Saying it was for the good of the people and the environment, an environmental group has expressed its support for ABS-CBN and called on Congress to renew its broadcasting franchise.
“ABS-CBN provides wide and strong platforms to communicate the importance of the environment, including the realities that have caused environmental destruction,” the Green Thumb Coalition (GTC) said in a statement last Jan. 24.
“It is a vital part of environmental advocacy that resulted in increased awareness to address issues and mobilize the citizenry towards critical engagement and environmental governance,” the coalition added.
The GTC cited that the network’s shows and programs showcase the country’s “rich biodiversity.”
“It etches in the nation’s psyche that there is a parallel importance of environment and sustainable development; that the country’s resources should be used to benefit the present and future generations of Filipinos,” the GTC said.
“By raising red flags on the disastrous consequence of large-scale mining, dirty and harmful energy such as coal plants, massive land conversion and deforestation by way of news reporting, ABS-CBN mainstreams the silent testimonies of the forests, seas and the skies; giving them the ‘voice.’”
The uncertainty surrounding the media giant’s fate was brought about by President Rodrigo Duterte’s adamant declarations, saying he would sign any law to renew the network’s franchise.
Under Republic Act 3846, radio and television companies must secure a franchise from the government before they can operate.
ABS-CBN’s franchise is set to expire on March 30.
While the GTC said that the network was “far from perfect” as it had its fair share of criticism, what sets ABS-CBN apart from the others was being at the “forefront of environmental and nation-building advocacy.”
The GTC particularly cited the late Environment Secretary Gina Lopez, who, the group said, was “instrumental” in shaping the network’s public service programs.
By rejecting ABS-CBN’s franchise, Congress would shut down “such programs and similar endeavors in the pipeline despite its role in complementing the country’s general welfare thrusts.”
“Indeed, both the Executive Department and Congress’s inaction to renew ABS-CBN’s franchise is not only an affront to a free press, unhindered by political pressures, it is equally an attack on an institution that has taken the cudgels for the environment,” the GTC said.
“A decision to silence ABS-CBN is a decision to silence all its public service programs. It is by no stretch a decision to silence the cries of the environment,” the GTC added.
The GTC then urged Congress to renew ABS-CBN’s franchise “now,” adding that it was “for the people, for the environment.”
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1221385/group-to-congress-renew-abs-cbn-franchise-for-sake-of-people-environment
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Time to be ‘greedy’ as local bourse looks for bottom
Heightened regulatory risks, environmental uncertainties spurred by Taal Volcano’s eruption and the shrinking weight of the Philippine market in key emerging market indices are taking a heavy toll on local stocks, but now is the time for the patient investor to come in, analysts at leading online stockbrokerage COL Financial said.
To date, the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) has yet to find its bottom and is decoupling from the rebound seen by other emerging markets.
In a briefing on Tuesday, COL chief technical analyst Juanis Barredo said the PSEi was now testing major support levels and would need to stay afloat 7,475 to 7,500 and break past 7,900 in order to catalyze a rally toward 8,200 to 8,400. This best case scenario has a 30-percent probability, he said.
Otherwise, he said the index might sway down between 7,200 to 6,824.
Barredo sees only a 20-percent probability of things turning too gloomy that would drag the PSEi toward 6,800, the worst scenario so far.
COL’s base case scenario, with a 50 percent probability, is that the PSEi would consolidate in a lower channel, finding support at 7,000 then rallying toward 7,500.
The bears have yet to take control of the local market as the PSEi has not yet fallen by 20 percent from its high of 9,058.
On a fundamental basis, COL head of research April Lynn Lee-Tan said the 2020 outlook continued to be favorable, given that the 2020 national government budget had been passed in time, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has room to ease monetary policy, faster earnings growth, cheap local equity valuations and improving global economic outlook.
COL expects the component companies of the PSEi basket to grow corporate earnings by 12 percent this year, faster than the estimated growth of 8 percent last year, driven largely by the consumer, power, property and telecom sectors.
However, Tan said foreign investors continued to avoid the Philippines partly due to regulatory risks–referring to President Duterte’s tirades against Metro Manila’s water concessionaires and the pending review of other contracts. The worst-case scenario is if the government would come up with unreasonable new contracts and nationalize water concessions and confiscate other projects with so-called “onerous” contracts. She said this could lead to a downgrade in sovereign credit ratings. Given the government’s aggressive infrastructure build-up program, she noted that it could not afford to have any credit-rating downgrade since this would constrain the government’s ability to borrow.
“But we are not expecting the worst,” Tan said. “We know that our economic fundamentals are very good, valuations are very cheap, risks are significant but will eventually be resolved, although we don’t know when that will happen and how low the market will go, so it’s hard to pull the trigger.”
For investors, the best strategy will be to stay invested and manage the risks, she added. While it’s difficult to expect gains in the short-term, investors will have to keep a long-term perspective and limit the size of their investment.
Citing investment guru Warren Buffet’s aphorism that the stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient, Tan said that “for the patient investor, now is the time to invest.”
Likewise in reference to Buffet’s often-quoted advice to “be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful,” Tan said, “definitely now is the time to be greedy.”
Tan said the four possible catalysts for the PSEi’s rebound would be the drafting of water concession contracts that would favor both the private and public sectors, an objective evaluation of so-called “onerous” contracts, franchise renewal for beleaguered broadcasting giant ABS-CBN and bankruptcy and corporate rehabilitation of defunct E-commerce and social networking site Multiply and waning of Taal Volcano’s activity. (See: Multiply bankruptcy)
https://business.inquirer.net/289214/time-to-be-greedy-as-local-bourse-looks-for-bottom
To date, the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) has yet to find its bottom and is decoupling from the rebound seen by other emerging markets.
In a briefing on Tuesday, COL chief technical analyst Juanis Barredo said the PSEi was now testing major support levels and would need to stay afloat 7,475 to 7,500 and break past 7,900 in order to catalyze a rally toward 8,200 to 8,400. This best case scenario has a 30-percent probability, he said.
Otherwise, he said the index might sway down between 7,200 to 6,824.
Barredo sees only a 20-percent probability of things turning too gloomy that would drag the PSEi toward 6,800, the worst scenario so far.
COL’s base case scenario, with a 50 percent probability, is that the PSEi would consolidate in a lower channel, finding support at 7,000 then rallying toward 7,500.
The bears have yet to take control of the local market as the PSEi has not yet fallen by 20 percent from its high of 9,058.
On a fundamental basis, COL head of research April Lynn Lee-Tan said the 2020 outlook continued to be favorable, given that the 2020 national government budget had been passed in time, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has room to ease monetary policy, faster earnings growth, cheap local equity valuations and improving global economic outlook.
COL expects the component companies of the PSEi basket to grow corporate earnings by 12 percent this year, faster than the estimated growth of 8 percent last year, driven largely by the consumer, power, property and telecom sectors.
However, Tan said foreign investors continued to avoid the Philippines partly due to regulatory risks–referring to President Duterte’s tirades against Metro Manila’s water concessionaires and the pending review of other contracts. The worst-case scenario is if the government would come up with unreasonable new contracts and nationalize water concessions and confiscate other projects with so-called “onerous” contracts. She said this could lead to a downgrade in sovereign credit ratings. Given the government’s aggressive infrastructure build-up program, she noted that it could not afford to have any credit-rating downgrade since this would constrain the government’s ability to borrow.
“But we are not expecting the worst,” Tan said. “We know that our economic fundamentals are very good, valuations are very cheap, risks are significant but will eventually be resolved, although we don’t know when that will happen and how low the market will go, so it’s hard to pull the trigger.”
For investors, the best strategy will be to stay invested and manage the risks, she added. While it’s difficult to expect gains in the short-term, investors will have to keep a long-term perspective and limit the size of their investment.
Citing investment guru Warren Buffet’s aphorism that the stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient, Tan said that “for the patient investor, now is the time to invest.”
Likewise in reference to Buffet’s often-quoted advice to “be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful,” Tan said, “definitely now is the time to be greedy.”
Tan said the four possible catalysts for the PSEi’s rebound would be the drafting of water concession contracts that would favor both the private and public sectors, an objective evaluation of so-called “onerous” contracts, franchise renewal for beleaguered broadcasting giant ABS-CBN and bankruptcy and corporate rehabilitation of defunct E-commerce and social networking site Multiply and waning of Taal Volcano’s activity. (See: Multiply bankruptcy)
https://business.inquirer.net/289214/time-to-be-greedy-as-local-bourse-looks-for-bottom
SM Supermalls names Tan as new chief
SHOPPING Center Management Corp. (SCMC), SM Prime Holdings Inc.’s subsidiary managing SM Supermalls, appointed Steven Tan as its new president.
The Sy-led conglomerate made the announcement via a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
“His new position underscores the rapid and dynamic changes in the Filipino consumers behavior. Mr. Tan’s focus on building meaningful shopping experiences consistently through his career prepares him for this next phase,” SM Prime President Jeffrey Lim said.
Prior to his promotion, Tan was the chief operating officer of SCMC.
He was also the head of operations for SM Supermalls in China and in the Philippines.
The new SM Supermalls chief also led the launch of SM Mall of Asia in 2006 and SM Aura Premier in 2013.
Tan completed his master’s degree in business administration from the Paris School of Management.
He started his career working in various hotel properties in Taipei, and Shanghai before venturing into marketing and communications.
SM Prime’s income in the first nine months in 2019 rose by 18 percent to P27.6 billion from P23.44 billion a year ago due to robust mall and residential segments.
Mall revenues inched up by 8 percent to P42.03 billion while residential revenues climbed by 26 percent to P31.92 billion as of end-September last year.
SM Prime shares dropped by 3.05 percent or P1.25 to end at P39.75 apiece on Tuesday.
https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/01/29/business/companies/sm-supermalls-names-tan-as-new-chief/678092/
The Sy-led conglomerate made the announcement via a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
“His new position underscores the rapid and dynamic changes in the Filipino consumers behavior. Mr. Tan’s focus on building meaningful shopping experiences consistently through his career prepares him for this next phase,” SM Prime President Jeffrey Lim said.
Prior to his promotion, Tan was the chief operating officer of SCMC.
He was also the head of operations for SM Supermalls in China and in the Philippines.
The new SM Supermalls chief also led the launch of SM Mall of Asia in 2006 and SM Aura Premier in 2013.
Tan completed his master’s degree in business administration from the Paris School of Management.
He started his career working in various hotel properties in Taipei, and Shanghai before venturing into marketing and communications.
SM Prime’s income in the first nine months in 2019 rose by 18 percent to P27.6 billion from P23.44 billion a year ago due to robust mall and residential segments.
Mall revenues inched up by 8 percent to P42.03 billion while residential revenues climbed by 26 percent to P31.92 billion as of end-September last year.
SM Prime shares dropped by 3.05 percent or P1.25 to end at P39.75 apiece on Tuesday.
https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/01/29/business/companies/sm-supermalls-names-tan-as-new-chief/678092/
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