Dion Ignacio donates musical instruments to elementary students in lieu of receiving a birthday gift.
Apr 072014
Apr 072014
Georcelle advocates a dance that will take away all your inhibitions and will make you comfortable because of the simple big white shirt requirement.
Apr 072014
Jodi Sta. Maria reveals how she makes the mornings of leading man Richard Yap better.
Apr 072014
Maggie Wilson-Consunji wears the perfect nails colors for the summer.
Apr 062014
A building in Manila occupied by a call center. Rajesh Pamnani MANILA, Philippines — Most voice and call center businesses in India are transferring to the Philippines due to Filipino workers’ more “neutral” English acccent, among other reasons, an Indian business group said. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said that India is losing 70 percent of all incremental domestic business process outsourcing (BPO) businesses, particularly call centers, estimated to be worth $30 billion in foreign exchange earnings. “Philippines … has become the top destination for Indian investors, thus the need to reduce costs and make operations leaner is increasingly becoming significant across the BPO industry,” Assocham secretary general D.S. Rawat said in a statement Sunday. Citing Assocham’s study, Rawat said that the Philippines has an advantage over India due to its large pool of “well-educated, English-speaking, talented and employable graduates.” Rawat said that only 10 percent of graduates in India are qualified to work in call centers and training could take a considerable amount of time. About 30 percent of graduates in the Philippines, on the other hand, are employable. “Employees in Philippine call centers speak English fluently with a neutral accent which is what customers look for and that is something missing in Indian accents and that is a prime reason why BPO business is thriving in that country,” Rawat explained. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Cultural proximity to the US together with availability of talented manpower are key reasons Read More …
Apr 062014
MANILA, Philippines – The company of supermarket chain owner Lucio Co expects to start commissioning this June its 9.9-megawatt biomass plant in Nueva Ecija, with commercial operations targeted to commence in October. Co, the Filipino-Chinese businessman behind the Puregold supermarket chains, earlier bought a majority stake in San Jose City I Power Corp. (SJC I Power), a renewable energy that will build the biomass plant. According to SJC I Power chief operating officer Edgardo Alfonso, commercial operation will be on Oct. 1. “The project is 95 percent completed,” Alfonso said. The project is estimated to cost P1 billion. Ruby de Guzman, OIC-division chief of the Department of Energy’s Biomass Energy Management Division Renewable Energy Management Bureau, said that Co’s group is also venturing into a second phase of the project, which involves adding 24 MW. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “By June, they will start construction of second phase, which they amended to 24 MW,” De Guzman said. “The expansion will start as soon as the first phase becomes operational,” Alfonso confirmed. Alfonso said the project would avail of incentives under the government’s Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) system. The FIT regime is a form of incentives for renewable energy players. Feed-in tariffs offer cost-based compensation to renewable energy players among other perks. The FIT rate approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the power regulator are as follows: P9.68 per kilowatt-hour for solar; P8.53 per kwh for wind, P6.63 per kwh for biomass and P5.90 per kwh for Read More …
Apr 062014
MANILA, Philippines – JG Summit Holdings of the Gokongwei Group and Pangilinan-led Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) are open to entering into more joint venture projects in the power sector. “We still have to sit down with them. We’re prepared to partner with various companies including JG but we haven’t talked about it,” said Meralco president Oscar Reyes. JG Summit bought the 27 percent stake of San Miguel Corp. in Meralco for P72 billion, resulting in the appointment of John Gokongwei Jr. and Lance Gokongwei in Meralco’s board of directors, replacing SMC president Ramon Ang and director Estelito Mendoza. Meralco chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the Gokongweis already attended their first Meralco board meeting last week. “We’ve had our first meeting with them,” Pangilinan said. For now, the partnership between the two MVP, Gokongwei from B-13 companies is focused on a power supply deal for JG Summit’s planned naphtha and polyethylene facility in Batangas, which is expected to open this year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “They have a requirement for their plant in Batangas. They want to be connected to the grid so we’re building out the connectivity to the grid from their plant,” said Meralco senior vice president Al Panlilio and head of Customer Retail Services. Panlilio said this is a cheaper option for JG. Otherwise, it would have to generate its own power, which could be costly because of rising diesel prices. “I think they feel that it’s going to be cheaper for them Read More …
Apr 062014
MANILA, Philippines – India’s largest automobile company Tata Motors Ltd. is looking to reignite sales growth with its foray into the burgeoning Philippine automotive market as part of its ongoing Asean expansion. Tata, maker of what is billed as the world’s cheapest car, has partnered with Pilipinas Taj Autogroup to further expand its footprint in Southeast Asia, which already included Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar. As the exclusive distributor of Tata vehicles, Pilipinas Taj will bring to Philippine shores a total 10 models this year including the Manza, Vista, Indigo and Indica brands from its passenger vehicles portfolio and the Xenon, Ace and Super Ace from its commercial vehicles range. In an interview, Pilipinas Taj general manager Nicky Mariano said the group is investing up to P200 million to jumpstart the business. Mariano said Pilipinas Taj is hoping to sell more than a thousand units in its first year of operations given robust auto sales in the country. Last week, Pilipinas Taj introduced to the market four models – Mazda sedan 1.4 L MTwhich sells for P600,000, Vista Hatchback 1.4L (P565,000), Xenon 2.2L diesel 4×2 MT at (P805,000), and Xenon 2.2L diesel 4×4 MT (P1.125 million). Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 These vehicles, imported from India as completely built units, are now available for viewing at the company’s newly-opened showrooms in Marcos Highway and in Davao. Mariano said the group is set to launch its diesel- powered cars in the third quarter as part of its Read More …
Apr 062014
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said yesterday the recent awarding of two major infrastructure projects worth P19 billion under the Aquino administration’s public private partnership (PPP) scheme is expected to boost the flow of foreign direct investments (FDIs) into the Philippines. Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said the decision to award the P17.5-billion Mactan-Cebu international airport expansion project and the P1.72-billion automated fare collection system (AFCS) would enhance the perception of the international community of the Philippines as an investment destination. The DOTC inked a 10-year concession agreement with the AF Consortium led by conglomerate Ayala Corp. and infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (AFCS) last March 31 for the single ticketing system for both the Metro Rail Transit and Light Rail Transit (MRT-LRT) after rejecting the appeal of losing bidder SM Group of retail magnate Henry Sy. The agency last Friday awarded the expansion project of the country’s second largest international gateway to the consortium of Filipino-owned Megawide Construction Corp. and Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure after resolving the issues raised by second highest bidder Filinvest Group of business tycoon Andrew Gotianun. Abaya said the bidding process for the agency’s PPP projects are conducted in a fair and transparent manner. “By sticking to bidding rules and refusing to be influenced by external factors, we are showing the world that the country now has an excellent investment climate. Gone are the days when big-ticket contracts would be awarded despite being tainted with irregularities,” Abaya said. Business ( Read More …
Apr 062014
Enjoy fun activities for the whole family at the CCP Complex on April 13, Sunday, starting at 6 A.M. onwards.