Category: News

In a disclosure to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange, Ayala Corporation announced that its Board of Directors approved on January 20, 2004, the declaration of a 20 percent stock dividend to all stockholders of record as of April 16, 2004, payable on May 12, 2004.

For this purpose, the books of the corporation will be closed for the transfer of shares from April 13 to April 16, 2004, inclusive.

The above declaration will be submitted for the ratification of the stockholders in the corporation’s Annual Stockholders’ meeting on March 26, 2004 as required by law.

Ayala’s corporate video “What makes a good company great?” will be awarded as finalist of the International Award Competition for Film and Video of the New York Festivals on January 30.

A total of 662 entries from 29 countries competed in the Film and Video competition. The New York Festivals has honored excellence in creative communications worldwide for nearly 50 years.

The Ayala video, a five-minute audio-visual presentation shown to the company’s various stakeholders last year, is the only Philippine entry that reached the finals in the Industrial Productions-Public Relations-Corporate Image category.

Given challenging times for the Philippines in 2003, Ayala chose “Responsible Stakeholder Relations through Corporate Governance” as the theme of its five-minute audio visual presentation and articulated it through the tagline: “What makes a good company great? The people who stand by it.” It expanded the concept to reflect not just corporate stakeholder relations but also unity and stakeholder relations in Philippine society. The campaign was elevated to a national level: “What makes a country great? The people who stand by it?”.

As finalist, the Ayala video bests entries from France, Mexico, Malaysia, Singapore, Scotland, Canada, and Finland. Winning entries represent Germany, USA, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Australia.

Other finalists are entries from China, USA, South Africa, and Ethiopia.

Ayala Corporation led Philippine companies in management’s long-term vision for the ninth consecutive year in Far Eastern Economic Review’s Review 200 survey of Asia’s leading companies in 2003.

This confidence among senior management, business owners, and other business executives and professionals who responded to the survey was earned by Ayala’s strategic directions over the years. These included the growth of its subsidiary Globe Telecom, the sale of Pure Foods Corporation, and the industry leaderships of Ayala Land, Inc. and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).

The 11th Review 200 survey asked FEER readers to rank 153 multinational corporations and between 29 and 40 local companies in 12 countries in five leadership categories: high-quality services and products, long-term management vision, innovative response to consumer needs, financial soundness, and a company that others try to emulate.

In the Philippines, strong consumer demand buoyed Jollibee Foods Corporation in the top spot for the sixth consecutive year and pushed San Miguel Corporation to second place. They were followed closely by Ayala Corporation in third place, Globe Telecom in fourth, and BPI in sixth.

Ayala also ranked second in financial soundness and third among companies that others try to emulate. In addition, BPI ranked first in financial soundness while Globe Telecom ranked third in high quality services and products, second most innovative in responding to customer needs, and fourth among companies that others try to emulate.

Ayala Land, Inc., a new entrant to the Review 200, was considered favorably by respondents and posted strong ratings in three categories. It earned the 7th spot among company leaders in the Philippines and was third in long-term vision and fifth in financial soundness.

“Besides Globe, Ayala Land also contributes to Ayala Corp.’s bottom line, as does Bank of the Philippine Islands, the only commercial bank in the top 10, noted FEER.

Year of Optimism

The Review 200 survey noted “a mood of optimism’s despite a year that plagued regional economies with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and conflict in Iraq. Close to the two-thirds of respondents believed that business would improve in 2004.

A similar attitude of optimism is also apparent in the Philippines with 49.3 percent of respondents believing that business prospects will be better next year and 30 percent saying that prospects will be much the same as 2003.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange and Securities and Exchange Commission, managing director and compliance officer Renato O. Marzan said that Ayala Corporation has signed today a definitive agreement covering the purchase from DeTeAsia Holding GmbH of 10,037,565 common shares of Globe Telecom, Inc. at P 680 per share.

The transaction is expected to close on 30 October 2003 and is subject to exchange and regulatory approval.

In a letter to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Ayala Corporation confirmed that its wholly owned subsidiary AC International Finance Limited (ACIFL) has arranged a US$100 million syndicated term loan facility with BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered Bank and ING Bank.

The purpose of the loan is to refinance ACIFL’s maturing loan obligations in 2004 and not to fund the acquisition of the 10.04 million shares of Globe Telecom that Ayala Corporation has agreed to purchase from DeTeAsia Holding GmbH.

Ayala Corporation has accepted the offer from DeTeAsia Holding GmbH (DT) to purchase 16,037,565 common shares of Globe Telecom, Inc. at P 680 per share.

Ayala has advised DT that it reserves its option to designate Globe Telecom Inc. or any of its affiliates or another affiliate of Ayala to purchase part of its Accepted Shares prior to the execution of the share purchase agreement.

The above information is being disclosed in accordance with the disclosure rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange.

(Sgd) RENATO O. MARZAN
Managing Director & Compliance Officer

Ayala Corporation and Singapore Telecom International Pte. Ltd. have received late yesterday, 13 October 2003, from DeTeAsia Holding GmbH (DT) a new offer to sell DT’s entire shareholdings in Globe Telecom, Inc. The offer covers 37,674,681 common shares of Globe. The new offer however is not contingent upon all of the total number of shares offered being purchased by Ayala and Singtel.

Ayala and SingTel will evaluate DT’s offer and will revert to DT within 45 days with their decision in accordance with the rights of first offer among the three parties.

The above information is being disclosed in accordance with the disclosure rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange.

(Sgd) RUFINO LUIS T. MANOTOK
Managing Director, Corporate Strategy

In a disclosure to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange, Ayala Corporation announced that it will receive 63.375 million new common shares from Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) in exchange for AC’s conveyance to ALI of a 2,340 sq. m. lot at Greenbelt, along Makati Avenue, Makati City. The issuance of the new shares was approved today by the Board of Directors of ALI.

The issuance by ALI of the new shares is in pursuance to an earlier resolution of its stockholders approving the authority to issue new shares in exchange for properties needed by the corporation for its development and landbanking activities. The exchange will enable ALI to consolidate its ownership of the 11-hectare Greenbelt property, currently undergoing the initial phase of a major redevelopment. A new site will be provided for a state-of-the-art Ayala Museum which is integral to the unique leisure environment being created in Greenbelt. The new museum, with over 6,000 square meters of floor space, is expected to be completed in early 2004.

In a special meeting of the board of directors and stockholders of Manila Water Company (“MWC”), Ayala Corporation agreed to subscribe to P310 million in new preferred equity shares to be issued by MWC. The shares, totalling P500 million, are part of a capital restructuring being undertaken by MWC.

Also approved in the meeting was MWC’s acquisition of the shares owned by one of its foreign shareholders, International Water (IWL) S.a.r.l. (formerly BEn MWSS Holdings Ltd.), a subsidiary of US-based Bechtel Corporation.

The capital restructuring and issuance of the new Shares will be implemented upon completion of MWC’s acquisition of the shares of IWL.

The giant replica of the solar system still dangles from the ceiling of the science classroom but it is no longer the centerpiece of learning at Sero Central School in Cotabato City, Maguindanao.

A few weeks ago, teachers and students of Sero Central and 30 other elementary schools across the country have begun viewing educational science videos requested through text and downloaded via satellite right into their won school rooms.

This classroom innovation is part of text2teach, the Philippine-based pilot of the Bridgeit Project which was launched in May by global partners Nokia, the International Youth Foundation, Pearson and the United Nations Development Programme. The project is led in the Philippines by Ayala Foundation and is managed and implemented nationwide by SEAMEO INNOTECH and the Department of Education. Technical support is given by Globe Telecom, Nokia Philippines, PMSI Dream Broadcasting System, and Chikka Asia.

Text2teach enables 5th and 6th grade teachers to introduce to their students more than 80 full-length science videos that bring to life key scientific principles. While the project does not intend to replace the need for traditional learning tools such as textbooks, it aims to give Filipinos as young as 10 years old a more informed understanding of science and technology through multimedia presentations. Proponents agree that a strong foundation in this subject can help bring progress to developing countries.

Eighty teachers from 40 schools in Cotabato City, Batangas, Laguna, Manila and Quezon City have already been trained to use the service. They have also been provided lessons plans that, while customized to include various text2teach videos, complement the national curriculum.

Changing attitudes
Since the project was introduced in elementary schools in June, teachers have begun to notice some changes in their pupils’ attitudes towards learning science. Accustomed to seeing only pictures in textbooks or drawings of well-meaning teachers, students are becoming more interested in the subject because of the videos. They ask questions after watching the videos and participate eagerly in classroom activities.

On the first day that Julie Latonero showed a science video to her class at the San Agustin Elementary School in Novaliches, Quezon City, the room was abuzz with excitement. “In fact, even before the installation of the text2teach program, the children were already looking forward to it” says Latonero. “They were very happy when they finally saw the video because they could now see how those animals look like in real life.”

Grade 5 teacher Olivia Regalado of Sto. Tomas Central Elementary School in Batangas has no problem getting students’ attention in her four science classes either. “They listen attentively and they are quiet. Before, only half of the class listen or answer my questions. Now when I say that we are going to know more about animals by viewing a video, their eyes light up.”

Moreover, the videos seem to help the students retain more knowledge from their lessons. Says 11-year old Ralph Dequiro, one of Regalado’s students: “Dati hindi po namin masyadong maintindihan yung sinasabi po ng teacher. Hindi namin matandaan kasi hindi namin nakikita. Pag sa video, madali pong maintindihan kasi nakikita namin yung nangyayari. (Before, we couldn’t understand the lesson. We couldn’t remember our lessons because we couldn’t visualize them. With the videos, it’s easier to understand because we see things as they happen).”

Even teachers claim to benefit from text2teach. Yolanda Gorrero of P.C. Hill Elementary School in Cotabato City notes: “It really helps a lot. It lessens our burden in teaching science because instead of preparing more teaching materials, we use the video clips.” She encourages other teachers in her school to use the science videos in their classes and hopes that a similar service will eventually be made for English and Filipino subjects.

For her part, Regalado says she has more time to study the flow of the next day’s lesson and develop interactive exercises. Since text2teach has already provided lesson plans, she can focus on preparing better materials for experiments and group activities.

For example, in addition to showing a video describing the different physical characteristics of animals, Regalado created picture cards of body parts that her students should match to the corresponding animals. On another occasion, she prepared riddles related to the lesson.

Text2teach may still be in its infancy but project partners are optimistic that it will achieve its intended outcomes and impact on teachers and students. It helps that the mobile communications and satellite technologies used by the project are able to surmount physical barriers such as geographic location. But a bigger factor is the enthusiasm that teachers and students have shown in embracing text2teach as way to improve their science education.

In the meantime, the UP National Institute for the Science and Mathematics Education Development (NISMED) and the UNDP are documenting and assessing the project’s implementation to determine whether the Philippine model could be replicated in other countries.

Says Ayala Foundation president Victoria P. Garchitorena: “Through text2teach, we hope to make a meaningful and sustainable contribution towards bridging the gap in the area of technology in elementary education.”