Tiger Airways hikes flights to Davao

 Economy
Oct 192013
 
Tiger Airways hikes flights to Davao

MANILA, Philippines – Tiger Airways Philippines is beefing up its flights to Davao starting December as part of efforts to expand its domestic routes via the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 4 (NAIA4). The airline launched a special one-way offering from Manila-Davao promo fare for as low as P499 with travel validity from Dec. 2 this year to March 29 next year. It would use the 144-seater Airbus 319 aircraft. Aside from Manila – Davao, other domestic destinations of TigerAir include Manila – Cebu; Manila – Bacolod; Manila – Iloilo; Manila – Kalibo; Manila – Puerto Princesa; and Manila – Tacloban. Its international destinations include Phuket in Thailand via NAIA4, Singapore via the Kalibo international airport in Aklan as well as Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Singapore via the Clark international airport in Pampanga. Aside from Manila-Phuket, its other international flights include: Clark – Hongkong; Clark – Bangkok; Clark – Singapore; and Kalibo – Singapore. Davao is the premier hub of Mindanao and is home to some of the country’s top beach and mountain resorts, most notably the Pearl Farm in the secluded island of Samal. Davao City has been recognized as one of the most liveable cities in Southeast Asia. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Tiger Airways Philippines president and chief executive officer Olive Ramos earlier announced that the budget airline intends to beef up its existing fleet of five aircraft to 25 within the next three to five years. Ramos said the airline would be Read More …

Meralco eyes $250-300 M bonds to finance capex

 Economy
Sep 272013
 
Meralco eyes $250-300 M bonds to finance capex

MANILA, Philippines – Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s biggest power distributor, is eyeing to issue US dollar bonds of up to $300 million to finance its capital expenditure requirements. Meralco chief finance officer Betty Siy-Yap said while the company has not set a specific amount for the planned transaction, she said it would be a benchmark size of “anywhere between $250 million and $300 million.” She said proceeds would be used for Meralco’s capex needs. The final transaction date would depend on market conditions. “We continue to monitor the market for the interest while we have not priced,” Siy-Yap said. The planned dollar bond issue comes after Meralco earlier embarked on an investor roadshow in Singapore and Hong Kong. It is also distinct from the plan to issue P20 billion in long-term peso bonds, which would be used to refinance existing debts. Meralco earlier mandated Citigroup to arrange a series of fixed-income investor meetings in Singapore and Hong Kong for the dollar bonds issue. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Officials earlier said the company has allotted P13 billion for capital expenditures this year from P10.3 billion last year. The company expects to post a consolidated core net income of P17 billion this year, higher than the P16 billion posted last year. In the first half of the year, Meralco reported a consolidated core net income of P9.2 billion, two percent higher than the P9 billion posted in the first half of last year. However, its Read More …

Pacquiao says he can fight up to three more years

 Entertainment
Aug 072013
 

SINGAPORE  (AFP) – Philippine boxing icon Manny Pacquiao said Friday that he can fight for another three years despite two successive losses, brushing aside calls for him to retire and focus on his political career. He told journalists at a promotional event in Singapore, for his November 24 bout in Macau with American Brandon Rios, […]

PSE boosts info drive as new product enters local bourse

 Economy
Jul 112013
 
PSE boosts info drive as new product enters local bourse

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has launched an information campaign on exchange traded funds (ETFs), a form of investment funds to be introduced in the local market. “Now that the Philippine regulatory framework for ETFs has been finalized, we can officially start accepting listing applications from prospective ETF companies.  I know a lot of market participants have waited long for this product to be offered to investors and we are now all working hard to ensure that we meet the expectations of the market,” PSE President and Chief Operating Officer Hans B. Sicat said. The Securities and Exchange Commission approved last June 20 Part C of the PSE ETF rules after Parts A and B were approved last March. The local bourse then proceeded to conduct seminars to make the public aware of how ETFs work. An ETF is similar to a mutual fund that tracks a basket of assets but is traded like stocks. Unlike mutual funds, however, the price of an ETF is quoted real time so investors immediately know the buying and selling price of their shares. “For retail investors, especially those who are just starting to invest in the market, ETFs allow for a cheaper access to a diversified portfolio of stocks because investors do not have to buy multiple stocks,” the local bourse said. PSE added that the performance of an ETF is also easier to analyze and monitor because its asset per share value is updated every minute and its tracking Read More …

GSIS to increase exposure in stock market – Vergara

 Economy
Jul 052013
 
GSIS to increase exposure in stock market – Vergara

MANILA, Philippines – The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) continues to take an active approach to equity investing by leveraging opportunities in a volatile market, according to its top official. GSIS president and general manager Robert Vergara said the country’s largest pension fund remains a long-term investor in the stock market and sees market volatility as an opportunity to load up on stocks with strong fundamentals. “We will increase our exposure whenever there are opportunities to add to our investments at attractive valuation levels as we have done in recent weeks,” Vergara said. Vergara said the fund also continues to be on the lookout for alternative investments that will boost returns amid a low interest rate environment. Just recently, GSIS participated in the preferred share offering of listed gaming firm Leisure & Resorts World Corp. (LRWC), taking up P800 million out of the P1.65 billion deal. The non-voting and non-participating preferred shares have a coupon rate of 8.5 percent per annum and are paid semi-annually. For each 20 preferred shares, the holders are entitled to one warrant convertible to common shares starting on the fifth year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Each warrant, if exercised at a price of P15 or the average weighted trading price for the three months prior (whichever is lower) will be converted to one common share. Vergara said the fund’s investment in LRWC reflects the agency’s confidence in the Philippine gaming industry, which is forecast to generate total revenues of $2.5 Read More …

Tiger Airways sets massive Phl refleeting

 Economy
Jun 272013
 
Tiger Airways sets massive Phl refleeting

MANILA, Philippines – Low-cost carrier Tiger Airways Philippines, a unit of Singapore’s Tiger Airways, is undertaking a massive re-fleeting program as it initially intends to triple its revenues and increase its market share in the local aviation industry starting this year. Tiger Airways Philippines president and chief executive officer Olive Ramos said in a press conference yesterday that the budget airline intends to beef up its existing fleet of five aircraft to 25 within the next three to five years. Ramos said the airline would acquire at least three to four aircraft per year over the next three to five years as it intends to increase its flights to existing destinations and mount flights to more destinations. She pointed out that the airline would lease the additional aircraft as part of its existing model instead of acquiring new aircraft. “It is normally our business practice to lease aircraft rather than be trapped in huge investments,” she added. Tiger Airways Philippines has an existing fleet of three Airbus A320s with a seating capacity of 180 and two A319s with a capacity of 140 or about 10 to 20 seats less than competitors to offer passengers more leg room. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Funds for the re-fleeting program, she explained, would come from internally-generated funds. The additional aircraft would be used mainly for regional as well as domestic routes. This year, Ramos said the airline has earmarked $15 million for its working capital. She revealed that the Read More …

State weather forecasters say little chance of Indonesia haze reaching PHL

 News
Jun 232013
 
State weather forecasters say little chance of Indonesia haze reaching PHL

Philippine state weather forecasters believe there is little chance of the haze that has affected Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia reaching the Philippines. A report on Bombo Radyo quoted PAGASA as saying the winds from the southwest monsoon are likely to keep the haze out of the Philippine area of responsibility. In past days, a haze has affected Indonesia, caused by illegal forest fires on Sumatra island to clear space for palm oil plantations. The haze reached Singapore and now threatens Malaysia. According to reports on Malaysia’s The Star Online, winds from the southwest carried the haze from Riau to the central and southern part of the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, with several schools in Malaysia having to be closed due to the haze. — BM, GMA News

Going back to school abroad

 News
Jun 012013
 
Going back to school abroad

By Rene PastorThe FilAm 1:24 am | Sunday, June 2nd, 2013 LEVELLING UP The author recently completed his requirements for a Master of Science in International Relations. Contributed photo/The FilAm When American whiz statistician Nate Silver, who was our commencement speaker, urged the millennials not to stop “being weird,” I felt oddly out of place, coming from Ray Romano’s league of Men of a Certain Age. It was the kind of raw, gusty and rainy day which made for a miserable go in New York City. My wife and I struggled under one umbrella that couldn’t shield my suit from the rain nor her green dress, but you cannot choose a graduation day. Mine fell on an afternoon that resembled slushy winter more than spring. We got off at Penn Station and began walking toward the Jacob K. Javitz Convention Center on 11th Avenue and 39th Street where The New School was holding its commencement ceremony. I was a candidate for a degree in Master of Science in International Relations. More than 30 years after getting a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from the Ateneo, I would be marching again. Sitting on a bench, waiting for us to line up so the 77th commencement of The New School could start, I looked around at faces I did not know. I was surrounded by complete strangers, not by people I had schooled with for four years. Millennials’ graduation Although we were told to put away our phones after putting on our Read More …

Seair mounts int’l flights from Cebu, Kalibo

 Economy
May 262013
 
Seair mounts int’l flights from Cebu, Kalibo

MANILA, Philippines – Low-cost carrier Southeast Asian Airlines (Seair), a unit of Tiger Airways Holdings Ltd. of Singapore, is set to mount flights to Singapore and Hong Kong from Cebu and Kalibo in Aklan. Seair has filed a petition with the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to impose a fuel surcharge of P500 for flights from Kalibo to Singapore and Hong Kong as well as flights between Cebu and Singapore. Last February, the budget airline started imposing a fuel surcharge of P500 for all its international passengers and P300 for all its domestic passengers flying within the Philippines except Davao. The budget airline also started imposing a P400 fuel surcharge for Manila to Davao passengers. The CAB allows airlines to impose fuel surcharge on international and domestic passengers as a temporary relief to help them recover losses arising from the increase in jet fuel prices in the world market. Latest results of the jet fuel price monitor of the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) showed that average price of jet fuel rose 4.7 percent to $118.1 per barrel from a month ago level. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Seair flies from Manila to Cebu, Davao, Tacloban, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, Bacolod, and Boracay via the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). Its international destinations include Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, and Kota Kinabalu via the Clark International Airport in Pampanga. In August last year, Tiger Airways through wholly-owned subsidiary Roar Aviation II Pte Ltd. acquired a 40-percent stake in Seair Read More …

[CSEAS-SOCAL] Southeast Asia Announcements

 Entertainment
Apr 302013
 

Announcements 1. Library Fellowship for SE Asian Studies, University of Michigan 2. Study Grants: American Institute for Indonesian Studies 3. Postdoctoral Fellowship: Southeast Asian History, National University of Singapore 4. Call for Papers: Urban Hybridity in the Post-Colonial Age 5. Call for Papers: Asia in Memory and Imagination 6. Call for Papers: Consensus and Conflict in […]

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