Biz Buzz: Business coming full circle

On Dec. 12, 2003, the first Mang Inasal branch opened in Robinsons Mall in Iloilo City.

Back then, no one could imagine that the company’s visionary founder, Edgar “Injap”

Sia II, would go on to build this barbecue chicken business into a 600-branch fast food giant that would also make him a dollar billionaire. It was unlikely that his landlords, Robinsons Land Corp., could have foreseen it either. Today, however, Sia and the

Gokongwei family have come together once more for a property joint venture.

We’re talking about a one-hectare lot in Libis, Quezon City, that used to be owned by Jollibee Food Corp.’s subsidiary, Red Ribbon. The lot was acquired jointly by Robinsons Land and Doubledragon (splitting the acquisition price, 50-50.)

As such, the corner lot will now become part of Robinsons’ adjacent Bridgetowne development, with the commercial and office towers named Robinsons Doubledragon Square Building.

A portion of the lot will also host a new Hotel 101 branch while Robinsons will build a five-star hotel nearby. DoubleDragon, meanwhile, will build a separate three-star hotel for the budget conscious travelers in the business park.

Biz Buzz hears that both partners are very happy with how the deal is structured, and the Gokongweis don’t mind at all that a former tenant is now dealing with them as an equal at eye level. Now that’s good karma coming full circle. — DAXIM L. LUCAS

Raging battle

Two stockholders’ meetings took place over the weekend hosted by each of the warring factions of Vallacar Transit Inc.,

touted to be the largest bus company in the country. A meeting at 8 a.m. was convened by Leo Rey Yanson and Ginette Dumancas with matriarch, Olivia Yanson, while the second one in the afternoon was conducted by Roy, Emily, Ricky, Susan Yanson, Celina

and Juan Manuel Lopez. Representatives from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Bacolod Extension Office were in attendance at the 5 p.m. meeting.

Both factions claim their meetings were validly called, and that all resolutions adopted were in order.

According to Roy’s group, however, they had the upper hand because they had records from the SEC, specifically the company’s latest general information sheet, which showed that they controlled 61.17 percent of the company. According to this faction, the rival group of Leo Rey only controls 38 percent of the shares.

While Leo Rey’s group has physical control of the head office after smoking out Roy’s group with the help of the Philippine National Police (which Roy said was done without the benefit of a court order), the breakaway faction of the family is making it known that they “will always be around to question and thwart moves and stymie the movement of the other side.”

In particular, Roy’s group said they hold documents from the SEC, tax authorities and public transport regulators, plus the all important bank accounts of the company—something that may make it difficult for the rival camp to run the company smoothly.

They also explained that this dispute that has escalated into a full-scale war between the siblings and their mother began with the death of the company’s patriarch, Ricardo

Sr., who anticipated problems in succession and wealth management for the company that he first organized in 1969.

A family constitution was drawn up for him by no less than the Ateneo Business Management Center in 2010. The effort to ensure continuity in management direction and equality among the siblings was contained in a shareholders’ agreement that they all signed in 2013. Upon Ricardo Sr.’s death in October 2015, the siblings implemented the 2013 agreement through the extrajudicial settlement of his estate that Olivia initially signed.

Here is where it becomes tricky. Roy’s camp says their mother backtracked on that settlement and questioned the agreement, and now wants all her shares back with the children, Leo Rey and Ginette, tagging alongside her.

How this drama will unfold and end is anyone’s guess as neither side is willing to give in, promising to sue and countersue through their lawyers. One thing remains certain, however: Disputes like this are fought long and hard, and both sides of the feuding factions end up bitter... and probably even poorer. —DAXIM L. LUCAS

PH’S ‘strongest’ bank

The country’s biggest lender, BDO Unibank, is also the country’s strongest bank, according to Singapore-based magazine The Asian Banker, which gave this recognition to BDO for the second straight year.

This annual rating is pitched to be “the most comprehensive annual evaluation that captures the quality and sustainability of the balance sheets of the banks in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions.” The Asian Banker ranks banks on a scale of 0-5 based on the following performance indicators: scale, balance sheet growth, risk profile, profitability, asset quality and liquidity.

The Asian Banker underscored BDO’S healthy balance sheet and profit as

well as its low nonperforming loan ratio and high loan-loss reserves to gross bad loan ratio.

The Asian Banker evaluates strength “based on a belief that a strong bank demonstrates long-term profitability from its core businesses.” Through its yearly “Strongest Banks by Balance Sheet,” it provides financial intelligence by assessing banks and financial holding companies in emerging and mature markets with a substantial amount of activity in commercial banking. –DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA

Promises

Spending pledges on information and communications technology, once a laggard from the perspective of the country’s investment promotion agencies, are surging this year.

A more Ict-friendly regime in recent times—coinciding with vast public demand—propelled foreign investment commitments by almost 330 percent to more than P182 billion for the third quarter of this year.

Of that figure, a full 75 percent came from ICT pledges alone, unprecedented in its scale, said Eliseo Rio Jr., undersecretary at the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

Rio has cause to celebrate such figures—much of the DICT’S openness to new investments happened under his watch as DICT acting secretary.

Rio said such spending, once they materialize, would help improve the quality of internet for Filipinos, among the world’s major consumers of data services.

Big-ticket items included a plan by Phil Fiber Optic Cable

Network Ltd. to roll out thousand of kilometers of fiber cables across the country.

This should hopefully benefit underserved areas as well, where access to traditional communications services remains poor to nonexistent.

Rio was especially proud of that fact that such proposed investments came despite the DICT’S relatively small budget during his time as acting secretary.

Could it be different if the department is granted more funds to carry out its plans, including the delayed national broadband program? That remains to be seen. –MIGUEL R. CAMUS INQ

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