Some Good News...

[heightdeprived]

Extracted from Pattaya Today...
http://www.pattayatoday.net/index.ph...e=news&id=2306

Thailand v Philippines
14. May 2007, 22:08
by Peter Lloyd

I am sitting in Liverpool in the UK writing this, having been travelling almost non-stop for the whole of April and all of May so far. I am almost over the shock of having bought the world’s most expensive kebab in a wealthy area of London at a posh kebab shop (which sounds like an oxymoron to me). The price – EIGHT HUNDRED AND FIFTY BAHT (12.50 GBP!)

Since my last column I have been to the Philippines, France, Italy, Dubai, the island of Zanzibar, off the coast of East Africa, where I was able to swim with (and photograph – see pic) a pod of wild dolphins, which was a superb experience, and I’m finally now back in the UK. I was impressed by my time in the Philippines, which, after the recent travails of Thailand actually appears to be an increasingly attractive alternative destination in which to live and invest, if you select your destination carefully. No sooner had I decided to write about it, than a big article appeared in the Wall Street Journal echoing my own increasingly favourable impressions of the Philippines from this trip. It gave the recent example of Texas Instruments building a second, 1 billion US$ assembly plant there, in preference to China which has seen land prices, rents and salaries soar on the east coast, and because they don’t want to put all their eggs in the China basket.

They were also swayed by the prevalence of a highly educated and fluent English-speaking population, which is why Vietnam didn’t get it. The same considerations are moving Intel towards locating a 2.5 billion US$ plant in the Philippines, where new tax legislation and greater investment brought about by a stabilizing political and economic landscape have breathed new life into the wider economy and boosted annual GDP figures which in turn attract even more investment though favourable publicity. I don’t think Thailand was ever in the running, but it goes to show what factors influence business decisions in the region. I spent a few days in Subic Bay, scuba diving on World War 2 shipwrecks, and I had a great time there. I also looked at the strong, well-run local economy and liked what I saw. Subic used to be a big US navy base, and is now a Freeport and a preferential economic zone which is attracting increasing business, and is expanding fast, with ongoing land reclamation projects and companies queuing up to build factories there.

At first I was bemused about Thailand’s recent decision to pay a massive amount of money to a PR firm in the USA, to counter Thailand’s recent, bad international publicity. The move once again suggested a petulant desire to catch up with Thaksin, who had previously and successfully instructed a PR firm of his own, which he has just sacked. But I now think Thailand needs to do everything it can to improve its international image, and fast. Whilst I was in Africa and the Philippines, and also now I am back in the UK, I have spoken to many people about Thailand, and everyone who asks me about Thailand usually starts with a negative comment about its visa tightening (see later) or about the increasingly poor business outlook for the country, or the military government, or the well-publicised disastrous recent capital controls and tightening up of the foreign ownership of businesses. It’s always a negative observation, never something positive. But not only is it individuals who hold these views. I have read numerous reports recently of multinationals shifting large investments away from Thailand, wary of inept economic mismanagement and military rule, the ongoing political turmoil, and amid concerns over when the next election will be held, and of falling tourist numbers, particularly from Asian (mostly Japanese and Korean) tourists, worried about personal security. All statistics detailing last year’s final quarter and this year’s first quarter foreign direct investment figures show dramatically weakened investment. Many companies are now looking to Asian neighbours – Malaysia and Vietnam in particular, but increasingly the Philippines, as alternative investment destinations. Unfortunately you don’t need to be a psychic to see the possibility of more pain still to come in the Thai economy as interest rates rise and the real estate market takes a further beating both domestically and from international investors and retirees. But out of real estate doom and gloom usually come buying opportunities, and I think towards the end of the year we will see some very interesting investment opportunities as developers and sellers cut prices to shift stock. Already the incentives offered by developers to real estate agents and to buyers are growing in attractiveness, and maybe this will ironically become the jump start the country needs – a plentiful, cheap supply of quality real estate just waiting to be bought at rock bottom prices.

I have always thought that the Philippines will benefit from what happened to Thailand, which is it's neck-to-neck rival back then during the time of Ramos, but actually not only the PHilippines but neighboring southeast asian countries as well...

just remember, sometime last month while minding our stall in SM Makati, me and my wife was able to talk to an Austrian Woman, she told us how beautiful our country is, our people are one of the most friendliest in the world and that she realized that what she have read about our country is not true, she also added that when she goes back to her country, she will tell her friends to visit the Philippines
too bad i didnt got the chance to ask for her name

My used-to-be Malaysian Indian Landlord also thought that it's only the media that is worsening the current situation in the country, though he has not been able to be in the country yet, he sees it with the Filipinos he's been with and in his opinion, the government's good policies are seen in it's people...

[lightning099]

UK-based firm to invest $1.3B on biofuel refineries in RP
from philstar.com
Thursday, May 24, 2007

UK based bioenergy technology provider NRG Chemical Engineering Pte Ltd. will invest $1.3 billion (P59.8 billion) in a deal with state-owned PNOC-Alternative Fuels Corp. to build biofuel refineries and plantations in the Philippines.

The amount represents the biggest investment by a foreign firm in the country’s biofuels industry.

PNOC-AFC, the biofuels unit of Philippine National Oil Co., has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NRG allowing the two companies to put up bio-refineries and establish jatropha plantations in the next five years.

“NRG has been looking for an investment haven in the various countries in the region and they have decided to invest in the Philippines,” PNOC-AFC president and CEO Peter Abaya said in a press conference.

Negotiations for the joint venture with NRG, Abaya said, started nine months ago. NRG focuses on cutting-edge innovative clean technologies. It intends to enter into the renewable energy and chemicals sectors in the Philippines through biorefining and expects to emerge not only as a significant producer in the biodiesel sector but also in green chemicals and downstream end-products.

After the MOU signing, the two firms are expected to set up a local company 70 percent to be owned by NRG and 30 percent by PNOC-AFC.

Based on the MOU, NRG will invest $455 million for a 3.5 million metric ton (MT) bio-refinery in the first three years of operation of the new firm. The UK firm will also pour in some $600 million for about 500,000 hectares of jatropha plantation over the next five years. Another $200 million would be spent to put up a 300,000 MT bio-ethanol plant.

The joint venture said it plans to build between 350,000 to 700,000 tons of biodiesel capacity starting this year.

The investment is crucial to boost the country’s biofuels industry after Republic Act 9367 or the Biofuels Act was passed early this year.

The law mandates the blending of one percent locally-sourced biodiesel in all diesel products sold by May 2007 and five percent locally-sourced bioethanol mix in all gasoline products in 2009 and a 10 percent bioethanol blend in 2011.

The Biofuels Act is also expected to speed up the government’s efforts towards attaining energy self-sufficiency given that the needed investment and regulatory environment for the development of the local biofuels industry is already in place.

Abaya estimated that the production of biodiesel in the Philippines is projected to increase by at least 200,000 MT in 2009 with the entry of PNOC-AFC in the market. PNOC-AFC favors jatropha oil as its primary feedstock for biodiesel production, with coconut and palm oil as supplements.

“PNOC-AFC will embark on an integrated biofuel production to ensure sustainable supply of feedstock and lower production cost while providing maximum benefits/returns to the company and the farmers. The company will also serve as a catalyst in biofuels production using cheaper indigenous feedstock one of which is jatropha, thereby reducing the country’s dependence on imported oil while contributing to the economic development in the countryside,” Abaya said.

“The growth of the global biofuels market has been driven by government incentives and volatile fossil fuel prices. Governments around the world have promoted the use of biofuels in order to reduce air pollution, mitigate climate change and lessen the reliance on imported fossil fuels, as well as to promote their agricultural industry, “ he added.

“Various countries around the world are intensifying efforts to use biofuels. Indonesia is targeting a 10 percent domestic usage of biofuels by 2010 while the Malaysian government has approved 52 biodiesel licenses, with a cumulative capacity of five million tons. On the other hand, Natural Fuel, a biodiesel manufacturer headquartered in Australia, invested $130 million to build the world’s largest biodiesel facility in Singapore. Here in the Philippines, the Biofuels Act was signed into law on January 12, 2007 and this is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia,” Abaya pointed out.

[mazdamazda]

I have always thought that the Philippines will benefit from what happened to Thailand, which is it's neck-to-neck rival back then during the time of Ramos, but actually not only the PHilippines but neighboring southeast asian countries as well...

The recent coup in Thailand was a really big blow to them. As what I've been saying in the other thread, a military coup to oust a legitimate government even with the blessing of their King is not beneficial to them in the long run. If the Thai military did not stage the coup, they would've had a newly elected PM as the elections was scheduled for Nov 2006.

That's why we have to move forward faster to capitalize on this situation.

[heightdeprived]

UK-based firm to invest $1.3B on biofuel refineries in RP
from philstar.com
Thursday, May 24, 2007

UK based bioenergy technology provider NRG Chemical Engineering Pte Ltd. will invest $1.3 billion (P59.8 billion) in a deal with state-owned PNOC-Alternative Fuels Corp. to build biofuel refineries and plantations in the Philippines.

The amount represents the biggest investment by a foreign firm in the country’s biofuels industry.

PNOC-AFC, the biofuels unit of Philippine National Oil Co., has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NRG allowing the two companies to put up bio-refineries and establish jatropha plantations in the next five years.

“NRG has been looking for an investment haven in the various countries in the region and they have decided to invest in the Philippines,” PNOC-AFC president and CEO Peter Abaya said in a press conference.

Negotiations for the joint venture with NRG, Abaya said, started nine months ago. NRG focuses on cutting-edge innovative clean technologies. It intends to enter into the renewable energy and chemicals sectors in the Philippines through biorefining and expects to emerge not only as a significant producer in the biodiesel sector but also in green chemicals and downstream end-products.

After the MOU signing, the two firms are expected to set up a local company 70 percent to be owned by NRG and 30 percent by PNOC-AFC.

Based on the MOU, NRG will invest $455 million for a 3.5 million metric ton (MT) bio-refinery in the first three years of operation of the new firm. The UK firm will also pour in some $600 million for about 500,000 hectares of jatropha plantation over the next five years. Another $200 million would be spent to put up a 300,000 MT bio-ethanol plant.

The joint venture said it plans to build between 350,000 to 700,000 tons of biodiesel capacity starting this year.

The investment is crucial to boost the country’s biofuels industry after Republic Act 9367 or the Biofuels Act was passed early this year.

The law mandates the blending of one percent locally-sourced biodiesel in all diesel products sold by May 2007 and five percent locally-sourced bioethanol mix in all gasoline products in 2009 and a 10 percent bioethanol blend in 2011.

The Biofuels Act is also expected to speed up the government’s efforts towards attaining energy self-sufficiency given that the needed investment and regulatory environment for the development of the local biofuels industry is already in place.

Abaya estimated that the production of biodiesel in the Philippines is projected to increase by at least 200,000 MT in 2009 with the entry of PNOC-AFC in the market. PNOC-AFC favors jatropha oil as its primary feedstock for biodiesel production, with coconut and palm oil as supplements.

“PNOC-AFC will embark on an integrated biofuel production to ensure sustainable supply of feedstock and lower production cost while providing maximum benefits/returns to the company and the farmers. The company will also serve as a catalyst in biofuels production using cheaper indigenous feedstock one of which is jatropha, thereby reducing the country’s dependence on imported oil while contributing to the economic development in the countryside,” Abaya said.

“The growth of the global biofuels market has been driven by government incentives and volatile fossil fuel prices. Governments around the world have promoted the use of biofuels in order to reduce air pollution, mitigate climate change and lessen the reliance on imported fossil fuels, as well as to promote their agricultural industry, “ he added.

“Various countries around the world are intensifying efforts to use biofuels. Indonesia is targeting a 10 percent domestic usage of biofuels by 2010 while the Malaysian government has approved 52 biodiesel licenses, with a cumulative capacity of five million tons. On the other hand, Natural Fuel, a biodiesel manufacturer headquartered in Australia, invested $130 million to build the world’s largest biodiesel facility in Singapore. Here in the Philippines, the Biofuels Act was signed into law on January 12, 2007 and this is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia,” Abaya pointed out.

Hmmmmm, I don't see it as really good news, AFAIK there are also local Biofuel companies in our turf, what will happen to them after this?

Incoming investment is good however if it will stomp on local players, bad anyway it's just me...

If incoming investments are pouring in I hope the government will be sensitive enough to local players who already exist and minimise dependence on outside investors which will seep out the profits coming from local consumers and as much as possible try to keep the money within the Philippine economy, again it's just me...

[maverickjazzy]

Hmmmmm, I don't see it as really good news, AFAIK there are also local Biofuel companies in our turf, what will happen to them after this?

Incoming investment is good however if it will stomp on local players, bad anyway it's just me...

If incoming investments are pouring in I hope the government will be sensitive enough to local players who already exist and minimise dependence on outside investors which will seep out the profits coming from local consumers and as much as possible try to keep the money within the Philippine economy, again it's just me...

that's the main reason why our economy have stagnated these past several decades. we have a very protectionist economy for a wrong reason. we tend to protect industries and businesses that are owned by the few rich families in the country. in return, they did not aspire to improve their products and sercvices which also resulted in most of these businesses not to be competitive in the world market (kumbaga not world class, yun bang makapagbigay lang ng serbisyo at makapagproduce ng products kahit mahinang klase pwede na). we should protect our farmers and fishermen, not these oligarch families' businesses.

look at what singapore, south korea, taiwan, malaysia and a few other asian countries have done. they opened up their economies during the 60's,70's and 80's to american, japanese and european investors and look where are they now? they are miles ahead of our country in terms of economic prosperity. but take note that their local businesses have also boomed and became competitive against foreign companies. this in return resulted to better services and lower prices of goods.

protecting several key industries such as electric utilities, water, telecomms, beer, and othe critical/efficient businesses is not bad per se. for as long as there is a level playing field (fair set of rules and regulations for both local and foreign companies) there is nothing wrong about accepting foreign investors. mga komunista lang na madalas mag-rally sa kalsada ang ayaw maging competitive ang mga local companies natin, di na nga nakakatulong sa bansa, namemerwisyo pa.

[heightdeprived]

that's the main reason why our economy have stagnated these past several decades. we have a very protectionist economy for a wrong reason. we tend to protect industries and businesses that are owned by the few rich families in the country.

Where's the protectionist economy? Remember globalization? it's here it's happening and a lot of local industries have died out in here, it has killed more small industry players than huge corporations owned by rich families. How I wish that 'protecionist economy' took effect on small farmers who have been eaten alive by dirt cheap imported crops and to those Marikina shoe makers who have been shut down by influx of low quality and dirt cheap chinese shoes.

in return, they did not aspire to improve their products and sercvices which also resulted in most of these businesses not to be competitive in the world market (kumbaga not world class, yun bang makapagbigay lang ng serbisyo at makapagproduce ng products kahit mahinang klase pwede na).

I also do believe that globalization enhances quality and promotes innovation however, the opposite happens when those who would want to innovate doesn't have the means, the government doesn't support them then eventually die out of foreign competition. If the government has support for them prior to having them able to compete with foreign players, why not?

look at what singapore, south korea, taiwan, malaysia and a few other asian countries have done. they opened up their economies during the 60's,70's and 80's to american, japanese and european investors and look where are they now? they are miles ahead of our country in terms of economic prosperity. but take note that their local businesses have also boomed and became competitive against foreign companies. this in return resulted to better services and lower prices of goods.

I beg to disagree, remember Hyundai and Proton? They are products of what you are referring to as 'Protectionist Economy'.

protecting several key industries such as electric utilities, water, telecomms, beer, and othe critical/efficient businesses is not bad per se. for as long as there is a level playing field (fair set of rules and regulations for both local and foreign companies) there is nothing wrong about accepting foreign investors.

Now this is what the government should have done ages ago but they didn't...
They are enhancing the spirit of competition in industries that became highly monopolized where there's slim chances of competition. Look at meralco, manila water and maynilad.

Again I don't go against capitalism, it's good that they get to invest in to the country, however, my idea is, prior to supporting these foreign capitalists, I hope the government will support those locals who has first existed to the industry before sponsoring those foreign companies that kills them. Now that is what I call level playing field.

Here's how I see it,
Look at our local bio fuel companies, they haven't expanded yet, due to lack of government support (we've always wanted to be self sufficient right? ). Then came the foreign investor who'll have the profits rather than the local company having it and have that profit spent inside the country what happens to the local company? BOOM!
IMO There's nothing really wrong with this UK based bio fuel company getting in, if the local companies has already been able to compete with them, what will happen is this foreign company killing the local and having the monopoly on the biofuels products, I hope not.

[maverickjazzy]

Where's the protectionist economy? Remember globalization? it's here it's happening and a lot of local industries have died out in here, it has killed more small industry players than huge corporations owned by rich families. How I wish that 'protecionist economy' took effect on small farmers who have been eaten alive by dirt cheap imported crops and to those Marikina shoe makers who have been shut down by influx of low quality and dirt cheap chinese shoes.

my reply: the right term here is smuggling, these cheap produce does not pay taxes and were abetted by unscrupulous gov't officials specifically customs. see all those cheap goods in divisoria, a lot of them are cheap because they were smuggled although we can't deny that they were also cheap because the wages in china is very low. how about those marikina shoe makers? last i heard they are still doing fine, by the way i seldom buy imported leather shoes but i buy mostly branded local shoes like rusty lopez, otto, and others. this is where the quality of local products comes to play. if these local brands are of good quality, a lot of filipinos would patronize them, the way i patronize these local shoe brands because of their good quality.

I also do believe that globalization enhances quality and promotes innovation however, the opposite happens when those who would want to innovate doesn't have the means, the government doesn't support them then eventually die out of foreign competition. If the government has support for them prior to having them able to compete with foreign players, why not?

my reply: let me just make it clear. a protectionist economic policy does not protect a single busines or company but rather a whole industry, say agricultural industry or car industry. let just say if the govt helps a local automobile manufacturer, for example Francisco Motors, against foreign competition and yet allowed these foreign car manufacturers to operate here in the country, that is not protectionist but rather supportive of a particular local player.

I beg to disagree, remember Hyundai and Proton? They are products of what you are referring to as 'Protectionist Economy'.

my reply: No. they were not protected but supported by their government. and these companies learned to innovate because they competed in the global market.

Now this is what the government should have done ages ago but they didn't...
They are enhancing the spirit of competition in industries that became highly monopolized where there's slim chances of competition. Look at meralco, manila water and maynilad.

Again I don't go against capitalism, it's good that they get to invest in to the country, however, my idea is, prior to supporting these foreign capitalists, I hope the government will support those locals who has first existed to the industry before sponsoring those foreign companies that kills them. Now that is what I call level playing field.

Here's how I see it,
Look at our local bio fuel companies, they haven't expanded yet, due to lack of government support (we've always wanted to be self sufficient right? ). Then came the foreign investor who'll have the profits rather than the local company having it and have that profit spent inside the country what happens to the local company? BOOM!
IMO There's nothing really wrong with this UK based bio fuel company getting in, if the local companies has already been able to compete with them, what will happen is this foreign company killing the local and having the monopoly on the biofuels products, I hope not.

again whats wrong about these foreign companies competing against local biodiesel companies? nothing, because if this early the local biodiesel companies have learned to operate efficiently they wouldnt have any problems competing against these foreign companies, just look at jollibee. this company competed head on against multinational fast food chains like mcdonalds, kfc, wendys, etc but look at them they are the number one fast food chain in the country. and we cannot say that the government protected them but rather they have learned to innovate.

[mazdamazda]

Here's how I see it,
Look at our local bio fuel companies, they haven't expanded yet, due to lack of government support (we've always wanted to be self sufficient right? ). Then came the foreign investor who'll have the profits rather than the local company having it and have that profit spent inside the country what happens to the local company? BOOM!

IMO There's nothing really wrong with this UK based bio fuel company getting in, if the local companies has already been able to compete with them, what will happen is this foreign company killing the local and having the monopoly on the biofuels products, I hope not.

Errr...

Chemrez (the biggest biofuel manufacturer) holds a commanding 60+ percent share of the local biofuel market. They opened also their new 650M peso coco-biodiesel plant last year and was able to post profits consistently year after year. They will also spend another 650M peso to upgrade their logistical & storage capacity. The BOI also granted Chemrez a pioneer status for their investments.

With that, can you say again that there is no gov't support for them or that they are not expanding or that they cannot compete?

Another, the $1.3B investment will be partially owned by the PNOC (30%) and $600M is allocated for the jatropha plantation. This is different from the CME that is currently being produced by the local biofuel players. The output of these plants is not primarily for the PH market but for export overseas.

[lightning099]

Hanjin clinches orders for at least 9 ships

Inquirer
05/28/2007


SOUTH Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Corp. has received orders for at least nine container ships which would be built in the company's shipyard in Subic.

These orders, worth about $950 million, came only about a month after the Hanjin's Subic facility opened.

According to one of the firm's clients, NSC Schifffahrtsgesellschaft mbH und Cie KG of Germany, its order of four vessels worth $650 million would be delivered starting 2010.

Danaos Corp. of Greece, which ordered five vessels at a cost "within the region of $300 million," said it was expecting its ships to be delivered between November 2009 and June of 2010.

Further, Korean media quoted a Hanjin spokesperson as saying that the company won contracts worth $2.2 billion covering 21 container and bulk ships for delivery within two and a half years.

These orders came from clients in France, Turkey and India, and all of the ships geared to these markets will be built in Subic.

In a statement, German shipping fund specialist Lloyds Fond AG--which is handling NSC's order--said the deal was signed last week for four 12,825-TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) ships with an option for an additional four of the same.

These 365.6-meter long 48.4-meter wide vessels, which can accommodate up to 1,000 containers have been designed to fit the Panama Canal after its planned enlargement.

This is the second batch of order from Hamburg-based NSC, whose first order covers six 4,300-TEU ships that are already queued in one of the Subic shipyard's production line.

In a separate statement, Athens-based Danaos announced it had signed up for five 3,400-TEU vessels, which was also an additional batch of order for five ships from Hanjin.

"Danaos will take delivery of these vessels at a time when building berths for large containerships around the world are becoming increasingly hard to find," the firm said in a statement. "We have also arranged for 10-year charters for all of these vessels at accretive rates with a major liner company."

The vessels would be powered by Korean-built electronic engines providing improved efficiency, lower emissions and with a design speed of 23 knots, it added.

HHIC-Philippines Inc. switched on the still plate cutting machine in Subic last April 19, signaling the start of production at the Redondo Peninsula.

HHIC-PI built the shipyard complex on a 480-hectare land in the peninsula with a committed investment of $1 billion. The project is expected to create job opportunities for some 30,000 direct and indirect employees.

The switch-on happened in less than 14 months after signing the memorandum of agreement for the construction of the shipyard.

Some 4,000 people have already been employed during the pre-operation and construction phase.

According to the Department of Trade and Industry, the facility is expected to bring in up to $3.5 billion worth of investments in export industries.

[lightning099]

Boracay regains title as one of world's top ten beaches


Boracay Island, Aklan -- The Boracay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Department of Tourism and the Aklan Provincial Government are optimistic that business will be good in this island resort after it regained its old title as one of the world's top ten beaches.

This developed after the BCCI reported in its monthly newsletter for the month of April released recently that this resort island is ranked number eight among the top ten best beaches in the world by the askmen.com website. Said website claims to have a readership of 5 million readers worldwide monthly.

Dubbed as the top ten best beaches in the world are: 1.) Copacabana, Brazil; 2.) Waikiki, Hawaii; 3.) Cancun, Mexico; 4.) Surfers Paradise, Australia; 5.) Negril, Jamaica; 6.) South Beach, Florida; 7.) Natadola Beach, Fiji; 8.) Boracay Philippines; 9.) Tenerife, Canary Islands and 10.) Phi Phi Island, Thailand.

In an interview, Aklan Governor Carlito Marquez said that the prestige now being enjoyed by this resort island is due to the continued aggressive promotion of the Department of Tourism which not only resulted to the increase in the number of tourists but also increase in the number of investors.

Last month, officials of the Air Transportation Office vowed to make Kalibo Airport the gateway for international destination in Western Visayas region after it had successfully operated the first Asian Spirit direct flight coming from Incheon, South Korea.

"Some international hotel and resort investors have already expressed its interests in investing in this resort island. Among them the Shangrila-Philippines, Discovery Hotel Suites among others are scheduled to open its respective hotels in this resort island until May next year," Marquez said.

Meanwhile, BCCI president Charlie Uy said that their target this year is to ensure food safety in all the corners of this resort island as they were alarmed by the reports of the Department of Health that this resort island ranks first in the entire country as having the most number of gastro intestinal illnesses with a share of 37 percent in the pie.

"We have been organizing series of food safety seminars and workshops since March until December this year as we are committed to promoting food safety in the island for members and non-members as part of our advocacy of sustainable development of tourism in this resort island," Uy said.

[lightning099]

Teletech expands Philippine operations

INQUIRER.net
Last updated 02:25pm (Mla time) 05/30/2007


MANILA, Philippines -- Business process outsourcing (BPO) operator TeleTech Holdings is on an expansion binge with the opening of two new centers that will focus on existing markets in the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.

The two new facilities will be in Bacoor, Cavite and Iloilo City, Iloilo, and the construction us expected to finish by the latter part of 2007.

Teletech Asian Operations General Manager Maulik Parekh said the Bacoor office will have 1,300 seats while the Iloilo center will have 650.

"We're expecting to increase our employee base from 10,000 to 12,000 by the end of the year," Parekh said.

With a total of 10 BPO centers in the country, TeleTech is now the country's biggest outsourcing operator. Parekh himself said that 20 percent of their global operations are based in the country.

"We're serving a wide variety of vertical industries. Our biggest users are in the telecommunications business, followed by banking and finance, then retail," Parekh said.

Since it started operating in the Philippines in 2001, the company's overall operations have grown an average of 150 percent per year.

Teletech started opening up offices in Metro Manila but has since expanded to provincial areas such sa Cebu, Negros, Bacolod, Batangas and Dumaguete.

[mazdamazda]

Dami kong nabasang good news yesterday! Some of them:

- PGMA secures roughly $1.3B in new investments from her visit to the Australia & New Zealand. NZ also pledges to buy/import agri products worth $30M.

- An American firm is set to put a $150M new ethanol plant in Central Luzon. The owner plans to make it 100% operated by Filipinos after sometime (it currently has 100 Filipino employees). They are now sourcing for a 10-20 hectare sugarcane plantation to supply the feedstock.

- PAL to spend $1B in its refleeting program.

-

[heightdeprived]

Errr...

Chemrez (the biggest biofuel manufacturer) holds a commanding 60+ percent share of the local biofuel market. They opened also their new 650M peso coco-biodiesel plant last year and was able to post profits consistently year after year. They will also spend another 650M peso to upgrade their logistical & storage capacity. The BOI also granted Chemrez a pioneer status for their investments.

With that, can you say again that there is no gov't support for them or that they are not expanding or that they cannot compete?

Another, the $1.3B investment will be partially owned by the PNOC (30%) and $600M is allocated for the jatropha plantation. This is different from the CME that is currently being produced by the local biofuel players. The output of these plants is not primarily for the PH market but for export overseas.

I stand corrected, perhaps the government support may not be enough, I just hope by the time foreign investments came in in the same segment, they will be able to compete...
And I hope our country will be as self-sufficient as Brazil with their fuel needs in the near future...
we already have the talents, I hope such biofuels scheme expand in the same manner...

[mazdamazda]

Just heard this over the radio... the PH's GDP grew by 6.9% during Q1 2007! :clap:

[maverickjazzy]

Western Union opens RP call center Facility said to be fourth of its kind in the world

New-York listed global money transfer service network Western Union on Friday opened a regional operations call center in Quezon City as part of its expansion activities in the Philippines.

David Larkworthy, Western Union se-nior vice-president and head of global operations, told reporters that the Asian Regional Operating Center in Muñoz, Quezon City, will initially employ 100 Filipino agents.

"We consider this new facility to be yet another avenue to deliver the highest level of service to our customers as well as our agents," Mr. Larkworthy said.

"By opting to locate the [center] here in the Philippines, Western Union shows its confidence in the Filipino customer service representatives who are known not only for their professionalism, but also their innate friendliness. Filipinos are always happy to help people," he added.

Western Union officials declined how much the company invested in setting up the regional operating center.

Ian K. Marsh, Western Union executive vice-president and managing director for Asia Pacific, said the Quezon City call center is just the fourth of its kind worldwide. Western Union has regional operating centers in Texas and Missouri in the US, and in Costa Rica.

"As part of Western Union’s continued expansion and commitment within Asia Pacific, [the center] will provide dedicated customer service, agent support as well as backroom operations for 37 countries and territories in the region," Mr. Marsh said.

He said the new operation center is capable of accepting 2,000 to 3,000 calls everyday, in 23 languages including English, Filipino, and Mandarin.

Western Union operates through a network of more than 305,000 agent locations in over 200 countries, and territories worldwide. Famous for its pioneering telegraph services, the original Western Union dates back to 1851. Western Union has been in the Philippines for the past 19 years.

Mr. Larkworthy said Western Union partnered with global customer interaction solutions provider VXI Global Solutions, Inc. for the Quezon City call center’s facilities.

In addition to amenities including sleeping quarters, lounges, recreation rooms and a cafeteria, the center’s customer service representatives will also participate in VXI’s four-phase best practice training program.

"We provide operating center proficiency training by familiarizing and keeping customer service representatives up to date with our leading-edge call center solutions and technologies," VXI president David Zhou said.

"The four-phase training program is expected to develop them into the country’s top performers in delivering superior customer contact experience by meeting, if not exceeding, expectations in terms of customer empathy, cultural alignment, professionalism and expertise," he added.

Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila welcomed the opening of Western Union’s operations center.

"We are extremely pleased that Western Union, a significant global player in the financial industry, has chosen to consolidate and centralize their regional support for both business partners and customers in the Philippines," the Trade chief said in a statement.

"This reaffirms the fact that the Philippines is well-poised as a preferred location for Southeast Asia’s hub for call center services," Mr. Favila added. — Jeffrey O. Valisno

[mazdamazda]

Western Union? Kaya pala ang lalaki tarpaulin ng Western Union near Munoz... dun yata sila sa building na yun.

[maverickjazzy]

Metrobank to build RP’s tallest hotel THE PROPERTY UNIT OF THE METROBANK GROUP plans to build the country’s tallest building which will also house a five-star hotel as part of its move to capitalize on the booming tourism business.

Sources familiar with the project revealed that Federal Land Inc. would build a 66-storey structure whose upper 20 floors would be occupied by a 350-room hotel.

The mixed-use complex would be built on the 27-hectare North Bonifacio district inside Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. owns 10.4 hectares of this property, while the remaining 16 odd hectares belong to the state-owned Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA).

The building’s lower floors would also house high-grade office space, while a pair of 40-storey residential towers would also be built beside it.

Federal Land chair Alfred Ty said the entire complex would cost approximately P20 billion.

In an interview, Tourism Sec. Ace Durano lauded the initiative, saying it would further boost the tourism industry.

“The taipans are all investing in tourism now,” he said, referring to the country’s richest Chinese-Filipino businessmen. “The fact that they’re investing in the hospitality business is a big vote of confidence.”

The Metrobank Group already has a small footprint in the tourism business through its hotel in Cebu City managed by the Marco Polo chain.

Its most recent foray into the booming sector, however, follows the move of other conglomerates, like SM Investment Corp.’s launch of its P5-billion Hamilo Coast tourism project and Ayala Land Inc.’s P7.4-billion deal with Saudi-owned Kingdom Hotel Investments for a three-hotel complex in Makati City.

“I have always said that if we couldn’t convince our own taipans to invest in tourism, then we wouldn’t be able to convince other investors to come in,” Durano said.

Once completed, the entire complex would have a total floor area of 140,000 square meters. The hotel venture is part of a master plan being developed by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum Inc. International Ltd.

The tourism chief said that the Metrobank Group’s project would ease the problem of lack of hotel rooms, which is one of the two main bottlenecks in the industry, the other being the lack of airline seats into and out of the country.

“If we address these bottlenecks, we could easily achieve 10 to 15 million arrivals each year,” he said.

Durano pointed out that the rising number of tourist arrivals have already resulted in the smoothening out of occupancy rates in Metro Manila, virtually eliminating peaks and troughs experienced in the past.

He added that this has also resulted in the “over-utilization” of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Terminal 1 by as much as 167 percent, making the opening of the mothballed Terminal 3 even more urgent.

[lightning099]

Bayanihan Dancers win World Folk Dance Title

The multi-awarded Bayanihan Dance Company are grand champions at the World Folk Dance Festival in Spain.

The 27-person delegation, including seven musicians and 16 dancers were declared "absolute winner," or the grand champion of the 22nd World Folk Dance Festival besting delegations from 50 countries of Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.

The entry of the 50-year-old Bayanihan was an eight-minute dance narrative called "The Voyage for Love and Peace," which told the tale of star-crossed lovers through several famous Philippine folk dances, including the singkil and the kuntao.

The Bayanihan troupe won the nod of the judges from Spain, Australia, Argentina, the Netherlands and Wales.

"We depicted the voyage for love and peace. We weaved the dances together with the story," said the company's executive director Suzie Benitez.

"We said we wanted to tell the story of the Philippines, we wanted them to see our culture, but we also wanted to win. And so when they called us the grand champion, we were all feeling so high, and so proud, and the sprinkling of Filipinos who were there were all crying with us," she said.

[Blackraven]

More good news on infrastructure spending

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=79699

The government said Tuesday it will tap $1.3 billion in foreign funds for its 10 priority infrastructure projects to take advantage of increasing investor interest in the Philippines.

In a press conference, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said prospective investors who attended the government's no-deal roadshows in Hong Kong and Tokyo were particularly interested to finance some of the country's infrastructure projects.

The projects that will be offered to prospective investors are being finalized and will be disseminated by the Investors Relations Office, a government entity tasked to coordinate with various investors and analysts.

Teves explained that an investor or a group of investors can bankroll a certain project, and get a return via fees or toll.

Teves said that the usual rate of return is between 12 percent and 15 percent.

Government guarantees may be given to investors that fund projects included in the medium term development plan, while multilateral agencies like the Asian Development Bank can give long term credit or partial guarantees for others.

[heightdeprived]

Statistics show RP less poor
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquirer...ticle_id=61652

By Solita Collas-Monsod
Inquirer
Last updated 03:16am (Mla time) 04/21/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- Can we please try to shed more light rather than generate more heat on the very important matter of the Philippines' poverty situation? Ever since the World Bank released its 2007 World Development Indicators, every Juan, Pepe and Kiko seems to be making assertions about what is happening to poverty in the Philippines--assertions that are unfortunately based on either outdated data or on the wrong interpretation of the data, or on no data at all! So let's try to set the record straight.

First, the data on the incidence and magnitude of Philippine poverty (incidence refers to the percentage of the population, and magnitude refers to the number of people) that started the whole brouhaha going were for the year 2000, and not anywhere near the present time. These were actually mentioned in the written news report, but they seem to have gotten overlooked by everyone who talked about them, because everyone was talking as if these referred to the here and now. Imagine arguing over seven-year-old data!

The irony of it is that the 15 million figure for the number of Filipino poor in 2000, based on the WB estimates, is actually much less than the official poverty estimates published by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). If the latter were used, the headlines would have been: "25 million Filipinos are poor," or something to that effect. The government's official poverty estimates are actually larger than those of the WB, and for that matter those of independent experts like Arsi Balisacan--which is a switch, because some people accuse government of fudging the data to give a rosier picture than the reality.

Which leads to a second point: the misinterpretation or misunderstanding of the data. The poverty line used by the WB is $1 a day (which it calls the international poverty line). One can easily jump to the conclusion that this is equivalent to P50 a day, using an approximation of the current nominal exchange rate. One would be wrong. The exchange rate that the WB uses is the so-called Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) exchange rate which is supposed to equalize the cost of a common basket of (tradeable) goods between countries--at 1993 prices, at that--and which is used to allow international comparisons. At the PPP exchange rate used by the WB, that $1 poverty line would be equivalent to something like P12.60 a day. Compare that to the Philippines' official poverty line in 2000, which was P31.39 a day. Now we can begin to understand why the WB data indicate that there were 15 million poor Filipinos in 2000, while the NSCB published a figure of 25 million.

But the ones who have jumped to the wrong conclusion shouldn't feel too bad. Because the WB itself has become careless, and does not mention, except in its endnotes, that it is talking about the PPPUS1, thus making it easy for the average reader to make the mistake.

Now to the nitty-gritty: What can be said, based on empirical rather than anecdotal evidence, about poverty in the Philippines? Let us turn to the NSCB's Philippine Statistical Yearbook.

A very important fact, as opposed to the factoids that are foisted on us, is that both the incidence and magnitude of poverty have been decreasing, at least from 2000 to 2003: from 33 percent of the population to 30 percent of the population, and from 25.5 million people to 23.8 million people. The decreases in both incidence and magnitude are statistically significant. The decrease of 1.7 million poor people in the three-year period is noteworthy because in the same time period, our population increased by about five million.

The national average, it goes almost without saying, hides a tremendous amount of disparities, ranging from 6.9 percent (NCR) to 60 percent (ARMM) between regions, and from 5.5 percent (first district of NCR) to 70.2 percent (Masbate) between provinces. And while most regions and provinces improved, some deteriorated.

But 2003 was four years ago. Unfortunately, the results of the 2006 Family Income and Expenditures Survey, from which income distribution and poverty estimates are made, will not be out until after elections--which is a great pity. A more timely release of the data would enable the people to have solid bases for judging the performance of their political leaders.

In the meantime, is there any way of making reasonable predictions of what that survey will indicate? Well, yes. Poverty expert Balisacan has found that for every one point of per capita income growth, poverty incidence decreases by 1.5 percent; and for every percentage point decrease in the Gini ratio (a measure of inequality), poverty incidence decreases by 2.5 percent points. These elasticities, because that is what they are called, are comparable with those found for neighboring countries.

Put that to work: per capita income grew by 4.05 percent, 2.88 percent and 3.29 percent in 2004, 2005 and 2006 respectively. Assuming there was no change in income distribution during this time period, the arithmetic shows that poverty will likely have decreased from 30 percent in 2003, to 25.5 percent in 2006.

Is it reasonable to assume that income distribution will not have changed? Balisacan opines that any change will be small, because of the short time period. Moreover, the change, given the recent past, is even likely to be for the better.

This is bad news for the strident critics of the administration. Too bad for them. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo can be criticized for a lot of things, but let us at least give credit where it is due.