Maniolas

Regus Philippines now has 25 business centers, providing workspace solutions for both local and international companies in the Philippines. MANILA, Philippines – Regus, the global workplace provider, has announced that it has launched its first business center in Davao City. A rapidly developing and growing second-tier city, Davao City is expected to be the Philippines’ next up and coming hub for commerce, education and manufacturing – supporting and serving the Southern territories of the country and neighboring region. “With the rapid development of the Information Technology Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) sector in the city, Davao is today one of the top BPO centers in the region. As we anticipate the influx of investors into the city, we are confident that this is the time to invest and grow with the city and the region. Regus will support as an‘incubator for investors,’ to establish and expand operations in Davao,” Regus Philippines country manager Lars Wittig said. Regus is partnering with Damosa Land Inc., the real estate arm of Anflo Management and Investment Corp., to lease the property for the new business center. Ricardo Floirendo Lagdameo, vice president of Damosa Land, added that such a collaboration would inevitably bolster Davao’s development. “We’ve received inquiries in the past from organizations interested in Davao, but they were unsure about the investment climate and landscape.This partnership with Regus reiterates the confidence that a global multinational has for Davao and the surrounding region in Mindanao,” Lagdameo said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Leading media and entertainment firm ABS-CBN Corp. has sold 1.5 million ABS-CBN TVplus boxes since the launch of its digital television service in February last year. ABS-CBN Convergence chief operating officer Chinky Alcedo said in a statement yesterday, the sales performance was driven by the new content, stronger distribution as well as the integrated marketing effort of the company. “ABS-CBN has taken huge strides in making the digital television experience more exciting and more accessible to more Filipino families,” Alcedo said. ABS-CBN’s TVplus digital box is the pioneering digital television service that offers crystal clear picture and sound. The product provides consumers a cable-like experience with no monthly fees as well as exclusive channels such as the male-oriented channel Cinemo!, children’s channel Yey!, educational channel Knowledge Channel, and DZMM Teleradyo on top of ABS-CBN Sports + Action and ABS-CBN. ABS-CBN has also introduced a new pay-per-view feature called the Kapamilya Box Office (KBO) for the digital TV service so families can catch newly released movies bundled with foreign and local box-office hits and top-rating Kapamilya shows. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In the second quarter of the year, ABS-CBN TVplus’ digital signal transmission expanded to areas such as Davao City, Bacolod, Iloilo, and Cagayan de Oro, a move which cemented its leadership in digital terrestrial television in the country. The ABS-CBN TVplus digital box or “mahiwagang black box” is available for P1,499. Given the new price offer and exclusive features, Alcedo said ABS-CBN Read More …

The country’s GDP growth accelerated to seven percent in the second quarter from the revised 6.8 percent in the first quarter on the back of a strong boost from election related spending. MANILA, Philippines – More investment banks are upgrading the country’s economic growth prospects after a stronger than expected gross domestic product (GDP) expansion in the second quarter. David Mann, managing director and chief economist for Asia at Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), said the bank now expects the country’s GDP to grow faster at 6.8 percent instead of 6.4 percent this year and to 6.7 percent instead of six percent for 2017. “Consumption has been relatively robust,” Mann said. He said there is a lot of positivity under the Duterte administration because of its commitment to pursue the reforms undertaken by the previous administrations and further liberalize the country’s economy. The country’s GDP growth accelerated to seven percent in the second quarter from the revised 6.8 percent in the first quarter on the back of a strong boost from election related spending. This brought in the first half of the year to 6.9 percent from 5.5 percent in the same period last year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Weak global demand and the lack of government spending under the previous administration pulled down the GDP growth to 5.9 percent last year from 6.1 percent in 2014. The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), slashed the GDP growth target this year to a range of six to Read More …

NANNING, China – Despite his recent controversial verbal spat with the world’s most powerful president on issues involving human rights, President Rodrigo Duterte’s popularity continues to soar as he received mostly positive remarks from Chinese and ASEAN business leaders. In an interview during the opening of the 13th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) here yesterday, International Chamber of Commerce Philippines founding chairman and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman emeritus Francis Chua said the tough-talking Philippine president was highly regarded by the Chinese and ASEAN business communities. Chua on Saturday night met with his fellow business leaders from the region and China for the annual CAEXPO supporting chambers of commerce conference and business networking activity. “You’ll be surprised a lot of them was saying that this is the kind of president that the ASEAN needs. We have the biggest problem in Asia, in which some countries are not strong enough. (They said) we really pray hard for that president and if he succeeds, that’s a story that everybody can follow and can emulate,” Chua said. US President Barack Obama scrapped bilateral talks with Duterte last week during the ASEAN Leaders’ Summit in Vientiane, Laos following the latter’s controversial remarks. “So it’s a total different thing because there are people that keep on hammering on the human rights issue. Human rights is correct, but when it comes to the administration of the country, there is a certain way different presidents and different administrators would like to adhere into,” Chua said. Business ( Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s healthcare information management service industry employed 100,000 people last year and generated $1.9 billion in revenues, the Healthcare Information Management Association of the Philippines (HIMAP) said. HIMAP president Beng Coronel said the industry is on track to hitting its target of employing 210,000 people by 2022, translating to a 100 percent jump in revenues to about $5 billion. Actual revenue growth could even be higher given the potential of the industry, Coronel said. “This is a conservative growth in revenue forecasted at 250 percent from $1.9 billion in 2015 and these figures were shown during last year’s conference,” she said. The industry has been growing since 2011 with service providers showing strong capability to offer more work. It has diversified from just medical transcription such as medical coding, medical billing, outpatient care services, telemedicine, pharmaceutical and healthcare application support. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 As the industry continues to grow, it is expected to offer a wide array of career opportunities for healthcare professionals including nurses who often find it difficult to find gainful opportunities in the country. HIMAP is organizing the Global Convergence Enabling Inclusive Care and Innovation on Sept. 15 to discuss ways on how to further grow the industry. The conference is expected to look into stakeholder roles in healthcare and how some trends disrupt the growth and innovation in healthcare industry. Coronel said the conference aims to look back at the achievements of the industry and look forward to opportunities for sustained Read More …