Biz Buzz: The price of Liberty

Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. has kept quiet all throughout the debate on how much shareholders of Liberty Telecom should receive from the tender offer being conducted by its new owners, Globe Telecom and PLDT. It’s all part of an agreement between the gentlemen on the buying and selling sides, of course.

But Biz Buzz did ask around to find out how San Miguel valued the telecommunication business it sold last May beyond the P70 billion frequently being quoted, and the number was somewhat a surprise.

According to sources familiar with the transaction, while San Miguel will receive a total of P70 billion for the deal (50 percent already paid, plus the balance next year), the conglomerate has to consider the liabilities of its telco units and the advances it has made to them.

After netting out all these factors, San Miguel will actually be left with—try not to cry—only P11 billion. That’s not quite the windfall that the P70-billion topline number suggests, huh?

If this P11 billion is to be split equally among the five operating units of the San Miguel telco business, each would get only P2.1 billion, thus giving Liberty a value of P14.3 billion. Divided by the number of shares owned by the Vega Telecoms parent unit would yield a “fair price” of P2.24 per share, according to our source.

So yes, the P2.20 per share being offered by Globe and PLDT to Liberty’s minority shareholders is undervalued… but only by about 4 centavos apiece. Daxim L. Lucas

Wanted: Pokemon fanatics

THE DIGITAL age comes with a host of new services—and apparently, jobs.

There’s no doubt that augmented reality game Pokemon Go, developed by United States-based Niantic, has been a phenomenal success globally, including the Philippines. Businesses have been quick to ride on its success and now, jobs need to be filled to support that.

Enter the PLDT Group’s Voyager Innovations, which was looking to hire so-called Lure Managers with the growing number of enterprises seeking to capitalize on Pokemon Go.

The job basically calls for the manager to activate lures in specific locations around Metro Manila. Lures attract Pokemon, which attract players seeking to catch them. The underlying theory is these players will turn into potential customers for nearby business establishments.

Voyager’s Dindo Marzan said the firm had already hired three “lure managers,” with compensation apparently good for someone who got paid to play a game. With demand booming, Voyager wants to bring up that number to 30.

The requirements are a bit steep, for those familiar with the game. The manager should be a Pokemon Go “expert,” be at least level 10 in the game, and must be an Android user.

Other usual job requirements are present: excellent management skills, confidence, a team player and able to work without supervision.

Applicants must be at least on their second-year of college. We hear the three who were hired each have college degrees.

No need to worry about long-term contracts. It’s renewable every month, Marzan told Biz Buzz. That means managers can carry on until they find something different to do, or, until players finally tire of catching them all. Miguel R. Camus

 ‘Filipinizing’ Stanchart

AFTER 144 years of operating in the Philippines, British banking giant Standard Chartered is “Filipinizing” leadership in this part of the globe.

The bank announced the appointment of Lynette Ortiz—currently managing director and head of international corporates and financial Institutions—as its new CEO effective Oct. 1. She will succeed Anirvan Ghosh Dastidar, who will be the CEO of Standard Chartered Brunei effective same date.

Aside from making history as Stanchart’s the first Filipino CEO for the Philippine unit, Ortiz makes history as the bank’s first female CEO in this part of the globe.

Ortiz returned to Manila in June this year from her regional posting as head of capital markets for Asean based in Singapore. She led a number of landmark transactions for Asean issuers, in both domestic and international markets in recent years.  Before taking on the regional role, Ortiz headed Stanchart’s financial markets and capital markets unit in the Philippines. She has had 25 years of solid banking experience starting with Citibank in New York, and has held senior roles in risk management, treasury, corporate finance and capital markets in foreign and local institutions. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

Insurance freebie

BUY A house, get life insurance for free.  We kid you not. This bundling is a first-of-its-kind proposition to be unveiled by leading mass housing developer 8990 Holdings in partnership with leading life insurer Sun Life of Canada (Philippines).

“We’re thrilled to work with a company that shares our mission of helping Filipinos have a more secure future,” 8990 Holdings Januario Jesus Gregorio Atencio III said. “Collaborating with Sun Life will allow us to boost the service we offer our clients and have a more significant impact on their lives.”

Asked for more details on the life insurance partnership, Sun Life president Riza Mantaring told Biz Buzz that 8990 Holdings would give free Sun Life insurance coverage to all buyers of their houses who would meet certain criteria. The proposed face amount of insurance coverage is P500,000 per insured homeowner.  If it’s a couple buying the house as co-owners, 8990 Holdings will select one spouse who will get the protection product.

It’s a group life product where premium is paid quarterly.  If  homebuyer becomes delinquent, he will be dropped from the list of insured individuals.

The insurance is on top of the normal mortgage redemption insurance, Mantaring said. 8990 Holdings will also facilitate homeowners’ investment in Sun Life mutual funds in a way that will allow them to “invest at substantially lower amounts than if they invested individually,” she said.

“Their aim is to create wealth for the homeowner—have a home, protection with insurance and an investment fund,” Mantaring said. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

CVP joins non-profit

AQUINO-ERA Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima—under whose term the Philippine government obtained the much-coveted investment grade rating (after building on his predecessor’s gains)—can probably stay all day baby-sitting his two young kids.

But he’ll get a bit busier now as he has joined Singapore-based Milken Institute as an Asia Fellow focused on expanding the Institute’s work in the Philippines.

“I am thrilled to welcome Cesar to our team,” said Laura Deal Lacey, Asia executive director Asia at Milken Institute, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank that seeks to increase global prosperity by advancing collaborative solutions that widen access to capital, create jobs and improve health.

“His addition is key to our strategic expansion in Asia. With his successful experience in bold and innovative reform as one of the most respected finance ministers in Asia, we look forward to advancing our mission into the region.”

Since setting up an office in Asia in 2013, Milken Institute has developed programs and conducted research focused on solving crucial challenges in the region such as capital market reform in emerging economies, a growing population of older adults and massive financing gaps in areas such as infrastructure and conservation.

The six-time “Finance Minister of the Year” (as recognized by Emerging Markets, FinanceAsia, Euromoney and The Banker) is no stranger to the Milken Institute, having been a speaker at its flagship Global Conference in Los Angeles in 2015 and 2016, as well as the 2015 Asia Summit.

“I have always  respected the work of the Milken Institute and the platform it provides for leaders across sectors and industries to collaborate on innovative solutions to the world’s problems,” Purisima said. “With the growing influence of Asia on the global stage, it has never been a more exciting time to join the Milken Institute.”

Purisima joins an accomplished group of Milken Institute Asia Fellows such as: Reuben Abraham, Senior Fellow and CEO of Indian-based IDFC Institute; Curtis Chin, former US ambassador to the Asian Development Bank; Dino Patti Djalal, former Indonesian ambassador to the US, and Kotaro Tamura, former Japanese senator and adjunct professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at National University of Singapore. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla and Ben O. De Vera

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