How reliant is the Philippines on renewable energy?

July 31, 2018 | 3:30 pm

By Christine Joyce S. Castañeda, Senior Researcher
Renewable energy resources — which include geothermal, hydropower, biomass, solar and wind — accounted for 25% of the country’s power generation mix in 2017. Renewable energy-based facilities generated 23.19 million megawatt-hours (MWh) in 2017, up by 5.5% from 2016’s 21.98 million MWh.
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• DoE studying shift in energy mix to 50% baseload
• Renewables could take up to 60% share with carbon tax, subsidies

MPIC readies proposal for building LNG facility

July 31, 2018 | 2:52 pm

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) has joined local and foreign companies that have signified their intention to build an integrated liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility as it plans to come up with its own proposal, its chairman said.
MPIC Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters the group has undergone initial studies for the project although details have yet to be firmed up as far as the capacity of the LNG terminal as well as whether the project will have a power plant component.
Asked about when the proposal will be ready, he said: “Within the year.”
He said the entity that he expects to handle the project will be MPIC in coordination with other entities. — Victor V. Saulon

World Bank to scale up dev’t program for Bangsamoro

July 31, 2018 | 2:45 pm

World Bank said it will ramp up development support to the Bangsamoro region after President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) last week.
“The signing of the Bangsamoro Organic Law and its implementation are critical to achieve log lasting peace in the region, and we are committed to scale up our program and double our efforts in support of this promising opportunity,” said Mara Warwick, World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand in a statement on Tuesday.
Currently, the multilateral bank is supporting the peace process between the Philippines government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front through the Mindanao Trust Fund (MTF). — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

Bitcoin extends loss after dropping below $8,000 price level

July 31, 2018 | 2:42 pm

Bitcoin spiked lower after dropping below the $8,000 price level.
Volatility in the biggest cryptocurrency has increased over the last few trading sessions after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rejected the latest attempt to create an exchange-traded fund.
“It looks like the entire market is in a risk-off mood today,” said Mati Greenspan, senior market analyst at eToro, in an e-mail. “The sentiment seems to be spreading fast and very likely influencing the crypto markets as well at the moment. The current level of support is at $7,800 but even if we see a range between $6,000 and $8,000 it wouldn’t be terrible.” — Bloomberg

PHA teams up with Korean firm for foray into tourism, infra, power

July 31, 2018 | 2:30 pm

Premiere Horizon Alliance Corp. (PHA) is looking to venture into infrastructure, tourism, and power, after signing an agreement with Korean firm D-Eco Energy Co. Ltd. for a joint exploration into the sectors.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Tuesday, July 31, PHA said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with D-Eco for the partnership.
“Both companies are studying the possible investment and partnership structures in the envisioned project companies on each of these sectors utilizing their respective resources and expertise,” the company said. — Arra B. Francia

Inflation seen to pick up further this month

July 31, 2018 | 2:28 pm

The central bank says inflation could pick up further in July as most commodities saw prices rise.
In a statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said July inflation could fall within the 5.1%-5.8% range, coming from June’s 5.2% print.
“The increases in electricity rates in Meralco-serviced areas, water rate adjustments in Maynilad- and Manila Water-serviced areas, domestic gasoline and LPG prices, jeepney fares, scheduled increase of the tobacco excise tax, and prices of rice and other agricultural commodities could lead to upward price pressures during the month. Meanwhile, there was a slight downward adjustment in domestic diesel prices for July. Going forward, the BSP will continue to keep a watchful eye on the risks to the inflation outlook and will take necessary action to help ensure that inflation expectations remain firmly anchored to the target.” — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

PBCom bags approval to issue LTNCD worth P5 billion

July 31, 2018 | 2:21 pm

Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCom) received the central bank approval to issue P5 billion worth of long-term negotiable certificates of deposit (LTNCD) to strengthen its long-term funding.
In a disclosure to the local bourse Tuesday, July 31, the listed lender said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has authorized its plan to issue peso-denominated LTNCDs of up to P5 billion as approved by its executive committee in May.
The capital raising activity will be done in one or more tranches in a year with tenors of at least five years and a day up to seven years.
Like regular time deposits offered by banks, LTNCDs offer higher interest rates. However, LTNCDs cannot be pre-terminated but can be sold on the secondary market, making them “negotiable.”
“The purpose of the issuance is for general corporate funding, especially long-term funding,” PBCom said in the previous regulatory filing. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

DM Wenceslao posts lower profit, revenues in second quarter

July 31, 2018 | 2:19 pm

D.M. Wenceslao & Associates, Inc. (DMW) saw its attributable profit slip by 6% in the second quarter of 2018, as revenues likewise slowed during the period.
In a regulatory filing, the newly listed property developer reported a net income attributable to the parent of P503.13 million in the three months ending June, lower than the P535.32 million it realized in the same period a year ago.
The profit drop followed a 41% decline in DMW’s revenues to P637 million, versus the P1.07 billion it generated during the second quarter of 2017.
The company’s stronger performance in the first quarter allowed it to grow its attributable profit by 42% in the first half of the year to P969.8 million. Revenues however dropped 23% to P1.2 billion.
“Strong execution from our marketing, and construction teams is accelerating momentum across our businesses. We have completed our third commercial office building ahead of schedule and within budget,” DMW Chief Executive Officer Delfin Angelo C. Wenceslao said in a statement. — Arra B. Francia

Should your restaurant start offering delivery?

July 31, 2018 | 9:25 am

Arguably the most popular industry that young entrepreneurs want to get into is foodservice, especially in a food-loving country like the Philippines. Every block in Metro Manila has its own signature food joint, each competing to be the next viral Internet hit, and each offering the latest gimmick, trend, and hybrid cuisine.

But one area of foodservice that has not gained much attention is the food delivery business. As the digital era continues to take over Filipino life, more opportunities are becoming available to Filipino food brands looking to offer delivery services.

When ride-sharing and logistics services giant Grab Philippines unveiled its smart city vision to “empower a future of seamless mobility,” on-demand food delivery services were one of the company’s top priorities, along with logistics, cashless payments and financial services, to be integrated into its app.

This means that Filipinos can now not only book different types of Grab rides to get to work, they can also pay for their favorite lunch meal with GrabPay, deliver gifts to their loved ones through GrabExpress, and even order their dinner and eat in the comfort of their home with GrabFood.

GrabFood, in particular, can spell huge opportunities for food merchants in the Philippines, as the transport network vehicle service company has promised to make significant technology investments in its platform to bring an expanded range of online consumer services this 2018.

“Consumers will now be able to order food from restaurants near them through the newly launched GrabFood within the app. With no minimum order required, consumers can satisfy their cravings and order from the wide selection of cuisines available, enjoying the convenience of having their favorite food delivered fast, right to their doorsteps,” Grab said in a statement.

More important, foodservice delivery is going beyond its status as simply an add-on for restaurants, becoming a necessity in the industry globally. According to international information firm The NPD Group, foodservice delivery in the United States has been taking in sizable gains in terms of visits and sales over the last five years, despite the general weakness of the market.

Restaurants saw an increase in delivery sales by about a fifth, while delivery foodservice visits were up 10% on the back of the growth of digital ordering, which now represents over half of all delivery visits.

“Delivery has become a need to have and no longer a nice to have in the restaurant industry,” Warren Solochek, The NPD Group senior vice-president for industry relations, said.

“Restaurants need delivery in today’s environment in order to gain and maintain share. It has become a consumer expectation.”

The NPD Group report, titled ‘The Future of Foodservices Snapshot: Restaurant Delivery,” goes on to show that consumers have become so accustomed to ordering delivery that they are ordering it at breakfast and lunch in addition to dinner, which historically has been the most popular daypart to order it. Growth of delivery at dinner has remained flat over the last five years and has grown at breakfast and lunch.

Although digital ordering is a major contributor to the growth of foodservice delivery, using the phone to order still represents 49% of delivery visits. Third-party delivery services, like UberEats, Grubhub and DoorDash, account for much of the digital delivery growth. However, the share of digital delivery by third-party services is more than double among full-service restaurants than quick-service outlets.

“Convenience is among the chief reasons why consumers visit restaurants and delivery brings a heightened level of it,” Mr. Solochek said. “We forecast that delivery will grow over the next five years and the growth will source to non-traditional delivery outlets and dayparts.”

In the Philippines, the availability and the growth of services like FoodPanda, Honestbee, and The Delivery Guy is proof enough that such international trends are making their way here. The restaurant landscape is changing fast, and sooner or later Filipino brands will have to adapt.

In Grab’s case, its existing and new delivery partners from its already-thriving GrabExpress courier service, can generate additional income and job opportunities from delivering food orders on top of delivering parcels.

The company plans to provide food establishments and restaurants with their own online storefront to serve the online and mobile population by leveraging the fleet of delivery partners, eliminating the need to rely solely on foot traffic by customers to their shops or stalls as their primary source of revenue.

They will also get the added benefit of incremental business revenue by tapping the large user base of Grab and gaining access to GrabFood’s promotional schemes and marketing channels to grow their business.

“GrabFood is the next major step in our move to serve the daily needs of consumers. Food delivery is a natural extension of our transport offerings. Each day, millions of people in Southeast Asia rely on ride-hailing services to bring them from place to place, as well as food delivery services to save time from travelling around in congested cities to satisfy their cravings. With the expansion of GrabFood across the region, we are working with local merchants and delivery partners to deliver the best of Manila’s kitchens to the doorsteps of our consumers,” said Brian Cu, country head of Grab Philippines. — Bjorn Biel M. Beltran

A genie for your styling needs

July 31, 2018 | 9:20 am

By Romsanne R. Ortiguero, Special Features Writer

It all started two years ago when Abbie Victorino, now 28 years old, was eating lunch prepared by a lunch delivery service she was subscribed to back then.

Having a day job and running a side business of supplying accessories to an e-commerce site made her so busy that she hardly found time to eat proper lunch or choose what to wear every morning.

She thought to herself, “Buti pa ’yung isa kong problem, it’s solved already. But why isn’t there a delivery plan for clothes? So, I said, what if I’m the one who would do it?”

As a former international fashion buyer and model with a background in the field of e-commerce, she tried to capitalize on these musings. This is how StyleGenie, a styling subscription box was founded, in 2016.

“I talked to my friends and said, ‘I have this idea, it’s crazy, but do you think people would subscribe to styling box?’ It’s actually doing a lot better in the US, and I think in Singapore now, so, why not do it here in the Philippines?” Ms. Victorino told BusinessWorld in an interview.

StyleGenie is considered the first styling and clothing subscription box in the Philippines. According to Ms. Victorino, they aim to provide a unique shopping experience for the customers, and at the same time, be the genie that makes fashion wishes come true.

“We want to make closet wishes come true. We don’t want to be just a shop. We want to be someone who can help you develop and improve your style that’s why we called it a genie. Let us know what you want to achieve and we’ll grant your wish. We are a digital stylist. The value really is you get to know your personal style and personal branding which is also a very ‘in’ thing now.”

Ms. Victorino noted that they have grown exponentially since launching their enterprise. They now have around 2,500 active subscribers and, at the time of this writing, 23,000 organic Facebook followers.

“I guess the next step for us to scale up is to really market it. So we’re actually raising funds because we want to market it to the whole Philippines. We plan to expand to Southeast Asian countries,” she said.

She continued, “We plan to expand as well to Malaysia soon, before the year ends and then from there, go to other countries next.”

StyleGenie would not have been possible if not for the right partners Ms. Victorino found — 29-year-old Steph Oller and 28-year-old Rhijean Sarenas, who share Ms. Victorino’s vision for StyleGenie.

“To be honest I tapped like 10 girl friends of mine, and they were the few who really believed in me in the beginning. Their eyes sparkled when I was pitching my basic five-slide presentation. They got the idea and they’re like, ‘This is going to work’,” Ms. Victorino said.

“It’s very important that you have the same vision — that you see where the company is going, what kind of purpose, or what kind of problem you are really solving. We believe that clothes may not change the world but the people who wear them can. That’s our belief. And we’re very happy and that’s what keeps us together. It’s also because we see the results — we see customers e-mailing us back and saying how we granted their wishes and how we made them confident about how we made them feel more adventurous in style but still feel good about it.”

For those who want to start a business in the e-commerce space, Ms. Victorino underscored that now is the best time.

“There’s never a right time to start a business. It’s now especially in e-commerce. We’re in a very good time since everything will be digital in the near future. When you are already in the offline space, then it’s a good time for you to be online, and if you have nothing at all, then it’s a great time for you to go online. Online is less costly, it’s less of a risk — although there still is — but having an online business gives you a lot more flexibility.”

A couture dream come true

July 31, 2018 | 9:15 am

Though Isabella Romarate had studied journalism to enter law school, she pursued an altogether different goal of starting a business.

“It was in my final semester that I not only realized but also had the guts to go for what my mother and I had dreamed of. I was certain in pursuing journalism as a pre-law course. But times change, and naturally people do, too,” Ms. Romarate told BusinessWorld in an e-mail.

She is the co-founder and co-owner of Rafols Collection, a clothing store specializing in couture gowns. It also purveys ready-to-wear items, such as formal and casual dresses, skirts, suits, blazers and slacks for women.

“Venturing into this business is like finally having my eyeglasses fixed. In college, everything seemed vague. However, when my mother offered me to start this business with her, everything went clear. I had a vision. I was inspired [by our dream]. And it felt good to finally see the future through the right lens,” Ms. Romarate said.

“Rafols” is actually the maiden name of her mother, Sarah Romarate. “It was her idea, because it is also a longtime dream of hers [to have a garments business]. I definitely agreed with that because since I was a kid, I noticed that people always found my middle name quite odd,” Ms. Romarate said.

Being new in the business did not intimidate Ms. Romarate, who puts to good use the skills she learned in journalism school especially in creating marketing materials.

Ms. Romarate and her mother do the designing, and in their creation process, their top priorities are a client’s style and taste. However, in their ready-to-wear apparel, they showcase their own fashion tastes and preferences.

“The clients usually set an appointment online, but we also accept walk-ins. We draw their ideas right in front of them so they can visualize them. For our ready-to-wear garments, we only create a few to preserve uniqueness and a sense of giving the buyers a mind-set that they will only be among the very few to wear such clothes,” she explained.

Rafols Collection’s goal is to make its clients feel original. “At a time when ready-to-wear clothes are ‘in,’ people can’t escape from the probability that they’ll meet a person with the same clothes. The best thing about having designer clothes is never having to worry about such probability. We want them to feel the best they can while wearing the garment. We want them to be happy once they step out of our doors,” Ms. Romarate said.

In addition to expanding Rafols Collection’s reach, Ms. Romarate desires to help the less fortunate by creating and giving clothes to them. “Helping has been a part of our family values,” she said. For instance, part of the proceeds from her 18^th birthday celebration went to an elementary school in Antique.

Addressing poverty through fashion

July 31, 2018 | 9:10 am

Habi Footwear is an enterprise that grew out of a thesis project involving women from a community mired in poverty.

“We had an immersion in an urban poor community where we scanned possible opportunities for livelihood and got to know and live with the mothers. It was a great experience and it opened us to endless ways in which we can work with them,” Janine Mikaella Chiong, president and co-founder of Habi Footwear, told BusinessWorld in an e-mail.

“After figuring out which skills to start with, we decided to bank on their skills in weaving rugs after finding out that they earned too little from their output (around P10-P15 per foot).”

To maximize the income and the skills of those women, Ms. Chiong said they “decided to incorporate woven mats into footwear as we wanted to come up with a functional, affordable yet stylish brand of shoes that will capture the market.”

Habi has come to be known for this inventive footwear since its establishment in 2012. Through the support of different people — from business partners to customers — it has grown into a lifestyle enterprise that purveys not only espadrilles, sandals and heels, but also bags, pouches and corporate giveaways.

“Our aim is to address poverty and lack of empowerment and livelihood opportunities for women in communities,” Ms. Chiong said.

The Habi team consists of Ms. Chiong, who is also in charge of the sales and marketing; Bernadee Uy, head of finance and community development; Maria Paulina Savillo, head of product development; and Allister Roy Chua, operations manager.

Habi’s expansion means more financially rewarding opportunities for its partners. Currently, it has partnerships with four communities in Quezon City, and it engages a total of 30 weavers on an output basis, around half of whom earn as much as P200 a day with good output.

“We have also started to partner with other communities in Ifugao and the correctional facility of Mandaluyong,” Ms. Chiong said.

She considers teamwork, passion, and transparency as keys to a better work environment. She also said that it is important that the right product is backed by the right team and released to the right market.

For the Habi team, success is measured not only by financial and developmental sustainability but also by the impact on the quality of lives of their community partners. “We try as much as possible to really gauge their well-being and productivity within the company,” Ms. Chiong said.

When asked to give advice to aspiring entrepreneurs, she said, “Just start. Don’t let ideas stay on paper. If you want to put up your business, don’t be motivated just by prestige or profit. Wherever you are, find something that bothers you and do something about it in whatever endeavor you wish to pursue.”