7 foreign firms show interest in Phl

 Economy
Oct 032014
 
7 foreign firms show interest in Phl

MANILA, Philippines – Seven firms engaged in game development and publishing are interested in doing business in the Philippines, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said. According to DTI, the firms that conveyed their interest in the country are Blizzard Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Square Enix-Eidos, Microsoft Studios, Activision and 2K. “Filipino-American game development executives and expatriates in Canada and the United States have also expressed support for the growth and promotion of the Philippine game development industry,” Trade undersecretary Ponciano Manalo, Jr. said. The firms expressed their interest to explore opportunities in the Philippines during the External Development Summit (XDS) held in Vancouver in Canada last month. The DTI, in collaboration with the Game Developers Association of the Philippines and Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc., organized a Philippine delegation to participate in the XDS. During the event, the Philippine participants met with 28 major game developers and publishers, and encouraged them to consider opportunities here. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 XDS is the first professionals-only video games industry event mainly focused on external development outsourcing for art, animation and software engineering. The event, which is targeted at those involved in outsourcing as well as service providers and technology providers, offers a platform to promote cooperative advancement of external development practices for the game industry. Manalo said the Philippines’ participation in XDS is a timely prelude to the country’s Philippine Game Festival 2014 being held at the SMX Mall of Asia in Pasay City Read More …

MAILBOX: No partnership

 Economy
Oct 032014
 
MAILBOX: No partnership

With reference to The Philippine STAR article entitled “MPIC to further expand tie-up with Spain’s Indra” (Business, page 4) published Monday, 29 September 2014, we would like to call your attention to the second paragraph of the third column of the said story, to wit: “It (AF Consortium) has also partnered with Indra for the bidding of the P3.44-billion Land Transportation Office (LTO) information technology system project to make it easier for authorities to recover stolen vehicles, trace smuggled vehicles, prevent double registration and monitor unregistered vehicles.” For the record, the AF Consortium is composed only of the following firms: AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp., BPI Card Finance Corp., Globe Telecom Inc., Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Meralco Financial Services Corp., and Smart Communications Inc. The AF Consortium has since been incorporated into AFCS, Inc., the vehicle meant to deliver the Automated Fare Collection System (AFCS) Public-Private Partnership project owned by the consortium members who are, in turn, now shareholders. Moreover, AFCS, Inc. has not partnered with Indras Systemas SA to jointly undertake any project. We would appreciate a correction at the soonest possible time to disabuse any possible misinformation this oversight may have caused. Your kindest consideration will be most appreciated. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Sincerely, Celso Bernard G. Lopez Chief Operating Office AF Consortium

SM Prime China Malls cited anew

 Economy
Oct 032014
 
SM Prime China Malls cited anew

MANILA, Philippines – Property conglomerate SM Prime Holdings, Inc. clinched three major awards at the 12th Annual Conference of Mall China International Symposium hosted by China Shopping Center Development Association (Mall China).  SM Prime was awarded with the Mall China Golden Mall Awards 2014 City Advancement Award for its SM City Xiamen/SM Lifestyle Center. The SM City Chengdu Chenghua, on the other hand, received the Mall China Golden Mall Awards 2014 Community Shopping Center Award, while the SM City Chongqing Yubei won the Mall China Golden Mall Awards 2014 Regional Shopping Center Award. The awarding ceremony was held on Sept. 22, 2014 in Beijing. Mall China highly recognized SM Prime’s expertise in shopping mall development and operations as well as its brand competitiveness. It said that SM Prime’s shopping malls have demonstrated “beyond-standard capabilities in infrastructure optimization, brand selection and distribution, attentive customer services, and innovative culture.” This is the second win in Year 2014 for SM Prime after garnering two Mall China Awards on April 7. “With the dramatic growth of the business and the challenges of rising e-commerce, we will stick to the SM philosophy of consistent endeavor on the brand, culture, service and innovation,” Allan Brosas, AVP Operations of SM China said.  Established in 2002, Mall China is the first non-profit organization in Mainland China catering to China’s retail property sector with 700 corporate members of investors, developers, operators, retailers and relevant service agencies. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The Golden Mall Awards aims to promote the best Read More …

Security Bank to venture into more areas outside Luzon

 Economy
Oct 032014
 
Security Bank to venture into more areas outside Luzon

MANILA, Philippines – Security Banking Corp.is planning to make its presence felt in more areas outside its Luzon stronghold. Alberto S. Villarosa, Security Bank president and chief executive officer, said locations for future branch expansion is eyed in the Visayas and Mindanao, particularly in areas like Cebu and Davao. “What we are now doing is looking at selective provincial areas where we are either not present in or we’re under-represented and that’s where we’re focusing on,” he said. Villarosa, however, said the planned expansion would not be “as extensive” as it was in recent years, when the company opened 50 branches in two years’ time. “We’re almost over in terms of the number of branches where we want to be,” he said. As of end-June this year, Security Bank has grown its combined network to 253 branches from 117 branches six years ago. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Villarosa said the bank would open three more new branches before the year ends. Security Bank’s move to put up more branches outside Luzon is part of the company’s plan to enhance its retail banking activities in the coming years. Villarosa said Security Bank remains bullish on expanding its presence in retail banking in the short term. “We expect that our retail bank in the next three to four years will be strong contributor of total business. We’re really looking at a model where a corporate bank, the commercial bank and the retail bank will be equal contributors Read More …

Megaworld consortium secures P2.9-B loan for Orthopedic Center

 Economy
Oct 032014
 
Megaworld consortium secures P2.9-B loan for Orthopedic Center

MANILA, Philippines – The consortium led by Megawide Construction Corp. has secured a P2.9-billion loan from state-run banks to finance the rehabilitation of the decades-old Philippine Orthopedic Center in Quezon City. In a disclosure to the local stock exchange, Megawide said its joint venture with World Citi Inc. had entered into an omnibus loan and security agreement with Land Bank of the Philippines, Land Bank of the Philippines-Trust Banking Group and Development Bank of the Philippines. “That is only a portion of the financing requirements,” Megawide chief financial officer Oliver Tan said, adding that the loan will have a 12-year tenor. “Interest will be set on the drawdown date,” he said. Megawide World Citi Consortium Inc. won last year the P5.7-billion Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project involving the modernization of the Philippine Orthopedic Center. The build-operate-transfer project features the construction of a 700-bed super-specialty tertiary orthopedic hospital located within the National Kidney and Transplant Institute compound along East Ave. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Megawide, which started as a contractor for residential towers particularly those of SM Development Corp., corners 15 to 17 percent of the high-rise construction business in the Philippines and is currently one of the country’s top building contractors. World Citi, its partner for the hospital upgrading project, operates the 276-bed World Citi Medical Center on Aurora Blvd. Megawide’s net profit dropped 26 percent to P556.06 million in the first half of this year from P747.96 million in 2013 as it jacked up expenses Read More …

Scheme to boost tuna exports

 Economy
Oct 022014
 

THE GENERALIZED System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) of the European Union (EU) will give a boost to the Filipino tuna industry, Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said in a forum in Tayabas, Quezon last week, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said in a press release.

(UPDATE) Phl bourse extends losses on negative news

 Economy
Oct 022014
 
(UPDATE) Phl bourse extends losses on negative news

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – The Philippine stock market further extended its losses today following strings of negative news overseas. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index dived by 0.99 percent or 71.80 points to 7,196.26, while the broader all-share index fell by 1.009 percent or 43.33 points to 4,250.52. Trading volume reached 40.37 million shares worth P9.41 billion ($209.27 million) with 139 stocks declining, 41 advancing, and 47 were unchanged. All six counters were down. “Stock prices resumed it downward trek following Wednesday’s brief respite as investors took notice of the post-Fed stimulus scenario,” analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said in his daily stock market comment. US stocks fell 238 points overnight. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Europe has started its trading day well in the red. Crude oil, both WTI and Brent, silver and copper prices dropped. Gold added $3.10 to $1,218 per ounce. The peso weakened to 44.966 pesos against a dollar. Markets across Asia were in the red with the benchmark MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipping for a fifth straight day. Meanwhile, protesters dug their heels in the streets of Hong Kong, providing little impetus for investors to enter the equities aggressively. Investors at the local bourse slumped right off the bat, leaving little room for the bulls to maneuver, he said. “Negativity was pervasive throughout the session with the PSEI dipping briefly below the 6,170 support before gradually picking up towards the close,” Calaycay said. Stocks in the 30-company index Read More …

Stocks close 0.99 pct lower

 Economy
Oct 022014
 
Stocks close 0.99 pct lower

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – Philippine shares closed 0.99 percent lower today. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index decreased by 71. 80 points to 7,196.26. The all-share index also went down by 43.33 points, or 1.009 percent, to 4,250.52.   Trading volume reached 40.37 billion shares worth P9.41 billion ($209.27 million).   There were 41 gainers, 139 losers while 47 stocks closed flat.  

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