Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – The government and the private sector have decided to fasttrack projects in Clark, Pampanga with the area serving as one of the venues for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) events this year. In a statement, Clark Development Corp. (CDC) president and chief executive officer Arthur Tugade said the country’s APEC hosting has encouraged both government and the private sector to advance the implementation of their respective projects. The Philippines is hosting the APEC meetings this year. The APEC senior officers meeting started in Clark on January 26. Tugade said projects such as the Clark Rotunda, Clark Museum, Clark 4D Theatre and Clark Integrated Command Center are to be implemented this year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The renovation of the Clark Parade Ground, which is in its final stages, is expected to have a rubberized overlay for the jogging path, renovated park bencher, as well as shower room for sports participants upon completion. Tugade said some locator firms in Clark have also advanced the dates of their development plans. Among these locators is Fontana Leisure Parks which is expanding the seating capacity of its convention center to more than 1,800 seats from 500, at present, putting up new villas and rooms and adding 1,000 workers. Oxford Hotel meanwhile, has committed to invest P1 billion in the next five years to put up a new hotel, casino and restaurant with one-stop commercial complex as well as employ 615 individuals. Widus Hotel and Casino Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has extended anew the deadline for the submission of prequalification documents for the proposed P15 billion Central Luzon link expressway (CLLEX), which will connect Tarlac to Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija. DPWH Undersecretary Rafael Yabut said the deadline for the submission of qualification documents for the Public Private Partnership (PPP) project has been deferred to Feb. 23 instead of Feb. 9 to give interested bidders more time to prepare their documents. DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson earlier extended the deadline to Feb. 9 instead of Feb. 2 to enable the agency to respond to additional clarification or queries raised by prospective contractors or bidders.  “This is to preclude any issue that may arise later during the procurement process. We have to address all the issues or concerns being raised, otherwise, these may again be the causes of the delay in project implementation,” Singson said. The submission of prequalification documents for the first phase of CLLEX  scheduled last Jan. 19 was called off due to the scheduled visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines. This was rescheduled to Feb. 2. Some contractors and bidders have requested that they be given ample time to secure or acquire necessary documents from the country of origin due to the long Christmas holidays. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The first phase of the CLLEX project worth P14.9 billion would cover a 30.7-kilometer four-lane expressway stretching from Tarlac to Cabanatuan City in Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Grand Plaza Hotel Corp., the company behind Heritage Hotel Manila, is seeking further remedies to resolve its alleged P508-million tax liability with the Bureau of Internal Revenues (BIR). In a disclosure to the local bourse, the hotel operator said its board of directors has directed its tax counsel to study further solutions in connection with the BIR’s denial for a reinvestigation and recomputation of its alleged tax liability stemming from the agency’s 2008 tax assessment. “The corporation’s tax counsel is studying further administrative and/or legal remedies in respect of the tax assessment,” Grand Plaza said. Grand Plaza said it received in 2013 a collection letter from the BIR for its alleged deficiency income tax, value-added tax, expanded withholding tax, withholding tax on compensation and documentary stamp tax for the year 2008. The total amount stood at P508.10 million, consisting of P262.58 million for basic tax and interest of P245.42 million from January 2009 to Sept. 30, 2013.    The hotel operator said it asked the BIR for a reinvestigation and recomputation of the amount but has been denied of such. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Grand Plaza owns and operates Heritage Hotel Manila, a 450-room deluxe hotel with a casino, restaurants, function halls and ballrooms. The company’s main source of income is revenue from its hotel operations. As of the first nine months last year, the listed firm’s total revenue dropped to P334.75 million from P451.79 million during the same period the previous year.

MANILA, Philippines – Global crude prices are likely to go up again but not as high as they used to be, the chief energy specialist of International Finance Corp. (IFC) said in a press briefing yesterday.  On the sidelines of an energy regulation forum organized by the Royal Norwegian embassy in collaboration with the Philippine Norway Business Council, the IFC’s Tonci Bakovic said oil prices will come back up “not to the prices that they were but they will.” Department of Energy Undersecretary Zenaida Monsada also said it was difficult to say when prices would move up again. She said while there is still a supply glut in the global crude market, there are also uncertainties such as the strike of oil industry workers in the United States that may indeed push prices up albeit slightly. There are reports that oil workers are on strike, marking the biggest strike in history. According to the BBC, US union leaders launched on Sunday a large-scale strike at nine refineries after failing to agree on a new national contract with major oil companies. “It marks the first nationwide walkout since 1980 and impacts plants that together account for more than 10 percent of US refining capacity,” the report said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Members of the United Steelworkers Union (USW) have called on oil companies to improve conditions in the workplace instead of being too greedy. As for local pump prices, oil companies raised local pump prices two Read More …

(From left) Carmina Velayo-Villo, Globe marketing head for international business; Jorge Tatsuki Takata, Brastel general manager for carrier operations and support; and Rizza Maniego-Eala, Globe senior vice president for international business. MANILA, Philippines – Globe Telecom launched Tuesday a reloadable call card, which offers cheaper IDD calls in Japan, as they partnered with Japanese telecommunication company Brastel. Globe Senior Vice President for International Business Rizza Maniego-Eala said in a press conference that the partnership allowed them to offer calling rates up to 50 percent lower than many alternatives in Japan. The Globe-Brastel Card lets overseas Filipinos in Japan call their loved ones in the Philippines for as low as 20 yen or about P7 per minute from a Japanese landline number to a Globe or TM mobile number. Eala said they chose to partner with Brastel because the company has been serving non-Japanese citizens in Japan for nearly 20 years, noting that Japan has also been an important market for Globe. According to Jorge Tatsuki Takata, Brastel general manager for carrier operations and support, an initial payment of 2,000 yen or nearly P750 is required to start using the call card. The maximum denomination for recharging is 10,000 yen. A call can be made by first dialing the access number found on the back of the call card, the country code, and the phone number. The card can be reloaded easily in any partner convenience store of Brastel like Family Mart, Mini Stop, Circle K, and Lawson through the SmartPit Read More …