US, Singapore to support Manila

Manila bags US, Singapore support to turn capital into 'smart city'

Katrina Domingo
ABS-CBN News
08 August 2019

MANILA - The United States and Singapore sent envoys to Manila City Hall this week to offer their assistance in the capital’s modernization and development programs.

Singapore committed to share its technical expertise in traffic and sewage management, and digital governance with Manila, Singaporean Ambassador to the Philippines Gerard Ho told reporters after his courtesy call on Mayor Isko Moreno, Thursday.

Singaporean Ambassador to the Philippines Gerard Ho arrives at the Manila City Hall to pay a courtesy call on Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso on Thursday, August 8, 2019. (Manila PIO photo / MANILA BULLETIN)

Ho, who met with Moreno on the eve of Singapore’s 54th National Day, offered to fund a “study trip” to the city state where the Manila mayor could learn more about first-world policies and practices.

“We are ready to share. Ask us if you need any help. We have areas of expertise in traffic management, sewages, but you have to see what works for you because you cannot blindly apply,” Ho, the envoy of Southeast Asia’s richest nation, told Moreno during the meeting.

A similar offer was given to Jakarta before, he said.

"If you have done something before and it seems to work, and you want to be a good neighbor and friend to your region, isn’t it good to share these things to everyone?" he said.

US TO HELP DESIGN MANILA’S SMART CITY PLAN

Singapore’s commitment comes a day after officials from the US Embassy visited Moreno and offered to help the capital’s flood monitoring and prevention program.

"I was asked what I wanted to prioritize. Sabi ko, ‘Once and for all, please, study Manila geographically with regard to flooding problems," Moreno told reporters.

"So that once and for all, magkaroon ng drainage plans, catch basins and everything that will address the problem," he said.

US officials also backed Manila’s efforts to turn the capital into a “smart city,” Moreno’s chief of staff Cesar Chavez told ABS-CBN News.

“We were given options by the US Embassy Commercial Section if we want a total design for a smart city or a piece of it,” Moreno’s chief of staff Cesar Chavez told ABS-CBN News.

“Our inclination is to request for a total design... traffic, solid waste management, flooding, social services,” he said.

The city is also looking into a Manila Residents ID system, he said.

The design is expected to be completed in 4-6 months, while its approval would take an additional 3 months so implementation might happen next year, he said.

PRIVATE SECTOR OFFERS

Business tycoon and PLDT-Smart CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan earlier said his telecommunications company would provide closed-circuit television cameras for “all parts” of capital city.

PLDT-Smart would also help with the creation of Manila’s “operations center” on the city hall’s 4th level, he said.

Pangilinan also committed to fund the construction of a fountain near the city hall, Moreno said.

Strong PESO

Philippine Peso ranks 2nd strongest currency in SEA

By Gabriela Baron| Manila Bulletin

07 August 2019

The Philippine Peso ranked second against the US dollar among selected Asian currencies, according to the Department of Finance.

It appreciated 2.82% versus the US dollar, next to Thailand Baht’s 4.27% from January to July.

(Taylor Weidman / Bloomberg / MANILA BULLETIN)

The DOF said that the strong balance-of-payments (BOP) position of the Philippines and rising Gross International Reserves (GIR) contributed to the peso’s strength.

Strong foreign exchange inflows from exports of services, remittances, income from investments abroad, direct foreign investments, and foreign borrowing contributed to the strong BOP position as well.

The peso was among the most stable currencies in the region, ranking 6th among 12 currencies, the Finance department added.

However, according to a report by GMA News, the ongoing tensions between China and the United States could weaken the Philippine peso in the short term.

The Philippine peso is followed by Indonesian Rupiah, Indian Rupee, and Japanese Yen at 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th places.

BPO in the Philippines

Benefits of call centre outsourcing to Philippines

Nikhil Chandwani 
Times Of India
31 July 2019

The entrepreneurial sector of the Philippines has been progressing vigorously, leaving behind competitors like China and India.

Especially as far as the outsourcing sector is concerned, it turns out that there are several newfound benefits of outsourcing to the Philippines. Over the past couple of years, there has been a thirty per cent growth in the business sector of the Philippines.

The strength of the BPO market has thus been established and is likely to witness more than twenty per cent growth in the coming years. Some key benefits of outsourcing to the Philippines include:

Data security

One of the key features can be seen in the Privacy of Data Act that has been brought to action in the Philippines. A prime concern of companies is to be able to keep their data secure from the prying sight of any third party. Any confidential or sensitive data will be protected from third-party infiltrations. Only authorized parties can access this data. This makes Philippines an extremely reliable destination for all forms of outsourcing tasks.

Convenience of language

Communication is not a bridge when it comes to working with the Philippines. English proficiency in the area is extremely high; thus, any form of communication and instruction gathering can be easily facilitated. Any communication with clients from different areas can remain secure as there will be no issues related to language accents or inconsistencies. This is a major benefit of maintaining a consistent standard for the representation of your business on various platforms.

Young talent

The Philippines working class constitutes of young talent in their twenties. This not only means that professionals in sectors like technical work are updated with the latest ongoings in their departments, but are also more trainable as compared to employees who have been working for a longer number of years.

The prime factor of growth remains the trainability of these professionals who can be moulded to carry out many tasks that are handed to them efficiently.

The success of the BPO industry is based on this system that is facilitated by the adaptability and flexibility of talented professionals. This is also a reason why the Philippines is one of the best places to outsource work to, as your business requirements can be easily accommodated with such high levels of customization.

The wide diversity in services

With various technical and cultural influences, the diversity in the range of services that flourish throughout the Philippines is remarkable. From desk services to other professions that require technically sound employees, everything that you are looking for can be found under a single roof. These are not just professionals who can accommodate your different requirements but are also highly educated and qualified in their respective fields.

This diversity makes the outsourcing of all the tasks from a company, often pertaining to different sectors, a lot more efficient and manageable.

Thus, in the modern business view of competition and hustle, outsourcing work from the Philippines can present your business with various benefits including quality work, efficient management and a reduced cost of availing all these services. Any growing brand must realize the significance of being able to collaborate with such professionals, who can not only help to grow your business further but also bring quality work for your label.

Davao City: PH Next Investment Destination

Can Davao City Become The Philippines' Next Investment Destination?



Annalisa Burgos, Contributor
Forbes.com
31 July 2019

Perhaps the Philippines' most underrated investment destination is its largest city in terms of area. Davao City has long attracted adventurous entrepreneurs and businesses for its rich natural resources and opportunities for economic growth, and yet, security issues in the southern region of Mindanao continue to deter many investors.

Victoria Plaza Mall on J.P. Laurel Avenue. Getty

Drive through Davao City and you’ll see the tell-tale signs of a growing metropolis–high-end condos and malls, construction sites and traffic congestion. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is credited with bringing progress to the hometown he led as mayor for more than two decades before moving to Malacañang Palace. Today, his children are following in his footsteps: daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio is the current mayor and his son Paolo is a congressman and other son Sebastian is city vice mayor.

In the private sector, wealth and power remain mostly in the hands of the homegrown elite: pioneer families unfazed by global stigma who invested in the city’s agribusiness, real estate, logistics and infrastructure thought too risky by their counterparts in the north. Meantime, bold foreign investors saw profit potential in this “Wild West” and blazed a trail–like Lars Wittig, country manager of Regus & SPACES by IWG Philippines.

Wittig began seeking new markets in Mindanao some 30 years ago, first for tobacco giant Philip Morris, then Dole’s plantation empire, and now for a leading operator of flexible workspaces. He says one of the biggest indicators that Davao was the place for Regus to invest was the number of gas stations, McDonalds and even the Starbucks he saw in 2012.

“This is really becoming a ground zero for all types of industries to venture into,” Wittig explained, noting the need to alleviate the burden on Metro Manila and shift operations to tier two cities like Davao. “We all know how difficult it is to maintain productivity [in Manila] and meanwhile down here, there’s less competition for a very young and IT-savvy population.”

PH + Turkey

Turkey eyes enhanced trade, defense with Philippines



ISTANBUL-Anadolu Agency
hurriyetdailynews.com
30 July 2019

Turkey is looking to increase trade volume and defense industry cooperation with the Philippines, said the country's foreign minister on July 30.

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu held bilateral talks with his Philippine counterpart Teodoro Locsin Jr as part of the 52nd Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Thailand's capital of Bangkok.

In a tweet, Çavuşoğlu said: “Started bilaterals during #ASEAN w/FM
Teodoro Locsin Jr. of the Philippines."

"On 70th anniversary of #Turkey-#Philippines diplomatic relations, aim to increase trade volume &defense industry cooperation. Will continue contributing to the Philippines peace process," he added.

ASEAN was formed in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand in Bangkok and was later joined by five other countries.

Turkey was granted the status of Sectoral Dialogue Partner in 2017.

PH rank in Innovation 2019

Philippines break into the ranks of innovation achievers - report

Dennis Valdez

BusinessWorld

26 July 2019

THE PHILIPPINES has moved up 19 spots to 54^th out of 129 economies from last year on an annual list that tracks their performance in terms of innovation, with the country breaking into the ranks of 17 others that “outperform” in this regard relative to gross domestic product.

The Global Innovation Index 2019 (GII) — prepared by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization — said the Philippines improved in almost all the metrics which the report used, namely: in Institutions, Human Capital and Research, Infrastructure, Business Sophistication, Knowledge and Technology Outputs and Creative Outputs.

“In the Business sophistication (32^nd) pillar, the Philippines improves in almost all the indicators related to Innovation linkages and gains top ranks in High-tech imports (5^th) and Research talent (6^th),” the report read.

“In Knowledge and technology outputs (31^st), the data for indicator High-tech net exports became available this year and the country ranks 1^st,” it added.

“Four other indicators rank in the top 10: Firms offering formal training (9^th), productivity growth (10^th), ICT services exports (8^th), and Creative goods exports (8^th).”

At the same time, the Philippines was found weak in terms of ease of starting a business, ease of getting credit, expenditure on education, global R&D companies, scientific and technical articles and new businesses.

“While some changes to the GII model explain a small part of this leap, newly available metrics give a more thorough assessment of the country’s innovation performance, which itself shows some signs of progress,” the report said of the Philippines’ performance this year.

Compared to its regional peers, the report said the Philippines showed “relatively good scores” particularly in trademarks, females employed with advanced degrees, high-tech imports and creative goods exports.

The report noted that, on the whole, the country was one of the most improved on this year’s list, propelling it to break into the “innovation achievers” cluster.

“The Philippines appears for the first time in the group of innovation achievers. It scores above average in all innovation dimensions, with the exception of Market sophistication, relative to its lower middle-income peers,” the report said.

“It has remarkable performance in Knowledge diffusion and Knowledge absorption, not only relative to its income group and geographic region, but also relative to all other economies assessed in the GII.”

Reacting to the report, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in a statement: “This is great news for our nation and our innovation ecosystem as a whole. It recognizes the efforts of the various government agencies… in advancing innovation among our people and MSMEs (micro, small, medium enterprises), creating an innovative culture, as well as in building linkages with academe and industry.”

He added that he expects further improvement in the country’s rank after the recent signing of Republic Act (RA) No. 11293 or the Philippine Innovation Act and RA No. 11337 or the Innovative Startup Act.

Malacañang also welcomed results of the latest report, saying in a statement that it commends the departments and agencies that helped achieve the improvement in the country’s global rank. “May this good news further motivate them in creating an environment that nurtures innovation and creates business opportunities as we become one of the fastest growing economies in the globe,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo was quoted as saying.

The global top 10 consist of, in descending order: Switzerland (also top last year), Sweden (from 3^rd), the United States (from 6^th), the Netherlands (from 2^nd), the United Kingdom (from 4^th), Finland (from 7^th), Denmark (from 8^th), Singapore (8^th from 5^th), Germany (flat from 9^th last year) and Israel (from 11^th).

Seven of the 15 economies in the South East Asia, East Asia and Oceania group rank in the top 25, namely: Singapore, South Korea (11^th), Hong Kong (13^th), China (14^th), Japan (15^th), Australia (22^nd) and New Zealand (25^th).

Besides Singapore (8^th) and the Philippines (54^th), the other Southeast Asian countries on the list performed as follows: Malaysia (35^th), Vietnam (42^nd), Thailand (43^rd), Brunei (71^st), Indonesia (85^th) and Cambodia (98^th).

India, to which the Philippines is frequently compared when it comes to business process outsourcing, placed 52^nd in this year’s report. — Denise A. Valdez