BIZ BUZZ: Winning streak

Sometimes, winning with predictable regularity can get boring. But that’s not a problem for the men and women of BDO Capital & Investment Corp. who don’t seem to get bored with getting all these awards and recognition from industry players.

This time, BDO Capital— the investment banking arm of the country’s largest financial institution and the SM Group—was recognized as the country’s best corporate and institutional adviser for the The Asset’s annual Triple A Awards.

Oh, did we mention that this is the 16th consecutive year that BDO Capital is being honored with this award?

This means BDO Capital’s noteworthy achievement is unmatched by any other local investment house as it continues to demonstrate consistent excellence in delivering investment banking services across various product lines in the Philippine capital markets.

The Asset Triple A Awards recognize companies for their exceptional performance in banking, finance, treasury and capital markets. The Asset Awards judges use a stringent criteria which includes consultation with issuers and investors who constitute the bulk of The Asset’s readership base as part of the selection process. Scores for both quantitative and qualitative factors are combined to determine the winners. Whenever possible, The Asset editorial team also conducts follow-up interviews and participates in presentations organized by the participating banks.

“We take pride in our team of hard-working, dedicated and passionate individuals who always put our customers first,” BDO Capital president Eduardo Francisco said. “Our clients are valuable to us and we definitely do our best to consistently provide them with topnotch structuring and execution, and help them fulfill their business goals given the dynamic conditions in the market.”

For more than over two decades, BDO Capital has been at the forefront of equities and debt capital-raising exercises for both the government and private sector through initial public offerings, follow-on offerings, rights offerings, preferred shares, sovereign bonds, corporate bonds and loans or notes, and project finance.

The total funds they’ve raise for their clients now stands at a staggering P10 trillion to date. Now that’s a number that’s just as amazing than their tally or awards.

—Daxim L. Lucas

AUB rides ‘BNPL’ trend

Asia United Bank (AUB) is riding on the growing momentum for buy now, pay later—a.k.a. “BNPL”—in the country as it partners with Asia’s leading BNPL platform provider Atome and Singapore-based fintech MatchMove to launch Atome Card in the Philippines.

Wilfredo Rodriguez, AUB’s head of Operations and Technology Group, said BNPL allows Filipino consumers to pay less now without having to worry about interest rate hikes in the future.

According to the a recent market study, BNPL payment in the Philippines is expected to grow by 109.7 percent on annual basis to reach $804 million—that’s over P45 billion—in 2022 as “consumers are increasingly looking for flexible and convenient payment solutions which allow them to manage their finances effectively.”

AUB’s Atome Card will offer Filipinos greater choice, flexibility, and access to quality products and services, extending the benefits of digital commerce to more consumers and businesses in the country.

Basically, the Atome Card allows cardholders to pay online and in-store retailers by presenting their Atome Card during checkout.

The Atome Card offered in Philippines features no annual fees, sign up fees or other hidden charges; easy application on mobile, no minimum income required; payment flexibility (buy now, pay up to 45 days later with up to P200,000 limit); allows the user to shop anywhere Mastercard is accepted; and makes it easy to view and manage payment schedules, all on the Atome app. Now, that’s innovative.

—Daxim L. Lucas

Telco wars

And it is on.

The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said last week it would hold a preliminary inquiry to look into the complaints lodged by DITO Telecommunity against Globe Telecom and Smart Communications.

To recall, the third telecommunications firm earlier this month filed a case against the two major players as DITO users were having a hard time calling the subscribers of Globe and Smart due to lack of interconnection capacity.

The telco firms controlled by the Zobels and Manuel Pangilinan called on DITO to address first the fraudulent calls detected going through the latter’s network. DITO said it was a victim as well because these calls were made by third parties.

Now, the competition watchdog said it would assess if Globe and Smart were guilty of anticompetitive behavior. It will coordinate with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and other relevant agencies for this case.

DITO chief administrative officer Adel Tamano said the day PCC announced the inquiry was a “historic day for Filipino telco subscribers.”

“From the onset, this case has not been about mere commercial terms but rather is about public interest in interconnection between the telco players and fostering genuine competition in the industry,” he added.

Globe, for its part, welcomed PCC’s move to look into the allegations lodged against them.

“Specifically, Globe welcomes the opportunity to present to the PCC how DITO violated the terms and conditions of its interconnection agreement with us which prompted the filing of a previous case with the NTC,” the company said.

Smart, meanwhile, said it was “confident that the PCC will, in due course, clear it of any wrongdoing in respect of DITO’s reported complaint.”

—Tyrone Jasper Piad