Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Real estate developers and telecommunications companies have pledged their support for the development of the country’s information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) sector which will soon embark on a new six-year growth path. The Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) said the country’s biggest property and telecommunications players  vowed to put up better quality buildings and infrastructure in their bid to create an ecosystem that will sustain more inclusive growth for the IT-BPM sector. These firms include Ayala Land, Double Dragon Properties, Federal Land, Filinvest, Globe Telecom, Leechiu Property Consultants, Megaworld, PLDT, Profriends, Robinsons Land, and SM Prime Holdings, the IBPAP said. “All these years, our roadmap partners have been our strong allies in building the industry through connectivity and building robust, world class 24/7 communities that IT-BPM companies need. They continue to play a crucial role as the 1.2 million strong industry charts its course over the next six years,” said Benedict Hernandez, IBPAP’s executive committee chairman. Hernandez said the property and telecommunications giants maintained their commitment to further support the growth of the sector by continuously aligning with IT-BPM companies’ needs and ICT demands as they continue to expand into areas outside Metro Manila, transforming previously untapped and undeveloped localities into bustling IT-BPM hubs. “Our collaboration and partnership will remain key to realizing the new roadmap ambitions, especially as we focus even more on countryside development,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 IBPAP and research Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – With a growth trajectory that has been uninterrupted for 17 years and a robust economic growth average in the past six years, the Philippines has gotten out of the boom-and-bust cycle and is now traversing a “higher growth path,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia. In a presentation during the general membership meeting of the Chamber of Thrift Banks on Thursday, Pernia said the average growth rate of 6.2 percent in the last six years has been the highest since the 1970s. “In earlier years, the Philippine economy was known to go through a boom-and-bust growth cycle. However, in recent years, the country has proven to get out of this cycle as we have been experiencing sustained high growth,” he said. In the second quarter of 2016, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) accelerated to seven percent, faster than the previous quarter’s growth rate of 6.8 percent and 5.9 percent in the second quarter of 2015. With the first semester growth rate of 6.9 percent, the economy only needs to grow by 5.1 percent in the second semester to reach the lower end of the government’s growth target of 6.7 percent for 2016. Pernia said the low inflation in recent years fueled the expansion of the economy. In 2015, headline inflation rose by only 1.4 percent on the average. This was mainly due to the deceleration of non-food commodity prices such us housing, water, electricity and gas. Year-to-date headline inflation averaged 1.4 percent ending in July. Business Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the plan of City & Land Developer Inc. to issue P300 million worth of commercial papers. According to documents from the SEC, net proceeds from the offering would be used for project related costs (P74.5 million), payment of maturing loans (P23.5 million) and interest expense at (P1.2 million). Early this year, Cityland launched two new residential projects – the Grand Central Residences and Pines Peak Tower 1, which are both located in Mandaluyong City. Grand Central Residences, located along EDSA corner Sultan St., Bgy. Highway Hills, is a 40-story commercial, office and residential condominium while Pines Peak Tower 1, is a 27-story residential condominium is located along Union corner Pines Streets. Amenities include a swimming pool, gym, multi-purpose function room with movable playset, viewing deck and 24-hour association security. These condominium projects will be ideal for the fast-paced Filipino families who enjoy comfortable but affordable way of living. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Economically-designed residential units in Studio, one and two-bedroom types are now available in friendly and flexible payment scheme, City & Land said. Cityland Development was formerly known as Statehouse Land Development Corp. it has two subsidiaries, namely City & Land Developers Inc. and Cityplans. Among Cityland Development projects include Pines Peak Tower I, Grand Central Residences I, the Makati Executive Towers I, II and III, Corinthian Executive Regency, Manila Executive Regency and Rada Regency.

What a tagline! Everywhere I go in the country, I open the line and say, “Change is….” and everyone in my audience will complete the line and say, “Change is coming.” It ranks as popular as the phrase, “It’s more fun in……the Philippines,” as my audience would declare and then smile and laugh about it. There are so many changes happening in the political scene and in the business scene, but what about changes that are not coming, at least in the immediate future? Well, let’s take a careful look into these things. Here are the things that will not change: 1. EDSA traffic will still be a problem and it would take time and immediate measures to improve the situation. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 2. Some politicians will still lie and steal, even though there is a higher sense of consciousness and apprehension these days. 3. Business will continue to be uncertain. 4. Business competitions will continue to rise. 5. Price competitions will always be there. 6. Technology will still churn out things that will change consumer behavior and will threaten many established industries. 7. You and I will grow old. 8. Life will still be laced with challenges and trials and the pace of it will add more stress to many of us. On the other hand, these are the good things that will not change: 1. Life is beautiful, especially if you wake up every morning and realize it is a gift Read More …

Gentlemen, This refers to the article entitled “Unholy Alliance” written by Mary Ann Reyes published in the Sept. 14 issue of The Philippine STAR – Business section regarding the alleged failure of the Insurance Commission to act on the complaints filed by Steel Corporation of the Philippines (“SCP” for brevity). We would like to take this opportunity to clarify matters in relation to the issues raised in the article. First, the insurance claims of SCP are pending before the regular courts, one in the Regional Trial Court of Batangas City and another in the Regional Trial Court of Makati City. The cases involve claims to recover insurance proceeds for material damage due to fire and business interruption losses provided under the insurance policies. At present, the cases are being heard and decisions are yet to be issued by the respective courts. There is no way for the Insurance Commission to assume jurisdiction and hear the cases because the claims exceed the jurisdiction amount of P5 million provided under Section 439 of the Insurance Code, as amended by RA 10607 which took effect on Sept. 20, 2013. Second, what is pending before the Insurance Commission are administrative cases seeking the suspension and revocation of licenses of the insurance companies who issued the insurance policies involved in the incident. These cases do not seek to recover insurance proceeds for material damage due to fire and business interruption losses provided under the insurance policies. Thus, the decisions in these cases will not effect Read More …