Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Belle Corp., the leisure and gaming arm of the SM Group, plans to further cement control in an online lottery system provider by securing a majority stake. The move will firm up Belle’s commitment in Pacific Online Systems Corp., which is pursuing an aggressive expansion program after hostilities in Mindanao and natural disasters in Visayas disrupted operations last year. “It would be nice to own 50.1 percent so we can consolidate (Pacific Online in the books),” said Belle vice-chairman Willy Ocier. “When you have a company that is gaming-related, it would make sense for us to increase our exposure to it,” he said. Belle currently owns 43 percent of Pacific Online, the online lottery system provider of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in the Visayas and Mindanao. Early this year, Abacus Consolidated Resources & Holdings Inc. trimmed its stake in Pacific Online to seven percent from 15 percent, with Belle buying the block to increase its shares to 43 percent of outstanding shares. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Ocier said Belle already has the time to pursue acquisitions following the completion of negotiations last year for a $1.3-billion integrated casino project. Belle is the builder of the $1.3-billion City of Dreams Manila complex in the Manila Bay reclamation area. Macau-based casino giant Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd., for its part, leases the property and will operate the casino. For this year, Pacific Online is focusing on recovery and expansion efforts. “We are busy Read More …

TWO NORTH American firms have donated $300,000 worth of landing equipment to the Tacloban airport, allowing aircraft to fly into the city despite low visibility.

MANILA, Philippines – Investment firm Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI) recorded another banner year in 2013, posting double-digit growth in earnings and revenues driven by the real estate and liquor businesses. Ongoing expansion projects will allow the holding firm of property tycoon Andrew L. Tan to further improve its performance in the long term, the company said in a disclosure. Net income of AGI rose almost 13 percent to P23.1 billion last year from P20.5 billion a year ago while consolidated revenues picked up 21 percent to P123.4 billion from P102.1 billion. “We are elated that the group continues to show robust financial performance. We believe that all the ongoing expansion happening at the major subsidiaries of AGI will provide the impetus for sustained growth in the long run,” said AGI president and chief operating officer Kingson U. Sian. Net income attributable to AGI shareholders climbed by nearly a quarter to P17.2 billion from P13.9 billion in 2012. Specifically, attributable earnings from Emperador Inc. hit P5.3 billion, followed by Megaworld Corp. at P5.3 billion, Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. at P1.2 billion, Golden Arches Development Corp. at P387 million and Global-Estate Resorts Inc. (GERI) at P224 million. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Emperador, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Emperador Distillers Inc., sold 33 million cases of products, mostly brandy, last year, up by two million cases from 2012. AGI said Emperador recorded higher sales despite the increase in liquor tax at the start of 2013. “Megaworld’s performance Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The government’s first quarter budget deficit widened from a year ago as expenditures outpaced revenues. In a report, the Department of Finance (DOF) said the government incurred a fiscal gap of P84.1 billion in the first three months of the year, which was 27 percent more than the P66.5 billion in the same three months of last year. Expenditures climbed 12 percent year-on-year, faster than the nine percent increase in revenues, thus the deficit. The government incurred nearly half of the first-quarter deficit in March when the fiscal gap reached P40.2 billion, 14 percent more than the P35.1 billion a year ago. Spending and revenue grew at the same pace last month, but the government raised only P129.3 billion whereas expenditures were higher at P169.5 billion, thus the deficit in March. Interest payments reached P30.8 billion last March or 18.2 percent of total expenditures.  Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Collections by the Bureau of Internal Revenue rose eight percent to P264.7 billion. The Bureau of Customs sustained its double-digit revenue growth, rising 26 percent to P86.5 billion.  “Growing revenue collections, most notably that of the Bureau of Customs, is just one of several wins we have garnered recently. Cash collections from January to October 2013, which was before the aggressive reforms at the Bureau, grew only 4.9 percent over the same period a year before. However, from November 2013 to March 2014, the time when the reform program at Customs had begun to Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has called for higher share of tourism in international aid flows to maximize the growing contribution of the sector to socio-economic development. In a statement, UNWTO said this case for tourism’s higher prioritization in the development agenda was the focus of the discussions during the First High-Level Meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation recently held in Mexico. Despite being a high-impact economic activity, a major job generator and key export sector – accounting for six percent of total trade, UNWTO said that tourism receives only 0.5 percent of the total Aid for Trade (AfT) disbursements and a mere 0.13 percent of the total Official Development Assistance (ODA). Based on UNWTO data, tourism accounts for 42 percent of the exports of services of emerging markets and developing economies and has been identified by half of the least developed countries as a priority instrument for poverty reduction. International tourism to emerging and developing economies has been growing strongly in recent years. In 2013, emerging and developing economies received 506 million international tourists or 47 percent of all international tourist arrivals in the world as compared to 38 percent in 2000. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 UNWTO forecast this share to surpass that of advanced economies in the coming years and to reach 57 percent by 2030. South Africa Tourism Minister Minister and chairperson of the UNWTO Working Group on ODA Marthinus van Schalkwyk, in his Read More …