Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – You might be one of the many Filipinos who are dreaming to have their own homes. But buying your own home for the first time can be daunting. You might find it difficult to look for resources to help you shop around. You might not even have any idea what kind of home suits your budget and needs.  You can start finding your new home by identifying your most important considerations in choosing a home. From there, you can find out what type of home buyer you are. You can then narrow down your options little by little from there on until you find the perfect home for you and your family.  The infographic below will help you get started.

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-owned wellness brand Big Apple Express Spa is gearing up for more expansion this year through franchising following a successful launch in 2005. Now on its 10th year, the company aims to continue registering a growth rate of 500 percent ever year as it targets to open 10 new branches this year, Roselin Pagunsan, one of the company’s owners, said in an interview. She said the company has presence in growing business hubs such as Forbes Town Center, Bonifacio Global City and Eastwood City, among others. It has launched a wide array of new services catering mostly to businessmen and entrepreneurs, Pagunsan said. She said Big Apple has introduced its Balinese massage service, targeting mostly businessmen who may be stressed out from running their respective companies. “Big Apple’s Balinese massage is one of the best-selling service especially among yuppies who have a fast paced and hectic work life. The service concentrates on one’s back and adds to the relaxation of the senses and soothes tired muscles. A one-hour service would rejuvenate the busy businessman and will let them get back to work in no time,” Pagunsan said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The service is part of the company’s corporate social responsibilty program. As a CSR project which started in 2009, the company provides skills training to potential therapists. “We started with the training in 2009. We have a head trainor who does the skills training. A trainee has to undergo two parts Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s merchandise exports went down by 10.8 percent to $4.989 billion in November 2014 from the $5.593 billion posted a year ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday. “The decline in total imports for this period was due to the negative performance of four out of the top ten major commodities for the month. These were: transport equipment; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials; industrial machinery and equipment; and miscellaneous manufactured articles,” PSA noted. For the first eleven months of 2014, the country’s imports bill increased by 2.8 percent to $58.5 billion from $57 billion a year ago. With faster growth in exports at 10.2 percent, trade-in-goods deficit for the January to November period narrowed significantly to $1.5 billion from $5.2 billion in the same period in 2013, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) noted. “The prevailing low oil price environment, which is expected to persist until 2015, may further increase the country’s total oil importation for the remaining part of 2014 and for the whole of 2015 given the country’s high dependence on imported oil. Imports of consumer goods will likewise remain positive for the remaining month of the year, mainly supported by the uptick in domestic consumption primarily of food,” NEDA Director General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said. He added that the global economy is fragile at present, with developed economies struggling with deflation, precarious fiscal positions and slowing consumer demand, among others. “The continuing low prices of oil Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Air travellers on all Etihad Airways flights to the United States can now experience the benefits of arriving in the US having precleared US Customs and Border Protection at Abu Dhabi Airport. US preclearance at Abu Dhabi is open for flight EY103 to New York JFK which conveniently connects with inbound services from Manila, Philippines. The new early​ morning US preclearance operation complements the mid-morning one which caters to Etihad Airways passengers on flights to Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York JFK, and Washington DC, who all proceed through the facility. Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ chief commercial officer, said: “We’re delighted that all air travellers flying to the United States from Abu Dhabi will enjoy the benefits that US customs and immigration preclearance offers. “Since its opening in January last year, the US preclearance has been extremely popular with air travellers, particularly those from the Indian subcontinent and Middle East region. More than 325,000 people have passed through the facility, arriving in the United States as domestic passengers.” The preclearance process provides passengers with the unique opportunity to pass through all required checks including US customs, immigration and security conveniently while in Abu Dhabi before they board their flight to the US, enabling them to avoid queues on arrival. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Another key benefit of US preclearance is that baggage security screening meets United States TSA security standards, allowing air travellers who connect onto a US domestic flight to have their baggage checked through from Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is set to carefully evaluate the offers for operation and maintenance of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac expressway (SCTEX) under the Swiss challenge process being undertaken by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). MPIC chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said in an interview that Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) has the right to match any offer submitted by the interested groups to operate and maintain the 94-kilometer tollroad.  “We have the right to match. I think we will just have to wait for the number and look, consider, and assess it carefully,” Pangilinan said. Although SCTEX plays an important role in MPIC’s toll road business,he stressed the need to carefully study and evaluate the offers made in the price challenge.  “It is important but we don’t want to just pay for any price,” Pangilinan said. Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) and a group represented by the law firm of Aguirre, Abano, Pamfilo, Paras, Pineda, and Agustin have expressed interest in the toll road. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 BCDA has given interested companies until Jan. 30 to submit their bids and is set to award the toll road to the winning bidder in March. Interested companies would have to match the P3.5-billion offer made by MNTC and at the same time share 50 percent of the gross toll revenues with the BCDA. The winning bidder for the concession valid until 2043 would continue the integration of SCTEX with Read More …