THE MANILA TIMES | JULY 24, 2019

AMRO: PH growth still at 6.3% in 2019, 6.5% in 2020 »Story on B1 HH

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•• 5 SECTIONS PAGES • VOL. 120 NO. 281 32

WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2019

Manila to tighten watch on West PH Sea THE Philippines will be able to keep a tighter watch on the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea or WPS) when a satellite launched by a country in Europe kicks off, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said on Tuesday.

The satellite, he said, would start operating in September.

Esperon refused to name the European country that launched the satellite, but explained that the data it will gather would allow the Philippines to boost its “positioning” in disputed waters.

Esperon disputed President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that China was in possession of the disputed areas.

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Trusted since 1898

Cha-cha to disrupt economy – Diokno B

BY MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO

ANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno on Tuesday strongly opposed plans to change or amend the Constitution, saying it would be “very disruptive” for the economy.

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The breadth of academic freedom

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UR colleges and universities in the Philippines are in a frenzy to attain global status. That is only right. We should not be the backwater of higher education. There has to be re-engineering of our colleges and universities: curriculum development, selection of members of the faculty, delivery systems and even the paradigms underlying all this.

FR. RANHILIO CALLANGAN AQUINO

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DON’T ROCK THE BOAT Bangko Sentral Governor Benjamin

Diokno at The Manila Times Midyear Economic Review held at Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City. Forum moderator Rey Lugtu looks on. PHOTO BY ROGER RAÑADA

MARTIAL law in Mindanao may be extended again until the end of 2020 as National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. on Tuesday pushed for the renewal of military rule.

This loomed amid bombing incidents on the island, including those in Lamitan City, Basilan, last year allegedly carried out by a Moroccan; in Jolo, Sulu, that destroyed the Our Lady of Mount Carmel

GOVT TO ALLOW DRUG PROBE – PALACE NewsA2 DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION 2019-2022

Nelson CelisA4

‘I WILL NOT RETIRE FROM BOXING’ – PACQUIAO SportsD1

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Another year for martial law in Mindanao likely

What’s inside

DoJ FORMS PANEL TO PROBE KAPA NewsA8

“We are really in a very nice place. We are now in Goldilocks economy. Just right — not too hot or too cold,” Diokno told participants of The Manila Times’ 2019 Economic Review held in Makati City.

He pointed out that the economy was projected to grow well within 6 percent this year, while inflation was forecast to average 2.7 percent.

The country’s gross international reserves, the first line of defense against exchange rate volatility, are sufficient to cover 7 and

Cathedral in January this year; and in Indanan, also in Sulu, where military headquarters were attacked.

“I’ll go for [another] one year,” Esperon told reporters at the sidelines of the post-

State of the Nation Address briefing in Quezon City.

“But you know, let us see how we improve by December if needed. Will the

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Graft raps filed vs RJ, UCPB execs over Makati property GRAFT charges have been filed before the Office of the Ombudsman against key officials of the government-owned United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) and Undersecretary Ramon “RJ” Jacinto, presidential adviser on Economic Affairs and Information Technology Communications, over a disputed multimillion property in Makati City. äRapsA8

MANILA PARTNERS WITH SM FOR BUSINESS ONE-STOP SHOP

‘IT’s COMING BACK TO HAUNT YOU EntertainmentE4

REACH US AT: E-mail: newsdesk@manilatimes.net Tel. Nos.: 524-5664 to 67 Address: 2/F Sitio Grande, 409 A. Soriano Avenue, Intramuros, Manila 1002

Mayor Francisco ‘Isko’ Moreno Domagoso and SM Supermalls Chief Operating Officer Steven Tan shake hands after signing a memorandum of understanding at the launch of Manila City Hall’s Business One-Stop Shop (BOSS) project. As part of the city’s campaign against red tape, BOSS will have a satellite booth at SM City Manila from Jan. 2 to 31, 2020, with the aim to improve business permit and license processing in the city. Also in photo are Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez (second from left) and Anti-Red Tape Authority Director Jeremiah Belgica.

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ASIAN STOCKS: s

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PSEi

8,251.46 UP 0.06%

P51.13 TO $1

Shanghai 0.45%

What’s inside NEDA TO SCORE PH ON DEVT PLAN AIMS

»BusinessB2

RELEASE SEEDS, MACHINERY TO FARMERS NOW, GOVT TOLD BusinessB2

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MERALCO SEES BETTER BOTTOM LINE IN H1

»Corporate NewsB3

SEC OKAYS MERGER OF RCBC, THRIFT UNIT

»Corporate NewsB3

US TECH CHIEFS SUPPORT TRUMP ON HUAWEI LIMITS

»Foreign BusinessB4

APPLE IN TALKS TO BUY INTEL CHIP SUBSIDIARY

»Foreign BusinessB4

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Seoul 0.39%

To k yo 0 . 9 5 %

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Jakarta 0.46%

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BY ANNA LEAH E. GONZALES

HE Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) on Tuesday kept its Philippine economic growth forecasts for this year and next despite seeing anemic factory and export output in the region.

In the July update of its Asean+3 Regional Economic Outlook, AMRO maintained its gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection for the country at 6.3 percent for 2019 and 6.5 percent for 2020, after downgrading these in its June report from 6.4 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively.

It also forecast economic growth in East and Southeast Asia to hit 4.9 percent for both years.

Asean+3 groups the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — China, Japan and South Korea.

The report noted, however, that manufacturing and export outturns in some countries in the region con-

tinued to be weak.

“The outlook for the manufacturing sector in the Asean+3 region, particularly the Plus 3 economies, is lackluster, underpinned by uncertainties surrounding global trade,” it said.

“The slowdown in output and the dip in new orders were reflected in a contraction in China’s headline PMI (purchasing managers’ index) (49.4), amid continuing uncertainties over the outcome of the resumed US-China trade negotiation[s after] the G20 (Group of 20) meeting in Osaka,” it added.

The PMI is a composite index that represents the weighted average of new orders, output, employment, suppliers’ delivery time and stocks. Readings above 50 signal an expansion; below that, a contraction.

EVERAL months after being appointed as commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last February, and after attending/participating in a series of En Banc meetings, engaging with several departments of the SEC and immersing myself personally and professionally in the job, I have determined what I hope to focus on as a commissioner.

I am reproducing below excerpts of a speech which discussed my priorities as SEC commissioner.

I hope you will allow me to use this column to elaborate on these priorities. I thought it may be of interest to the public: First, on corporate registration, I want to help spearhead a possible new Company Registration System of the SEC in my capacity as supervising commissioner of the SEC’s Information and Communications

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AMRO said Japan’s PMI deteriorated for the second consecutive month to 49.3, noting that the latest decline in new export orders was the sharpest in the last three years.

“Similarly for [South] Korea, [its] PMI, particularly the export orders subindex, continued to contract,” it added.

AMRO’s projections are the latest reported in the last few days. Last Friday, the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee retained its GDP growth outlook for the country at between 6 percent and 7 percent for this year and 6.5 and 7.5 percent for 2020.

The day before, the Asian Development Bank revised downward its 2019 forecast to 6.2 percent from 6.4 percent, but kept its 2020 projection at 6.4 percent.

Maynilad allots P2.2B for pipe replacements

NO CHOKING IN SMOKING

This June 28, 2019 file photo shows a promoter of an electronic cigarette company smoking an e-cigarette at the Beijing International Consumer Electronics Expo. This month, China’s National Health Commission is planning legislation to regulate e-cigarettes as the world’s biggest cigarette producer and consumer as it aims to control vaping before it takes off in the country. AFP PHOTO

MAYNILAD Water Services Inc. has earmarked about P2.2 billion this year to replace old and leaky pipes to enhance its distribution system and reduce water losses.

In a statement on Tuesday, the West Zone concessionaire said this project covers 312 kilometers of pipes in various parts of the cities of Quezon, Parañaque and Muntinlupa, as well as Bacoor City in Cavite province.

Maynilad expects this project to help them recover about 28 million liters of water a day (MLD), enough to supply the water needs of about 200,000 customers.

“Replacing old pipes is part of the strategy to maximize existing supply for distribution to more areas. This is particularly important now, as we strive to meet the everincreasing water requirements of a growing population,” Maynilad

Pag-IBIG hotline calls dip 74% in H1 A DAY after President Rodrigo Duterte chastised it during his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) reported on Tuesday that Fund-related calls to its 8888 Citizens’ Hotline Complaint Center dropped by 74 percent in the first half of this year.

The systems it had put in place, the state-run agency said in a statement, has resulted in the resolution of 99 percent of the concerns received through the hotline.

“We concur with President Rodrigo Duterte when he said that

much has to be done in ensuring responsiveness to people’s needs.

And while Pag-IBIG Fund made the list of the agencies that need to improve [their] service delivery, it gives us the chance to shine [a] light on our advancements,” said Secretary Eduardo D. del Rosario, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and the Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees. “[I]n the last two years, we have been monitoring 8888 calls closely, and I’m happy to report that 99 percent of all calls are already resolved,” he added.

According to him, the agency’s monitoring data showed that about 50 percent of the total calls received are not complaints, but inquiries or requests for assistance regarding their records.

“Majority of the real complaints touched on delays in loans processing. This is understandable because we were improving our systems during that time,” del Rosario explained.

“We completed the full deployment of our new core systems in December 2017 and we spent the first half of 2018 addressing

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A commissioner’s priorities

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AMRO: PH growth still at 6.3% in 2019, 6.5% in 2020 T

PSEi up slightly on bargainhunting

THE local stock market finished slightly higher or Tuesday as investors resorted to bargain-hunting at the close.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 0.06 percent or 4.63 points to close at 8,251.46 while the broader All Shares dipped by 0.07 percent or 3.72 points to finish at 4,990.95.

“Late afternoon bargain-hunting lifted the local market by 4.63 points,” brokerage firm Philstocks Financial Inc. said in a market note.

In a separate comment, Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said focus also switched to reports that the United States and China were soon to meet for trade negotiations.

Locally, Philstocks said market players will now position ahead of the second quarter earnings results as well as the upcoming separate policy meetings of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Federal Reserve.

Wall Street opened the trading week in a sour note, with the Dow Jones down by 0.25 percent, the S&P 500 declined by 0.62 percent, and the Nasdaq dropped by 0.74 percent.

In Asia, Tokyo jumped 0.95 percent, Shanghai grew 0.45 percent, Hong Kong added 0.34 percent, Seoul rose 0.39 percent, and

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WEDNESDAY JULY 24, 2019

Business Times

CURRENCY RATE

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SEC MATTERS

KELVIN LESTER LEE Technology Department that will specialize and conform to the present SEC registration rules, as well as the Revised Corporation Code. We are already getting in touch with some of the best IT providers for this and I do hope this will be the start of a new and effective system for the SEC to fully serve the public.

Second, I want to take a closer look at financial technology (fintech), and to ensure its compliance within the appropriate regulatory framework. Fintech innovations are already sweeping the globe, introducing substantial changes in the banking and credit business and other related sectors.

Regulators, like us at the SEC, recognize the manifold benefits that fintech may potentially offer to Filipinos. However, regulators must remain vigilant by ensuring a regulatory framework which will evolve alongside the digital transformation caused by the fintech revolution.

Third, as supervising commissioner of the SEC’s Corporate Governance and Finance Department, I also want to focus on sustainability reporting and expand its application and implementation, as embodied in the recently released Sustainability Reporting Guidelines for Publicly-Listed Companies (PLCs), through SEC Memorandum Circular No. 4, Series of 2019. The said guidelines mandate that PLCs submit a sustainability report as part of their annual report each year. The sus-

tainability reporting guidelines for PLCs define sustainability reporting as an organization’s practice of reporting publicly on its significant economic, environmental, social and governance impacts, in accordance with globally accepted standards.

Fourth, I also want to strongly support collective investment schemes in the country, specifically, mutual funds. The Philippine mutual funds market is now ranked 9th in Asean. I want to help improve this ranking and help them and our economy grow.

Fifth, with the dangers and red flags of illegal investment schemes such as Ponzi schemes, I would also like to actively implement, alongside my fellow commissioners, SEC’s anti-investor fraud efforts against illegal investment schemes.

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President and Chief Executive Officer Ramoncito Fernandez said.

As of end-April, Maynilad replaced some 2,355 kilometers of old pipelines within its concession area — about 58 percent of the old distribution system that the firm inherited when it was re-privatized in 2007.

The budget for the pipe replacement is part of the P16.8-billion in capital expenditures (capex) that Maynilad allotted this year and P100 billion for the next five years to improve its services.

Of the total, P11.4 billion would be spent for wastewater management projects; P1.9 billion, to support water operations; P3 billion, for water loss recovery; and the rest, for customer service and information program.

“Maynilad is dedicating a bigger share of this year’s capital investment

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Metro Global’s huge losses

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AR Eastern University Inc. (FEU) has authorized capital stock (ACS) of 20 million common shares with par value of P100 per share. Of the university’s ACS, 1,510 subscribed to 11,160,637 common shares of which 1,467 are Filipinos and 43 are foreigners - 23 Americans, 12 Canadians, six Chinese, and seven Australians. FEU classified one under “others.”

While 1,467 Filipinos were reported in FEU’s general information sheet (GIS) to have paid for 16,288,045 subscribed common shares, or 98.86 percent, 19 of them subscribed to 10,971,659 FEU common shares or 66.59 percent and 1,448 to 5,316,386 FEU common shares, or 32.27 percent. FEU defined 5,316,386 FEU common shares as the “number of shares in the hands of the public.”

FEU’s 43 foreigner stockholders paid for their subscription to 188,978 common shares.

In a filing posted on the website of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), FEU said it amended on July 22, 2019 its GIS to reflect the appointment of Sherissa P. Nuesa as a member of Talent Management Committee. On April 17, 2019, the school said it amended its GIS to reflect the inclusion of Jose T. Sio as a trustee and of Victorino T. Tolosa as chief information officer.

In the same GIS, FEU simplified it by grouping the university’s

ownership of 16,288,045 common shares as being owned by 1,467 Filipino stockholders.

On July 22, 2019, FEU common shares traded at P890 each from opening to closing. The stock hit a 30-day high of P895 and a month’s low of P890.

Public ownership. Metro Global Holdings Corp. (MGHC) reported in a public ownership report (POR) as of June 30, 2019 the company’s public stockholders as holders of 238,484,301 MGHC common shares or 11.92 percent of 2 billion outstanding common shares.

In the same POR, Metro Global had only one principal or substantial stockholder in Fil-Estate Management Inc. with direct ownership of 1,759,750 common shares, or 87.99 percent.

Of the 2 billion issued and outstanding common shares, nine directors held 1,750,504 MGHC common shares, or 0.08 percent. Of MGHC’s outstanding, Noel Carino was the biggest stockholder among them. He owned 1,506,500 MGHC common shares, or 0.07 percent, as of July 22, 2019, followed by

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