philstar.com – Business – Page 89

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Group seeks IPO accreditation

Economy

Jan 072015

MANILA, Philippines – Sound Recording Rights Society, Inc. (SRRS) is seeking accreditation as a collective management organization (CMO) with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) to be able to collect fees for the commercial use of published sound recordings. In a notice posted on its website dated Jan. 6, the IPOPHL said it received a letter of application from SRRS to become an accredited CMO. SRRS was established in November 2013 as a non-stock and non-profit corporation to administer and uphold the sound recording rights of producers as well as performers, upon authorization. The organization is composed of record labels engaged in the music publishing business. It is applying for accreditation as a CMO so it may collect the remuneration for performers and producers on the use of their sound recordings for commercial purposes or broadcasting to the public, upon authorization of member-companies. Under Republic Act 10372 which amended the Intellectual Property Code and was signed by President Aquino in February 2013, the IPOPHL could set-up the Bureau of Copyright which would be responsible for the accreditation of the CMOs. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The IPOPHL said interested parties may submit their position on the SRRS’ application. “Any interested party may submit written observations thereon to the Bureau of Copyright and Other Related Rights within 30 days from publication,” it said. The following have earlier secured CMO accreditation with the IPOPHL: Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Inc.; Filipinas Copyright Licensing Society, Read More …

Officials hail fearless first-of-the-year transaction amid market volatility

Economy

Jan 072015

Officials hail fearless first-of-the-year transaction amid market volatility

MANILA, Philippines – Finance officials hailed the successfully concluded liability management transaction, as the Philippines marked its return to the international capital markets with a showing consistent with its now emergent sterling reputation. “It took courage and conviction to pursue strategic transaction in the midst of global market volatility. Strong economic fundamentals and track record of well placed deals allowed the RoP to be the first issuer in the global dollar market and to execute a $2 billion 25-year bond at an all time low coupon of 3.95%,” Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said. This is reminiscent of the award-winning 1-day Accelerated Switch Tender Offer conducted last Jan. 10, 2014, hailed by FinanceAsia to be an innovative case of proactive liability management. “As the reputation of the [Philippines] gains steam in the international markets, we are proud to be the first to issue global bonds in the dollars space,” Purisima added. Treasurer of the Philippines Rosalia de Leon reported on the success of the transaction, saying, “Cash orderbook reached $7.9 billion or 15 times oversubscribed, while liability management orderbook reached $6.1 billion in market value terms. The size of the final deal is $2.0 billion, of which $1.5 billion were used to switch and retire old bonds $500 million in new money will be used for funding the budget.” “Notably, we attracted new name investment grade-only investors in this transaction. This robust response from the international markets reflects that our manifest confidence in the strength of the Philippine economy and liability Read More …

Complete list of canceled flights during Papal visit

Economy

Jan 072015

Complete list of canceled flights during Papal visit

A Philippine Airlines flight ascends from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in this undated photo. Philstar.com/AJ Bolando MANILA, Philippines — The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines announced limited operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on January 15, 17 and 19 to give way to Pope Francis’ visit in the country. Passengers who have booked on flights listed below are advised to call their airlines for rebooking or refund. Philippine Airlines January 15: Local Manila-Bacolod-Manila (2P2907/2908)Manila-Busuanga-Manila (2P2033/2034)Manila-Cagayan de Oro-Manila (2P2527/2528)Manila-Cagayan de Oro-Manila (2P2525/2526)Manila-Caticlan-Manila (2P2057/2058)Manila-Caticlan-Manila (2P2049/2050)Manila-Caticlan-Manila (2P2063/2064)Manila-Caticlan-Manila (2P2053/2054)Manila-Davao-Manila (2P2817/2818)Manila-Davao-Manila (2P2819/2820)Manila-Davao-Manila (2P2823/2824)Manila-Dumaguete-Manila (2P2543/2544)Manila-Laoag-Manila (2P2196/2197)Manila-Legazpi-Manila (2P2927/2928)Manila-Puerto Princesa-Manila (2P2787/2788)Manila-Surigao-Manila (2P2095/2096)Manila-Tacloban-Manila (2P2985/2986)Manila-Tacloban-Manila (2P2987/2988)Manila-Tagbilaran-Manila (2P2777/2778)Manila-Tuguegarao-Manila (2P2014/2015)Manila-Zamboanga-Manila (2P2997/2998)Davao-Manila (2P2808 Jan. 16)Cebu-Manila (PR2860)Manila-Cebu-Manila (PR2861/2862)Manila-Cebu (PR2863) January 15: International Manila-Singapore-Manila (PR511/502)Manila-Hong Kong-Manila (PR318/319)Manila-Hong Kong-Manila (PR312/313)Manila-Kansai (PR408)Manila-Bangkok-Manila (PR736/737)Manila-Honolulu-Manila (PR100/101) Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 January 19: Local Manila-Bacolod-Manila (2P2903/2914)Manila-Basco-Manila (2P2084/2085)Manila-Busuanga-Manila (2P2031/2032)Manila-Butuan-Manila (2P2967/2968)Manila-Cagayan de Oro-Manila (PR1519/1520)Manila-Calbayog-Manila (2P2071/2072)Manila-Catarman-Manila (2P2079/2080)Manila-Caticlan-Manila (2P2039/2040)Manila-Caticlan-Manila (2P2045/2046)Manila-Caticlan-Manila (2P2043/2044)Manila-Caticlan-Manila (2P2051/2052)Manila-Caticlan-Manila (2P2059/2060)Manila-Caticlan-Manila (2P2041/2042)Manila-Davao-Manila (2P2811/2810)Manila-Davao-Manila (2P2813/2814)Manila-Iloilo-Manila (2P2931/2940)Manila-Kalibo-Manila (2P2969/2970)Manila-Legazpi-Manila (2P2925/2926)Manila-Naga-Manila (2P2265/2266)Manila-Ozamiz-Manila (2P2889/2890)Manila-Puerto Princesa-Manila (2P2781/2782)Manila-Roxas-Manila (2P2201/2202)Manila-Surigao-Manila (2P2095/2096)Manila-Tacloban-Manila (2P2981/2982)Manila-Tagbilaran-Manila (2P2773/2774)Manila-Zamboanga-Manila (2P2993/2994)Manila-Zamboanga-Manila (2P2991/2992)Zamboanga-Jolo-Zamboanga (2P2245/2246)Manila-Cebu-Manila (PR2841/2842)Cebu-Manila (PR2846)Manila-Cebu (PR2849) January 19: International Manila-Hong Kong-Manila (PR300/301)Manila-Hong Kong (PR312 Jan. 18) & Hong Kong-Manila (PR313)Manila-Singapore (PR509 Jan. 18) & Singapore-Manila (PR510)Manila-Haneda-Manila (PR422/421)Manila-Haneda-Manila (PR424/423 Jan. 18)Manila-Bangkok-Manila (PR730/731)Manila-Jakarta-Manila (PR539/540)Manila-Fukuoka-Manila (PR426/425)Manila-Singapore-Manila (PR507/508) Air Asia Cebu Pacific January 15: Local 5J479/480 Manila – Bacolod – Manila5J481/482 Manila – Bacolod – Manila5J487/488 Manila – Bacolod – Manila5J529/530 Manila – Busuanga – Manila5J531/532 Manila – Busuanga – Manila5J539/540 Manila – Busuanga – Manila5J787/788 Manila – Butuan – Manila5J899/900 Manila – Caticlan – Manila5J905/906 Manila – Caticlan – Manila5J911/912 Manila – Read More …

Aboitiz, 42 firms to address power shortage

Economy

Jan 062015

Aboitiz, 42 firms to address power shortage

MANILA, Philippines – AboitizPower Corp., the power generation company of the Aboitiz Group has partnered with some 42 local and multinational companies to help address the impending power shortage, expected in the summer of 2015, through the Interruptible Load Program or ILP. Under the ILP scheme, big power users would be asked to run their own generators when supply is short in the summer months instead of getting their power from the Luzon grid. In exchange, they would be compensated for their fuel costs. The electricity that would not be taken from the grid would be available to households and other users, sparing them from rotating blackouts. The 42 companies are customers of AboitizPower who have volunteered to temporarily isolate themselves from the electricity grid when power demand is high so that the electricity could be re-directed to other areas. The company said yesterday that as of December 2014, 42 contestable customers of AboitizPower’s Retail Electricity Supply (RES) companies have committed to the program with a total of 102 megawatts de-loading capacity. Some of these companies are big multinational and industrial firms such as Procter and Gamble Philippines, Wyeth Philippines, Jollibee Foods Corp., Samsung Electro Mechanics Philippines Corp., Amkor Technology Phils., Asia Brewery Inc., Monde Nissin Corp., among others. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Visayan Electric Co. (Veco), Subic Enerzone and Lima Enerzone – all distribution utilities of AboitizPower, similar to Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), meanwhile, are pouring in an additional 75 MW of de-loading capacity Read More …

Fare hike before rehab?

Economy

Jan 062015

I would normally support raising the MRT fare up to the level of EDSA bus fares. Reducing the subsidy for MRT riders would be fair for taxpayers in other parts of the country who get no benefit but share the cost of running the commuter line. But given the inability of DOTC to provide adequate service or even guarantee passenger safety, raising the fare now is like showing a dirty finger to the riders. As someone in one of my e-groups puts it, it is like increasing the price of an old piece of moldy bread because you know the consumer has little choice. Transport expert Rene Santiago captures the situation well: “Train supply has dwindled. On MRT-3, from 22 trains to 16. On LRT-1, from 104 to 95. On LRT-2, from 16 to 12. Nearly all ticket vending machines at stations are broken down. “Visible results: overcrowded trains and long queues at stations. Hongkong MTR audit report on MRT-3 are alarming – especially about track conditions. Track replacements on Line 1 also delayed. How can we justify a fare increase against this backdrop?” If I were confident that raising the fares now would guarantee better service, I would probably overlook the decrepit situation of the MRT system and focus on the prospect of a much improved one within a reasonable time. But DOTC cannot even guarantee that improvement would happen within the foreseeable future. Indeed, I do not have confidence DOTC knows what it is doing. Sec. Jun Abaya Read More …

PLDT, Rocket Internet form JV for mobile payment service

General

Jan 062015

PLDT, Rocket Internet form JV for mobile payment service

MANILA, Philippines – Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Berlin-based Rocket Internet AG has established a global joint venture for mobile-first payment services in emerging markets. PLDT informed the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that the 50-50 joint venture transaction that combines key existing payment assets from both PLDT and Smart e-Money Inc. as well as Rocket Internet would be closed in the first quarter of the year. PLDT president and chief executive officer Napoleon Nazareno said the company would contribute the intellectual property, platforms and business operations of its market leading mobile-first payment platform Smart e-Money. “PLDT continues to build on its strategy to become a driving force in the digital economy, and with Rocket, we have a partner who understands the DNA of the global Internet market more than any other company. We look forward to continuing the long-term success story of Smart Money and optimizing the synergies between e-commerce and innovative mobile-first payment solutions,” Nazareno said. Smart e-Money is a pioneer in mobile banking and mobile wallet services handling approximately 3.4 billion euro worth of transactions in 2013. It has over five million active customers and 300,000 trade accounts. For his part, Rocket Internet founder and chief executive officer Oliver Samwer said Rocket Internet would contribute its participations in Paymill Holding GmbH and Payleven Holding GmbH. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 These are two of the leading payment platforms for high growth, small-and-medium-sized e-commerce businesses across Europe. “This Joint Venture is Read More …

’China surpasses US GDP, is now no. 1 in world economy’

Economy

Jan 062015

As we commence 2015, China’s GDP (gross domestic product), the measure of an economy’s total output in equivalent purchasing power, was valued at $17.6 trillion, surpassing that of the United States, which was at $17.4 trillion. These are very large numbers. (Philippine GDP is below $1 trillion, around $700 billion). In previous years, China’s numbers have outstripped the US: in terms of electricity generation; in total industrial output; and in international trade volume. ‘The economic power game.’ These measures of output by country are often used as indicators of economic clout. The size of big, dominating economies is often used to indicate changing economic power relationships among them. Total output is not the whole or even the best measure. Output, tempered by population size, is more meaningful. But big countries growing at spectacular rates and conquering mass poverty, as China had done, have no comparison in current or past economic experience. This is truly awesome as an accomplishment. China’s one-child policy over the last four decades meant that the country’s natural population growth rate was at a negative replacement rate: it takes two parents to produce a child. Even if there is slippage in this plan, China’s population has stood relatively still during this period. Over the same period, China expanded at the breakneck speed of 10 percent per year. That expansion of economic production has that its rate of growth was also the gain per head of population! Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Hence, China’s Read More …

Phl economy seen to remain strong this year

Economy

Jan 062015

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine economy is expected to remain strong this year despite external challenges as global growth continues to be uneven, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said yesterday. “2015 will likely bring continued economic challenges for the Philippines. Nonetheless, the country appears to be well-placed to deal with these tests,” Tetangco said at a breakfast forum hosted by the Tuesday Club at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. Accoriding to Tetangco, the domestic economy will have to cope with uneven global growth prospects as the US recovers while the euro area and Japan continue to struggle. China’s growth slowdown has also tempered prospects in emerging markets, adding to a more challenging economic global backdrop. Tetangco added. “The Philippines’ underlying story of resilience has remained intact throughout a challenging 2014. Despite some moderation owing to slower agricultural production and lower public spending, economic growth remained robust, supported by a broadening production base and solid domestic demand,” Tetangco said. Tetangco said inflation remained manageable last year, while the peso continued to be supported by strong inflows of remittances from Filipinos abroad, receipts from the business process outsourcing industry, and the current account surplus. “These developments give us confidence that the Philippine economy will remain on firm footing in 2015,” Tetangco said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “In raising the country’s credit rating to one notch above the minimum investment-grade rating, Moody’s [Investors Service] cited the government’s ongoing efforts to reduce debt, improve fiscal management, and Read More …

Phl stocks buck regional downtrend

General

Jan 062015

MANILA, Philippines – The local benchmark index stood its ground yesterday, extending its winning streak despite slumping markets abroad, analysts said. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) improved 0.02 percent or 1.11 points to finish at 7,277.74, erasing losses made earlier in the trading day. The All Shares index likewise ended positively, climbing 0.07 percent or 3.02 points at 4,285.74. “A surge of buyers in the afternoon session allowed the index to close in the green for the second straight session,” said Justino Calaycay Jr., analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp. Calaycay, however, said investors’ bullishness at the start of the year has been completely sapped following political uncertainty in Greece and problems in the crude market. “Whatever traces of optimism that lined Monday’s trades were rubbed out by after-trades and overnight developments,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Asian shares were down while all three indexes in Wall Street also ended in the negative territory led by the Dow which lost 1.86 percent or 331.34 points. Locally, counters were mixed at three apiece. Counters which finished on the green were led by the holding firms which gained 0.90 percent or 57.76 points while the services firms dropped 1.25 percent or 26.47 points. Value turnover picked up late in the session and more than tripled the morning’s total to P10.43 billion. “Philippine shares appears to have showed up its Asian neighbors and global peers once more. It climbed out of an early –52.2 points hole Read More …

Turning VAT tax credit certificates to cash

Economy

Jan 052015

Turning VAT tax credit certificates to cash

Early this year, Executive Order (EO) No. 68-A, Series of 2014, amending EO No. 68, Series of 2012 was issued to simplify the terms of the VAT tax credit certificate (TCC) monetization program, and thereby promote conducive business environment and raise the business credibility of the government. Pursuant to EO No. 68-A, the Department of Finance (DOF), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) issued Joint Circular No. 2-2014 providing for the mechanism for qualified VAT-registered persons to receive the cash equivalent of their outstanding VAT TCCs. Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 82-2014 circularizes the full text of the said joint circular. The joint circular provides that VAT TCCs for which the BIR has issued the corresponding notice of payment schedule (NPS) and VAT drawback TCCs approved for monetization by the BOC, are qualified for monetization under the joint circular. Similarly, all other VAT TCCs outstanding as of Dec. 31, 2012 not covered for monetization and VAT TCCs issued after Dec. 31, 2012, are qualified for cash conversion, notwithstanding the existing administrative regulations, guidelines or conditions prohibiting or restricting the cash conversion of VAT TCCs. Specifically, the joint circular provides the procedures in which holders of VAT TCCs with BIR-issued NPS may present the NPS to the BIR for payment on or before the maturity dates indicated thereon. Within 45 calendar days from presentation of the NPS, the BIR should directly pay the total face value of the NPS, Read More …

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