Tag: BPI

  • Ayala buys stake in Zalora Philippines

    Ayala buys stake in Zalora Philippines

    Ayala Corporation has stepped into eCommerce by acquiring a 49 per cent stake in BF Jade E-Service Philippines, which owns and runs fashion platform Zalora Philippines.

    The conglomerate has announced it is buying 43.3 per cent of BF Jade, while in a separate disclosure Ayala Land says it will own 1.91 per cent. BPI Capital Corporation and Kickstart Ventures also acquired minority stakes in BF-Jade. BPI and Kickstart are wholly owned subsidiaries of BPI and Globe Telecom respectively.

    Ayala’s involvement is part of its strategy to invest in new disruptive businesses offering innovation to evolving markets, the conglomerate says.

    “This investment demonstrates how we at Ayala look at innovation and growth opportunities,” says chairman/CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala.

    “We see the potential of eCommerce in the country, and believe the Ayala group can benefit and add tremendous value to Zalora. With resources in banking, real estate and telecommunications, the investment presents new opportunities for Ayala to generate synergies throughout the eCommerce value chain.”

    Zalora Philippines was co-founded in 2012 as part of the global network of the Zalora Group, which is 100 per cent owned by the Global Fashion Group.

  • Mobikon partners with BPI for Philippines foray

    Mobikon partners with BPI for Philippines foray

    Singapore-based Mobikon has tied up with Bank of the Philippines Islands (BPI) in Manila to offer its customer engagement platform to restaurants.

    The tie up will add a repertoire of over 300 restaurants in Mobikon’s network and strengthen its presence in South East Asia. Currently, the company has 1500 restaurants across India, Singapore, Malaysia, Macau, Philippines, and Dubai.

    “Apart from organic growth for the company, one of the key pivot in our strategy is where we target larger brand as a reference point for other brands to follow. The rewards program given out by banks is commoditised. We saw an opportunity for a win-win tripartite partnership with BPI,” said Anuj Jain, vice-president, Asia-Pacific, Mobikon. BPI confirmed the tie up but declined to discuss further details in response to an email query from ET.

    Through this contract-based partnership, BPI will provide Mobikon’s customer relationship management platform to restaurants on a tablet as a ready-to-use value-added solution. In turn, BPI will advertise its offering on Mobikon’s platform to restaurant brands as self-promotion and to strengthen relationships.

    Currently, Mobikon works with 100 restaurants in Manila. Mobikon is also in talks with other leading banks in India and other markets and also exploring strategic partnerships with mPOS & cloud POS companies.

    Within this year, Mobikon has raised close to $4 million from Jungle Ventures, Life-.Sreda and Qualgro. It strengthened its market reach in Singapore this August acquiring ‘Triibe’, a customer feedback platform in South East Asian markets.

  • BPI books P13.8-b net profit

    BPI books P13.8-b net profit

    Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third-largest bank in the country, posted an 8-percent increase in net income in the first nine months to P13.84 billion from P12.8 billion year-on-year on the strength of its core businesses.

    Total revenues increased 9 percent or P3.67 billion to P44.1 billion year-on-year as both net interest income and non-interest income grew P2.98 billion and P0.68 billion, respectively.

    Operating expenses rose 6.7 percent to P22.89 billion on year, a slower rate than revenue growth. As a result, the bank’s cost-to-income ratio improved to 51.9 percent from 53.1 percent a year ago. Return on equity decreased to 12.6 percent, from last year’s 13.3 percent.

    Both total loans and total deposits rose in double digits year-on-year. Total loans stood at P780.07 billion, an increase of 11.2 percent on year. Corporate loans accounted for 76.6 percent while retail loans stood at 23.4 percent.

    “Gross 90-day non-performing loans rose slightly to 1.9 percent from 1.8 percent of total loans, while loan loss cover remained 107 percent. Total deposits stood at P1.18 trillion, up 13.3 percent higher year-on-year. CASA ratio ended the quarter at 72.5 percent,” the bank said.

    Total assets during the period stood at P1.41 trillion, 8.8 percent or P113.78 billion higher than that of the same period last year.

    Investment securities closed at P303.28 billion, a 15.2 percent hike year-on-year. The bank’s investment securities remained mostly held-to-maturity, at P240.87 billion.

    Capital, net of cash dividends of P3.54 billion paid to shareholders on Sept. 2, 2015, ended at P150.44 billion. This represents a 9.3-percent growth in total capital versus September last year.

    Capital adequacy ratio was at 14.9 percent from 15.7 percent a year ago. CET1 stood at 14.0 percent.

    Earlier in the year, the Asian Banker named BPI as the Best Retail Bank in the Philippines for 2015. BPI also received the Best Electronic Delivery Channel award during the inaugural Bank Marketing Awards night, organized by the Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines.

    The award recognizes the bank that successfully implemented the most innovative electronic delivery systems and achieved the desired results in terms of usage and acceptance.

    BPI, the first bank in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia, is a commercial bank with an expanded banking license. BPI’s services include consumer banking and lending, asset management, insurance, securities brokerage and distribution, foreign exchange, leasing, and corporate and investment banking.