Biz Buzz: Warning shot
Property developer Alphaland Corp. has been aware since last year that they were in the crosshairs of anti-Binay forces.
How? Apparently, no less than former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado informed Alphaland president Mario Oreta that the Roberto Ongpin-controlled real estate firm would be the subject of the Senate investigation against the Vice President.
Of course, the subject of the probe is the property across the Makati Fire Station, which is 60-percent owned by the Boy Scouts of the Philippines and previously 40-percent owned by Sime Darby. On that property now stands Alphaland’s three-tower City Club development.
Thanks to this “heads up,” Alphaland recently wrote Mercado in a very interestingly worded letter (the details of which we will reserve for our next edition).
But in short, a fiesty Oreta wrote: “I told you that the Alphaland Boy Scouts deal was entirely aboveboard, and any attempt by you to state or infer otherwise would be vigorously opposed by Alphaland Corp.”
Watch this space for the juicy details on Wednesday.–Daxim L. Lucas
Cable news shakeup
More interesting changes are in store for the traditionally insular Philippine media business.
In particular, the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC)—arguably the most influential all-day news channel in the country—is making changes to some key programs to further “internationalize” its content.
Starting today, the aptly named “The World Tonight” is moving to an earlier (read: more prime) time slot at 9 p.m. and will run for an hour. That slot was previously occupied by Business Nightly, which will now air at the World Tonight’s old 10 p.m. slot.
ANC is also beefing up The World Tonight, anchored by veteran journalist Tina Monzon-Palma, by adding other ANC personalities such as Coco Alcuaz and Warren de Guzman for business, Tony Velasquez for politics, TJ Manotoc for sports and Marie Lozano for entertainment.
It’s likewise devoting an hour to documentaries, at 8 p.m. on weeknights.
The changes are not surprising. We’ve heard for some time now that ANC has been casting its eye on the rest of Southeast Asia for expansion and this seems to be a step in that direction.
The spotlight is also on the region this year with the looming Asean economic integration.
It’s worth noting that the move comes as international media organizations such as US-based CNN are entering the Philippines.
Ambassador Antonio Cabangon-Chua’s 9TV (formerly RPN Channel 9) is set to be formally relaunched as CNN Philippines early this year on free-to-air television.
Interestingly, we heard that earlier talks between ABS-CBN and CNN were held, but it seems that a tie-up was never meant to be.
After all, CNN’s arrangement calls for it to be paid a recurring fee—a prospect the Lopez owners of ABS-CBN thought did not make sense given their brand awareness here.–Miguel R. Camus
For sale
For someone whose romance with beautiful cars has been a never-ending road trip, giving up the wheel of his cherished luxury car business must be heartbreaking.
Businessman Wellington “Willy” Soong is reportedly selling control of his exclusive dealership contract for Jaguar, Ferrari, Maserati and Range Rover in the country.
A buzzard told us that Soong was selling between 51 and 67 percent of Autostrada Motore Inc. and Jaguar/Land Rover/Range Rover Philippines valued at close to P2 billion.
Soong did not reply to Biz Buzz’s query for confirmation.
The septuagenarian brought the Jaguar in 1997, the Ferrari and Maserati in 2002 and Land Rover in 2004. The dealership has one big showroom in Bonifacio Global City.
So why is Soong selling his crown jewels now? Who will swoop in to buy his baby? And is an exclusive dealership transferable?–Gil Cabacungan
San Miguel pandesal chain
As part of the strategy to level up its commodity businesses, San Miguel PureFoods is developing a chain of neighborhood pan de sal bakeries that use its pan de sal mix.
Instead of selling just purely flour, the distribution of bread mixes is seen to boost the higher-margin segment of the business.
Since going into this bakery network business under the “Kambal Pandesal” brand, PureFoods president Francisco Alejo III said the company now has more than 500 stores in the network. The target is to reach 5,000 by 2020.
Under this program, PureFoods brings into the fold entrepreneurs who are willing to invest P400,000 to P500,000 to put up a bakery under the Kambal Pandesal brand.
The basic fee is P350,000, which includes equipment, initial inventory, selected site assistance and crew training.
“We teach them how to bake the product and do merchandising,” Alejo said.
To support this blended flour business, Alejo said Purefoods was set to invest P2 billion to expand its pre-mix plant capacity by 1,200 metric tons (MT) a day. The expansion program, which is expected to be completed by next year, will nearly double the capacity of the group’s pre-mix plant from 1,600 MT at present.–Doris C. Dumlao
Private banker of the year
Renato “Bing” de Guzman, the Filipino chief executive officer of Bank of Singapore, is retiring this month, but not before earning another feather on his cap.
The Singapore-based banker has been named “Private Banker of the Year” for 2014 by Asian Private Banker, an international publication focused on private banking.
“The accolade, for which he was nominated by peers across the private banking industry, represents the respect that he commands from colleagues, competitors and clients alike,” the publication announced.
De Guzman will thus be among those set to receive the 2014 awards for distinction at a gala dinner at the JW Marriott, Hong Kong next month.
Bank of Singapore has likewise been named by the publication as the Best Private Bank in Singapore and the Philippines.
Note that De Guzman was likewise named “Outstanding Private Banker for Asia-Pacific” at the 24th annual Private Banker International Wealth Summit 2014, the longest-running global private banking conference.
After his retirement, De Guzman will continue to serve as senior advisor at Bank of Singapore until end-June but will afterwards likely be back home in the Philippines.–Doris C. Dumlao
MVP stays in VMC
As we have previously suggested, businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan has not lost his “sweet” tooth.
The earlier reported sale of a 7.67-percent stake in Victorias Milling Corp. by Metro Pacific Holdings Inc. to a local company called First Agri Holdings Corp. at P4.55 a share is but a transfer to an affiliate.
“First Agri Holdings Corp., the buyer/transferee, will be the affiliate that will invest in agri-related businesses such as sugar and coconut,” a company source confirmed to Biz Buzz.–Doris C. Dumlao
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