Nextstage unloads assets after failed listing deal

 Economy
Mar 292014
 
Nextstage unloads assets after failed listing deal

MANILA, Philippines – Dormant firm Nextstage Inc. is unloading several assets following a scuttled backdoor listing deal with a popular coconut vodka manufacturer. In a disclosure, the company said its board approved the sale of corporate assets consisting of stocks in multi-application smart card operator Mondex Philippines Inc., outsourcing firm Technology Support Services Inc., software developer Infinit-E Asia Inc. and Mondex Protector Philippines Inc. Last month, VuQo Inc., the company behind the world’s first premium vodka distilled from coconut nectar, dropped its plan to merge with Nextstage. The company said the lengthy transaction would fail to satisfy the urgent funding needs of VuQo. Moving forward, the board discussed Nextstage’s reorganization plans. “The board of directors had a discussion on the direction of the corporation and manifested its continued commitment to implement the business plan,” Nextstage said. It aims “to maximize its structure as a holding company and focus on the ASEAN region and other Asian involvements, with a view of integration into the ASEAN Economic Community,” it added. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Nextstage earlier announced that it is preparing for the company’s revitalization through acquisitions. Specifically, Nextstage plans to secure up to 100 percent of digital signage firm In-store Digital Display International Inc., a minimum of 40 percent of digital marketing firm Snapworx Digital Inc. and a minimum of 19 percent of mobile phone marketing company Mobext Inc.

Super memory seminar for HS, college students

 Economy
Mar 292014
 
Super memory seminar for HS, college students

MANILA, Philippines – The best investment you can give your children is the gift of excellent memory for their lifetime of success and productivity. Maximize your children’s learning capacity by sending them to an amazing program that will boost their memory skills. The Center for Global Best Practices is launching a pioneering five-session seminar entitled “Super Memory & Accelerated Learning Program for High School & College.” For high school, the schedule is on Saturday, May 10 (whole day session) and Monday to Thursday, May 12 to 15 (half-day morning sessions) while for college, it’s on Friday, May 9 (whole day session) and Monday to Thursday, May 12 to 15 (half-day afternoon sessions). Both events will be held at The Bellevue Manila, Alabang, Muntinlupa City, Philippines.  Special rates apply for those staying in the hotel. For details and a complete list of upcoming best practices seminars including “Super Memory Techniques on How to Memorize the Bible,” “Super Memory Program for Seniors” and “Super Memory Techniques for Executives & Professionals,” you may log on to www.cgbp.org or call (02) 842-7148 / 59 and 556-8968 / 69; Cebu lines (032) 512-3106 or 07 or Baguio line (074) 423-5148. Yes, your children can ace all exams, excel in school and top the class! In this super memory program, they will be taught on how to store, retain and retrieve information in a fast, effective, organized and stress-free manner. These proven and tested world-class systems will help your children get higher grades, raise academic skills Read More …

Moody’s affirms BDO’s rating

 Economy
Mar 292014
 
Moody’s affirms BDO’s rating

MANILA, Philippines – The financial strength of BDO Unibank Inc., the main banking unit of the SM Group, remains stable, international credit rating firm Moody’s Investors Service said. In a statement, Moody’s said it affirmed BDO’s Baa3/Prime-3 deposit rating with a positive outlook. “BDO’s bank financial strength rating (BFSR) is also affirmed at D+. The outlook remains stable,” it said. At the same time, Moody’s revised BDO’s baseline credit assessment (BCA) to baa3 from ba1 to reflect improvements in its stand-alone credit profile, justifying investment grade on a stand-alone basis. According to Moody’s, it affirmed the BDO deposit rating with a positive outlook to reflect its expectation of continued strength in the operating environment for  the Philippine banking system, owing to robust growth of the Philippine  economy and stabilizing external conditions, which is positively  supporting the government’s own credit profile. The revision of BDO’s BCA to baa3 from ba1, on the other hand, took into consideration the banks’ consistently improving asset quality, as well as robust liquidity and  capital profiles, which have become comparable to those of its closest peers in the Philippines and other baa3 banks in the region. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “In line with our expectation of an improved operating environment, Philippine banks, particularly BDO — given its dominance in the domestic corporate and middle markets segments — will likely benefit from healthy credit growth, core profitability, as well as stable asset quality,” it stressed. Furthermore, Moody’s said it viewed the credit Read More …

Philippine vessel evades China ‘blockade’ of disputed reef

 General
Mar 292014
 
Philippine vessel evades China 'blockade' of disputed reef

2014 (AFP) – Philippine soldiers aboard a fishing vessel engaged Saturday in a dramatic stand-off with Chinese coastguard ships near a remote South China Sea reef claimed by both countries, an AFP journalist witnessed. The Philippine ship finally slipped past the Chinese blockade to reach Second Thomas Shoal, where a handful of Filipino marines are stationed on a Navy vessel that has been grounded there since 1999 to assert their nation’s sovereignty. The Philippine military said the ship, a fishing vessel with soldiers on board, had completed its mission to deliver fresh supplies to the navy ship and rotate the troops. “They were able to pass through the Chinese coastguard vessel and the mission is a success,” Cherryl Tindog, a spokeswoman for the military’s western command, told AFP. “We have successfully re-supplied and rotated the troops.” An AFP reporter and photographer were on a Philippine military plane that circled above the area during the stand-off, which they said lasted for about two hours. Four Chinese vessels had encircled Second Thomas Shoal as the Philippine vessel approached, according to the AFP reporter. Two of the vessels, with “Chinese coastguard” written on the side of the boats, then chased the Philippine boat and tried to block it from reaching the shoal. The vessels appeared to get within a few hundred metres of each other. China claims most of the South China Sea, even waters and islets approaching its neighbours. Second Thomas Shoal is part of the Spratlys, a chain of islets and Read More …

Pork barrel cases to be resolved ‘sooner than you think’ – Ombudsman

 News
Mar 282014
 
Pork barrel cases to be resolved ‘sooner than you think’ – Ombudsman

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales on Friday hinted that her office was on the verge of taking action on the pork barrel fund scam cases filed with them by the Department of Justice six months earlier. In its filing, the DOJ accused 38 former and incumbent government officials and lawmakers of plunder, malversation and corruption of public officials. “Rest assured, you will get your resolution [in the pork barrel case] sooner than you think,” Morales said in a report aired Friday on GMA 7’s “24 Oras”. Morales, who was in Davao for the inauguration of the Office of the Ombudsman-Mindanao, had wanted the pork scam cases resolved earlier. However, legal processes had to be followed. “If we resolve the case in the immediate future, I’m not going to tell you how immediate is immediate, then we will let the five-day period to file a motion reconsideration (MR) pass. In the event that we find probable cause, when the MR is filed, we will resolve it ASAP,” Morales said. Among the respondents in the pork scam cases are Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr. as well as alleged pork barrel scam operator Janet Lim-Napoles. Just last week, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago called on the Office of the Ombudsman to at least file charges against the more prominent and high-ranking officials implicated in pork barrel cases. Santiago worried that the public would lose interest on the matter if the investigation dragged on for too long. Morales, however, pointed out that it Read More …

PHL signs military aircraft contracts for jets, helicopters

 News
Mar 282014
 
PHL signs military aircraft contracts for jets, helicopters

The Philippines on Friday signed agreements to buy $528 million worth of military aircraft from South Korea and Canada amid ongoing territorial disputes with China. “After more than four decades of stagnancy in its dream of improving its capability, our air force has found a promise of new life with the realization of our (military) modernization program,” Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said. Korea Aerospace Industries will deliver 12 FA-50 jets worth P18.9 billion in just over three years under a contract agreed by defense officials and South Korean government representatives. The Philippines also completed a P4.8-billion contract with Canadian Commercial Corp. and Canada’s Bell Helicopters to build eight helicopters for the military. The twin deals are part of the Philippines’ P75-billion effort to upgrade its armed forces, particularly units tasked with patrolling disputed territory in the South China Sea. These units are dwarfed by those of neighboring China, which claims most of the area, including waters and islets much closer to the Philippines. China said its coast guard on March 9 blocked two Philippine-flagged vessels approaching Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal), which is guarded by a small group of Filipino marines but is also claimed by Beijing, the latest in a string of such confrontations. Under the military upgrade program, President Benigno Aquino’s government has also acquired two refurbished frigates from the US Coast Guard. — Agence France-Presse

High-ranking officials involved in P56-B rice smuggling – Customs report

 News
Mar 282014
 
High-ranking officials involved in P56-B rice smuggling - Customs report

High-ranking government officials–some allegedly from as high up as Malacañang and the Senate–were involved in multibillion-peso rice smuggling allegedly perpetrated by Davidson Bangayan also known as David Tan, according to an internal Bureau of Customs report. According to a BOC intelligence report that was shown to GMA News, Bangayan smuggled about 80 million sacks or four million metric tons (MT) of rice–with an estimated value of P56 billion–into the country in 2009. However, a source from the BOC said some of the money from the smuggled rice was divided among high-ranking officials of the government. Another bureau report shown to GMA News names those who were allegedly involved in Bangayan’s rice smuggling. Some of the names that appeared in the BOC report were of lawmakers and high-ranking officials of Malacañang and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), GMA News’ “24 Oras” said in an exclusive report aired on Friday. There were also top officials of the BOC as well as some leaders of a religious group allegedly involved rice smuggling anomaly, the report added. GMA News is still trying to reach Bangayan as of posting time. However, Bangayan has vehemently and repeatedly denied involvement in rice smuggling. He has also denied that he is David Tan. Meanwhile, in a separate interview, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV confirmed that there were indeed high -ranking government officials named in a report submitted to the Office of the President by BOC Intelligence Group deputy commissioner Jessie Dellosa. Trillanes refused to divulge the names of the government officials mentioned in the Read More …

Tulfo files libel suit vs PDI

 Entertainment
Mar 282014
 
Tulfo files libel suit vs PDI

ERWIN TULFO, talks about network competition in the media. (photo courtesy of http://coolambo.ca/) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Broadcaster Erwin Tulfo filed Monday a P12 million libel suit against the Philippine Daily Inquirer for publishing a story linking him to alleged media payoffs in 2009. In his complaint affidavit, Tulfo filed a case against PDI editor-in-chief Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc, managing editor Jose Ma. Nolasco, news editor Artemio Engracia and news reporter Nancy Carvajal. Tulfo’s libel complaint stemmed from the alleged libelous and malicious article in PDI dated March 19, 2014, headlined “Payoffs to media bared.” The report quoted former National Agribusiness Corporation (NABCOR) officials Rhodora Mendoza and Vic Cacal as saying that TV5 news anchor Erwin Tulfo and Radio DzBB broadcaster Melo del Prado received payoffs in the form of “advertising expenses” from the government agency in 2009. Mendoza and Cacal said Tulfo received a check for P245,535 on March 10, 2009 drawn from a NABCOR account at United Coconut Planters’ Bank (UCPB), Tektite Branch PSE Center, Ortigas, Pasig City. On the other hand, Del Prado, Carmelo del Prado Magdurulang in real life, received three checks totaling P245,535 on April 27, May 14, and July 6 in 2009, also drawn from the same UCPB account. The checks were part of documents submitted by Mendoza and Cacal to the Office of the Ombudsman. Cacal said apart from the vouchers justifying the processing of the payment, no other documents were provided to justify the expenses. Tulfo said the article placed him in a bad light Read More …

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