Five star Boracay resorts reassure staff, clients ahead of 6-month shutdown

MANILA - Two five-star hotels in Boracay said they would assist employees and clients who will be affected by the government's plan to close the island for 6 months.

Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort and Spa said it was working on an "interim plan" to care for affected employees.

Discovery Shores Boracay said "enough personnel" would stay to maintain the resort during the six-month period. Other staffers will be "shared" with other Discovery properties

Clients will be offered "the best and reasonable solutions," Discovery said.

The government moved to clean up Boracay after President Rodrigo Duterte in February flagged pollution on the island and likened its effects to a "cesspool."

Twelve "large" hotels may lay off at least 50 workers each due the the shutdown, said Organization of Hotel Sales and Marketing Professionals president Christine Ibarreta.

Henann Group of Resorts denied allegations of environmental violations circulating on Facebook, dismissing such as "fake news."

Azalea Hotels & Residences said it was compliant with environment laws and reassured clients that its closure would be "temporary."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Discovery World shrinks size of IPO

MANILA, Philippines - Resort developer Discovery World Corp. reduced the size of its initial public offering by nearly half to P551 million from the original P1 billion.

This as Discovery World said it will no longer pursue an investment in Enderun Colleges.

The company also said it will defer the development of Palawan Cove Corp., as it had acquired Euro-Pacific Resorts, Inc. which owns a resort in Coron, Palawan.

Under the revised offering plan, Discovery World will sell 168 million common shares, lower than the original target of 306 million shares, at P3.28 per share.

The offer period will be from November 8 to 14, with listing date tentatively set on November 21.

After the IPO, Discovery World will have a market capitalization of P2.05 billion.

The Tiu family-owned Discovery World operates Discovery Shores Boracay. In the first quarter of 2013, it reported revenues of P112 million, from P108 million a year ago.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com