loQal - Business and Finance | Philippines

Basket-weaving provides livelihood for Camarines town

loqal.ph — Thu, 24 May 2012 05:21:18 +0000

By Anna Valmero

BASUD, CAMARINES NORTE—Two and a half years ago, locals here mainly relied on making charcoal and planting rice, which provided meager income to support a family.

Today, Basud folks are looking forward to a better livelihood. Through a forest-based project by the Depatment of Science and Technology’s Forest Product Research and Development Institute (FPRDI), they have learned how to weave baskets from local vines.

FPRDI tapped the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) for the training. Their products are currently sold in local local trade fairs.

Since 2010, the DOST and ITTO worked with people’s organizations in three Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) areas to teach the townsfolk how to use non-timber forest resources.

“We trained them how to sustainably harvest their local vines, and how to make baskets using basic and advanced techniques,”said project staff Dr. Emelyne C. Cortiguerra

The project also helped Basud residents market their products by linking them with trade fair organizers and basket exporter Southgate Ltd.

As the training project nears its end, locals were also encouraged to form the Basud Handicraft Producers Association (BHPA) to help sustain the livelihood.

“The LGU, for instance, pledged to showcase the products in a display center, while the DOST-Provincial Science and Technology Office of Camarines Norte promised to provide grants-in-aid to acquire a handicraft dryer,” said project leader Robert Natividad.

For its part, the DTI provincial office is involved in the crafting of medium and long term plans to sustain support for the BHPA.

“What is really rewarding is seeing how people’s lives have improved. This is true not only in Basud but also in the two other areas where we implemented the project, namely in Tagkawayan and Atimonan in Quezon,” said Cortiguerra.

In Tagkawayan, members of the community such as Mang Ponciano, the leader of a forest-based people’s organization, proudly showed his brand new rubber shoes that he bought from savings from the basket sales.

“He said he was finally able to buy one, many thanks to his wife’s weaving skills,” said Cortiguerra.

“In Atimonan, the mothers we trained tell us that because they now earn more, they can now give allowances to their children who go to school. One mother said that after selling baskets, her family – for the very first time – was able to enjoy a simple Noche Buena meal last Christmas.

PH agri production reaches P341B in Q1

loqal.ph — Thu, 24 May 2012 04:16:58 +0000

By Anna Valmero

QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA— The Philippine agricultural sector grew by 1.08 percent in the first three months of 2012, bannered by the poultry, livestock, and crop subsectors.

According to the Department of Agriculture (DA), output for the first quarter amounted to P341.1 billion at current prices, or 3.14 percent lower than a year-ago period.

Together, the production of major crops, livestock and poultry commodities expanded by 2.26 percent and accounted for 82.4 percent of the total agriculture industry output, while the fishery subsector shared 17.6 percent.

The production of major crops increased by 0.8%. Corn harvest increased by 5.38% to 2.017 million metric tons, while palay output declined by one percent to 3.99 million metric tons.

The first quarter palay production is not at all a setback, as last year’s first quarter output was a record at 4.037 million metric tons, said DA Secretary Proceso Alcala.

“Our palay production target remains on track, as we expect to harvest 3.846 million metric tons in the second quarter based on standing crop, and another 3.413 million metric tons in the third quarter based on planting intentions,” said Alcala, quoting estimates of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS).

The third quarter palay harvest may still increase as a result of the early planting scheme adopted by farmers served by major irrigation systems in Luzon, where at least 150,000 hectares are covered, Alcala added.

In all, the DA BAS said the first semester palay production is forecast to reach 7.838 million metric tons, 3.4 percent more than in 2011, while the January to September 2012 palay output may top 11.251 million metric tons, which is 4.7 percent more than last year’s nine-month output of 10.746 million metric tons.

Production of other crops like coconut, pineapple, coffee and rubber also registered increases in production.

The crops subsector, which contributed 52.8 percent to total agricultural output, grossed P195.1 billion at current prices, 7.5 percent less than last year.

Finally, the fisheries subsector recorded a 4 percent decline, as conservation measures were implemented, particularly in Zamboanga Peninsula, where a moratorium was imposed early this year to allow fish species like tamban (sardines) to regenerate.
The DA remains bullish that the fisheries sector will still increase its output after the moratorium is lifted. Likewise, commercial fishers can now engage in tuna fishing in the Western Pacific, as the ban has been lifted, too.

The total value of fishery production, which shared 17.6 percent to total agriculture output, amounted to P54.53 billion at current prices.

Pinoys can’t keep up with ‘high’ bank balance – BSP

loqal.ph — Tue, 22 May 2012 07:50:43 +0000

By Alexander Villafania

PASAY CITY, METRO MANILA – A recent report by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that only two out of 10 households have their own deposit accounts, highlighting the need for more Filipinos to start saving in banks.

The BSP said that the Consumer Finance Survey (CFS), conducted between 2008 and 2010, only indicated that among the main reasons of most Filipinos for having no bank account is lack of enough money to keep the minimum daily balance.

Most banks require at least P2,000 as minimum daily maintaining balance. Only a few offer about P500.

In a statement, the BSP stressed that banking is needed to ensure the availability of money not just for immediate needs but also for long-term requirements. It also provides depositors a sense of financial security that they will be able to pull much-needed funds.

The BSP stressed that it will be offering more financial services to entice the public to open up deposit accounts. In addition, the BSP will have more educational programs to showcase other firms of financial ventures to enable deposit owners to save.

The BSP has also been conducting Economic and Financial Learning Program seminar across the regions to make people understand economic and financial concerns and to help them prepare for financial planning strategies.

Various organizations have also partnered with the BSP to create a much wider range of financial services, including credit issuances, insurance, investment plans, among others.

The CFS, which surveyed 10,520 households, showed that one of the reasons why people tend to go away from banks is that they do not want to deal with financial institutions (one percent or about 1,000 respondents), do not know how to manage an account (1.5 percent of about 1,500 respondents), while a few also think they do not need to own a bank account (1.7 percent or another 1.700 respondents).

The survey also showed that only four percent (about 400) of households owned credit cards, of which only four out of ten households pay their credit card bills in full.

Despite this, the report also stated that there is still a lot of hope for unbanked Filipinos. This is because a majority of respondents said they would save in banks or keep some money at home if they had surplus money. About 39 percent of respondents they would put their money in a bank while another 38 percent said they would keep it at home.

Petron offers coffee and newspaper for early birds

loqal.ph — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:54:30 +0000

By Alexander Villafania

MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA – Oil company Petron is offering to early-riser patrons a sachet of San Mig 3-in-1 coffee and the day’s edition of the Philippine Star in its latest promo “Kape at Balita.”

The offer is available in participating stations where motorists who gas up from 6:30 am to 8:30 am. Motorists who wish to avail of the promo must have a single purchase receipt amounting to P1,000 of Petron Blaze 100, XCS Unleaded, Xtra Unleaded, Pinoy Gasoline, and Regular Gasoline.

The free coffee and newspaper must be redeemed from the same Petron station during the same period.

The promo is only available to cash and credit card transactions. Other purchases, such as bulk and wholesale do not qualify. “Kape at Balita” will run from May 10 to June 8 only.

Availability of cheap smartphones spurs growth of mobile Internet in PH, says Globe

loqal.ph — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:45:25 +0000

By Alexander Villafania

MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA – While the Philippine telecommunications market is ripe for mobile Internet access, the real reason for its eventual success is not entirely pegged on the strength of the network but rather on the availability of affordable phones, an executive from telecommunications firm Globe Telecom said.

During its first quarter 2012 report, Globe Telecom Advisor for Consumer Division Peter Bithos said price of smartphones as well as the variety of models provide consumers, particularly the much larger prepaid market, opportunities to connect to the Internet.

“You’d expect that the majority of mobile phone users don’t have Internet-connected computers at home. So if you have cheap, handheld devices with Internet capabilities, you could be seeing Filipinos looking at such devices to become their first computers,” Bithos said.

Smartphone use in the Philippines has been in the uptrend for at least two years, especially with the entry of devices running Google’s Android operating system. Another successful smartphone is the Apple iPhone, which, despite its high cost, is a favored device especially for high-end postpaid subscribers.

While there are no statistics indicating the estimated number of smartphone, Bithos said that about 20 percent of the overall mobile phone users in the Philippines (approximately 90 million subscribers) could be using smartphones.

“In the postpaid market alone, one of two subscribers will be using a smartphone,” Bithos said.

Smartphone prices have been going down in the last 12 months as major manufacturers, such as Samsung, LG, Sony, HTC, and Nokia feverishly introduce various models with different price points. This is also driven by the introduction of China-made OEM (original equipment manufacturer) brands in the market, such as ZTE, Alcatel, Huawei, MyPhone, and Cherry Mobile.

Some of these OEM smartphone would start from as low as P4,000 up to P15,000 depending on the functionality of these models.

Bithos was also responding to questions regarding the eventual introduction of the much faster LTE (3GPP Long Term Evolution) infrastructure, which offers speeds of approximately 100 megabits per second on a wireless network.

Currently, the LTE standard frequencies have yet to be fully allocated by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

Globe Telecom reported in its first quarter 2012 revenue report that it has a mobile subscriber base of 31 million. Its mobile revenues was pegged at P16.6 billion, comprising 82 percent of its consolidated service revenues. Of this figure, P8.1 billion came from data services, though this still consolidates mobile Internet browsing and traditional short messaging.

Mobile phones and social media seen reshaping local banking industry

loqal.ph — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:34:17 +0000

By Anna Valmero

MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA—The exponential growth of mobile devices and the growing users of social media means that banks must harness mobility and social networks as well as integrate it in their portfolio offerings as consumers expect services to be always on and accessible, according to Sungard.

Sungard provides global solutions for investment management and broker/dealer companies to handle their investment portfolios and accounting for investment assets.

According to Sanjay Varma, managing director for banking, Sungard Asia Pacific, there are more people who own mobile phones than those who can access the Internet which makes business sense for banks to invest on mobile banking strategy.

Of the seven billion people across seven continents, only 2.2. billion has Internet access while at least 5.5 billion people can send messages and call via their mobile phones.

The same is true here in the Philippines where at least 85 million Filipinos own mobile phones compared to only 30 million who have access to the Internet.

On another note, 97 percent of Filipinos with Internet access are also users of Facebook and other social media networks.

“Mobile phones are almost close to fully saturation in the Philippines while Internet penetration is only at 29 percent. Bankers can’t ignore that mobile phones are the way to connect to people and to deliver services,” Varma said.

Just by owning a mobile phone, Filipinos are now already transacting payment for services through GCash and SmartMoney—which makes the Philippines one of the more advanced nations in Asia in the mobile banking space, the executive said.

The mobile phone simplifies bank transactions for most people, especially the unbanked population who shy away from opening a savings or credit account due to the required documents and good credit standing.

This means a good opportunity for financial institutions to start developing the mobile platform for services beyond Internet banking such as remittance transactions.

In the Philippines, overseas Filipino remittances have kept the economy upfloat. During the first ten months of 2011, OFW remittances are pegged at $16.534 billion (P716 billion), according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

On the social media front, financial institutions must consider that Facebook and Twitter are public avenues of discussion that can help shape the chances of an individual to accept and buy products, Varma said.
“Filipinos are the most highly penetrative Facebook and social media is impacting consumer penetration,” the executive said.

More than enabling a company to build presence online and to attract customers based on their profile, sites such as Facebook can influence a potential customer to shun a product after reading a bad review from a trusted contact.

Beyond reputation management, Varma added that Facebook and other social networks have the capacity to be utilized for personal financial planning and for subscription alerts for transactions and payments.

Overall, Sungard is bullish and optimistic that the banking sector will remain vibrant simply because of the strong markets in the region and the fast rate of IT adoption.

In the Philippines, nine of the top ten banks and other top insurance and corporate are using Sungard solutions including the Ambit suite.

Filipino, Japanese video game developers team up to promote gaming industry

loqal.ph — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:16:07 +0000

By Alexander Villafania

MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA – In an effort to build the local video game development and digital content industry in the Philippines, the Game Development Association of the Philippines (GDAP), recently signed up with the Japan Online Game Association (JOGA), the largest organization of companies involved in Japan’s online gaming business.

The partnership, which was finalized last mid-April, would enable both organizations to promote the video game development industry of the partner organization in their respective countries.

In addition, the partnership would also see content and information sharing between both parties, as well as organizing networking events for potential business and co-development partnerships.

Both GDAP and JOGA started talks in November 2011 during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan Summit for Digital Content. This summit was aimed at building partnerships between creative content developers across the region, including those in the animation, video, and video game industries.

The summit also discussed challenges that their respective industries, especially with increasing competition and requirements in the creative content development space.

“We’re thrilled to have formalized this partnership with JOGA. We believe that working together will undoubtedly lead to more successes for both organizations. We are confident that through this we can bring networking and new business opportunities to Filipino game developers,” according to GDAP President Darwin Tardio.

GDAP represents most of the game development firms in the Philippines. The video game development sector in the country remains small though it is gradually increasing in terms of revenues and manpower, especially as more offshore companies start tapping local firms for outsourced services, such as 3D game animation, game testing, programming, among others.

GDAP is also a member-organization of the Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP), which promotes offshore outsourcing.

Globe searches for more locations to activate new network

loqal.ph — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:04:00 +0000

By Alexander Villafania

DAVAO CITY, ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE – After the official activation of its overhauled network infrastructure in Davao City, Globe Telecom has deployed at least 10 teams to identify other locations across the Philippines for activation.

Globe Senior Advisor for Consumer Business Peter Bithos said that six teams of engineers were being deployed in Visayas and Mindanao while about four other teams were already in Luzon.

For the Luzon team, would start from the northernmost part going southwards. Bithos said the selection of locations for the activation is based on the amount of Globe subscribers or users present. In the case of Davao City, Bithos described Globe’s presence as “newbie.”

“We want to make sure that we do not be as disruptive in our activation as possible. Those network engineers will set the direction. We’ll make announcements every time we light up a place.”

Bithos said that they aim to finish most of its network overhaul by the end of this year, with the remaining upgrades to be done next year.

The company is spending about $700 million for its network overhaul, which includes wired and wireless services. Globe will also move to an all-IP (Internet protocol) infrastructure in anticipation of more Internet-based services, including LTE (3GPP long-term evolution).

Part of the network overhaul is the introduction of Globe’s Dynamic Infrastructure Services (DIS), providing cloud-based services to enterprises in the Philippines. The company partnered with Filipino firm Morphlabs to provide the data center applications.

Regarding its introduction of LTE, Bithos said it would be responsibility of the mobile manufacturers to introduce models that have LTE functions. Bithos claimed that Globe would be ready to activate its LTE if the phones are made available.

“You can’t use LTE if the device and infrastructure are not compatible. Manufacturers have to come up with models that can work for the Philippine market,” Bithos said.

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Pinoy scientists advocate DNA fingerprinting for fish products

loqal.ph — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:55:57 +0000

By Anna Valmero

QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA—The Philippines is now capable of DNA fingerprinting to reveal the genetic material of fishery products, which is critical to protect consumers from mislabeled products.

Without accurate identification of fish species through DNA barcoding, mislabeling of fishery species may occur, according to the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI).

Consumers may be misled into paying more than the actual value of goods they are buying, according to NFRDI’s Benedict Maralit.
Maralit is one of five authors of the DNA fingerprinting entry that won a silver award at the 2011 Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) National Research Symposium (NRS).

“DNA barcoding can differentiate between closely related species that are hard to tell apart, especially large fishes that are difficult to bring back from the field,” said Dr. Mudjekeewis Santos, senior author of the NFRDI Genetic Fingerprinting Laboratory (GFL).

It can identify products like fish fillets so you know if the grouper you ordered in a restaurant is really a grouper.

Overall, the innovation is crucial for the country to maintain its ranking as the sixth largest global supplier of fishery products, ninth in aquaculture, and third in aquatic plant production, primarily seaweeds.

Ensuring these products are “food-safe” is a major consideration amid the stricter sanitary and phytosanitary standards of importing countries.

“Food safety has already become a necessity for our fishery industry to survive in the international market. It is also important in ensuring that what we import is safe to eat,” said BAR Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar.

Certain export destinations have started requiring traceability, or identification of food origin, as a requirement to suppliers. For instance, the European Union law EC No. 2065/2001 requests appropriate species traceability and proper labeling.

“Global trade negotiations require a stringent line of certifications on accurate labeling and species traceability. National trade policies should comply to increase international competitiveness and ensure food security, sustainability and safety,” the researchers said.

DNA barcoding is also essential in encouraging the industry to comply with labeling provisions of the Consumer Act or Republic Act (RA) 7394 and the Fisheries Code of the Philippines, RA 8550.

For fishery managers and researchers, DNA barcoding can legally verify fishes caught as by-catch and species under regulation. This is important to protect endangered species.

Six fishery products, some of which are priced expensively in restaurants—have been identified properly by the NFRDI-GFL through DNA barcoding.

Among the mislabeled fishery products are fresh tawilis sardines, blue fin tuna slices, tuna sashimi and fillets, whole and headless shrimp products, cream dory slices, and gindara steaks.

“It is important to identify the correct species as there is, for example, a gindara species that is not safe to eat. Tuna may also be identified commercially as the more expensive blue fin tuna when in fact it’s just a yellow fin tuna,” said Maralit.

The NFRDI study found out that the Sardinella tawilis species sold in supermarkets is actually another species, S. fimbriata.

Cream dory, for instance, is a fish coming from the family of Pangasius originating from Mekong Delta in Vietnam. While in the study cream dory was labeled correctly, ensuring it is the correct cream dory species will guarantee quality in light of the proliferation of fish fillets in the market.

In its study, the NFRDI recommended a national program for the correct labeling of fishery products.

ERRESS Home City

loqal.ph — Thu, 10 May 2012 10:27:03 +0000

Address: E. Aguinaldo Hi-way Lalalan 1st Silang Cavite

Contact number: (+046) 8650456

Email address: erresshomecity@gmail.com

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