The Holiday Inn Makati was the venue of a recent business forum hosted by First Life Financial Co. with no less than its president, Peter Coyiuto, in attendance.
The event, though decidedly businesslike—the general subject being financial markets outlook and the taxation aspects of estate planning—was interesting for its lineup of guest speakers.
The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited’s (HSBC) first Filipino CEO, José Arnulfo “Wick” Veloso, discussed top markets perspectives and projections on the Philippine economy, particularly the strength of the peso as well as investment upgrades.
Veloso said US dollar interest rates will remain low throughout this year, and inflation should remain within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 3 to 5 percent target range. He believed “the Philippine peso will weaken,” even as “bond yields have remained low over the past two years as the country attained full investment-grade status.”
Du-Baladad & Associates (BDB Law) managing partner Benedicta “Dick” Du-Baladad discussed estate planning, trusts and the bank secrecy law, among others. She said life insurance is not subject to estate tax, donor’s tax or income tax if structured properly.
Proceeds of a life insurance policy, she added, is not taxable either. “Life insurance is a source of liquidity upon death to settle taxes on the estate (and provides) certainty to the beneficiary designated,” she said. Now that was the best part of her talk, dahlings.
For his part, Coyiuto said First Life had a revenue of over P1 billion from its variable or unit linked to insurance products. Since its initial foray into the variable life insurance market three years ago, First Life’s fund assets net account value per unit had gained 30.84 percent.
First Life is the exclusive Philippine partner of Swiss Life, the world’s largest employee benefits network.
But it was not strictly business talk all day, palangga; organizers and guests relaxed by sipping their wine and munching on finger food, mingling and chatting—even as they naturally veered to money talk.
Bar by Black Sheep
Black Sheep restaurant recently launched its single malt bar dubbed Bar by Black Sheep, which showcased its extensive wine and liquor selection and signature cocktails, dahlings.
The event included a five-course tasting menu of vodka-based drinks that had us satisfied and applauding its owners, Raphael Cruz and Jed Tiu, for their new ideas.
Bar by Black Sheep enhances the concept of its restaurant. That night, chef Jordy Navarra and his team served Grilled Chicken Skewers on Truffle Sand with Vinegar Foam; Deep-Fried Prawn Spring Roll in Molo Wrapper; Mock Nuggets, a vegetarian dish of cauliflower, corn and potato served with black truffle aioli.
Pastry chef Lesley Ong Hay’s Dulce de Leche, or truffle chocolate with caramelized sugar and milk, was the cherry on top of this superb food menu.
Some of the guests included Daniel Matsunaga, Rhian Ramos, Cris Albert, Anton San Diego and Charina Sarte.
The music mixes by DJs Ron Poe, Nix Damn P and Jessica Milner, combined with drinks courtesy of Ketel One Vodka and Johnnie Walker Black Label, kept the crowd swinging into the wee hours, until the sun rose in the horizon.
Black Sheep is at the penthouse of W Fifth Avenue building, cor. 32nd and 5th, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig; tel. 5061380 and 0917-8714388.
Fast-charging phone
One of the things I love about technology is how it has become a necessity for today’s hectic lifestyle. But one of my biggest frustrations has been my mobile phone’s battery, which easily dies out.
So I was thrilled to hear about the launch of a new smartphone, the Oppo Find 7, which boasts of an exclusive rapid-charging technology known as VOOC that is able to charge up to 75 percent battery power within only 30 minutes, or four times faster than conventional chargers.
Even with just a five-minute charge, users will be able to make a two-hour call. How cool is that, dahlings?
The Find 7 comes in two models: the premium Find 7 at P25,990 and standard Find 7a at P22,990. The phone’s 13-MP camera is able to shoot 50-MP photos with the Pure Image 2.0 technology.
Over 500 dealers and guests gathered at the grand ballroom of Sofitel Philippine Plaza for the launch of the Find 7.
It was an elbow-to-elbow gathering that had my friends talking about this wonderful new phone for days, dahlings.