Business | Sun.Star Online – Page 6

Business | Sun.Star Online

DTI wants small businesses to supply Bohol tourism industry

General

Nov 142014

DTI wants small businesses to supply Bohol tourism industry

Erickson Nangkil, technical manager of the Bohol FabLab at Bohol Island State University, talks about the facility during a media tour. (SUN.STAR FOTO/KAT O. CACHO) TAGBILARAN CITY–The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 7 is pushing to enable more micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to supply products to the Bohol tourism industry with the help of the country’s first fabrication laboratory (FabLab) based in the province. DTI 7 director Asteria Caberte said the FabLab is an important platform to enhance the sector’s product development for Bohol’s burgeoning tourism industry and to upgrade product competitiveness in the global market. An average of 435,000 local and foreign tourists arrive in Bohol every year. At least 3,000 MSMEs in the province which depend on tourism activities for their livelihood. “The Bohol FabLab is a shared service facility for small enterprises to produce quality souvenir products that can be supplied to tourism facilities,” Caberte said during the “Multi-Stakeholder Briefing and Media Tour” held in Bohol yesterday. Prototypes “It will enable local designers, in partnership with the local MSMEs, to come up with high-value and high-quality product prototypes. The facilities can also further assist MSMEs through short run production of prototypes that can be used in market testing before full blown commercial production,” she said. Since its launching five months ago, the FabLab has already benefitted 25 groups composed of MSMEs and organizations in prototype development and design, among other services. The Bohol FabLab is a P9.15 million shared service facility (SSF) project funded Read More …

Salomon opens brand store at Abreeza

General

Nov 092014

THE FIRST-EVER Salomon Brand Store outside Metro Manila finally opened in Davao City, at the second level of Abreeza of the Ayala Malls in on JP Laurel ave. in Bajada. “This only proves Salomon’s eminent growth in the Philippines,” said brand manager Janice Tanada. The brand has, so far, put up four brand stores in the past year – all in Metro Manila’ premier shopping malls, at SM Aura Premier in Taguig City, SM Megamall in Mandaluyong, SM North Edsa Annex in Quezon City, and Glorietta 3 in Makati City. Tanada said they are looking at Mindanao’s sports enthusiasts, particularly those engaged in trail running, hiking, climbing, adventure racing, skiing, and snowboarding. The brand’s presence in the Davao market also appeared to be taking advantage of Davao Region being promoted as “from islands to highlands” destination. Products available at the brand’s Abreeza stor include footwear, apparel, bags and gears. “Salomon promises value for money products, tested by the top international trail running champions such as Kilian Jornet, Ryan Sandes, Anna Frost, etc.,” Tanada said. She said Salomon maintains to be the number 1 brand in trail running and maintains its mantra – the world’s number 1 mountain sports products created by the world’s top mountain sports athlete. Salomon is exclusively distributed by Uniglobe Travelware Company, Inc. under the Primer Group of Companies, Asia’s next retail giant. Salomon is a Mountain Sports Company that originated in Annecy, France. The brand was born in 1947 in the middle of the Alps, producing Read More …

Undergrad, HS graduates make up bulk of entry-level applicants to tourism firms

General

Nov 042014

Undergrad, HS graduates make up bulk of entry-level applicants to tourism firms

FOR tourism establishments in the country, college undergraduates and those that have completed their high school education make up the most of entry-level job applicants, a survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics found. The survey, released by the Philippine Statistics Authority, was conducted in 2011 and 2012. It consisted of 4,815 establishments with at least 20 workers engaged in tourism and other related industries. About 70 percent of these were in the hotel and restaurant business. According to the study, 60 percent of the entry-level vacancies were for young workers, 58 percent for those between 15 and 24 years old and 24 percent for those aged 25 to 30 years old. About a third of these vacancies required college experience while 30.9 percent require secondary education. As for those with a college degree,28.2 percent of the vacancies sought these candidates. During the survey period, accommodation and food service activities made up 73.4 percent of the entry-level vacancies in the industry. A little over half of the establishments had entry-level jobs available, 55.9 percent of these, however, werenon-regular positions. Majority of the entry-level positions did not have gender preferences in their applicants. However, depending on the nature of the work, some gender preferences were reported, with 62.9 percent preferring male applicants and 31.1 percent statingpreference for females. Hard to fill posts Of the vacancies reported during the survey period, 86.8 percent were considered easy to fill positions while the hard to fill positions were at 13.2 percent. Read More …

P400M lost to ATM fraud: legislator

Economy

Nov 022014

BANK depositors have lost nearly P400 million as a result of 2,872 cases of automated machine teller (ATM) fraud – mainly card-skimming – from 2012 to 2013, Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo said over the weekend. Citing Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) figures, Romulo said that in 2013 alone, some P220 million in deposits were looted on account of the proliferation of illegal personal identification number (PIN)-capturing devices on ATMs. The amount was P45 million, or 26 percent, higher than the P175 million in deposits ripped off in 2012 due to the covert copying of information from the magnetic strip of an ATM card, according to Romulo. “These losses do not include the sum lost by cardholders due to conventional ATM robberies or holdups at gunpoint,” he pointed out. Romulo is author of House Bill 5036 –- the proposed ATM Theft Insurance Act — which seeks to require all banks to extend financial protection to their cardholders against losses due to fraud or robbery. “Banks are duty-bound to safeguard customers and their deposits against all forms of attacks at all times,” Romulo said. Card-skimming refers to the illegal capture of a cardholder’s PIN, mainly via a “skimming plate” sneakily installed by scammers on an ATM. Cloned card Crooks then create a false or “cloned” card that enables them to withdraw or run up charges to the victim’s account. Skimming is also a way for “identity thieves” to steal a cardholder’s personal and account details, thus allowing them to borrow money Read More …

Mindanao BPO industry gets boost with new cable system

General

Oct 282014

Mindanao BPO industry gets boost with new cable system

THE setting up of the Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-Eaga) Submarine Terrestrial (Best) Cable System is expected to boost Mindanao’s position as an information communication technology (ICT) hub. “This (Best Cable System) will (provide support) to the only connection we are currently tapping, which is from Taiwan to Luzon to Mindanao,” Romeo Montenegro, Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) director of investment promotions and public affairs, said during Monday’s edition of Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao. The Best Cable System, initiated by the Best Cable Consortium, is a high bandwidth cable system of over 5,092 kilometers that will link the sub-region (Brunei Darussalam, Sabah, Southern Philippines, and Kalimantan, Indonesia) with extension to Guam and will connect with United States and the rest of the Asean. The cable system has an initial equipped capacity of 2.4 terabytes per second. Montenegro said the target completion of the Best Cable System will be in 2018. He said with the current single connection, the Philippines is having a speed of 3.5 megabytes per second, which is among the slowest in Asia.Montenegro said if we are looking at the future in using the internet as a platform for businesses, “with the kind of internet situation the country is in now, our neighbors will outperform us.” He said laying down of the Best Cable System will increase the internet speed in the country and will ready the Philippines for the growing industry of e-commerce, e-trading, and electronic transactions. He said they will Read More …

AXA opens 2 more branches in Cebu, says calamities ‘served as eye-openers’

Economy

Oct 242014

AXA opens 2 more branches in Cebu, says calamities ‘served as eye-openers’

INSURANCE provider AXA Philippines is expanding its operations in the Visayas by opening two new branch offices in Cebu. The firm unveiled yesterday its two additional branches located in the Cebu Business Park and Crown Regency Tower 3. With this addition, the firm now has three offices, including its regional office along Escario St. in Cebu City. “Cebu has always been an important base of AXA Philippines,” said Rein Hermans, president and chief executive officer of AXA Philippines, citing Cebu’s robust business developments and growing population. Last year’s calamities—the earthquake that hit Bohol and Cebu in October, plus typhoon Yolanda less than a month later—also opened people’s eyes to the importance of insurance, company officials said. Hermans added that the continued growth of their business nationwide is also reflected in the growth of their business in Cebu and the entire Visayas. “We are growing along with the domestic growth story very well,” said Hermans in a media roundtable discussion yesterday. According to BJ Legaspi, AXA Philippines sales director for Visayas-Mindanao, the firm’s growth in the Visayas in the past three years has been steady and consistent. In 2013, its total sales agency went up by 68 percent to P175 million compared to its output in 2011 of P104 million. Cebu sales stood at P135 million, accounting for nearly 80 percent of the Visayas regions’ business. Legaspi said that the company expects a banner year for Cebu this year as it has already produced P122 million in sales as of the Read More …

CEB backs BIMP-Eaga gab

Economy

Oct 242014

THE country’s leading airline, Cebu Pacific Air, is the official airline partner of the ongoing 2nd BIMP-Eaga and IMT-GT Trade Fair and Business Leaders’ Conference in Davao City. “CEB is proud to be the airline partner of this event, as the region comes together to discuss important developmental issues. We remain invested in boosting tourism and trade in all the destinations we fly to, and continue to work with government and private partners for a competitive region,” said Candice Iyog, CEB vice president for marketing and distribution. BIMP-Eaga stands for Brunei Darussalam Indonesia Malaysia the Philippines East Asean Growth Area, while the IMT-GT stands for Indonesia Malaysia Thailand Growth Triangle. “While both growth triangles have their respective road maps, this convergence will enhance our competitiveness by turning the sub-region into a single investment area and production network, thereby accelerating economic growth in Southeast Asia,” said Luwalhati Antonino, chair of the Mindanao Development Authority (Minda), the Philippine coordinating office for BIMP-Eaga. Also on the agenda are Climate Change Adaptation and the alignment of the four pillars of BIMP-Eaga, namely, connectivity, food basket, tourism, and environment. Investment programs within the Mindanao Development Corridors, the island-region’s spatial development framework, were also presented. The trade fair, which was dovetailed by the Business Leaders’ Conference, showcased the finest and unique products of participating countries as well as current developments in the services sector, technology innovations, and investment opportunities. Business-matching sessions were conducted simultaneously with the trade fair and the business conference. IMT-GT was formed in Read More …

SB Corp. loans ‘open to startups’

General

Oct 222014

WITH the increasing presence of tech startups in Cebu, an official of a government-owned financial institution said startups, like other small and medium enterprises (SMEs) involved in traditional businesses, can avail themselves of financing from P200,000 to P5 million from the Small Business Corp., the financing arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). SB Corp. Visayas Group head Francisco Buenavides said startups who have been “successfully operating” for two years can avail themselves of loans under the agency’s retail lending program. “Under our policy, we are not closed to (tech) startup businesses. Siguro lang, it would take an extra evaluation, extra process in evaluating the account,” Buenavides said. He said granting loans to this sector is new for them; hence the longer process than traditional businesses. He said bulk of borrowers in SB Corp. is in trading and general merchandise. Enterprises that are in the services sector like contractors also avail themselves of the agency’s retail lending program. Those who cannot get loans from SB Corp. are businesses purely involved in the trading of imported goods, real estate developers and those involved in vice-generating activities. SB Corp’s loan releases in 2013 was at P3.3 billion. By the end of 2013, SB Corp.’s total loan releases to micro and SMEs (mSMEs) already reached P40 billion, starting from 2001. Buenavides said those who would like to avail themselves of loans in SB Corp. should submit registration papers and financial documents. More detailed guidelines can be found in their office in Read More …

Therma South in Davao to operate soon

General

Oct 202014

THE much anticipated generation to augment the power supply in Mindanao next year is 90 percent complete as of September with testing and commissioning expected to commence in the coming months. Therma South Inc. (TSI), in its report to the Department of Energy (DOE) in Mindanao, stated that the 300-MW thermal power plant located in the boundary of Davao City and Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur is on schedule and would most likely meet its targeted time table for its commercial operation during the first half of 2015. TSI President Benjamin A. Cariaso Jr., said that all major components and equipment, as well as the switchyard that will connect the power plants to the transmission assets of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) are now nearing completion. “We are anticipating for to the completion of this project, and looking forward to be able to make a significant contribution in alleviating the Mindanao power crisis,” Cariaso said. Cariaso said the realization of the project would mean a reliable baseload power plant in the island to supply its fast-growing need for power. Distribution utilities and electric cooperatives in Mindanao have already signed power supply contracts with TSI as of September 2014. The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has already approved 13 of the 22 contracts. Customers with approved contracts can immediately get power from TSI once the power plant is in operation and it will deliver much needed power to the major cities of Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, Butuan, Gen. Read More …

Look beyond PH, SMEs told

General

Oct 192014

FILIPINO small and medium-sized enterprises should look beyond the country following a report saying SMEs that carve a niche in overseas markets have the greatest chance of survival. According to a new survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit, the forecasting and advisory service within The Economist Group, SMEs in developed and developing countries will derive up to half of their revenues internationally by 2019. While 40 percent of respondents currently earn nothing from international operations, a clear majority, at 72 percent, expect to derive between 11 percent and 50 percent of their revenues internationally in five years. “International expansion is increasingly necessary for 21st century SMEs. Transformational change stemming from advancements in technology and communication is creating opportunity like never before-SMEs can either grab such opportunities, or give them away to a competitor,” the report said. “Gone are the days when ambitious SMEs could sit back and simply own a slice of their home markets,” said. “Now they must think about the world at large, and engage a range of clients, suppliers, and contractors in multiple countries to survive.” However, expanding internationally does not come easy, according to the paper, which is based on results of a survey of 480 SMEs spread across 12 countries and 20 industries. SMEs polled pointed to unreliable infrastructure, prohibitive setup costs, political instability and the inaccessibility of local business networks as the biggest obstacles to international trade. “They find it particularly difficult understanding local business environments which are different to their home market, as Read More …

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