Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Submission of bids for the P50.2-billion Regional Prison Facilities public-private partnership (PPP) project has been moved to April 27, 2017 to give prequalified bidders more time to prepare their offers, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center said yesterday. The bid submission was originally slated for Nov. 24, 2016. The prison project to be implemented by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) entails the construction  and maintenance of a modern facility in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija. This new facility would provide for the basic needs of inmates incarcerated in the New Bilibid Prison and the Correctional Institution for Women. It would be constructed in a way that there are adequate living spaces for inmates and at the same time fitted with high security equipment. The facility, which can accommodate 26, 880 inmates, would also contain housing for staff, administrative buildings, as well as areas for rehabilitation activities. Three firms have prequalified to submit offers for the project: Mega Structure Consortium, San Miguel Holdings Inc. and DM Consunji Inc. The private sector partner would be responsible for the financing, detailed design, construction as well as maintenance of the facility. Several services pertaining to the maintenance of buildings as well as accommodation related services may be outsourced. These cover waste treatment and disposal, sewage water treatment and power generation. BuCor, in turn, would have complete control over the operations of the regional prison. The project would be conducted under a 23-year build-transfer-and-maintain contract, inclusive of a Read More …

LONDON/BERLIN — German chemicals and healthcare group Bayer AG is selling four billion euros ($4.3 billion) worth of mandatory convertible notes to help fund its proposed acquisition of US seeds company Monsanto Co. The issue will be the largest ever mandatory convertible bond for a European issuer and the largest European equity capital markets (ECM) deal in 2016, which has proved a volatile year for markets, leading to the cancellation or delay of several initial public offerings in Europe in recent weeks. Bayer said in a statement on Tuesday that issuing the notes, which convert on Nov. 22, 2019, is the first part of its previously announced plan to raise $19 billion in equity capital to help finance the $66 billion Monsanto deal, which still has to be cleared by the regulatory authorities in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. A banker working on the convertible issue, code-named “Mercury,” said a mixture of long-only investors and hedge funds were expected to subscribe and the sale was covered in an accelerated bookbuild which is due to be finalized on Wednesday. “The shares had rallied post (US) election. There is a depth of market support for financing the acquisition,” he added. Bayer’s shares have risen 6.6 percent to 94.78 euros since Donald Trump was elected president last week, calming investors’ fears that tough action would be taken on drug pricing in the United States. Joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the offer are Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Goldman Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Tourism (DOT) plans to forge tie-ups with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for the promotion of tourism products and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the capacity building of non-English speaking tour guides. Tourism Undersecretary for regulation, coordination and resource generation Alma Jimenez said this was part of the various convergence initiatives being considered by national agencies under the new administration. “One of the convergence programs which will surface soon, is the signing of an agreement between the DTI and the DOT for the mutual promotion of tourism products,” Jimenez said.  “Tourism will be considered a product of the DTI, the same way we consider the products being espoused by the DTI,” she added. Under the partnership, the DOT will showcase the various products of the Philippines in their showrooms, while the DTI will promote Philippine destinations and tour packages. Jimenez said the DOT was also considering taking part in the reintegration program of DOLE for returning overseas Filipino workers to convert them into tour guides once back in the Philippines. Instead of training tour guides in various languages, such as Chinese and Japanese, the official said the DOT would hire returning OFWs and capacitate them as tour guides. “It’s harder for us (DOT) to teach language training. Incidentally, I removed the language training in the industry and manpower development (of DOT) because what I wanted was our returning OFWs, who already have conversational ability to speak languages of their Read More …

Under Circular Letter 10-2016, the Department of Budget and Management lifted the 24-hour waiting period required before checks could be encashed or funds credited to contractors’ accounts. File MANILA, Philippines — State contractors may get their payment earlier than usual beginning next month as the government aims to unload more funds before new budget obligations clog agencies. Under Circular Letter 10-2016 dated November 14, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) lifted the 24-hour waiting period required before checks could be encashed or funds credited to contractors’ accounts. “(This is) in order to facilitate settlement of valid government payables within the current year and avoid spillover pressure of outstanding payables to the incoming year…,” the circular said. If possible, agencies were even asked to pay their obligations by December 22, although they would still be allowed to issue checks until December 29. “Agencies are encouraged to settle their due and demandable obligations as soon as possible,” the circular said. Once obligated, funds for projects are deemed already under contract, and therefore, will be paid even once a new budget takes effect by January 1 of next year. Under the budget process, obligated funds could be disbursed through the issuance of notices of cash allocation which allows agencies to secure checks from the Bureau of the Treasury. The checks are governed by the modified disbursement system, which originally instructs agencies to deposit them to their payee’s accounts “not earlier than 24 hours after due date.” The latest order, which had also been issued Read More …