International News 2011: Goldman buying back Buffett stake

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Goldman Sachs said Friday it would buy back the $5.5 billion in preferred stock held by billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

The Wall Street investment firm announced the plan after receiving a green light from the US central bank.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20110319-326307/Goldman-buying-back-Buffett-stake

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Stock News 2011: PSE encourages more SMEs to go public

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Businesses are like babies. They need looking after from their hardworking parents, the entrepreneurs.

These entrepreneurs have to care for their “babies” when they aren’t doing well and sing their praises when they reach new heights.

And eventually, entrepreneurs will have to let their firms leave the nest and have prosperous lives of their own.

For parents, this usually means sending their sons and daughters to college. For entrepreneurs, this can mean an initial public offering (IPO).

Jose Antonio Villar, head of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Marketing Services Department, said some local entrepreneurs have discovered that going public has helped their companies grow faster than if they had remained private.

Despite this, many businessmen that are “in love” with their businesses still have reservations about selling part of their companies to total strangers.

“I know, many of you are thinking, ‘Why should I share my company?’” Villar said.

He acknowledged that many business owners are worried about sharing their company profits and control with outside investors.

But listing on the stock exchange is one way to get cheap capital needed to fund growth and expansion.

He thus urged the small business owners to conduct an IPO and take advantage of the strong capital flows that are expected to enter Asia as international fund managers make bets on the region’s growth prospects.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20110317-326023/PSE-encourages-more-SMEs-to-go-public

Stock News 2011: Chinatrust’s net profit grows 20% to P410M

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The Philippine unit of Taiwan-based banking giant Chinatrust Commercial Bank grew its net profit in 2010 by 20.84 percent to P410 million, on the back of improved interest margins and large treasury earnings.

This translated to 7.3 percent return on equity and 1.6 percent return on assets of Chinatrust (Philippines) Commercial Bank.

Better margins were on account of lower cost of funds while income from treasury operations substantially increased, the bank in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday.

"The favorable economic environment that prevailed last year allowed Chinatrust to take advantage of the opportunities in the bond markets," the bank. Trading gains and foreign exchange gains thus amounted to P307 million, an increase of 90.33 percent from a year ago.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20110317-325976/Chinatrusts-net-profit-grows-20-to-P410M

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Stock News 2011: ‘Using fake borrowers was GA practice’

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Two former Globe Asiatique (GA) employees have admitted to state prosecutors that the property developer had been using fake borrowers even before the Xevera projects in Mabalacat, Pampanga.

Venissa Panem and Francisco dela Cruz told a special Department of Justice (DoJ) panel that GA used “special buyers”—the term used by the firm to refer to fake borrowers—not only to obtain loans from the Home Development Mutual Fund or the Pag-IBIG Fund, but also from private banks.

The two admitted that they and other GA employees posed as “special buyers” so the company can get loans.

“At the behest of my superiors in Globe Asiatique, I was able to produce several hundreds of special buyers,” Dela Cruz said.

GA president Delfin Lee and other GA officials are currently facing charges of syndicated estafa (fraud) constituting economic sabotage before the DoJ for allegedly using spurious or fake borrowers to obtain housing loans amounting to over P6 billion from Pag-IBIG Fund.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20110317-325928/Using-fake-borrowers-was-GA-practiceex-employees

Stock News 2011: Megaworld income jumps 25%

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Tycoon Andrew Tan-led Megaworld Corp. reported a 25-percent rise in its profit last year to a record P5.1 billion on robust sales of its residential, office and retail property portfolios.

Megaworld on Thursday disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange that its consolidated revenue hit P20.5 billion last year, up by 16 percent. Rental income from office and retail developments grew by 35 percent to P2.7 billion from a year before.

Tan is among the four tycoons in the country who made it to Forbes Magazine’s roster of the world’s billionaires (in dollar terms).

Megaworld said it remained in a strong net cash position, with cash and cash equivalents in its book amounting to P22 billion.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20110317-326010/Megaworld-income-jumps-25

Stock News 2011: Meralco says customers to see lower bills

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Filinvest Land Inc. grew its net profit last year by 46 percent to P2.95 billion, on the back of a double-digit growth in real-estate revenue and recurring rental earnings from shopping mall and office space.

Benefiting from the robust property market, total 2010 revenue surged by 45 percent to P8.25 billion, as FLI realized higher earnings from real-estate sales and rental of commercial space.

Real-estate sales hit P5.65 billion, 54 percent higher than a year before, while rental income from Festival Supermall, PBCom Tower and Northgate Cyberzone in Alabang posted a 19-percent year-on-year growth to P1.41 billion.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20110317-326011/Filinvest-nets-P295B-in-2010

Stock News 2011: EDC ’10 profit jumps 31%

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Energy Development Corp., the country’s biggest producer of geothermal energy, posted a 31-percent increase in its net income to P4.4 billion as of end-2010 from the previous year’s level.

In a statement, EDC said the profit growth could be attributed to the revenue generated by its power generation subsidiary, Green Core Geothermal Inc. (GCGI), which operates the 112.5-MW Tongonan 1 and 192.5-MW Palinpinon geothermal power plants in Leyte and Negros Oriental, respectively.

The Lopez-led firm also reported that its gross revenue from the sale of consolidated steam and electricity rose by 27 percent to P24.2 billion as of end-2010. This was despite a decline in the volume sold during the year, amounting to 7,548.6 gigawatt-hours.

Electricity sales formed the bulk of the revenue at P22.9 billion (6,883 gWh).

Last year, EDC posted P19 billion in gross revenue from the sale of 8,214.2 gWh of steam and electricity.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20110317-326012/EDC-10-profit-jumps-31

Stock News 2011: Ayala to go into power generation

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Conglomerate Ayala Corp. plans to put up power facilities that can generate over 1,000 megawatts of electricity over the next five years.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Ayala Corp. president and chief operating officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala said the company plans to build its power portfolio using both renewable energy sources and traditional fossil fuels.

"We believe there are opportunities to make early-stage investments in the renewable energy space which may have the potential to grow over time given the need to develop alternative sources of energy," he said.

He disclosed that in addition to Ayala's solar and wind initiatives, the company has begun developing platforms for potential hydroelectric projects.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20110317-325951/Ayala-to-go-into-power-generation

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International News 2011: Best Buy Struggles

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Just two years after its arch rival was knocked out of the ring, Best Buy (NYSE: BBY - News) is itself on the ropes.

The company revealed a problem last December that has left investors scrambling for answers. Even with bankrupt Circuit City out of the picture, the retailer was losing market share, especially in the key television and computing categories. Best Buy shares have since tumbled 21% and now trade at a mere nine times this fiscal year's consensus earnings.

Investors shouldn't assume Best Buy simply needs time to recover. Rather, the threats it faces are likely only to worsen. Take Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN - News), whose relentless growth has undercut the raison d'être of specialty retailers. That is true both in books -- where Borders Group recently filed for bankruptcy protection -- and in electronics.

Indeed, Amazon's electronics and nonmedia revenue rose 66% to $18 billion last year, helping it lift market share in different segments. Its share of LCD TV sets, for instance, nearly tripled, to 3.7% at the end of 2010 from 1.3% in 2007, estimates research firm Traqline. Its share of portable audio devices rose to 11% from 4.6% in the same period.

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/112269/forecast-for-best-buy-worst-yet-to-come

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International News 2011: Subway Passes McDonald's

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It's official: the Subway sandwich chain has surpassed McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD - News) as the world's largest restaurant chain, in terms of units.

At the end of last year, Subway had 33,749 restaurants worldwide, compared to McDonald's 32,737. The burger giant disclosed its year-end store count in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late last month.

The race for global dominance is an important one for an industry that's mostly saturated in the U.S. High unemployment and economic uncertainty have battered the restaurant industry in the U.S., and chains are increasingly looking overseas for growth, particularly in Asia.

Starbucks Corp. Honda (Nasdaq: SBUX - News) recently said it plans to triple its number of outlets in China, for example. Dunkin' Brands Inc., parent of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, plans to open thousands of new outlets in China in coming years as well as its first stores in Vietnam in the next 18 months. Subway just opened its 1,000th location in Asia, including its first in Vietnam.

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/112284/subway-passes-mcdonalds

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Stock News 2011: DPWH to fast-track bidding of projects

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“Bidding should be competitive, no collusion, no favors, no rigging, no negotiated contracts,” said Singson.

DPWH is seeking the support of the civil society organizations, NGOs, and other government officials to monitor and ensure that DPWH projects are bid out competitively which is in line with Pres. Aquino’s “matuwid na daan” policy in reducing or minimizing corruption in the government.

Based on approved government appropriations act, approximately 1,493 projects worth P56.48 billion under the DPWH regular infrastructure program are set for implementation in 16 regions nationwide this year.

In full transparent public biddings, DWPH can achieve more than 20% savings from the budgetary allocations.

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/307698/dpwh-fasttrack-bidding-projects

Stock News 2011: Robinsons Place Bacolod to open new leisure destination

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Robinsons Place Bacolod reflects the unique lifestyle of Bacolod, which is known as the City of Smiles. In Bacolod, people don’t go to the mall just to run errands or hurriedly buy food and other necessities. Most often, a trip to the mall is with the entire family, for dinner and a screening at Robinsons Movieworld, which has a 3D cinema. Children, even teenagers, spend Sundays with their families (going out with friends is done on Saturday) and everyone wants to go to the mall to eat, walk around and enjoy the company of their family.

Robinsons Place Bacolod, located on Lacson St., Mandalagan, has over 134 stores and restaurants, and six cinemas. The mall is near Silay City, which is home to many historical landmarks including the Victor Fernandez Gaston Heritage House, Manuel Severino Hofileña Heritage House, and the Bernardino Lopez Jalandoni Ancestral House.

It is also minutes away from the new Bacolod Silay Airport, making it a good stop for visitors to buy pasalubong on their way home.

Robinsons Place is Bacolod’s first full-service mall. Since it opened in 1997, it has gone from being a daily shopping experience to being the center of leisure and entertainment in the city.

Robinsons Place Bacolod is undergoing an expansion that, once completed, will add a new one-level shopping and dining destination and provide 6,000 square meters more to the shopping mall’s existing gross floor area of 48,500 square meters.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=663055&publicationSubCategoryId=85

Stock News 2011: Mobile payment innovation recognized at MWC

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Airtel Africa, Standard Chartered Bank and MasterCard Worldwide were honored for mobile payment innovation at the 16th Annual Global Mobile Awards held during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2011 in Barcelona, Spain.

The recently launched virtual card product, developed in collaboration among airtel Africa, Standard Chartered and MasterCard, received top honors as the Best Mobile Money Product or Solution.

Honored by a panel of mobile industry experts, the virtual card product was recognized as an innovative mobile payment solution that will offer consumers in Kenya, and eventually across Africa, greater participation in the financial system through mobile commerce.

In collaboration between airtel Africa and Standard Chartered, the virtual card product is powered by MasterCard inControl technology and enables more people to connect to the global marketplace through their mobile phones.

Andre Beyers, airtel Africa’s chief marketing officer, and Daniel Monehin, area head for East and West Africa and Indian Ocean Islands of MasterCard Worldwide, received the award on behalf of the three companies at the Global Mobile Awards 2011 ceremony held at the Fira de Barcelona.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=663051&publicationSubCategoryId=73

Stock News 2011: Nokia unveils latest affordable 3G phone

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Tapping into the desire of people who “just want a phone,” Nokia announces the availability of the Nokia C2-01, the latest affordable 3G device from the world’s No. 1 mobile phone brand.

Benoit Nalin, Nokia Philippines general manager, said the Nokia C2-01 offers great value with its 3.2-megapixel camera, and has easy access to the Internet and Ovi services at a very reasonable price.

“The Nokia C2-01 is perfect for small business owners or people wanting access to the faster data speeds of 3G for either business or pleasure, and appeals to those who don’t want a touch or QWERTY device,” Nalin said.

This Series 40 3G phone also comes with essential features such as a music player, FM radio, Bluetooth and can handle memory cards up to 16GB, he added.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=663050&publicationSubCategoryId=73

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Stock News 2011: ALI unit Alveo aims to double sales to P13 B

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Alveo Land, the upper-middle income segment residential developer of property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), is aiming to double its sales this year to almost P13 billion from the P6.4 billion registered in 2010.

In a press briefing, Alveo project development manager Antonio Sanchez III said the strong growth will be supported by the introduction of more inventories this year from ongoing projects as well as new launches.

He said Alveo intends to launch 12 new projects nationwide, up from just five new projects last year. This is in addition to the firm’s 16 ongoing developments that still have inventories to sell.

Sanchez said the new launches will mark Alveo’s expansion to the provinces with one project each to be launched in Davao, Cebu, Pampanga, Tagaytay and Baguio this year. Alveo will also launch seven new projects in Metro Manila in 2011.

Alveo is now the leading residential developer in South Luzon highlighted by three signature developments in its Southside, the dynamic and upscale communities of Verdana Homes Mamplasan, Treveia and Venare.

Taking its cue from the rapid development of various business and commercial establishments in Laguna, the Alveo Southside District has so far shown remarkable sales performance.

It continues to dominate the South Luzon market with a 58.5 percent total market share in 2010 as compared to the 41.5 percent showing of other developers in the area.

http://www.mb.com.ph/node/307387/ali-unit-alveo-aim

Stock News 2011: Petron to sell new shares to fund expansion

Petron Corp., the Philippines’ biggest refiner, may sell shares to raise funds as it plans a $2 billion expansion, Chairman Ramon Ang said.

“A lot of investors have approached us, wanting to buy Petron shares,” Ang, who is also vice chairman of Petron’s controlling shareholder San Miguel Corp., said in an interview in Manila Friday. The size and schedule of the fundraising are yet to be determined, he said.

Petron, which could eventually become San Miguel’s “flagship” unit, plans to spend the $2 billion in three to four years for expansion, Ang said in a Feb. 3 interview. San Miguel, the Philippines’ biggest food and drinks company, is also planning a share sale to boost investments in energy, telecommunications and transportation.

San Miguel has been buying assets to expand in industries that could help boost its return on equity almost threefold from the 7 percent it previously earned from food and drinks. The Manila-based company may “calibrate” a planned sale of 1 billion common shares for at least 200 pesos ($4.6) each depending on market conditions, and the offering will likely be in the second quarter, Ang said.

http://www.mb.com.ph/node/307537/petron-

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• UPDATE 1-Manila's San Miguel plans share sale in Q1 (reuters.com)

Stock News 2011: Lopez Holdings expects to wipe out deficit in 2011

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Lopez Holdings Corporation expects to wipe-out its remaining deficit this year and post positive retained earnings within the year.

In an interview with reporters, Lopez Holdings president Salvador Tirona said the firm has a remaining deficit of P100 million after undergoing a quasi-reorganization wherein it applied its additional paid in capital of about P6 billion to wipe out most of its deficit.

“The major businesses ABS-CBN Corp. and First Philippine Holdings Corp. have a good prospect on their performance this year. It’s going to be a good year,” Tirona said. Posting positive retained earnings will allow the firm to resume paying dividends to its shareholders although Tirona would not commit to the firm’s paying out dividends from earnings this year.

Meanwhile, Tirona said Lopez Holdings has been able to reduce its debt to $65 million, from P560 million in 2002, on the company’s continuing efforts to buy back debt at a discount.

http://www.mb.com.ph/node/307204/lopez-holding

Stock News 2011: Siemens powers new outpatient facility at PGH

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Siemens Inc., a leading provider of integrated healthcare solutions, through a strong partnership with the Daniel Mercado Medical Center (DMMC), equipped the recently inaugurated UPM-PGH Faculty Medical Arts Building (FMAB) with state-of-the-art equipment to provide faster, better and more cost-effective patient services.

The FMAB, a partnership between the University of the Philippines (UP) and DMMC, is a prime example of public-private collaboration.

Located within the PGH compound, the newly renovated private outpatient facility boasts of integrated health care solutions from Siemens covering the entire spectrum of care from prevention, early detection, diagnosis and therapy.

These multi-modality installations include a 64-slice CT scan that adapts to any patients’ clinical need at the lowest possible radiation dose, a1.5Tesla MRI with fast and superior resolution image quality for all clinical applications, a digital mammography system which offers patient comfort and care through low dose and intelligent breast compression, and an ultrasound system with exceptional imaging capabilities for general, echocardiography and obstetrical use.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=662375&publicationSubCategoryId=75

Stock News 2011: Metro Pacific’s consolidated net income grows by 25% to P2.87B

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Infrastructure holding firm Metro Pacific Investments Corp. grew its consolidated net income by 25 percent to P2.87 billion in 2010 on higher profit contributed by its water, tollway and power distribution businesses.

Excluding foreign exchange losses and other non-recurring adjustments worth a combined P985 million, consolidated core net income surged by 88 percent to P3.86 billion in 2010, MPIC disclosed on Thursday.

"MPIC is well-poised to pursue further infrastructure opportunities, to improve operational and service efficiencies and help boost the economy."

With the 88 percent growth in core net income for 2010, MPIC declared a final cash dividend for the year of 1.50 centavos per share, bringing the total dividend for 2010 to 2.5 centavos per share.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20110303-323266/Metro-Pacifics-consolidated-net-income-grows-by-25-to-P287B

Stock News 2011: Bread prices to rise

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Loaf bread and pan de sal will soon join the list of goods with escalating prices, as bakers are scheduled to raise prices by P1-P2 on March 7.

Trade Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya said on Wednesday that local bakers had already submitted a formal notice to the Department of Trade and Industry that they would be hiking prices of loaf bread by P2 and of a 10-piece pack of pan de sal by P1.

"They didn't hike prices in January and since then, the price of flour had gone up by around P80 per bag. Their request to increase is justified since flour prices are really going up,'' she told reporters on Wednesday.

Citing data from the Department of Agriculture, she said a 25-kilogram bag of flour has been selling for around P900 on the retail level. Ex-mill price stands at P860 a bag.

But Philippine Baking Industry Group president Walter Co said some flour millers were already selling their product at P930 a bag.

The P2-a-loaf price increase that bakers would be implementing on Monday, he said, was computed based on P860-a-bag of flour.

"So the increase really should be greater, but we don't want to impose such a large burden on consumers. We're increasing gradually,'' he said.

He said the price of the cheap Pinoy Tasty, which went up by P2 to P38 a loaf last month, would remain the same. Next week's price hike would affect branded loaves, which have been selling for P42 to P57 a loaf.

Apart from bread and flour, Maglaya said other goods with escalating prices included bath soap and cooking oil, due to higher prices of raw materials.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20110302-323140/Bread-prices-to-rise

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Stock News 2011: PLDT makes P40.2-B net profit in 2010

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Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) reported that it’s consolidated net income was almost flat last year, increasing by one percent to P40.2 billion, from the P39.8 billion recorded in 2009.

PLDT’s Board of Directors declared a final dividend of P78 per share, fulfilling the company’s commitment to pay out a minimum ratio of 70 percent of core earnings. It approved a special dividend of P66 per share.

Added to the interim dividend of P78 per share paid in September 2010, total dividends for the year will amount to P222 per share, representing a payout of 100 percent of 2010 core earnings, similar to the payout ratio of the last three years. Total dividend payments for 2010 will total P41.4 billion.

PLDT Chairman Manuel Pangilinan said the firm is expected to invest heavily in technology to ensure future growth although core net income is seen to suffer in the next two years before recovering in 2013.

“At about this time last year, we had indicated that 2010-2012 would be a critical period in the PLDT Group’s transformation, as it was being undertaken at a time when the operating environment was becoming increasingly price-competitive and market-share sensitive,” said PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan.

He noted that “our 2010 performance has underscored our views and indeed reinforced our position that in order to survive and prosper, we must be prepared to make changes now.”

http://www.mb.com.ph/node/306960/pldt-make

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Stock News 2011: GM Bank expands mobile banking scope

GM Bank is the largest rural bank in Nueva Ecija (Philippines) with its head office in Cabanatuan City, more than three hours by land north of Manila. It has been in partnership with Globe’s G-Xchange Inc. (GXI) and the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microentrepreneurs Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) program and for its mobile phone banking initiative since 2006.

It is also one of the banks participating in the new Channel Management Initiative supported by USAID/Philippines and MICRA Philippines, which is supported by Mercy Corps through a grant from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The initiative focuses on developing partnerships between local merchant-partners who are accredited GXI cash-in and cash-out outlets (CICOs).

Rural banks provide liquidity services to the CICOs as well as send customers to their shops. The CICOs provide cash-in and cash-out services for the rural banks and help them in promoting mobile phone banking services.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=661764&publicationSubCategoryId=74

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Stock News 2011: UCPB income up 44%

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The United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) has posted an unaudited net income of P2.39 billion in 2010, surpassing its P2.2-billion target for the year, and exceeding the previous year’s P1.66-billion profit by 44 percent.

“Higher loan and investment volumes, better margins, hefty trading gains and lower fund cost propelled last year’s earnings growth,” UCPB executive vice president and chief finance officer Cesar Rubio said.

Loan portfolio expanded by 16 percent to P54.77 billion, while trading and investment securities by 14 percent to P50.07 billion. The volume expansion, along with the 11-percent improvement in margins, boosted the bank’s interest income by 15 percent, to P7.83 billion. Non-interest income went up by 32 percent to P2.22 billion, bolstered by substantial increase in trading gains.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=661765&publicationSubCategoryId=74

Stock News 2011: No property bubble, says BPI Family Savings

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The BPI Family Savings Bank (BPI Family Savings) does not foresee a mortgage bubble in the Philippine property sector in the fact of strong demand for housing loan.

BPI Family Savings president Jose Teodoro Limcaoco said that demand for mortgage loans has been growing at a strong pace.

“In fact, BPI Family Savings has been making bookings of between P1.4 to P1.8 billion a month in mortgage loans,” Limcaoco said, during the formal launching of a unique financing package between the Philippine Franchising Association, the Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc. and the country’s leading thrift bank.

Majority of the borrowers are first-home buyers and ends-users with a small portion classified as speculators. That means that the borrowers will end up owning the properties and that the loans will be paid.

The bubble occurs when the majority of the buyers are speculators or individuals who acquire property or units for the purpose of re-selling. The tendency in a predominantly speculator market, is that the prices of the properties or units become too high or unrealistic.

Another reason for the optimistic outlook is the large number of reputable developers entering the housing market. “Respected developers such as Ayala Land, Robinsons Land and the SM Development Corp. are building left and right,” the bank president said.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=661762&publicationSubCategoryId=74