Biz Buzz: Mining firm fight

Stockbrokerage debut

China Bank, the bank led by the sons of tycoon Henry Sy Sr., has debuted in the stockbrokerage business. Its investment house China Bank Capital Corp. has sealed its acquisition of ATC Securities Inc., which will be renamed China Bank Securities Corp. The group has also jacked up the authorized capital stock of the new stockbrokerage arm to P150 million from P38 million.

Both the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission have given their green light to the acquisition, which is in line with China Bank’s bid to be more active in capital market transactions.

And who has China Bank entrusted the new business to? Peter Mutuc, former chief of ABN Amro Philippines and one who used to cover emerging markets in the region, has been named president/chief executive officer and nominee of the brokerage house, subject to regulatory approvals. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA

Pro-motorist Makati, Mandaluyong

Harassed motorists and commuters recently found allies in the city governments of Makati and Mandaluyong when the latter thumbed-down the modified, whole-day odd-even scheme proposed by the Metro-Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

During last week’s consultative meeting of mayors to discuss various vehicular reduction schemes, Makati Mayor Abby Binay and the representative of Mayor Menchie Abalos of Mandaluyong took turns assailing the proposed odd-even scheme that proposes to alternately ban odd- and even-numbered vehicles throughout the day at two-hour intervals along Edsa. The two local officials stood up against MMDA’s controversial proposal stressing that it must first undergo thorough study and consultations of affected sectors.

So yes, they have notoriously strict traffic regulations and enforcement policies in their respective cities, but it looks like Mayor Binay and Mayor Abalos are in no mood to subject motorists and commuters in their cities to MMDA’s traffic experiments. —DAXIM L. LUCAS

Speaking of which…

Biz Buzz hears that Mayor Abby Binay is feeling vindicated following the release of official figures showing that the city’s tax collection for January alone has reached 52-percent of the 2017 target—a record.

Data from the city treasurer’s office showed that Makati’s tax collection as of end-January stood at P7.5-billion—P3.2 billion from real estate taxes, P3.8 billion from business taxes and the rest from other miscellaneous levies.

On top of the record collections, the city appears to be successful in keeping investors within its territory (despite a strong challenge for the business community’s attention mounted by Taguig City) as it recorded 29,225 business permits and license renewals with 125 new applications approved during the first month of the year.

While it has an P88.6-million share in Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), Makati is one of the few local government units in the country not dependent on the IRA to finance and support its programs. Not bad. —DAXIM L. LUCAS