BusinessWorld (Philippines) articles from November 2009

BusinessWorld (Philippines) archives from November 2009

Fastfood chain plans to open new outlets in Vietnam, India.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Kristine Jane R. Liu FILIPINO FASTFOOD giant Jollibee Foods Corp. sees Vietnam and India as the next countries where it wants to aggressively expand after conquering the local industry and establishing a solid presence in China. ...

Whiz kid So's surge continues, eliminates super GM Kamsky.
November 30, 2009... Wesley Barbasa So (2640) held fellow Super GM Gata Kamsky (2695) to a draw in their second game 42 moves of English Opening as the Filipino GM advanced to the fourth round while booting out the heavyweight and the defending World Chess Cup at...

COURTSIDE.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Anthony L. Cuaycong It is, for all intents, a testament to Tiger Woods's insistence on protecting his privacy that reports of his involvement in a vehicular accident did not break until more than half a day after it occurred. Granted,...

Lining, Kiamco advance to last 16 of Ten Ball Championship.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Marlon Bernardino Filipinos Antonio "Nickoy" Lining and Warren "Warrior" Kiamco cruised into the round-of-16 of the ongoing second World Ten Ball Championship. The Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro native Lining stamped his class over...

CHESS PIECE.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Bobby Ang World Blitz Championship Moscow, Russia 16-18 November 2009 Final Standings (everybody is a GM) 1. Magnus Carlsen NOR 2801, 31.0/42 2. Viswanathan Anand IND 2788, 28.0/42 3. Sergey Karjakin RUS 2723,...

Voter education campaign starts via launch of Web sites.
November 30, 2009... The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has launched two new Web sites aimed at priming voters on the automated voting process in time for the 2010 polls. Dubbed "I.B.A. na Ngayon!" and "Bagong Botante," the Web sites are part of the Comelec's...

AXA Philippines redefines insurance with new brand campaign.
November 30, 2009... A top official of AXA Philippines announced that the company has launched a new brand spirit campaign to redefine insurance for Filipinos. In a press statement, AXA President and CEO Rien Hermans said the new brand campaign will change how...

Bank cited for addressing climate change.
November 30, 2009... Citi was chosen by The Banker as the Most Innovative in Climate Change and Sustainability in the recently held Investment Banking Awards 2009. It was the first time for Citi to submit an entry for this category, and Pam Flaherty, president...

PEOPLE.
November 30, 2009... Regional finance body honors De Ocampo The Manila-based Association of Development Financing Ins-titutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) recently honored Dr. Roberto F. De Ocampo, former Secretary of Finance, for his achievements and...

BRIEFS.
November 30, 2009... Convention starts About 2,400 delegates gathered at the 64th Annual National Convention of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), which started yesterday and will end on Dec. 2. PICPA members from regional chapters...

Swiss miss.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Johanna D. Poblete Geneva-based Swiss watchmaker Bedat & Co., founded in 1996 by Simone Bedat (co-creator of the Raymund Weil brand and touted as "the Coco Chanel of the watch industry") and one of several niche brands (together...

Free massage, haircuts, manicures and more at pampering event.
November 30, 2009... Radio station 106.7 DreamFM along with some of the top spas in the metro have come together to pamper over 1,000 women and their men in "What Dream Women Want" at the NBC Tent, today from noon to 9 p.m. The Bioessence Gold booth will offer a...

TAKE TEN.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Behn Cervantes The United States of America is to this day the richest country in the world. And, boy, do you know it! There is waste everywhere. I am sure their present economy will bring about certain changes - and I sure hope this...

Rebel designer.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Johanna D. Poblete "Looks like something Britney Spears would wear," remarked a man to his female companion, who rejoined, "Or an Egyptian princess maybe." Peering at the description, they spy the influence cited as "space age." ...

WEALTH MANAGER.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Gloria Krisana L. Gallezo Recommendation: BUY ON DIPS Investors are advised to wait for a while before buying shares of I- Remit, Inc., the largest Filipino-owned non-bank remittance company, amid mounting political tensions in...

WEALTH MANAGER.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Ana Mae G. Roa Recommendation: BUY Analysts have placed a "buy" tag on Globe Telecom, Inc. given the telco giant's hefty payouts to its stockholders. The Ayala-led firm last week announced a P3-billion loan with the UnionBank of...

WEALTH MANAGER.
November 30, 2009... Tuesday, 1 November - Last day of REGISTRATION of computerized books of accounts and other accounting records in CD-R, DVD-R or other optical media properly labeled with the information required under existing revenue issuances together with...

WEALTH MANAGER.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Louella D. Desiderio As laptops have become a staple among the busy, mobile crowd, so have cases or sleeves to protect them from scratches and bumps. The choice of sleeves had been limited, however, presenting an opportunity to...

WEALTH MANAGER.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Aurelio O. Angeles The strategy for global economic recovery must be nurtured with the right paradigm. The first paradigm concerns the need for balance in managing the real economy and the financial markets. It's undesirable to...

PSEi retreats after Dubai announcement.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Kristine Jane R.Liu The local market failed to sustain rallies in previous weeks after equities posted their biggest one-day decline for the week on Friday. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 0.77% or 23.76...

Debt yields to move sideways.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Louella D. Desiderio Yields of fixed-income securities are expected to move sideways until the end of year due to a very liquid market. In the November issue of the "Market Call" report, First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and the...

YIELD TRACKER.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Daniel Anne B. Nepomuceno Philippine debt yields were little changed last week from month-ago levels despite a slew of negative news, including the economy's dismal performance in the third quarter. Government securities yielded...

Prices prescribed for pork, chicken, sugar.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Neil Jerome C. Morales THE GOVERNMENT yesterday announced suggested retail prices (SRP) for pork, chicken and sugar during the holiday season, to be implemented in Metro Manila initially. The reference prices, issued as a...

Cebu raw material suppliers, exporters to address concerns.
November 30, 2009... CEBU CITY - Exporters based in Cebu will meet with raw material suppliers and manufacturers this week to explore opportunities in materials development. The Materials Research and Development Conference, one of two events organized by...

Mindanao power firms press for market-based rates.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Carmelito Q. Francisco DAVAO CITY - Power firms in Mindanao will stress to the government during the Mindanao Power Summit scheduled in Cagayan de Oro City this Dec. 2-3 that rates derived with minimum government supervision - free...

SUITS THE C-SUITE.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Aaron C. Escartin The only constant thing in the world is change. As time passes, things wither, deteriorate, or become obsolete. They lose their value and become impaired. This also applies to company assets. But how and when...

Tax credit certificates issued drop by more than a fourth.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Alexis Douglas B. Romero THE AMOUNT of tax credit certificates (TCCs) issued by the government as of October dropped by 26% as the global downturn continued to put a dent on the country's trade, data from the One Stop Shop...

No dividends from state companies in October.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Alexis Douglas B. Romero STATE-RUN FIRMS were not able to remit any dividends to the national government in October, even as the latter scrounges for non-tax revenues to help bridge the yawning budget deficit that has already breached...

Citi sees current rates remaining steady until third quarter 2010.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Don Gil K. Carreon BORROWERS should be able to enjoy low interest rates at least until end-September next year, or even see the cost of loans dip further, as the central bank defers moves to tighten monetary policy till then due to a...

Ways to cope with climate change sought.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Louise G. Dumas CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY - The Northern Mindanao Integrated Agricultural Research Center (NOMIARC), an agency under the Department of Agriculture, is promoting strategies to help farms cope with the adverse effects of...

Property firms boost budgets for 2010 (Federal Land, Anchor Land.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Kristine Jane R. Liu PROPERTY COMPANIES are boosting their budget next year, bullish that 2010 will bid well for the industry that has been one of the victims of the global financial crisis. In an interview, Federal Land, Inc....

State-owned company eyes partnerships for hydro projects.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Jose Bimbo F. Santos THE RENEWABLE energy arm of state-owned Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) is looking at about nine partners for its planned 11 hydropower projects in the country with a total capacity of about 300 megawatts (MW)....

Smart introduces unlimited mobile e-mail to subscribers.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Emilia Narni J. David SMART Communications, Inc. has launched a new service that would offer unlimited mobile e-mail for subscribers. In a statement, Smart's wireless consumer division head Danilo J. Mojica said the service would...

Masinloc owner seeks clearance on supply deal.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Jose Bimbo F. Santos NEW YORK-LISTED AES Corp. unit Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd., owner of the 600-megawatt coal-fired Masinloc plant in Zambales, has sought clearance from the Energy Regulatory Commission for a power supply...

Sony Ericsson launches new 'entertainment phone' models.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Marite S. Villamor CEBU CITY - The Satio, Sony Ericsson's first 12.1-megapixel camera phone and the first to offer ninth high-definition gaming, has emerged as the more popular model among the three entertainment phones introduced...

ROOTS.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Jose S. Arcilla S.J. We have faced the problem of language in the classrooms and failed to solve it. The debate continues, one side urging the use of the maternal tongue in the first years of schooling and gradually introducing...

MAP query of the week.
November 30, 2009... Today's question WHAT STEPS IS THE GOVERNMENT TAKING TO protect its citizens from lawless elements not only in mindanao but also in the rest of the country? MAP believes that the government should resolve the Maguindanao problem swiftly...

CORPORATE WATCH.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Amelia H.C. Ylagan Amonstrous backhoe towered over the mass graves in Sitio Masalay in Ampatuan town's Barangay Salman, where 64 bodies and five vehicles were unearthed through the week from Nov. 23, 2009, the day of the massacre....

FENCE SITTER.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Antonio R. Samson Whether it is an acting competition, making the best-dressed list, or snagging a book award, accepting defeat graciously is a lost art. When entering any competition, the contestant must accept that there is a...

YELLOW PAD.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Filomeno S. Sta Ana II "The conspiracy may involve the national government." So says Amina Rasul, a brave Muslim lady, who should have become a senator if only Filipinos were enthusiastic about electing ethnic minorities into national...

INTROSPECTIVE.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Cayetano Paderanga, Jr. Mercifully, Executive Order 839 has been withdrawn. People were starting to worry about what would happen if it had been allowed to continue. Some even had visions of long queues of cars leading to gas stations...

BEYOND BRUSHSTROKES.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Marivic Rufino To honor the distinguished and beloved founder of the Art Association of the Philippines, Purita Kalaw Ledesma, the Kalaw Ledesma Foundation will mount a special exhibition of her art collection on her birthday. The...

Ebdane quits presidential race.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Adriel M. Paglinawan and Bernard U. Allauigan Former Public Works secretary Hermogenes E. Ebdane, Jr. yesterday withdrew from the presidential race due to lack of funds. "I will not run for the presidency... Sadly, the lack of...

Left-wing congressmen seeking Senate seat.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Jhoanna Frances S. Valdez Militant congressmen filed their candidacies for senator with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday. Party-list Reps. Saturnino C. Ocampo (Bayan Muna) and Liza L. Maza (Gabriela), who have junked...

Japan joining international monitoring group on peace talks.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Adriel M. Paglinawan JAPAN HAS formally joined a body that will help facilitate peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), according to a letter sent by the Japanese government to Manila. "The...

Forensic experts in international war crimes assisting CHR in murder.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Romer S. Sarmiento KORONADAL CITY - Grief, shock and anger continue to grip families of media workers slain in the Maguindanao mass murder. This as a team of foreign forensics experts involved in international conflicts and...

Malacanang supporting earlier gun ban rule in run-up to elections.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Gerard S. dela Pena Malacanang is backing an earlier than scheduled gun ban in the run-up to next year's elections to prevent the escalation of violence in the aftermath of the Maguindanao massacre. "Definitely we will support such...

Most families still feel poor (51%, or 9.4 million households,.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Gerard S. dela Pena The number of families who consider themselves poor or "mahirap" remains in the majority despite declining slightly in the wake of recent typhoons, a special Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed. Palace...

UN agency sees growth, but warns vs complacency.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Jessica Anne D. Hermosa A United Nations agency has forecast faster growth next year for the Philippines and other export-driven economies in the region, but warned that the downturn might make a comeback if government stimuli fail to...

Lull seen in RP-EU liquor tariff row.
November 30, 2009... Byline: Jessica Anne D. Hermosa A lull up to the yearend appears likely with regard to a liquor tariff dispute with the European Union, a trade official last week said. The Philippines, said Trade Assistant Secretary Antonio S. Buencamino,...

Profit taking sends share prices lower again.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Kristine Jane R. Liu Investors continued to cash in gains, sending share prices lower, analysts said. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index retreated by 0.33% or 10.36 points to 3,064.30, while the all shares index slipped...

Wesley So shocks super GM Ivanchuk in World Chess Cup.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Marlon Bernardino Lone Filipino survivor GM Wesley So (2460) upset the current no. 12 in FIDE's top 100 list, Ukraine's GM Vassily Ivanchuk (2739), in the first game of their scheduled two-game match in the World Chess Cup at Khanty...

Orcollo wins; Souquet falters in opener.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Marlon Bernardino DENNIS "Robocop" Orcollo defeated compatriot Steve Villamil, 9-6, in Group A to open his bid on a bright note, but it was Thomasz Kaplan of Poland who pulled the biggest upset on Day One of the second World Ten Ball...

COURTSIDE.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Anthony L. Cuaycong Is Floyd Mayweather, Sr. simply covering his namesake's bases by continuing to argue that Manny Pacquiao takes performance-enhancing drugs? That certainly appears to be the case in light of the increasing...

Manila to host Mobile Money Technology Asia Pacific confab.
November 26, 2009... "The Philippines has the most acclaimed and mature mobile money programs in the world; thus, there could be no better place in the world to hold a conference of international mobile money technology (MMT) leaders." This was according to the...

Plains and Prints presents the spirit of yuletide in a box and book.
November 26, 2009... What's a girl without her journal? More than a notebook to scribble notes, every urban girl carries an organizer to keep track of her busy schedule - reminding her when it's time to get serious for a company presentation or when to prepare for a...

Restaurant firm supports UN program.
November 26, 2009... Yum! Brands, the world's largest restaurant company and parent of Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, recently donated $750,000 or P35 million to the United Nations World Hunger Relief Program (WHRP) Philippines to support relief and rehabilitation efforts...

PEOPLE.
November 26, 2009... Dusit Thani manager wins Mabuhay Awards Anna Lourdes Banaag, Dusit Thani Manila's senior guest services manager-Rooms Division was declared as this year's Mabuhay Awards 2009 winner in the Managerial category besting 13 other candidates from...

BRIEFS.
November 26, 2009... Program launched To help Filipino families enjoy an eco-friendly Christmas this year, FELCO is giving away free Firefly CFLs in exchange for used or busted incandescent bulbs of any brand through its "Palit Firefly CFL" program. The Palit...

Premium wine demand up - Hardys.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Johanna D. Poblete According to figures provided by the Australian Trade Commission, Australian exports of wine to the Philippines, which crossed the $100- million mark in 1996, rose to $2.1 billion in 2008. Australia is now ranked...

RESTAURANT ROW.
November 26, 2009... The Bellevue Curry Nights at Cafe d'Asie is held all Fridays and Saturdays of November. The buffet table will be loaded with dishes like hot Indian vegetable curry, tandoori chicken with naan bread, and biryani rice. Meanwhile, the cake of...

Spirit of Champagne lives on.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Johanna D. Poblete The irony of Champagne is that for a beverage created by a peaceable Benedictine monk, it's been referred to as "the devil's drink," is produced in soil steeped with the blood of the slain in the trench warfare of...

SPECIAL FEATURE: health guide.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Hannah M. Muralla Previously declared a terminal case, the critically ill patient was given a second chance at life in 1954, when the first successful living- related kidney transplant, performed by two Boston physicians, paved the...

SPECIAL FEATURE: health guide.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Bernice Marie V. Berida There's just no way to escape the hectic holiday season. There are, however, a few spots near the metro's busiest shopping malls where one can forget the mad rush of gift-buying, Christmas meal-planning and...

SPECIAL FEATURE: health guide.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Katrina Paola B. Alvarez Eating out at Christmastime spares parents from having to slave over the stove for home-cooked holiday meals, but putting a restaurant menu in charge this season also means having less control over the...

SPECIAL FEATURE: health guide.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Katrina Paola B. Alvarez Weight gain strikes easily during the yuletide season. But those who can't resist the smorgasbord of seasonal delights can console themselves with new nutritional findings. Recent studies show that the numbers...

Landbank schedules Tier 1 debt sale in Jan.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Don Gil K. Carreon State lender Land Bank of the Philippines has scheduled the sale of dollar-denominated hybrid Tier 1 debt notes in January, since it still needs to secure regulatory approval for the float. Landbank Senior Vice...

ING goes back to basics.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Judy T. Gulane There will be no change in direction for ING even if the Dutch financial giant is breaking up, an official said yesterday. "We have announced our 'back-to-basics' program, which is basically, the insurance company...

PDEx green-lights EDC bond listing.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Louella D. Desiderio Lopez-led Energy Development Corp. (EDC), is set to list P12 billion worth of bonds on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx) next month. In a disclosure to the stock exchange yesterday, EDC said...

Peso rises.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Louella D. Desiderio The peso gained against the dollar yesterday as major currencies strengthened against the greenback. The local currency closed at P46.72 per dollar, improving from P47.06 on Tuesday. Volume of transacted...

Fraud prevention and internal audit.
November 26, 2009... Risk can come from almost anywhere, without any warning. Misconduct, fraud, corruption and business disputes should be addressed in a way that best suits a company, especially during an economic crisis. Organizations need to adopt policies that...

Call centers expected to grow 18-22%.
November 26, 2009... THE COUNTRY's call center sector is expected to grow 18%-22% yearly up to 2012, but will have to ensure workers' satisfaction in order to improve services and also upgrade to higher-value offerings, experts said during an industry summit...

More debts paid by Oct.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Alexis Douglas B. Romero DATA the Treasury bureau released yesterday showed that debt payments in the 10 months to October totaled P574.73 billion, 0.76% more than the P570.37 billion paid a year ago. But for October alone, the...

Freeports press to keep taxes.
November 26, 2009... SUBIC AND CLARK freeports have proposed that they be allowed to keep taxes collected from locators in order to be able to fund further development. The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority in a statement yesterday said it cannot rely on land...

Bonds for irrigation sold.
November 26, 2009... The National Development Co. (NDC) yesterday sold P3.5 billion worth of five-year bonds at 5.125%, NDC General Manager Ma. Lourdes F. Rebueno told reporters. "Of this P3.5 billion, P1.5 billion will go to the NIA (National Irrigation...

Bahrain mission starts.
November 26, 2009... Representatives of six member firms of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce will arrive in the country tomorrow for a two-day briefing on agribusiness opportunities, Marriz B. Agbon, president of the Philippine Agricultural Development and Commercial...

More services for SMEs.
November 26, 2009... CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY - Small- and medium-scale food processors can now avail of shelf-life and nutrition evaluation from the regional laboratory of the Department of Science and Technology. The facility has been doing general food testing, so far.

TAXWISE OR OTHERWISE.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Judith V. Lopez When we meet people who happen to know others we also know, or are even related to those in our network of relations, we instantly utter, "It's such a small world!" It may be a small world indeed, but the fact...

CALLING A SPADE...
November 26, 2009... Byline: Solita Collas-Monsod Just when the country was euphoric over the victory of Efren Penaflorida as CNN Hero of the Year; just when his message that everyone can be a hero, that everyone can make a difference for the good, was beginning...

THE VIEW FROM TAFT.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Philip Ella Juico As I have often pointed out, the most outstanding aspect of celebrating anniversaries and historic events in an individual's or community's life is that the act of remembering is a struggle against forgetting. ...

CORE.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Benjamin E. Diokno How much lower can we get? The brutal, brazen, and outrageous massacre of more than 50 people, including at least 20 journalists, has shown how low the Philippines has sunk in terms of political stability, rule of...

STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Rene B. Azurin His decision, announced last Tuesday, not to run for any elective office in 2010 is itself proof of the faulty reasoning that underlay the reasons Sen. Francis Escudero gave when he bolted - a month ago - the political...

Tanduay selling retail bonds to raise P5B in fresh funding.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Kristine Jane R. Liu Lucio C. Tan-led Tanduay Distillers, Inc. will tap the debt market to raise money needed to finance various expenses, which include refinancing maturing debt. In a disclosure yesterday, Tanduay Holdings, Inc....

BHP Billiton takes over exploration in Palawan under deal with PNOC.
November 26, 2009... Byline: Jose Bimbo F. Santos The listed upstream oil and gas subsidiary of state-owned Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) has farmed out three-quarters of its participating interest in an exploration block off Palawan to BHP Billiton...