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Manila FAME takes new directions


THE 68th Manila FAME fair is set to showcase products by more than 360 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), present innovations in the use of bamboo, and take on digitalization.
Organized by the Department of Trade and Industry through the Center for International Trade Expositions and Mission (DTI-CITEM), the event showcases Filipino creativity and craftsmanship with participating fashion, home, lifestyle brands, as well as, products from homegrown artisans in regional groups.
The country’s biannual design and lifestyle event will be held on Oct. 19 to 21 at the World Trade Center in Pasay city.
“Manila FAME stands as a platform for both small and established enterprises to penetrate the international market. The trade show provides exporters with the opportunity to meet with international trade buyers, importers, retailers, wholesalers, and merchandising agents,” DTI-CITEM executive director Pauline Suaco-Juan said in a press release.
GOING DIGITAL
At this month’s exhibit, the Artisans Village section includes fashion, home décor, gifts, and furniture products from Antique, Bohol, Cebu, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Northern Mindanao, and Marawi City.
Manila FAME is also providing a digital platform for exhibitors to be accessible to buyers through an enhanced website experience when visiting the Touchpoint tab on the official website.
“What you will see is a way of telling stories in another medium that we haven’t previously done in Manila FAME, because the primary medium has always been through trade shows. We live in a digital world, we recognize that there is a need for exhibitors and buyers to keep that connection for the rest of the year,” Ms. Suaco-Juan told BusinessWorld during the press preview on Oct. 12 at the LRI Design Plaza in Makati city, noting that many of exhibitors do not have social media accounts or websites. “If the companies cannot do it on their own, then Manila FAME should be able to offer that service.”
The website provides the list of exhibitors and contact information. It highlights stories of the products through photos and videos.
BAMBOO
The Design Center of the Philippines, in partnership with the Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA), explores additional applications of bamboo to showcase its versatility through the organization’s Bamboo Extreme program. Executive director of the Design Center of the Philippines, Ria Matute said that the current display focuses on bamboo and the “new concept of mobility.”
The display will include bamboo bikes for children and adults, and a pedicab.
The third edition of the Design Commune: Nude+ will showcase products of 90 companies that went under product development. Curated by Tes Pasola, the special setting covers 180 square meters with 40 tables surrounded by off-white and ivory, pale pink, and other skin-toned products that Ms. Pasola described as “color forecasts for 2019.” The showcased products will be segmented to focus on markets in Europe, the USA, and Japan.
With these innovations, Ms. Suaco-Juan hopes that the upcoming Manila FAME continues to build and strengthen the design community.
For more information, visit www.manilafame.com/. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Ayala Land explores partnerships with ASEAN property firms

AYALA LAND, Inc. (ALI) is in talks with a company in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region for potential partnerships in the real estate market.
“Meron na (We have one), we’re in discussions,” ALI Chief Financial Officer Augusto Cesar D. Bengzon told reporters when asked if they have a new partnership overseas, saying they are looking for a platform to grow through a company or local organization.
Mr. Bengzon declined to disclose further details, but noted the company is based in one of the 10 ASEAN countries.
“When we look at our international strategy, the focus is on ASEAN region, and potentially second tier China cities. Our preferred mode of entry is through a organizational company which will provide us the platform… You need local expertise, and therefore it’s best to partner with a local team that knows the market,” Mr. Bengzon explained.
He also added they prefer partnering with companies that already have a landbank.
This is the same strategy that ALI employed when it first planted its flag in Malaysia. The company initially purchased a 9.16% share in Malaysian firm MCT Bhd. in 2015, eventually increasing its stake to 72.31% last February. MCT is involved mainly in affordable residential condominium projects.
“We’ve installed the CEO (chief executive officer) and from what we are seeing, there are also quite a number of opportunities in Malaysia and we’re quite optimistic that the local team will be able to grow the company,” Mr. Bengzon said.
ALI acquired last April through MCT a four-hectare property in Kuala Lumpur’s Klang Valley for P2 billion. It will be transformed into a mixed use development, with 90% allotted for both horizontal and vertical residential projects. The remaining 10% will be developed into leasing spaces.
This will be MCT’s fourth project in Klang Valley, as it is also constructing Cybersouth, Cyberjaya, and One City in the area.
ALI generated a net income attributable to the parent by 18% to P13.5 billion in the first six months of 2018, as revenues likewise grew by 18% to P80.4 billion.
The company aims to hit a net income of P40 billion by 2020, or its so-called 2020 vision, with P20 billion from the residential segment and P20 billion from the leasing business. ALI would have to post a compounded annual growth rate of 17% in the next two years in order to achieve its goal.
ALI committed to spend P110.8 billion in capital expenditures this year as part of its 2020 vision, and also to take advantage of the booming residential market in the country. — Arra B. Francia

T-bills seen to fetch higher rates

TREASURY BILLS (T-bill) on offer this week will likely fetch higher rates anew as market players are still pricing in the September inflation print.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) is offering P15 billion worth of T-bills at its auction today. Broken down, the government is looking to raise P4 billion and P5 billion via three- and six-month papers, respectively, and P6 billion from the one-year debt papers.
Traders interviewed over the weekend said yields on the T-bills will likely climb further from the previous offer.
The bond traders expect rates of the debt papers to climb by 10-20 basis points (bp) across all tenors from the previous auction, with one saying the offer could be just 1.25 times oversubscribed.
“Investors are still looking at the inflation as well as the possible rate hike from the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas),” the trader said in a phone interview before the weekend, also noting the weakening of the peso versus the dollar as another downside.
Last week, the government decided on a partial award of the T-bills it placed on the auction block, raising just P13.548 billion out of the P15 billion it wanted to borrow.
Broken down, the BTr partially awarded the 182-day T-bills, accepting offers totalling P3.548 billion versus the P5-billion program.
Meanwhile, the Treasury fully awarded the 91- and 364-day papers, raising P4 billion and P6 billion from each tenor, respectively.
The three- and six-month debt fetched 4.404% and 5.684%, respectively, while the one-year T-bills yielded 5.883%.
At the secondary market on Friday, the 91-, 182- and 364-day papers were quoted at 4.4397%, 5.5924% and 5.998%, respectively.
Inflation picked up to 6.7% in September from the 6.4% print in August and 3% in the same month last year, as typhoon Ompong (international name: Mangkhut) worsened supply issues for rice and other crops.
However, the September result fell below the 6.8% estimate by the BSP and median in a BusinessWorld poll.
The market is still pricing in inflation expectations in their decisions, saying the BSP may still need to hike interest rates further to keep local yields competitive and quell price expectations.
The central bank will hold its seventh rate-setting meeting on Nov. 15. It has raised key rates by a cumulative 150 bps since May.
The Treasury is raising P270 billion from the domestic market this year through auctions of securities, offering P180 billion in T-bills and another P90 billion in Treasury bonds.
The government plans to borrow P888.23 billion this year from local and foreign sources to fund its budget deficit, which is capped at 3% of the country’s gross domestic product. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Working on glasses with an eye to the future


A PAIR of eyeglasses does not only need to have accurately graded lenses, it would also be nice for it to complement your personal style and face shape.
Italian eyewear manufacturer Safilo, through its official distributor Ark Trends, Inc., launched the distribution of collections from six of its luxury brands, marking its presence in the Philippines.
“If you look at the retail business, brands are actively building their presence and this also a great opportunity to build the eyewear category. The Filipinos are more brand-focused and aware of quality,” Vincent Cleme, Safilo Group brand associate director for APAC, told BusinessWorld shortly after the launch on Oct. 11 at Manila House Private Club in BGC which saw artists drawing the faces of guests at the event.
The Safilo Group carries brands with a strong legacy in craftsmanship. Designs from its core brand, sports eyewear Carrera; and its licensed brands — Jimmy Choo, Fendi, Hugo Boss, MaxMara, and Dior — are the collections launched.
These include prescription eyewear and sunglasses with playfully constructed frames and bold colors such as pink, blue, and yellow.
According to Mr. Cleme, the Safilo Group anticipates trends and works on the eyewear collections for 18 months in advance at five design studios located around the world. Their team monitors trends not only in eyewear design but also material. “Based on that (trends), [our team] anticipates trends of eyewear of one and a half years [in the future] and then, design our collection,” he said.
“I think the easy way of picking eyewear is to go for the eyewear that everyone has,” Mr. Cleme observed. He said, however, that the rule of thumb in eyewear is to choose a design that complements your face shape.
According to Mr. Cleme, rectangular frames go well with round faces; angular frames for oval faces; people with angular jawline may opt for round frames.
Mr. Cleme said his knowledge on eyewear suitability is based on experience.
“I spend a lot of time making people try eyewear. I think I’ve reached a point where, when I see someone, then I know more or less [the pieces] in the collection which will fit the person the best,” he said. “But I never say that I would be the one to choose because at the end of the day, it should be a personal choice.”
Safilo’s eyewear collection is available at LS Pascual in Rockwell, Shangri-la Plaza Mall, Robinsons Ermita, Robinsons Magnolia, and TriNoma; Optical Works in SM Lucena, SM Lipa, Festival Mall, SM Dasmariñas, SM Southmall, SM Bacoor, Shoppesville, SM North EDSA, SM Marilao, and SM Pampanga; and George Optical in Solenad Sta. Rosa. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Food industry wants unified rules for school ‘junk food’ ban

THE Philippine Chamber of Food Manufacturers, Inc. (PCFMI) said it may ask the local government department to harmonize the standard for local “junk food” bans on the sale of packaged snacks near schools.
“We plan to write to the DILG [Department of Interior and Local Government] to appeal,” Luis Enrico E. Salvador, Vice Chair of the PCFMI’s Membership and Communications and Public Affairs Committee, said in an interview on Friday in Makati City.
“We want to point out that these (rules) would result in different implementation across different cities,” he added.
The PCFMI said some retailers have complied with the bans, but the overall rules remain unclear.
Senior-Vice President and Head of Nestle Philippines Corporate Affairs Ernesto S. Mascenon has said that the company had been receiving requests for clarification from retailers.
Among the first cities to impose a no-junk food policy is Quezon City.
Its ordinance 2579 of 2017, known as the Quezon City Anti-Junk Food and Sugary Drinks ordinance, prohibits the sale and promotion of junk food and soft drinks within a 100-meter radius of all schools.
The Quezon City’s list of unhealthy products include “processed pre-packed snack food which are high in sodium and/or sugar such as chips, chicharon and popcorn,” among others.
It also prohibits the selling of street food, defined as “unhealthy food, high in fat, calories and salt,” and sugary drinks which cover softdrinks, ‘palamig,’ flavored shakes, sweetened powdered drinks, and sports drinks, among others.
“We are just hoping that [a solution] is accelerated for uniformity of implementation. There could be just one mother ordinance that we can follow,” Mr. Salvador added.
He added that a Department of Education order may have caused some confusion when it banned “sweetened milk” from being sold in school canteens in a department order.
Some LGUs have banned the sale of certain items near schools without providing specific definitions and standards.
“We’re hoping it’s not seen as prohibited because of course milk is seen as one of the ways to boost the nutrition of children,” Mr. Salvador said.
The PCFMI has 96 members encompassing major food manufacturers and small and medium-sized enterprises. — Janina C. Lim

Redefining cooperatives: 1CISP ventures into retail


DAVAO CITY — The 44-year old 1 Cooperative Insurance System of the Philippines (1CISP) is diversifying into retail operations through a partnership with Davao-based New City Commercial Center (NCCC) Group of Companies.
1CISP President Roy S. Miclat said the partnership involves the setting up of 1KoopMart shops, which will serve as pick-up points for items that are ordered from the NCCC online sales catalog.
The cooperative network, which has over 2,000 members, will also provide an option for delivery through its pool of motorcycle-riding collectors.
Mr. Miclat said 1KoopMart will also provide member cooperatives with a regular outlet for their products.
“As you know, cooperative businesses are highly diverse — from food products to financial services, like insurance and even banking. So, theoretically, anything that can be produced or offered by the co-ops can be made available in 1KoopMart,” Mr. Miclat said in an interview.
The first 1KoopMart will be in Davao City and Mr. Miclat said they are still working on plans for other locations as well as other possible business partners.
“We are still firming up plans with regard to store locations and right now, it’s just NCCC and they are definitely more than enough to help 1KoopMart achieve its objectives,” he said.
Aside from the 1KoopMart, 1CISP also recently launched Coop Kicks, a pitch fest for young entrepreneurs, and the 1Koop Leaders Academy, a nationwide training program for young cooperative professionals.
Winners of the Coop Kicks will be coached and trained by the Ateneo Techno Hub and co-supervised by Model Cooperative Network.
“We also want to make cooperatives more palatable to the youth, so they’d realize that careers in cooperatives are in every way as rewarding as any career in private or public organizations,” Mr. Miclat said.
The 1Koop Leaders Academy, on the other hand, is in partnership with Asia Select, Inc., one of the country’s leading human resource companies.
Mr. Miclat said all these new ventures are aimed at redefining the role of cooperatives in the economy.
“We wanted projects that would elevate cooperatives, both in how we do business as community-based endeavors and in how we are seen by the general public,” he said. — Maya M. Padillo

BSP sets process for grant of regulatory relief

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter
THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) has approved new rules which prescribe a standard process for providing relief to bank branches operating in disaster-stricken areas.
BSP Circular 1017 outlines a “uniform and systematic approach” before the central bank can announce regulatory relief for banks and quasi-banks (QBs) operating in towns or provinces which have been ruined by calamities.
The central bank extends relief measures for banks and quasi-banks following natural calamities and disaster events which disrupt their day-to-day operations.
The fresh rules specifically require that an area needs to be placed under a state of calamity before the BSP can extend relief to bank branches operating there. This may come from a declaration issued by local government units or by the President, as recommended by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
A state of calamity involves mass casualty as well as “major” damage to property, livelihood, roads and to the “normal way of life” of the community due to a natural or human-induced hazard, according to the BSP issuance signed Oct. 10.
Under the relief package, the BSP will allow branches located in the affected areas to extend financial aid to its officers and employees even beyond the set of fringe benefits approved by the regulator for each firm.
To add, thrift, rural, and cooperative banks are allowed to exclude outstanding loans from borrowers in the covered areas in computing their past due ratios, provided that such borrowings are restructured or given relief. The central bank would also not impose penalties even if reserves fall below requirement, while those under rehabilitation may take a pause in settling their monthly dues with the BSP.
No fines will also be imposed for delayed submissions of regulatory reports to the central bank. Lenders which have outstanding rediscount loans with the BSP can also extend the payment period up to five years.
Such arrangements valid for one year following the declaration of state of calamity in the area. Banks must write to the BSP within that period to inform that they will be availing these relief measures.
By providing temporary relief, the central bank effectively relaxes capital and liquidity requirements imposed in order to ease the burden on financial firms and allow them to recover from disrupted services.
“The damages brought about by calamities to people’s resources and livelihood may affect the paying capacity and risk profile of the borrowers/clients of banks/QBs. This may translate to higher past due ratios and inability to meet the legal reserve requirements,” the circular read, as signed by BSP officer-in-charge Deputy Governor Maria Almasara Cyd N. Tuaño-Amador.
The central bank announced in August that relief measures have been made available to banks based in specific towns in Ilocos, the Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa and Western Visayas; as well as in Malabon, Marikina, Parañaque, Pasig, Quezon City and Valenzuela which were affected by tropical depression Josie in July.
The new rules may apply to affected banks located in Cagayan Valley, Isabela, Central Luzon, and the Cordillera Administrative Region, which Pres. Rodrigo R. Duterte placed under state of calamity following the wrath of typhoon Ompong (international name: Mangkhut) last month.
The BSP also announced similar measures for lenders based in war-torn Marawi City last January.

Cobonpue goes to the stars with Star Wars


KENNETH COBONPUE, Filipino industrial designer par excellence, has reached for the stars in a new collection inspired by the popular movie franchise Star Wars. And the Universe of Marvel may not be far behind.
The movie franchise, launched in the late 1970s by George Lucas, fired up the dreams of millions of fans. In 2012, Disney announced a deal to acquire Lucasfilm (and thus the franchise) from the director. Disney, holding the rights to the series, approached Mr. Cobonpue to design a collection inspired by the movies.
“I was very skeptical in the beginning of the whole project. I didn’t want to make things with characters on them, or replicas of machines,” he said during an interview in his showroom last week. But according to him, Disney told him to “interpret the world of Star Wars through a Filipino designer’s lens.” Mr. Cobonpue explained: “They approached me, and I think the Vice-President of Disney in Asia has seen my work,” recalling how the ball for the deal started rolling.
The partnership is extraordinary because the movie franchise and Mr. Cobonpue’s name are mentioned at the same time in a co-branding deal: in deals like this with such a huge conglomerate, the designer’s name is usually invisible.
“Actually, the whole world of Disney is open to me,” said Mr. Cobonpue. This means that Mr. Cobonpue will have access to use Disney characters for further collaborations. “I can pick any character from Disney, and take off from there,” he says, and, yes, even new Disney subsidiary Marvel Entertainment can be in the mix, so fans can watch out for that. In the meantime, “I think next year, they have Mulan and Lion King (coming up).”
NOT A GEEK
Mr. Cobonpue is himself a fan of Star Wars: “Yes, but I’m not a geek; so to speak,” he said. “I’ve always loved Star Wars — of course, it’s good versus evil. When I was small, I always wanted to be strapped into one of those things,” he said, trying to seek the word for one of the space vehicles in Star Wars. He said that in his spare time, he drew cartoons and comics about the Star Wars movies.
While the collection is inspired by Star Wars, it took a concerted effort on his part not to take the series too literally. “There’s a point when you become too literal. It then becomes cheesy, and kind of corny. Maybe I’m glad that I’m not a geek who follows Star Wars [religiously]. I look at it the same way everybody does: we love it, we understand it.” He says that he won’t be able to rattle off the top speed, of say, the Millennium Falcon, but, “I love it for what it is.”
VADER CHAIR
A highlight of the collection, on view at the Cobonpue showroom in Makati, is the Vader chair: a black cocoon in the shape of Darth Vader’s helmet, with a canopy and a small swiveling desk. It’s perfect for plotting schemes in your office, and sitting on it, when one’s face is enveloped in shadows by the woven canopy, might give the owner the same fearsome aura as Darth Vader when he strode into Princess Leia’s Tantive IV.
The chair’s partner, appropriately, is the Sidious chair, named after Emperor Palpatine’s Sith alias, and Darth Vader’s master. The armchair’s back points up, taking the shape of the peak in the Emperor’s hood.
Two chairs in black and white are called the Imperial Wings, taking flight from the TIE fighters of the Imperial fleet. Other pieces include a lamp made of several jedi wielding lightsabers, fighting against a Sith Lord, as well as a rocking stool inspired by Han Solo’s sidekick Chewbacca, his fur interpreted in suede, and draped with his ammunition.
Prices range from P68,000 to P213,000.
“I teach design, and I always tell my students to never be too literal,” said Mr. Cobonpue, and viewers bear in mind that the furniture only took certain memorable visual cues from the characters and themes that inspired it. “You take what’s beautiful about it, you take what’s universal: a common language. Try to find what we all understand. Take that, and you simplify it, and you abstract it.”
FORM VS. FUNCTION
With every designer, a battle arises whether to put form or function first — the paradigm exists because things don’t always fulfill their purpose. With advances in technology and discoveries in good design, everything is now expected to work as they should, from whistling kettles to rocking chairs. “I always say it’s form. Because before you try it out, it has to attract you,” Mr. Cobonpue said. “I always tell designers: form is your domain, and that has to come first. Otherwise, if it’s all about function, be an engineer.”
What designers need to seek now, beyond form and function, is a little something extra. Maybe it’s a combination of form, function, or emotion; maybe something else. For Mr. Cobonpue however, that little extra goes back to something that has always been there. “Those are always by-products of form — sexiness, emotion; you draw out from Form. Never from Function.” — Joseph L. Garcia

NFA plans to keep rice supply balanced even with more imports

THE National Food Authority (NFA) said President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s order to freely import rice will not disadvantage farmers as the government will remain responsible for keeping the overall rice supply in equilibrium.
In a phone interview, NFA Spokesperson Angel G. Imperial said: “Rice supply needs to be balanced — there cannot be an undersupply or oversupply… The balance should always be maintained. There should be equilibrium.”
“The government is responsible for balancing the market based on the data available from the Philippine Statistics Authority,” Mr. Imperial said, suggesting that imports will be calibrated to match the degree to which domestic production cannot supply the market.
According to Mr. Imperial, Mr. Duterte’s directive only means removing administrative impediments and non-tariff barriers and not unrestricted rice imports.
“What he meant was unimpeded importation processes… to be removed are the administrative impediments and non-tariff barriers to ease the entry of agricultural products, particularly rice,” Mr. Imperial said.
“Does that mean anyone can import? In the absence of a document or written instruction, we will still follow the law, which sets a Minimum Access Volume (MAV) for imports,” Mr. Imperial said.
The MAV of rice for the Philippines is set at 805,200 metric tons. MAV is the volume of a specific agricultural good allowed to be imported with a lower tariff as committed by the Philippines to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) has said that it was alarmed by the prospect of imported rice flooding the market, to the detriment of farmers.
“We have been run over by TRAIN. Now we will be swept by a flood of imports,” FFF President Ruben D. Presilda said, referring to the tax reform law that has been blamed for rising prices.
FFF national policy board chairman and former Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor also expressed concern over the Senate version of the rice tariffication bill, which would allow rice to be more imported freely while charging tariffs on shipments.
“Almost all countries, including those in ASEAN, and even advanced countries like Japan and South Korea, require all rice importers to obtain licenses so that imports can be monitored and kept within bounds,” Mr. Montemayor said.
Mr. Imperial, however said that the NFA disagrees with the bill’s proposal to remove the import-licensing powers of the agency.
“The licensing power should be there because one function of the NFA is to regulate,” Mr. Imperial said.
He said no one wants oversupply, which would mean no profits for everyone. It has to be acceptable to all,” Mr. Imperial added. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

US-based company installs ‘hydropanels’ at Seda Hotel

By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-editor
ZERO MASS Water, Inc., a US-based company that produces drinking water from the air using energy from the sun, plans to expand the installation of its “hydropanels” throughout the Philippines after forging partnerships with public and private sector entities.
“Since our launch in June, we’ve done a deal with Ayala Land. So now we’ve installed them [hydropanels] on the rooftop of the Seda Vertis Hotel in Quezon City,” said Robert Bartrop, executive vice-president global business development at Zero Mass Water, in an interview.
The installation for Ayala Land, Inc.’s (ALI) hotel is the latest partnership that the company forged after it installed the panels on the rooftop of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in June this year.
For Seda Hotel in Vertis North, Zero Mass Water’s installation produces drinking water that can displace 2,000 plastic bottles of water monthly.
“We’ve installed one array of six panels on the roof of the Seda Vertis,” he said about the project that serves the hotel’s rooftop bar, among others.
“We’re looking for expanded models for more rooms and more facilities given the size of their (Ayala Land’s) portfolio. They’ve got a commitment to be carbon neutral by 2022 and so this product fits really well,” Mr. Bartrop said.
Zero Mass Water’s “Source Hydropanel” is an off-grid, solar-powered technology that extracts water vapor from the air into a proprietary absorbent material. The water flows into a reservoir where it is mineralized with calcium and magnesium. The last process is meant to ensure the water meets health and taste considerations.
The technology was developed by the company and brought to the country in collaboration with its local partner Green Heat Corp. They installed the four hydropanels on the rooftop of ADB’s headquarters in Mandaluyong City. Each hydropanel is capable of producing up to 5 liters of potable water per day.
Asked about partnerships with other private companies, Mr. Bartrop said: “Some are confidential but we hope to be very active in the new site… for the next few months.”
“We’re working very actively at the moment… We’re expanding our distribution in the Philippines and engaging with people,” he said, adding that the company had received approaches from developers, individuals and families for similar partnerships.
Mr. Bartrop said the company was halfway through a similar installation in partnership with the National Electrification Administration (NEA). The project was announced in June during the launch of ADB’s rooftop hydropanels.
The contract with NEA calls for the installation of 40 hydropanels within the franchises of electric cooperatives in eight Philippine provinces, namely: Pangasinan, Bukidnon, Agusan del Sur, Davao del Sur, Bohol, Samar, Davao del Norte and Misamis Occidental.

Bounty Fresh building up Indonesia chicken operation

BOUNTY FRESH Food Inc. has started building poultry feed and growing facilities in Indonesia, a company official said.
In an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the 2018 World Chicken and Egg Day held in Trinoma mall in Quezon City, Bounty Fresh senior vice president for sales Theresa Chen said: “We’re expanding not only in the Philippines but also (elsewhere in Asia) and outside of Asia.”
“In Indonesia, we’re building (growing) houses, feedmills, and we already have chicks. So we are waiting for them to grow and be sold,” Ms. Chen said,
She did not identify countries outside Asia where the company operates.
Bounty Fresh supplies fast food chains, supermarkets and wet markets, while operating stores under the Chooks to Go brand.
“We have company growers, we have company-owned farms,” Ms. Chen said.
Asked for comment on government plans to impose a suggested retail price (SRP) on agricultural goods, including chicken, Ms. Chen said: “Whether there’s an SRP or not, we hope to offer a competitive price to make sure that every Filipino, every family, can afford chicken.”
She also said that under an SRP chicken would also be more affordable, which would be positive for the business.
Packaging is done by machines, which mean there is no human contact.
Ms. Chen also said that the company is considering as a marketing move backing volleyball players, as a follow up to the support it provided to basketball teams representing the country in selected tournaments.
“We’re exploring volleyball. We want our athletes to be top priority when it comes to exposure and training just like in other countries,” Ms. Chen said. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

Cashalo on ‘hyper-growth’ mode

By Karl Angelo N. Vidal, Reporter
MOBILE LENDING platform Cashalo aims to have a million clients by the first half of 2019 as it leverages on technology to reach unbanked and underserved Filipinos.
Cashalo General Manager Hamilton Angluben expects the platform to serve a million clients as it eyes to serve those who do not have access to formal lending services.
“We’ll have to see if we can achieve that this year, but definitely by the first half of next year, we will achieve that goal,” Mr. Angluben told BusinessWorld on Friday.
Cashalo is a joint venture between Gokongwei-controlled JG Summit Holdings and Hong Kong-based financial technology firm Oriente, investing P10 billion to develop and expand the brand.
Launched in May, Cashalo lends money between P1,500 and P10,000 through its mobile application, allowing customers to borrow more if they meet their loan obligations. Interest rates start at 3.95%. Application is done online, requiring clients to submit documents and IDs digitally. Cashalo also uses facial recognition and accesses data stored in smartphones — with the borrower’s consent — to assess the creditworthiness and legitimacy of its customers.
Loans can be disbursed within the day and will be received through bank accounts.
During its initial run, Cashalo intended to offer digital lending services to the unbanked, or Filipinos who have savings account but still do not access other financial services.
“Our initial target was the underserved. We started there, then we went to the unbanked,” Mr. Angluben added.
Cashalo started tapping the unbanked by launching the “Cashacart” consumer purchase loan, allowing customers purchase multiple items from the platform’s merchant partners.
Cashacart started offering loans in August to as much as P20,000 payable up to nine months in Robinsons Appliances and Robinsons Department Store.
Mr. Angluben added that Cashalo is in a “hyper-growth mode” as it plans to increase its presence ahead of the holiday season to up to 250 from the current 150 merchants.
Amid its rapid expansion plans, Mr. Angluben said internet penetration as well as the inability of Filipinos to open a bank account continue to be hurdles for the mobile platform.
“Without any financial history, banks and financial institutions will not give them services,” he said.
The latest 2017 Financial Inclusion Survey by the central bank revealed that only 22.6% or some 15.8 million Filipino adults maintained a formal accounts as of last year, citing lack of money and lack of need as the main reasons.
“So our first goal is give them a credit score to get them started,” he said. “We’re being prudent to make sure that we’re constantly improving our credit model to eventually be able to service the unbanked,” Mr. Angluben added.
The bulk of Cashalo’s customers are in Metro Manila, while the rest are in key cities in Luzon and Visayas. However, Cashalo’s penetration in rural areas remain slow as the gap between financial services and smartphone penetration is still wide.
“In the rural ares, not so much. That’s where the internet penetration comes in as well as the financial savviness of the people,” Mr. Angluben said. “There’s a huge disconnection between financial services and technology. That’s what we’re trying to close — leveraging on technology to close the gap.”
Mr. Angluben added that once rural banks gain accreditation to automated clearing houses such as PESONet and InstaPay, Cashalo can penetrate the areas being served by rural lenders.

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