“Duterte wants an Avanza because that’s the cheapest,” said Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, who was guest at the Meet Inquirer Multimedia forum on Tuesday.

“When someone asked me what I will do, I said I will invoke separation of powers,” the designated House Speaker from Davao del Norte and longtime friend of Duterte said, drawing laughter from editors and reporters.

“I said I will use a pickup,” Alvarez said, adding he is used to cruising around in a light truck, driving it himself sometimes.

In meeting his chosen Cabinet members a day after his proclamation as winner of the May 9 elections and the country’s 16th President, Duterte laid down his rules for a frugal administration, directing his appointees to forego business class plane tickets, forget about using public funds for junkets, or abstain from using expensive cars.

Alvarez said Duterte meant to show it on the very day he assumes the presidency on June 30.

Inaugural

The 71-year-old mayor of Davao City for two decades will be sworn in as President in Malacañang, deviating from the tradition for Presidents to be inaugurated at Quirino Grandstand in Manila’s Rizal Park.

“I suggested that it be held at the Palace grounds,” Alvarez said.

Save for the late President Corazon Aquino who took her oath of office at Club Filipino following the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution, Presidents Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III took their oaths at Quirino Grandstand in ceremonies gathering thousands of spectators.

Duterte had earlier said he would attend his inauguration and exchange his usual casual attire for a more formal barong.

He said he would “just follow protocol” in crafting a “well-prepared speech,” acknowledging that it would be the “policy of this nation.”

Duterte snubbed Congress, which convened as a national board of canvassers on May 30 to declare him winner of the May 9 balloting. He said he had missed such formalities since becoming a politician.

Simplicity, diligence

When he became the House Speaker, Alvarez is keen to toe a similar line of conscientious governance, vowing to practice a leadership style that would reflect simplicity and diligence as Duterte had outlined.

It goes hand in hand with Alvarez’s agenda to give antipoverty efforts top priority.

“Whatever is necessary in addressing poverty,” Alvarez replied, when asked during the forum what people should expect from him.

“I want to be an instrument to uplift the condition of our fellowmen,” said the returning lawmaker, who first served in Congress from 1998 to 2001.

One of the traditions that must go is the annual “fashion show” when members of Congress, their spouses and other guests turn up at the red carpet in glamorous garb for the State of the Nation Address (Sona), as if attending a Hollywood awards night.

“Even the civil code frowns upon the display of wealth amid poverty. So we don’t need to be as extravagant. Business attire would be enough, like what you wear when going to the office,” Alvarez said. “You don’t have to come as if you’re going to a party.”

Wearing formal attire is always a challenge for him, said Alvarez, who wore a collared shirt, black pants and suede boots.

“You know, my greatest problem is wearing barong and Americana. When I was in Congress before, I wore jeans and then a barong,” he said.

The 11 countries also called for “maritime practical cooperation” and for early completion of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

The China-Asean Special Foreign Ministers Meeting in Yuxi, Yunnan province, was the first of its kind in three years.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the region “should not become another place of turbulence” as the world has already witnessed considerable chaos.

Wang said the closed-door meeting, which was first proposed by members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, was timely, significant and involved strategic communication.

He added that it had achieved its expected goals. China is committed to future meetings to build trust and dispel misunderstandings, he added.

On the sidelines of the convention, Wang embarked on a whirlwind series of meetings with his counterparts fromAsean countries.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh told Wang on Monday that his country is ready to tackle maritime differences properly based on the consensus of the party leaders of China and Vietnam.

Wang said, “Both sides (China and ASEAN) should tackle differences properly and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability. They should cherish the hard-won peaceful and stable situation in this region.”

Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who co-chaired the meeting with Wang on Tuesday, said it demonstrates that “Asean and China are even able to discuss difficult issues … frankly, constructively and openly”.

Ruan Zongze, vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, said the meeting shows that most Asean members will not be “hijacked” by the South China Sea issue and related problems.

China has played a proactive role in boosting integration and development within the ASEAN Community, and such a role has won support from the ASEAN members, Ruan said.

Wei Ling, a professor of Asian studies at China Foreign Affairs University, said China has provided firm support to Asean continuously, with this year marking the 25th anniversary of the China-Asean dialogue.

“The strategic mutual trust and cooperation between China and Asean is a cornerstone of the region’s peace and development,” Wei said

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak unveiled the new executive sedan at a ceremony at Putrajaya International Convention Centre yesterday.

Priced at 113,888 ringgit (Bt977,600) and 138,888 ringgit for the 2.0- and 2.4-litre variants respectively, the new Perdana 2.0 comes with a four-cylinder 16-valve SOHC engine producing 154 horsepower and 189 newton-metres of torque, while the Perdana 2.4 comes with a four-cylinder 16-valve DOHC engine producing 178 horsepower and 222Nm of torque.

Also present at the launch were International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed, International Trade and Industry Minister II Ong Ka Chuan, Proton chairman Syed Faizal Albar and Proton chief executive Ahmad Fuaad Kenali.

Ahmad Fuaad said the car, which was made available for orders by the public in February, has received 900 bookings nationwide.

“We expect to sell around 3,000 cars by end of 2016,” he said.

The car is available in six colours – Ruby Red, Sterling Silver, Graphite Grey, Cotton White, Midnight Black and Citrine Gold.

Figures from the Ministry of Industry and Trade show that since 2007, more than 144 foreign franchises have been licensed in the country.

Market leaders include Lotteria (over 200 restaurants), KFC (over 140), Jollibee (over 40), Pizza Hut (over 40), Baskin Robbins and Domino’s Pizza.

Dinh Thi My Loan, chairwoman of the Vietnam Retailers Association, said that with its high growth rate and a population of 90 million – of whom 60 per cent are young consumers – and modern trade channels accounting for just 25 per cent of retail business, the country is an attractive retail market for foreign investors.

Sean Ngo, director of Vietnam Franchise Consulting, said franchises in Vietnam are forecast to increase substantially given the establishment of the AseanEconomic Community and the free trade agreements the country has signed.

The food and beverage industry has seen franchising develop strongly, especially in the fast food segment, he said.

Food consumption in the country is expected to grow by 61.6 per cent from 2012-17, while nearly half of household expenditure is on food and beverages, he said.

Nguyen Phi Van, founder of Retail and Franchise Asia, said franchising is a common strategy that companies choose when expanding internationally.

In the 10 leading food groups, only two still own more than half of their outlets.

In 2008, Burger King owned 12 per cent of its outlets, but the share fell to 0.4 per cent in 2013, while Subway does not own any outlet, she said.

Franchising has considerable potential in more industries, like education and healthcare.

But to be successful, franchisees need to make sure they have a good business plan and management, she said.

The biggest mistake Vietnamese franchisees make is that they spend a lot of money to buy the franchise but not to build a management team to run it, she said.

Other countries

Van said the franchise market in Vietnam is still in its infancy, and when foreign franchises come to the country, local firms can learn from them how to create their own franchises in the future.

Vietnamese companies could become global franchisers in the food industry, but their poor management prevents them from doing so, she said.

She and the other experts were speaking at the Vietnam International Retail and Franchise show held in Ho Chi Minh City last week.

Zhejiang Cainiao Supply Chain Management Co said on Monday that its long-term vision was to lower the proportion of logistics expenditures in the country’s gross domestic product from the current 16 per cent to 5 per cent.

Tong Wenhong, Cainiao’s chief executive officer, said the vision to lower China’s logistic cost was in line with her company’s business plan for the next 10 years.

“Logistics cost accounts for 6 per cent of GDP in the United States, which delivered 12.7 billion parcels last year. China delivered 20.6 billion parcels last year. A bigger scale can further reduce cost. That is why we believe it is possible to lower China’s logistics costs to 5 per cent of the country’s GDP,” she said on the sidelines of the “Global Smart Logistics Summit” held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

“Once we have a unified standard in terms of geographic location, data and services, the logistics industry can develop in a smart way and all the industrial participants can share the infrastructure and resources with each other to improve efficiency and cut cost,” she said.

Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba, said China’s logistics industry was expected to be delivering 300 million parcels a day 10 years from now.

Gao Hongfeng, head of the China Express Association, said: “With the rising cost in labour, it is impossible for the industry to expand further in the traditional way. It is high time to use smart solutions.”

This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister Dr Sonexay Siphandone during the launch of the fourth “China-South Asia Expo” and the 24th “China Kunming Import and Export Commodities Fair” on Sunday.

In his opening remarks, Sonexay said that although Laos did not share a border with the sea, based on its position at the centre of the five Greater Mekong Subregion countries, it was ready to give opportunities for foreign investors to implement their businesses in Laos.

“Following the common policy to attract foreign investment set by the government and given that the country is rich in natural resources, this will help increase the number of investors, especially Chinese businesses,” Sonexay said.

Citing Chinese investment in Laos, especially from Yunnan province, Sonexay said Laos and Yunnan had continued to increase their cooperation in trading and investment.

The volume of investment between the two governments reached US$882 million (Bt31 billion) in 2015.

Besides that, in the first three months of this year, 219 companies from Yunnan invested in Laos at a projected cost of $4 billion in investment terms, especially in special economic zones, the deputy prime minister said.

Sonexay said it was not surprising that Laos has become a targeted foreign market to attract huge investment from businesses in Yunnan.

“The cooperation between Laos and Yunnan province is part of the strategy on China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’. This initiative has been contributing importantly to Laos’ economic development,” he said.

During the expo, Sonexay held discussions with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang.

Wang said both sides could strengthen their high-level communication and exchanges in governing experience, pushing forward cooperation in industrial capacity, investment, economic cooperation zones and infrastructure and promoting local-level ties.

Laos and China established diplomatic relations in 1961. This year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, in an auspicious year as Laos prepares to host the Asean chairmanship.

“Post-sale, gearing levels would fall, and the risks arising from the associate airlines would be shared with the new majority owner of AAC,” it said in a note.

“We expect 96 sen per share in special dividends to be declared post-Asia Aviation Capital’s disposal,” it said.

It has been reported that the airline was in the process of evaluating the proposed sale of AAC. Chief executive officer Tony Fernandes said AirAsia had appointed three banks to conduct the sale and there had been significant interest in AAC, with a ready offer in hand valued at about US$1 billion (Bt35 billion).

AAC is AirAsia’s wholly owned arm that leases aircraft to associate airlines in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Japan.

At the point of sale, AAC will have a portfolio of about 70 Airbus A320s, with aircraft and their associated debt novated from AirAsia.

CIMB Research said the best offer on the table so far valued AAC at $1 billion, although it believed that AirAsia was attempting to push the valuation even higher.

“The latter was calculated based on the market value of AAC’s expected portfolio of 70 aircraft, with the valuation boosted, in our view, by AirAsia’s large and attractively priced order book with Airbus, which AirAsia has promised to share with the future AAC owner,” it said.

The exact proportion of AAC to be sold has yet to be decided by AirAsia, but a buyer has offered to purchase an 80-per-cent stake for $800 million.

CIMB Research said AirAsia might sell a smaller stake if it could get a higher valuation.

“We suspect that the key criterion is the amount the two founders need to receive in special dividends to settle the 1 billion ringgit they would borrow to pay for the upcoming placement of 559 million new shares at 1.80 ringgit each,” it said.

The research house said that after the placement, the two founders would have a combined 32.4-per-cent stake in AirAsia.

“This means they will need AirAsia to pay at least 3.1 billion ringgit in special dividends (1 billion ringgit/32.4 per cent) to settle their loan.

“The $800-million proceeds from the potential sale of an 80-per-cent stake in AAC neatly matches the amount the founders need.

“This is the reason we think the entire proceeds will be paid as special dividends, representing 96 sen per share on enlarged post-placement base of 3.34 billion shares,” CIMB Research said.

The research house estimated that 1.5 billion to 1.7 billion ringgit in debts associated with the leasing business would be de-consolidated, reducing net gearing to below one time.

Also, the future funding of loss-making associates would be shared with the new AAC owner, since the associates will pay aircraft rents directly to AAC.

Of total, 261 billion kyats or approximately $22 million is expected for the hotel and tourism sector. Investment in the remaining 10 sectors is expected to reach 1.627 trillion kyats or $1.36 billion.

Between May 1994 and April 2016, local investment amounted to 11.6 trillion kyats or approximately $9.7 billion.

The 11 sectors under DICA’s radar include construction, electric power, industry, housing development, transportation, livestock and fisheries, mines, hotels and tourism, agriculture and services sectors.

Foreign investment into the 11 sectors is expected to reach $7.95 billion this fiscal year. Last year, FDI hit a new record high at $9.4 billion.

Tran Minh Dung announcement was made at a review late last week of the second one- month campaign commemorating World Intellectual Property Day his ministry held with support from BSA/The Software Alliance.

The efforts would encompass all areas of manufacturing, computer software and others, he said.

The first round of checks to find pirated software was made at several companies in the south, with an audit taskforce comprising inspectors from the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism and Ministry of Public Securitys high-tech crime police going through 247 computers and detecting more than 500 unlicensed software.

It is estimated that the illegal software was worth around VND3 billion (US$136,000).

Reviewing the one-month campaign, the ministry reported that various awareness activities had been held during the month.

Dung said: “The campaign combines education and enforcement to increase awareness of the role and value of IP rights in the countrys development and strengthen the establishment, use, development and enforcement of IP rights.

“It makes sure that IP rights really become useful tools to promote science and technology development. It also builds awareness throughout the country about fulfilment of our IP-related international commitments, especially those under the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”

Also during the education month, many other activities were organised, including a business roundtable event in co-operation with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which drew great interest from the private sector, copyright owners and their agents, and international organisations.

The first roundtable of its kind thoroughly discussed Vietnam’s IP commitments under the TPP to help businesses grasp the opportunities that come their way and be prepared to comply with al provisions.

MoST announced that in the first five months of this year, its inspectorate alone received 31 petitions for penalties from copyright owners.

Inspections found 25 entities and individuals showing signs of abusing industrial ownership rights, and fines worth VND856 million were imposed.

The infringements included unfair competition and abuse of patents, software solutions, trade marks, industrial designs and trade names.