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You’ve probably heard the joke about a certain ex-President complaining about his expensive restaurant bill. A guest tells him it’s probably due to the ambiance, to which the President replies indignantly, “Who ordered the ambiance?”
I got this question in response to news that the House of Representatives approved two measures that seek to ban POGOs in the Philippines. POGOs, or Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, are licensed and monitored by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), and have been controversial since their presence exploded during Rodrigo Duterte’s term as president. These shady organizations proliferated wildly in the early days, causing huge spikes in demand for commercial office space for the companies and residential condos around those offices for the workers who were largely Chinese nationals. Our commercial REITs were initially exposed to these POGOs in various degrees due to the tempting rents that could be (in theory) extracted from these companies, but some of the more risk-adverse REITs quickly moved to limit their exposure due to a long (and growing) list of problems with these POGOs. The most important problem was the chaotic management of the sector by PAGCOR and the President, which seemed to only attract “here for now” type companies that often struggled to pay their monthly rents or outright refused to do so. Of all the commercial REITs, all have (in some form) committed to reducing their POGO exposure over time. Three REITs have declared that they are POGO-free: AREIT [AREIT 33.90, down 0.6%], MREIT [MREIT 13.52, down 0.1%], and Filinvest REIT [FILRT 3.21, up 0.9%]. RL Commercial REIT [RCR 5.49, down 2.0%] said back in 2021 that 2.8% of their tenants were POGO, but have not (to my knowledge) provided any updates on the proportion of their tenants that are POGOs. DDMP [DDMPR 1.21, up 0.8%] reported in its FY22 Annual Report that it still had 37% of its total GLA rented out to POGO and PAGCOR-accredited tenants.
MANILA, Philippines — Smuggled and imported onions being sold online have contributed to the slump in the farmgate price of local bulbs, according to a farmers’ group.
TOKYO, Japan — Japan's space agency announced the successful launch of its new flagship rocket on Saturday, making it third time lucky for the H3 after years of delays and two previous failed attempts.
MANILA, Philippines — A group that monitors sexual harassment cases in schools has called on the Department of Education to establish concrete anti-retaliation policies to protect victims when they file complaints against school authorities, including their teachers accused of sexual misconduct.
STI Education Systems [STI 0.66, up 3.1%] [link] posted a Q2/24 net income of P498 million, up 84% y/y from its Q2/23 net income of P271 million. For the six months ended December 31, STI’s revenues increased 36% y/y to P1.96 billion, with a core net income increase of 136% to P506 million, and a net income attributable increase of 127% to P512 million. Enrollment in the company’s schools is up 33% for its owned schools and up 17% for its franchised schools. iAcademy is the only segment that suffered an enrollment decline, with a 7% y/y drop. Overall, total enrollment is up 27% to 119,543 students. STI said that its increased revenue and profitability was mainly from that increase in students, but was also partially due to a 5-10% tuition fee increase “across all levels”.
CEBU, Philippines — A recent survey by Mynimo.com found that while only 5% of Cebu-based employees currently prefer remote work options, the demand for flexibility is rising, mirroring a national trend. Companies are rethinking their approach to office space in the dynamic post-pandemic era, as evidenced by a Cisco Systems Inc. survey revealing that 92% of the Filipino workforce desires a hybrid work setup.
