Biz Buzz: Aborted early retirement /

It appears that associates and observers who were betting that business tycoon Hans Sy would not last long in his self-imposed early retirement have won.

After surprising his friends a few months ago by announcing that he would take a step back from the family business (which encompasses a wide array of fields nowadays) to take time and smell the flowers, the Sy scion is firmly back in the saddle.

Of course, he remains on the boards of the many firms of the retail empire founded by the patriarch Henry Sr., the country’s wealthiest man with an estimated net worth of $18 billion. And of course, Hans is helping run that “other” bank owned by the family, China Banking Corp.

But Biz Buzz has learned that the fourth of the six Sy siblings has now thrown himself fully at the task of bringing the family-owned school National University to the next logical step of its evolution.

We’re not just talking about the educational institution’s basketball team, which—having previously been a perennial cellar dweller in the University Athletics Association of the Philippines sports league—is now regularly challenging teams of more established schools for dominance. Nor are we just talking about its UAAP cheering squad whose performance in the annual competition has clearly benefited from the greater resources that the family brought into the long languishing school.

“The sports aspect is part of the marketing effort,” he said. “Now the challenge is to grow the school in terms of physical presence and in terms of quality.”

True to the Sys’ penchant for doing things in a big way, Hans also has big plans for National University, which the family has put in his charge.

The first goal, according to him, is to make National University truly… well… national.

And what better way to give the school a national footprint almost overnight than by using SM’s national network of shopping malls—the extra space they usually have—as a venue for additional campuses.

That’s right. According to Hans, he is constantly bothered by the “wasted” space that could be used “above” the multilevel parking buildings that often go with SM malls. That’s because, based on SM’s experience, Filipinos rarely like to park their vehicles higher than the fourth floor of any parking building, leaving any upper floors unutilized.

Thus was born an idea: Why not build four more floors above the fourth floor of SM parking buildings and make them into National University campuses? That’s a lot of space of classrooms, auditoriums, offices, recreational areas and even sports facilities on the roof deck.

Indeed, two such campuses are now being built in SM’s Fairview site and another one in the Mall of Asia complex, with two more campuses set to break ground soon.

Hans’ goal is nothing short of ambitious: 20 National University campuses around the country adjacent to SM malls by 2020, each one serving as a learning venue for up to 5,000 students. That’s a whopping 100,000 students.

So much for Hans’ shortlived retirement. Now he has his hands fuller than they ever were. —DAXIM L. LUCAS

Regulator under siege

Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC) Chair Teresita

Herbosa capped last week’s tumultuous week—filled by huge public debate on the SEC’s decision to revoke the incorporation of news site Rappler—attending the annual reception for the banking community hosted for the first time by new Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Nestor Espe

nilla Jr. That same night, there was a mass protest against the SEC’s action alongside other perceived threats to press freedom in the Philippines.

Herbosa said as much as possible, she preferred not to be interviewed as any of her statement would only be deemed as “self-serving.” Asked whether she has encountered hostilities (especially from social media) from those who didn’t agree with the SEC’s decision, Herbosa told Biz Buzz that while some were initially skeptical, many had “vacillated” when they read in full the 29-page decision issued by the SEC. These days, she claims that 70 percent of her social media feeds ( most probably from her circle in the legal profession) are supportive of the SEC.

Apart from revoking the license of Rappler and its parent firm Rappler Holdings, the SEC voided the Philippine depositary receipts (PDRs) issued to foreign entity Omidyar Network, citing a “repugnant” provision for negative control—that which requires consent from two-thirds of PDR holders before Rappler can effect certain corporate policies that could prejudice the interest of Omidyar. The SEC interpreted this as being “subservient” to this foreign PDR holder, in violation of the Philippine Constitution that requires full control of local mass media. This feature isn’t present in any of the PDRs issued by other local media outlets like ABS-CBN and GMA7 or even in the PDR issued to Rappler’s other foreign investor, North Base Media.

For Herbosa, who by the way descended from the same bloodline as national hero Jose

Rizal, it’s not fair to mix discussions on legal violations with outcries for press freedom. “In our case, being a regulator, we just apply and enforce the law. We don’t have any discretion (to be accommodating) just because it’s media; that’s unfair to other companies,” she said.

Note that this isn’t the first time that the SEC has been accused of being overly stringent. The Philippine Stock Exchange itself has clashed with it on a number of issues, such as the exemptive relief needed for PSE to take over Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. (which was rejected by the SEC in 2016), while a group of stockbrokers challenged in court certain provisions of the 2015 implementing rules and regulations of the Securities Regulations Code.

Unfortunately, the Securities Regulation Code doesn’t provide for any curing period. It provides for an offer for settlement, but in this case, because there are related charges of possible violation of the antidummy law, a criminal offense, Herbosa said such a settlement offer isn’t an option as well.

A prospective remedy that other lawyers are talking now is simple: For Rappler’s shareholders to incorporate a new entity (even overseas, if that’s more suitable) that will start on a clean slate. It may even incorporate in a foreign jurisdiction. Herbosa said there were also cases in the past when the SEC had restored the incorporation of those whose licenses had been revoked but there was little time to discuss it.

Of course, veteran journalist Maria Ressa and her team will still have to slug it out before the Court of Appeals (CA) and face other charges that the Department of Justice may file in relation to the alleged violations. Accra’s Francis Lim, former PSE president, is more than capable to take up this case. As Herbosa used to be a senior partner at Accra, Lim stayed away from the case while it was at the SEC level but once elevated to CA, that’s when he can unleash his team’s legal arsenal.

But whether the SEC intends it or not, last week’s decision has contributed to a “chilling effect” so Herbosa knows she has to deal with criticisms from journalists and liberal folks around the world. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA