Sta Lucia Land Inc.’s (SLI) net income increased by 90% during the 1st half of 2021 at PHP 1.438 billion compared to PHP 757 million for the 1st half of 2020. The increase was due to the 63% increase in revenues from PHP 2.4 billion to PHP 3.9 billion while the decrease in income tax expense due to the CREATE law partially offset the increase in cost and operating expenses. Gross rental income from the mall increased by 21%from PHP 225 million to PHP 273 million as quarantine conditions partially eased up in the 1st half of 2021. Total assets…
Author: Iselle Chua
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Century Pacific Food, Inc. (PSE:CNPF), one of the Philippines’ leading branded food companies, has kickstarted the global roll out of its new plant-based meat alternatives brand, ‘unMEAT’, landing in the United Arab Emirates in June 2021. ‘unMEAT’ is CNPF’s foray into the fast-growing plant-based food category, in response to the rising consumer demand for healthier, better-for-you, and better-for-the-planet products. The brand was first launched through a partnership with Shakey’s Pizza in 2020. Since then, it has expanded its institutional footprint and entered retail. ‘unMEAT’ is currently available in the biggest supermarket chains in the Philippines. Gregory Banzon, CNPF’s Executive Vice…
Megawide Construction Corporation (Megawide) signed another contract with PHirst Park Homes for the latter’s Magalang, Pampanga project, following the recently awarded Batulao, Batangas site. The new contract covers the supply and build agreement for 1,079 housing units using precast materials, marking the two companies’ seventh venture together. For Megawide, this brings the total housing units, including the initial and additional orders, to 12,437 under contract with PHirst Park Homes. “Our seventh partnership with PHirst Park Homes reflects the mutually-beneficial business relationship we continue to harness. PHirst Park Homes is one of the fastest growing affordable housing unit developers in the…
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said foreigners who are holders of immigrant or permanent resident visas but whose alien certificate of registration identity cards (ACR ICard) have expired can still travel to the Philippines so long as they have valid reentry permits (RPs). In a memorandum to all terminal heads of the different international airports, Atty. Carlos Capulong, BI acting port operations chief, reiterated an earlier directive of BI Commissioner Jaime Morente to allow the entry of alien immigrants with expired ACR ICards. “We are still being besieged with queries as to whether these aliens who are permanent residents and…
Lazada Philippines and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) strengthen their partnership to fuel the resilience and growth of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across the regions by showcasing even more brands and products during Lazada’s 8.8 Love Local Sale happening from 8-12 August 2021. Lazada’s 8.8 Love Local Sale will feature a celebration of Philippine cuisine at the Online National Food Fair, showcase Filipino craftsmanship through the official launch of the Lazada Go Lokal! Concept Store, and offer consumers up to 88% off on selected products, additional 10% off on local brands, and free shipping vouchers with…
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines’ (IPOPHL) online trademark filing tool is now using the European Union’s (EU) harmonized database of goods and services (HDB), currently the largest multilingual trademark classification database in the world. The HDB contains over 78,000 terms which users can choose from when indicating the nature of the goods and services for which the mark is sought. All terms in the HDB are automatically accepted by IPOPHL and all trademark offices in the EU. Specifying or describing the goods and services associated with a trademark is a critical step in application. This will set the…
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte said the Philippines will remain a responsible member of the international community and will partner with other nations to attain common objectives. In his last State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, President Duterte said his government has vigorously pursued an independent foreign policy centered on the promotion and protection of the nation’s core national interests. “Yet we continue to work with all nations and seek partnerships that work. Because despite differences, it still is an interdependent world where interests and objectives intersect,” he said. And to the Philippines’s friends in the ASEAN and around…
The Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) has cleared the way for 3.79 million unbanked registrants to the national ID system to be part of the formal banking system as of May this year, in step with President Duterte’s goal of financial inclusion for all Filipinos. In a report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, the LANDBANK said the onboarded 3,794,882 applicants for transaction accounts comprise 47 percent of the 8,047,034 individuals who had already registered in the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) from 852 sites in 32 provinces. As of May 2021, LANDBANK president-CEO Cecilia Borromeo said 1,071,177 of the…
Filinvest REIT Corp. (FILREIT, formerly Cyberzone Properties, Inc.), the real estate investment trust (REIT) of Filinvest Land, Inc., has received a Permit to Sell from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its initial public offering of up to ₱12.6 billion. The base offer of the IPO is 1,634,187,850 common shares, with an overallotment option of up to 163,418,785 common shares at an offer price of ₱7.00 per share. At the current price, the projected dividend yield as stated in the REIT Plan is 6.3% for FY2021 and 6.6% for FY20221. FILREIT’s offer period is slated to run from July…
SEOUL, South Korea – AIZEN, an AI-focused fintech company based in Singapore, today has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire an e-commerce merchant cash management platform in Korea as part of its vertical date economy integration strategy. There are different types of retail e-commerce sites in Korea: open markets like Naver Smart Store; social commerce like Coupang; existing retail giants; and MZ-favored vertical platforms such as Musinsa, Brandi, and Zigzag. A seller typically diversifies their sales channels from nine to ten malls on average, and each mall settles the sales payment within nine to eleven days.…
What a fulfilling event for Cirtek Electronics Corporation (CEC)’s community garden to have finally reaped a produce of various green, leafy vegetables from its Garden of Life. After four (4) months of collective effort and labor in nurturing what used to be an idle garbage dump area of land, the dedicated employees now gathered the fruits of their cultivated garden. What is more heart-warming from this endeavor is the opportunity to share these products by selling to the employees for a very cheap price and by donating most of these to those who are required to undergo quarantine. This so-called…
Alsons Consolidated Resources, Inc. (ACR) has listed with the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corporation (PDEx), an initial ₱1.4 billion of the Alcantara -led company’s Commercial Papers (CP) Program valued at up to ₱3.0 billion. The securities will be offered in one or more tranches within three years from 25 June 2021. Multinational Investment Bancorporation was the issue manager, arranger, and underwriter for the issuance; while Acuña and Francisco Law served as the transactional legal counsel, and AB Capital and Investment Corporation acted as the facility agent. Earlier this year, the issuance received a PRS A plus (corp.) issuer credit rating…
Leading building solutions provider Holcim Philippines, Inc. is investing Php 210 million in projects to reduce the fuel consumption and increase mineral additive usage of its cement plants in Bacnotan, La Union and Lugait, Misamis Oriental, as part of efforts to raise business and sustainability performance. Horia Adrian, President and CEO of Holcim Philippines, said the projects are part of the company’s commitment to continuously invest in its facilities to support the country’s progress and better serve customers. Furthermore, the projects will contribute to the company’s goal of making operations more sustainable. “More efficient operations will help us deliver better…
JAKARTA, Indonesia – GoTo Group, the largest technology group in Indonesia and the “go to” ecosystem for daily life, today announces the appointment of Jacky Lo as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective June 7, 2021. Lo, who will be based in Jakarta and will report to GoTo Group CEO Andre Soelistyo, was previously the CFO of OneConnect Financial Technology, a leading technology-as-a-service platform for financial institutions and an affiliate of Ping An Insurance of China, for which he led its New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listing in 2019. Before that, he was the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Yum China…
DoubleDragon Properties Corp. subsidiary, DDMP REIT INC, sets the final offer price for its REIT IPO at ₱2.25 per share. The price is set at the top end of the range due to strong demand during the bookbuild process. At the price of ₱2.25 per share, the Projected Dividend Yield as stated in the REIT Plan is 5.07% for FY2021 and 5.45% for FY2022. The DDMP basket is seen to be a compelling REIT offering since it will include the land, a premier corner lot located along the main thoroughfares of Macapagal Avenue, EDSA Extension and Roxas Boulevard, where the…
Chubb, the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company, has named Peter Kelaher as its country president for Australia and New Zealand. In his new role, Kelaher, who is currently Senior Vice President and Head of Property and Casualty (P&C) for Australia and New Zealand, will have executive operating responsibility for the company’s general insurance business, including commercial P&C, traditional and specialty personal lines, and accident and health insurance. He will oversee all facets of the business including strategy, product and business development, underwriting and service operations, and profit and loss performance. The appointment is effective immediately. Kelaher…
Philippine-listed food and beverage kiosk operator Fruitas Holdings has secured 20 more locations for its community stores and is in final lease negotiations on another 20 locations. It is set to meet its target of expanding its community store network from 30 as of end-2020 to 100 by end of this year ahead of schedule. Fruitas opened a Soy & Bean community store in Malhacan Road, Meycauayan, Bulacan on January 21. This was Fruitas’ first community store outside Metro Manila and Metro Cebu. It also opened its second Soy & Bean community store in Makati last January 29, in Island…
Pakistan-headquartered digital lending platform Finja has closed $9 million of a $10 million Series A1 financing round, according to an announcement. This latest round brings in new investor ICU Ventures, with all previous institutional investors participating again including BeeNext, Vostok Emerging Finance, Quona Capital, and Gray MacKenzie Engineering Services. Under the terms of the financing, the company has the flexibility to raise an additional $1 million as part of this round. Finja subsidiaries operate under dual licensing regimes of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) for its lending and digital payments…
A court in Kuwait has sentenced the female employer of slain overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Jeanalyn Villavende to death by hanging, according to the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait “According to the lawyer engaged by our Philippine Embassy in Kuwait, Fawziya Al Sabah, the Court’s decision was fair and in accordance to the law and Sharia as the accused assaulted OFW Villavende for days, and imprisoned her in a room until her death,” said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Brigido Dulay. The husband of the employer was also sentenced to four years imprisonment because he tried to cover-up the crime. Villavende, who hailed…
Chinese biotechnology platform ImmVira Group Company has announced raising Series C funding led by Greater Bay Area Homeland Development Fund (GBA Fund). Octagon Capital, China Merchants Capital (through Hui Kang Equity Fund), WinDigital Capital, LanTing Capital, and OrbiMed were co-investors in the funding round, the company said. The Company’s existing investor GL Ventures, the venture capital arm of Hillhouse Capital, who invested in Series A Plus and Series B financings, also participated in this Series C round. O’Melveny & Myers acted as Company counsel with UBS and CICC as Financial Advisors. Founded in 2015, ImmVira is dedicated to the development of oncolytic…