CGBP seminar on corporate governance

 Economy
Feb 212015
 
CGBP seminar on corporate governance

MANILA, Philippines – With the mandate of the SEC to require all board directors of public and publicly-listed companies to attend a corporate governance seminar once a year to be eligible for election / re-election to the board of a corporation, the Center for Global Best Practices (CGBP) is launching a pioneering program entitled, “Board Effectiveness Best Practices” on Wednesday, March 18, 2015 at the EDSA Shangri-la Hotel, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. This seminar would provide a new and fresh perspective from the repetitive lectures done by other corporate governance providers.  As one of the few SEC-accredited training providers, CGBP will feature the best practices for board directors to help them enhance their skills to become better members or leaders of the board.  For details and a complete list of upcoming best practices seminars including How to Set Up an Internal Audit System, Board Directors’ Guide for Audit Committees, Best Practices in Corporate Housekeeping for Board Secretaries, and more, you may log on to www.cgbp.org or call (+63 2) 842-7148/ 59 and 556-8968/ 69, Cebu lines: (+63 32) 512-3106 or 07 or Baguio line: (+63 74) 423-5148 and Legaspi City telephone (+6352) 736-0126. This one-day special corporate governance program is designed to address two important issues: (1) To provide capacity building for board directors by presenting to them the global best practices in board effectiveness drawn from the most updated global research of the largest accounting firm in the world – PriceWaterhouse Coopers / Isla Lipana to be presented by former Read More …

Maynilad calls on gov’t guarantee

 Economy
Feb 202015
 
Maynilad calls on gov’t guarantee

Maynilad Water Services Inc. on Friday said the government should compensate it for at least P208 million in monthly opportunity losses that it is incurring because of regulators’ inaction on its rate hike petition. The concessionaire said it has invoked a Philippine government undertaking to pay for such losses caused by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System’s “refusal to implement rate adjustments, notwithstanding Maynilad’s having won in the arbitration with MWSS almost two months ago.” In early January, Maynilad’s major stockholders announced that an appeals panel with the International Chamber of Commerce had decided in the company’s favor, awarding an average increase of P3.06 a cubic meter—on top of the current basic rate of P31.28 cubic meters—for the five-year rate rebasing period 2013-2017. In early 2013, the water service firm submitted to the MWSS a five-year business plan that required an increase in the company’s basic charges by P8.58 a cubic meter. In September that year, the MWSS issued a memorandum ordering Maynilad to cut rates by P1.46 a cubic meters for the five years until 2017 or 49 centavos a year. Similarly, Manila Water proposed to raise rates by P5.83 a cubic meter, but the MWSS ordered a reduction of P1.48 a cubic meter per year. Last Monday, MWSS chief regulator Joel C. Yu said the government agency would not act on Maynilad’s petition for implementation of the tariff hike as it preferred to wait for the decision on Manila Water’s case. On Friday, Maynilad said it had asked Read More …

Oro Chamber gears up for Asean Integration

 Economy
Feb 202015
 
Oro Chamber gears up for Asean Integration

THE Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce (Oro Chamber) is gearing up for the challenges in the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) integration through Asean Economic Community (AEC) this year. With AEC on, Oro Chamber expects new investors arriving in the city to take advantage of the market. The Asean integration is aimed at improving the standard of living and quality of life of the people in the region. Cerael Donggay, president of Oro Chamber, said that they are expecting much from this integration. “Our role, with the upcoming Asean Regional Integration, is to help our members – industries, sectors, commercial establishments, trade and commerce, services, etc. survive the [upcoming integration] competition… so we should find ways for them to survive,” Donggay said. Donggay added that they are now in the “planning stage” on how to make local businesses and entrepreneurs compete and collaborate with foreign investors. He said that one example in helping local businesses is for Oro Chamber to promote more industries to come in and put up their business here and generate employment through vertical integration – upstream and downstream. He added that as part of the AEC, inclusive growth should be achieved in which there is a reduction of poverty along with increase of employment – if this happens, there is peace and order. “A country with a low economic development will create disorder – militant movement, rebellion – subversive element… we can eliminate this by ensuring that there is an inclusive growth where Read More …

Samsung buying mobile-pay co. in bid to challenge Apple Pay

 Economy
Feb 182015
 
Samsung buying mobile-pay co. in bid to challenge Apple Pay

This product image provided by LoopPay shows the LoopPay card, front, and the LoopPay app for Android. Samsung is buying mobile-payment startup LoopPay as the Korean phone maker steps up its rivalry with Apple and its payment system on iPhones. AP/LoopPay NEW YORK — Samsung is buying mobile-payment startup LoopPay as the Korean phone maker steps up to challenge Apple and its payment system on iPhones. The deal strengthens speculation that Samsung Electronics Co. plans to include mobile-payment technology in its next major phone, which is expected to be announced March 1 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Launched a year ago, LoopPay works by reproducing the signals from a credit card’s magnetic swipe as users tap a LoopPay device next to a retailer’s card reader. That means LoopPay should work with most retailers’ existing payment terminals. Most other mobile-payment systems, including Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay, require newer terminals with wireless chips called near-field communication, or NFC. That limits the number of retailers that can accept such payments. But LoopPay has had trouble with some older readers; restaurants and bars often couldn’t process LoopPay transactions due to a variety of hardware and software issues. It also doesn’t work with transit fares, parking meters and other machines that require the customer to fully insert a card, like a bank ATM. Plus, it’s not clear what will happen when merchants hit an October deadline for accepting cards with stronger security known as EMV, as LoopPay offers only the basic magnetic signals. Read More …

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