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Rohingya refugees rescued
Rohingya refugees rescued.....»»
Fabric and craft company JOANN Inc. files for bankruptcy – The Daily Guardia
JOANN Inc., a popular fabric and craft company based in Hudson, has recently filed for bankruptcy in Delaware State. The Chapter 11 petition listed assets.....»»
Fisker reportedly hires bankruptcy consultants [Updated statement from Fisker]
Electric vehicle manufacturer Fisker is facing financial turmoil as it reportedly hires restructuring advisers to navigate a potential bankruptcy filing, as reported by the Wall.....»»
Palworlds Monthly Server Costs Reach $500k – The Daily Guardian
Title: Palworld’s Phenomenal Success Puts CEO in a Bind: Rising Server Costs Threaten Bankruptcy Subtitle: Indie Game Palworld Surpasses Records with 19 Million Copies Sold,.....»»
Nearly 50,000 UK businesses on verge of collapse - report
Construction and real estate are among the hardest hit sectors, researchers say The number of UK businesses on the brink of bankruptcy skyrocketed by more than a quarter at the end of last year amid a "debt storm" triggered by a series of interest rate hikes, a report from a group of insolvency specialists re.....»»
Ex-NY mayor Giuliani files for bankruptcy
Ex-NY mayor Giuliani files for bankruptcy.....»»
The Unforgettable Milestones of WeWorks Extraordinary Journey
WeWork, the once high-flying co-working giant, has finally succumbed to its financial struggles and filed for bankruptcy. The company’s downfall came after years of mismanagement.....»»
Bankman-Fried to testify at his US crypto trial
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, plans to make another high-stakes gamble and testify in his defense on Thursday at his criminal fraud trial. Bankman-Fried's decision to take the stand comes after three weeks of devastating testimony for the 31-year-old known as SBF, who has been accused of stealing billions of dollars from clients. His lawyer, Mark Cohen, told Judge Lewis Kaplan he expected Bankman-Fried's testimony to last for four or five hours. He is expected to begin around 2:00 p.m. (1800 GMT). Prosecutors were wrapping up their case on Thursday and handing it over to the defense, which said it plans to call four witnesses, including Bankman-Fried. Bankman-Fried, once one of the most respected figures in crypto, has been charged with seven counts of fraud, embezzlement, and criminal conspiracy. If convicted, he could face a de facto life sentence of more than 100 years in prison. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate had, in just a few years, turned his FTX platform into the world's second-biggest crypto exchange -- making him a tech-world billionaire wunderkind. But his empire began to crumble last November when a news report pointed to unhealthy ties between FTX and Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried's personally owned trading company. Amid growing revelations, major investors pulled their money out of FTX, sinking it swiftly into bankruptcy. Some $8.7 billion was still unaccounted for after the dust settled, according to the receiver appointed to manage the liquidation. Bankman-Fried has denied taking other people's money, blaming former colleagues for the situation. But key witnesses in recent weeks, all former FTX or Alameda employees, refuted his account. Supported by internal documents compiled by the prosecution, they said he was behind the breaches and did not lose sight of the financial situation of FTX and Alameda. Ex-girlfriend offers evidence Among those taking the stand was Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried's former business partner and girlfriend. She offered conclusive evidence against him and delivered details on his management, saying he was involved in all major decisions. Ellison, a Stanford University mathematics graduate, was appointed by Bankman-Fried in 2021 to head Alameda, whose activities were largely financed by money from customers of FTX without their knowledge. She has pleaded guilty to fraud charges and agreed to cooperate with the prosecution, as have two other close associates of Bankman-Fried. Bankman-Fried's decision to testify in his defense is unusual in a country where criminal defendants generally decline to do so because they have to face cross-examination and run the risk of incriminating themselves. Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, comedian Bill Cosby, singer R. Kelly, and drug trafficker Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman were among high-profile defendants who declined to testify at their recent trials. A Cornell University study of hundreds of trials published in 2009 found that 77 percent of defendants who chose to testify were convicted while 72 percent of those who declined to take the stand were found guilty. The post Bankman-Fried to testify at his US crypto trial appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
DMW to follow up on unpaid salaries of Saudi OFWs
Department of Migrant Workers Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo Cacdac said on Wednesday that they will continue following up on the settlement of the unpaid salaries of more than 10,000 overseas Filipino Workers in Saudi Arabia. In an interview, Cacdac said that the Ministry of Finance is on board to work on the financial concerns of the OFWs in Saudi Arabia. “From our talks with our own counterparts there…we were also informed that the Ministry of Finance is on board to take care of the financial matters because this would involve disbursement of funds,” Cacdac said. “It’s just hard to pin down a timeline at this point because the Saudi processes still continue. In principle, we respect the Saudi processes, and at the same time we’ll continue to persist in terms of coordination and follow-ups with the Saudi government,” he added. In November 2022, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged to allocate about 2 billion riyals for the unpaid wages of 10,000 overseas Filipino workers employed by construction companies that filed for bankruptcy in 2015 and 2016. The DMW pledged in March to provide each worker with P10,000 in assistance while waiting for the Saudi Government to fulfill its promise. The DMW and the Department of Social Welfare and Development each contributed financial assistance for the OFWs. The post DMW to follow up on unpaid salaries of Saudi OFWs appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Suit charges crypto firms with billion-dollar fraud
New York's attorney general on Thursday filed a lawsuit accusing cryptocurrency firms Gemini and Genesis with fraud that wound up costing investors more than a billion dollars. Gemini Trust Company, created by twin brothers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss of early Facebook fame, misled investors about the risk of putting money into a program that involved loans that at one point were concentrated in Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda research trading firm, according to the suit. "Investors around the country lost more than a billion dollars because they were fed blatant lies that their money would be safe and grow if they invested it in Gemini Earn," New York attorney General Letitia James said in a release. Gemini offered people the chance to lend cryptocurrencies in exchange for high returns via a Gemini Earn program, according to the suit. Those loans included some to digital currency services platform Genesis, which in turn lent cryptocurrency to other players in the industry. But the bankrupcy of Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research and its FTX platform last year triggered panic in the market. Bankman-Fried is currently on trial in New York, facing fraud charges of his own. Unable to honor massive withdrawal requests, Genesis filed for bankruptcy in January. "Gemini hid the risks of investing with Genesis and Genesis lied to the public about its losses," James said. According to documents published at that time, Gemini loans to Genesis tallied some $765 million. Gemini was founded by the Winklevoss twins, who were made famous by the film "The Social Network" about the birth of Facebook. In a post at X, formerly known as Twitter, Gemini contended that the lawsuit confirms that the exchange and its users were "victims of a massive fraud and systematically lied to" by Genesis. "Blaming a victim for being defrauded and lied to makes no sense and we look forward to defending ourselves against this inconsistent position," Gemini said in the post. James accused Gemini of deceiving more than 230,000 investors. Her lawsuit also argues that former Genesis chief executive Soichiro Moro and Genesis parent company DCG with trying to conceal the massive losses. The litigation seeks to have Gemini, Genesis and DCG banned from New York's financial investment industry and pay restitution to investors who lost money. DCG defended itself in a post at X, saying it did nothing illegal. "I am shocked by the baseless allegations in the attorney general's complaint and intend to fight these claims in court," DCG founder and chief executive Barry Silbert said in the post. The post Suit charges crypto firms with billion-dollar fraud appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
4 Rite Aid Stores in San Diego County Slated for Closure amid Companys Bankruptcy Plan
Title: Four Rite Aid Stores in San Diego County to Close due to Company’s Bankruptcy Filing San Diego, California – Rite Aid, a leading nationwide.....»»
Trial of disgraced crypto star Bankman-Fried begins
The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of one of cryptocurrency's biggest exchanges, began Tuesday with a jury set to determine if he committed massive fraud by stealing billions of dollars from clients. The 31-year-old -- once one of the most respected figures in crypto -- now faces decades in prison and could see his name stand alongside Bernie Madoff and Elizabeth Holmes as the era's most prominent fraudsters. The first day of the trial was devoted to jury selection for a case that is set to last about six weeks. Bankman-Fried faces seven counts including wire fraud, securities and commodities fraud, and money laundering. He risks more than 100 years behind bars if he is found guilty on all charges. Bankman-Fried entered the courtroom alone -- without being escorted by security guards -- uncuffed, and took his place alongside his lawyers, an AFP journalist observed. Dressed in a dark suit and striped tie, his usually long curly hair was cut short, reportedly by a fellow inmate at the Brooklyn jail where he is being detained. "You have the right to testify in your defense in this case. The decision is up to you," US District Judge Lewis Kaplan told Bankman Fried. In just a few years, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate turned his FTX platform into the world's second-biggest crypto exchange, making him a tech world billionaire wunderkind. FTX became a global name through a marketing campaign that included celebrity partnerships with stars such as supermodel Gisele Bundchen and basketball legend Stephen Curry, and buying the naming rights for the home arena of the Miami Heat basketball club. Bankman-Fried also stepped in as a kind of savior of the industry when other crypto companies faced difficulties, with FTX swooping in to offer a financial lifeline. At the height of his career, Bankman-Fried was thought to be worth $26 billion as he attracted droves of small investors to invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. But his steep rise was matched by his ignominious downfall, which saw him escorted last year by police from his luxury apartment in the Bahamas and extradited to face charges in the United States. 'Gambling at own casino' His empire began to crumble last November when a news report pointed to unhealthy ties between the FTX platform and Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried's personally owned-trading company. The revelations kept growing and major investors pulled their money out of FTX, sinking it swiftly into bankruptcy. Once the dust had settled, some $8.7 billion in client funds was still unaccounted for and Bankman-Fried was accused of using FTX deposits to buy luxury real estate or donate more than $100 million to US politicians through Alameda. "He was gambling in his own casino and it created conflicts of interest," Michael Lewis, an author who followed Bankman-Fried closely during the period, told CBS. Everything "unravels because the depositors at FTX want their money back and it's not all there," the author of "Liar's Poker" and other titles added. The climax of the trial is expected to be when his former friends and colleagues take the stand, including Carlonie Ellison, his one-time romantic partner and Alameda executive, and Gary Wang, his closest associate. Ellison and Wang have also been indicted in the case and agreed to cooperate with US authorities, which may prove Bankman-Fried's undoing. After his spectacular arrest in the Bahamas, Bankman-Fried was initially held under house arrest but was ordered behind bars in August over alleged attempts at witness intimidation. According to prosecutors, while holed up at his parents' home in California, Bankman-Fried spoke regularly to journalists and passed documents to The New York Times in an effort to influence the testimony of Ellison. The post Trial of disgraced crypto star Bankman-Fried begins appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
US auto talks at ‘critical phase’ as political pressure grows
High-wire talks between striking US workers and automotive giants are in a "critical phase," Jeep-maker Stellantis said Saturday, as politicians staked out positions on a labor issue that could have national impact. Stellantis, together with fellow "Big Three" automakers General Motors and Ford, was hit Friday by a limited strike -- but one the United Auto Workers (UAW) warns could spread. Both sides issued cautious statements Saturday. "Our bargaining team continues to work days, nights and weekends" in pursuit of a "reasonable" solution, said the statement from Stellantis, which was formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and the French PSA Group. But the automaker warned that if talks took a bad turn, the outcome "will take us backward and endanger the long-term competitiveness of our Company, negatively impacting our workers and our communities." There was no immediate formal response from the union, but a UAW source told AFP, "we had reasonably productive conversations with Ford today." Only about 12,700 of the UAW's 150,000 members are currently on strike. But with workers at all of the Big Three coordinating strike action for the first time -- including a demand for pay increases of 40 percent over a four-year contract -- the automakers could face a far more disruptive stoppage. Underscoring the political stakes of the moment, President Joe Biden quickly lent his support to the strikers Friday, saying he understood their "frustration." Political lines And on Saturday, former president Barack Obama lent his backing, with a reference to the 2008-09 financial crisis. "When the big three automakers were struggling to stay afloat, my administration and the American people stepped in to support them," he said on social media. "So did the auto workers in the UAW who sacrificed pay and benefits to help get the companies back on their feet. "Now that our carmakers are enjoying robust profits, it’s time to do right by those same workers." But former president Donald Trump, who hopes to face Biden in next year's US presidential election, lashed out at the UAW as over-reaching. "The auto workers will not have any jobs... because all of these cars are going to be made in China -- the electric cars, automatically, are going to be made in China," he said in an interview to be aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." In its statement, Stellantis said the UAW was misrepresenting its proposals. It said its current offer would give employees a 21 percent pay raise over the term of the contract, with 10 percent coming upon ratification. General Motors upped its offer Thursday, lifting a proposed wage increase from 18 to 20 percent, according to the UAW. But hourly workers say the auto giants must produce significantly better packages to make up for what they call meager wages and benefit cuts after the 2008 financial crisis, when both GM and Chrysler, now part of Stellantis, underwent bankruptcy reorganizations. They also want pay boosts for lower-paid temporary workers. The post US auto talks at ‘critical phase’ as political pressure grows appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
U.S. auto workers stage historic strike
About 12,700 workers from one factory each of the three biggest automakers in the United States walked off their job Friday in a historic strike. The strikers marked the walkout outside a Detroit-area Ford plant with rowdy honking and cheers at the arrival of the United Auto Workers’ union leader Shawn Fain “Tonight, for the first time in our history, we will strike all three of the Big Three at once,” Fain said in a webcast shortly before the 14 September deadline to sign a new contract with General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. Fain said he had hoped to avoid a strike, but blamed the companies for waiting too long to begin serious negotiations. “We’re going to be out here until we get our share of economic justice,” the union president said. “And it doesn’t matter how long it takes.” Fain said the union would strike at a GM factory in Wentzville, Missouri; a Stellantis facility in Toledo, Ohio; and a Ford plant in Wayne, Michigan, but only the final assembly and paint operations. The 12,700 who walked out represent only a fraction of the 150,000 auto workers represented by UAW. The union demands include a 40-percent hike in wages, which Fain has said is needed to match rises in CEO pay. Other sticking points include raising pay and benefits for junior employees to match the level of more seasoned workers, who currently make a top rate of around $32 an hour. Many hourly workers say the auto giants must produce significantly better packages to make up for meager wages and benefit cuts after the 2008 financial crisis, when both GM and Chrysler, now part of Stellantis, underwent bankruptcy reorganizations. All three companies have been highly profitable in recent years. On Thursday, GM upped its offer, lifting a proposed wage increase to 20 percent. The company had previously proposed an 18 percent rise, according to the UAW. Stellantis said it was “extremely disappointed by the UAW leadership’s refusal to engage in a responsible manner to reach a fair agreement in the best interest of our employees, their families and our customers.” The post U.S. auto workers stage historic strike appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Cacdac to continue Ople’s projects
Newly appointed officer-in-charge of the Department of Migrant Workers, Hans Leo J. Cacdac, on Saturday said he will continue the programs that the late secretary Susan “Toots” Ople spearheaded in their department, and make sure that her vision for the DMW would be achieved. “Malaking gap… big shoes to fill ang kanyang iniwan,” Cacdac said in a radio interview. "She (Ople) set the direction that we will stand by and strengthen," Cacdac added. Cacdac was the department’s undersecretary for welfare and foreign employment before he was appointed DMW OIC. He also served as administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administrator (OWWA) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). Cacdac said the first task at hand is to defend the DMW’s proposed P15-billion budget at the Senate next week. He also plans to strengthen the P1.2-billion action fund for legal assistance to OFWs. “One of her (Ople) last public statements was that OFWs whose rights are violated will now be able to file cases and get justice," Cacdac said. Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople who died on 22 August 2023 also wanted a cancer fund established for migrant workers and for the digitalization within the agency to continue. In July, the DMW launched an app for OFW meant to streamline the processing of labor and overseas documents. Cacdac said the Saudi government has already formed a technical committee that would implement Saudi King Salman’s orders regarding OFWs with unpaid wages. The DMW has said that at least 10,000 OFWs who had worked for nine Saudi companies that declared bankruptcy following the economic crisis in 2015 would receive “full payment” of their pending wages. So far, Cacdac said, the Saudi government has assured them there is funding and resources for the payout. He added, though, that processing is still ongoing and that the Saudi government has not given a definite timeline on when the money will be released. “There is a challenge in determining who the claimants are and how the distribution will be done in coordination with the Philippine side,” he said. "Ople said last November that the Saudi government would “set aside two billion Riyals (or) about more than P30.2 billion to help our displaced workers,” Cacdac recalled. The funds will cover workers from Saudi OGer, MMG, the Bin Laden group, and other construction companies that declared bankruptcy in 2015 and in 2016, she said then. Ople, Cacdac said, wanted the DMW to feel like the home of overseas Filipino workers. The post Cacdac to continue Ople’s projects appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
US regulators unveil new bank rules to improve financial stability
US regulators have announced plans for new banking rules to mitigate against future failures, as they move to prevent a repeat of the rapid banking collapses seen earlier this year. A bank run on the midsized Californian lender Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in March over interest-rate concerns quickly spiraled into one of the most acute banking crises in years. It caused the collapse of a number of regional banks and the merger under pressure of Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse with regional rival UBS. In response, the US Federal Reserve's vice chair for supervision, Michael Barr, announced a review into the collapse of SVB and other banks, which concluded that both regulators and the bank's management had made mistakes. On Tuesday, US regulators including the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) published a series of statements requesting comment on two new measures aimed at shoring up banks to better weather future crises. One proposal seeks to ensure midsized banks with more than $100 billion in assets hold more long-term debt to improve financial stability and make it easier to resolve future failures, limiting the risk of contagion when a bank is under stress. "By requiring each large bank to maintain a minimum amount of long-term debt to absorb losses, the proposal would increase the options available to resolve such banks in case of failure," the regulators said. The other proposal would mandate banks with more than $250 billion in assets develop so-called "living wills," which are strategies for "rapid and orderly resolution under bankruptcy in the event of material financial distress or failure." Alongside the two proposals, two Fed governors also voiced their opinions on the changes being requested. Governor Christopher Waller said he backed putting out the proposal on long-term debt, but added he had "concerns about its calibration." He did not comment on the second proposal. Governor Michelle Bowman took a more critical view, supporting the publication of a request for comment on the long-term debt proposal -- "with reservation" -- while opposing the second proposal. Comments on the proposed rules are due by 30 November 2023, regulators said. The post US regulators unveil new bank rules to improve financial stability appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Evergrande plunges as HK trading resumes
Shares in troubled Chinese property giant Evergrande plummeted nearly 80 percent in Hong Kong on Monday after the end of a 17-month trading suspension. The Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. is on holiday yesterday as the country marked National Heroes Day. The resumption of trading came after the company said in a filing on Friday that it had met guidelines set out by the bourse, including belatedly publishing its financial results and complying with other listing rules. Once China’s largest real estate firm, Evergrande defaulted in 2021 and is saddled with more than $300 billion in liabilities, becoming a symbol of the nationwide property crisis that many fear could spill over globally. 87% freefall Its shares plunged as much as 87 percent during morning trading, slashing its market value from a peak of more than $50 billion in 2017 to less than $600 million. It finished the day down 79.4 percent. The company on Sunday reported fresh losses for the first half of the year amounting to 33 billion yuan ($4.53 billion) — an improvement on the 66.4 billion yuan in losses reported in the same period last year. But its cash assets fell from $2 billion last year to $556 million, reflecting its dwindling liquidity. China’s property market “cooled down significantly” in the first six months of the year and saw new defaults in the sector, “further exacerbating the volatility in the market,” Evergrande said. “Based on the principles of respecting international restructuring practices and treating the rights and claims of all creditors in a fair and equitable manner, the Company steadily pushed forward the work related to the restructuring of its offshore debts,” the firm added. In March 2022, the Hong Kong stock exchange suspended trading in Evergrande shares after it failed to publish its 2021 financial results. Its earnings for 2021 and 2022 were published last month, showing a net loss of more than $113 billion over the two-year period. The company risked being delisted if its shares were suspended from trading for 18 months, according to Hong Kong stock exchange rules. Meetings delayed Evergrande was supposed to hold creditor meetings on Monday on its offshore debt restructuring proposal, but it announced in the afternoon the meetings were delayed — just hours before they were set to take place. The postponement of roughly one month will allow creditors to “consider, understand and evaluate” the plan, the company said in an exchange filing. The meetings will take place between 25 to 26 September, which the developer said was “in line” with the timetable creditors expected. Evergrande’s plan offers creditors a choice to swap their debt into new notes issued by the company and equities in two subsidiaries, Evergrande Property Services Group and Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group. Earlier this month, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States, a measure to safeguard its US assets during its restructuring. The post Evergrande plunges as HK trading resumes appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
China developer Evergrande plunges as Hong Kong trading resumes
Shares in troubled Chinese property giant Evergrande plummeted nearly 80 percent in Hong Kong on Monday after the end of a 17-month trading suspension. The resumption of trading came after the company said in a filing on Friday that it had met guidelines set out by the bourse, including belatedly publishing its financial results and complying with other listing rules. Once China's largest real estate firm, Evergrande defaulted in 2021 and is saddled with more than $300 billion in liabilities, becoming a symbol of the nationwide property crisis that many fear could spill over globally. Its shares plunged as much as 87 percent during morning trading, slashing its market value from a peak of more than $50 billion in 2017 to less than $600 million. It finished the day down 79.4 percent. The company on Sunday reported fresh losses for the first half of the year amounting to 33 billion yuan ($4.53 billion) -- an improvement on the 66.4 billion yuan in losses reported in the same period last year. But its cash assets fell from $2 billion last year to $556 million, reflecting its dwindling liquidity. China's property market "cooled down significantly" in the first six months of the year and saw new defaults in the sector, "further exacerbating the volatility in the market", Evergrande said. "Based on the principles of respecting international restructuring practices and treating the rights and claims of all creditors in a fair and equitable manner, the Company steadily pushed forward the work related to the restructuring of its offshore debts," the firm added. In March 2022, the Hong Kong stock exchange suspended trading in Evergrande shares after it failed to publish its 2021 financial results. Its earnings for 2021 and 2022 were published last month, showing a net loss of more than $113 billion over the two-year period. The company risked being delisted if its shares were suspended from trading for 18 months, according to Hong Kong stock exchange rules. Creditor meetings delayed Evergrande was supposed to hold creditor meetings on Monday on its offshore debt restructuring proposal, but it announced in the afternoon the meetings were delayed -- just hours before they were set to take place. The postponement of roughly one month will allow creditors to "consider, understand and evaluate" the plan, the company said in an exchange filing. The meetings will take place between 25 and 26 September, which the developer said was "in line" with the timetable creditors expected. Evergrande's plan offers creditors a choice to swap their debt into new notes issued by the company and equities in two subsidiaries, Evergrande Property Services Group and Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group. Earlier this month, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States, a measure to safeguard its US assets during its restructuring. It is also fending off winding-up petitions in Hong Kong courts, with one case adjourning its hearing to October. China's real-estate sector has proven to be a stumbling block as the world's second-largest economy tries to break out of a post-Covid slump. Fellow Chinese property developer Country Garden now risks defaulting on its bond payments next month, with the company saying there are "major uncertainties in the redemption of corporate bonds". The post China developer Evergrande plunges as Hong Kong trading resumes appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Tale of two cities (2)
Mayor Eric Olivarez of Parañaque City wants his city to be the first to have an eGovSuper App that would expedite and facilitate the registration of business establishments, enhance transparency, and prevent corruption. The young local chief executive, a doctor of education and registered nurse, is blazing the trail in local fiscal administration by making moves preparatory to the adoption of Commission on Audit’s digital transformation in the review of government financial transactions, being introduced by its Chairman Gamaliel Cordoba. Parañaque City is just settling down from its mood of celebration for many good reasons, after being accorded by the Commission on Audit the unqualified opinion (indicative of the absence of any material misstatements), on the fairness of presentation of its financial statements for the calendar year ending 31 December 2022; after obtaining the unprecedented increase of P10 billion in its asset and equity after 12 months of Dr. Eric’s administration, with the overwhelming optimism of another P10 bIllion increase expected by 31 December 2023. The city is deserving of three awards of recognition: (1) Most Ready to Adopt CoA’s digital accounting and auditing; (2) Best City Accountant, Ms. Marilou Tanael, for her dedication and hard work in cleansing the accounts, eliminating and reconciling discrepancies, thereby clinching the P10-billion increase in asset and equity; and for enabling all the Punong Barangays of the City to prepare and submit promptly their annual audit reports; (3) Best City Auditor, State Auditor V. Robert Limcolioc, for helping the city recover from utter bankruptcy to its present financial resurgence. Auditor Limcolioc has been most outstanding as a representative of the Commission on Audit guiding the management of Parañaque City. The kind words heard from the department heads of the city about the resident auditor was: “He easily sees the problems and he shows us how to solve them.” The overall performance of the Olivarez leadership in managing the accounts and financial operation of the City of Parañaque is in totality a gift to behold, an accomplishment to marvel at, and one marked by humility worthy of emulation. It took 10 years for the Olivarez leadership — from Edwin to the incumbent Eric — to normalize the finances of the city from the agony of paying the huge bank loan, a burden shouldered by the people of Parañaque for many years, the negative entries involving assets and liabilities were daily ugly sights in the books of accounts until cleared with the help of CoA. The activities initiated by Dr. Eric in Parañaque City relating to digitalization are forerunners of digital accounting and auditing approaches that will be forthcoming in the Philippine financial system, pursuant to the recent advocacy of CoA Chief Cordoba. With his experience and expertise in digital technology and communication, Cordoba hopes to usher the Commission on Audit to new heights through the digital transformation of accounting and auditing. The online/no-contact transaction in granting business permits is an activity typical of the eGovSuper App, a mobile application that can provide multiple services, including payment and financial processing, effectively becoming an all-accomplishing self-contained commerce and communication online platform that embraces many aspects of personal and commercial life. In his eagerness to enhance transparency and prevent corruption, Mayor Olivarez coordinated with Undersecretary for e-Government David Almirol of the Department of Information and Communications Technology. The mayor informed the undersecretary of his full support in adopting the e-GovSuper App one-stop platform that will expedite the processing of local government transactions. Meanwhile, it would be wise to keep on repeating, without becoming redundant, especially on a matter that is alien to many Filipino bureaucrats, that the major thrust of CoA Chair Cordoba includes the development of an easy-to-implement and technologically driven government accounting system compliant with international standards to ensure that all revenues and expenditures are recorded accurately and in real-time and enhancing audit guidelines for e-reports to cover contracts entered into via social media platforms. The post Tale of two cities (2) appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Country Garden: China’s under-pressure property giant
Concerns are mounting in China around Country Garden, a major property developer whose colossal debt raises fear of a bankruptcy that could spell wider economic turbulence, two years after the unravelling of its competitor Evergrande. Country Garden shares plunged by more than 18 percent in Hong Kong on Monday after it missed bond payments and warned of multibillion-dollar losses. Its billionaire boss Yang Huiyan has said the firm is "facing the greatest difficulties since our establishment". Here's what you need to know about Country Garden: Family business Country Garden is run by Yang Huiyan, who until recently was one of the richest women in China and Asia. Yang, now in her early forties, became a billionaire when she inherited shares from her father in 2005, two decades after he founded the company. But her fortune has dwindled since 2021 as China's real estate crisis dramatically weakened the sector. Yang, who lost nearly $29 billion in two years according to a Bloomberg ranking of billionaires, has an estimated wealth of $5.3 billion. To support Country Garden, she and her family have chipped in the equivalent of $4.9 billion in personal funds, according to the group. Real estate heavyweight The top seller of real estate in China last year, Country Garden was named in Forbes' list of the 500 largest companies in the world. Based in the southern Chinese city of Foshan, the group employed nearly 70,000 "full-time" staff members at the end of 2022, according to the most recent figures from the company, which has long been deemed financially solid. It also has operations abroad, including a gigantic real estate project in Malaysia involving artificial islands. Under pressure But recent sluggishness in the Chinese real estate market has caught up with the company. According to media reports, Country Garden was unable to make two bond payments on 6 August. It has a 30-day grace period, but if it does not pay within that time it risks default. Adding to the pressure, 31 billion yuan ($4.27 billion) in the firm's bonds are set to mature in 2024, according to rating agency Moody's. Another Evergrande? Like its competitor Evergrande, which owes more than $300 billion, any collapse of Country Garden would have damaging repercussions on the Chinese financial system and economy. It is due to publish its half-year results by the end of the month, and says it expects a net loss of 45 to 55 billion yuan (about $6.2 billion to $7.6 billion). And its situation is particularly precarious because around 60 percent of its projects are located in small Chinese cities, where property prices have fallen the most and where customers have weaker purchasing power. Country Garden announced over the weekend it would suspend trading of onshore bonds from Monday, a decision likely to cause concern in the markets as the company said that its debt was estimated at some 1.15 trillion yuan ($159 billion) at the end of 2022. Additional liabilities have brought other estimations of its overall debt as high as 1.4 trillion yuan ($193 billion), according to Bloomberg. Robotics In addition to its core focus on real estate, Country Garden has been developing robots for the catering industry since 2019. The firm has produced designs for different types of mechanized food processors, and last year it opened an expansive, fully automated restaurant in Foshan. The restaurant, which accommodates up to 600 people, is staffed by 20 robots that can prepare three types of dishes including Chinese hot pot, the firm said at the time. The post Country Garden: China’s under-pressure property giant appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»