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Tag: Philippines

  • Philippines stands to gain in new export markets

    Philippines stands to gain in new export markets

    Philippines stands to gain in new export markets

    The Philippines stands to profit from agriculture products with its entry into new export markets in an attempt to diversify their economy.

    In particular, virgin coconut oil is in demand in South Africa, where the coconut is not a native tree, its embassy in Manila said in a statement.

    “If someone sees you in a retail store with coconut oil, they classify you as someone from a high-end society. It is very expensive. So it has a good market in South Africa,” Deputy Head of Mission Tshire Kau said.

    Even though high volumes of Philippine bananas are shipped to the Persian Gulf, the demand for the fruit, as well as other agriculture products from the Philippines, continues to exceed supply in Iran.

    Consumers want products not easily available in local stores but which are widely produced or grown in the Philippines.

    “So many Iranian companies are still requesting for more bananas from the Philippines,” Iranian Ambassador to the Philippines Mohammad Tanhaei said.

    He explains the growth of exports and the growing variety of foods consumed by the people of India, another potential export market, stating:

    “India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, enabling its population to acquire large disposable incomes, a big portion of which is spent on food. Indians now like to experiment with what they eat and have developed a huge appetite for non-traditional Indian cuisine, Ramakrishnan noted”

     

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  • AirAsia’s Philippine Affiliate Eyes India Market

    AirAsia’s Philippine Affiliate Eyes India Market

    Low-cost carrier Philippines AirAsia is seeking to operate flights to India from the Philippines. A regulatory filing showed Philippines AirAsia has filed an application for designation as official Philippine carrier and for the grant of allocation of flight entitlements to India.

    In particular, Philippines AirAsia wants to be able to operate seven weekly flights on the Manila – Bangkok – New Delhi route.

    The carrier’s request is being made in accordance to the existing air services agreement between the governments of the Philippines and India.

    A hearing is scheduled on Jan.10 at the office of the Civil Aeronautics Board in Pasay City to enable the government to decide on Philippines AirAsia’s petition.

    Philippines AirAsia is a joint venture company between Filipino investors Antonio Cojuango, Alfredo Yao, Michael Romero, Marianne Hontiveros and Malaysia’s AirAsia Berhad.

    It operates domestic and international flights out of Manila, Cebu and Kalibo.

    In November last year, the carrier expanded its operations by offering direct flights to Singapore from Cebu, as well as direct flight services to Taipei in Taiwan from Manila and Cebu.

    In the third quarter last year, Philippines AirAsia trimmed its net loss by 12 percent to P1.20 billion from P1.36 billion in the same period in 2015 amid higher revenues and passenger volume.

    AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes earlier said Philippines AirAsia is on track with its turnaround plan.

    “We will take PAA (Philippines AirAsia) into the black by end-2017 on double-digit topline growth and a lower cost base from a more efficient fleet and keeping staff costs to below 10 percent of revenue,” he said.

    “We will go further by working on increasing ancillary revenue to above P500 per passenger,” he added.

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  • Philippines International Beauty Trade Show to be held on May 2017

    Philippines International Beauty Trade Show to be held on May 2017

    Philbeauty, the pioneer and the only international beauty trade show in the Philippines, is back for its third year in 2017. The iconic event will be held from Wednesday to Friday, 31 May to 2 June 2017 at the SMX Convention Centre in Pasay City, Manila and expects to host more than 200 key leading exhibitors from across countries and regions, including mainland China, Japan, India, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan and Malaysia. The three-day exhibition is expected to attract over 200 leading local and international exhibiting companies and more than 6000 local and international trade visitors.

    Bridging The Gap — philbeauty, the professional beauty trade fair that provides a major contribution to the growing beauty industry in the Philippines.

    philbeauty 2017 will not only be packed with a variety of beauty products, services and technological solutions, but will also feature a business matchmaking programme, a series of workshops, knowledge seminars, international beauty conference and networking opportunities that will provide crucial insights into future scientific advances, emerging trends and regulations, and most importantly, to create new business opportunities.

    Referring to Trade Map from International Trade Centre, the value of imported beauty or make-up preparations for the care of the skin in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 increased by 13% and 19%, respectively, and in 2015 it was valued at 96,458,000 USD.

    The Philippine economy grew an annual 6.3% in the December 2015, accelerating from an upwardly revised 6.1% expansion in the previous three months and above market consensus. It is the highest growth since the fourth quarter of last year, as all sectors of economy showed an expansion at a fast rate, whilst government expenditure remained robust.

  • AirAsia Philippines wants flights to India

    AirAsia Philippines wants flights to India

    Budget airline Philippines AirAsia wants flights to India and has sought the Philippine government’s approval for the right to launch a route to New Delhi.

    Philippines AirAsia, the domestic unit of Malaysian budget carrier giant AirAsia Berhad, filed an application with the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) last month, a regulatory filing showed.

    According to the filing, the airline was seeking an allocation of seven weekly flights to New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, via Bangkok, Thailand. This was in accordance with the existing air services agreement between the Philippines and India, it said.

    The move was in step with a strategy to broaden its market share in the Philippines for both domestic and international markets.

    Philippines AirAsia, which took over Zest Airways, controls about 10 percent of the Philippine commercial aviation market, which is still dominated by Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air.

    AirAsia Bhd Group CEO Tony Fernandes said last month he remained bullish on their prospects in the Philippines. Philippines Air Asia, which has yet to post a full-year profit, would be back in the black by 2017, the airline said in a financial filing.

    Fernandes noted that the carrier would soon be able to finance its own expansion plans.

    He said Philippines  AirAsia would accelerate plans to hold an initial public offering in the Philippines, originally eyed in 2018, to next year. He said this would raise over $200 million.

    Philippines AirAsia, which still relies on AirAsia Bhd for financial support, has a fleet of 15 Airbus A320s, which it uses for domestic and regional routes.

    Philippines AirAsia reported a net operating loss of P914.8 million, lower by 2 percent, while net loss after tax narrowed 12 percent to P1.2 billion for the third quarter of 2016, a filing with the Malaysian Stock Exchange showed.

    The airline continued to grow, with revenues up 24 percent to P2.57 billion. Philippines AirAsia said this was due to an 8 percent increase in passenger volume, and increase in average fares by 21 percent to P2,245.

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  • Jobless Filipino wins car, cash in DSF raffle

    Jobless Filipino wins car, cash in DSF raffle

    Filipino expatriate Joel Gutierrez receives his prize during the awarding ceremony hosted by Dubai Shopping Festival.

    Dubai: When news came that his employer would be terminating his services in February, Joel Gutierrez, an expatriate from the Philippines, was devastated. He was saddened by the fact that he had an unemployed wife and two children, ages 10 and 3, to support back home and an Dh80,000 loan in Dubai to pay.

    But even with the prospect of being jobless after 16 years of working in UAE and having no money coming in, Joel didn’t lose hope that everything will turn for the better.  “Although my budget is really tight, I still bought a ticket for the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) raffle. In fact, I bought four this month,” he recalled. It seemed like it was the only hope for Joel to get out of his “painful” situation. And he was right.

    Joel, 43, has just been informed that he won a luxury Infiniti car on the first day of DSF, plus a Dh150,000 cash. “I had prayed so hard for this. Actually, I prayed for it every day, when I was out walking on the street, taking the Metro, or anywhere,” Gutierrez said.

    The Filipino expatriate, who works as a salesman at a clothing shop in Dubai, opted to get the cash equivalent of the luxury car, so he is expecting to bring home a total of Dh300,000 cash, or nearly 4 million pesos. For him, the money would be enough to start a new life in the Philippines and pay off his personal loan in Dubai.

    “This will now help me build a new and happy life for me and my family. I will use the money to invest in a grocery store back home.”

    Joel credited his strong belief for the great fortune.  He has been buying DSF raffle tickets for years now and it’s only when he was told he would be terminated from his job when luck came his way.  “I would buy ten tickets in a year and it’s the first time I’ve won,” he said.

    “When they told me I would be laid off, it was really painful. But that didn’t make me lose hope. I wish to thank Dubai and DSF for this unexpected fortune,” he added

    Since its inception in 1996, DSF has been offering life-changing prizes, and the festival’s 22nd edition, which started on 26 December, is no different with daily raffle draws offering shoppers the opportunity to win incredible prizes.

    The Infiniti Mega Raffle offers one lucky shopper the opportunity to drive home an Infiniti QX70 plus Dh150,000 in cash daily upon purchase of a raffle ticket for Dh200. In the daily Nissan Grand Raffle, customers have the chance to win one of eight Nissan models  – Micra, Sunny, Sentra, Tiida Hatchback, X-Trail, Juke, Pathfinder and Patrol. Customers will receive a raffle coupon upon purchase of non-fuel products worth Dh20 at any EPPCO and ENOC petrol stations, as well as Zoom shops in Dubai.

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  • SM City Tianjin open door

    SM City Tianjin open door

    SM Prime Holdings says it has opened its giant new SM City Tianjin shopping centre.

    But some property industry sources are expressing concerns that the second-tier Chinese city is already over-malled and wondering how the centre will fare.

    “The Philippines biggest retail developer must be hoping that Christmas is catching on in Tianjin,” observed property industry website Mingtandi, described Tianjin as “famously oversupplied”.

    The 565,000 sqm property is SM Prime’s seventh mall in China. More are on the drawing board as the Philippine company tries to expand its offshore interests.

    “The opening of SM City Tianjin reflects our strong confidence on China’s economy,” said SM Prime president Jeffrey Lim in a statement announcing the soft opening.

    “This gives SM Prime a wider perspective on China’s shopping culture, allowing us to capture bigger opportunities as an international integrated property developer.”

    SM Prime has malls in Xiamen, Jinjiang, Chengdu, Suzhou, Chongqing and Zibo and 60 malls in the Philippines, boasting a combined gross floor area of 9.1 million sqm both in the two countries.

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  • Jollibee Winnipeg first Canadian foothold

    Jollibee Winnipeg first Canadian foothold

    Filipino restaurant company and global fast-food chain Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) has opened its first Canadian outlet, Jollibee Winnipeg.

    With 35 stores already in North America, it plans to continue its march into Canada with three more outlets next year, at Winnipeg Northgate, Scarborough, and Mississauga, to be followed by Edmonton in 2018.

    In the US, it is also set to open its first store in the state of Florida, in Jacksonville, and its first store for Manhattan, New York.

    “It has been a joy to see the happiness families experience when visiting our locations in the US, and we are thrilled to now bring that same feeling into Canada at such a festive time like this,” says JFC group president for north America and foreign franchise brands Jose Minana.

    “Winnipeg is a fitting choice for Jollibee’s first Canadian store because it has largest density of Filipinos to the total population of the city,” says JFC North America VP/GM Maribeth dela Cruz.

    JFC is currently the largest Asian restaurant company in market capitalisation, working in 12 markets including Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam. It has 3236 stores globally, of which 1111 are Jollibee branded. Other brands in its portfolio are Burger King, Chowking, Greenwich, Hong Zhuang Yuanm Mang Inasal, Red Ribbon and Yonghe King.

    JFC also has investments with the brands 12 Hotpot, Highlands Coffee, Pho 24, Dunkin Donuts in China, and US-based burger chain Smashburger.

  • Philippine Airlines Partners With Translations.com to Localize Website

    Philippine Airlines Partners With Translations.com to Localize Website

    Translations.com, a division of TransPerfect, the world’s largest privately held provider of language and technology solutions for global business, today announced that Philippine Airlines has chosen its GlobalLink Connect technology to launch and maintain the company’s corporate site as well as its Mabuhay Miles loyalty site in four languages.

    Translations.com will support the launch and maintenance of www.philippineairlines.com and www.mabuhaymiles.com in four languages — Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. GlobalLink’s Sitecore Experience Platform connector will provide Philippine Airlines with a powerful solution to initiate, automate, control, track, and complete all facets of the translation process within their existing Sitecore user interface.

    Because the Sitecore integration is pre-built, no additional IT requirements or development hours were required to enable the integration. With GlobalLink Connect, Philippine Airlines is able to automate translation workflows, simplify review processes, and release in-language content to their target audiences quickly and on-brand.

    “The launch of our corporate and loyalty sites in these four languages marks a significant breakthrough for us,” said Snooker Jaranilla, Assistant Vice President of Philippine Airlines. “With GlobalLink’s ability to integrate directly with our existing Sitecore platform, managing our multilingual content is easy, familiar, and cost-effective. GlobalLink has made a significant positive impact on our international strategy.”

    “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Philippine Airlines,” said Phil Shawe, Co-CEO at Translations.com. “It’s fulfilling to know that our GlobalLink Connect technology is helping such a strong Asian brand provide a better online experience to their customers both at home and abroad.”

    Translations.com Co-CEO Liz Elting added, “As its country’s flagship carrier, we knew that it was important for Philippine Airlines to represent their country with a strong online presence. By launching their corporate and loyalty sites in four new languages, they are making a strong statement showing the care and value they place on customers across all languages.”

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  • Cebu Pacific boosts capacity for festive season

    Cebu Pacific boosts capacity for festive season

    Cebu Pacific has taken delivery of a new Airbus A330-300 aircraft in time for the festive peak season.

    The new twin-aisle jet was delivered on 14 December and has now entered service on the airline’s route between Manila and Hong Kong. This deployment has led to a 22% increase in terms of seat capacity on the popular route.

    As a low-cost carrier, Cebu Pacific equips its A330s with 436 seats in an all-economy class layout. This gives it a greater capacity than some airlines’ A380s.

    Cebu Pacific is the largest Philippine carrier operating in Hong Kong, offering flights to Cebu, Clark and Iloilo, as well as Manila.

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  • Cebu Pacific receives new Airbus A330-300 aircraft

    Cebu Pacific receives new Airbus A330-300 aircraft

    The Philippines’ leading carrier, Cebu Pacific Air (CEB), has received a new Airbus A330-300 aircraft, creating more available seats in time for the holiday season.

    CEB will be utilising this aircraft for flights between Manila and Hong Kong from Tuesday, a move that will provide more than 9,800 available seats per week on this route.

    In a statement, CEB said this upgrade reflects a 22% increase compared to the number of seats offered in the previous periods, which allows the airline to maintain its position as the largest Philippine carrier operating the Philippines – Hong Kong market.
    “CEB also takes pride as the only Philippine carrier linking Hong Kong to other cities in the Philippines, such as Cebu, Clark and Iloilo,” said JR Mantaring, vice president for corporate affairs, CEB.

    With this easy connectivity to such hubs, CEB aims to strengthen economic trade and tourism from one of Asia’s largest financial centers to the Philippines.

    This new aircraft, configured with 436 all economy-class seats, will join CEB’s existing fleet of six A330s flying on long haul and selected regional and domestic routes.

    CEB continues to modernise its current 58-strong fleet of five Airbus A319, 36 Airbus A320, seven Airbus A330, eight ATR 72-500, and two ATR 72-600 aircraft to further expand its route network and frequencies all over the world.

    Recently, the airline announced two new domestic routes from Manila to Masbate and Tablas. With these additions, CEB now offers flights to 38 domestic and 30 international destinations, spanning Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and USA.

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  • Smart, Nokia conduct Philippines’ first 5G demo

    Smart, Nokia conduct Philippines’ first 5G demo

    The Philippines’ PLDT, through mobile subsidiary Smart, has completed the first showcase of 5G speeds in the nation.

    During the trial the companies achieved a peak speed of 2.5Gbps using 100 MHz of spectrum, as well as a latency of just 1ms.

    The demo was conducted at the Nokia Manila Technology Center in Quezon City, and demonstrated use cases for 5G including 3D 360-degree VR streaming and the Nokia AirFrame data center platform for distributed cloud architectures capable of supporting real-time IoT operation.

    “We are excited to work with Nokia in conducting cutting-edge research and development for 5G,” PLDT and Smart CEO Manuel Pangilinan said.

    “This is a key part of our efforts to transform the PLDT and Smart network into the country’s most future-ready data infrastructure delivering a wide range of gigabit digital solutions.”

    He said 5G will be critical to realizing Smart’s full vision for the IoT. The operator has a track record of investing in and helping drive the development of the IoT, including the founding the Philippines’ first Internet of Everything consortium in 2014.

    Nokia’s Bell Labs predicts that there will be up to 5 billion IoT devices connected through mobile networks by the year 2020.

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  • Philippine Airlines firms order for five Q400s

    Philippine Airlines firms order for five Q400s

    Philippine Airlines has firmed an order for five Bombardier Q400 turboprops, with purchase rights for an additional seven aircraft.

    The five Q400s, which will be configured with 86 seats in two classes, will be delivered throughout 2017, says Bombardier in a statement. The deal is worth $165 million at list price.

    “The Q400 aircraft is the ideal solution for the airline as it develops its domestic operations network from secondary hubs and increases intra-island connectivity,” says Bombardier Commercial Aircraft president Fred Cromer.

    The Q400s will be operated by the Philippine flag carrier’s PAL Express unit, which currently operates four Q300s and four Q400s, largely on services to island destinations. It also has nine Airbus A320s and two A321s in its fleet.

    Its current Q400 fleet has an average age of 14 years, while its Q300s are 10 years old on average.

  • Lazada’s 12.12 sale nets $40.5 million

    Lazada’s 12.12 sale nets $40.5 million

    Lazada Group’s Online Revolution, also known as 12.12, has again proven to be the biggest online shopping event in Southeast Asia, ringing up US$40.5 million in sales.

    About 60 per cent of the gross merchandise value (GMV) of the December 12 event came from mobile, with shoppers spending an average of 12 minutes on Lazada apps browsing deals from international and local brands and sellers.

    With the theme “Brands for All”, the 12.12 event featured more than 500,000 offers and flash sales from more than 1000 brands and 55,000 sellers. Best-sellers included shower gels and mascaras, tote bags and bracelets, vacuum cleaners and tableware, and virtual-reality headsets and speakers.

    Lazada Group CEO Maximilian Bittner says the sale has become highly anticipated among more consumers in Southeast Asia, who are no longer just from large cities, but also from small cities and rural areas.

    “This year, the difference was consumers clearly shopping for everyday products such diapers and groceries, as well as higher-value items from trusted brands.”

    Lazada has a presence in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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  • Jollibee Foods quits China restaurant stake

    Jollibee Foods quits China restaurant stake

    “The divestment is part of the company’s intention to concentrate its resources on businesses with greater potential,” Jollibee said in its statement, essentially admitting the business was not performing to expectation.

    The company will now focus on “larger businesses in China”.

    SPW has grown from 34 stores to 71 under Jollibee ownership, mostly located in Nanning in Guangxi province in China’s south. The Philippine company expects to raise US$13 million from the sale, with installments staggered over two years.

  • SM founder Sy receives lifetime achievement award

    SM founder Sy receives lifetime achievement award

    Enterprise Asia, a non-governmental organization based in Malaysia that organizes the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards (APEA), honored retail pioneer Henry Sy, Sr. with a Lifetime Achievement Award last Dec. 1 at a ceremony held at the Dusit Thani Manila. Sy is the first and only Filipino to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from Enterprise Asia, which is on its third year of organizing the awards in the Philippines.

    The APEA recognizes and honors business leaders who have shown outstanding performance and tenacity in developing successful businesses within the Asian region. The awards also aim to gather leading entrepreneurs across Asia to spur greater innovation, fair practices and growth in entrepreneurship. Today, the award covers Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, India, China and the Philippines.

    “On behalf of Mr. Henry Sy, Sr. and his family, we thank Enterprise Asia for this honor and prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award,” Mr. Jose T. Sio, SM Investments Corporation (SM) executive vice president and chief finance officer said. Among the notable recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award for the past 10 years were: Yeoh Tiong Lay, the founder of YTL Corporation, the largest conglomerate in Malaysia;Teh Hong Piow, the founder of Public Bank Berhad, one of the largest banks in Malaysia; Food magnate Sam Goi, chairman of Tee Yih Jia Group of Singapore; Ciputra of PT. Ciputra Group, one of the leading property developers in Indonesia;Mokhtar Riady, founder of the Lippo Group of Indonesia; and real estate magnate Hui Wing Mau of the Shimao Group of Hong Kong to name a few.

    Sy is the founding Chairman of SM. To many, he is the Father of Philippine Retail, having successfully built SM into a dominant player in the country’s retail industry with its highly progressive and innovative approach. Like his Chinese name predicted and with his vision, passion and hard work, Mr. Sy transformed Shoemart, from a humble shoe store, into SM, now a highly recognizable brand and icon with interests and presence in retail, banking, and property development. Enterprise Asia is a non-governmental organization dedicated to recognizing entrepreneurship development across the region.

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