Maniolas

Read Part 1 here Last week, we started this 2-part series as Business & Leisure’s yearend report, as we have always done as the year comes to a close. For this, the second part, we start off with the IT-BPAP (Information Technology Business Process Association of the Philippines).  Association president Mr. Jose Mari Mercado said that the outsourcing industry continues to grow this year with $18 billion in sales, with roughly one million Filipinos employed by the industry. Talent is their biggest asset, or liability because like the tourism industry, they are always in search for a certain level of competency and skills, which many of our graduates do not possess. Because of this, they started working with the Dept. of Higher Education and developed a Service Management Program, a 21-unit training program that is now being rolled out in 17 state universities and colleges in the last two years of their college course.  The tourism industry which includes hotels, resorts and casinos is hoping to employ more Filipinos, with one casino advertising to fill out 8,000 positions versus the IT-BPO’s 140,000 expected job vacancies to fill. The health care work coming from the United States continues to top the list of best-performing sectors here as well as the back-office sector, specifically in the field of accounting. With about 3,000 new CPAs every year, the Philippines seems to be an ideal location indeed for this particular need. The fields of animation and game development, however, are not doing as well Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – A group led by a unit of Rockwell Land Corp. has acquired all of Maybank ATR Kim Eng Capital Partners Inc.’s shareholdings in ATR Kim Eng (ATRKE) Land Inc., developer of a 9.7-hectare mixed used residential and commercial complex in Muntinlupa. Rockwell, through wholly owned subsidiary Rockwell Primaries Development Corp., said it has entered into a memorandum of agreement with ATR Holdings Inc. and Dragon Eagle International Ltd. to jointly invest in and acquire all the outstanding common shares of Maybank ATR in ATRKE Land. Rockwell is acquiring majority control or 60-percent interest in ATRKE Land for P561.58 million. The property developer is buying 1.86 million shares at P301.93 apiece. ATR Holdings and Dragon Eagle, meanwhile, will have 20- percent stake each. Rockwell said the acquisition is seen to expand its landbank for the coming years through unit Rockwell Primaries. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Rockwell Primaries is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Lopez family’s property arm which will serve as the company’s vehicle for its upcoming brands. Rockwell was created in 1995 after the shutdown of the thermal power plant of the Lopez Group. The former power plant complex is now a self-contained, mixed-use community with residential towers, office buildings, a shopping mall, and a graduate school. “The transaction will give Rockwell Primaries Development Corp. a majority stake in the remaining undeveloped portion of the Tribeca Project, a 9.7-hectare mixed-use condominium complex in Muntinlupa,” the listed property firm said. ATRKE Land together Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is pushing for the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for the country to achieve sustained long-term economic growth. Aside from education and infrastructure, the DTI considers the development of SMEs as another contributor to the country’s long-term economic growth. “We recognize how important SMEs are, that is why we came up with programs like Shared Services Facilities (SSF), SME Roving Academy, (and) DBFTA (Doing Business in Free Trade Areas),” Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said. The SSF program involves providing equipment to help improve the quality of products of micro (M)SMEs. Under the SME Roving Academy, the DTI provides training to MSMEs, while business information sessions that provide entrepreneurs with knowledge on how to navigate and profit from the country’s free trade agreements are conducted by the department through the DBFTA. As the country holds the chairmanship of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) next year, Domingo said the country would focus on the SME agenda. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “We feel the SME agenda is very important.  We are pushing to simplify the trade rules to make SME’s benefit from global trade. That means simplifying application forms and custom procedures,” he said. Since 2011, the DTI has been pushing this agenda in meetings of APEC, World Trade Organization and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). For his part, Trade Undersecretary Ponciano Manalo, Jr. said the DTI is putting emphasis on SMEs given Read More …

Energy authorities are calling for more investments in biofuels as officials review a current program mandating the blending of biodiesel and ethanol in locally distributed diesel and gasoline. There has been market buzz that local biofuel suppliers are still unable to meet required demand, nearly a decade since the Biofuels Act of 2006 started creating a market for plant-based fuel additives. The measure aims to curb the country’s fuel imports, bring value-added income to farmers, and lessen vehicle emissions with “cleaner” fuel blends. Currently, the mandated blend for coconut based biodiesel is 2 percent under the Biofuels Act of 2006 and authorities are uncertain whether a higher blend of 5 percent may be implemented despite initial enthusiasm from coconut farmers and the Department of Agriculture, DOE Undersecretary Zenaida Monsada said in an interview. “The target for B5 (5 percent blend), really, under the biofuels program, is 2015. We are looking into whether we can still pursue that,” Monsada said. Being the top coconut oil producer, the Philippines has so far been able to locally source the two percent blend for biodiesel. However, recent typhoons have badly hit coconut-producing areas. Combined with the declining coconut oil production from aging trees and loss of productivity from recent infestations, authorities say they want to make sure local farmers can keep up with demand if the blend rate is increased to B5. Compliance with the current 10-percent mandate for ethanol blend in gasoline seems more challenging for the Philippines due to lack of capacity Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo “Albee” Benitez sought yesterday to intervene in the ongoing conflict between members of the board of the Philippine Women’s University and STI Holdings Inc. over the latter’s plan to take over PWU, which reportedly defaulted in its financial obligations. Benitez’s family has a 40-percent equity in PWU (Manila), and Jose Abad Santos Memorial School (JASMS) in Quezon City, while STI obtained 40 percent after bailing out the schools in 2011. The senior lawmaker, who leads the Visayan bloc in the House of Representatives, said he was not fully involved in the negotiations between members of the board and STI but was asked to come in and hold the remaining 20 percent as sort of a balancing factor under the agreement.  “I think we can all settle the matter amicably. I’ll just wait for their heads to cool a bit,” Benitez told The STAR, adding he enjoys good relations with both sides. “We just have to sit down, and I’m sure they are all reasonable people.”  “The reason why the board sought investors is to reform the school and restore it to its old glory, tap experts but along the way there was probably some disagreements of which I’ve to find out,” he said.  “But for STI, what they’re saying is ‘you have not honored obligations for three years, so either you pay us back or be in default,’” he added. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 He said all the Read More …