Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc., the retail arm of the Gokongwei family, plans to spend another P6 billion next year to ramp up expansion of its network across all store formats and fully utilize the increasing spending power of Filipino consumers. In an interview, Robinsons Retail president Robina Gokongwei-Pe told The STAR the company is earmarking for 2016 the same amount it did this year to put up between 250 to 300 stores. Next year’s store expansion is likely the biggest in the company’s history as it is expected to top 2014’s record of 263 new stores opened in a single year. Robinsons Retail offers a diverse array of retail offering which includes supermarkets, department stores, convenience stores, drug stores, and specialty stores. For next year’s expansion, bulk will be composed of convenience store chain Ministop. Gokongwei-Pe said the company remains undeterred despite the growing number of competition in the country’s convenience store segment as it eyes 100 new stores next year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Ministop at present has nearly 500 operational stores in the Philippines. “It has become quite competitive so we’re focusing on our strength which is ready-to-eat. There’s still room to grow for our convenience store business,” Gokongwei-Pe said. Gokongwei-Pe said there are still a plenty of areas in the country where Ministop is not yet present but she noted the company intends to grow over the near term on its existing markets. “We have presence in Cebu, Iloilo, Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine government is pushing for the development of the local e-commerce industry in recognition of its increasing role in the discussions and decision-making among process-member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it recently participated in the China-Asean workshop on e-commerce held in Beijing to promote a clearer understanding of the importance of e-commerce in the context of global economic integration. DTI said it hopes to not only reinforce the industry locally, but also to strengthen e-commerce cooperation among government and businesses across the region. “E-commerce has now been a catalyst for a number of economies and continues to expand its market in the world, however there are other factors that need to get done for us not to be lagged behind,” said DTI Undersecretary Prudencio Reyes Jr. “With the potential of future growth of Philippine e-commerce, this workshop can contribute in creating a plan on integrating technology to facilitate the ease of doing business and its impact to our SMEs and global value chain in having a better access in international market among others,” he added. The DTI said the three-day workshop was attended by Asean member states the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Lao PDR and Cambodia. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Each member state sent three participants to the workshop representing government authorities for the information and communications technology, e-commerce, and research institutions. The DTI said discussions on Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Net earnings of listed port operator Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) rose eight percent in the first half of the year from a year ago amid higher revenues. ATI’s net income hit P1.005 billion in the first-half, up from P933 million a year ago. The higher net profit was achieved despite the challenging trade environment of slow import growth and reduced exports. The firm’s revenues rose nine percent to P4.29 billion in the first six months of the year from last year’s P3.92 billion. The latest revenue result was boosted largely by higher international containerized volume in Batangas. Volume handled by the Batangas Container Terminal surged by more than 340 percent to 70,000 twenty-foot equivalent units from January to June period compared with last year’s level as it served Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) and nearby regions. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Batangas Port also remained as South Luzon’s preferred gateway for domestic containerized cargoes, imported completely built-up car units as well as passengers with first-half volumes growing by 160 percent, 14 percent and eight percent, respectively. The cargo volume in South Harbor which grew by 10 percent year-on-year as of end-June, also contributed to the latest revenue result. ATI’s costs and expenses climbed six percent to P2.64 billion in the first-half of the year from P2.49 billion a year ago. Labor costs posted a 16 percent uptick to P562 million this year from P487 million last year amid an increase in headcount to support higher volume Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV called the attention of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for failure to fulfill its commitment to issue a circular on the quality of Internet standards. Aquino recalled the NTC committed to come out with the memorandum circular in March during a hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship with respect to the speed of Internet in the country. “Six months have passed since the NTC committed to come out with the memorandum circular but until now the agency has yet to deliver on its promise,” Aquino said. Aquino said  he intends to raise the issue before the NTC when it appears before the Senate to defend its proposed budget for 2016. “The NTC must provide a detailed and acceptable report on its recent moves to improve the country’s Internet connection service as the approval of their 2016 budget heavily depends on that,” said Aquino, who is one of the vice chairmen of the Committee on Finance. The said memorandum circular would set the Internet quality service in the country, including the minimum speed for broadband and DSL connections. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Aquino, who heads the Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship, has led the hearings on the quality of Internet service in the country, which he said was not only expensive but also very slow. While the two main issues remain, Aquino noted that the committee hearings have produced small victories that Read More …