Biz Buzz: Pricey leaky condos

ALL IS not well for some residents in this swanky residential condominium building in Mandaluyong City, which looms over most of its neighbors in the square.

The issue has been a recurring one, typically happening during strong storms, including Tropical Storm “Mario” last September. The residents complain that water somehow leaks into their units, causing mild but unsightly damage like the warping of laminated flooring.

Adding to the frustration of the unit owners, who said they expected “first-rate” attention given the developer’s prestige, were the inadequate answers from the building’s management as to when repairs would take place. After all, one simply cannot fix a single section of the flooring and that the entire floor must be replaced, the residents argued.

That could run into the tens of thousands of pesos, at the minimum, they added.

“It’s already hurting the value of the property,” one resident noted.

Certainly, a building like this has many well-heeled residents who wouldn’t lose sleep over parting with such a sum to finance their own repairs. But that is beside the point, isn’t it?

At this point, all the upset residents can do for relief is pray to their favorite saint … or perhaps they should’ve sought the intercession of Pope Francis. Miguel R. Camus

Young again

AFTER catching the public eye with a strong rebranding program in 2014 that marked a more aggressive foray into the retail business, Security Bank has wrapped up negotiations to renew its deal with brand ambassador Miss World 2013 Megan Young.

Alberto Villarosa, who is sporting a new hairdo which he says, in jest, is  part of the rebranding, is obviously happy with the bank’s engagement with the beauty queen.

He said somebody should conduct a correlation analysis to quantify the impact of rebranding and Young’s endorsement, and the significant increase in retail deposits and consumer finance business generated by the bank in 2014.

Young is set to shoot a new video ad in BGC for Security Bank, and expectations are very high for the same creative team that put together last year’s catchy line: “I’m in a new relationship. And no, it’s not complicated.”

Villarosa said apart from seeing greater deposit generation, there has been a significant uptick in loan volume in consumer finance, particularly mortgage and auto loans since the bank’s rebranding campaign.

The bank’s goal is, of course, to grow the contribution of the retail business by at least a third of the bank’s overall revenues by 2018, from the present share of 5 percent.

For Villarosa, the most important story for Security Bank in 2014 was the buildup in its core business. This year, Security Bank wants to grow its loan book by the same pace as that seen last year, albeit over a higher base. In the first nine months of 2014, the bank grew its loan portfolio by 25 percent year-on-year to P181 billion, while deposits expanded by 26 percent to P232 billion.

As interest rates are expected to remain low, margin squeeze is seen to be a challenge. But overall, Villarosa said, 2015 should be a good year for business.

Meanwhile, we swear that Villarosa’s makeover—a result of his kid’s prodding and not of his close encounter with the Pope (being the finance guy enlisted by Cardinal Tagle to help with the preparations)—makes him look about a decade younger. Doris C. Dumlao

Departure
GLOBE Telecom lost a valuable asset last month with the departure of Peter Bithos, the company’s former chief operating advisor (read: co-CEO).

He was recently named CEO of HOOQ, a Singaporean joint venture of Singtel (co-owner of Globe), Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros Entertainment. The new company wants to bring a Netflix-type television content streaming service to Southeast Asia.

Prior to joining Globe in 2010, Peter spent five years with SingTel Optus in Australia where he was CEO of Optus’ subsidiary Virgin Mobile Australia.

Bithos was instrumental in helping Globe go through some of its toughest times. In the last five years, Globe’s reputation suffered somewhat due to a temporary degradation of its service quality—a speed bump rival Smart Communications was quick to jump on.

Together with CEO Ernest Cu, Bithos also ran Globe fairly well in the shadow of its bigger rival Smart, which merged with Sun Cellular to form a telco that cornered two-thirds of the industry in 2011. That lead has been chipped away. Globe is now a stronger contender with 40 percent of the market.

The question now is, has Bithos created enough momentum to let Globe catch up and even overtake Smart? Paolo Montecillo

Key appointment
ALL EYES are on President Aquino once more this week. But this time, it’s because people—especially in political and business circles—are eager to learn about the person he will pick to head the Commission on Audit.

Today, Feb. 2, marks the end of the term of Grace Pulido-Tan at the helm of the powerful government auditing watchdog (there will be another government appointment for her coming up, we hear).

The appointment of a credible COA chair, whose integrity is unquestioned, is particularly important for the investment and business communities. The choice will indicate how serious the President is in stamping out graft and corruption in the government. And since the incoming COA chair will serve for a fixed seven-year term, he or she will be critical in helping keep the next administration in line.

In any case, the quiet jockeying among candidates for the post has apparently begun, and some people from one faction of the Aquino administration have already been doing the rounds, scouting for a friendly face and/or someone who will help them advance their cause.

Of course, there’s one name who gets mentioned a lot as a candidate for the post, but we understand that this person may not have the backing of either faction of the administration. The reason? “Too independent.”

Let’s see how this goes. Daxim L. Lucas

Waiting to be invited
PHILIPPINE Airlines, despite being Asia’s oldest carrier, has been noticeably absent from global airline alliances. But that will soon change.

PAL president Jaime Bautista told Biz Buzz that the flag carrier would actively look to get into one of the major alliances, which include Star Alliance, the oldest group, as well as Skyteam and Oneworld.

These are like exclusive clubs that typically benefit airlines through codeshare partnerships and, for travelers (mainly the frequent flying sort), there are shared perks like earning and redeeming miles across allied carriers and sharing of business lounges.

Like the most selective of clubs, a carrier does not simply apply to join, it must first be “invited”, Bautista said. Moreover, all existing member-carriers have to agree to any new admission. To that end, PAL’s external department has been working with “friends” in the industry to try to gain access, Bautista said.

If this is anything like Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao trying—and failing—to gain admission into exclusive clubs like the Manila Polo Club a few years back, it isn’t.

Bautista said certain regulations abroad, like blacklists and aviation safety downgrades in the United States and Europe—which were only reversed about two years ago—have kept PAL out as a candidate.

“It’s only now that we can do this,” Bautista said.  Miguel R. Camus

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