...the emerging cities of the future

Manila ranks 2nd in 'emerging cities of future' list

 

ABS-CBNnews.com

 04/16/2014

 

 

MANILA, Philippines – Manila is among the world's emerging cities likely to progress in the next two decades, according to a study by US-based consulting firm A.T. Kearney Inc.

The Philippine capital placed second in the ranking, lagging behind Indonesian capital Jakarta.

Jakarta, Indonesia

"Two Southeast Asian cities, Jakarta and Manila, head up the list of emerging cities most likely to progress. Although both cities are currently in the lower half of the GCI on the dimension of business activity, their rapid improvement on the ECO's leading indicators would allow them to reach the business leaders faster than any other low- or middle-income city in the world except São Paulo," the report said.

 

Manila, Philippines

A.T. Kearney said Manila “is bolstered by a relatively sharp increase in human capital indicators, with an especially notable improvement in healthcare quality and availability.”

The Philippines has seen rapid economic growth recently, with gross domestic product (GDP) growing 7.2 percent in 2013, surpassing the government’s target of 6-7 percent and one of the fastest in Asia.

A.T. Kearney’s Emerging Cities Outlook measured the likelihood that cities in low- and middle-income countries will improve their global standing over the next 10 to 20 years.

The study cited business activity, human capital and innovation in the emerging cities as indicators.

"Cities that wish to improve or maintain their global positioning must focus especially on strengthening business activity and human capital. As physical distances become less relevant and global competition intensifies, cities in emerging economies will increasingly jockey for position with one another and with cities in higher-income countries,” A.T. Kearney said in its report.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, ranked third while Sao Paulo in Brazil and New Delhi in India ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.




Sao Paulo, Brazil

New Delhi, India

Rounding up the top 10 emerging cities likely to rise are

Rio de Janeiro,

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Bogota,

Bogota, Colombia

Mumbai,

Mumbai, India

Nairobi,

Nairobi, Kenya

and Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

 

 

...the best manufacturing relocation site

Foreign firms seen relocating to Phl

 

 

By Louella D. Desiderio

The Philippine Star

April 13, 2014

 

 

 

MANILA, Philippines - Several foreign manufacturing companies operating in China and in Southeast Asian countries are eyeing to relocate to the Philippines citing the available high-quality labor here, the Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines (FOBAP) said.

In a statement from the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc., FOBAP president Robert Young said two French investors are coming to Manila by the end of the month, while a number of Canadian, Chinese and American companies are visiting the country in mid-May to scout for investment opportunities.

Young said these are mid-sized manufacturers of garments, apparel, shoes, toys and housewares looking to invest around $500 million and employ 1,000 to 3,000 workers.

“These people are financially capable, they are ready, they mean business, they are serious... We are lucky if we get at least 10 initially from all parts of China and other ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries,” he said.

Companies are moving out of China amid increasing labor unrest resulting in reduced labor pool, as well as higher capital costs.

The group is looking forward to the country becoming a beneficiary of the European Union’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (EU GSP+) citing that such will make the country an attractive and cheaper source of goods.

The Department of Trade and Industry submitted the Philippines’ application to the EU GSP+, a scheme which will allow more goods to enter the bloc at zero duty, in December.

The EU GSP+ covers 6,274 products which can enter the EU at zero duty.

At present, the Philippines is a beneficiary of the regular GSP, which covers 6,209 products, with 2,442 products subject to zero duty and the rest slapped with lower tariffs.

“Philippine goods will be duty free entry to EU. Also, (with) the forthcoming incentivized/subsidized labor, this makes investments in the Philippines attractive,” Young said.

By having new investments here, Young said FOBAP members which source products for foreign buyers, will have more factories and suppliers to choose from.

“Right now, we are running out of suppliers because in the past five years, they closed shops one by one. If they will come back, our own business will also flourish together with the Philippine economy,” he added.

 

...the Pacman vindication

Pacquiao wins unanimous decision vs Bradley to reclaim WBO title

By Bong Lozada, Mark Giongco
Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, INQUIRER.net

Sunday, April 13th, 2014

Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines acknowledges the crowd just after his unanimous decision victory over Timothy Bradley during their WBO World Welterweight championship boxing match, Saturday, April 12, 2014, at The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. AP

LAS VEGAS/MANILA — Revenge was served, and it was cold.

 

Manny Pacquiao won a 12-round unanimous decision over Timothy Bradley on Saturday to avenge his controversial 2012 loss to the previously unbeaten American.

 

The Filipino ring icon improved to 56-5 with two drawn and 38 wins inside the distance as he regained the World Boxing Organization welterweight world title he lost to Bradley on June 9, 2012.

 

Although he couldn’t get his first knockout win since 2009, Pacquiao lived up to his pre-fight promise to come out with more aggression, denying Bradley’s avowed aim of sending him into retirement with another defeat.

“I think I can go another two years,” said Pacquiao, who has won world titles in an unprecedented eight weight divisions. “I’m so happy to be world champion again. Tim Bradley was not an easy fight.”

 

Bradley, who said he fought from the first round with a right calf injury, fell to 31-1, with 12 knockouts.

 

“Life goes on,” Bradley said of his first pro defeat. “It’s back to the gym. Not a big deal.”

 

“You won the fight, you deserved the win,” Bradley said. “I have no excuses.”

 

After a forgetful 2012, Pacquiao has now picked up two impressive wins in just five months following a dominant victory over Mexican-American Brandon Rios last November at the Venetian in Macau.

 

Scorecard

 

Judge Glen Trowbridge scored the bout 118-110 for Pacquiao, while both Michael Pernick and Canada’s Craig Metcalf saw it 116-112 for the ‘Pacman,’ whose every move was cheered by the star-studded crowd of 15,601 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

 

“Bradley is better from the first fight,” Pacquiao said. “He hurt me on the chin. He made adjustments.

“I knew I had to do more this time than I did the last time,” he added.

 

Pacquiao landed 35 percent of his 563 punches, while Bradley connected with just 22 percent of his 627 blows. Pacquiao’s jab was much more effective, landing 23 percent to Bradley’s measly 11 percent, and the Pacman had a slight edge in landing 148 power punches to Bradley’s 109.

 

Round by round

 

Pacquiao’s performance righted one of the biggest perceived wrongs in recent boxing history. Pacquiao was an eight-division world champion on 15-fight winning streak when Bradley was awarded a split decision in their last bout.

 

Pacquiao was more aggressive and accurate from the opening minutes of the rematch, sticking to trainer Freddie Roach’s pleas to take the action to Bradley. They exchanged big shots in the opening rounds, but Pacquiao appeared to wear out Bradley with the heavy early pace — and the Pacman never slowed down.

 

Pacquiao landed a series of big left hands in the early rounds, knocking back Bradley with gusto.

 

Bradley responded impressively in the fourth round, wobbling Pacquiao twice with a right hand.

The pace slowed in the fifth, with Bradley showing off his defense and movement while Pacquiao attempted to trap him against the ropes.

 

Pacquiao appeared to wobble Bradley late in the seventh round with a vicious combination, but Bradley stood with his back against the ropes and defiantly encouraged it, blocking most of the shots.

 

Bradley appeared to pretend to have wobbly legs at one point after a Pacquiao miss, but his open mouth betrayed his weariness while Pacquiao steadily racked up rounds midway through the fight.

 

Bradley came on strong in the 12th, and the fighters’ heads collided late in the round. Pacquiao avoided any trouble until the final bell, when he did a short dance step to his corner.

 

Pacquiao finished the fight with a cut over his left eye. Roach said Pacquiao needed stitches to close the jagged cut.

 

Old ‘killer instinct’

 

Saturday’s victory showcased more of the old “killer instinct,” with Bradley saying it was clear that Pacquiao was “going for it”.

 

But Roach said Bradley’s unexpected strategy of seeking a big knockout blow of his own caught him and Pacquiao by surprise.

 

“He was swinging for the fences all night,” Roach said of Bradley, who said he thought it was the only way he could win the fight.

 

But as the pace slowed in the later rounds, Pacquiao dominated, putting together multi-punch combinations that kept Bradley off balance.

 

“I tried, I really tried,” said Bradley. “I wanted that knockout. I kept trying to throw something over the top, that’s what the plan was.”

 

But Bradley trainer Joel Diaz said he knew the plan had gone out the window when Bradley came to the corner after the first round saying he thought he had torn his right calf muscle.

 

Diaz tried massaging it, but Bradley told him to stop because it hurt.

 

“From that point on, I knew I didn’t have much to work with, because our plan was to dominate Pacquiao and we couldn’t do it,” Diaz said.

The injury was later diagnosed as a strain, and Bradley said he had “no excuses”.

 

“Manny is a great fighter, one of the best in the world maybe the best ever,” he said.

 

Before the rematch

 

While Bradley remains publicly confident he beat Pacquiao in their first bout despite fighting on two injured feet, that much-derided decision sent both fighters’ careers on wild spirals.

 

The two judges who scored the bout 115-113 for Bradley are no longer in the boxing business, but their decision ended Pacquiao’s 15-fight win streak and forced Bradley to defend himself against widespread criticism of the result.

Bradley endured death threats and depression before returning to the ring in unusually reckless style.

 

He brawled with Ruslan Provodnikov in March 2013 in a sensational unanimous-decision victory that silenced critics of his style and heart. Bradley then outpointed veteran Mexican champion Juan Manuel Marquez last fall, polishing his skills and making himself attractive to Pacquiao for a rematch.

 

Pacquiao was knocked unconscious by Marquez in the sixth round of their fourth fight in late 2012, and he took nearly a year off before returning for an unspectacular victory over Brandon Rios last fall. Pacquiao’s last two performances prompted Bradley to declare Pacquiao had lost his killer instinct, noting he was unable or unwilling to stop any of his opponents since late 2009.

Pacquiao’s next foe

Pacquiao’s next opponent could be the winner of the May 17 bout between Mike Alvarado and Marquez.

 

If Marquez wins, he could meet Pacquiao for the fifth time.

 

“I have no problem with fighting Marquez again, but that’s up to my promoter, Bob Arum,” Pacquiao said.

 

...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.

Create Infographics

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.

Create Infographics

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.

 

...the WEF PH jump

PH jumps 8 notches in WEF global trade index

 

The index measures how well countries facilitate the flow of goods and services over borders to their jurisdictions

 

 

 Rappler.com                      

Apr 03, 2014

 

 

UP 8 NOTCHES. The Philippines improves its ranking in the World Economic Forum's Enabling Trade Index 2014 report

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines advanced 8 places in the World Economic Forum's (WEF) annual survey measuring how open countries are to international trade.

The Philippines ranked 64th out of 138 economies in WEF's 2014 Enabling Trade Index, up from 72nd in 2012. The country has risen 28 places since 2010, when it landed on 92nd spot.

In ASEAN, the Philippines was 5th, following Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

Following the Philippines were Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar.

The Enabling Trade index "assesses the extent to which economies have in place institutions, policies, infrastructures and services facilitating the free flow of goods over borders and to their destination." These trade-enabling factors are classified under 4 categories: market access, border administration, infrastructure, and operating environment.

WEF said the Philippines did well on market access, but there was room for improvement with respect to the other categories. It said border administration was mired by corruption and red tape – two things that also weakened general operating environment in the country.

WEF added, "Like many countries in the region, the Philippines’ biggest weakness is the lack of adequate transport infrastructure." It cited shortcomings in airport and port infrastructure, and insufficient associated logistics services.

Despite persistent challenges, the Philippines enjoyed competitive advantages in several areas, according to Peter Perfecto, executive director of the Makati Business Club, which has been a partner institute of WEF in the Philippines for its trade and competitiveness surveys.

These areas included "specific tariffs, tariffs faced, cost to export, cost to import, tariff dispersion, ease and affordability of shipment, available international airline seats in kilometers per week, customs services index, access to finance, share of duty-free imports, number of distinct tariffs, efficiency of clearance process, tariff rate, number of days to import, and ICT use for business-to-business transactions.”

When it comes to exporting in the Philippines, the top 5 problematic factors were "high cost or delays caused by domestic transportation, access to imported inputs at competitive prices, technical requirements and standards abroad, identifying potential markets and buyers, and difficulties in meeting quality/quantity requirements of buyers."

When it comes to importing, the problematic factors were "burdensome import procedures, corruption at the border, tariffs, high cost or delays caused by domestic transportation, and high cost or delays caused by international transportation." – Rappler.com