Biz Buzz: The bee’s new era

Tony Tan Caktiong. Photo from Facebook

His retirement was announced a year ago but when it was time for him to step down as chief executive officer of Jollibee Foods Corp., there wasn’t any fanfare or moving tribute during his last stockholders’ meeting as CEO last Friday befitting the man who had led the homegrown company to become an international fast-food giant.

Some family members are not fond of melodramatic exits, it seems.

While bidding adieu as chief executive officer [effective tomorrow], however, JFC founder Tony Tan Caktiong said he would continue to provide guidance as JFC chair and remain active in the area of product research and development, as well as in mergers and acquisitions.

Apart from hitting senior citizenship, there are speculations about personal complications behind his retirement, but for all its worth, Tan Caktiong deserves a standing ovation for leading JFC to where it is today. But it seems things have been ironed out.

This 2014, JFC is looking forward to another year of record performance as the group accelerates profitable growth and expansion in key markets around the world. Note that JFC now has the biggest market capitalization among its peers in Asia and is expected to post the largest sales turnover in this part of the globe through 2014-2015.

Successor Ernesto Tanmantiong said that, for his part, expansion here and abroad would still be his thrust as the new CEO.

Tan Caktiong said JFC’s stellar performance in 2013—during which the company breached the P100-billion sales mark for the first time—was due to his brother’s leadership, particularly in the Philippine business and corporate support services.

“His performance has clearly demonstrated that he is ready to lead our organization in building an even stronger, larger and more successful business in the future here in the Philippines and abroad,” Tan Caktiong said of Tanmantiong, who had been chief operating officer of the local business since 2012.

The Ateneo-educated Tanmantiong, 56, first joined the business as a store manager in 1978, then climbed the corporate ladder. He attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard last year.

Meanwhile, this retirement from Jollibee’s CEO post gives Tan Caktiong more time to work with joint venture partner Edgar “Injap” Sia II in DoubleDragon Properties Corp., which aspires to become one of the country’s leading property firms by 2020. Doris C. Dumlao

Targeting Pagcor

Every now and then, an effort to unseat Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. chair and CEO Cristino Naguiat Jr. surfaces, and events of the last few days look like another such scenario is unfolding.

The latest attempt is an accusation against Pagcor that it had failed to remit annual dividends to the national government as the law required of all earning government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs).

It turns out, however, that Pagcor had, in fact, started remitting to the national treasury the dividends that had remained unremitted since 2005— long before Naguiat had taken the helm of the agency.

Since this deficiency was discovered, Pagcor had already remitted about half of the P5.14 billion it owed the government [the balance will be settled next year].

It has also paid the Bureau of Internal Revenue about P857 million in back taxes due for the 2004-2010 period.

“And that doesn’t even include the P5 billion we’ve given to the Department of Education for its classrooms,” said Naguiat, who noted that there seemed to be a concerted effort to discredit him so as to have the Palace replace him.

Other issues being raised against the Pagcor chief—simultaneously, mind you—was the reduction in license fees for four gaming proponents at the Pagcor Entertainment City project as well as the intelligence funds in the agency’s annual budget.

Both could easily be explained, Naguiat said. He pointed out that a three-way agreement was reached between the gaming agency, the casino operators and the BIR with regard to the adjustment of licensing fees, so this should no longer be an issue.

The agency has also since reformed the way it reports intelligence funds—a practice in place since 1993—by providing the Commission on Audit with detailed reports on how the funds were spent.

In any case, word on the street was that a certain faction within the administration wanted Naguiat out of Pagcor because he was suspected to be closer to another rival faction.

This should be interesting, going into 2016. Watch this space for further developments. Daxim L. Lucas

Medals for Manny O.

Wine producer and hotel owner Manny Osmeña of Cebu City has done it again, with his Manny O. Wines bagging another two medals from the Decanter World Wine Awards 2014 in London.

His Discipulus Syrah 2012 (red) and Discipulus 2011 (white) bagged Commendations from DWWA, recognized as the world’s largest and most influential wine competition, established and managed by Britain’s Decanterwine magazine.

This year, the DWWA received 15,000 wine entries from 46 countries.

The Discipulus Syrah was described as having a “pleasant blackberryish character” with “plenty of character” and “decent black fruit finish.” The Discipulus white, on the other hand, was said to have a “creamy, rich, oaky nose. Very appealing with crisp lime fruit and zesty acidity.”

Since the start of this year, 14 medals have been added to the collection of Manny O. Wines, bringing the total number of awards to 215. Tina Arceo-Dumlao

Booming Solaire business

Business must be booming at Solaire Casino and Resort, which is ports magnate Enrique Razon Jr.’s first foray into the gaming business via Bloomberry Resorts Corp.

We all know about the opening of Solaire’s expansion phase around late October to November this year, but it appears the homegrown casino brand is also keen on expanding its enviable fleet of private jets to include much bigger planes for big groups.

So far, high rollers can use the company’s Gulfstream G4 and Gulfstream G450 to whisk them from their respective villas to Razon’s private hangar before heading to Solaire’s VIP tables for those seven-figure wagers. In case those are not available, they can also use the smaller Gulfstream G200, which is owned by Razon’s International Container Terminal Services Inc. (For the uninitiated, Gulfstream is a top flight private jet manufacturer and its newest flagship, the G650, retails for about $65 million before any customization). Those planes seat anywhere from 10 to 19 people.

But in order to broaden its services to clients, Solaire is looking at buying or leasing larger planes, like a Boeing Business Jet or Airbus A320s, but with a more customized capacity of 50 to 80 seats, well below the A320s factory specifications of about 150 seats, company insiders told Biz Buzz.

Economics was apparently a key factor. Even in this luxury market, it makes more sense to transport large Chinese groups, for example, in Solaire’s own plane, making them feel more special while saving on repeated runs that smaller aircraft would have to make.

Razon, meanwhile, should not have to look far if he is in a hurry and may want to approach another big businessman with a nearby hangar (with several high-end private jets to spare) for his growing aviation needs. Miguel R. Camus

Jolted

Malacañang, jolted by last week’s news that a planned 8-kilometer connector tollroad by Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. in Metro Manila would not be completed by the time President Aquino steps down due to regulatory delays, has formed a task force to figure out how best to expedite the project’s approval.

This project hit a snag after the government apparently failed to immediately act and render a legal opinion on the project.

“The President directed us to form a [technical working group] and we will meet [this] week. We want the road implemented,” Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya said.

MPTC president Ramoncito Fernandez said that even if they would receive the approval in the next few months, only half the tollroad would be done by the time Aquino’s term ends. Miguel R. Camus

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