BIZ BUZZ: Search is on for new PLDT top chief
Will PLDT Inc. find its new head honcho this year? Tycoon Manuel Pangilinan, who has taken over the role since former president Alfredo Panlilio stepped down due to health reasons, hopes so.
“Hopefully, before the year ends, we can find the right person,” Pangilinan, who is also juggling multiple roles in his other companies, told reporters on Thursday in Makati.
The billionaire said it was “too early to say who the candidates could be at this stage.”
“It is a wide search. At this stage, I cannot tell you how many,” he added.
Biz Buzz previously reported that Alex Caeg, PLDT wireless unit Smart consumer business head, was a potential successor.
PLDT is undergoing a major change in senior leadership at a time of heightened digitalization and industry competition. This means the new top honcho should be prepared to take the telco giant to the next level.
Now, the question is: Who will be the chosen one to bear the responsibility of bringing the telco giant to new heights? Let’s see! —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad
New Clark City growing as a logistics hub
The Bases Conversion and Development Authority’s (BCDA) New Clark City is transforming to become the preferred regional hub in Asia of big-brand logistics firms, with three more well-known names soon to locate in the budding metropolis.
BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Joshua Bingcang on Tuesday said these three foreign logistics companies—which cannot be named at the moment due to nondisclosure agreements—will take up at least 20 hectares of the available land in the 9,450-hectare New Clark City.
“For me, what’s important is the brand image they will bring. For the longest time, we have been bypassed [for these kinds of investments],” Bingcang said, citing that these types of investments usually go to countries like Vietnam and Thailand.
“So, with these being there, [that’s] a seal of approval of foreign investment choosing Clark and basically, the Philippines,” he added.
The BCDA official said that these companies were expected to invest $1 billion and to create 3,000 to 4,000 jobs once they begin operations.
To date, some of the big-name logistics companies that have terminals at the New Clark City are FedEx Corp., the United Parcel Service Inc. and Hong Kong’s Metrojet. —Alden M. Monzon
DongYan’s record-breaking movie
When show biz royalty and real-life couple Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera made a comeback movie together, it was so well-received by “DongYan” fans that it shattered box-office records.
“Rewind” is now the highest-grossing Filipino film of all time in terms of domestic ticket sales, according to Star Cinema, ABS-CBN Corp.’s film production arm. The Metro Manila Film Festival entry has earned P845 million as of Jan. 17.
It has officially surpassed the ticket sales of “Hello, Love, Goodbye” (P691 million) and “The Hows of Us” (P660 million). Both movies were top billed by Kathryn Bernardo, who is among the biggest stars today.
“Rewind,” a time-warping family story, is also now showing across the United States, Canada, Guam and Saipan. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad
