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SM to build 200-room hotel in Davao

Roy — Wed, 11 May 2011 07:42:16 +0000

A new 200-room hotel in Davao City will be build by SM Investment Corp. It will be in Lanang district, adjacent to the SM shopping mall.

SM, in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, said its wholly owned subsidiary SM Hotels and Convention Corp. signed a contract with Carlson, a privately held global hospitality and travel company, for the very first Park Inn by Radisson in Davao, as well as in the Asia-Pacific region.

The 200-room new hotel will be located inside the 175,000-square meter mixed-use complex owned and developed by SM shopping mall subsidiary, SM Prime Holdings, Inc. Aside from the hotel, the group also plans to construct an SM Supermall and a convenience center within the complex. The construction of the hotel will be started in the third quarter of 2011 and is expected to be operation by 2013.

Elizabeth Sy, SM Hotels and Convention president, said the signing of contract to open a Park Inn by Radisson in Davao City is just another step toward the fulfillment of the vision of her father, tycoon and SMIC founder Henry Sy, to make the Philippines a “world-class tourist destination.”

“We believe that Davao is an ideal location for such an undertaking because of its robust economy, vibrant population, and excellent infrastructure, including its international airport. In addition, the Park Inn Hotel will benefit from the business synergies that will be created with the other upcoming SM projects within the vicinity,” Sy said.

Park Inn by Radisson is one of the hotel brands under Carlson and is the largest mid-market brand for hotels under development in Europe. Radisson is also managing SMIC’s upscale hotel in Cebu.

Executive vice president and chief development officer at Carlson Hotels, Asia Pacific Xerxes Meher-Homji said, “With the tagline Sleep Well, Live Well, Park Inn by Radisson hotels offers a hassle-free, clean and comfortable stay at a reasonable price.”

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Transport firm to pioneer electric buses in the Philippines

Roy — Sun, 01 May 2011 14:57:44 +0000

Local transport firm Green Frog Zero Emission Transport Corp. dared to take the huge risk in the electric vehicle industry and expressed interest to buy some 3,000 electric buses in the next seven years, with the initial 38 units coming in from China within the year.

Green Frog director Philip Apostol said the 36-passenger buses will be fielded in Makati City with an P8 fare trip. The first 10 buses arriving midyear will ply the Buendia line while the 28 units will take other routes. The buses will initially ply a route that goes along Buendia from EDSA to the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX). Eventually, they will be available to commuters with the whole of Makati.

“The plan is to implement to project within 90 days after the signing of the MOA (memorandum of agreement) with the Makati LGU. This is a PPP (Public-Private-Partnership) with Makati,” he said. Apostol admits that cost of the e-buses was high, but hopes that the government “would work” with them.

He did not disclosed the cost of the electric buses but said that normally, the bigger electric buses would cost $300,000 (P13.5 million) each. Green Frog’s buses, however, will be smaller and would cost less.

The company is seeking tax perks, among other incentives, and a pioneer status from the Board of Investments, to make the project economically viable.

Negotiations by the company with banks and government financial institutions have been started, seeking for the best financing package. It also seeks some guarantees from the Philippine Export Import Credit Agency (PhilExim) to get lower interest rates.

Apostol said the half of the revenues will be coming from advertising income to help keep fares at reasonable levels during the initial roll-out.

Another Green Frog director, Servillano Batac, said talks were also ongoing between government and financial institutions for the mechanics of a “tap-and-go” system for the electric buses. “The idea is that you will be able to use your MRT (Metro Rail Transit) cards to pay our electric buses, just like in other countries,” he said.

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Aboitiz to invest P25 billion for Mindanao coal-powered facility

Roy — Sun, 01 May 2011 02:56:29 +0000

The Aboitiz Power Corporation offered to invest P25 billion to jumpstart construction of its proposed 300-megawatt coal-fired power facility in Davao, with the said investment coming from its internally-generated cash. “To save time, Aboitiz Power is ready to invest its own fund, amounting to P25 billion instead of seeking financing from other institutions to fast-track construction,” the company said.

The coal-fired power facility being pushed by Aboitiz Power will be equipped with circulating fluidized bed (CFB) coal combustion technology. In the genre of what is being dubbed as “clean coal technology,” it is a more advanced and efficient equipment that extensively minimizes emissions from a coal plant.

Aboitiz Power first vice president for Mindanao affairs Manuel Orig said, “The region needs a steady supply of power to fuel its growth, as industries, investments and businesses expand. Unless the proposed power plant is constructed soon, the energy supply situation in Mindanao will become more precarious, especially as 2011 enters the dry summer season.”

As in all other power projects, the multiplier effect being seen by the project firm will be provision of additional source of livelihood as well as development initiatives for the host community. By the company’s own estimate, Mindanao may suffer from a supply shortage of 480 megawatts by 2014. And considering the lengthy timeline for power projects, construction of facilities must start now to beat the odds of worse brownouts in three years time.

“The demand for electricity for Davao and the rest of Mindanao is growing steadily but the supply, unfortunately, has been lagging behind the needed base-load capacity,” the Aboitiz firm has emphasized.

The Aboitiz arrived at the decision to invest its own funds because Mindanao has been snarled with power outages anew in the past days. Unfortunately, financial closure for power projects generally gobbled up time in the apportioned gestation period of project implementation.

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Philippine tuna company acquires US salmon company

Roy — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:51:25 +0000

Philippine company Alliance Select Food International Inc. sealed a deal to acquire 100 percent of US company Spence & Co. Ltd., a Massachusetts-based salmon smoking and curing company who specializes in the production of smoked salmon and seafood, prepared in the Scottish tradition of its founder Alan Spence. The company caters to the high-end market in the USA and Europe.

The Alliance, in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), said it had signed an agreement to acquired the US fish company lock, stock and barrel through subsidiary ASFI Choice Foods Inc. for $8.5 million.

Alliance spokesperson Rajat Balain said, “An investment in Spence is another step towards Alliance’s goal of diversifying its product line to enhance shareholder value and ensure future profitability. This will be Alliance’s third smoked salmon venture, making it the largest salmon processor in the region, and will help it establish a beachhead in the lucrative seafood market in the US.”

To partly finance the acquisition of Spence, Alliance will be conducting a stock rights offering. The company already gave the approval for the said offering. The PSE suspended trading of Alliance starting 9 a.m. Tuesday pending the submission of additional disclosure pertinent details on the transaction.

Alliance started commercial operations in General Santos City in Mindanao in 2004, it was formerly known as Alliance Tuna International and engages in tuna processing, canning and export of canned tuna products. It exports to Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and South America as a “private label manufacture,” which means it processes and cans tuna using its customer’s brands.

Part of its overseas expansion in recent years is the company’s aspirations to become a regional food company with a “decidedly Filipino DNA.” Alliance is always on the lookout for opportunities in regional seafood companies with high margins and high-value products.

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Ayala stays firm in its investment in Globe

Roy — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 16:48:09 +0000

Despite of the looming merger of rival Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc., (Digitel), the Ayala Corp. said it has no plans of leaving the telecommunications business.

Ayala and partner Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel) were excited about the prospect of its Globe Telecom Inc., despite the tougher competition brought about by the merger of its two rivals.

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, chairman of the country’s oldest conglomerate, said “I see no reason to disrupt the partnership between Ayala and SingTel,” when asked if they would be willing to accommodate a new investor for Globe. “It’s a very interesting for the industry. It would be foolish of us to get out at this time,” he added.

Analyst earlier said that the deal between PLDT and Digitel would give the telecom giant 70% of the mobile phone market to the disadvantage of Globe. However, Zobel said they remain unfazed by stiff competition in the industry. “In fact, together with our partner, we’re very interested in building Globe up,” he said.

He added that Globe would spend $500 million to upgrade its network as it looks to protect market share.

And while its Globe Company only ranked No. 2 in the telco industry, the conglomerate has a lot of high profile businesses.

It owns property Ayala Land Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands, Manila Water Co., and it also has interest in business process outsourcing (BPO), electronics and car dealerships. This year, the conglomerate is hiking its capital expenditures by 20% to about P80 billion to accommodate plans to expand into power generation and infrastructure.

Ayala also plans to bid for the contract to operate 2 major elevated railway systems in Metro Manila, which the government will auction under its public-private partnership program. “We believe power generation is a potential source of long-term growth for Ayala. We feel there is an opportunity for new players to come in,” Zobel said.

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DTI intensifies awareness campaign on benefits of FTAs

Roy — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 04:24:19 +0000

The Department of Trade and Industry said that many among our exporters are not really aware of the trade opportunities under the country’s free trade agreements (FTA). That is why it is intensifying its information awareness campaign focusing on the government’s priority exports.

Gregory L. Domingo, DTI Secretary, said that the basic information awareness campaigns from March to November this year will focus on sectors such as motor vehicle parts and vehicles, food, garments and textiles, minerals, coconut products, construction and related materials, wearable, home style and IT/BPO. “More targeted information sessions will enlighten our businessmen to engage or expand their business according to what is viable in our FTA markets,” he said.

The trade secretary stressed that by understanding emerging and new markets, as well as instruments such as the FTA, will help exporters address new challenges in the global business environment. For 2010, the Philippines achieved a record of over $51 billion in export revenues.

At present, the country has FTAs with ASEA, China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. An FTA with India is already in the work and due for implementation on the last part of the year. On March 31, a second round of information sessions targeting specific sectors will be launched at the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC).

Domingo said export companies have not yet fully utilized the FTAs “because businessmen are not properly informed of the business opportunities that the country has gained from our FTA.” Last year, the agency was able to conduct information campaigns in 11 cities, benefitting some 2,000 businessmen.

International Trade Undersecretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. said, “Exploring the FTA markets is one of our core strategies to increase our exports over the next six years and sustain its steady growth. He said that this year’s sectoral sessions will include presentations on market opportunities, including non-tariff measures, in the country’s FTA markets; tariff rates on top exports for each sector under the FTAs, rules of origin, open forum, as well as business testimonials from those who have benefitted from FTAs.

“The FTAs are strategic tools or pathways for growth and competitiveness. Not only do these open markets for our goods and services, but they also compel us, as a people to take a hard look at our economic structures and implement the much needed reforms to put our economy in step with the global environment,” he added.

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Trans-Asia signed supplier deal with SEM-Calaca Power plant

Roy — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 06:27:48 +0000

Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp., a publicly listed firm, recently signed a contract with SEM-Calaca Power Corp. for the purchase of Trans-Asia of power generated from the Consunji-led Calaca Power Corp. Trans-Asia, in its disclosure submitted to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) said it signed on Wednesday the contract “to purchase generated energy,” which will be valid for three years.

Trans-Asia President Francisco L. Viray said the company was buying the generated output as a retail electricity supplier (RES). He did not indicate though, how much of the plant’s output The company would buy from SEM-Calaca. Earlier, Trans-Asia was awarded a RES license by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)

ERC chairperson Zenaida Ducut said that a RES license holder like Trans-Asia will be able to actively participate in the electricity market once open access and retail competition are put in place. Under an open access environment, large power users will have the option to choose their own power suppliers. Under the status quo, power users, whether big or small, are limited to the suppliers with jurisdiction over their areas.

SEM-Calaca Corpopration, is company formed by DMCI Holdings and Semirara Mining Corporation to Handle the Calaca coal facility, which was previously owned by the government through National Power Corp. The investment of SEM-Calaca in the Batangas coal facility was earlier estimated at $483.6 million which includes the acquisition cost of $361.7 million. The remaining $121.89 million will go to the rehabilitation and working capital requirement of the said power plant.

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SkyCable earmarked P1.5B for its 2011 capex

Roy — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 10:04:57 +0000

SkyCable allotted P1.5 billion funds for its capital expenditure for 2011 for its Cable Television (CATV) business. Half of the said amount will be used for the roll-out of its digital TV service nationwide and the other half for boosting its broadband subscriber growth, according to company marketing head Rodrigo Montinola.

A subsidiary of network giant ABS-CBN Corp., SkyCable has approximately half a million subscribers as of last year, most of which are from Metro Manila. Almost 85 percent of cable users in Metro Manila are already using digibox, which is essential in viewing digital television programs. The CATV firms hopes to increase that number to 95 percent by the end of the year.

SkyCable is also intensifying its marketing effort to increase the number of its broadband subscribers. “We had flat growth from 2006 to 2009. We started growing again only last year, where we had 35,000 subscribers,” Montinola said. “Our target is to grow our broadband subscribers significantly by about 70,000 by the end of this year,” he added.

Montinola also announced the availability of the DigiBox iRecord, a personal video recorder (PVR) set, a top box capable of simultaneously recording two TV programs while the subscriber watches a third. The box has a 320-GB drive that can store up to 145 hours of standard definition video or 85 hours of high-definition (HD) video. This is equivalent to over 70 movie titles, over 100 episodes of one-hour TV shows, or over 80 documentaries of National Geographic HD. The device also allows for slow-motion and frame-by-frame playback of recorded shows.

The company is optimistic that the new service would lure in at least 3,000 users in the first year of rollout. They are eyeing medium to heavy TV users, as well as busy working people who can’t always catch up on the schedules of free or cable TV. Existing subscribers in Metro Manila can get the DigiBox iRecord for a refundable deposit of P4,999 plus P399 service fee of using the Digibox iRecord on top of their monthly CATV fee.

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Joint Foreign Chamber lauds open skies policy

Roy — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 02:16:04 +0000

A group of foreign businessmen is expressed their support for the implement of an open-skies regime by the Aquino administration via Executive Order (EO) 29. The Joint Foreign Chambers says this would better allow market forces to come into play and ultimately boost tourist arrivals in the country. The group said that the policy was in line with Aquino’s promise that “the Philippines is open for business under new management.”

EO 29 eases restrictions on foreign airlines in international airports outside Metro Manila. It gives the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) authority to grant additional frequencies or capacities to foreign carriers, but still prohibits cabotage, which refers to a foreign airline’s transport of people or good between two or more points within the country.

Local carriers, however, are opposing the implementation of the said executive order. The Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air said it would give foreign carriers undue advantage, while the foreign chambers said its benefits to the Philippines were far-reaching.

The foreign chambers said that with the increasing tourist arrivals, the result would be more and jobs and revenues for people who are directly and indirectly involved in the tourism service industry. The group also noted that for every foreign tourist who comes to the Philippines, an average of $1,000 is spent and one direct or indirect job is created, of which majority are in rural areas and less developed provinces.

“We wish to extend full support for President Aquino’s visionary leadership on civil aviation embodied in EO 29. The policy allows market forces to determine supply and demand for seats to secondary gateways throughout the country. With this new policy, the administration has taken a giant step toward its goal of doubling annual tourist arrivals to more than six million by 2016,” the Joint Foreign Chambers said.

The foreign chamber is also seeking the removal of the common carriers’ tax and the gross Philippine billings tax to unleash the creativity and dynamism of the private sector. “Continuation of these taxes risks losing some of the present international air services into the country, as well as deterring new ones, and departs from standard international practices,” the group said.

It added, “With these proactive reforms of the Aquino administration, we can look forward to continued rapid expansion of the aviation market in the Philippines, more competitive pricing and better service, and new routes to drive tourism, investment and employment.”

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Coffee Fund to finance coffee production to be set-up

Roy — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 16:36:46 +0000

To meet the local coffee demand of 64,000 metric tons (MT), a Coffee Fund to finance production is being set up by the Land Bank of the Philippines and (LBP) and coffee grower Corporate Holdings Management Inc. (CHMI).

President Noel S. Gonzales of CHMI said, “Any business will not survive without funding from banks. We can’t finance 100 percent of the equity for our production which is why we’re setting up a Coffee Fund with Land Bank for the Industry.” CHMI is now the largest coffee grower in the Philippines with 200 hectares of coffee plantation.

The template for financing coffee production being set up by CHMI with LBP will standardize financing for the coffee industry, according to Gonzales. He said this will attract commercial banks and other financiers to accommodate coffee growers. Usually, they veer away from this because of the industry’s many inherent risks, like calamity threats, production inefficiencies, and lack of markets.

Gonzales also said that there must be a guarantee loan fund to be set up by the government for agricultural production. “We will also need a guarantee from the government so that banks will lend without collateral. The government can guarantee 85 percent of the loan. The rest is still taken as a risk,” he said.

For its part, LBP, through its vice-president Liduvino S. Geron, said they have a mandate to prioritize agricultural production, especially coffee. “Among the crops, coffee is the nearest to Land Bank. It’s one of the high value crops. We have launched the Food Supply Chain program to promote value chain financing. We’re trying to link producers with millers, processors, and markets, and we’ll provide loans for these. We are prepared to finance post harvest, irrigation, transport, and warehousing facilities to ensure the produce and commodities reach markets.”

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Why time deposit is still a viable investment option

Roy — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 14:44:59 +0000

Jesus Vicente-Garcia, executive vice-president and branch banking head of Philippine Veterans Bank, believes that time deposit remains to be one of the simplest, safest and most rewarding investments . Despite the many investment options available in banks, Garcia explained that a time deposit is a sound option to grow one’s investment because it enjoys higher interest rates.

Compared to a regular savings account, a time deposit is assured of a maximized return. Garcia illustrated a P500,000 investments on Veterans Bank’s Maxi-Return Time Deposit as an example. In their time deposit, a monthly compounding interest rate of six percent will net for the depositor an interest amount of about P174,000 at the end of five years. The actual interest amount will depend on the date the time deposit was opened.

The bank EVP was quick to add that the interest rate isn’t the only reason why a time deposit is a viable option. He said, “Aside from the high interest rate that you’ll get on your time deposit, it’s also a safe way to grow your money. Your investment is intact from the start as a time deposit is not driven by market factors like investment in stocks, or in mutual funds, or UITFs (unit investment trust fund).”

Garcia also added that time deposits are covered by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) guarantee. Being a traditional bank product, they guaranteed up to P500,000 per depositor. UITFs are not covered by PDIC guarantee.

Short term time deposits are advisable for entrepreneurs who would like to get higher interest rates than a regular savings account, yet allow them flexibility to have the funds available should they need them in their business. A long term time deposit, on the other hand, is best for those who can afford to have money tied up for a long time, and without immediate need. Longer terms obviously would higher interest rates.

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QC council formalizes business registry portal with an ordinance

Roy — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 16:15:55 +0000

Quezon City council formalizes online business registry with a city ordinance last week. The ordinance also allows the public to research valuable business information in the city. Both domestic and international traders would benefit from it because they can identify their prospective markets in Quezon City with just a click on their mouse.

Aside from that, Quezon City fourth district councilor Edcel “Grex” Lagman, Jr. said that the system would also allow for verifying the legitimacy of a business firms, as well as getting tips and pointers about starting a particular business in the locality. He said the project will use information and communications technology in imparting knowledge to international traders regarding the local business climate.

The online business data registry portal aims to make the Quezon City government the most business-friendly local government unit (LGU) in the country. It also protects both business sector and the consumers as it allows access information that would verify if a particular business entity is duly registered with the city’s Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO).

Lagman, who is also the chairman of the city council’s committee on education and science and technology, said the portal will also make it easy for the Quezon City government to monitor and update business registration. He added that the P25 million of the annual collection from business operators in Quezon City since 2002, which currently is being held in trust, will be used to develop the software and hardware to run the online business data registry portal, which is a joint endeavor of the Quezon City government through its BPLO and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce.

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Business name registration now only takes 15 minutes

Roy — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:35:06 +0000

From the usual two days processing time, the amount of time spent in registering a business name has been cut to only 15 minutes because of the enhanced Electronic Business Name Registration System (eBNRS).

Trade Secretary Gregorio Domingo said, “The entire transaction will only take around 15 minutes. The actual processing takes only three minutes and the waiting time usually takes 10 minutes. So it’s really the waiting that makes the transaction time long, but still it’s only 15 minutes.”

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) conducted a random time-and-motion study in different parts of the country. In their study, Metro Manila averaged 278 business name applications in a day with a total processing time placed at 14.35 minutes. In areas where there were fewer applications, the average transaction time were even shorter, ranging from 5 to 12 minutes.

Aside from the faster registration of business name, the eBNRS allows the registration of the all the branches of a company in just one sitting, and the registration of a business in a different locality in the DTI office nearest the business owner. “The new system gives businessmen less hassle in doing business in the country. Our aim in automation is to lessen people handling the process and allow technology to hasten transaction. In a way it makes government transaction transparent and prevents corruption in the workplace,” Domingo said.

The system will also be made available online, according to the secretary. Aside from the eBNRS, Domingo said that the DTI is also working on the Philippine Business Registry (PBR), which is a one-stop shop for businesses that want to get mayor’s permit, and registration and licenses from the DTI, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other agencies. The system will also be made available for the application of Pag-Ibig, Social Security System (SSS), and Philhealth benefits.

“Business won’t have to go to each of the agencies in order to register. It’s still under development because we don’t want any glitches to happen once we launch it. We’re hoping to finish this before the end of the year,” Doming said.

This is really a good motivation for entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs.

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DTI to implement paperless business registration system this year

Roy — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:42:52 +0000

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced that it will finally implement its plan that took four years in inception, of a paperless business registration system. Program manager of DTI’s Philippine Business Registry (PBR), Whilner Morales, said the paperless business registration system would be implemented both in the local and national levels. “Anybody can register a business anywhere using the power of the internet,” he said.

Morales said the idea of the paperless registration was to streamline the process and reduce the cost of doing business, cut down red tape, as well as to promote a paperless environment in the government.

It was actually in 2006 when the PBR conceptualized via Executive Order 587, which mandated the DTI and other government agencies and the local government to implement the paperless business registration system. Being paperless, Morales said the PBR would eliminate the “face-to-face” factor, promote server-to-server integration, and eliminate geographical boundaries.

“At its minimum, the PBR will address the repetitive submission with multiple copies of the same documents to different agencies. It will facilitate a seamless transactional environment for business registration and development across the application systems of various government agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, DTI, Cooperative Development Agency, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Social Security System, Pag-IBIG, Philhealth, and the local government units,” he said.

With the PBR, the online filing of applications for business permits and licenses will require only the registrants to fill up a single data entry facility, which in turn links to the systems of national government agencies and LGU’s.

In the old system, business registration usually takes 50 days going through 11 processes. Under the paperless system, Morales said, the applicants can save 26 days in the business registration processes. “We have targets but for now we can only say that with PBR, saving 26 days from the usual 50 days of registration and processes can be guaranteed. But the rock bottom of PBR is significant speed,” he said.

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Nido sold first crude oil to a company in South Korea

Roy — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:05:03 +0000

Nido Petroleum Ltd. sold its first oil from the Tindalo oil field off Palawan. The Australian firm has sold to a buyer in South Korea some 230,000 barrels for crude oil cargo. Joanne Williams, Nido deputy managing director, said the sale was confirmed by the joint venture’s marketing agent, Trafigura Pte Ltd., with the lifting expected in the second half of September.

“An advance on the proceeds from 173,655 barrels of crude oil from the first sale was received on August 19. These barrels will remain stored aboard the floating storage and offtake (FSO) vessel until the lifting,” Williams said.

The Tindalo oil well is producing approximately 1,535 barrels of oil a day. Williams said that the Service Contract 54 A, which covers the said oil well, has also approved the Tindalo-1 well intervention and remediation program.

She explained, “Dependent upon the results of diagnostic logging that will be undertake after, well re-entry will involve either one or more of the following options: reperforation deeper in the oil column; water shutoff via cement squeeze; or sidetrack drilling within the Nido Limestone.”

Nido’s stake in the SC 54A joint venture license is 42.4 percent. 30.1 percent interest belongs to another firm, Yilgarn Petroleum, Trafigura Ventures has 15 percent and TG World (BVI) Corp. has 12.5 interests. The Tindalo oil well is estimated to yield up to 24.5 million barrels of oil

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Faster business registration process at Quezon City

Roy — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 00:43:43 +0000

It’s called BOSS, short for business one-stop shop, an initiative by the Quezon City Government that aims to lessen the burden of businessmen when securing business permit. Launched last Friday, officer-in-charge for the Business Permit and Licensing Office Pacifico F. Maghacot, Jr. said they are expecting to have at least 12,000 new businesses within the year with their new system. “The simplified procedures in licensing will drive individuals to invest or start a business,” he said.

Under the BOSS, Maghacot said that registrants can obtain a permit in nine minutes or a maximum of nine days if the business is requiring an ocular inspection, a process that took three weeks in the old system. “Before, the applicants had to go to all the officers like zoning official, building official, fire official, health and sanitation official, register the business and go to the city treasurer for payment which takes a long time,” he said.

In the new system, business applicants will just need to fill up a business application form, pay the corresponding fees to the city treasurer, and proceed to the Department of Trade and Industry’s Philippine Business Registry System. “All the steps are located in one office so the system is faster,” Maghacot said.

Location clearance, fire and safety inspection certificate and sanitary permit can be submitted by applicants after three months, but they can start operating their businesses even without the permit. “The aim is to encourage the formalization of business and spur investment by reducing the time cost and steps for new business registration at the city level,” Maghacot added.

He noted that there were 8,937 new businesses which have registered in the city from January to the end of July. With the new system, he said that the city expecting an increase of 8% in business registrants for 2011.

BOSS was set up with the technical support from International Finance Corp. (IFC), the financing arm for private sector of World Bank. IFC is also partnering with the cities of Marikina, Mandaluyong and Manila for the same project.

Rashad Kaldany, vice-president for Asia, Eastern, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, said during the launching that BOSS “will help invigorate the private sector and support sustainable economic growth.”

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Convergys, to hire 3,600 more employees this year

Roy — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:40:49 +0000

Convergys Corp., the largest private employer in the Philippines, is planning to hire additional 3,600 new employees as it expands its five existing sites in the country to bring their total number of workforce to 25,000 by the end of 2010. Marife Zamora, country manager of Convergys Philippines, said the expansion is meant to meet the robust demand of its clients, who belong to the top Fortune 50 list of global firms.

“Drawing upon the outstanding service and support Convergys employees in the Philippines provide to our clients around the globe, in addition to the continued demand from these clients to house their customer support in the Philippines, it was only logical that we expand our existing capacities,” Zamora said.

At present, Convergys has 12 sites in the Philippines. Seven are in Metro Manila, three in Cebu City, one in Bacolod City and one in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. The five Convergys sites with expanded capacities are: UP TechnoHub in Diliman, Quezon City; Nuvali in Laguna; San Lazaro in Sta. Cruz, Manila; Cebu i3 in AsiaTown Cebu, and Bacolod. These sites would require 2,300 additional work stations for 3,600 workers.

The Philippines sites of the global contact center now serve 27 clients across a wide spectrum of industries including retail, telcos, cable, technology companies, healthcare, finance and automotive firms belonging to the top 27 of the top 50 Forbes list of companies. All of its clients are mostly US-based, except for one which is based in the United Kingdom.

According to Zamora, they – Convergys Philippines, has been a choice of companies because of their outstanding performance and also of the quality of the local talent pool.

For his part, Convergys director for business development Jose Mari P. Mercado said they are concentrating on building its brand. He said they have mounted a branding strategy to ensure they are on top of mind for the targeted manpower pool.

“Branding is a very critical element and our intention is to be on top of mind and top of heart among jobseekers. In an industry where there is a strong competition for talent, there is a need to establish your brand, he said

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La Filipina beats SMC in aquiring Bataan grains terminal

Roy — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:26:57 +0000

La Filipina Uy Gongco Corp., a relatively unknown local company owned by businessman Alfonso Uy, seems to be just a short step away from clinching the deal to acquire the Mariveles Grains Terminal of Asian Terminal Inc. (ATI). La Filipina has beaten conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) in its bid for the purchase of ATI’s wholly-owned unit Mariveles Grain Corp. (MGC).

ATI holds a 20-year contract to manage and develop the MGC. It will end on 2013, and renewable for another 20 years. MGC offers unloading, conveying, storage, outloading, weighing, bagging, and sampling services, and also handles bulk cargo like wheat, soya bean meal, corn and soybeans.

Although, quite unknown, La Filipina isn’t really new. Four years ago, it acquired the port facilities of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) in Guimaras Island. Aside from grains trading, it is also into corn milling, and animal feeds production, among others.

La Filipina also owns 15-percent stake in Steag State Power Inc., which is the owner of the 232-megawatt coal power plant located at Phividec Industrial Estate in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental. The company also has 1.17-percent stake in Aboitiz Equity Ventures.

SMC, for its part, was surprised when ATI announced that it was selling the Bataan grains facility to an undisclosed buyer. The company has been in negotiations with ATI since 2008 for the purchase of the said grains facility. It was confident that it would clinch the deal with ATI.

Earlier, ATI revealed that its shareholders have already approved the sale of the grains terminals to SMC, until a subsequent announcement that it was being sold to the undisclosed buyer. The proposed sale to a “third party buyer” was approved by the ATI board and will be presented to the shareholders for approval on July 30.

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Jollibee to expand its operations in China

Roy — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 02:11:51 +0000

The country’s biggest homegrown fastfood company, Jollibee Foods Corp., is expanding its operations in China this year as it plans to open 60 more new stores, which accounts for the bulk of its international expansion program. Jollibee Foods Chairman and Chief Executive Tony Tan Caktiong said during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting, “Our foregoing expansion priorities are still in China. We are still looking in India and Indonesia.” He added, “We are already in Vietnam. In Europe, we do not have particular plans yet but we have a lot of inquiries.”

For its expansion in China, Ysmael V. Baysa, chief financial officer of the company said that they will spend P600 million of a P4.8-billion capital outlay. Aside from the planned 60 new stores in China, Baysa said they will also be opening 40 more new stores in other foreign countries, while it plans to open 100 new stores here in the Philippines.

Jollibee Foods also owns pizza chain Greenwhich and Chinese fastfood chain Chowking. For Greenwhich, the company will be setting up 30 new stores, while it 40 new stores for Chowking are also in their plan expansion this year. “For both Greenwhich and Chowking, we have been focusing on renovation in the past six months because it helps boost same-store sales,” said Chowking and Greenwhich President Ariel P. Fermin.

For the first two quarters of the year, Jollibee Foods recorded high profits, which it credits to the high spending in the past election. “The trend is that the second quarter is stronger than the first quarter. We think it must be caused by election spending,” said Baysa. The company system-wide retail sales, both from company-owned and franchised stores, rose by 8.4% to P16.3 billion year-on-year. The challenge that they see now, according to Baysa, is the higher commodity prices of sugar and dairy products like milk and cheese.

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Digitel pegged 2010 capex at $350 million

Roy — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 04:24:32 +0000

Gokongwei-led Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (Digitel) plans to increase its budget for capital expenditure (Capex) for 2010 from $250 million to $350 million this year. This is in line with the company’s effort to aggressively expand its network to match rivals Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Globe Telecoms Inc.

James Go, Digitel president and chief executive officer said that they have initially planned a capex of $250 million this year, it could change depending on the growth issue. He said they actually spent $350 million last year, mainly to broaden and strengthen the network coverage of Sun Cellular, the company’s mobile service brand.

This year, Digitel plans to build 1,400 to 1,600 new cellular sites to increase them to almost 7,000 cell sites from the more than 5,000 cell sites installed last year. The company was said to have 6,000 cell sites spread nationwide as of May 2010.

Gokongwei said, “Every month, we are adding 100 cell sites. By the end of next year, the number of our cell sites will almost match that of the two other operators. We will have 8,500 to 9,000 cell sites by then. Going forward, our capex may not be as aggressive. Next year, our capex may not have to be as much as this year. At the start of 2012, the amount is likely to go down.”

To fund its $350-million capex budget this year, Digitel plans to tap internally generated funds and European lenders. “We have enough cash flow. Our earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization is over $100 million as of 2009. This year, it’s going to be $130 million to $150 million. The rest will be sourced from export credit agencies.”

Digitel is a unit of conglomerate JG Summit Holding. It has more than 14 million cellular subscribers as of May 2010. For its broadband service, Digitel has 300,000 to 400,000 subscribers. The company will be going to spend half of the $350-million capex budget for its broadband businesses.