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Grey’s Anatomy’s actress

NEW YORK — Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo has made a deal to appear in two more seasons of the highly popular show that will earn her $20 million per year, making her the highest-paid actress in a TV drama. Pompeo, who stars in the medical drama as Meredith Grey, told The Hollywood Reporter that she will earn $575,000 an episode for seasons 15 and 16, under a deal signed late last year. She will also get a signing bonus and a percentage of the show’s profits bringing her total earnings to over $20 million per year. — AFP

PSE index drops on banks’ stock rights offer plans

LOCAL EQUITIES were down on Thursday, weighed down by banking stocks that recently announced plans to conduct stock rights offerings (SRO).

The main index dropped 0.31% or 28.25 points to finish at 8,820.74 yesterday.

The broader all-shares index likewise lost 0.1 or 5.6 points to close at 5,115.87.

“(T)he market is due for correction, but there is nothing to worry about as these are buying opportunities for both local and foreign investors. In the morning session we saw major banks like MBT (Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co.) and BPI (Bank of the Philippine Islands) down on the disclosures of their stock rights offerings to raise cash,” Eagle Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in a text message. 

Metrobank was the most active stock of the day, shedding 0.51% to close P98.20 apiece, followed by stocks in Bank of the Philippine Islands which in turn rose 0.44% to P115 apiece.

“There was some concern as the rights offerings were said to be priced below market value,” Mr. Mangun said.

Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan meanwhile noted that the SRO announcements prompted investors to go on profit taking on Thursday.

“The (Philippine Stock Exchange index) has been making several attempts to breach 8,900 but the announcement of the MBT SRO became the impetus for profit taking. Along with BPI, this caused some selling momentum to continue. Their holding units also were sold down after the announcement,” Mr. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

International markets defied the local barometer’s performance, as Wednesday saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) soar above the 26,000-mark for the first time, fuelled by positive sentiment for economic and earnings growth of listed firms. The DJIA picked up 1.25% or 322.79 points to finish at 26,115.65.

The S&P 500 index also inched up 0.94% or 26.14 points to 2,802.56, while the Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.03% or 74.60 points to 7,298.28.

Back home, most sectoral counters ended the day on a negative note, with the mining and oil sub-index losing the most at 0.89% or 108.76 points to 12,026.41. Financials followed with a 0.72% decrease or 16.2 points to 2,231.10; holding firms dropped 0.66% or 60.05 points to 9,035.59; and industrials slipped 0.02% or 2.84 points to 11,806.88.

Services, meanwhile, gained 0.38% or 6.29 points to 1,645.04 and property posted an 0.18% or 7.61-point uptick to 4,039.91.

The market saw 113 names advance versus the 103 that declined, while 54 issues were flat.

A total of 1.14 billion issues switched hands for a value turnover of P9.98 billion, slightly higher than the P9.64 billion booked on Wednesday.

Foreign investors continued their buying streak, as net purchases were recorded at P383.38 million, although this is down from Wednesday’s P1.26-billion inflow. — Arra B. Francia

Last Recode: definitely worth its price tag

By Alexander O. Cuaycong

IT’S difficult to pinpoint exactly how influential .hack (stylized in lower case and pronounced “dot hack”) has been as a series. Namco Bandai and Cyber Connect’s intellectual property has found its place not only in video games, but also in anime shows, light novels, manga, and even in collectible card games. With plenty of backstory and lore to draw from, and coming from such a respectable pedigree, it’s a wonder .hack//G.U. Last Recode took this long to come out.

Debuting on both the personal computer and the PlayStation 4 late last year, Last Recode is the complete remaster of the .hack//G.U. series of games. All three games (Rebirth, Reminisce, and Redemption) are completely intact and packaged together with Reconnection, a fourth never-before-seen episode. Alongside balance changes to gameplay and higher-resolution support and graphical fidelity, this makes Last Recode the definitive game to play if you wish to experience the .hack//G.U. series to the fullest.

And definitive it is. Last Recode is not only feature-complete; it also has extra content that was originally either promotional or missable. Things such as then-optional e-mail are now available for all to read, and the then-Special-Edition-only Terminal Disc is free to watch during key parts of the game. Anything and everything .hack//G.U.-related can be found in Last Recode.

This is part and parcel of Last Recode’s greatest strength: the story, which features Haseo, an otherwise-normal player of the popular online game The World who is singularly obsessed with a mysterious character named Tri-Edge. This obsession finds him joining a group called Project G.U., a band of players secretly recruited by the administrators of the game to “debug” it. As a member of the group, he learns that things aren’t as straightforward as they seem, and that something far greater is in the works. His continued pursuit of Tri-Edge thrusts him into a plot of living and thinking Artificial Intelligence, corporate greed, and self-realization, as he not only discovers things in The World, but also in himself.

As a Japanese role-playing game, this sounds like standard fare, but where Last Recode distinguishes itself is the sheer amount of lore and exposition available to peruse. Tons and tons of backstory — from in-game newscasts to e-mail to even fake Internet fora — can be found, and all of it optional. Last Recode even goes so far as to have an entire narrative based around The World itself, with a fictional story about dragons and gods creating The World and enabling the many “servers” to come into being. Sure, the characters are a bit campy and do tend to come out the wrong way, but the sheer intricacy and detail put into Last Recode’s background, and how the story is told, more than makes up for it.

Combat-wise, Last Recode sticks to the familiar. While the game forces you into playing Haseo and his Adept Rogue class, two of the multitude of Last Recode’s rich cast can be picked as party members to help you fight. And when Haseo gains the ability to switch weapons later on in the game, it’s a joy to breeze through the first time around. Following the massively multiplayer online RPG theme, fights place you out of the world and into an enclosed arena, where magic and skills are available for use, with skills changing depending on the weapon equipped. Hitting opponents repeatedly puts them into a vulnerable state, called Rengeki, where attacks do much more damage, interrupt enemy attacks and fill up a morale bar which can be used as a super buff during combat once filled.

Should the unlikely occur and boredom set in, Last Recode’s inclusion of Easter eggs such as Mecha Grunty, optional games such as Crimson VR, and even things like Lucky and Unlucky animals, story side-quests from NPCs and optional locations found in message boards, help add depth. For those seeking a challenge, there’s even an in-game arena where Rengekis and Counter-Rengekis are employed and add a nice change of pace to the gameplay.

Needless to say, your enjoyment of Last Recode depends on how immersed you are in the setting. The game’s a slow burn for the most part, and background on the past events of the earlier games and shows is essential for maximum enjoyment.

Pacing is also an issue in Last Recode, as story segments can drag on and on. It’s not uncommon for the game to layer a cutscene with another cutscene, and with these being essential to provide context to the plot, it can get to be a chore if you just wish to relax and shut your brain off. Combat sequences, while fun and exciting, can feel too same-y. And while dungeons are mostly randomized, the types of enemies encountered in game leave a lot to be desired. Combine this with minor Quality-of-Life issues such as items and magic spells being locked behind several menus in combat, and, even worse, magic spells not explicitly stating what they do, and you can get a little confused at times.

In short, all the concerns about the original .hack//G.U. trilogy are present in Last Recode, leading to a bit of a conundrum. Last Recode is definitely worth its price tag based on story and available content, but it nonetheless suffers from how “dated” its gameplay feels compared to more modern JRPG titles. While its flaws are not overtly glaring, they can detract from the experience if one doesn’t expect them, and they most definitely can kill the enjoyment of any player expecting Last Recode to play like Nier Automata or Tales of Berseria. It is a 12-year-old title brought up to snuff for modern systems, and its age shows.

In sum, .hack//G.U. Last Recode is highly recommended for anybody willing to play an OG JRPG. While it might not be perfect, it’s got enough content to last you a weekend and even more. Its rich storyline trumps a lot of minor issues you encounter. Given a little leeway, it can suck you in to its World quite easily, and never let you go.

Video Game Review

.hack//G.U. Last Recode
PlayStation 4

THE GOOD

• Outstanding remaster of an old game

• Runs smoothly at all times

• Includes never-before-seen content alongside previously premium content

• Great backstory and setting, combined with decent fighting and companion systems

THE BAD

• Fairly expensive asking price

• Combat can get a bit monotonous

• Backstory-reliant, and heavily draws from its predecessors

RATING: 8.5/10

Pierce’s Celtics jersey retirement

First off, let’s make one thing clear: Paul Pierce deserves to have his jersey raised to the TD Garden rafters next month. He toiled in 1,009 regular-season and 136 playoff games for the Celtics, all of which featured him as a vital cog. Not all of the years he spent with the green and white were good; they had early vacations in his first three, middle two, and last. On the other hand, he went full throttle through all the ups and downs, and his status as a 10-time All-Star and 2008 Finals Most Valuable Player underscored his importance to the cause. And for good measure, he gifted the franchise by being part of the 2013 trade that robbed the Nets blind and ensured its competitiveness in the medium term.

That said, Pierce is being egocentric when he insists that the day should belong to him and him alone. To begin with, his retirement ceremony will be done post-game, which means an entire match between the Cavaliers and the Celtics will already have occurred before he takes to the stage. By his reckoning, videos of his exploits should be played constantly during lulls in the set-to, not unlike the way the Lakers paid tribute to Kobe Bryant when the latter’s two jerseys were honored late last year.

And this is where the problem lies. The Celtics had planned to recognize Isaiah Thomas’ contributions with a short clip on that day, only to be told that Pierce was against it. Per his contention, the two-minute video would detract from his experience. He added that just about everybody who is anybody agreed with him. And so the other tribute, however brief, was scuttled. Which is just too bad, because his insistence on monopolizing the day tarnishes his place among the greats more than any other sideshow would have.

True, Thomas could have been given his tribute last month, when he returned to the Garden for the first time since being traded to the Cavaliers. Upon his request, though, the recognition was postponed to Feb. 11, when the Cavaliers would visit next, and when — most importantly — he would be able to suit up and give proper thanks in return while in front of his family. It was a reasonable ask, especially from a warrior who burned rubber while injured, and even while ailing from a death in the family.

Pierce would have none of it. He said general manager Danny Ainge was “punked” into accepting the change of date, to his detriment. And what was Thomas’ body of work compared to his? In other words, he resorted to a tactic the stubborn fall back on in the absence of reason: attack the other side, period. Clearly, he forgot that he’s simply a recipient of goodwill from the Celtics, and that his standing as a valued member of the community gains luster or is eroded depending on how he responds to the acknowledgment. Demanding how he is honored? Very unlike those that came before him; Bill Russell, for instance, continues to be generous with his time, whether among former teammates, friends, rivals, or relative nobodies.

So Pierce will get what he wants. Thomas has backed down, and the Celtics will proceed with the jersey retirement ceremony as planned. Okay, maybe not as planned, but certainly to the honoree’s liking. Which is well and good for long-time fans. For casual observers, however, all his actions have done is taint his memory. For those from the outside looking in, the time when he whined because he wasn’t about to be indulged will be remembered as much as any of his highlight reels.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.

UK lawmakers back Brexit legislation

LONDON — British lawmakers voted in favor of the government’s legislative blueprint for Brexit on Wednesday, marking a victory for Prime Minister Theresa May over political opponents who want a softer approach to leaving the European Union (EU).

But the legislation will now face scrutiny from parliament’s largely pro-EU upper house, where Ms. May’s party does not have a majority, which will intensify efforts to force a rerun of a 2016 referendum, and water down or even stop the divorce.

The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill was approved by a 324 to 295 vote in the lower house — a milestone on the long road towards cementing the legal foundations of Britain’s departure from the bloc.

The bill repeals the 1972 law that made Britain a member of the EU, and transfers EU laws into British ones.

“This bill is essential for preparing the country for the historic milestone of withdrawing from the European Union,” Brexit minister David Davis told parliament before the vote.

“It ensures that on day one we will have a statute book that works, delivering the smooth and orderly exit desired by people and businesses across the United Kingdom and being delivered by this government.”

The bill has become the focal point for months of divisive debate about what type of EU divorce Britain should seek, severely testing Ms. May’s ability to deliver on her exit strategy without a parliamentary majority.

But despite one embarrassing parliamentary defeat, several government concessions and rebellion from within her own party, Ms. May’s Conservative lawmakers overcame opposition from the Labor Party and others.

Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn instructed his lawmakers to vote against passage of the bill because the government had not met conditions set out by the party, demanding safeguards on a range of issues including workers and consumer rights.

“This bill has never been fit for purpose,” said Labour’s Brexit policy chief, Keir Starmer, describing any attempt to persuade the government that the legislation needed to change as “talking to a brick wall.”

LORDS SCRUTINY
The upper house, the House of Lords, will now begin months of scrutiny of the bill before it can become law.

Any changes made by the lords will require approval from the lower house, and the whole process could take until May to complete.

The House of Lords contains a diverse, largely unelected, mix of political appointees, experts, and members who inherited their positions. Many lords are opposed to Brexit.

Some of those figures are expected to try to soften the Brexit approach to include remaining in the EU’s single market or a second public vote, but the most likely areas for changes involve technical and constitutional issues.

Ms. May has ruled out a second vote and says Britain will be leaving.

Labor’s Mr. Corbyn is also committed to following through with Brexit, albeit pushing for different priorities and aims.

Nevertheless, calls for a second referendum are expected to persist, particularly as both pro- and anti-EU politicians have mooted the possibility recently.

EU officials and some member states have said they would welcome a change of heart from Britain.

But, barring a major change of policy from one of the country’s two largest political parties, Britain remains on course to leave the bloc in March 2019. — Reuters

All-industry revenue index up 8.6% in Q3

INDUSTRIES posted 8.6% revenue growth in the third quarter of 2017, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported yesterday.

Growth in the PSA’s total gross revenue index, a measure of sales generated by companies across all industries, accelerated from 6.8% a year earlier, according to the PSA’s Quarterly Economic Indices report.

It was the largest gain since the 9.5% posted in the first quarter of 2017.

The PSA said growth was driven by the finance (12.6% from 11.7% a year earlier), private services (9.4% from 8.6%), and trade (8.9% from 6.8%) sectors.

Manufacturing also posted gains, with 8.5% growth in the third quarter from 6.1% a year earlier, while growth slowed for real estate (to 8.8% from 21%) and transportation and communication (to 4.1% from 7.2%).

Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), said revenue gains support the country’s growth story.

“Our research describes the continuing uptrend of the country’s business cycle. Thus, one would expect the growth of the largest sectors/sub-sectors of the economy in general,” he said.

Guian Angelo S. Dumalagan, market economist at the Land Bank of the Philippines, concurred, saying that the results “are generally consistent with the acceleration in economic activity in the third quarter of 2017, which brought GDP (gross domestic product) growth to 6.9%.”

“Higher investment and government spending during the quarter likely contributed to better corporate earnings, employment and compensation,” he added.

The total employment index, meanwhile, grew 1.5% in the third quarter, against 1.1% posted a year earlier. Subsectors posting growth were real estate (3.1%), trade (2.5%), private services (2.1%), manufacturing (1.1%), electricity and water (1%), and mining and quarrying (0.1%).

Finance and transportation and communication also posted increases, albeit at a slower pace of 0.8% and 3%, respectively, from 1.4% and 6.5% a year earlier.

UnionBank’s Mr. Asuncion noted that the total employment index’s increase, although incremental, is still positive.

“It tells one that labor employed has increased year on year, and the natural consequence of economic expansion is labor employment increase,” he said.

Compensation rose by 7.4% in the third quarter from 5.9% a year earlier. Real estate (with gains of 14.9%) and manufacturing (11.3%) were the top gainers during the period while electricity and water was the sole sector which posted a contraction (-1.9%).

On a per-employee basis, compensation grew 5.8% with real estate and manufacturing also leading growth among sectors.

Mr. Asuncion added: “Particularly, manufacturing has been on an uptrend in 2017. Others are related to the services sector which form part of about 60% of GDP expansion in the 3rd quarter,” he said. — Mark T. Amoguis

Construction sector’s contribution to the economy

Nation at a glance — (01/19/18)

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

How PSEi member stocks performed — January 18, 2018

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Thursday, January 18, 2018.

Some at BoJ said to flag need for future normalization talks

A SMALL SHIFT is taking place in internal discussions among Bank of Japan (BoJ) policy makers, with a minority raising the need to eventually start discussing policy normalization, even though they agree the current stimulus program must continue unchanged for some time, according to people familiar with talks at the central bank.

Some of them think the change is natural given the improvement in the economy, according to the people, who declined to be named because discussions are private. Japan’s extended economic recovery and a slow but steady rise in inflation are creating the need in the medium-term to at least begin talking about normalization, the people said.

BoJ officials caution that the market’s expectations for policy normalization have moved well ahead of their own. They see a long way to go before the BoJ’s 2% inflation goal is reached, noting that excluding energy prices, inflation is far weaker than even the 0.9% registered by the core gauge in November, the people said.

With the Japanese economy on solid footing, investors have begun to wager that the BoJ is about to join its global peers and begin unwinding its extraordinary monetary stimulus, particularly after a tweak to the central bank’s purchases of long-dated bonds on Jan. 9.

The yen has strengthened by more than 1% since the Jan. 9 bond operation, and traded at 111.31 per dollar as of 11:41 a.m. in Tokyo on Thursday. Japan’s 10-year bond yield held steady at 0.08% on Thursday after rising just after the open as high as 0.09%, the highest since July.

BoJ officials have stressed that the reduced bond buying carried no policy implications. Bond purchases remain in line with a policy shift made in September 2016, when the BoJ changed its priority from the quantity of asset purchases to controlling interest rates, they said.

BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has repeatedly said that it’s too early to talk publicly about possible exit strategies because the central bank remains so far from its inflation target. He said any such discussions would likely confuse markets.

Some of the people familiar with talks at the central bank pointed signs of small changes in the thinking of some BoJ policy members in the summary of opinions from the most recent policy meeting, on Dec. 20-21. The summary of opinions don’t necessarily represent a consensus or even a majority view of board members, and don’t identify people by name.

One point in the summary was a nod to the prospect of higher interest rates on the horizon.

“When it is expected that economic activity and prices will continue to improve going forward, the situation may occur where the Bank will need to consider whether adjustments in the level of interest rates will be necessary,” the summary cited one board member as saying. The policy maker noted “strengthening the sustainability” of the policy framework as a possible goal.

The December summary noted for the first time, in reference to the central bank’s purchase of risk assets like exchange-traded funds, that “stock prices and corporate profits have substantially improved.” This appears to indicate that at least one member thinks the need to lower risk premiums through the asset purchases is fading.

BoJ officials also see a possibility that the central bank won’t cut any inflation forecasts when it releases its quarterly outlook after its next two-day policy meeting, which ends Jan. 23. That would be the first time in nearly four years.

Most economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast no changes to policy settings next week. — Bloomberg

Most fuel stations seen raising prices due to TRAIN by end-Jan.

MOST SERVICE STATIONS are expected to increase fuel prices by the end of January as they sell inventories taxed at higher rates under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act.

The Department of Energy (DoE) made the projection at a presentation to the Senate, which heard testimony on the impact on coal and fuel prices following the implementation of the tax reform law.

“Based on the projections, (half of service stations will raise prices) by the end of the month,” DoE Assistant Secretary Leonido J. Pulido III told Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian, who chairs the committee on energy.

The government is monitoring when inventories of key commodities like fuel, which were taxed at the old rates before the end of 2017, are due to run out, to better gauge the timing and impact on price hikes when retailers sell new inventory taxed at higher rates in 2018.

The DoE and the Department of Finance have warned fuel retailers not to raise prices using tax reform as a pretext, particularly if they are still selling 2017 inventories.

At the hearing, Mr. Pulido said the average date for old fuel stocks to run out at the retail level is 15 days after January 1.

He said some service stations have already raised their fuel prices, including those in the Caltex Philippines, Petron Corp., Shell Philippines, and Flying V networks.

Mr. Pulido said tax reform will add P2.97 per liter of gasoline. The corresponding increment for, diesel is P2.80, kerosene P3.36. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices will rise P1.12 per kilogram.

Also at the hearing, Mr. Gatchalian queried Mr. Pulido regarding the DoE’s efforts to curb possible profiteering from old stock being retailed at higher prices.

Mr. Pulido told Mr. Gatchalian that the Energy department is validating the inventories of oil companies to check when they start selling inventory taxed at new rates.

Mr. Pulido said some oil companies have yet to comply with an order to report their year-end inventories, though the department has responded with random inspections.

In an interview with reporters, Mr. Gatchalian said the DoE should fast-track its validation of the oil companies’ old stock.

“Petroleum is being sold everyday so the process should be quick. What is important is that we should know that the government is doing its job to protect consumers,” he said. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

Buzz cuts paired with custom designer coffee? The modern barbershop, according to a startup

When quaint barbershops started to mushroom three years ago, there was a surge of modern men seeking clean, classic, and dapper hair styles.

But the huge patronage also presented a problem: suddenly businesses needed to accommodate more customers while walk‑in customers fought over slots. Men could line up for a couple of hours and still end up unaccommodated.

Some barbershops in the metro are addressing this issue by going beyond the usual over‑the‑phone booking process with the help of BaseUp, a tech startup that provides small businesses with an online booking system.

Established two years ago, BaseUp is the brainchild of three young men—Carlos Salazar, Jeph Fernandez, and Gino Gervasio—who had their fair share of complaints about the cost and process of getting their hair done.

“We all spent some time in the U.S. where haircuts are rather expensive,” Salazar told SparkUp in an interview. “So when we came to the Philippines, we looked forward to getting a haircut.”

The first thing they did was to Google the hippest barbershops in town. Unsatisfied with the results, they solicited recommendations from friends, and proceeded to make phone calls to the shops.

But eventually, hope was snipped: lines were almost always busy, and if they did reach someone, the response was only that they were already fully‑booked for the day.

Come 2016, in the middle of developing a booking platform for a fitness space, the team realized that the same model could also work for the beauty and grooming industry.

Their first capital? Their own individual skill sets. Salazar held an MBA from F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business, U.S., and previously worked for a family business, developing and operating a system that allowed multinational clients to order products like business cards online. Fernandez worked at American corporate communications firm The Berman Group creating graphic designs for clients like Intel and HP. Gervasio, meanwhile, whose expertise is in the field of computer science, previously developed IT infrastructure for machine learning platforms of a network security group also based in the States.

“That’s when we started playing ideas on what kinds of solutions we could create for businesses in the service industry,” he said. “We wanted to focus on the experience of a customer when dealing with small businesses. And we started with answering the question, ‘How do we help potential customers find them?’ We found that there weren’t a lot of solutions out there that help businesses do this.”

Imagine going to a barbershop and they know that you like GQ Magazine, so by the time you come in, there’s GQ Magazine and maybe a cup of your favorite coffee.

—Carlos Salazar

In rolling out its booking system, the company incorporates the BaseUp widget to a client’s existing website or Facebook page. Businesses that have no website can utilize a customized landing page that can immediately take appointments from desktop or mobile.

At present, the platform has 7,500 users nationwide. It has generated more than 21,000 bookings for quaint barbershops including the more popular Felipe and Sons in Manila, and TUF barbershop in Cebu.

Aside from a booking platform, BaseUp also provides its clients with business analytics that indicates the number of new and returning customers, the strongest and weakest days of the week, and products or services to cut from their line of offerings.

“As we talk to business owners, we realized that the more information that they have about their business, the better that they will be able to run and even expand it,” said Gervasio. “Just looking at the top line revenue isn’t enough anymore.”

 

PERSONALIZED SERVICE

BaseUp also allows its users to know their customers’ behavior through a customer relationship management support, a tool that analyzes a customers’ quirks and presents their preferences.

“Imagine going to a barbershop and they know that you like GQ Magazine, so by the time you come in, there’s GQ Magazine and maybe a cup of your favorite coffee,” he added. “It’s really like a personalized experience. That’s where we also help the businesses; enabling them to track what’s important for their customers, what’s their behavior in terms of the type of services they get.”

According to Gervasio, BaseUp is an initial step to make daily transactions here in the country easier.

“The three of us had that common goal of improving how things are done here in the Philippines. In the U.S., your normal day‑to‑day is so convenient, making bank transactions is so easy, coming up with a business is so easy, just doing the everyday things,” he said.

While the company’s current product focuses on online booking, Gervasio said BaseUp aims to come up with products that can address small businesses’ pain points such as payment process, product promotion, and driving up sales and marketing.

Asked what motivated them to leave the U.S.—the proverbial land of milk and honey—to build a startup from the ground up in a third world country like the Philippines, Salazar simply quipped: “It’s more fun in the Philippines.”

But aside from helping purvey buzz cuts and french crops, while serving up custom designer coffee on the side, BaseUp has a larger mission.

“We wanna make products that will help entrepreneurs set up a business in a day,” Gervasio said. “We decided that one thing we could do a lot better here in the Philippines is customer service. There’s nothing that really delivers delightful experiences here. Our main point is we try to scale it down to the essentials and really study how we can deliver a good experience.”

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