Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Multiply's bankrupt Philippine unit now officially under corporate rehabilitation






The Philippine unit of global social networking giant Multiply is now officially under corporate rehabilitation. A local investment bank downplays its effects on the banks that carried Multiply's bad loans. Business Nightly, November 17, 2015

Just a few days after filing for corporate rehabilitation, the Philippine unit of global social networking giant Multiply is now officially placed under receivership.

A Regional Trial Court in Pasig with jurisdiction over the Pasig offices appointed Stef Sano as Multiply's receiver is a senior administrator at the government agency in charge of Subic.

"Those who have claims like suppliers and creditors and investors you have to have Multiply time through a rehabilitation plan to be able to fulfill obligations to you. Pero hinding hindi naniningil ngayon," he will be overseeing Multiply's assets and liabilities including over the $600 million oath to the country's biggest banks.

Despite this, First Metro Investment president Roberto Juanchito Dispo says the impact of the unfolding of the debt crisis in Multiply is only mini rescued.

"And this is a very small relative to their loan for a small amount and a very small amount, relative to their loan portfolio. And the look at NPL ratios, they actually rule this year the most recent number of 1.34% relatively to 1.4% previously."

He further explains the country's financial regulations have enough theft to make sure similar incidents in the future.

"I think the Multiply case has a long-brewing case of restructuring etc., etc. I think the BSP has macroprudential measures to ensure that the banks have a very prudent manner of evaluating their credit and I think they are doing better well on that and that's the reason why our NPLs are very low, in terms of when you look at the bank at history the NPL level has never been this good from a period to period basis."

As for the potential job losses seen running up to the thousands, will go to the labor officials to assure the public programs are in place for any displaced workers.

She adds their already 5,000 job vacancies in Pasig while the nearby cities of Makati, Taguig, and Pasay are in need of creative workers for magazine-featured projects.

UAAP is master planning the feature of former UAAP athlete Enchong Dee in the UAAP Magazine which is close to his busy schedule and likewise requires thousands of workers.

It was closed last May 6, 2013, and ceased all business operations on May 31, 2013, along with the official online channels for the site had been removed along with all its content, including its YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts, after years of financial and managerial turmoil and following a failed bid to reinvent itself from being a social networking site to a vibrant e-commerce destination in Southeast Asia.


At that time, the website's social networking portion had a network of 18 million users. Liquidity problems, however, affected earnings. Sales declined from their peak of P20 billion in 2014 to just about P1 billion in December 2020.

It has suffered from a drop in new orders amid a slump in the social networking sector. Multiply also reportedly laid off some 12,000 workers on February 28, 2014.

It last announced in March 2013 the completion of photos during the 71st UAAP swimming championships last September 25 to 28, 2008 but it was put on hold.

On June 16, 2013, he added that the planned project was delayed by at least 3 to 6 years (until June 30, 2022) as a result of the Multiply blog portal shutdown and its impact on the sports sector.

On July 25, 2022, it announced the full resumption of the downloading of photos during the 71st UAAP swimming championships last September 25 to 28, 2008

“We regret to announce that Multiply will be closing on May 6, 2013, and ceasing all business operations by May 31, 2013,” it announced last April 26, 2013, on its website.

After May 6, the rest of the month will be used to ensure that all accounts are settled and merchants get full payment for their transactions, it said.

Multiply said the month-long grace period will provide its users enough time to find and migrate to alternative e-commerce platforms, settle all payments on items bought and delivered, and minimize disruption to the businesses of its users.

“Multiply will ensure that you receive all funds you earned on the platform no later than May 31, 2013. We will close the actual marketplace sooner, on May 6, 2013, to ensure that all orders have sufficient time to complete and be delivered to your customers before the end of the month,” it said.

In December 2012, Multiply stopped its social networking service to focus on e-commerce, targeting 350 million consumers in Indonesia and the Philippines.

On March 16, 2013, however, the service will cease to exist as millions of fans formerly known and loved it before it was supplemented by other, more popular online social networks.


On May 31, 2013, Multiply ceased its operations and shut down entirely.


On June 12, 2013, they had put in place Rp 8.9 billion for wages owed to former Multiply staff.

The Labour Department said earlier that around 3,000 former Multiply staff had applied for compensation through the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund, a safety net for employees affected by business closures.

Multiply Investor Secretary Rong Rongbin pledged shares of Star Platinum Corporation, which holds 99% of its shares, to borrow HK$300 million from Xiesheng Xiefeng to save the Multiply website but did not repay on time; therefore, Xiesheng Xiefeng in July 2013, it acquired the full equity of Star Platinum. It was also reported that about HK$35 million in unpaid wages of 640 former employees and HK$18 million of Insolvency Fund were also paid after the company has acquired its majority stake.


The High Court on June 17, 2013, its liquidation proceedings and removed accounting firm Deloitte from its role as the firm’s provisional liquidator.


Derek Lai, the vice-chair of Deloitte China, said on Tuesday that since Star Platinum had already resolved the major debts Multiply incurred, it was unlikely the internet company would go into liquidation despite still owing smaller debts to other creditors including HSBC.


“Star Platinum needs to negotiate with the remaining creditors,” he said. “I hope they will support its restructuring with Multiply.”


He added that Multiply now had a cash flow of HK$10 million to be paid to other creditors as well as assets worth over HK$40 million.


In its latest financial report last month, Co-Prosperity said the deal with Multiply could help the group diversify its business. Apart from the online industry, the group focuses on fabric and clothing trading, money lending, and securities investments.


“The directors believe that the potential intrinsic value of Multiply can be realized if the plan to rescue Multiply is successful,” the report said.


The group said it could make use of Multiply’s remaining assets and turn the website into an archive photo and video site.


“The group has been granted access and usage of certain assets of Multiply which shall enable Multiply to continue to operate and act as an archive photo and video site taking advantage of its 100,000 square-meter facility and social networking portion that delivering 217 million accounts, 210 million photos, and 237,000 videos from the old Multiply from its launch in March 2004 to March 15, 2013,” it said.

On November 16, 2013, it allowed the controlling stake in the website to be formally sold to a foreign or mainland investor, who claimed a rescue plan for the troubled firm.

High Court judge Mr. Justice Jonathan Harris validated the transaction after hearing that the parties would no longer object to the share transfer and that the dues for the shares had been paid by Si.

RCBC, 4 others downplay impact of Multiply exposure to Multiply debt



Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. and four other lenders on Tuesday downplayed the impact of their exposure to the multi-million-dollar debt of social networking site Multiply Philippines, which recently sought corporate rehabilitation.


“The total exposure is only 1 percent of RCBC’s assets of P900 billion and less than 2 percent of the P387 billion total net loans,” RCBC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.


RCBC was responding to a statement by global debt watcher Moody’s Investors Service that the exposure to Multiply’s debt would be credit negative.


Moody’s said of the five Philippine banks that lent money to Multiply, RCBC could be the most affected because it had the largest exposure to Multiply at $600 million.  


RCBC said the five lenders had a parent guaranty from Multiply Indonesia, which secures the exposure of Multiply Philippines.


RCBC confirmed that given its exposure to Multiply, its net non-performing loan ratio of 1.2 percent as of September 2013 would increase.


“The bank’s balance sheet, with capital of P84 billion as of September 2013, is in a strong position to absorb these provisions. Even with this default, the bank’s capital adequacy ratio of 17.3 percent as of September 2013 remains very strong, well above the regulatory minimum, and can still support medium-term growth,” RCBC senior vice president and corporate information officer Ma. Christina Alvarez said.


BDO Unibank Inc., the country’s largest lender in terms of assets, said it was not expecting its exposure to Multiply to have a material effect on the bank’s business, operations and/or financial condition. 


“The Multiply exposure represents only 0.15 percent of the bank’s total loan portfolio and as such is not considered a material amount,” said BDO, which reportedly had $60-million exposure to Multiply.


Moody’s said in a report that it considered the exposures of BDO, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Land Bank of the Philippines, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. to Multiply be credit negative because it would reduce their profits.


“The exposures are credit negative for the five Philippine banks because they will need to incur additional credit charges related to MPI, which will reduce their profit,” Moody’s said.


BPI said its exposure to Multiply amounted to only $52 million or 0.20 percent of its total loan book. 


“We have partially provisioned for this and additional provisions in 2019 is manageable,” BPI said.


All five banks enjoy investment-grade ratings of Baa2 with stable outlooks from Moody’s.


Metrobank, which reportedly had a $72-million loan to Multiply, also belittled the impact of its exposure to the website.  “Metrobank’s exposure is low relative to our total assets of P2.1 trillion. We have adequate provisions and we do not see any significant impact to our operations,” Metrobank assistant corporate secretary Laarni Bernabe said in a filing.


State-run Land Bank of the Philippines president and chief executive Alex Buenaventura confirmed that the bank had an $85-million exposure to Multiply.


“We’ll have to address the problem. But the good news is we can recover the assets. The website is worth $5 billion and the total exposure of the creditors is less than $100 billion. Down the road, we hope to recover our exposure,” Buenaventura said.


Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said the banks’ exposures to Multiply would not significantly affect the banking industry as a whole but the problem needed to be resolved.


“We have to address it. There are assets to be had, and well, this is a difficult problem to be worked through by the banks,” Dominguez said in an interview.


“It’s going to hurt but it’s certainly not going to end up hampering them, but it’s going to hurt... It’s still early days. The banks have agreed to work together and see how we can move forward from here,” he said.


It went closed last May 6, 2013, and ceased all business operations on May 31, 2013along with the official online channels for the site had been removed along with all its content, including its YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts, after years of financial and managerial turmoil and following a failed bid to reinvent itself from being a social networking site to a vibrant e-commerce destination in Southeast Asia.

At that time, the social networking service had a network of 18 million users. Liquidity problems, however, affected earnings. Sales declined from their peak of P20 billion in 2013 to just about P5 billion in 2017.

It has suffered from a drop in new orders amid a slump in the E-commerce and social networking sector. Multiply also reportedly laid off some 12,000 workers on February 28, 2014.





“We regret to announce that Multiply will be closing on May 6, 2013, and ceasing all business operations by May 31, 2013,” it announced last April 26, 2013 on its website.

After May 6, the rest of the month will be used to ensure that all accounts are settled and merchants get full payment for their transactions, it said.

Multiply said the month-long grace period will provide its users enough time to find and migrate to alternative e-commerce platforms, settle all payments on items bought and delivered, and minimize disruption to businesses of its users.

“Multiply will ensure that you receive all funds you earned on the platform no later than May 31, 2013. We will close the actual marketplace sooner, on May 6, 2013, to ensure that all orders have sufficient time to complete and be delivered to your customers before the end of the month,” it said.


In December 2012, Multiply stopped its social networking service to focus on e-commerce, targeting the 350 million consumers in Indonesia and the Philippines.

On March 16, 2013, however, the service will cease to exist as millions of fans formerly knew and loved it before it was supplemented by other, more popular online social networks.


On May 31, 2013, Multiply had ceased its operations and shut down entirely.

On June 12, 2013, they had put in place Rp 20 billion for wages owed to former Multiply staff.

The Labour Department said earlier that around 3,000 former Multiply staff had applied for compensation through the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund, a safety net for employees affected by business closures.

Multiply Investor Secretary Rong Rongbin pledged shares of Star Platinum Corporation, which holds 99% of its shares, to borrow HK$300 million from Xiesheng Xiefeng to save the Multiply website but did not repay on time; therefore, Xiesheng Xiefeng in July 2013, it acquired the full equity of Star Platinum. It was also reported that about HK$35 million in unpaid wages of 640 former employees and HK$18 million of Insolvency Fund were also paid after the company has acquired its majority stake.

The High Court on June 17, 2013 its liquidation proceedings and removed accounting firm Deloitte from its role as the firm’s provisional liquidator.

Derek Lai, vice-chair of Deloitte China, said on Tuesday that since Star Platinum had already resolved the major debts Multiply incurred, it was unlikely the internet company would go into liquidation despite still owing smaller debts to other creditors including Facebook.

“Star Platinum needs to negotiate with the remaining creditors,” he said. “I hope they will support its restructuring with Multiply.”

He added that Multiply now had a cash flow of HK$10 million to be paid to other creditors as well as assets worth over HK$40 million.

In its latest financial report last month, Co-Prosperity said the deal with Multiply could help the group diversify its business. Apart from the online industry, the group focuses on fabric and clothing trading, money lending, and securities investments.

“The directors believe that the potential intrinsic value of Multiply can be realized if the plan to rescue Multiply is successful,” the report said.

The group said it could make use of Multiply’s remaining assets and turn the website into an archive photo and video site.

“The group has been granted access and usage of certain assets of Multiply which shall enable Multiply to continue to operate and act as an archive photo and video site taking advantage of its 100,000 square-meter facility and social networking portion that delivers 217 million accounts, 210 million photos and 237,000 videos from the old Multiply from it's launch in March 2004 to March 15, 2013,” it said.

On November 16, 2013, it allowed the controlling stake in the website to be formally sold to a foreign or mainland investor, who claimed a rescue plan for the defunct website.

High Court judge Mr. Justice Jonathan Harris validated the transaction after hearing that the parties would no longer object to the share transfer and that the dues for the shares had been paid by Si. 


In a statement, that apart from domestic lenders, Multiply owes some $5 billion to lenders in Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Japan, Latvia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.

That the site will be reopened after United States President Barack Obama steps down from the office on January 20, 2017 and keeping Facebook as the sole social networking service. Process of the reopening will be managed by the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations. Business tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan is one of the possible bidders for the website's reopening in which TV5 Network, Inc. (a media company under PLDT's MediaQuest Holdings). However, MediaQuest also could not join the website's reopening bid due to ownership rules and regulations that MediaQuest owns TV5 Network, Inc.

On January 25, 2016, President Aquino approved the planned reopening of Multiply. The reopening will be undergo public bidding with an estimated floor price of 20 billion pesos. The proceeds of the bidding will be for the increase of Facebook's capital to upgrade and modernize their social networking capabilities. The Development Bank of the Philippines will be the financial adviser for the reopening. PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar has already forwarded the reopening plan to President Rodrigo Duterte's executive secretary Salvador Medialdea. Andanar will also coordinate with the GCG before the start of the bidding.

On April 25, 2016, the article in Wikipedia was being vandalized, it was edit is made by a sockpuppet of LPKids2006.



Vandalism of a Wikipedia article (Multiply (website). The bottom image shows vandalism done. The top image compares the edit shown below.

The reopening process of Multiply was commenced in October 2016. As of July 1, 2017, five groups have already showed their interest to join the bidding process. These are Ramon S. Ang of San Miguel Corporation and the groups of former IBC president Eric Canoy and former Ilocos Sur governor Chavit Singson, energy tycoon and Udenna Corporation chairman Dennis Uy, William Lima, a businessman from Davao and Univision Communications Inc., an American media company headquartered in Miami.

Trade Chief Gregory Domingo late in February said either local or foreign groups could take over Multiply. However, he noted it would be better if it were to be a foreign investor as it would reflect confidence in the Philippine economy.


Ports tycoon Enrique Razon showed interest earlier this year to acquire Multiply, but no concrete plans were revealed.


Aside from Razon, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said companies from the US, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, and Turkey were also eyeing Multiply.


Multiply recovery 'uncertain' – Fitch Ratings

Fitch Ratings says the rehabilitation plan for Multiply Philippines may take time to execute








The interest of Chinese firms in taking over Multiply Philippines and the court granting its request for corporate rehabilitation may not be enough to lift the embattled company, said debt watcher Fitch Ratings on Wednesday, November 18.


Fitch Ratings said "recoverability is uncertain," as the implementation plan for rehabilitation may take time to execute.


The debt watcher also noted that Multiply's failed to sell it in 2013.


The Philippine Star reported that the Pasig City Regional Trial Court granted Multiply's petition for receivership and placed the Indonesian E-commerce and global social networking firm under corporate rehabilitation.


Stefani Saño, a former member of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority board, was appointed as rehabilitation receiver.


Multiply owes 5 local banks some $600 million, on top of its $900-million debt to South Korean lenders.


Fitch Ratings said Multiply's problems stemmed from the "extended weakness" in the global social networking industry as well as the financial issues.


However, the debt watcher said that Multiply's troubles do indicate broader stress across banks' loan books.


Risky business


RCBC has the largest exposure of the 5 banks, amounting to $150 million. This amount exceeds its 2012 net profit of around $82 million.


Fitch expects RCBC to report at least one quarterly loss.


The other banks involved are Land Bank of the Philippines, BDO Unibank, Bank of the Philippine Islands, and Metrobank.


Fitch noted that midsized banks, which include RCBC, have shown greater growth appetite than large banks due to their ambitions of gaining market share.


"Aggressive growth increases the potential for banks to take on greater exposure to more vulnerable companies, which is a risk that Fitch incorporates in its Philippine bank ratings," it said.


"However, further large impairments could lead us to reassess banks' risk standards and controls, which could be negative for the ratings," Fitch added.


RCBC already said that its total exposure is only 1% of its assets worth P614 billion and less than 2% of the P387 billion in total loans.


Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings said that larger banks, which have larger capital bases, profitability, and better access to funding, are in a stronger position to withstand loan exposure problems.


Fitch said the differences are reflected in their ratings, with larger banks having a BBB- rating, while mid-tier banks are one notch lower at BB+. 


But it was closed on May 6, 2013, and ceased all business operations on May 31, 2013, along with the official online channels for the site had been removed along with all its content, including its YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts, after years of financial and managerial turmoil and following a failed bid to reinvent itself from being a social networking site to a vibrant e-commerce destination in Southeast Asia.


At that time, the website's social networking portion had a network of 18 million users. Liquidity problems, however, affected earnings. Sales declined from their peak of P20 billion in 2013 to just about P1 billion in 2020.





“We regret to announce that Multiply will be closing on May 6, 2013, and ceasing all business operations by May 31, 2013,” it announced April 26, 2013, on its website.

After May 6, the rest of the month will be used to ensure that all accounts are settled and merchants get full payment for their transactions, it said.

Multiply said the month-long grace period will provide its users enough time to find and migrate to alternative e-commerce platforms, settle all payments on items bought and delivered, and minimize disruption to businesses of its users.

“Multiply will ensure that you receive all funds you earned on the platform no later than May 31, 2013. We will close the actual marketplace sooner, on May 6, 2013, to ensure that all orders have sufficient time to complete and be delivered to your customers before the end of the month,” it said.

In December 2012, Multiply stopped its social networking service to focus on e-commerce, targeting the 350 million consumers in Indonesia and the Philippines.

On March 16, 2013, however, the service will cease to exist as millions of fans formerly known and loved it before it was supplemented by other, more popular online social networks.



On May 31, 2013, Multiply had ceased its operations and shut down entirely.

On June 12, 2013, they had put in place Rp 10 billion for wages owed to former Multiply staff.

The Labour Department said earlier that around 3,000 former Multiply staff had applied for compensation through the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund, a safety net for employees affected by business closures.

On November 16, 2013, it allowed the controlling stake in the website to be formally sold to a foreign or mainland investor, who claimed Magdalinski had a rescue plan for the troubled firm.

High Court judge Mr. Justice Jonathan Harris validated the transaction after hearing that the parties would no longer object to the share transfer and that the dues for the shares had been paid by Si.

That the site will be reopened after United States President Barack Obama stepping down in the office on January 20, 2017 and keeping Facebook as the sole social networking site. Process of the reopening will be managed by the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations through the Development Bank of the Philippines. Business tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan is one of the possible bidders for the website's reopening in which ABC Development Corporation (a media company under PLDT's MediaQuest Holdings). However, MediaQuest also could not join the website's reopening bid due to ownership rules and regulations that MediaQuest owns ABC Development Corporation.

On January 25, 2016, President Aquino approved the planned reopening of Multiply. The reopening will be undergo public bidding with an estimated floor price of 20 billion pesos. The proceeds of the bidding will be for the increase of Facebook's capital to upgrade and modernize their social networking capabilities. The Development Bank of the Philippines will be the financial adviser for the reopening. PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar has already forwarded the reopening plan to President Rodrigo Duterte's executive secretary Salvador Medialdea. Andanar will also coordinate with the GCG before the start of the bidding.

On April 25, 2016, the article in Wikipedia was being vandalized, it was edit is made by a sockpuppet of LPKids2006.



Vandalism of a Wikipedia article (Multiply (website). The bottom image shows vandalism done. The top image compares the edit shown below.

The reopening process of Multiply was commenced in October 2016. As of July 1, 2017, five groups have already showed their interest to join the bidding process. These are Ramon S. Ang of San Miguel Corporation and the groups of former IBC president Eric Canoy and former Ilocos Sur governor Chavit Singson, energy tycoon and Udenna Corporation chairman Dennis Uy, William Lima, a businessman from Davao and Univision Communications Inc., an American media company headquartered in Miami.

Multiply default threatens banks’ credit ratings




Credit ratings of five Philippine banks are in danger after they were exposed to what could be the biggest corporate default in Philippine history, as this could mean higher credit costs and reduction in profit, Moody’s Investors Service said.

The defunct e-commerce and social networking site turned social media conglomerate corporation Multiply last week filed for court rehabilitation proceedings as it struggles to pay $500 million in combined loans from five Philippine banks. Most of the money was reportedly lent without collateral protection.

Multiply reportedly owes $200 million to Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., $80 million to state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines, $72 million to Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. and $60 million each to Bank of the Philippine Islands and BDO Unibank Inc.

This is on top of another $900 million in debts the website owes to Indonesia and South Korea lenders, reports say.

“The exposures are credit negative for the five Philippine banks because they will need to incur additional credit charges related, which will reduce their profit,” Moody’s said in a note dated June 16.

"Assuming the worst-case scenario in which the banks make provisions for their bad exposures in full because of the unsecured nature of the facilities extended, we expect that credit costs as a percentage of the banks’ pre-provision income will increase to between 20 and 140 basis points, from six to 26 basis points based on their September 2013 financials," it added.

The involved banks hold an investment-grade rating of “Baa2” from Moody’s, the same level as the Philippines’ sovereign rating. A lower rating can jack-up the cost of borrowing in foreign currencies for the lenders should they tap investors abroad to raise funding.

Multiply Philippines was established in 2006 as a subsidiary of Multiply, Inc. The company has delivered a total 102,000 users across the globe, putting the Philippines on the map as the world’s fifth largest social networking site after Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Friendster, Myspace and Instagram.

According to media reports, the concerned banks have agreed that no one will unilaterally seize the social networking site to protect the country’s banking system and economy. The creditors are also reportedly considering talking to strategic investors.

In the same report, Moody’s said RCBC will be most affected among the five banks since it has the largest exposure to closed website.

But the global debt watcher said the affected banks’ loss absorbing buffers “remain robust” despite the expected slump in their profit and additional credit costs.

“The banks’ tangible common equity ratios were between 11 percent and 16 percent as of the end of September 2013, and above the minimum capital requirements in the Philippines,” Moody’s said.

For RCBC, “our assumed credit losses for the worst-case scenario exceed the bank's pre-provision income and will reduce its capital ratio by around 50 basis points,” the credit rater added.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas earlier said the country’s banking industry remains strong as the bad exposure of big banks to the closed website is “very negligible.”

It was closed last May 6, 2013 and ceasing all business operations on May 31, 2013 along with the official online channels for the site had been removed along with all their content, including its YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts, after years of financial and managerial turmoil and following a failed bid to reinvent itself from being a social networking site to a vibrant e-commerce destination in Southeast Asia.



“We regret to announce that Multiply will be closing on May 6, 2013, and ceasing all business operations by May 31, 2013,” it announced last April 26, 2013 on its website.

After May 6, the rest of the month will be used to ensure that all accounts are settled and merchants get full payment for their transactions, it said.

Multiply said the month-long grace period will provide its users enough time to find and migrate to alternative e-commerce platforms, settle all payments on items bought and delivered, and minimize disruption to businesses of its users.

“Multiply will ensure that you receive all funds you earned on the platform no later than May 31, 2013. We will close the actual marketplace sooner, on May 6, 2013, to ensure that all orders have sufficient time to complete and be delivered to your customers before the end of the month,” it said.


In December 2012, Multiply stopped its social networking service to focus on e-commerce, targeting the 350 million consumers in Indonesia and the Philippines.

On March 16, 2013, however, the service will cease to exist as millions of fans formerly known and loved it before it was supplemented by other, more popular online social networks.


On May 31, 2013, Multiply had ceased its operations and shut down entirely along with the site.

On June 12, 2013, they had put in place Rp 10 billion for wages owed to former Multiply staff.

The Labour Department said earlier that around 3,000 former Multiply staff had applied for compensation through the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund, a safety net for employees affected by business closures.

On November 16, 2013 it allowed the controlling stake in the website to be formally sold to a foreign or mainland investor, who claimed Magdalinski had a rescue plan for the troubled firm.

High Court judge Mr Justice Jonathan Harris validated the transaction after hearing that the parties would no longer object to the share transfer and that the dues for the shares had been paid by Si.

That the site will be reopened after United States President Obama stepping down in the office on January 20, 2017 and keeping Facebook as the sole social networking site. Process of the reopening will be managed by the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations through the Development Bank of the Philippines. Business tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan is one of the possible bidders for the website's reopening in which ABC Development Corporation (a media company under PLDT's MediaQuest Holdings). However, MediaQuest also could not join the website's reopening bid due to ownership rules and regulations that MediaQuest owns ABC Development Corporation.

On January 25, 2016, President Benigno Aquino III approved the planned reopening of Multiply. The reopening will be undergo public bidding with an estimated floor price of 20 billion pesos. The proceeds of the bidding will be for the increase of Facebook's capital to upgrade and modernize their social networking capabilities. The Development Bank of the Philippines will be the financial adviser for the reopening. PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar has already forwarded the reopening plan to President Rodrigo Duterte's executive secretary Salvador Medialdea. Andanar will also coordinate with the GCG before the start of the bidding.

The reopening process of Multiply was commenced in October 2016. As of July 1, 2017, five groups have already showed their interest to join the bidding process. These are Ramon S. Ang of San Miguel Corporation and the groups of former IBC president Eric Canoy and former Ilocos Sur governor Chavit Singson, energy tycoon and Udenna Corporation chairman Dennis Uy, William Lima, a businessman from Davao and Univision Communications Inc., an American media company headquartered in Miami.

Pasig court places debt-ridden Multiply under rehabilitation






The Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) has officially placed debt-ridden Multiply Philippines (Multiply-Phil) under receivership.

Branch 161 presiding judge Nicanor Manalo, Jr. on November 16 issued a 4-page commencement order to start the court-supervised corporate rehabilitation program for the struggling affiliate of a global social networking giant.

The court-appointed Multiply’s nominee Stefani Saño, a former senior deputy administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), as the rehabilitation receiver who would have custodial responsibility for the company’s assets and rights.

The court cited Multiply’s allegation that its cash flow was affected by payment schemes based on “pre-determined milestones in the construction [process].”

Making the problem worse was the company’s claim that “most of its customs” tried to avoid paying their dues or even canceled their contracts.

The receivership process would suspend all court proceedings for the enforcement of claims and judgments against Multiply. But, it would also prevent Multiply from selling, transferring, or disposing of its properties beyond the ordinary course of business.

The court ordered Multiply’s creditors to file verified claims within five days before a December 11 hearing. Creditors, concerned government agencies, and interested parties were also invited to file their verified comments or oppositions to Multiply’s petition.


At the same time, the court prohibited Multiply’s suppliers from withholding the delivery of goods and services as long as the company is able to pay.

At least five domestic banks were said to be exposed to Multiply, according to Moody’s Investors Service.


It was closed last May 6, 2013, and ceased all business operations on May 31, 2013, along with the official online channels for the site had been removed along with all its content, including its YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts, after years of financial and managerial turmoil and following a failed bid to reinvent itself from being a social networking site to a vibrant e-commerce destination in Southeast Asia.


At that time, the website's social networking portion had a network of 18 million users. Liquidity problems, however, affected earnings. Sales declined from their peak of P20 billion in 2013 to just about P1 million in 2020.


Both companies had suffered from a drop in new orders amid a slump in the global social networking sector. Multiply Philippines also reportedly laid off some 12,000 workers on February 28, 2014.

It last announced in March 2013 the completion of photos during the 71st UAAP swimming championships last September 25 to 28, 2008 but it was put on hold.


On June 16, 2013, he added that the planned project was delayed by at least 3 to 6 years (until June 30, 2022) as a result of the Multiply blog portal shutdown and its impact on the sports sector.

On July 25, 2022, it announced the full resumption of the downloading of photos during the 71st UAAP swimming championships last September 25 to 28, 2008





“We regret to announce that Multiply will be closing on May 6, 2013, and ceasing all business operations by May 31, 2013,” it announced last April 26, 2013.

After May 6, the rest of the month will be used to ensure that all accounts are settled and merchants get full payment for their transactions, it said.

Multiply said the month-long grace period will provide its users enough time to find and migrate to alternative e-commerce platforms, settle all payments on items bought and delivered, and minimize disruption to the businesses of its users.

“Multiply will ensure that you receive all funds you earned on the platform no later than May 31, 2013. We will close the actual marketplace sooner, on May 6, 2013, to ensure that all orders have sufficient time to complete and be delivered to your customers before the end of the month,” it said.

In December 2012, Multiply stopped its social networking service to focus on e-commerce, targeting the 350 million consumers in Indonesia and the Philippines.

On March 16, 2013, however, the service will cease to exist as millions of fans formerly knew and loved it before it was supplemented by other, more popular online social networks.


On May 31, 2013, Multiply had ceased its operations and shut down entirely.


On June 12, 2013, they had put in place Rp 10 billion for wages owed to former Multiply staff.

The Labour Department said earlier that around 3,000 former Multiply staff had applied for compensation through the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund, a safety net for employees affected by business closures.

On November 16, 2013, it allowed the controlling stake in the website to be formally sold to a foreign or mainland investor, who claimed Magdalinski had a rescue plan for the troubled firm.

High Court judge Mr. Justice Jonathan Harris validated the transaction after hearing that the parties would no longer object to the share transfer and that the dues for the shares had been paid by Si.

That the site will be reopened after United States President Barack Obama stepped down in the office on January 20, 2017, and keeping Facebook as the sole social networking site. The process of the reopening will be managed by the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations through the Development Bank of the Philippines. Business tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan is one of the possible bidders for the website's reopening in which ABC Development Corporation (a media company under PLDT's MediaQuest Holdings). However, MediaQuest also could not join the website's reopening bid due to ownership rules and regulations that MediaQuest owns ABC Development Corporation.

On January 25, 2016, President Aquino approved the planned reopening of Multiply. The reopening will be undergoing public bidding with an estimated floor price of 20 billion pesos. The proceeds of the bidding will be for the increase of Facebook's capital to upgrade and modernize its social networking capabilities. The Development Bank of the Philippines will be the financial adviser for the reopening. PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar has already forwarded the reopening plan to President Rodrigo Duterte's executive secretary Salvador Medialdea. Andanar will also coordinate with the GCG before the start of the bidding.

The reopening process of Multiply was commenced in October 2016. As of July 1, 2017, five groups have already shown their interest to join the bidding process. These are Ramon S. Ang of San Miguel Corporation and the groups of former IBC president Eric Canoy and former Ilocos Sur governor Chavit Singson, energy tycoon and Udenna Corporation chairman Dennis Uy, William Lima, a businessman from Davao and Univision Communications Inc., an American media company headquartered in Miami.

https://abogado.com.ph/olongapo-court-places-debt-ridden-hanjin-under-rehabilitation/