...the Asia's top models 2014

Filipina is 'Asia's Next Top Model' runner-up

 

ABS-CBNnews.com

04/10/2014

 

 

Jodilly PendrePhoto from the official website of 'Asia's Next Top Model'

MANILA - A Filipina finished runner-up in the second cycle of "Asia's Next Top Model," the Asia-Pacific edition of the hit reality show for aspiring models created by Tyra Banks.

Twenty-year-old Jodilly Pendre, who hails from Mandaluyong, placed second to Malaysia's Sheena Liam, who won a modeling contract with London-based Storm Model Management, among others, as "Asia's Next Top Model."

Another Filipina, 21-year-old Katarina Rodriguez from Makati, placed third among 16 contestants from 12 countries in Asia, including Singapore, Japan, China, and South Korea.

For their final challenge, the top three contenders had a photo shoot inspired by "kampong" or village life in Malaysia, where the entire season was held. They also took the runway in designs by Jonathan Liang, Ghea Panggabean, and Albert Andrada.

Sheena Liam. Photo from the official website of 'Asia's Next Top Model'

For the finale, the regular judges -- host Nadya Hutagalung, model Joey Mead King, photographer Mike Rosenthal, and movement coach Adam Williams -- were joined by Harber's Bazaar creative director Kenneth Goh and Asian supermodel Ling Tan.

Pendre, who broke down in tears after Liam was announced winner, dedicated her stint in "Asia's Next Top Model" to her mother.

"If I win this competition, my mom will be so proud of me," Pendre said in the earlier part of the show's 13th and final episode. "She actually doesn't know that this is for, because everything I do is for her."

"I want to give her a better future. I want to show her that she still has a daughter [who] is willing to give everything for her, because I really want to fulfill her dreams. I am not here for fame. I am here because I have a purpose to be here. I have a reason."

Katarina Rodriguez. Photo from the official website of 'Asia's Next Top Model'

While also emotional, Rodriguez considered her top-three finish an accomplishment, saying she never thought she would reach the end of the competition.


"I did reach the top three. I feel very accomplished," she said. "I didn't think I could ever make it this far. This is definitely farther than I ever could've dreamed of making."

Last year, the Philippines' Stephanie Retuya similarly placed second in the first-ever edition of "Asia's Next Top Model."

Apart from her modeling contract, 22-year-old Liam also took home a Subaru car, a contract as the 2014 endorser of haircare brand TRESemme, a chance to appear on the covers of Harper's Bazaar Singapore and Malaysia, and SGD 50,000.

 

...the rich ASEAN

Southeast Asia’s Richest Get Bigger, Faster

Jake Maxwell Watts

Wall Street Journal

April 8, 2014

People look at the Singapore skyline from the skybridge of a public housing estate. A recent border-security breach has stirred concerns about shoddy policing in the orderly, low-crime city-state.

Reuters

The pool of rich people in Southeast Asia is going to get bigger while the number of poor will shrink, according to Macquarie GroupMQG.AU -0.41%, a financial services provider. That’s good news for businesses eager to take advantage of some of the world’s most attractive emerging markets like Indonesia and the Philippines.

But as Macquarie’s latest study shows, the businesses that could benefit most will not be those selling cheap cars and kids-wear to young people and families. They’ll be the ones offering SUVs and pension funds to professionals and retirees.

The middle income group in Southeast Asia – one that consumer companies have been fighting to tap – is less of an attractive business prospect than its richer counterpart, which is smaller in number but set to grow faster and consume more, says Macquarie.

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Within Southeast Asia’s five largest economies – Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore – are 20 million people who earn more than US$50,000 a year – the “aspirational class,” as Macquarie calls it.

Thanks largely to sustained economic growth in the region, their numbers will rise by 25-50% in the next five to 10 years. At the same time, the middle-income group, which earns more than US$20,000 but less than its aspirational cohort, will grow between 16% and 28%, to between 71 million and 78 million people.

The remaining 374 million, who each earn below US$20,000, is declining overall, but still accounts for the bulk of the region’s population, giving some indication of how far those economies still have to go, particularly in Indonesia and the Philippines, where the “lower” class account for a majority.

Because they’re starting from a lower base, however, Indonesia and the Philippines are set for stronger middle-class growth than Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, which are already more advanced economies.

That means people near the bottom of the income ladder are getting a little bit richer. In the Philippines, the middle-income group is expected to grow even faster than those in the aspirational one.

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To help those newly wealthy better manage their money, Swiss bank UBS said Tuesday it had hired 88 additional client advisors in the Asia-Pacific region since the start of the year—an 8% increase—to manage the increase in business.

But what about those who still remain among the poorest? The good news is that incomes for all the 455 million people living in Southeast Asia’s five largest economies are likely to go up. Average incomes will rise by 3.6% in the next five to 10 years, according to Macquarie—faster than the global average of 2.6%, but slower than their Indian and Chinese neighbors.busi

 

...the business accent

'Accent' matters: Philippines acquiring 70% of India call centers

            

By Camille Diola

philstar.com

April 7, 2014

 

A building in Manila occupied by a call center. Rajesh Pamnani

MANILA, Philippines — Most voice and call center businesses in India are transferring to the Philippines due to Filipino workers' more "neutral" English acccent, among other reasons, an Indian business group said.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said that India is losing 70 percent of all incremental domestic business process outsourcing (BPO) businesses, particularly call centers, estimated to be worth $30 billion in foreign exchange earnings.

"Philippines ... has become the top destination for Indian investors, thus the need to reduce costs and make operations leaner is increasingly becoming significant across the BPO industry," Assocham secretary general D.S. Rawat said in a statement Sunday.

Citing Assocham's study, Rawat said that the Philippines has an advantage over India due to its large pool of "well-educated, English-speaking, talented and employable graduates."

Rawat said that only 10 percent of graduates in India are qualified to work in call centers and training could take a considerable amount of time. About 30 percent of graduates in the Philippines, on the other hand, are employable.

"Employees in Philippine call centers speak English fluently with a neutral accent which is what customers look for and that is something missing in Indian accents and that is a prime reason why BPO business is thriving in that country," Rawat explains.

"Cultural proximity to the US together with availability of talented manpower are key reasons as to why BPO companies prefer expanding their operations in Philippines," he added.

The country's IT-BPO sector saw its revenues rise by 17 percent in 2013 as more companies chose to locate and expand their operations in the Philippines.

The industry is estimated to hit revenues of up to $25 billion by 2016, and may account for approximately 10 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, employing about 4.5 million Filipinos.