Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) likely continued growing its profits in the first quarter on the back of strong performance across all business segments. New properties like malls, offices and hotels launched last year will start contributing profits in the next few months, an official said. “(Performance) is still good. It’s a respectable quarter, still consistent with expectations,” said ALI chief finance officer Jaime E. Ysmael. “We were firing on all engines effectively. All different businesses continue to contribute to the pie,” Ysmael said. The property arm of the Ayala conglomerate posted a 30-percent jump in profits to P2.76 billion in the first three months of 2013 from P2.13 billion a year ago. Consolidated revenues hit P18.53 billion, up 38 percent from the P13.39 billion. Ysmael said the country’s property sector remained robust, allowing the residential segment to remain as the biggest contributor to ALI’s earnings in the first quarter of the year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “We did not launch that many projects in the first quarter. But the succeeding quarters is when most of the projects will happen,” Ysmael said. ALI plans to launch 78 projects consisting of 30,000 residential units this year with an estimated value of P142 billion. The five residential brands of the property firm launched a total of 28,482 units worth P108 billion last year. ALI is primarily into the development of residential projects, lease of commercial and office space and sale of prime lots. Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCom) has bought a controlling stake in Banco Dipolog Inc. (BDI), a multi-branch rural bank headquartered in Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte. PBCom has recently signed a memorandum of agreement with BDI officials to allow it to acquire majority stake in the Mindanao-based rural bank. PBCom president and CEO Nina D. Aguas, however, said the agreement has yet to be approved by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Founded in 1957, BDI was the first bank to open in Dipolog. It currently has 11 branches and seven other banking offices located in Mindanao and the Visayas, and is set to open two more branches in the region by July.  BDI caters primarily to small entrepreneurs, educators, farmers and government employees. As of December 2013, BDI had over P1 Billion in total assets. Aguas said the investment in BDI would allow PBCom to strengthen its presence in Mindanao, while bringing BDI’s client base an expanded suite of products and services that PBCom offers as a commercial bank. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In March of this year, PBCom announced its acquisition of the Rural Bank of Nagcarlan, a six-branch bank based in Laguna.  “Expanding our footprint across the country through these acquisitions will allow us to contribute to the development and strengthening of communities nationwide,” Aguas said. 

MANILA, Philippines – The public can soon interact with the national government on matters affecting their daily lives just by using the Internet. With the help of the government of Australia, through the Australia-World Bank Philippines Development Trust Fund, Filipinos can also serve as watchdogs in the implementation of the government’s major programs and projects like the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program. These are among the highlights of discussions during the first day of a forum of the Knowledge for Development Centers (KDCs) last week at the World Bank Group office in Bonifacio Global City. KDCs comprise 15 universities, policy and research institutions in the Philippines that promote knowledge sharing about development issues, in partnership with the World Bank Group. Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a report that the government plans to roll out a National Feedback Mechanism soon. “Envisioned as a link between government and civil society, it will serve as an online platform where citizens will be able to engage government by launching petitions or making queries online,” Lacierda added. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 He said the new online platform is part of the government’s commitment to the Open Government Partnership (OGP) launched globally in 2011.  The Philippines is one of  eight founding members alongside Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He said the OGP is a global effort to secure commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies to strengthen Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Integrated property firm SM Prime Holdings Inc. has expanded its retail portfolio to complement residential projects in the metropolis. The mall operator and condominium developer said it started the commercial operations of its newest retail podium, Sun Mall, located at the Sun Residences tower in Quezon City. “This is the third retail podium attached to an SM Development Corp. (SMDC) residential tower after Jazz Mall in Bel-Air, Makati and Mezza Strip in Quezon City,” SM Prime said. Sun Mall spans a gross floor area of 15,000 square meters. It offers a variety of commercial and retail stores that can accommodate the basic household needs of its residents. “The retail podium is designed to provide every patron with a worthwhile lifestyle experience,” SM Prime said. “Through these retail podiums within our residential towers, we aim to provide our residents with access to everything that they will need,” said SM Prime executive vice-president and SMDC president Jeffrey Lim. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The opening of Sun Mall reflects the synergies at work in SM Prime, Lim said. Anchor tenants include SM Hypermarket, Watsons and Banco De Oro, as well as food stores. Sun Mall also has specialty shops, giving residents a variety of options to choose from to satisfy their needs and provide convenience. Food concepts in Sun Mall include The Happy Bakery, the first inline store of Happy Dizon of the Dizon family behind Dizon Farms; fastfood restaurant Chef Lau’s Pugon Roasters of Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Smart Communications Inc., the main mobile unit of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), is extending cheaper roaming services for its subscribers travelling  to Asia, the US and Europe. Michele Curran, group head for data and international services of Smart, said the company has unveiled new rates for its roaming services aimed at giving postpaid subscribers a much easier way of controlling their phone usage and expenses while travelling abroad. Smart’s roaming rates for voice, text and data services are categorized based on two zones – Asia and America on one hand, and the rest of the world on the other – starting last Friday.  Smart postpaid subscribers travelling to countries in Asia and America have to pay a flat rate of P18 per text message, P50 per minute for incoming calls, P115 per minute for outgoing calls, and P3 per 10 kilobytes of data.  On the other hand, subscribers bound for countries in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Oceania would be charged a flat rate of P23 per text message, P65 per minute for incoming calls, P145 per minute for outgoing calls and P5 per 10 kilobytes of data.  “Many phone users have a hard time determining whether or not to avail of roaming services out of confusion with the rates or fear of racking up a huge amount in their phone bill when they come back home,” Curran said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1  “With these simplified rates, Read More …