TYCOON George Ty?s Metrobank group has stayed out of the mergers and acquisitions scene over the last few years, albeit it has gained a foothold in power generation long before everyone scrambled to get into this sector. After cleaning up its balance sheet and boosting profitability in recent years, however, Metrobank is apparently back on the M&A prowl.

But Metrobank wants to try something new, something that no other private commercial bank in the country has done before. It is now discussing the possibility of going into Islamic banking, a type of banking that shuns charging or accepting interest payments for the use of money. Instead, Islamic banking finds other ways of helping clients, like entering into partnerships and profit sharing.

In the Philippines, there?s only one bank that has a Congressional franchise to engage in Islamic banking. This is the Al-Amanah Bank which, in recent years, was taken over by state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines with the intention of rehabilitating the unit, and eventually taking in strategic investors. So if and when the new administration decides to privatize Al Amanah, expect Metrobank to be in the queue. Doris C. Dumlao

More bank regulatory blues

REMEMBER the large universal bank that?s been having a tough time getting regulatory approval for its banking moves?

Last week, we floated the possibility that one particular regulator has been blocking this bank?s every move?pouncing on every issue that comes before the agency she?s part of?because of a bad loan her son has with this very same bank (a potential conflict of interest in itself).

Well, now comes a piece of information that could present a larger conflict of interest. According to our sources, this bank made the mistake in the past of extending a loan to a lady who is rumored to have a ?special relationship? with the female bank regulator?s husband.
So now this bank regulator has two very compelling reasons to make herself a royal pain in the neck of this bank, notwithstanding its extremely wealthy owner (read: Forbes list-level wealthy).
Truly, hell hath no fury like a bank regulator crossed (whether you do it on purpose or not, apparently). Daxim L. Lucas

Sona and stock trading

THE Philippine Stock Exchange is set to shift to a new trading system today, coinciding with President Aquino?s first State of the Nation Address. But as of the final rehearsals last Saturday, some traders are still unhappy with the new system. For instance, some say the ticker is too slow and that the contracts don?t print out properly.
But everyone hopes that today?s inaugural trading under the new system won?t have too many glitches as such could end up jeopardizing trading turnout ahead of the Sona. Of course, this whole saga reminds us of the nearly disastrous electoral exercise with the PCOS voting machines, which eventually turned out fine. Doris C. Dumlao

Telco promo or TV network war?

FOR a couple of weeks recently, Smart Communications Inc. bought valuable advertising minutes from ABS-CBN and GMA-7 and full-page ads in broadsheets (including the Inquirer) to showcase its ?TST? promotion.

The country?s largest mobile phone network did not say much in the teaser ads, but it was enough to prompt the two rival networks to run to the advertising board and advertising agencies to figure out just what Smart was up to.

Now they know, and they have reason to be seriously concerned.

As Smart revealed in follow-up ads over the weekend, TST stands for ?Tutok Sabay Text? Promo, which will run from July 11 to Oct. 31. In a nutshell, it will encourage Smart subscribers to watch prime time programs on the ?Kapatid? network (TV5, for those of you who?ve been out of the loop) for a chance to win as much as P5 million.
Given Smart?s subscriber base of 45 million, it is highly likely that a lot of these would tune in to TV5 rather than watch ABS-CBN and GMA shows.
But perhaps the biggest source of pain for the bigger networks will be the certainty that Smart will no longer buy as much airtime from them now that TV5 is around.
Clearly, blood is thicker than water, even in business. Tina Arceo-Dumlao

Going, going ... never mind

TALK about red tape. Something about government procedure is threatening to make a looming sugar shortage actually overtake the solution meant to prevent it.
See here: The Philippines imported 150,000 tons of sugar in the first half to keep supplies and prices stable, and is preparing for another importation of the same volume.

Sweet? More like the opposite, actually.

The tax subsidy needed to keep the importation tariff-free and thus affordable has not been signed since late May or early June, when the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) started seeking a tax subsidy for the new imports through the National Food Authority, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Finance.

A government turnover and nearly two months later, there?s still no tax subsidy. No tax subsidy, no tariff-free tender (the 38-percent tariff on sugar would make imports expensive and could drive local prices even higher than P52 per kilo).

Sources warned that with Thai sugar stocks tight, the Philippines will have to get sugar from Brazil. And there?s a long line of ships waiting at Brazil?s ports right now and 42 to 60 days of sea transport to consider.

If sugar is not imported soon, the Philippines could experience a double whammy: high sugar prices amid tight supply in September (before local milling begins) and a price crash in October when the late-arriving, cheap imports compete with local sugar. Bad for consumers, bad for farmers. Riza T. Olchondra

Coffee war rages on

THE dispute over the ownership of the Figaro trademarks is far from over, especially now that legal eagle Lorna Kapunan has joined the fray, representing the group of former Figaro CEO Pacita U. Juan.

The website of the Intellectual Property Office shows that the trademarks of local coffee chain Figaro are in the name of Le Café Figaro Enterprise Inc. owned by the Juan group.

But the rival group in Figaro Coffee Systems Inc. has questioned the ownership on grounds that the trademarks rightfully belong to the company that actually operates the chain.

FCSI has filed petitions for cancellation of the registration of the Figaro trademarks in the name of the LCFEI. Five of the petitions have been denied and appealed by FCSI. Another seven are still pending with the Bureau of Legal Affairs of the IPO, and Kapunan can be expected to do everything in her power to secure the rulings in favor of Juan?s group.

While the trademark issue remains unresolved, Suzanne T. Escudero, the sister-in-law of Sen. Chiz Escudero and Figaro franchisee since 2000, wants out of her contract.

Escudero says that as a concerned franchisee, she wants the public to be informed that there is indeed a dispute over the ownership of the Figaro trademarks. Tina Arceo-Dumlao