Japanese e-vehicle maker ties up with Phl firm

 Economy
Jun 132013
 
Japanese e-vehicle maker ties up with Phl firm

MANILA, Philippines – Japanese electric vehicle maker Terra Motors Corp. has forged a  partnership with a local firm for the manufacture of electric vehicles  in Laguna for the domestic market and for export, an official said.    Terra Motors chief executive officer Toru Tokushige told reporters in  a briefing yesterday that they have partnered with a local firm for  the assembly of electric vehicles here.    “We have invested $20 million for the production of electric vehicles  here. Most of the investment will go to procurement of parts,” he  said.    He noted that the facility in Laguna has a production capacity of  10,000 units per year.    The electric vehicles to be assembled in the site would be for the  local market as well as for export.    Tokushige said the firm plans to participate in the bidding for  the Asian Development Bank (ADB)  and Department of Energy’s (DOE)  e-tricycle project next week.    Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The project involves the roll-out of 100,000 e-tricycles to local  government units until 2016. Tokushige said the firm has already developed a sample e-tricycle unit  based on the design provided by the ADB and DOE.    If Terra Motors would be selected for the project, he said the  e-tricycles would be manufactured here.    He added other electric vehicles such as electric-bicycles would  be produced here.    “We already have orders from customers in Thailand and Indonesia,” he said.    The firm, he added, plans to seek incentives from the Board of  Investments for their manufacturing Read More …

Sun Life retains top spot in life insurance sector

 Economy
Jun 132013
 
Sun Life retains top spot in life insurance sector

MANILA, Philippines – Sun Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc. has once again claimed the top spot in the local insurance industry based on premium income in 2012. In the official rankings released by the Insurance Commission on premium income, Sun Life capped 2012 with net premium income of P20.1 billion, up 44 percent from a year ago. The year-end result has again made Sun Life the country’s number one life insurance company. Sun Life topped the industry in 2011 with its net premium income of P13.9 billion. Sun Life also led the industry in new business, with P3.2 billion in weighted first year premiums, 36 percent higher than the previous year’s level. Combining these results with that of our joint venture company with the Yuchengco Group, Sun Life Grepa Financial, Inc., which posted P5.8 billion in premiums in 2012, the Sun Life group in the Philippines made P26 billion in premium income, 86 percent more than 2011. In a statement, Sun Life Philippines president and CEO Riza Mantaring said: “2012 was again another stellar year for Sun Life. Not only did we break records in our life business, we posted robust gains in mutual funds where our balanced and equity funds were among the best performing funds in the industry. Assets under management of our mutual funds business stood at P28.7 billion as of year-end 2012.” The Sun Life chief attributed the company’s robust 2012 growth to new products, aggressive expansion programs, effective branding campaigns, intensive agency recruitment and heightened Read More …

Cignal Digital TV eyes more subscribers

 Economy
Jun 132013
 
Cignal Digital TV eyes more subscribers

MANILA, Philippines – Satellite television provider Cignal Digital TV is aiming to have more than 600,000 subscribers by the end of this year, after hitting the 500,000 mark, with the roll-out of affordable pricing schemes. “We want to exceed 600,000 subscribers this year,” Cignal vice president for marketing Guido Zaballero told reporters. At present, he said the firm has a total of 500,000 subscribers, with the bulk or 75 percent having prepaid accounts. Most subscribers are in Luzon and Visayas. Zaballero said the introduction of more affordable pricing schemes has allowed the firm to see its subscribers rise to 500,000 in the middle of this year from 440,000 as of the end of 2012. The lowest priced plan is at P390 per month, while the premium plan costs P1,590 per month. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The new plans were launched in January. Zaballero said the new plans are seen to support a further increase in Cignal’s total subscribers. As the total number of subscribers go up, he said the firm is also optimistic that it could start seeing positive earnings before taxes this year. “The first quarter (income) is quite good. I think we can see positive earnings by the second-half,” he said. Launched in 2009, Cignal broadcasts to households and commercial venues nationwide using direct broadcast satellite technology. It is owned and operated by MediaScape Inc., a subsidiary of MediaQuest Holdings, the media partner of the PLDT Group of Companies.

New York considers crackdown on counterfeit luxury goods

 Economy
Jun 132013
 
New York considers crackdown on counterfeit luxury goods

NEW YORK (AP) — It’s one of the worst kept secrets in New York. Hidden around the city are counterfeit goods labeled “Prada” or “Louis Vuitton” or some other luxury brand. They’re sold for a pittance to bargain hunters from around the world who flock to Chinatown. Now, if a proposed bill passes the City Council, customers caught buying these items could be punished — with a fine of up to $1,000, or even prison time. A City Hall public hearing is scheduled for Thursday to examine the black-market business. The bill sponsor is Council member Margaret Chin. She expects a vote sometime in the coming months.

iRemit to venture into financial derivatives

 Economy
Jun 132013
 
iRemit to venture into financial derivatives

MANILA, Philippines – I-Remit Inc., a Filipino-owned global remittance firm, will venture into financial derivative activities as a safeguard against the impact of fluctuating foreign exchange rates, a company disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) said. iRemit said its board has approved the amendment of the corporation’s primary purpose to give way to this new function. “With the amendment, and subject to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ regulatory approval, the corporation will no longer be limited to engaging in spot foreign currency transactions,” it said. It added that it “will be able to engage in financial derivative activities such as foreign currency swaps, forwards, options or other similar instruments.” It would be noted that due to the peso’s appreciation against the dollar in the first three months of the year, iRemit’s income dropped 95 percent to P1.6 million from P33 million in the same period in 2012. As iRemit’s operation is dependent on transaction fees of foreign exchange particularly the peso, any forex gyration would greatly impact on its profit. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Due to the sharp peso appreciation, the company said its trading gains also suffered. For the first quarter, the company’s revenues dropped 11.8 percent to P175.8 million from P199.4 million in the same period last year. iRemit said the decline in sales was“mainly due to significant net realized foreign exchange loss as the Philippine peso continued to appreciate against the US dollar.” Despite the income drop, total transactions jumped six Read More …

The ‘air war’ for votes in May 2013: Without SC TRO, 9 Senate bets, Buhay liable for breaching TV ads airtime cap

 News
Jun 132013
 
The ‘air war’ for votes in May 2013: Without SC TRO, 9 Senate bets, Buhay liable for breaching TV ads airtime cap

NINE SENATORIAL candidates and one party-list group in the recently concluded elections would have breached the airtime limit for political ads on TV had it not been for a crucial order from the Supreme Court regarding a new rule being imposed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec). One of those nine candidates would have also surpassed the campaign-spending limit. Seven of the nine actually won in the May 13, 2013 midterm elections. Meanwhile, Buhay, the party-list group that eventually garnered the most number of votes among party-list groups, is poised to occupy three seats in the House of Representatives.  But that is now murky water under the bridge. Last April 16, less than a month before the elections, the Supreme Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on the “aggregate time limit” rule imposed by Comelec. The TRO effectively reverted the counting of advertising minutes to the “per station” basis, just as it was in the May 2010 presidential polls.  More than the issue of counting airtime limits, however, the Supreme Court TRO made for a seemingly contradictory situation with the law on campaign expenditure limits. As well, the TRO has made the Comelec’s task of enforcing campaigning and campaign finance rules — and consequently holding violators to account – less straightforward and all the more difficult to manage. As a result, campaign spending in the 2013 polls may turn out not to be any different from the campaign-ad spending spree of 2010.  In the 2010 polls, the total indicative Read More …

Walang Pasok: UST cancels Friday classes

 News
Jun 132013
 
Walang Pasok: UST cancels Friday classes

DepEd suspends classes in some NCR schools due to floods. Students of Araullo High School wade in knee-deep flood along Taft Avenue in Manila after an hour of heavy downpour on Thursday, June 13. Some classes in elementary and high school levels have been suspended by the DepEd due to flooded Metro Manila streets. Danny Pata Classes Friday at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila are suspended, the university’s Office of the Secretary General said in an advisory, which the school’s official student publication tweeted late Thursday. Earlier, monsoon rain-induced flooding in and around UST’s campus prompted school authoririties to suspend classes Thursday afternoon. The monsoon flooding stranded some students and staff in the campus. The Varsitarian reported that school authorities provided “free food to stranded Thomasians.” The suspension directive covers office work and classes from high school to post-graduate levels, the Varsitarian reported the Office of the Secretary General as having advised the campus community. Fr. Winston F. Cabading, O.P. is the UST Secretary-General.  Meanwhie, classes about two street blocks away at the Far Eastern University in Morayta, Manila will resume Friday, according to an advisory sent out 10:56 p.m. via the university’s official Twitter and Facebook accounts.   — ELR, GMA News

DOTC: Bad weather over NCR forces flight cancellations, diversions

 News
Jun 132013
 
DOTC: Bad weather over NCR forces flight cancellations, diversions

Heavy rain that fell over Metro Manila Thursday afternoon forced the cancellation of at least two flights and the diversion of five Manila-bound flights, including one from the United States. The Department of Transportation and Communications said the affected flights belonged to flag carrier Philippine Airlines, PAL Express and Cebu Pacific. One international flight from the US was diverted to Clark in Pampanga due to heavy rain, the DOTC said on its Twitter account. It identified the affected international flight as PAL Flight PR-113 from Los Angeles to Manila. The DOTC, in a separate Twitter post, said the canceled flights included: – 5J-911: Manila to Caticlan– 5J-912: Caticlan to Manila Cebu Pacific flight 5J-995, from Manila to General Santos, was diverted to Davao due to bad weather, it added. The DOTC also said three flights were diverted to Clark “due to weather condition.” These included: – 2P-056: Caticlan to Manila (PAL Express)– 2P-966: Cagayan de Oro to Manila (PAL Express)– 5J-966: Davao to Manila (Cebu Pacific) NAIA said Cebu Pacific 5J-906 (Caticlan to Manila) was also diverted to Clark. Heavy rain from a thunderstorm had fallen over Metro Manila, rendering many roads impassable and forcing some schools to suspend classes for the afternoon and evening. Many roads were flooded, stranding employees, students and commuters. Traffic was also snarled in many parts of Metro Manila, radio dzBB reported. Meanwhile, the Philippine National Railways said its commuter services were not operational “due to floods in some areas.” — BM, GMA News

BI wants to take custody of Chinese pangolin poachers if they post bail

 News
Jun 132013
 
BI wants to take custody of Chinese pangolin poachers if they post bail

The 12 suspected Chinese poachers whose vessel ran aground on Tubbataha Reef in April should be placed in the custody of the Bureau of Immigration if the Palawan court handling the case allows them to post bail, a bureau official said Thursday.   According to BI spokesperson Ma. Antonette Mangrobang, the bureau has already informed the Palawan court in a letter dated June 6 that if the 12 individuals are released, they should be turned over to Immigration authorities.   “In the event the court release the 12 poachers on bail, the BI has grounds to keep them in detention because they are undocumented aliens and they did not pass through the Immigration inspection when they entered,” she said. Mangrobang added that the BI, which has already issued a deportation order against the 12, would hold them while the case is being resolved. “It is one thing that they have a deportation order and another if the deportation order would be implemented,” she said. The 12 have been charged with poaching, illegal possession of endangered wildlife and attempted bribery of park officials. The Philippine Coast Guard discovered hundreds of frozen pangolins, individually wrapped in plastic and hidden in sacks, in the cargo hold of the suspected poachers’ vessel as it sat grounded on the reef. Pangolins, or scaly anteaters, are a threatened species and are covered by the Wildlife Protection and Conservation Act of the Philippines. In China, the pangolin’s meat and scales are are believed to have medicinal properties: the scales Read More …

Bicol needs P320B in infra investments – Salceda

 Economy
Jun 132013
 
Bicol needs P320B in infra investments - Salceda

MANILA, Philippines – The Bicol region needs P320 billion worth of infrastructure investments to contribute to the country’s economic boom, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said on Thursday. “What drive our economy today are investments, particularly on the aspect of infrastructure but most of infrastructure investments are still concentrated in the urban areas, particularly Metro Manila,” Salceda said. Salceda said the investments should complement tourism development projects such as the P3.4-billion Southern Luzon International Airport currently being constructed in Daraga, Albay. In terms of tourism growth rate, Albay has posted a 49-percent growth in 2012. Salceda said large investments are expected to come in with the positive perception that the present administration receives from the private sector. “Investors clearly trust the presidency that projects the image of anti-corruption and this trust is manifested by bigger stakes they put in now, particularly in food manufacturing and tourism- today’s upscale industries,” he said, adding that the industry sectors improved by 31 percent this year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 He said the reason for the growth in food manufacturing is import substitution or producing locally the products what we used to import. Local products directly compete with imported goods,” Salceda said.

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