Digging for dirt at DBP
AFTER MAKING tons of money for Development Bank of the Philippines during his five-year tenure, former DBP president Reynaldo David is now the target of some new board members who are believed to be digging up dirt to be used against him. Many senior bank officials are not happy with this and they continue to swear by the integrity of their ex-boss.
David, as expected, is being singled out for his friendship with the ex-First Gentleman, they say.
This is why some senior officials are now only too eager to go on early retirement, feeling the heat of transition to be worse than the radiation from Japan. If someone had hastily advised President Benigno Aquino III about certain “anomalous” transactions without first collecting solid evidence (such as the MRT 3 buyback deal), it shouldn’t be at the expense of the professionals on DBP’s roster. This “witch hunt” was described to be “demoralizing.” It could also erode the gains made by the bank over the years, bank sources say.
Asked for the bank management’s side on this issue, DBP spokesperson Leonora Fernandez explained to Biz Buzz: “Every time there’s a new administration, they are allowed to bring in their own support staff. It’s natural for them to look into previous accounts, but we welcome it as it gives us an opportunity to explain. We are not sidetracked by these things.” Doris C. Dumlao
That long trading halt
NOT a few eyebrows were raised after the Philippine Stock Exchange last Wednesday allowed a long suspension on the trading of San Miguel Corp. shares (trading on which resumes May 5) on the heels of the diversified conglomerate’s $850-million sale of secondary shares and convertible bonds.
Many fund managers believe the incoming PSE board (to be elected mid-May) and incoming Securities and Exchange Commission chief Teresita Herbosa should strengthen the rules on voluntary trade suspension for the sake of the investing public.
It’s to SMC’s interest to seek such long hiatus, but it’s up to PSE to balance the issuer’s need with that of investors, they say. SMC has a small public float (8.1 percent), but given its size, it’s still equivalent to P28.6 billion worth of stocks held by minority investors who don’t exactly relish being stuck with illiquid stocks for half a month.
“I don’t mind voluntary suspension of a stock if there is a material information that might hamper trading of the stock unnecessarily. However, the time frame should be limited and, ultimately, market forces should dictate on how a share price of a company should fare. The PSE should give the investors a clear-cut ruling on this,” said an equity fund manager at a large regional fund. Other market participants echoed such sentiment. It’s the longest trading suspension allowed—at least for a company of SMC’s size—in the PSE’s recent history.
At press time, the PSE hasn’t replied to queries on why such lengthy trading halt was allowed.
The equity portion of SMC’s transaction is expected to be priced anywhere from P140 to P160 per share versus the last traded price of P153 per share. The lower end of the range, as indicated by bookrunners, is in line with the maximum discount rumored in the market even before the trading suspension. Doris C. Dumlao
SPi Global wins
HOMEGROWN business process outsourcing (BPO) giant SPi Global Holdings Inc. was named BPO Company of the Year during the 5th Information and Communications Technology (ICT) awards recently.
The company is currently the country’s largest locally owned BPO company with more than 20,000 employees. It has announced plans to set up shop in Latin America, from where it can serve the United States’ growing Spanish-speaking market.
This is the company’s third consecutive ICT award. Last year, it was recognized the best “Non-Voice BPO” of the year. In 2009, it also took home the “Multi Sourcing BPO Company of the Year” title.
Other winners at this year’s ceremonies were Cognizant Philippines for Best New BPO Locator, Thomson Reuters for Best Shared Services BPO Company, HP for Best Non-Voice BPO, FirstCarbon Solutions for Most Innovative Company, IBM for Fastest Growing BPO Company and Teleperformance Philippines for Best Employer.
Genpact Philippines country manager Danilo Reyes was also named ICT Individual Contributor of the Year. Paolo Montecillo
BPO ‘rock star’ moves to SMC
AT THE same event, the local BPO sector bid an emotional farewell to Oscar Sañez, the man who stood as the industry’s face for the past four years.
Sañez, who sat as the longtime president of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), is credited with helping lure billions of dollars worth of BPO investments into the country and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs in the process.
From being virtually unknown in the BPO sector at the start of the decade, the country is now one of the world leaders with a 10-percent market share in an industry expected to post $250 billion in global revenues by 2015.
The farewell for Sañez consisted of a five-minute video depicting him as the industry’s Tony Stark (Iron Man’s alter ego).
Sañez is now moving to San Miguel Corp. to head the conglomerate’s international ventures. The question of course is whether or not Sañez can do to SMC the same wonders he did for the BPO sector. Paolo Montecillo
