Maniolas

The stock market’s recovery was short-lived, closing in negative territory again yesterday as it tracked regional bourses which reflected investor concerns on European banking woes. STAR/File photo MANILA, Philippines – The stock market’s recovery was short-lived, closing in negative territory again yesterday as it tracked regional bourses which reflected investor concerns on European banking woes. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) plunged 85.13 points, or 1.10 percent, to settle at 7,629.73. Similarly, the broader All Shares index finished at 4,533.24, down 40.15 points or 0.87 percent. Most of the counters likewise ended in the red, with the services and property sectors, closing in negative territory. Total value turnover reached P13.58 billion. Decliners beat advancing stocks, 119 to 65 while 45 stocks did not move. The market tracked regional marts yesterday which extended their losses on worries about the health of the Deutsche Bank. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Shares of the German lender slumped to a record low following reports that its trading clients had withdrawn excess cash. Clients reacted to the bank’s $14 billion fine slapped but the US Department of Justice over its sale of mortgage-backed securities. Deutsche Bank is Germany’s biggest bank which has been struggling for years, highlighting the need to push through with much needed financial sector reforms. To allay fears of investors, the bank said it had entered into a deal to sell its subsidiary and that it was not seeking support from the government. Investors, however, fear that Read More …

BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said outstanding loans of commercial banks grew 17.3 percent to P5.48 trillion in end-August from P4.67 trillion in end-August last year. STAR/File photo MANILA, Philippines – Bank lending growth remained steady in August on the back of strong demand from corporate and retail borrowers, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday. BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said outstanding loans of commercial banks grew 17.3 percent to P5.48 trillion in end-August from P4.67 trillion in end-August last year. The latest growth rate was slightly lower than the 17.7 percent expansion recorded in July. Tetangco said loans for production activities increased 17.3 percent to P4.88 trillion from P4.16 trillion and accounted for 89.2 percent of the bank’s total loan portfolio in end-June. Data showed loans to real estate activities went up 19.5 percent to P967.92 billion and accounted for 17.7 percent of the total loan portfolio, while lending to the manufacturing sector increased 7.7 percent to P766.86 billion for a 14 percent share. Loans to the wholesale and retail trade as well as repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles rose 15.9 percent to P757.57 billion for a 13.8 percent share, while lending to electricity, gas, steam and airconditioning supply surged 30.9 percent to P634.28 billion for an 11.6 percent share. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 On the other hand, loans for household consumption went up 20.3 percent to P436.23 billion in end-August from P362.65 billion in end-August last year. Statistics showed motor Read More …

TEO ATTENDS IFTM TOP RESA SHOW: Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon Teo (middle) with DOT director for Market Development Group Verna Buensuceso (right) discuss business with one of the French tour operators at the IFTM Top Resa show held in Paris, France last Sept. 20-23.    MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Tourism (DOT) is setting its sights on the emerging market of France and plans to double tourists arrivals from the country to the Philippines by 2020. DOT Secretary Wanda Teo said the agency wants to tap into the growing market of French tourists in the country and entice more of them to visit in the next four years. “The French travel market is prominently figuring on our radar as more and more tourists from that side of the world consider the Philippines as their choice of destination. And it is our goal to double these numbers in the next four years,” Teo said. In 2015, a total of 45,505 tourists from France were reported to have visited the Philippines. They also contributed $34 million in tourist receipts during the period. Now, France has been identified as one of the top 20 emerging markets of Philippine tourism, registering a growth of 21.96 percent in the first seven months of 2016 to 35,378 arrivals from 29,007 in the same period last year. To double the number of French visitors by 2020, Teo said the DOT would intensify its marketing strategy and further utilize social media to promote destinations in the Philippines. Read More …

“What is your culture and how is it working for you in your business organization?” This is the question I throw to my clients very often when they want to acquire my training services. Business owners invest in new machineries, new office spaces and facilities, new processes, marketing campaigns and a lot of other things, but one of the most neglected areas is the lack of investment in their company culture. The number one challenge for every business organization whether small, medium or large is alignment. And a lack of culture or even worst, a bad company culture, can destroy the business. Futurist Peter Diamandis interviewed Jeff Holden, the current chief product officer of Uber. Holden has held leadership roles at three hyper-growing companies in the past – Amazon.com, Groupon and his current company Uber. Holden gave some very practical principles on the importance of creating culture and learning as worthy investments. 1. You have to continually invest in culture Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Jeff Bezos has a relentless obsession with culture and customer-centricity at Amazon. He explained, “Bezos was a fantastic leader and he invested in making the company durable. He was continuously investing in the culture.” “I worked at customer service one Christmas, and I remember this woman who was traveling to Russia for the holidays. She ordered all of these Christmas presents, and they weren’t going to make it there on time. She called customer service, worried sick.” Receiving that concern, the Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – It’s all systems go for the market debut of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. after obtaining the approval of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to proceed with its P29.7 billion initial public offering (IPO). Shell earlier obtained the green light from the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell shares to the public for the first time. According to its revised offer term sheet posted on the PSE website yesterday, Shell’s offer period will run from Oct. 19 to 25 while the listing of the shares has been set on Nov. 3. The offer price will be finalized on Oct. 13. The company is offering 330 million shares including an over allotment of up to 30 million for a maximum P90 per share. Proceeds from the sale of primary offer shares, amounting to P2.7 billion, will fund capital expenditures and other requirements. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Selling shareholders, who will sell 270 million secondary shares, will get P26.48 billion in net proceeds. According to the term sheet, up to 90 million firm shares or 30 percent will be offered to trading participants and retail investors. Shell’s IPO took 18 years and four administrations — Ramos, Estrada, Arroyo and Aquino – to finally happen. The Oil Deregulation Act of 1998 mandates oil companies including Shell to list at least 10 percent of their common stock within a period of three years since the effectivity of the law. Shell plans to use bulk of the proceeds Read More …