Biz Buzz: Hype ‘conspirators’

Looking into the complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against controversial businessman Joseph Calata and other officers of Calata Corp., the corporate watchdog’s case for stock price manipulation was mostly built on how the team had allegedly hyped the stock with prospects of an exciting new casino project in Mactan, Cebu.

The group was accused of misleading investors about Calata’s shift to a gaming play despite the fact that the state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) had already said it could not grant a license for the Mactan project, originally pitched by Macau Resources Group director Michael Foxman, whowas accused as a co-conspirator in hyping Calata stocks.

On Aug. 23, 2016, Calata disclosed that it had partnered with Macau Group and Sino-American Gaming Investment Corp. to build Mactan Leisure City, even predicting this project to generate P55.74 billion in annual revenues (how they were even able to arrive at this projection was never explained and no existing local casino operator has ever made such a bold projection). When asked by the Philippine Stock Exchange to explain, Calata further added that construction was expected to start by October 2017.

News about Calata’s diversification into the casino business boosted share prices and trading volumes.

The SEC said the disclosure was “false and misleading” considering that such expected funds were not yet available at the time of disclosure nor were solid commitments already obtained.

The disclosure was thus seen meant to “increase demand, thereby clearly showing the in- tent to manipulate the market for Calata shares.”

Interestingly, the SEC also pointed out that this Macau group itself had issues with the US SEC, which revoked on July 6, 2016, the registration of each class of securities for failure to comply with reportorial requirements. Locally, the PSE has called out Calata’s multiple violations of disclosure rules and trading restrictions as the grounds for its delisting. —DORISDUMLAO-ABADILLA

Opportunity from crisis

Heavy vehicular traffic is the bane of the existence of many office workers in and around Metro Manila, most of whom have to waste at least two hours a day— and often more—stuck in their mind-numbing morning and evening commutes.

But there are some firms who view this crisis as an opportunity, and are making full use of it.

Of course, we’ve all heard about Ayala Land’s string of dormitory buildings that will rise in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig and on the fringes of Makati City, but now a relatively new player has entered the game with some promising potential.

The firm is called Point Blue and it is offering not dormitory rooms and beds but actual apartments for people who work in BGC. Founded and run by 37year-old JR Yujuico, the firm offers what it called “integrated microstudios”.

“Micro” means small. How small? About 10 square meters per unit. But each unit comes fully furnished with a single or double bed (with a six inch-thick mattress—not bad); a shelf and storage system under the bed (yes, under); shelves and hanging rods on the wall; an individual shower with water heater and bathroom bidet; a small stainless steel sink with a cupboard and microwave oven, and a desk and chair. Oh, the units are also designed with big sound-insulated windows (to help mitigate claustrophobia, no doubt), that can be covered by pre-installed roller blinds. And most importantly, each unit has an air-conditioner.

Point Blue’s flagship project of this type is a 69-unit six-storey building in South Cembo, Makati City, just off Kalayaan Ave.—an easy 15-minute walk from BGC, that’s ideal for office workers, though it has a number of parking slots (for rent) for tenants who insist on having their own cars.

The property is manned 24/7 by two caretakers who also take charge of cleaning the individual bathrooms periodically, among others. All this goes for P10,800 a month for the standard sized unit, or P12,200 for the slightly bigger unit, which could handle a double occupancy (say, for working couples).

Yujuico said he was inspired to build microstudios after his experience living in New York City during his days as a derivatives trader for Goldman Sachs. He saw Manila’s situation during one of his trips here and decided that there was a need that was not being met by the local property developers.

And it looks like he was correct in reading the market’s needs. All units in the building are occupied and there is a growing waiting list on his company’s online booking system, with wouldbe tenants hoping that someone will give up his or her slot at the end of the 6-month lease period.

To meet the growing demand, Yujuico is now building a second site which will be finished by April 2018. The initial goal of his expansion plan is to have five locations: Three on the fringes of BGC and another two on the other side of Makati City.

Given the ever-worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila, don’t be surprised if the next tycoon will make his millions—or even billions—by leveraging the crisis into an op- portunity. —DAXIM L. LUCAS

Headless DICT

Almost two months since Secretary Rodolfo Salalima resigned, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) remains without a permanent head.

It is currently being led by officer in charge Eliseo Rio Jr., a retired general of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

But ask Mel Velarde, CEO of listed technology firm NOW Corp., and he will say that Rio should be given the role as the DICT’s next secretary because of his deep industry knowledge, collaborative attitude and most importantly, transparency.

“With transparency, there is no corruption,” Velarde noted.

It’s interesting to hear the perspective coming from a relatively young internet service provider.

Of course, Rio recently revealed a plan to empower and tap ISPs, which he said would collectively become the “third player” in the telco space.

This plan comes full circle once the DICT gains access to its own international gateway around 2019 and once it launches the first components of its national broadband project.

This initiative to support ISPs was apparently started during Salalima’s time, but we understand Rio was its main architect when he was DICT undersecretary. Speaking of transparency, he also announced this plan the way many people would about important events in their lives: Through a post on Facebook.

“With Gen. Rio, he tells everyone what the agenda is, and then tells everyone to participate,” Velarde said.

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