Philam Life launches 2 new products

 Economy
Jun 282013
 
Philam Life launches 2 new products

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philam Life) has launched two new unit-linked products (ULP) in its life insurance line in a bid to boost its premium income this year. ULPs are life insurance products laced with investment instruments, otherwise referred to as protection and savings/investment. It is also known in the industry as variables or unit linked (VULs). The two ULPs are priced at affordable pricing points, with variants that require merely P2,000 a month in premiums. Philam Life marketing head Jessica C. Abaya said their VUL sales are now outpacing traditional or pure protection products. “About 80 percent of sales so far are ULPs,” Abaya said in a briefing yesterday. Last year, ULPs accounted for nearly 60 percent of total sales. She expressed confidence that the new products will boost the sale of traditional and ULPs as the highly-liquid market is hungry for both investments and protection. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Only four percent of the country’s population have personal life insurance products,” she said. Nearly 19 percent of the country’s population are holders of some form of protection, majority of which are government funds such as the Government Security and Insurance System (GSIS), PhilHealth and the Social Security System (SSS). However, the gradual demise of special deposit accounts (SDAs) means there is roughly P1 trillion that will return to the market in search of new options. Philam Life reported total premiums of P15.29 billion in 2012, from P13.35 Read More …

BAT joins call for stricter monitoring of illicit cigarettes

 Economy
Jun 282013
 
BAT joins call for stricter monitoring of illicit cigarettes

MANILA, Philippines – British American Tobacco (BAT), the maker of Lucky Strike cigarettes, has joined calls for stricter monitoring of illicit trade of cigarettes, which has grown to epic proportions and is seen to cost the Philippine government some P8 billion in potential revenues. BAT Philippines corporate and regulatory affairs head Robert Eugenio said the British firm would support moves to protect the local market from illegal tobacco products sold by smugglers. “We strongly support close monitoring by government to ensure that everyone follows the law and pays the right taxes,” Eugenio said. Eugenio said the government and the local tobacco industry should unite in safeguarding the sector against unscrupulous groups that evade tax payments by illegally bringing in cigarettes into the country. LT Group Inc., the local partner of market leader Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp., earlier expressed concern over the rising illegal trade of cigarettes in the country, which poses serious problems to legitimate businesses. Eugenio said BAT has been closely working with governments and law enforcement agencies globally to tackle illegal tobacco produce. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Driving the tobacco industry out of business altogether will not end all smoking overnight. The reality is adults who wish to smoke will continue to do so and they will turn to the black market if a legal industry is not in place,’’ Eugenio said. “Sophisticated network of criminals are ready and waiting to step in and take over if the legitimate tobacco industry didn’t Read More …

Sun Cellular sees sustained growth in mobile Internet revenues

 Economy
Jun 282013
 
Sun Cellular sees sustained growth in mobile Internet revenues

MANILA, Philippines – Sun Cellular, a unit of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), sees a sustained growth in mobile internet revenues on the back of improved nationwide coverage and robust sales of smartphones. Sun Cellular vice president for data services Michele Curran said in a statement that the company hopes to sustain the 71-percent growth in mobile Internet revenues in the first quarter of the year as improved nationwide coverage and the strong sales of its attractive smartphone offerings boosted demand for mobile Internet services.  “Given the market shift to smartphones, we have taken a proactive stance in addressing the growing market of data users. We continue to expand our network reach, boost browsing speeds and focus even more closely on addressing the specific browsing needs of consumers,” Curran stressed. He pointed out that Sun Cellular generated a 53- percent revenue increase in its pay-per-use mobile Internet services and a robust 76-percent growth in its revenues for mobile internet add-on plans compared to the first quarter of 2012. Banking on the capacity of smartphones as mobile platforms for online-based content, he said Sun Cellular has complemented its regular browsing services by introducing its series of “Forever Loads” which offer unlimited access to top social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo!.

Manila Water spends P346M for sewer network

 Economy
Jun 282013
 
Manila Water spends P346M for sewer network

MANILA, Philippines – East zone concessionaire Manila Water Company is shelling out P346 million for a 3.2-kilometer sewer network to benefit about half a million residents in San Mateo, Rizal and Marikina City. Manila Water Strategic Asset Management Group Director Abelardo Basilio said the project, treating sewage flows from portions of San Mateo and Marikina, is set to be finished within a year. “The first segment of Marikina North sewer network is set to bring forth the first flows of sewage that will be treated at the 100 million liters per day Sewage Treatment Plant being constructed at Marikina City,” Basilio said. Currently, Manila Water operates 37 sewage treatment facilities and two septage treatment plants with a total wastewater treatment capacity of 500 million liters per day. The company has also so far installed 109,717 sewer connections serving 158,242 households in the East zone. Manila Water said it plans to expand its sewerage service coverage, with Basilio adding that before 1997, there were only 3 percent sanitation coverage in the East zone. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The Ayala-led company provides water utility services to  6.2 million residents in Quezon City, Manila, Marikina, Pasig, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Pateros, Makati, Taguig and several towns in Rizal.

Public service

 Economy
Jun 272013
 
Public service

Having just returned from an extended trip abroad, I am shocked at the headlines regarding Department of Labor personnel accused of “sex for fly”.  Even assuming they are guilty, I hasten to confirm that those instances are the exception rather than the rule. It may not be as newsworthy but there are individuals who have served the nation with dignity and commitment to excellence which greatly outnumber the sorry lot that give public service a bad name. I would like to cite two examples of individuals who have made immense contribution to our national interest and yet have managed to keep under the radar despite their very senior positions in government and the private sector. Tomas I. Alcantara He cannot be categorized as a career public servant although he continued to serve the public interest long after his brief stint in government. Tommy belongs to a prosperous Davao family.  He graduated from Ateneo de Manila, went to Harvard for his MBA and then to Columbia for an Advanced Management Program. He then went into private business as was expected of him.  In 1986, he was invited to join the government of President Cory Aquino as undersecretary of Trade and Industry, a position he occupied for nine years.  I first met him in 1992 when I was in DFA.  He impressed me as a driven individual, politely aggressive but fiercely stubborn if prevented from getting the job done.  During my first trip to Japan, he volunteered to join my delegation.  It Read More …

Phl needs $600-M investment for energy efficiency, says ADB

 Economy
Jun 272013
 
Phl needs $600-M investment for energy efficiency, says ADB

MANILA, Philippines – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is eyeing to accelerate investments in end-user energy efficiency to help Asia Pacific economies meet the growing demand for power. At the 8th Asia Clean Energy Forum organized by the ADB, Bindu Lohani, ADB vice-president for knowledge management and sustainable development, said the Philippines needs $601 million in investments for energy efficiency from now up to 2020. He said there is huge potential for saving energy by making buildings, vehicles, machinery and water pumps more energy efficient to the benefit of consumers and the environment, and the time is right for ADB to do more in the area. “We want to promote demand-side energy efficiency through public and private sector partnership with ADB taking a lead role in providing customized policy advisory services, technical assistance and innovate financing support in developing member countries,” Lohani said. In a new ADB study, the multilateral lender noted the booming demand for power in developing Asia. In the study, the ADB said the region’s share in primary global energy consumption is set to rise to 56 percent in 2035 from only 34 percent in 2010. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 By then, the ADB said most Asian countries will produce less than half of the energy they need, forcing substantial fuel imports. The ADB study said if governments push for more energy efficiency investments, there would be less need to build power plants. This would free up government funds for spending elsewhere. Read More …

Stocks extend rally as global markets recover

 Economy
Jun 272013
 
Stocks extend rally as global markets recover

MANILA, Philippines – Hefty recoveries in global and regional markets spread to the local bourse yesterday, allowing the main index to rally for the second straight day en route to returning to the 6,300 level. The Philippine Stock Exchange index climbed 3.42 percent or 209.06 points to end at 6,328, while the broader All Shares index jumped 3.14 percent or 117.94 points to 3,877.61. Justino Calaycay Jr., an analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp., said investors kept an eye on overseas development amid lack of market-moving news locally. “With share prices in Europe posting decent gains and US stocks extending a triple-digit advance to day two, local counters joined its regional peers in the green,” Calaycay said. On Wednesday, Wall St. rose for the second straight day on the back of a downward adjustment in US first quarter economic growth, which might prompt the Federal Reserve to keep its stimulus program longer. The Dow Jones industrial average picked up one percent or 149.83 points to 14,910.14 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained one percent or 15.23 points to 1,603.26. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In regional markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 2.96 percent or 379.54 points to 13,213.55 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index inched up 0.52 percent or 104.80 points to 20,443.35 on easing worries over the credit crunch in China. Locally, all counters were in positive territory, led by holding firms that rallied 4.15 percent or 225.81 points to 5,669.50.

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