More Pinoys to pay more for goods from 'responsible' companies

 Economy
Aug 062013
 
More Pinoys to pay more for goods from 'responsible' companies

Staff of a Manila supermarket conduct a meeting after work hours. RAJESH INDIA MANILA, Philippines – More Filipinos are willing to pay more for goods and services from companies that have social impact, research firm Nielsen discovered in a survey. Citing its Global Survey on Corporate Social Responsibility, Nielsen said seven of 10 Filipino consumers are willing to pay more for what those “socially responsible” companies offer, increasing by three points from 2011 results on the same survey. “The positive view of Filipino consumers towards corporate social responsibility runs high. In order to continue getting the support of consumers, authenticity is key.,” Nielsen Philippines managing director Stuart Jamieson said in a statement. Jamieson said this means that loyalty to brands they think are giving back to society is relatively strong–a trait more common in Southeast Asia than in Europe. “More than two-thirds of the respondents in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia – and three-quarters of respondents in India – say they would pay more for goods and services from socially responsible companies, whereas European respondents are least likely to pay extra,” Nielsen said. About 64 percent of Filipinos, however, are also more likely to say they had spent more on products and services from responsible companies. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Companies can do more to connect with consumers through social projects. To have a stronger engagement with consumers, companies should re-access responsibility, work towards sustainable innovation and develop clear and strong messaging,” Jamieson said, advising Read More …

Decade-long Australia mining boom turns to bust

 Economy
Aug 062013
 
Decade-long Australia mining boom turns to bust

In this photo taken on Thursday, June 13, 2013, a worker stands at Coppabella coal mine, southwest of Mackay city, Queensland state, Australia. Falling coal prices have hastened the closure of some financially marginal mines in the region and shed thousands of jobs. AP MACKAY, Australia  — The Australian mining boom built over a decade on Chinese hunger for energy and raw materials is turning into bust for many business owners as China’s cooling growth reverberates through a country accustomed to winning from the rise of an Asian economic giant. Endowed with vast mineral resources, Australia has been the envy of the Western world for avoiding recession during the global financial crisis while other wealthy countries drowned in debt. But the country now faces a potentially painful transition as it weans itself off a heavy reliance on its two biggest exports, coal and iron ore. Australia’s dilemma underscores that China’s long run of supercharged growth has given it enough weight in the world economy to create not only winners, but losers too when its own fortunes change. Trade between Australia and China equaled 7.6 percent of Australia’s $1.5 trillion economy last year, a dramatic threefold increase from a decade earlier, according to an Associated Press analysis of trade data. During that time, mining companies gushed multibillion dollar profits while jobs as mundane as maintenance commanded salaries above $120,000. Now the downside of that tight embrace is being felt across Australia’s mining heartlands and in its bustling cities. The number of Read More …

Infinity Tower row

 Economy
Aug 062013
 
Infinity Tower row

In my last column, I mentioned about this raging controversy at the Infinity Tower condominium involving two groups claiming control over a company that owns units at said condominium. Last July 29, Optimax International Corp., headed by Joaquin Rodriguez Jr., filed a manifestation with a motion to dismiss the case filed by one Martin Nicolo de los Angeles against Quadrillion Property Development Corp. According to Optimax, the case is a deliberate attempt by Byucksan Engineering, Seokwan Hahn, Oliver Bonus, delos Angeles, and their alleged dummy entities namely Archinet International, Greenstone Serviced Residences Makati, the Mendozas, to circumvent the rules against forum shopping and intended to violate an existing preliminary injunction issued by the Makati RTC Branch 66. Optimax owns 60 percent of Beccomax Property and Development Corp. while the rest is owned by Byucksan. Beccomax owns condo units at Infinity Tower. Last April 11, Optimax was able to secure a writ of preliminary injunction from RTC Branch 66, in which order the court enjoined Greenstone Serviced Residences, its president Oliver Bonus, and/or Seokwan Han to turn over the equipments, computer cards/keys, and locks to Quadrillion, and for respondents to stop interfering in the management of the building, the units, parking lot, and bookings on the property being managed by Quadrillion. According to Optimax, the order placed Quadrillion Property Management as the lawful property manager of Infinity Tower and all units of Beccomax until final resolution of the case. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 On July 25, Read More …

Globe's H1 profits up by 13%

 Economy
Aug 062013
 
Globe's H1 profits up by 13%

MANILA, Philippines – Profits of listed Globe Telecom, Inc. jumped by 13 percent from last year’s P5.7 billion to P6.4 billion in the first half of 2013, the company announced on Tuesday. “We are pleased with our first half performance despite the ongoing network and IT (information technology) modernization initiatives we are undertaking to serve our customers better,” Globe president and Chief Executive Officer Ernest Cu said. The company posted consolidated revenues of P44.5 billion, rising by 9 percent from the P40.8 billion in recorded in the first half of 2012. Revenues from Globe’s mobile business hit P35.8 billion, P2.6 billion higher than what it posted in the same period last year. Its broadband arm also generated P5.1 billion in revenues in the first semester, while its fixed line data revenues posted P2.3 billion. Globe’s total number of subscribers, meanwhile, reached 36.1 million in the first half of the year, 14 percent higher than what it recorded in the first of 2012. “We anticipate competition to escalate in the second semester given the gains we’ve realized in the past, and anticipated launches of in-demand mobile devices from Apple and Samsung in the second half of the year. We’ve built up great momentum during the first semester, and we need to strive harder to sustain it in this very competitive and fast paced environment. We remain confident that with the modernized Globe network and IT infrastructure that is nearing its completion, we’ll be able to deliver superior value and differentiated customer Read More …

July inflation slows down to near 4-year low

 Economy
Aug 062013
 
July inflation slows down to near 4-year low

MANILA, Philippines – Prices of goods and services decelerated to a near four-year low with inflation settling at 2.5 percent in July, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported on Tuesday. Inflation in July was slower than the previous month’s 2.7 percent, and the slowest since the 2.3 percent recorded in September 2009.  Year-to-date, inflation settled at 2.9 percent, lower than the central bank’s 3-5-percent target for 2013. Inflation a year ago was at 3.2 percent. “The indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco; clothing and footwear; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house; recreation and culture; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services recorded slower annual increases during the month,” NSO said. Inflation within the National Capital region dropped to 1 percent from June’s 1.6 percent while other areas similarly slowed down to 2.9 percent from 3 percent. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the slow uptick in prices was driven by lower inflation among food items. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “According to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), there were sharp reductions in the prices of vegetables in Metro Manila. These include ampalaya, sitao, cabbage, carrots, baguio beans and white potatoes, while tomatoes posted slower price increases in July 2013 compared to the previous month,” Balisacan said. Data from BAS showed that the average price of ampalaya was cheaper by 10.5 percent, sitao by 2.7 percent, cabbage by 31.5 percent, carrots 21.4 percent, baguio beans by Read More …

Purisima to tax evaders: You can run, but you can't hide

 Economy
Aug 062013
 
Purisima to tax evaders: You can run, but you can't hide

MANILA, Philippines – Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima warned tax evaders on Tuesday while stressing the need to monitor statistics specific to various taxpaying groups. “You can run, but you cannot hide from Commissioner Henares,” he said, referring to efforts being done by Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Henares to chase after citizens who underdeclare or avoid their taxes. Purisima said that part of the Department of Finance’s tax watch campaign is to increase transparency in tax payments and to ask Filipinos to pay the right taxes by revealing insights about the tax base. “We want to raise awareness about tax payments and ask the public if the numbers we observe make sense,” he said. He noted as an example the number of taxpaying pawnshops in the country versus the number being supervised by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). “Why is it that we have 5,230 pawnshops that paid in 2012, but the BSP supervises 6,301? The average tax payment for pawnshops also went down from P363,085 in 2011 to P315,812 in 2012,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 He goes on by saying that in Binondo, a place full of popular Chinatown eateries, there are only 120 registered restaurants with a combined tax of P156,780 in 2012, lower than the P222,000 posted in 2010. “This average is lower than the average tax payment of restaurants in Baguio, Tarlac, Legaspi City, and the Cordillera Administrative Region. Is that right?” he said. He added Read More …

T-bills still below 1%

 Economy
Aug 052013
 
T-bills still below 1%

MANILA, Philippines – Interest rates on treasury bills remain below one percent following Monday’s auction with mixed results and the government raising only P13.85 billion or just 70 percent of its planned offer size. The Bureau of Treasury rejected some bids for the six-month and one-year debt instruments to control the rates on the longer tenor government securities. The yield on the 91-day T-bills declined by 7.7 basis points to an average of 0.589 percent from the 0.666 percent in the previous monthly auction. Demand for the three-month debt paper was strong with bids reaching P5.91 billion compared with the P4 billion on offer. The government, however, accepted only P4 billion worth of bids in line with its borrowing plan. The rate for the 182-day paper, on the other hand, rose by 2.4 basis points to .897 from 0.873 percent the previous month. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Bids for the six-month bills stood at P7.5 billion, exceeding the offering volume of P6 billion. Despite the oversubscription, the BTR accepted only P4.85 billion worth of bids. Meanwhile, the yield on the 364-day bills dropped by 26.7 basis points to 0.933 percent from 1.2 percent. The one-year government securities attracted only P7.78 billion or less than the P10 billion on offer.

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