BIZ BUZZ: Untimely disclosure

Did PLDT Inc. violate strict corporate disclosures rules by informing the public about a multibillion-peso budget bloat months after an internal investigation began?

Some within the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) seem to think so, and this is partly the reason why the bourse issued a show cause order last week demanding an explanation from the telco giant.

Timely disclosures are critical to keep the public apprised of their investments. This was also important to prevent nonpublic information from leaking out to a select few, which could lead to insider trading.

PLDT said it needed time to conduct its investigation, thus, any announcement before its Dec. 16 bombshell disclosure of P48 billion in overspending that was undetected for years would have been “premature.”

Our sources disagree. The initial estimates of about P130 billion and the placing of key executives on “leave” or suspension should have triggered an immediate disclosure, even if it lacked certain details, we’re told.

The PSE and the Securities and Exchange Commission have ordered separate insider trading probes on PLDT since the news had leaked to the market weeks ago, although it was first dismissed as a wild rumor.

A source said the situation was managed poorly, which was validated by the violent drop in PLDT’s share price after the budget debacle was revealed.

—Miguel R. Camus

Maharlika fund boost

It looks like the proposed Maharlika Wealth Fund will see the light of day, after all.

Despite recent criticism of the proposal—mainly because of the inclusion of Social Security System and Government Service Insurance System pension funds as sources of seed money for the planned sovereign wealth fund—its advocates have shown flexibility and openness to change its structure by taking out the said pension funds from the picture.

But one of the biggest boosts it received in recent days came from Presidential Adviser Joey Concepcion who said corporate experts from the private sector should help manage the Maharlika Wealth Fund to ensure its sustainability and transparency.

“It could be a good idea,” he said in a recent interview, referring to the creation of a sovereign investment fund which has been done successfully in a number of developed countries.

Concepcion said that, to allay fears of mismanagement, experts from the private sector should be tapped to run the sovereign wealth fund. More precisely, he wants at least 50 percent of the fund’s governing board to come from the private sector.

“Get the best from the private sector,” he said.

That sounds fair and logical.

The next challenge is to convince at least one level-headed senator to pick up the idea and file a counterpart measure in the upper chamber of Congress that contains an ideal structure like the one Concepcion mentioned.

Will someone rise to the challenge? Abangan!

—Daxim L. Lucas

BDO mentors out-of-school youth

BDO Unibank welcomed the first batch of on-the-job trainees on cloud-related work as part of its support to the collaboration of YouthWorks PH and Philippine Business Education (PBEd) with Amazon Web Services (AWS), which aims to give free cloud computing skills training for 600 unemployed and out-of-school youths across the Philippines via AWS re/Start.

The bank committed the expertise of its experienced information technology professionals to train 100 youths on cloud services, infrastructure and network monitoring, system administration, low-risk security operation activities, SIT/UAT testing and automation scripting.

The first batch is currently undergoing a three-month mentorship program. After this, they will be eligible for employment opportunities in BDO.

But before starting their on-site training with the bank, the trainees completed remote mentoring, and employability skills and technical-vocational training with AWS re/Start in Quezon City last month.

“BDO is committed to delivering products and services that exceed customer expectations. As we take our financial services to the next level with the use of cloud technologies, it is vital that we have the right people for the job. Cloud talents trained by AWS re/Start through YouthWorks PH will play a critical role toward this big step toward the future,” BDO Unibank president and CEO Nestor Tan said during the contract signing event.

BDO is the only bank to be part of this collaborative initiative with AWS and YouthWorks PH, a private-sector driven youth employability program of United States Agency for International Development and PBEd. Other partners include technology startups PROUDCLOUD and Launchgarage.

—Daxim L. Lucas

Email us at [email protected]

Join our Viber community: inq.news/inqbusinesscommunity