a customer service center in the Philippines in a coup for the country’s rapidly growing outsourcing industry. The operator of the namesake U.S. stock exchange says Wednesday the office will be part of its efforts to provide 24-hour support services for its corporate clients. It says the Manila office has 170 staff. Aside from its stock and futures markets in the U.S., the company has exchanges in Europe as well as stock index and trading technology businesses. For foreign companies, the Philippines has become the go to country in Southeast Asia for call centers and outsourcing of back office business functions. India’s outsourcing industry is also thriving as multinational companies seek to lower costs by basing some functions in countries with lower wages. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

BSP expects entry of more foreign banks

Economy

Feb 182014

MANILA, Philippines – The country may see the entry of more foreign banks soon as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) readies its proposed amendments to the law that will pave the way for the liberalization of foreign banks’ entry. BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. told reporters yesterday the central bank is preparing the proposed amendments to RA 7721 or the law governing the entry and operations of foreign banks in the country. “We’re looking at that and we will be presenting our proposal to Congress, which should basically entail the liberalization of foreign bank entry,” Tetangco said on the sidelines of Euromoney’s Philippines Investment Forum 2014. The act liberalizing the entry of foreign banks in the country, approved in 1994, only allows the entry of 10 foreign banks. Tetangco said the form of liberalization needed – whether increasing the figure or completely removing the limit – will still be assessed. “That’s something we need to discuss but the overall thrust is to liberalize our regulations with respect to the entry of foreign banks,” Tetangco said. “There are different ways and we are looking at those possibilities now,” he added. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The Philippines is gearing up for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Integration set to be launched by 2015. Part of this is the financial integration which will give the region’s banks a bigger market and more opportunities for growth. Tetangco said the country needs to amend RA 7721 Read More …

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