Business News

Management and Organization

ANDREA M. MAGBANUA
A21
Philippine Daily Inquirer | August 16, 2019 | 05:18 AM

by: Ben O. de Vera – Reporter

Gov’t urged to turn to PPP for infra program as absorptive capacity issue
remains

With the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program seen at risk of failing to meet its
goals as major infrastructure agencies continue to underspend their budgets, an economist urged
the government to turn to the traditional public-private partnership (PPP) mode of rolling out big-
ticket projects.

While the decline in public construction activities at the start of the year was mainly attributed to
the delayed approval of the 2019 national budget, the infrastructure agencies’ inability to spend
their budgets fully could also be a contributing factor.

Habito pointed to Commission on Audit reports that showed that the Departments of
Transportation (DOTr) and of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) had been having difficulty in
spending their annual budgets.

The DPWH spent only one-third of its allocated budget in 2017, while the DOTr spent only 26
percent in 2017 and even lower, at 21 percent, in 2018, Habito said citing the COA report.

Habito believes tapping the PPP framework will boost the Build, Build, Build program.

The Duterte administration, however, had been shunning the PPP mode as its economic team
claimed that the process—from project approval to rollout—had been slow during the term of the
previous administration, which implemented only 10 projects during its six-year term.

Duterte’s economic managers were instead pushing for a “hybrid” PPP model wherein the
government would roll out the projects and bid out operations and maintenance (O&M) contracts
to the private sector.

It would also help that local conglomerates and corporations were awash in cash, that they have
big war chest for infrastructure projects, he added.
The Philippine Star | August 20, 2019 | 12:00 AM

by: Paolo Romero

947 rice-producing towns to get P5-million aid

MANILA, Philippines — Some 947 rice-producing towns in the country will receive P5 million
worth of farm equipment and machinery annually to assist farmers under the law creating the Rice
Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), Sen. Cynthia Villar said yesterday.

Villar, chairperson of the committee on agriculture and food, said there is a P5-billion RCEF for
the procurement of farm equipment through the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development
and Mechanization (PhilMech), which will be divided among rice-producing municipalities.

She said Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law mandates programs designed to protect
farmers and improve their competitiveness, and the distribution of farm equipment such as tillers,
tractors, seeders, threshers, rice planters, harvesters and irrigation pumps to eligible rice farmer
associations and registered rice cooperatives.

The machinery will be used for land preparation, crop establishment, harvesting and threshing,
drying and milling. In the absence of farmer associations, the local government unit will manage
and maintain the equipment.

Experts have analyzed the cost difference between two countries and found out the biggest
difference of P3.40 as labor cost, according to the senator.

The senator also disclosed that the law also allocated P100 million to PhilMech to be used for
training on farm mechanization and farm machinery servicing and maintenance.

Meanwhile, Sen. Francis Pangilinan yesterday welcomed the Department of Agriculture’s P1.5-
billion loan package for rice farmers affected by the influx of cheaper imports, but he said the rice
farmers had lost at least P60 billion and they need immediate cash assistance.

Dar had announced that affected rice farmers tilling at most one hectare of land may avail
themselves of a one-time, zero-interest loan amounting to P15,000 payable up to eight years
under the Expanded Survival and Recovery Assistance Program for Rice Farmers (SURE Aid).
On the sidelines of a forum on hybrid rice on Friday, Dar said SURE Aid, which will start on
Sept. 1 this year, will replace the P5,000 conditional cash transfer he had announced earlier; the
conditional cash transfer would cost the government about P6 billion to benefit about 1.1 million
rice farmers.

One of Pangilinan’s proposals to ease the suffering of rice farmers was for a P25,000 zero-
interest loan under SURE Aid.

Dar also said the National Food Authority will buy the product of rice farmers who would avail
themselves of the loan assistance under the SURE Aid program.
Manila Times | August 23, 2019

by: Jordeene B. Lagare

Suweco opens solar-diesel microgrid plant

SUWECO Tablas Energy Corp. (STEC) recently switched on the hybrid solar-diesel microgrid
with battery facility in Romblon, dubbed as the first and largest hybrid facility in the country.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday led the inauguration the P550-million Tumingad Solar
Power Plant located in a 9-hectare property in Tablas Island. It is capable of meeting the daytime
power requirements of 43,000 households in the island.

The solar-diesel microgrid plant is capable of producing 7.5 megawatt peak (MWp) of
electricity. Excess solar power will be stored in the plant’s batteries and will be used to maintain
a reliable system, while diesel generators will produce electricity at night.

In a statement, STEC said it was scheduled to commence commercial operations of the power
plant by September. The facility is expected to save about 3 million liters of fossil fuel and
reduce carbon emissions by 6.5 million kilograms per year.

“An estimated P180 million per year will be saved from the government subsidy for universal
charge for missionary electrification,” STEC said.

The company inaugurated the solar-diesel microgrid plant following Duterte’s order to Energy
Secretary Alfonso Cusi to harness the development of renewable energy resources and reduce
the country’s dependence on traditional energy sources including coal.

STEC said in the island alone, about 43,400 households used to experience daily power outages
because of limited supply from state-owned National Power Corp.’s small power utilities group
(SPUG).

The company inaugurated the solar-diesel microgrid plant following Duterte’s order to Energy
Secretary Alfonso Cusi to harness the development of renewable energy resources and reduce
the country’s dependence on traditional energy sources including coal.

STEC said in the island alone, about 43,400 households used to experience daily power outages
because of limited supply from state-owned National Power Corp.’s small power utilities group
(SPUG).
Manila Times | August 27, 2019

by: Mayvelin U. Caraballo

Govt earns P160M from Mile Long – DoF

The 2.2-hectare Mile Long property in Makati City has generated P160 million in revenues for
the government since 2017, the Department of Finance (DoF) reported.

“Net income from Mile Long is almost P160 million for 2 years of operation at a 70 percent
occupancy,” Gerard Chan, chief privatization officer of the DoF’s Privatization Management
Office, said late last week.

The government took over the property’s management from Sunvar Realty Development Corp.
in August 2017.

Mile Long is made up of several parcels of land between Pasong Tamo (Chino Roces) Ave. and
Vito Cruz (Pablo Ocampo) St. Extension in Makati, with a total area of 125,607 square meters.

Chan also said that the government’s planned redevelopment of the prime property was still on
the table.

In fact, he added, the government had hired architect and urban planner Felino Palafox Jr. to
prepare the masterplan for the redevelopment of Mile Long.

“Palafox’s proposal is to develop it into [a] mixed-use, mixed residential and commercial
property,” Chan said.

He added that the redevelopment of the property will be divided into four phases.

Chan said the government was also planning to build a transport hub in Mile Long, which will
complement the Skyway and the planned Makati subway.

Chan also highlighted that the redevelopment project will be implemented through a joint
venture or public-private partnership scheme under the Bases Conversion and Development
Authority (BCDA) because part of its income will be used to fund the military pension.

“There is an executive order being drafted wherein this will be transferred, assigned to BCDA,”
he said.

“In a joint development, the government will contribute the land and the developer will build and
then later on they will share the income from the project,” Chan explained.

The plan for Mile Long was already presented to President Duterte, he added.
Inquirer | August 30, 2019

by: Julie M. Aurelio

Magnum Air granted 25-year franchise

President Duterte has granted a 25-year franchise to Magnum Air Inc., operator of SkyJet

Airlines, to establish, operate and maintain domestic and international air transport services. The

airline firm presently has four planes in its fleet and operates direct flights from Manila to Basco,

Camiguin, Coron and San Vicente in Palawan.

Rappler | September 03, 2019 | 8:00 PM

by: Gelo Gonzales

Huawei phone with same chipset as flagship P30 to retail for P18,990
MANILA, Philippines – Xiaomi isn't the only brand now that's putting flagship chipsets on
sensibly priced phones.

Months ago, Xiaomi did it with the Mi 9, which came with the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon
855 chipset and a P22,990 price tag.

Now, Huawei, with its newly announced Nova 5T, has a phone that offers a similar price-to-
processor-performance ratio. The 5T, priced at P18,990, is equipped with the same processor
found in the brand's flagship P30 line, the Kirin 980.

Xiaomi's 9T Pro, which also has a Snapdragon 855 processor, is expected to launch this
September in the Philippines at a price that's very similar to the Nova 5T.

Pre-orders for the 5T run from September 6 to 13. Pre-orders will come with Huawei surround
sound speakers and a one-year iFlix membership.

Here are the specs:

 6.26-inch, 2,340 x 1,080 LCD display with punch-hole notch

 Kirin 980 chipset
 8GB RAM
 128GB storage
 32MP f/2.0 front camera
 48MP + 16MP (wide) + 2MP (macro) + 2MP (depth-sensing) camera array
 Fingerprint sensor on the side
 3,750 mAh battery
 USB Type-C 22.5-watt charging
 Android 9 + EMUI 9.1
 Colors: Black, crush blue, midsummer purple

Local Huawei representatives have also confirmed that the 5T will still ship with Android and
Google services and apps, in spite of recent reports that new Huawei phones after the May 2019
US trade ban will not be able to use these services and apps.

Huawei, currently on its second 90-day reprieve from the US trade ban, will also be launching the
flagship Mate 30 on September 19.
BusinessWorld | September 06, 2019 | 12:34 AM

by: Jenina P. Ibañez

FDI pledges double in first half

COMMITTED foreign direct investments (FDI) grew by more than half annually in the three
months to June, helping foreign pledges double last semester.

Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed approved foreign
commitments registered with the country’s seven main investment promotion agencies (IPAs)
grew 60.2% year on year to P49.58 billion last quarter from P30.95 billion a year ago.

The second-quarter pledges brought foreign commitments in the first half to P95.56 billion,
111.6% more than the P45.15 billion a year ago.

Combined investment pledges by Filipino and foreign nationals totaled P107 billion in the
second quarter, down 6.7% from the previous year’s P114.7 billion. Domestic investors
accounted for 53.7% of the total investment pledges during the quarter.

Should they materialize, foreign and local investments pledged in the second quarter are
expected to generate 30,135 jobs across industries, 32.3% lower than the projected employment
of 44,526 jobs in the second quarter of 2018.

IPAs are government agencies that grant tax and non-tax incentives to investors putting up
businesses or expanding existing ones in priority sectors. The seven main IPAs monitored by the
PSA are the Board of Investments (BoI), Clark Development Corp. (CDC), Philippine Economic
Zone Authority (PEZA), Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), Authority of the Freeport
Area of Bataan (AFAB), BoI-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BoI-ARMM) and
Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA)

The Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities bill, which did not pass
the previous Congress, was refiled this year under a new name — the proposed Comprehensive
Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization bill. The bill, House Bill 4157, seeks to gradually
trim the corporate tax rate to 20% by 2029 from the current 30%, which is the highest in
Southeast Asia. The measure will also remove redundant fiscal incentives.

Mr. Asuncion said that foreign investments are “still expected to grow but rather slowly.”

“If future policy on corporate taxes and investment incentives have been finalized, [then] foreign
investments are expected to return stronger and higher as investors see a clearer and more
competitive investment policy for the Philippines,” he said.

“However, the global trade environment remains uncertain and may continue to be a drag on
foreign investments.”
BusinesWorld | September 10, 2019 | 10:04 PM

by: Beatrice M. Laforga

Malaysia, Singapore studying ‘success’ of PHL sugar tax on beverages —

Finance dep’t

MALAYSIA and Singapore consider the Philippine excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages
(SSBs) a “successful fiscal policy intervention,” the Department of Finance (DoF) said.

In a statement Tuesday, Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran said officials from Malaysia and
Singapore have shown interest in studying how the country implemented the excise tax on SSBs
under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.

“During the meeting, the ASEAN Member-States recognized the passage of sweetened beverage
tax as a successful fiscal policy intervention to achieve a healthier society in the ASEAN
region,” Mr. Beltran was quoted as saying in the statement.

Based on 2018 sales data from Euromonitor, Mr. Beltran said imposing the excise tax has
lowered the consumption of sweetened beverages by an average of 6.5%, while that of powdered
concentrates declined 25%.

Implemented in January last year, the law imposed an excise tax of P6 per liter on drinks with
caloric or non-caloric sweeteners and P12 per liter for those containing high-fructose corn syrup.

The ASEAN Interpillar Consultation Meeting for the Reformulation and Production of Healthy
Food and Beverages was held in Indonesia in July, with delegates discussing the health
challenges faced by ASEAN countries.

“In addressing this, the ASEAN Member-States have prioritized the reformulation and production
of healthier food and beverage options as one of the key strategies to be implemented,” Mr. Beltran
said.
CNN Business | September 13, 2019 | 2357 GMT (0757 HKT)

by: David Goldman

Bob Iger steps down from Apple's board as Disney becomes a competitor

New York (CNN Business)Disney CEO Bob Iger resigned from Apple's board of directors Friday,
just as the two companies are becoming streaming media competitors.
Apple (AAPL) on Tuesday announced the pricing and features of TV+, the company's new Netflix
(NFLX) competitor. It will cost $4.99 a month, $2 less than Disney's (DIS) soon-to-be-released
Disney+ streaming product. Both TV+ and Disney+ will stream original television shows and
movies to subscribers.
It's common for executives to step down from boards when the companies they work for become
rivals with the companies they direct. And with regulatory scrutiny of Silicon Valley heating up
in general, it seems like a good time for the two sides to part ways. Apple's board was previously
eyed by the Federal Trade Commission for its ties to competitors. Eric Schmidt, the former Google
CEO, stepped down from Apple's board in 2009 after Google's Android became a viable
competitor to Apple's iPhone and the agency raised questions about the relationship.
In Apple's previous regulatory filings about Iger, the company had noted Apple enters into "arms-
length commercial dealings" with Disney, including content licensing agreements. But Apple said
it didn't believe Iger had a "material direct or indirect interest" in those negotiations.
Iger had served on Apple's board since November 2011, a month after former Apple CEO Steve
Jobs died.
At Apple, Iger was the chairman of the company's governance committee and served on the
compensation committee. He is one of the world's highest-paid CEOs: His total compensation at
Disney was $65.6 million last year. Iger has long been criticized for his high pay, including by
Disney heiress Abigail Disney, who has been outspoken about Iger's compensation.
Iger was paid $125,000 in salary and $250,000 in stock to serve on Apple's board. At the end of
last year, Iger held $11 million worth of Apple's stock.
Philippine News Agency | September 17, 2019 | 7:29 PM

by: Perla Lena

Kalibo seeks senators’ help to rehab burned public market

ILOILO CITY -- The local government unit of Kalibo is asking financial support from national
elected officials to help rehabilitate its public market, which was razed on Sunday.

The Sangguniang Bayan (SB) of Kalibo on Monday passed a resolution seeking PHP10-million
financial assistance each from Senators Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao and Ramon Revilla Jr. to
be used for the “emergency rehabilitation” of the public market.

In a phone interview on Tuesday, Kalibo Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer
Terence Toriano said the fire displaced 331 vendors, based on the assessment conducted by the
municipal social welfare and development office (MSWDO).

The fire damaged around 70 to 80 percent of the public market situated at the corner of Toting
Reyes Street and Roxas Avenue. The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) estimated the damage to
be around PHP35 million.

Toriano recalled that fire also hit the public market in 1998 but the damage was not that huge.

He said that the LGU has already identified options to accommodate affected vendors. One
option is to negotiate with the owner of an adjacent lot, which is being used by the local
government as a parking area, to allow the vendors to stay.

Another is to negotiate with the owner of a vacant lot across the eastern terminal in San Lorenzo
Road to allow vendors to temporarily set up their stalls.

Meantime, some vendors decided to use the front portion of the burned building. The public
market is composed of three buildings and the ground floor is still usable.

The council, hours after the fire, also convened and declared a state of calamity for the LGU to
extend assistance to the affected vendors.

Toriano added that they have yet to determine how much will be extended to the victims from
out of the funds that will be taken from the quick response fund.

The rehabilitation, meanwhile, is estimated to cost some PHP40 to 50 million if a parking lot will
be integrated but if the rehab will only be a single level market, then the LGU may need around
PHP20 million, he said.
The Associated Press | September 20, 2019

by: Pat Eaton-Robb

Colt suspends production of AR-15 for civilian market

FILE - In this Aug. 15, 2012 file photo, three variations of the AR-15 rifle are displayed at the
California Department of Justice in Sacramento, Calif. On Sept. 19, 2019, Connecticut-based Colt
Firearms said it was suspending production of its version of the AR-15 for the civilian market. (AP
Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Gun-maker Colt is suspending its production of rifles for the
civilian market including the popular AR-15, the company said Thursday in a shift it attributed to
changes in consumer demand and a market already saturated with similar weapons.

The company said it will focus instead on fulfilling contracts with military and police customers
for rifles.

Veilleux said the company, which emerged from bankruptcy in 2016, remains committed to the
Second Amendment. He said the company is expanding its lines of pistols and revolvers.

Despite a national debate on gun control, Colt’s decision seems driven by business
considerations rather than politics, said Adam Winkler, a gun policy expert at the University of
California, Los Angeles School of Law.

FBI statistics show more than 2.3 million people applied for background checks to purchase guns
in August, up from just over 1.8 million in July. Those applications, the best available statistic
from tracking gun sales, has have been rising steadily, with a slight decline after Donald Trump
was elected president in 2016, something call the “Trump slump.”

Gun sales usually go up when guy buyers feel their access to such weapons are being threatened,
Winkler said.

Still, Winkler said the company’s decision risks alienating and angering its remaining customer
base.

The debate on gun control has focused in particular on assault-style rifles like AR-15s that have
been used in mass shootings.

Democratic presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke, whose
hometown of El Paso was the site of a shooting in August left 22 people dead, has been pushing
for mandatory rifle buybacks over the last few weeks.

The parents of a young woman killed in the 2017 Las Vegas massacre filed a wrongful death
lawsuit in July against Colt and seven other gun manufacturers, along with gun shops in Nevada
and Utah, arguing their weapons are designed to be easily modified to fire like automatic
weapons.

In Connecticut, gun-maker Remington is facing a lawsuit involving liability for the Sandy Hook
Elementary School shooting in which a Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle used to kill 20 first graders
and six educators on Dec. 14, 2012.
Channel News Asia | September 24, 2019 | 6:41 PM

by: Lydia Lam

Accountant embezzled nearly S$4 million from company, remitting most

home to the Philippines
SINGAPORE: An accountant with access to his company's cheque books and bank accounts
embezzled almost S$4 million from the firm over about four years, remitting most of the money
back home to the Philippines.

Ariel Biasong Salamanes, a 42-year-old Filipino, pleaded guilty on Tuesday (Sep 24) to 15
charges, including criminal breach of trust and falsification of accounts. Another 267 charges
were taken into consideration for sentencing.

The court heard that Salamanes was employed between 2012 and 2017 by QlikTech Singapore, a
subsidiary of Swedish firm QlikTech International AB.

As part of his job for the sales and marketing arm of the big data analytics company, Salamanes
handled book-keeping, balance sheets, as well as accounts payable and receivable.

He had access to the company's cheque books for the two bank accounts QlikTech owns in
Singapore, and was authorised to sign singly on company cheques for payments of up to
S$10,000.

He signed off on 451 company cheques between April 2013 and June 2017 to get the cash,
covering up his crimes by instructing others to make false entries into the company's electronic
accounting system.

He then made "a startling 835 remittances across 241 days", removing S$3.57 million of the
money he embezzled from Singapore, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Cheng Yuxi.

HE REMITTED S$3.57 MILLION OVERSEAS

Most of the money was remitted to his home country, with some of it to the United Arab
Emirates where he had some credit card debts, the court heard.

The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) received information on Jun 13, 2017 that
Salamanes might have misappropriated funds from QlikTech by depositing company cheques
into his personal bank account.

At the same time, QlikTech began its own internal checks and later filed a police report.

Salamanes' OCBC account, which contained about S$22,000, was seized, along with items such
as remittance slips and cash withdrawal slips.
He has not made any restitution to QlikTech to date, said the prosecutor, but the company
managed to claim about S$3.9 million from its insurer as part of its fraud insurance.

ACCUSED EXPLOITED LOOPHOLE IN SYSTEM: PROSECUTOR

The prosecution on Tuesday urged the court to sentence Salamanes to at least 11 years' jail,
saying that sentences for large amounts of misappropriation should be severe.

The accused has misappropriated a staggering amount of nearly S$4 million in total," said the
prosecutor, adding that he was given a high degree of trust with access to the company's cheque
books and exploited a loophole in the system. Because he could sign singly on company cheques
for up to S$10,000, he was able to issue numerous cheques over four years.

Of the S$3.57 million remitted, S$1.69 million was for his own use, while another S$1.48
million was for his family and boyfriend.

About S$408,000 was kept in Singapore for his own use, said the prosecutor.

CLIENT WENT THROUGH TRAUMATIC BREAK-UP, USED MONEY FOR

CHARITY: DEFENCE

Defence lawyer Christine Sekhon urged the court to sentence her client to no more than nine
years' jail, saying that he had gone through a traumatic break-up with a long-term partner, with
whom he had planned to settle down in Australia.

With the money he embezzled, he bought condominium units in the Philippines, invested in a
multi-level marketing scheme that turned out to be a fraud, made stock investments and paid off
his credit card bills in the United Arab Emirates.

The lawyer argued that her client had given some of the money away, paying for medication for
the children of a long-time friend, financing at least 20 scholars through university and buying
slippers for barefoot children in rural places in the Philippines.

Salamanes, who became a certified public accountant in 1997 and was called to the bar in his
home country in 2008, developed depression towards the end of 2014, said the lawyer.

He felt "his altruistic actions" helped him, as he felt accepted and that the recipients of his help
looked up to him.

She pointed out her client's "generosity and compassion, particularly towards charitable causes",
and said he "has since come to recognise his own wrongdoing".

Salamanes had said he was "not a bad person", and that he "committed these acts to satisfy my
craving to be accepted by others".

He is set to return to court to be sentenced on Wednesday.

Philippine News Agency | September 27, 2019

by: Lilybeth Ison

Deal on use of hybrid rice seeds inked

MANILA -- The government and industry stakeholders have signed a memorandum of
agreement (MOA) on a program that encourages farmers to use inbred or hybrid seeds to
increase their harvest and become competitive.

The Department of Agriculture (DA), SL Agritech Corporation (SLAC), and Go Negosyo forged
the MOA on Masaganang Ani 300 at the DA central office in Quezon City on Wednesday.

DA Secretary William Dar said Masaganang Ani 300 is "a welcome initiative".
Under the rice tariffication law (RTL), Dar said the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund
(RCEF) will continue for the next six years to finance components like mechanization, distribution
for inbred seeds, skills development, and credit facilities.
The other vertical is the hybrid rice program "and this is one opportunity that we offer to rice
farmers to elevate their gain, elevate their productivity, and become more competitive... having
more income that they can use for their basic necessities," Dar noted.

"This is a welcome partnership to really promote the best technologies for the Filipino rice
farmers. This is complementary to what has government institutionalized under the RTL," he
added.

For his part, SLAC chair and CEO Henry Lim Biong said the MOA signing for Masaganang Ani
300 "will alleviate the plight of the Filipino farmers".

"We want our farmers to be resilient. With the passage of the rice tariffication law and the
Masaganang Ani 300, the farmers will be more progressive, switching to other varieties such as
the hybrid rice so that they will be competitive to other ASEAN neighbors," he noted.

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion, founder and chairman of Go

Negosyo, said that under the MOA, the role of Go Negosyo is to help the Filipino farmers.

"We are already in the situation that import liberalization is allowed and we see the influx of
rice. This will force the farmers to be more competitive," he said.

"Kaya ngayon, kailangan ang tulong ng private sector (Now, the farmers need the help of the
private sector), together with the government to bring about a massive mentorship program on
how we can enable our farmers to improve productivity," he added.

Concepcion said the Masaganang Ani 300 program will encourage farmers to look at new
technologies in planting by using inbred or hybrid seeds.
"The productivity per hectarage has to improve, this will allow the farmers to be profitable. We
are in the situation now and like any other business out there, we have to compete. But we have
to enable now our farmers and mentor them, fund them, and provide them a market for their
rice," he added.

"Change has to happen. If we allow our farmers to continue to be unproductive, continue with their
current tills in rice, we're not helping the farmers. We're actually giving them a dole out. So this
transformation has to happen," he said.
Thailand Business News | October 01, 2019

by: Fujiko Takahashi

Japan takes lion’s share in EEC foreign investment

Foreign investment via their joint ventures with Thai partners (foreign shareholding at 49 per cent)
in the EEC stood at Bt752.780 billion.

Japanese investors pledged Bt375.907 billion, followed by China Bt67.872 billion, Singapore
Bt42.358 billion, US Bt27.908 billion and those from the Cayman Islands at Bt23.169 billion.

Vuttikrai said that investors from Cayman Islands were interested in the production of electricity
controls and distribution equipment, holdings, and communications devices.The EEC covers
Rayong, Chon Buri and Chachoengsao provinces.

The number of new companies registering in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) from
January to August this year rose 2.03 per cent year on year to 4,976, according to the director-
general of the Department of Business Development, Vuttikrai Leewiraphan.

Their total registered capital was Bt17.462 billion, up 38.05 per cent year on year. The top three
business sectors were: real estate companies totalling 829 companies, with total capital of
Bt2.364 billion, followed by building construction companies (398) with Bt661 million, and
restaurants (183) with Bt438 million.
Inquirer | October 04, 2019 | 7:00 PM

by: Frances Mangosing

P69M worth of pangolin scales, other dried wildlife species seized in

Palawan
MANILA, Philippines — Hundreds of kilos of dried endangered marine and wildlife species with
an estimated value of nearly P69 million believed destined for the black market were seized in a
joint operation in Palawan, the military said Thursday.
Thirty-eight sacks (2,588 kilos) of dried pangolin scales; 18 boxes of dried seahorse (229 kilos)
and sea dragon (86.5 kilos); and nine iceboxes (531 kilos) of dried sea turtle scutes were
confiscated at an abandoned house in Purok Pagkakaisa, Brgy. San Pedro in Puerto Princesa City
last September 27, the Naval Forces West (Navforwest) said in a statement.
The pangolins are classified as endangered mammal and its scales are in demand for its meat and
Chinese medicine use, among others.
In mainland China and Hong Kong, sacks and boxes of confiscated items are believed to be worth
over P500 million, the Navforwest said. The estimated local market value is P68.7 million
The joint operation was carried out by the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office
and Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, Naval Forces West operatives, and 3rd Marine
Brigade.