REDC H1 net income up 255%

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

Repowe R Energy Development Corp. (REDC), a subsidiary of Pure Energy Holdings Corp., saw its net income jump by 255 percent year-on-year to P95.7 million in the first half, mainly due to the full commercial operations of its additional power plants. In the second quarter, earnings surged by 293 percent to P42.9 million from P11.1 million in the same period a year ago. The company’s first-quarter earnings also grew by 229 percent to P52.8 million from P16.2 million.

The strong quarterly performance was mainly due to the consistent performance of run-of-theriver hydropower plants.

For the first half, REDC’s revenue grew by 65 percent to P226.3 million from P137.6 million a year ago. On a year-to-date basis, REDC’s generation went up by 58 percent to 35.2 gigawatt hour (GWh) from 22.3 GWh.

REDC said it expects its bot-

By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has entered into an agreement with Philippines AirAsia Inc. for a Go Lokal! project that will benefit micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

tomline will continue to grow with the commissioning of the 5.8 megawatt (MW) Tibag run-of-the-river hydropower plant and the Lower Labayat plant, which is undergoing testing and commissioning.

The company has six operating power plants in Laguna, Quezon, and Camarines Sur provinces.

It intends to expand its installed energy capacity by one gigawatt in the next 5 years.

In June, the company announced that it partnered with Austria-based Gugler Water Turbines GMBH (Gugler) to develop seawater pumped storage projects. It signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Gugler to bring this proprietary technology to the country, allowing REDC to be the first energy developer to have seawater pumped storage projects in its portfolio. The first project will be a 320-megawatt seawater-pumped storage facility in Luzon. The elevation of this project will be around 300 meters above sea level, and the lower reservoir will utilize the coastline for unlimited seawater intake.

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

GLOBE Telecom Inc. said on Wednesday it has achieved the fourth closing of 113 towers sold to Frontier Tower Associates Philippines Inc. and another 100 towers to Miescor Infrastructure Development Corp. (MIDC) for a total consideration of P2.6 billion.

The company said the latest transaction with Frontier involved 77 percent ground-based towers and 23 precent rooftop towers in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, while that for MIDC was composed of 64 percent ground-based towers and 36 percent rooftop towers.

“Through our core business and numerous ventures we are developing, it is clear that we have always been big on how to bring practical solutions to every Filipino across the country," Globe President and CEO Ernest L. Cu said.

"By focusing on strengthening our network and expanding our capacity, which our partnership with Frontier Towers and MIDC enable us to do, we hope to revolutionize the digital landscape and be a leading enabler of technology in the country.”

To date, Globe has received about P26.6 billion from Frontier, representing 2,094 towers out of the 3,529 ordered assets, and with the closing with MIDC, Globe has raised P26 billion, which involves 1,120 towers of the 2,180 ordered towers.

In total, Globe already closed 54 percent of the tower deal transferring ownership of 4,039 out of 7,506 towers for P51.9 billion.

“The business of Globe is a capital intensive one and this transaction that we initiated with tower companies has proven to be a great complement to our roll out of critical infrastructures to achieve wider coverage and consistency of service across the country,” Globe CFO Rizza Maniego-Eala said.

“We continue to collaborate with Frontier Towers and MIDC towards the acceleration and maintenance of a modern and effective network in order to serve millions of Filipinos who are reliant on connectivity and online platforms for their daily activities.”

Subsequent closings will happen as and when closing conditions are met, she added.

“The handover of this fourth batch of towers is another important step in our journey towards delivering stronger connectivity and sustainable, inclusive economic growth to the people of the Philippines,” Frontier Towers’ Chairman and CEO Patrick Tangney said.

For her part, MIDC President and CEO said: “We are excited about this milestone and the continuous progress we are achieving with Globe. Each transitioned tower signifies a step toward building a robust and widespread digital ecosystem. Our journey is a collective effort, and our commitment to advancement remains steadfast, one tower at a time.”

In T ER n A TIO n A L Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said on Wednesday the Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) has restarted serving Wan Hai Lines’ Mindanao-Hong Kong–Taiwan (MHT).

With the arrival of Wan Hai 231, MHT resumed calls to MCT, operating services that connect Subic, Cebu, and Mindanao to Hong Kong and Taiwan every Saturday.

“The return of the MHT service is a significant development in our efforts to strengthen regional trade connectivity and support the growing Mindanao economy. We are thrilled to reestablish this crucial link that makes international trade more efficient and accessible to businesses in Mindanao,” MCT CEO Aurelio Garcia said.

The resumption of the service rotation was triggered by the “increasing market demand and economic activity in Mindanao, which has seen an 18 percent increase in export volume.”

A total of 237 containers were handled during the call and majority of the commodities transported included coconut byproducts, falcata lumber and wastepaper. Lorenz S. Marasigan

The DTI and AirAsia signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) last July 28 which will make AirAsia the first international airline to carry Go Lokal products and showcase the Philippines’s finest products in both domestic and global flights.

Under the agreement, the DTI will provide a list of 800 Go Lokal MSMEs which have been “vetted and certified” to have passed the quality standards set by the DTI.

The MOA also mandated DTI to provide “ad boosting” in social media for contents including,among others, partnership teaser, formal launch announcement, and tactical promotions about the AirAsia Totally Local campaign together with partners acquired from DTI Go Lokal on Go Lokal’s social media accounts.

The DTI will monitor monthly sales reports on products marketed inflight. Moreover, the MOA stated that the DTI will “grant AirAsia during the term of this Agreement and subject to rules on brand usage and application the use of the Go Lokal! Trademark, subject to the guidelines of the Go Lokal! Corporate Identity Manual, in their joint marketing and promotional activities for MSME products.”

The DTI will conduct regular dedicated marketing and promotional activities for the promotion of the partnership between AirAsia and Go Lokal, AirAsia’s profile, and the AirAsia Totally Local campaign and its Filipino brand partners.

As for AirAsia, the airline will provide cart spaces for the display of Go Lokal! MSME products and include Go Lokal products in the AirAsia Inflight Catalog at no cost to the DTI and the MSMEs.

Under the agreement, the airline will “support the DTI’s Buy Local, Go Lokal campaign which includes the adoption of Buy Local, Go Lokal campaign seals in AirAsia marketing collaterals and inflight catalog.”

AirAsia is also responsible for selling at least 10 Go Lokal suppliers for the contract duration.

The airline will set the retail price based on the terms agreed upon by AirAsia, DTI, and Go Lo- kal! suppliers. The mark-up on all products should not 40 percent.

AirAsia will monitor and report non-moving items and return the same immediately to the suppliers at the end of every quarter regardless of expiration date.

The airline will waive the usual listing fees, enlistment fees, stockroom charges, and manpower requirements for all Go Lokal! suppliers whose products will be selected for the Go Lokal!x AirAsia.

AirAsia is tasked to submit monthly sales report of the previous month every 10th day of the current month to the Trade department for “project monitoring purposes.”

The MOA took effect on July 28 and will run until May 1, 2025 or “until the complete performance and delivery of all deliverables/obligations of the parties, whichever comes first.”

VInFA ST Auto Ltd. soared in its first day of trading as the Vietnamese electric-vehicle (EV) maker looks to raise its profile and take on established car manufacturers.

The company’s shares gained an eye-popping 255 percent Tuesday in new York, giving it a market value in excess of $85 billion. That’s well above US auto giants such as Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co.

VinFast debuted on the nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol VFS after completing a merger with blank-check company Black Spade Acquisition Co. that valued it at $23 billion. The company is backed by Vietnam’s richest man, who added tens of billions of dollars to his net worth with VinFast’s first-day gains.

The listing caps VinFast’s yearslong efforts to become a publicly traded company and puts it in the same arena as Tesla Inc., Lucid Group Inc. and Rivian Automotive Inc. A listed status may also pave the way for VinFast to raise more capital as it looks to expand in the US.

VinFast Chief Executive Officer Le Thuy said the listing isn’t a publicity stunt to introduce the still-niche brand to American car buyers, but rather a necessary step in expanding beyond its home country.

“It’s just a milestone that we want to achieve on a path to becoming a global company,” she told Bloomberg Television in an interview.

The Southeast Asian carmaker— one of the few Vietnamese firms to list in the US—broke ground on its north Carolina factory last month. The plant is expected to have an initial capacity of 150,000 vehicles a year, and the company plans to begin production in 2025.

VinFast has gotten off to a shaky start in the US. In May, the company recalled all the electric sport utility vehicles it had shipped to the country over a software defect. It’s expecting more operating and net losses in the near term as it scales vehicle production.

While EV makers have a particularly patchy record when it comes to blank-check mergers, VinFast is optimistic about its equity appraisal for the SPAC listing. The company said in a written statement to Bloomberg ne ws last week that it saw potential for upside in its valuation. Bloomberg News