SM Prime spending P70 B next year

 Economy
Nov 082013
 
SM Prime spending P70 B next year

MANILA, Philippines – SM Prime Holdings Inc., which will hold most of the property-related assets of tycoon Henry Sy, has set a capital expenditure budget of more than P70 billion next year as it seeks to spur faster growth amid an expanding economy. In an interview, SM Prime Holdings Inc. chief finance officer Jeffrey Lim said the bulk of the capital outlays for next year would go to shopping malls (P38.9 billion) and residential development (P18.8 billion). The total budget for malls includes the P18 billion allocated for the expansion of the group’s operations in China. The group has earmarked P7.2 billion for commercial development (business process outsourcing buildings) and another P4.6 billion for hotels. It has also set aside P797 million for resorts/leisure. SM Prime is opening two new malls next year – SM Cauayan and SM Angonon and the expansion phase of SM Bacolod and SM Lipa. By the end of 2014, SM Prime will have a total of 50 malls with a total estimated gross floor area of 6.6 million square meters. In China, SM Prime SM Prime plans to open one mall per year in second and third tier cities. Slated for opening next year is Zibo, which will provide an additional 154,000 sqm of gross floor area (GFA).  Also under construction is SM Tianjin, which will be SM Prime’s largest shopping center when it opens in 2015. It will have a total GFA of 540,000 sqm. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Read More …

DFA suspends services at satellite offices in Metro Manila

 News
Nov 082013
 
DFA suspends services at satellite offices in Metro Manila

By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 4:34 pm | Friday, November 8th, 2013 FILE Photo MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will temporarily suspend operations of its consular services in satellite offices in Metro Manila on  Saturday due to Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name Haiyan). “Due to the threat of Supertyphoon ‘Yolanda,’ the Department of Foreign Affairs advises the public that consular services at DFA Satellite Offices (SOs) in Metro Manila will be temporarily suspended on November 9,” it said in an advisory Friday. DFA passport and authentication services as well as the release of passports in the following SOs will resume on Monday: DFA NCR – Central (Robinsons Galleria) DFA NCR – East (SM Megamall) DFA NCR – West (SM Manila) DFA NCR – South (Metro Gaisano Alabang) “Passport applicants who have scheduled appointment on November 9 will be accommodated from November 11 to 16, provided that they can show proof of their appointment,” DFA said in the advisory. The DFA said that persons who have queries about the consular services of the particular SO may contact the following numbers and email addresses: DFA NCR – Central, 631-0806, dfancrcentral@dfa.gov.ph DFA NCR – East, 570-3230, dfancreast@dfa.gov.ph DFA NCR – West, 536-9994, dfancrwest@dfa.gov.ph DFA NCR – South, 551-1051, dfancrsouth@dfa.gov.ph “The DFA can also be reached at (02) 536-0000. Emails can also be sent at passportconcerns@dfa.gov.ph and ppt_do@yahoo.com. Messages can be sent to the Passport Division’s Facebook page, Philippine Passport,” it said. Supertyphoon Yolanda, the strongest typhoon to hit the country in 2013, has already left three people dead and seven others injured as it lashed several regions in Read More …

Smart introduces Bayadload

 Economy
Oct 202013
 
Smart introduces Bayadload

MANILA, Philippines – Wireless giant Smart Communications Inc., a unit of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), is set to launch a new type of electronic load to enable subscribers to pay monthly contributions to social security, health insurance, and housing funds. PLDT president and chief operating officer Napoleon Nazareno said the company is working closely with the government to launch Bayadload that could be used to pay monthly contributions to the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth), and Pag-Ibig Fund. “We call it BayadLoad. Bayad in our language means payment. This service will make it much easier for about 15 million self-employed individuals and household help to become active members of these social funds and to benefit from their services,” Nazareno said.  He pointed out that subscribers just need to go to a Smart retailer and purchase the special load and pay their monthly contributions  using their mobile phones. Nazareno, who is also president of Smart, said the company intends to extend the use of BayadLoad to the payment of other government fees and services. “Clearly, our retail distribution network has become a strategic tool for extending the ecosystem for mobile money transactions.  Through this network, which reaches every nook and cranny of the country, we can rapidly deploy new financial services to people living at the periphery of the economic mainstream,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In recent years, Nazareno said the PLDT Group Read More …

RC Cola bottler expands Cebu operations

 Economy
Oct 082013
 
RC Cola bottler expands Cebu operations

ASIAWIDE Refreshments Corp. (ARC), the licensed Philippine bottler of RC Cola, has expanded its operations in Cebu, a move that is expected to better serve RC Cola’s growing consumer base in the province. “The company’s engagement in the province will enable us to align the Visayas market with the growth of Asiawide and RC Cola in other areas,” said Gerry T. Garcia, executive vice president and chief operating officer of ARC. As one of the key cities in the Philippines, Cebu is a major cola market and a gateway to the Visayas region. “It is an independent market from Manila but it has always mirrored Manila in terms of being urbanized and having a developed consumer market,” he said. Although the province represents a new frontier for ARC, Cebu is not a new consumer base for RC Cola. Garcia said that in the 1990s when RC Cola sales were still struggling in Metro Manila, the brand was already a success story in the Cebu-Visayas region. “The point is we have yet to fully exploit the potential of RC Cola. That’s why we are excited about this development,” said Garcia. He said Cebu will be treated as an investment market and ARC in Luzon can re-channel part of its manpower and equipment there as needed. He said there is an opportunity to enhance RC Cola’s product line-up in Cebu to cater to different price points and tastes, as the company works to optimize the brand’s availability in the market thereby becoming Read More …

New P4-B ind’l estate to rise in Batangas

 Economy
Sep 272013
 
New P4-B ind’l estate to rise in Batangas

MANILA, Philippines – Science Park of the Philippines, Inc. (SPPI) is spending P4 billion to develop Light Industry and Science Park IV, a new industrial estate in Batangas amid demand from foreign firms for spaces for manufacturing facilities. “We are developing the latest site in Malvar, Batangas in response to demand from foreign firms,” SPPI chairman and chief executive officer Guillermo Luchangco said in a press conference yesterday. He said they have received interest from foreign firms engaged in electronics, as well as the automotive sectors, to invest in manufacturing operations here. The 200-hectare industrial park is alongside the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) expressway that links to Makati and Metro Manila to the Batangas International Port. The industrial park would be complemented by a 60-hectare residential and commercial area. Luchangco said SPPI expects to complete the development of the industrial park in two and a half years. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The development of the residential and commercial area though, he said, may take a longer time to complete. The firm intends to fund the development of the industrial estate through internally generated funds and loans from banks. The Light Industry and Science Park IV is the fourth industrial estate being developed by SPPI. The firm has already developed industrial parks in Cabuyao and Calamba in Laguna as well as in Sto. Tomas in Batangas. The development of the new industrial park comes as many foreign firms have expressed interest to bring their manufacturing Read More …

NCR cops to concentrate on traffic at Sept. 11 anti-pork vigil

 News
Sep 082013
 
NCR cops to concentrate on traffic at Sept. 11 anti-pork vigil

Saying they expect the Sept. 11 anti-pork barrel prayer vigil at the EDSA Shrine to be well-attended though peaceful, Metro Manila police said Sunday they will focus their efforts on ensuring smooth traffic during the event. Metro Manila police spokesman Chief Inspector Robert Domingo also said they will further iron out their security plans Monday when they meet with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority. “Ayon sa coordination namin medyo marami yata nag-signify. Magfo-focus kami sa traffic management and control, pero hindi pababayaan ang overt and covert security,” he said in an interview on dzBB radio Sunday afternoon. He also noted traffic may be congested at EDSA on Wednesday since many faithful are expected to travel to Baclaran Church for Mass. Many Filipinos are expected to attend the vigil organized by the “EDSA Tayo” movement. Earlier, EDSA Tayo convenor Junep Ocampo said a Mass and a lecture on the evils of pork by economics professor Solita Monsod will highlight Wednesday’s vigil. Domingo said the Metro Manila police and MMDA will meet on Monday to finalize their security plan. For now, he said they will conduct mobile checkpoints and heighten police visibility as part of their Police Integrated Patrol System. 9/11 anniversary, Marcos’ birthday Meanwhile, Domingo said they may also adjust their deployment since Sept. 11 is also the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attack on the United States, and the birth anniversary of former President Ferdinand Marcos. “Kaya ang security plan binubusisi, medyo mag-a-adjust at magdadagdag at magbabawas,” he said. But Read More …

Poor grass cutter an incorporator of Napoles' NGO?

 News
Sep 052013
 
Poor grass cutter an incorporator of Napoles' NGO?

KIDAPAWAN CITY — A poor grass cutter in a far-flung Magpet town in Cotabato province got the surprise of his life when he received a summon from the National Bureau of Investigation for his alleged participation in the P10-Billion pork barrel scam. Efren Sideno, a job-order employee whose work includes cutting grass for the municipal government, was included as one of the incorporators of “Sagana ang Buhay sa Atin Foundation,” a Metro Manila-base NGO operated by Janet Lim-Napoles. Napoles, a Filipino-born Chinese businesswoman, is believed to have masterminded the multi-billion Priority Development Assistance Fund scam . Sideno said he received the NBI summon on September 4, ordering him to report to the Metro Manila headquarters to file his counter affidavit. Scared and having no money for the trip to Manila, he sought the help of Magpet vice-mayor Efren Piñol who helped him meet some NBI people in Davao City. Crying,  Sideno told media he has no idea why his name was implicated in the scam. But he recalled an incident that might have made led to his “connections” with Napoles. He said that three years ago, Lilian Español, his sister-in-law who is a native of Magpet town and was working as househelp of the Napoleses in Manila, called him up and asked him his complete name, birthday, and other personal data. When he asked what it was all about, Español told him that Napoles was contemplating on taking him as one of her workers. “But that did not happen. I Read More …

Government’s flood-control projects on track, Department of Public Works and Highways says

 Entertainment
Aug 222013
 

MANILA, Aug 21 (Mabuhay) — The completion of the government’s flood control system particularly in Metro Manila remains on track, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported on Wednesday. During an interview with the media in MandaluyongCity, Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson said the DPWH has several drainage improvement projects being […]

 Older Entries  Newer Entries