MANILA, Philippines – The peso weakened against the dollar on Tuesday, closing at 43.86 from the previous day’s 43.795. Total volume transacted at the Philippine Dealing System amounted to $642.4 million, higher than the $509.5 million posted on Monday. The peso opened Tuesday at 43.83.
MANILA, Philippines – Malaysia-based Tune Hotels is planning to expand in the Philippines this year by establishing more branches amid tourism growth in the country. “By the end of 2014, we will have a total of 1,720 rooms with ten hotels in the Philippines, cementing our position as the largest internationally owned and operated hotel brand in the country,” Red Planet Hotels country head Sahlee Zaldivia said. Red Planet Hotels has a 17-percent stake in Tune Hotels. Red Planet Hotels founder and Senior Vice President for Acquisition Ken Kerr said the company has an estimated investment of $120 million for the ten hotels in the Philippines. Six more hotels worth up to $72 million are expected to be built in the next three years. Tune Hotels is expected to open in November this year its tenth hotel in Makati City with 189 rooms. The hotel chain has branches in Cebu, Angeles City, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Ermita, Makati, Ortigas, Quezon City and Parañaque City. The company said it plans to take advantage of the Philippine tourism sector, which the Department of Tourism expecting tourist arrivals to jump by 24 percent this year.
MANILA, Philippines – The peso slid against the dollar midday Tuesday, settling at 43.854 from the previous day’s 43.795. Total volume transacted at the Philippine Dealing System amounted to $280.9 million in the morning, lower than the $294 million posted the same period on Monday. The peso opened Tuesday at 43.83.
Composite photos show GMA Network chairman Felipe Gozon and San Miguel Corp. president Ramon Ang. Gozon blog, AP file MANILA, Philippines — Broadcasting firm GMA Network has agreed to sell a minority stake to San Miguel Corp. president Ramon Ang after several months of negotiations. In a Philippine Stock Exchange disclosure on Tuesday, GMA said its major shareholders have agreed to sell minority equity interest to Ang. The listed broadcasting company said that final terms and conditions of the share purchase documents, however, have yet to be firmed up. “An appropriate disclosure shall be made upon execution of the relevant definitive agreements by the parties for the transaction,” the disclosure noted. Confirming that there were ongoing talks on the purchase, GMA Network chief executive Felipe Gozon said he does not know why Ang is “very, very interested in buying into GMA.” “We are talking. I cannot disclose any details because as I said our discussions are covered by a confidentiality agreement,” Gozon said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Ang’s move came after GMA Network’s failed negotiations with telecommunications mogul Manuel V. Pangilinan. Pangilinan, also the chairman of TV5, had said he has lost interest in acquiring a stake in the country’s second largest broadcasting network. Gozon confirmed that Pangilinan “got tired” and backed out from the talks. Business analyst and STAR columnist Boo Chanco, meanwhile, said Ang’s interest in having an influence over the network is similar to Pangilinan’s “play.” Ang has reportedly bought a stake in Read More …
THE ENERGY Regulatory Commission (ERC) has cleared the extended implementation of a secondary price cap for the power traded on the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) to further shelter consumers from supply-related price volatility.
THE GOVERNMENT will release some P6 billion for small irrigation projects nationwide by next week, the Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization (PAFSAM) said on Monday, adding that the specific projects to receive funding are yet to be determined.
THE MODIFICATION of time-honored principles and interpretations of legal provisions will certainly cause issues that cannot be fully resolved in a single case alone. It will take more than one case before the ambiguities and confusions caused by these changes are fully addressed.
Inflation figures released by the National Statistics Office for April have shown a much higher level compared to the 3.9 percent posted the previous month. While it’s true that this 4.1-percent increase is still within the projected band of between three to five percent that had been forecasted by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), it should set off some worrying by our government. In recent weeks, prices of food (including rice, pork, beef and vegetables), electricity, and fuel have been rising. It’s been awhile since Filipinos have seen this kind of price instability of so many basic commodities at about the same time. And after having enjoyed a long period of relative stability in inflation rates, one can’t help fear that a bubble is just about to burst. Global trend The World Bank, too, has expressed concern about rising food prices in the global market which has been attributed to droughts in some parts of the world, political and economic stress in some major food producing countries, and the rising demand by China. In a recent report, the Bank said that world food prices increased by four percent from January to April compared to the same period last year, putting an end to relatively stable food pricing across the globe that started in August 2012. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Among the headliners in food products that saw increases were wheat and maize, which were up 18 and 12 percent, respectively, despite the bumper Read More …
CALATA style: Gelled pompadour, Armani jacket with pocket square and the movie-star smile. RENE GUIDOTE Entrepreneur Joseph Calata is the proverbial young man in a hurry. Pushing 34, he is making a bid to have a huge stake in the country’s food supply chain. The chair and CEO of the agribusiness company, Calata Corporation, initially made news by becoming the country’s youngest self-made billionaire before he was 30 years old. He modernized the family’s mom-and-pop store into the country’s largest distributor of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides. When Calata Corp. was listed for initial public offering (IPO) in May 2012, its stocks gained a total market value of P4.3 billion. As if selling agrochemicals, feeds and seeds wasn’t enough, Calata created his own brands, opened retail stores, went into joint venture with foreign companies and acquired a meat processing company. “My business is literally going from the farm to the table,” says Calata. Own brands He was inspired by the richest man in Southeast Asia, Dhanin Chearavanont, whose business is CP Group, the biggest agricultural company in the region. One of the Thai billionaire’s businesses is Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company which produces animal feeds, breeds animals and processes them. The end products are sold in the fastfoods and 7-11 stores. Chearavanont owns 6,800 of the 24-hour stores all over Thailand. Calata says he’s now covering the entire food chain. In the initial phase of raw materials and planting, Calata possesses the technology, the seeds and the preparations to ward off pests. Read More …
Recently, we heard a popular broadcast commentator chide a lawyer-spokesperson of European pressure group Greenpeace . The commentator was apparently disappointed over the absence of any Greenpeace action as alleged Chinese boats engage in the wanton destruction of marine life in disputed portions of the West Philippine sea. Where are the ships of Greenpeace, the commentator asked the lawyer-spokesperson. He was apparently referring to the famous image of a tiny boat named “Greenpeace” stopping a large sea vessel in a confrontation over environmental issues. The Greenpeace lawyer-spokesperson could only manage a giggle in response to the question. The broadcaster, in subtle dismay, could only conclude that the days when Greenpeace stood for real environmental issues against real enemies of nature are now bygones. In fairness to Greenpeace, to its Philippine operatives in particular, a confrontation with China over the rape of the sea may not be a priority. Instead, its present priority appears to be its confrontation with Filipino scientists who are doing research on the use of biotechnology in agriculture. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 If Greenpeace operatives are not confronting China in the West Philippine sea, it is because they are in a confrontation with Filipino scientists and farmers at the Supreme Court. If Greenpeace activists are not stopping the rape of precious marine life, it is because they are more interested today in stopping Filipino scientists from completing field trials for a biotech eggplant variety. The other priority is stopping Filipino farmers from Read More …