Equities

A monk, a composer, and an industrial designer walk into a bar. No, I’m not making a joke. I’m simply imagining a hypothetical scenario where the cofounders of Headspace, Pandora, and Airbnb decide to meet up for drinks. You may think these figures represent a lonely cohort within tech entrepreneurship. We’re often confronted with the tired (and, as the data shows, largely inaccurate) stereotype of the algorithm-crunching, code-wrangling, Patagonia-wearing startup founder. These characters —who undeniably exist, but are more marginal than perhaps realized—effortlessly straddle the worlds of engineering and business. They’re the full package. Admittedly, these characters also tend to be the most visible. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Mark Andreessen all have storied engineering careers—and often complex personal and professional lives that inevitably work their way into popular culture. But when we examine the data, we see a different picture. Rather than … [Read more...] about POV: Tomorrow’s founders can’t code—and that’s OK

The Evergrande Center of China Evergrande Group is seen in Shanghai, China Sept 24, 2021. REUTERS/Aly Song HONG KONG  -China Evergrande Group’s debt restructuring proposal, a test of investor sentiment toward the battered property sector, failed to impress because of its long repayment period and lack of enough sweeteners, creditors and analysts said. Evergrande is the world’s most indebted developer with about $300 billion in liabilities. Its debt restructuring, the country’s biggest such exercise, is aimed at saving it from a disorderly collapse. The developer has $22.7 billion of offshore debt, all of which is deemed to be in default. The plan provided two main options to its dollar bondholders to recoup their investments. Creditors can either swap all of their holdings into new notes with maturities of 10 to 12 years, or convert them into different combinations of new notes with tenors of five to nine years and equity-linked instruments. Bondholders of notes issued by … [Read more...] about Evergrande debt revamp plan fails to cheer investors, property stocks fall

MANILA, Philippines  – Tycoon Edgar Saavedra’s Megawide Construction Corp. is rolling out a P1.5 -billion preferred share sale next week after pricing the initial dividend rate at 7.09 percent. In a stock exchange notice, the construction and engineering group said the offer period will run from March 28 to April 4 this year. The shares will be listed on April 17. Megawide is selling up to 15 million preferred shares at P100 per share. It tapped RCBC Capital Corp. as sole issue manager, lead underwriter and book runner for the offer. The company earlier said the offer proceeds would be used to fully redeem its series 2A preferred shares that were issued in 2020, according to the deal prospectus dated Jan. 5, 2023. These were being redeemed before the dividend rate increases due to a step-up feature that kicks in on May 27 this year. The company retains the option to redeem the series 5 shares in 2026 or three years from the listing date, an earlier prospectus showed. … [Read more...] about Megawide to start P1.5-B preferred share offering on March 28

MANILA, Philippines–Construction and engineering group Megawide Construction Corp. has obtained the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise as much as P7 billion from the sale of preferred shares, boosting funds for its big-ticket infrastructure projects. Based on a document from the SEC, Megawide was allowed to register and offer to the public 40 million in nonvoting perpetual preferred shares with an option to upsize with additional 30 million shares. The preferred shares will be offered at a maximum price of P100 a share, allowing Megawide to raise at least P4 billion from this foray in the capital market. In case of strong demand, it can sell P3 billion in additional preferred shares. Megawide has mandated BDO Capital, BPI Capital, First Metro Investment Corp. and Standard Chartered Bank to arrange the offering and each of them has firmly committed to underwrite P1 billion. Proceeds from the offering will be used to fund various infrastructure … [Read more...] about Megawide secures SEC nod for P7B issuance

Bird's-eye view of Saemangeum economic zone where SK On will build a new plant [Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency] Korean battery maker SK On will build a 1.21 trillion-won ($945 million) manufacturing facility on the country's southwest coast in a joint project with local materials producer EcoPro and China's Green Eco-Manufacture (GEM). Under an agreement due to be signed Friday, the three companies plan to spend up to 1.21 trillion won for what will be their second joint venture to construct a plant for precursor, key materials used in electric vehicle battery. The precursor plant, to be located in Saemangeum, a reclaimed area on the country's southwest coast, aims for an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons, equivalent to powering about 300,000 electric vehicles. Construction is set to be completed in 2024. The trio of companies signed in November last year their first venture deal to build a facility in Indonesia to produce mixed hydroxide precipitate … [Read more...] about SK On to build $945 million precursor plant in joint venture

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin In 2018/2019, the last time Broadway had a full 52-week season, more than 14.77 million people attended a Broadway show. According to the Broadway League these productions have drawn more people to its theaters than all New York City sports teams combined. And yet, during its centuries of existence, Broadway never had its own dedicated museum in the heart of the theater district. That is until now. This past November the Museum of Broadway opened its doors on West 45th Street. Spread along four fun-packed floors, the 26,000 square foot space contains a plethora of costumes, original scripts, immersive exhibits and other unique artifacts. There’s everything from the original Ziegfeld Follies costumes from the early 1900s to the actual wig made from 100,000 strands of hair created by wigmaker Paul Huntley for Patti LuPone in the original 1979 Broadway production of Evita to correspondence between Rent … [Read more...] about They Turned Their Dream To Create A Show-Stopping Museum Devoted To Broadway Into A Reality

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin China Evergrande Group has unveiled its plan to restructure about $19 billion of offshore debt, buying more time for its billionaire founder Hui Ka Yan to resume operations and generate much-needed cash. But analysts say the plan lacks details and offers less-than-favorable terms for creditors. Holders of offshore debt in the Hong Kong-listed company are to receive a basket of options, according to a late Wednesday filing to the city’s stock exchange. The bondholders can either swap their debt for new notes with maturities of 10-12 years, or they can convert them into new notes with repayment terms of five to nine years combined with equity-linked instruments. The instruments will be tied to the shares of Evergrande itself, its property management business or its Hong Kong-listed electric car unit. “The proposed restructuring will alleviate the company’s pressure of offshore indebtedness and facilitate the company’s … [Read more...] about Evergrande’s Restructuring Plan For Offshore Debt Still Carries Considerable Risks For Creditors