Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – A subsidiary of Japanese engineering and electronics firm Toshiba  Corp. is seeking incentives from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) for the local production of hard disk drives.     “Toshiba Information Equipment Philippines Inc. with plant site at the  Laguna Technopark – Special Economic Zone has filed with the PEZA an application for pioneer status to be granted to its production of new  generation 2.5-inch  hard disk drive based on newness of product and  technology,” the PEZA said in a published notice yesterday.    PEZA said the application has been officially accepted and is  currently being processed.    If approved, the firm would be able to enjoy income tax holidays for six years. The PEZA, an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry,  is tasked to promote investments, extend assistance, register, grant incentives as well as facilitate the business operations of investors  engaged in export-oriented manufacturing in areas proclaimed by the President of the Philippines as PEZA Special Economic Zones.    Aside from export manufacturing, other activities which could qualify  for PEZA registration and incentives are information technology service export, tourism, medical tourism, agro-industrial export  manufacturing, agro-industrial biofuel manufacturing and logistics and  warehousing services.    Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 PEZA, likewise, gives incentives to firms engaged in the development and  operation of economic zones.    The government offers incentives to encourage investments to be made  in the country.  

WINNING MukhAsim Smile: Cris, a small negosyante in the Malcapuya island. We are on our second leg of our sailing trip, bringing our kids to see how beautiful our provinces are. Our first leg, which I wrote about in my earlier column, was a visit to Moalboal, Oslob, Sumilon island and Bohol. It was a fantastic adventure. In the second leg, we took friends who have never been to Coron and Busuanga and they were amazed at how beautiful our country really is. Everyone hears about El Nido of Palawan and Boracay.  Indeed they are considered the best in the world, but Coron, Busuanga and the Calamines islands have great potential too. I have been 15 days at sea, just having to go home for some days to attend board meetings, as this is our only chance to sail when the sea is calm and our kids are on summer vacation and we are with friends to appreciate our own country and the different cultures of each area. The expansion of the big boys in tourism is happening now; Discovery just took over Club Paradise in Busuanga, the Regency Group of Boracay has started developments in Bohol and has taken over the best island in Coron called Malcapuya island. I just hope they don’t make this a high density hotel. Huma, owned by some foreign group, hopefully will be more accommodating to local tourist as we have been rejected from landing in the resort last year. The two Seasons group Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Job hunting is undeniably a challenging experience and although technology and social media provide many tools to connect applicants to potential employers, a call for an appointment is not always guaranteed. To address this issue, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) together with the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) will hold the biggest Job Fair of the year on Labor Day, May 1, 2014 at all SM Supermalls nationwide. This event allows jobseekers to explore from various job opportunities, be interviewed by potential employers, and even get hired on the same day. SM Supermalls, being home to over 300, 000 employees, continues to make efforts in providing jobs to the growing Filipino workforce. Coming from a huge success last year in which 2, 400 companies joined and 394, 000 jobs were offered, this year’s Job Fair is expected to be as successful. So this coming Labor Day, be sure not to miss this big opportunity. Ready your resumes, dress to impress, and go to the nearest SM malls near you. For a complete list of the 49 participating malls and drop boxes for the Job Fair, please visit www. smsupermalls.com or www.facebook.com/smsupermalls.

PRICES of flour and bread will remain unchanged, even as the Department of Agriculture (DA) imposed provisional higher duties on imported Turkish wheat flour, local millers yesterday said.

MANILA, Philippines – Security Bank Corp. posted a net income of P1.43 billion in the first three months of the year, up 17 percent from a year ago. Security Bank president & CEO Alberto Villarosa said the better earnings performance was primarily driven by the 43 percent growth in the bank’s net interest income. The income for the first three months of the year resulted in a return on shareholders’ equity of 13.8 percent. As of end-March 2014, total resources grew to P377 billion, up 46 percent from the same period in 2013. The bank’s loan portfolio increased 39 percent to P166 billion while deposits stood at P211 billion or 49 percent higher than the comparative period in 2013. Capital grew 11 percent to P42 billion as of March 31, 2014. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Villarosa said they recently received Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas (BSP) approval of the regular semestral cash dividend of 50-centavo per share and a special cash dividend of 50-centavo per share earlier declared by the bank’s board on March 25, 2014. The record date for the P1 per share cash dividend is May 7, 2014 and the payment date is June 2, 2014. The bank opened 36 new branches in 2013, bringing its network to 244.