ADB to cofinance ₧4.8-B loan for telco towers
T REGIONAL DIPLOMACY Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo is welcomed by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong to a forum on maritime cooperation during the Asean Special Summit in Melbourne. Manalo emphasized, “The shared stewardship of the seas and oceans in the region behooves us to unite in preserving the primacy of international law.” Against the backdrop of escalating tensions in the South China Sea, he urges regional solidarity and underscores the need to ensure equitable solutions for all nations involved. WAYNE TAYLOR, ASEAN/AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT VIA AP
ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS
2006 National Newspaper of the Year 2011 National Newspaper of the Year 2013 Business Newspaper of the Year 2017 Business Newspaper of the Year 2019 Business Newspaper of the Year 2021 Pro Patria Award PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY 2018 Data Champion
HE Manila-based multilateral development bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), is keen to extend more support to the country’s telecom tower sector to address the infrastructure gap. In an email to BusinessMirror, ADB Senior Investment Specialist Aditi Bhattacharya said the country needs to have at least 60,000 more towers by 2031 to boost coverage in underserved areas. With this, ADB and Security Bank Corporation will be cofinancing a P4.8-billion loan for iSON Tower Limited Inc. to construction, development, and operation of 800 shared telecommunication towers in underserved communities nationwide.
“Given the critical infrastructure gap, ADB is very keen to expand its support in the telecom tower sector. Subject to satisfactory completion of due diligence, ADB can consider providing financing to other tower companies that meet its internal criteria, including policy, credit, environmental and social safeguards compliance, and integrity requirements,” Bhattacharya told this newspaper. The 12-year cofinancing package will be led by ADB, which is providing half of the financing or P2.4 billion and structuring the loans. The other half of the loan financing will be provided by Security Bank Corporation.
The loans will support the construction, development, and operation of 800 shared telecommunication towers. The project aims to mitigate risks related to greenfield financing of telecommunications towers in the Philippines. ADB said local telecommunication service providers Globe Telecom Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. have master lease agreements signed with iSON. iSON leases the land, builds the infrastructure, and handles the management, security, and maintenance of these towers. “Substantial improvements are needed in tower infrastructure to address connectivity gaps and meet
the growing demand for reliable and widespread telecommunications services across the country,” Bhattacharya said. “As of 2022, the telecommunications tower coverage in the Philippines was among the lowest in Southeast Asia, standing at 240 towers per million population. Around 20 percent to 40 percent behind some of its regional peers,” she also said. In a statement, ADB said smartphone use in the Philippines is among the most widespread in Southeast Asia, but the country has limited tower coverage—with only 240 towers per million population. See “ADB,” A2
BusinessMirror
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR
(2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS
PBBM: KEY ECONOMIC REFORMS PHL PRIORITY
n
Tuesday, March 5, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 142
By Samuel P. Medenilla
P
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 26 pages |
DWIZ 882 AM RECEIVES METROBANK PEACE AWARDS
@sam_medenilla
RESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Monday said he wants to accelerate “structural changes” in economic policies to draw more sustainable investments in the country amid ongoing global decarbonization and de-risking initiatives. In his speech during the Philippine Business Forum (PBF) organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Melbourne, the chief executive stressed the importance of reforms to accommodate the needs of foreign investors as they diversify their supply chains following the pandemic, and in response to ongoing “global challenges,” including climate change. “The urgent need to diversify production locations and explore alternative materials to de-risk and minimize disruptions in supply chains has become self-evident,” Marcos said. “Moreover, the transition to a low-carbon or net-zero scenario has further propelled the de-risking trend,” he added. Marcos is in Melbourne to participate in the 2024 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)Australia Special Summit.
ALIW Broadcasting Corp., represented by Chairman D. Edgard A. Cabangon (third from left), joined by Sharon Tan (second from left), receives the Partners in Empowerment, Advocacy, and Commitment to Excellence (PEACE) award from Metrobank Foundation Executive Vice President Philip Francisco Dy (second from right) and Metrobank Foundation President Aniceto Sobrepeña (most right), with GT Capital Holdings Chairman Francisco Sebastian (most left).
D
WIZ 882 AM, a flagship AM radio station of Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, was honored by the Metrobank Foundation Inc. (MBFI) with the Partner in Empowerment, Advocacy, and Commitment to Excellence (PEACE) Award. The ceremony took place on February 29, 2024, Thursday, at the Marquis Events Place in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City. The Partners in Empowerment, Advocacy, and Commitment to Excellence (PEACE)
award was presented to Aliw Broadcasting Corp. Chairman D. Edgard A. Cabangon by Metrobank Foundation President Aniceto Sobrepeña, Metrobank Foundation Executive Vice President Philip Francisco Dy and GT Capital Holdings Chairman Francisco Sebastian. The award was given “in recognition of its fruitful collaboration with the Metrobank Foundation in uplifting the lives of the least in society and in recognizing the best in the Filipino.” See “DWIZ,” A2
Legislative reforms
THE President said Congress is updating economic-related legislation to make the Philippines a top investment destination for countries, which are making the said transition. See “PBBM,” A2
TIDE OVER TROUBLES A makeshift house floats along the seawall of Manila Bay in the Parañaque area, serving as temporary shelter for fishermen. This free-of-charge housing option provides refuge for those who would otherwise be living on the streets or renting. According to a BusinessMirror report, quoting the French Development Agency, the country must first address poverty significantly before achieving its goal of attaining Upper Middle-Income Country (UMIC) status. NONIE REYES
Women enjoy less than 2/3 of men’s rights By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
W
OMEN in the Philippines and in many parts of the world are not given equal work opportunities and remain far less protected from violence in the workplace, according to the World Bank. Based on the latest Women, Business, and the Law (WBL) report, the World Bank said women
enjoyed fewer than two-thirds of men’s rights, even in affluent countries. The situation of women in the workplace is worse when it comes to safety from violence and access to childcare services, the World Bank said. “W hen those measures are included, women on average enjoy just 64 percent of the legal protections that men do—far fewer than the previous esti-
mate of 77 percent,” the World Bank said. Based on the data, the Philippines scored 78.8 under the initial methodology developed for the WBL. However, with the addition of safety from violence and access to childcare services, the score declines to 70. The report now goes beyond laws and includes supportive frameworks such as processes and experts’ opinions on the law in prac-
tice or outcomes. The country’s score in the WBL declines to 54.2 when processes are taken into consideration and a score of 58.8 when outcomes are considered. “Women have the power to turbocharge the sputtering global economy,” said Indermit Gill, Chief Economist of the World Bank Group and Senior Vice President for Development Economics. See “Women,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.0500 n JAPAN 0.3737 n UK 70.9817 n HK 7.1597 n CHINA 7.7890 n SINGAPORE 41.7101 n AUSTRALIA 36.5838 n EU 60.7750 n KOREA 0.0421 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.9458 Source: BSP (March 4, 2024)