BusinessWorld (Philippines) articles from January 2006

BusinessWorld (Philippines) archives from January 2006

SPECIAL FEATURE.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Samantha Leslie L. Marcelo The automotive industry finished 2005 on a strong note as its December sales of 9,067 units brought its yearend total to 97,063. This represents a 2% growth over...

SPECIAL FEATURE.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) LEA DEL ROSARIO, autolink.ph manager: "I have several dream cars that I would want to have someday. I love sports cars, specially the ones Japanese people designed. They have this relentless...

SPECIAL FEATURE.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the exclusive distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the Philippines, reports that it successfully reached its market-share projection of 5% for 2005. HARI sold a...

SPECIAL FEATURE.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Cherry C. Bobadilla The recent Detroit Auto Show in the United States has affirmed the latest trend in the industry, a less flashy one but certainly very timely. With surging fuel...

SPECIAL FEATURE.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Samanthal Leslie L. Marcelo Waking up during the wee hours of the morning usually means a full bladder and trip to the bathroom. When Ardie O. Lopez shot up from bed at 3 a.m., it wasn't...

SPECIAL FEATURE.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Cherry C. Bobadilla A car may be equipped with the most fuel-efficient engine, but one's driving habits are equally important in saving fuel and gas. Below, Lea del Rosario, manager of...

SPECIAL FEATURE.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Universal Motors Corp.'s (UMC) "Big Christmas Blowout" promo is extended until today, Jan. 31. The promo includes straight discount, flexible financing deals, and freebies like tint, seat cover, floor...

SPECIAL FEATURE: MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (The.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Johanna Paola D. Poblete In a long line of well-spoken fellows in nicely pressed suits, there will always be one whose gusot mayaman creases are arranged just so, and whose words bear the...

SPECIAL FEATURE: MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (The.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) What do Washington SyCip, Ramon V. del Rosario, Sr., Eduardo Romualdez, Sergio Corpus, Delfin Rivera Cruz, Sixto Orosa, and Jose Olbes have in common? Acclaimed for their leadership and management...

SPECIAL FEATURE: MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (The.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Johanna Paola D. Poblete The MAP awardee is invariably an individual in the business community or the government who has exhibited the skills and talents considered essential in the...

SPECIAL FEATURE: MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (The.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Gerard S. dela Pena This year, the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) goes back to the basics, espousing love of country as key to economic success. "More than ever, and...

SPECIAL FEATURE: MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (The.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) How do I join MAP? Membership in MAP is by invitation only. Is membership in MAP on corporate or individual basis? Membership in MAP is on individual basis. A member retains his membership...

SPECIAL FEATURE: MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (The.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) 1956 Capt. Roberto H. Lim Professor, Asian Institute of Management 1960 Delfin Rivera Cruz 1966 Dr. Sixto K. Roxas Chair and president, SKR Managers and Advisors, Inc....

SPECIAL FEATURE: MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (The.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Samantha Leslie L. Marcelo with Gerard S. dela Pena Back in 1998, the question on everyone's mind was why First Pacific, co-founded by Manuel V. Pangilinan, was so keen on acquiring a...

GIVE AND GO.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Michael Angelo S. Murillo I may get serious flak by saying this, but the way this space sees it there is every cause to believe that there won't be any Game Sevens in the pair of semifinal...

Bids for 91-day debt rejected.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Karl Lester M. Yap The government yesterday rejected banks' bids for the benchmark 91-day Treasury bill for being too high, signaling to the market that it is still unwilling to let rates...

SPECIAL FEATURE: MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (The.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Evelyn R. Singson President (President, eBusiness Services, Inc.) Franco G.V. Del Rosario Vice-President (Managing Consultant, Six Sigma Consulting) Francisco "Kaiku" H....

PINOY NA PINOY.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Edilberto Alegre It was a giddy weekend. On the evening of the third Friday of January, I was in Barangay Libas, Merida, Leyte, watching a centuries-old komedya (poetic drama about...

'05 economic data boost peso.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Karl Lester M. Yap The peso yesterday rose against the dollar following news that the country posted strong economic growth during the last quarter of 2005, dealers said. "It seems that...

COURTSIDE.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Anthony L. Cuaycong Sheer agony engulfed Tiger Woods' face as the four-foot putt blew by the second play-off hole. It was, for all intents, the reaction of a competitor who wanted to prevail...

Idle asset forecast to hit P200B.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Jennee Grace U. Rubrico An extension of the law that provides tax incentives and reduced fees to banks disposing of their bad assets could lead to the sale of P200 billion worth of...

Top Equitable PCI shareholders still undecided on merger offer.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Ma. Elisa P. Osorio Major shareholders of Equitable PCI Bank remain undecided on Banco de Oro Universal Bank's proposed "merger of equals" that expires today. However, Banco de Oro...

Asia-based TDG, Globe strengthen ties.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Several members of Asia-based conglomerate Transnational Diversified Group (TDG) have reaffirmed their partnership with business communication solutions providers GlobeSolutions and GlobeQUEST. Some...

China Bank to offer 9.75% home loan rate until Feb.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) China Banking Corp. has extended offering its HomePlus Loan until February. This product has a low interest rate of 9.75% per annum (p.a.) for home loans, one of the lowest in the industry today. ...

CONSUMER GUIDE.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Riso color printer The new Riso HC5000 is touted to be the fastest color printer today, with its ability to print as many as 105 A4 color prints per minute. Equipped with a 40-gigabyte hard drive...

Electronics firm angling for wider market (BenQ-Siemens cellphones to.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Maricel E. Estavillo Taiwanese consumer electronics maker BenQ has plans to dig deeper into the market this year, leveraging on the anticipated recall from its recently launched brand for...

Aboitiz bank declares P1.60 cash dividends.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Ma. Elisa P. Osorio Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines yesterday declared P882 million in cash dividends. In a letter to the stock exchange, UnionBank said the bank's board has...

PHILIPPINE SILICON VALLEY.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Dennis Posadas Venture capital. To some, it evokes a mysterious form of financing that seems shrouded in mystery rather than something we take for granted. Unlike loan officers, venture...

RP to import 50,000 MT of sugar in July.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Iris Cecilia C. Gonzales The government will import an additional 50,000 metric tons (MT) of refined sugar from Thailand and Brazil to ease local prices in the market that have been...

Global ICT firm inks venture with Namiraka.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Kaitech S.p.A, a global company engaged in information and communications technology (ICT) and card management industries, said its subsidiary, Matica, has signed a joint venture with Namiraka Corp., a...

State tax research center sees P5.7-B revenue loss from SPV law.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Francis Y. Capistrano and Paul C.H. How Government stands to lose about P5.7 billion to P14 billion in forgone revenues if the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) law will be extended for another...

Water service regulator drafting rules for golf courses.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Beverly T. Natividad The National Water Resources Board (NWRB) is drafting a policy to regulate groundwater use by golf courses in order to balance its ongoing campaign to preserve Metro...

Private sector urged to help gov't.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Felipe F. Salvosa II The former head of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) yesterday said the tax and customs bureaus should not be faulted entirely for poor public services. The...

Intellectual property school eyed.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Maricel E. Estavillo Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines will put up by middle of this year a training...

LET'S TALK TAX.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Lina P. Figueroa After studying the new accounting standards and evaluating their impact on their companies' financial reporting, the next challenge for accountants and auditors is to...

FRAMEWORK.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Elfren Sicangco Cruz Brother Andrew Gonzalez, FSC, one of our country's greatest educators, passed away last Sunday, Jan. 29, at around 5:40 p.m. at the Medical Center of De La...

FENCE SITTER.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Antonio R. Samson It was Tip O'Neill, then Speaker of the House in the United States who said, "All politics is local." This observation concludes that people are moved by and vote...

TO TAKE A STAND.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Oscar P. Lagman, Jr. Puzzled at first at the absence of the daily newspaper at their door and the silence of the television and radio stations that early morning of Sept. 23, 1972, then...

COMMENTARY.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Fr. Roy Cimagala These past few days, I had the occasion to give first communion to two batches of little boys and girls. Doing so always gives me great joy, because I know that with that, a...

RCBC pursuing arbitration case versus Equitable PCI.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Iris Cecilia C. Gonzales Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), the country's eight largest lender, is bent on pursuing its arbitration case against Equitable PCI Bank regarding its purchase...

Makati, Ortigas office rental rates expected to rise for next two.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Jennee Grace U. Rubrico Rental rates of office spaces in the Makati and Ortigas business districts will keep on rising as supply continues to tighten and demand for space from business...

COMMENTARY.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Walden Bello As war clouds gather over Iran, the topic we are focused on is very timely: Great power military intervention in the affairs of sovereign states for "humanitarian reasons." ...

EQUAL QUEST.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Wilhelmina S. Orozco On the eve of the Chinese New Year, on my way to Ongpin, the center of Chinese culture in the Philippines, I saw two teams of colorful dragon dancers in front of stores...

GDP data, VAT rate hike fuel Phisix rise.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Ruby Anne M. Rubio The main index closed at its highest in nearly two weeks following yesterday's release of a better-than-expected economic growth data and amid expectations that the...

President pledges P1 billion to PNP.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Kristine L. Alave President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday ordered the release of P1 billion in fresh funds for the police force, a week after providing P1.5 billion for the military's...

Court should start trial of Marines - prosecutors.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Ma. Eloisa I. Calderon Government prosecutors will ask an Olongapo trial court to immediately set the arraignment of four American soldiers accused of raping a 22-year- old Filipina. ...

Lawmaker seeks nullification of 3G licenses given to.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Kerlyn G. Bautista A congressman has questioned the grant of third-generation (3G) licenses by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to several telecommunications firms. In...

Economic planner lists priority sectors.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) The government will promote 11 priority sectors this year in order to generate more investments and create more jobs, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said yesterday. ...

Arroyo rejects bishops' proposal to junk Philippine Mining Act.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Judy T. Gulane, Paul C.H. How and Jeffrey O. Valisno President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday rejected a call by Roman Catholic bishops to repeal the Mining Act, which she said would be...

CBCP reiterates advice to GMA.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Rommer M. Balaba and Francis Y. Capistrano The President should heed their counsel before the situation becomes hopeless, Catholic bishops said yesterday. "I do not want to say the...

Gov't eyes P20B in proceeds from PLDT stake sale.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Roulee Jane F. Calayag The government expects to dispose its shares in Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) for P20 billion in the first quarter, a Presidential Commission on Good...

Filinvest inks P400-million loan contract with Sun Life.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Ruby Anne M. Rubio Filinvest Development Corp. yesterday signed a second commitment letter for a P400-million loan from Sun Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc. In a letter to the...

Legal outsourcing firm to hire more lawyers for expansion.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Rommer M. Balaba Legal outsourcing firm GlobalLaw will hire more research lawyers in line with its expansion plans this year with the increasing volume of clients from the local and global...

San Miguel predicts increased packaging demand in AsPac.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) San Miguel Corp. expects increased demand for packaging from the Asia- Pacific region this year as its Malaysian packaging operations recorded P3.31 billion in revenues in 2005. The company told the...

CORPORATE FILES.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Judy T. Gulane A bottle of its Spanish sardines exemplifies the value that Montano Foods Corp. has lived by all these years: quality. Thaddeus Montano, vice-president for marketing of...

PCGG budget.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) The Senate has decided to deprive the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) of its proposed P67.58-million budget for this year, prompting its chairman, Camilo Sabio, to walk out during...

PhilWeb, ePLDT set to finalize accord.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Ruby Anne M. Rubio and Kerlyn G. Bautista PhilWeb Corp. and ePLDT, Inc. expect to sign a deal this week on the purchase of the wholly owned unit of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co....

Poll modernization.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Implementing poll automation in time for the 2007 senatorial election is nearly impossible, an information technology expert said yesterday. During a Senate hearing, Gus Lagman, president of Information...

Union Motor workers accept deal with management.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Rommer M. Balaba The 50 employees earlier retrenched by Union Motor Corp. have agreed to accept the separation package offered by management after a series of conciliation dialogues,...

Special PCGG court.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) The Sandiganbayan could not have a special division solely for cases filed by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), a government official said. In an interview, PCGG Commissioner Narciso...

Road construction.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Davao City - Muslim rebels are against the construction of a road in Maguindanao that leads to Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) positions on the upper portion of Datu Unsay town. "We welcome roads...

GSIS duped of P2.4 million by former computer staff.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Paolo Joseph L. Lising The Government Service Insurance System's (GSIS) electronic database was defaced by three of its employees last year, and with it, illegally transferred more than P2...

Former DECS chief dies.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Karl Lester M. Yap Former Education Secretary Andrew Gonzalez died of complications from diabetes last Sunday. He was 65. In a statement, the Education department said his contributions,...

Militant leader's death.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Tacloban City - Another militant leader was gunned down yesterday morning by still unidentified armed men at the port of Borongan, Eastern Samar. Antonio $TJ Alde, 25, was the sixth militant leader...

Suspected bomber at LRT-2 Santolan nabbed by police.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Kristine L. Alave A suspected bomber was intercepted and arrested by authorities before he could board the Light Rail Transit 2 Santolan Station in Pasig City yesterday afternoon, police...

Seven dead in NPA attacks.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Communist guerrillas killed five people and suffered two deaths in weekend clashes across the country, the military said yesterday. New People's Army (NPA) rebels ambushed a mini bus near Balabagan...

Hero's welcome.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) General Santos City - Boxing champ Manny Pacquiao parried accusations that the Arroyo government was using him to push the administration's agenda, even as he opted to keep mum about his rumored...

Recruitment of soldiers for coup 'nipped in the bud' - military.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Kristine L. Alave The military is investigating more officers to determine the extent of recaptured Magdalo Captain Nicanor E. Faeldon's support among the ranks. The probe was prompted...

Hybrid rice program to be investigated.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Francis Y. Capistrano Senators are calling for an investigation into the government's hybrid rice subsidy program. In a resolution filed last week, Senator Ramon B. Magsaysay, Jr....

Civilians ambushed.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Kristine L. Alave Five civilians were killed and five others were injured when unidentified armed men ambushed a Tamaraw FX in Lanao del Sur province on Saturday afternoon. According to...

VP to visit Kuwait to plead for life of condemned maid.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Vice-President Noli de Castro will fly to Kuwait shortly to plead for the life of a Filipina maid who is set to hang for killing her boss there, the Foreign Affairs department said yesterday. ...

SEC on Vitug directorship.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has yet to decide on the multiple directorship of Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Chairman Jose Vitug. SEC sources said the matter is still pending with the...

Britain, Canada renew travel advisories against Mindanao.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) The British and Canadian governments have warned their nationals anew against traveling to Mindanao due to the continued presence of terrorists and ongoing military and police operations against...

Napocor cleanup.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) The National Power Corp. (Napocor) has expedited the cleanup of Semirara Island, after one of its power barges caused an accidental oil spill due to bad weather. In a statement, Napocor President Cyril...

Transco's operations.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Zamboanga City - The state-owned National Transmission Corp.'s (Transco) regional operation will undergo quality management system inspection early next month. This after the Transco was granted a...

Nieto lawyer disbarment.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) A member of the wealthy Ilusorio clan has asked the Supreme Court to disbar and drop from the rolls of attorney a lawyer representing the Manuel Nieto-led faction in the Philippine Communications...

Boulevard capital hike.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Boulevard Holdings, Inc. approved the increase of its authorized capital stock to P200 million from P100 million. "The board shall schedule a stockholders' meeting to approve the capital increase as...

UBS Global's BDO stake.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Banco de Oro Universal Bank (BDO), the country's sixth largest lender, yesterday said that UBS Global Asset Management stands to own 5.75% of the Henry Sy bank as the firm now owns 408,000 of Banco de...

SEC considers relaxing tender offer rules.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Roulee Jane F. Calayag The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is again revisiting the tender offer rule, as it considers raising the ceiling to 20% to 30% from the present 15%. ...

Texas Instruments starts operations at new facility.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Maricel E. Estavillo American semiconductor company Texas Instruments (TI) has started operation of its $27-million facility in Baguio City, the fourth in a string of expansion projects from...

Aboitiz Transport shares.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Aboitiz Transport System Corp. will list 415.12 million common shares today with a par value of P1 per share to cover the share-for-share swap transaction with Aboitiz and Co., Inc., Aboitiz Equity...

Lopez holding firm targeting Subic-Clark-Tarlac road deal.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Ruby Anne M. Rubio Lopez-led First Philippine Holdings Corp. is targeting the contract to run the Subic-Clark-Tarlac expressway project as it readies the expansion of its electronics...

Petron putting in P10M for alternative fuels venture.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Ira P. Pedrasa Oil refiner Petron Corp. is putting in roughly P10 million to expand its alternative fuels market, in particular autogas. President and Chief Executive Khalid Al-Faddagh...

Regulator fines Tiger Airways.
January 31, 2006... (From BusinessWorld (Philippines)) Byline: Kerlyn G. Bautista The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) has penalized Singaporean low-cost carrier Tiger Airways for breaching Philippine aeronautic laws, a CAB legal officer yesterday said....