Phl hosts AsPac Drive Tourism Conference

 Economy
Jan 292014
 
Phl hosts AsPac Drive Tourism Conference

MANILA, Philippines – Explore the Philippines’ countryside charm and cultural gems through driving at the first Asia Pacific Drive Tourism Conference, Auto and Travel show scheduled at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center on Jan. 29 to Feb. 2, 2014. A first of its kind in the country, the five-day confab and expo is presented by the Department of Tourism (DOT) and Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP), the National Auto Club and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). Keynoting the event are Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. and Jean Todt, president of the Paris-based Federation Internationale d’Automobile (FIA), the world’s largest group of car clubs and motorsports associations with over 200 member organizations in 132 countries. Other invited speakers are the transport ministers of Sri Lanka, Malaysia and New Zealand, and the tourism ministers of Nepal, Maldives, Palau, Bhutan and Thailand, Automobile Association of Upper India president TK Malhotra and FIA Region 2 president Ross Heron, as well as representatives from the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). The conference will serve as the market launch of the DOT’s Drive Tourism program in coordination with AAP which aims to consolidate the components of all tourism-oriented road and driving activities. “Drive Tourism is where participants move through a tourism highway or road network that allows them to see diverse attractions on the road and experience the local way of life,” says Jimenez. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: Read More …

PSALM to rebid Leyte power plant contract

 Economy
Jan 292014
 
PSALM to rebid Leyte power plant contract

MANILA, Philippines – The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), the government agency tasked to privatize state-owned power assets, will rebid the selection and appointment of the Unified Leyte independent power producer administrators (IPPAs) for bulk energy, its top official said. PSALM president Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said that the rebidding would be in September 2015. But while PSALM said it would rebid the selection of IPPAs for Unified Leyte’s bulk energy, it already approved the award of IPPAs for the strips of energy but the issuance of certificate of effectivity will be moved by one year because of Super Typhoon Yolanda which affected the Unified Leyte plant. This after the winning bidder, Unified Leyte Geothermal Energy Inc. (ULGEI) withdrew from the project. “The board (of PSALM) approved the withdrawal of ULGEI as winning bidder for bulk energy,” Ledesma said. ULGEI tendered a bid of P215 million for the Unified Leyte IPPA for bulk energy and met the reserve price set by the PSALM board but consequently withdrew from the project. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 According to PSALM, an IPPA for the bulk energy will have the right to the capacity in excess of the 240-megawatt sum of strips. The obligation to trade ULGPP’s total output (bulk and sum of strips, as well as the necessary registration applications required by the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market shall lie solely with the IPPA for the bulk energy, PSALM said. Unified Leyte is composed of the 125-MW Read More …

Isuzu targets record sales of 15,000 units

 Economy
Jan 292014
 
Isuzu targets record sales of 15,000 units

MANILA, Philippines – Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) intends to achieve record-high sales of 15,000 units this year as it expects strong demand for the D-Max pickup and its trucks. “This year, we are targeting sales to reach 15,000 units,” IPC president Nobuo Izumina told reporters. A total of 11,793 Isuzu vehicles were sold in the country last year, up slightly from the 11,759 sold in 2012. The firm is banking on the D-Max pickup introduced in the market in September to hit a new sales milestone. “There is reason why we are optimistic because we launched the D-Max last year and we are aiming for higher share in the pickup segment,” IPC executive vice president Takashi Tomita told reporters. As of last year, the company accounted for a 12- to 13-percent share in the local pickup market. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Tomita said the firm iaims to produce 4,300 units of the D-Max pickup at its plant in Biñan, Laguna for the local market to increase its share in the pickup market to 20 percent this year. Aside from the D-Max pickup, the company likewise expects higher sales this year to be supported by demand for trucks. “The government announced investments for infrastructure like roads, railroad and airport, so we see more demand for trucks,” Izumina said. While the firm is upbeat on the growth of its sales and the local automotive market this year, it is pushing for more government support to encourage companies Read More …

SM Prime to bring in more upscale global brands

 Economy
Jan 282014
 
SM Prime to bring in more upscale global brands

MANILA, Philippines – SM Prime Holdings Inc. is completing its retail portfolio as it introduces upscale global brands in its existing shopping malls. The consolidated property group of the SM mall and banking conglomerate is investing P36 billion this year, mostly to expand its shopping malls that will include more upscale brands, company officials said. The Mega Fashion Hall at SM Megamall opened yesterday its doors, offering a premier shopping, dining and lifestyle destination. “This is a new concept we are really trying to introduce, its the aspirational side,” said SM Prime president Hans T. Sy. “The market really asks for it. The market really demands it so we’re just answering,” Steven Tan, vice-president for SM Supermalls’ Premier Division, told reporters. The 86,000-square meter new wing of SM Megamall is home to flagship stores of the world’s most popular fashion brands Uniqlo and Zara. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Many new global brands will likewise be opening their first store’s in the Philippines at the new wing, including Switzerland’s H&M, Denmark’s Vero Moda, Spain’s Pull & Bear and Uno de 50, LA-based Joe’s Jeans, London’s Savile Row and Burton, French shoe brand Nao de Brasil and US skincare label Philosophy. SM Prime chief finance officer Jeffrey Lim said the company is investing P36 billion this year to expand its presence in the country’s shopping mall and residential sector. Several shopping malls will have a separate area for high-end shops, Sy said. Tan said H&M is also Read More …

Regulatory failure

 Economy
Jan 282014
 
Regulatory failure

Any which way I look, it is obvious that the power price surge is due to regulatory failure. Even if there is collusion among generators or among generators and the NGCP and Meralco, government is still to blame for failure to detect it and stop it. Deregulating such politically sensitive industries like oil and power is always fraught with danger of abuse by the industry participants. The tricky thing here is how to calibrate the proper regulatory environment to keep everyone in the straight and narrow. My watch with the energy bureaucracy was during a much different time. It was martial law and we had a very competent energy secretary and a bureaucracy inherited from ESSO and FilOil that knew what they were doing. The late Energy minister Ronnie Velasco had a degree in engineering and graduate studies in management. He was strategic in his thinking and knew how to get the results he wanted. He was at home with the technical stuff, had a way with numbers and knew how to get good staff and delegate to them. Velasco also had full control of both the oil side and the power side, being CEO of both PNOC and NPC. If he needed to get anything done, he had the resources and manpower to get it done. If, for instance, world oil prices have gone down substantially but the local multinationals refused to reflect the downturn quickly, Petron could, as indeed it often did, unilaterally put down the prices first Read More …

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