Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) expects at least two initial public offerings (IPOs) for the rest of the year with the bigger of the two possibly happening “in the coming weeks.” PSE chief operating officer Roel Refran declined to identify the two companies but so far, those that are seeking approvals to do an IPO are oil giant Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and technology company AudioWav Media Inc. “We will have a deal hopefully in the next couple of weeks. Expect one big and hopefully another one,” Refran said. Shell is still seeking regulatory approval for a planned P29.7 billion IPO. The company will offer 330 million shares including an over allotment of up to 30 million for up to P90 per share. In its registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Shell is planning to do its IPO on November 10 but company insiders said the IPO may happen earlier or before its country chair for 13 years, Edgar Chua, retires in October. However, in a separate interview, BPI Capital chief operating officer Reginald Cariaso simply said they are working to get the IPO done but declined to comment on whether there would be a change in schedule. BPI and JP Morgan are the underwriters for Shell’s IPO. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “It’s been filed and we’re working to get it done,” Cariaso said. Commenting on the prevailing market conditions, he said: “I think market is still conducive Read More …

SOME mining firms in the country passed the Environment department’s completed audit,its chief said on Friday, even as the agency is still processing the results of its probe.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the country renewed its petition to the US during his meeting with Deputy US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Holleyman II at the recently concluded 13th ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Laos. STAR/File photo MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines has urged the US anew to include travel goods on the list of duty-free products under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the country renewed its petition to the US during his meeting with Deputy US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Holleyman II at the recently concluded 13th ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Laos. “On our end, we’ve re-presented the request and the justifications on the travel goods. We requested for the inclusion of travel goods on the US GSP and we have a request to reconsider. It is moving already. It’s in the process, up for consideration,” Lopez said. The Philippines was unable to secure the US government’s nod to include locally manufactured travel goods in the GSP program – a preferential tariff system given by the US to its trade partners – on its annual review released last June. The country’s earlier petition which the USTR deferred seeks to include travel goods such as luggage, handbags, pocket goods, backpacks, sports and travel bags. “The only concern why it was excluded is that they are saying that the Philippines is not a least developed economy. But for us, we’re saying we are still developing and we need support and Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Broadcast firm TV5 intends to put more focus on news and sports under a new head as it looks to break even by 2019. “Most likely, we’ll focus on news and sports, maybe with a bit of entertainment. But basically, the emphasis should be on news and sports,” TV5 chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters. He also said the firm is still hopeful it could achieve break even by 2019. TV5 was initially looking to break even by 2017, but the target has been pushed back to 2019. Former PBA coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes has been named as the new president and CEO of TV5 effective Oct. 1. Reyes is replacing Emmanuel Lorenzana who is retiring from the post. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 As TV5 is looking to put more focus on sports shows, Pangilinan said Reyes’ experience would be beneficial to the company. “He is very digital, it turns out. You wouldn’t expect a coach to be so digital but he is very digital so, he now heads the digital initiatives of TV5. He’s been, not only for TV5, but also other parts of the group which require digital content especially, video content. He’s been helpful in other parts of the group,” he said. MediaQuest Holdings Inc., the multimedia arm of PLDT Inc., acquired TV5 in 2009.

What a tagline! Everywhere I go in the country, I open the line and say, “Change is….” and everyone in my audience will complete the line and say, “Change is coming.” It ranks as popular as the phrase, “It’s more fun in……the Philippines,” as my audience would declare and then smile and laugh about it. There are so many changes happening in the political scene and in the business scene, but what about changes that are not coming, at least in the immediate future? Well, let’s take a careful look into these things. Here are the things that will not change: 1. EDSA traffic will still be a problem and it would take time and immediate measures to improve the situation. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 2. Some politicians will still lie and steal, even though there is a higher sense of consciousness and apprehension these days. 3. Business will continue to be uncertain. 4. Business competitions will continue to rise. 5. Price competitions will always be there. 6. Technology will still churn out things that will change consumer behavior and will threaten many established industries. 7. You and I will grow old. 8. Life will still be laced with challenges and trials and the pace of it will add more stress to many of us. On the other hand, these are the good things that will not change: 1. Life is beautiful, especially if you wake up every morning and realize it is a gift Read More …