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Fintech Elevate gets $5M for Philippine expansion

FREEPIK

LONDON and Dubai-based financial technology (fintech) company Elevate has raised $5 million in financing for a platform that will offer dollar accounts to Filipinos as it targets the growing freelancing community in the country.

“We are thrilled to bring our innovative financial solutions to the Philippines, a market with a burgeoning freelance community. Our goal is to empower freelancers by providing them with secure, efficient services and the best USD-peso foreign exchange (FX) rates that address their unique needs,” Elevate Chief Executive Officer Khalid Keenan said in a statement on Friday.

Elevate is sponsored by Bangor Savings Bank, a 172-year-old institution in Maine, USA, with over $7 billion in assets, which makes Elevate accounts Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)-insured up to $250,000.

“The introduction of FDIC-insured accounts through our sponsor bank, Bangor Savings Bank, is set to revolutionize the financial landscape for Filipino freelancers, offering them unprecedented security and convenience in managing their international earnings,” Mr. Keenan said.

Elevate’s platform will allow Filipino freelancers to receive payments in US dollars. It supports free and fast deposits from US and international employers and platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, PayPal, Deel, and Toptal.

The product aims to serve the 1.5 million Filipinos registered on online international freelancing platforms and an additional 1.3 million working in business process outsourcing companies.

“The Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines, has been the fastest-growing area for remote work, alongside Europe, Middle East, and Africa,” Elevate said.

It also expects strong demand from workforces in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand amid continued opportunities from remote work.

The company will partner with multiple global FX providers integrated in Philippine banks to offer competitive rates for those transferring assets from dollar accounts to Philippine-based banks.

Elevate also offers a Mastercard debit card for online spending.

The company plans to expand its customer support, content, and compliance teams in the Philippines sometime in the second half of the year.

Elevate has over 150,000 users globally.

Since 2021, the company has raised a total of $10 million in equity and debt from investors, including Y Combinator, Goodwater, Global Founders Capital and VSQ. — A.M.C. Sy

Back to the roots of Godzilla

By Brontë H. Lacsamana, Reporter

Movie Review
Godzilla Minus One
Directed by Takashi Yamazaki
Now showing on Netflix

THE GODZILLA franchise often goes off on ideas like “what if the big guy meets this monster?” or “what if he ends up wrecking this city?” — all fun and awesome to behold — but Godzilla Minus One shows it doesn’t always have to be the case. It thrills on an entirely different level, with a return to the context from which the character was born: the visceral trauma of postwar Japan.

While Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla and Hideaki Anno’s 2016 Shin Godzilla have each done heavy lifting to bring the iconic monster to a new generation, Godzilla Minus One introduces the monstrous terror in a manner most similar to that of the original 1954 Ishiro Honda classic.

The crux of the movie is the devastated, traumatized characters who survive a harrowing war only to face a threat they’re not sure they can even fight.

The story kicks off on Odo Island, on a fateful night in 1945, towards the end of World War II. While repairs are being done to the airplane of kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima (played with a striking vulnerability by Ryunosuke Kamiki), the camp of mechanics is suddenly terrorized by a gargantuan creature the locals have named Godzilla.

Shikishima, the only pilot there qualified to shoot at the monster, fails to do so out of fear. Most of the mechanics subsequently die as Godzilla goes on a rampage, the other survivor being engineer Tachibana (played by Munetaka Aoki). Shikishima’s guilt and trauma plague him for the rest of the film, even as he returns to Tokyo and rebuilds his life.

His found family, all having lost loved ones in air raids, band together to form a sense of normalcy amid the country’s war-torn aftermath. The supporting cast is decent: the young woman Noriko (Minami Hamabe), the orphan she took under her wing, Akiko (Sae Nagatani), and the neighbor Sumiko (Sakura Ando) who helps the budding couple care for the child. The crew Shikishima joins to clear magnetic mines at sea become close friends — naval weaponry expert Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka), boat captain Akitsu (Kuranosuke Sasaki), and young crewman Mizushima (Yuki Yamada).

However, it would be a disservice not to acknowledge the character that looms the largest. Godzilla, brought to life by an Oscar-winning visual effects team (including director Yamazaki himself) is crafted with modern technology yet resembles the 1950s look which was made with miniatures. He shows no emotion nor judgment and anchors the personal and national traumas and sociopolitical tensions all throughout. To suddenly be faced with a purely malevolent force, all jagged teeth and (sometimes glowing) ridges and animalistic eyes, a representation of the terrors man hath wrought, is horrific. It is simply one of the coolest Godzilla character designs rendered onscreen.

Japan is at a precarious spot, too — it must lie low and most of the weapons it once had have been decommissioned, so its people, haunted by war, are now terrorized by its consequences. The rampage in Ginza in particular is insane to watch, most breathtaking when Godzilla uses his atomic breath to decimate the district.

Many have pointed out that Godzilla Minus One would be an excellent double feature with the Christopher Nolan-directed Oppenheimer which also came out last year. Not only does it show the opposite end of the war to end all wars, but it also reckons with the guilt, hopelessness, and destruction brought about by the folly of man. Both films do this brilliantly, in different ways, nuclear paranoia reaching out from one society to the next (though only one of them is an epic monster movie!).

In Shikishima, we see a self-professed “internal war” keeping him from completely moving on with his newfound family. The gigantic task of confronting his cowardice and failures comes in the form of Godzilla, though of course this is something that can’t be done alone. The penchant of Japanese movies and TV to emotively highlight the power of working together comes in at full force in this film, but the ingenuity of the plan they hatch to take down Godzilla is so fascinating to watch (plus the ensuing terrific visual effects that follow) that the schmaltz doesn’t distract too much. Naoki Sato’s tremendous score highlights the serious emotional impact of the collective efforts to fight.

It’s been 80 years since the atomic bombs were dropped in Japan, and the distance from that event has allowed for this affecting take on how it changed the Japanese mindset. Without spoiling the movie, it posits that the long-held belief that one must sacrifice one’s life for others has given way to the more modern belief that one must instead live for others. It also has a cool scene where the Japanese remorsefully salute the tragic consequences that mutated from humanity’s mistakes.

Perhaps a major frustration I have is the fact that Godzilla Minus One never got a theatrical release in Southeast Asia. It’s a massive picture that has much to offer visually and narratively, and it’s a shame Southeast Asians didn’t get to experience that on the big screen. While the reasons for Toho Studios’ limited release are unknown, many speculate it’s because the film sympathizes with the Japanese military and includes no mention of its invasion across Asia, something that might not sit right with that country’s former victims. That said, the fact that Oppenheimer was ultimately screened in Japan makes this reason silly (and sad if true, since we all know history is something to learn from, not shy away from).

A more practical reason is that it might have been blocked from being released too close to yet another Godzilla movie — Adam Wingard’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. But again, this reason is very silly. People have space for both a fun giant lizard-giant monkey romp and a serious postwar tragedy in their lives.

Finally, a lame reason could be that Toho, an old-fashioned Japanese industry juggernaut that has long prioritized local over international success, may have just reveled in the Western acclaim, thought that was enough, and called it a day (a crime, if we’re being honest). Whichever the real reason is, it’s their loss for choosing not to make more money.

Many milestones were marked by this movie. It is a return to form, akin to how old kaiju (monster) flicks over the decades showed how people suffer due to decisions made by the greedy and powerful, as much as they showed giant monsters battling it out. It celebrated the 70th anniversary of the film franchise and its first Oscar win in any category, reaffirming the relevance of the Godzilla character even today, a lifetime after World War II ended and the mushroom clouds dissipated in the wind. The cultural impact is undeniable.

Avoiding power outages, sustaining growth

NATSUKI-UNSPLASH

Not too long after the BusinessWorld Economic Forum with the theme “PH NEXT: Growth Drivers” on May 22 and the Philippine Republic’s Economic Briefing with the heading “PH On-the-Go: Fast Tracking Economic Progress” on May 27, both of which highlighted the importance of sustainable, renewable energy (RE) to power economic development, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) raised red and yellow alerts over the Luzon grid.

In its advisory, the NGCP announced that the Luzon grid was on red alert between 2 and 5 p.m. and between 8 and 9 p.m. A red alert signals a situation where the power supply is not enough to meet consumer demand and the transmission grid’s regulating requirement. Power outages may occur if system conditions do not shape up.

A yellow alert was also issued for between noon and 2 p.m., 5 and 8 p.m., and 9 p.m. and midnight. A yellow alert is raised when the operating margin is not enough to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirements. If the yellow alert extends without any improvement, it transitions to a red alert.

This was not the first time that these alert advisories were issued. On April 18, for instance, both Luzon and the Visayas were placed under either red or yellow alerts, or both in the case of the main island. The Visayas’ yellow alert was for an extended period of eight hours, from 1 to 9 p.m. Starting just last Monday, June 3, Metro Manila and nearby provinces were advised that they would likely be hit by power interruptions the whole week. There is just not enough power to guarantee a continuous supply.

As clarified by Meralco, the situation remained precarious because any emergency shutdown of a power plant could ultimately affect the stability of power “unless more generating capacities become available soon…” Bound to affect at least two million people during a red alert, as it did last Saturday, rotational power interruptions may well be the new normal.

BusinessWorld’s economic forum highlighted what the private sector is doing to advance sustainable and responsible practices in the power sector.

First Gen Corp. (First Gen) reported on their pioneering investment efforts in gas-fired power plants, with a subsequent shift to RE via their geothermal plants. Geothermal sources are supposed to deliver more reliable baseload power.

Given the Department of Energy’s Philippine Energy Plan to upgrade the share of RE from 20% to 35% and eventually to 50%, First Gen will continue to rely on gas-fired power plants during the transition. Additionally, in anticipation of Malampaya’s fast depleting gas deposit, the corporation is also developing liquefied natural gas (LNG), although geothermal power plants may continue to be its flagship.

The Ayala Corp. and ACEN experience highlights the significant strides of a private sector firm that produced zero megawatts (MW) 15 years ago to five gigawatts (GW) of RE capacity today. Realizing that the Philippine economy is poised to continue growing robustly, an enormous amount of power is absolutely necessary. ACEN is gunning for an expansion to 20 GW by 2030, consisting mostly of solar and wind capacity.

For power distributor Meralco, sustainability transcends going green and decarbonizing. Electricity could be used “as an enabler to power better lives for communities.” Nonetheless, Meralco is securing 1,500 MW of renewable power supply contracts in the next five to seven years and producing on its own 1,500 MW of attributable RE capacity.

In helping manage the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), in its role as central registration body in the power retail market and virtual clearing house of various power programs, could promote more purchases of RE in the Philippines.

Our takeaway from this power conversation is that more significant generating capacities would not be available very soon, not within the next four to five years. Without question, the private sector is deep into the power sector, but we are rather late in the game. For instance, the proposed investment of the Maharlika Fund in the Palawan energy sector to help stabilize the province’s power supply and boost tourism will not come on stream in the next few months. Only a feasibility study will be available by the third quarter of 2024.

First Gen’s $1.27-billion capital expenditure will fund RE projects and the completion of its LNG facility. These would add 9,500 MW of power generation. But only seven new power plants run by hydrogen, solar, and wind are expected to be completed by the end of 2024, with an aggregate capacity of only 83 MW. The other projects will start producing power only by 2030.

On solar, Razon’s Prime Solar Solutions is now exploring the possibility of floating solar projects, leveraging on the water assets of its mother company, Prime Infrastructure Capital. While the expected capacity could be substantial, timing is crucial. Razon is quite aggressive in building more solar fields in the country, but all of these must follow scheduled execution by year while the country needs more power today.

The President’s excitement over the possibility of adapting Brunei’s waste-to-energy solution could be short-lived unless the involvement of local governments in organizing garbage collection is rationalized. Razon’s waste management facility in Pampanga may be a good model in processing waste into energy for ships, airplanes, trucks, and other utility vehicles. But it could be risky to start counting on potential power generation from this source until the actual technology for fuel conversion is finalized.

Napocor’s plan to bid out to the private sector the building of RE generation plants and facilities “to supplement, augment, or replace existing capacities” in off-grid areas in Batanes, Palawan, Bicol, and Tawi-Tawi sounds promising. The contract will run for 20 years, which would provide that Napocor would serve as the so-called offtaker and pay for the energy delivered to its switchyard, including losses.

It is difficult to aspire to develop new growth drivers unless the enabling infrastructure of energy is readily available, cheap, and reliable. Malampaya poses a grave social risk, but the political solution is beyond private business. We note, however, the absence of any reference to either hydroelectric or nuclear power. Would the retrofitting of our aging hydroelectric power plants take a longer time to do than other renewables? Or would perhaps putting up nuclear power reactors — with all the safeguards of recent years — address the urgency of developing reliable and sustainable power sources?

What about coal? Are we going to put that in the backburner due to the current concerns about the environment? Coal continues to be the most abundant power source and generally the cheapest. It is more inflation-friendly.

On the other hand, during the Republic’s economic briefing, no less than Secretary Frederick D. Go recognized the key role of the semiconductor and RE sectors to drive economic growth. Since the government allowed full foreign ownership of renewable energy projects in 2023, Mr. Go reported that most investment applicants in power are RE champions. As of two months ago, 51 RE projects worth P1.57 trillion have been approved through the “green lane” in all public agencies to fast-track approval and registration.

When do we expect some fruits to ripen from such investment interest?

If we go by the official plan to increase the share of RE to the total energy mix, we can expect more power capacity by 2030 and 2050. But going through the “green lane” could expedite the whole process given that much of the bottleneck lies in securing registration, permits, and approvals. As Jose M. Layug of the Developers of RE for Advancement, Inc. assured the briefing participants, “if we fast-track all these permits, we can easily build RE plants which have shorter construction periods compared to the conventional power plants.” Solar plants can be built in nine months; wind in 18 months; and biomass/hydro in 24 months.

Beyond power generation, which remains time-sensitive, fundamental issues related to the transmission grid and inter-island connections have to be resolved. Full energy transition to RE may be more difficult than we think.

Higher power rates, according to Nomura’s recent report — aside from poor infrastructure and prohibitive transport and logistics costs — have been driving investors away from the Philippines and Indonesia despite their spectacular growth performance and demographic advantages. For ordinary consumers, the news about another possible increase in power charges is not exactly inspiring confidence because they stand to shoulder some P15.77 billion in higher power generation over the next three years.

We know the drill and we know the consequences. It’s next to imagining things to aspire for high growth and low inflation when we pay more for prolonged darkness and heat during a power outage.

 

Diwa C. Guinigundo is the former deputy governor for the Monetary and Economics Sector, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). He served the BSP for 41 years. In 2001-2003, he was alternate executive director at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. He is the senior pastor of the Fullness of Christ International Ministries in Mandaluyong.

SEC approves P579.6-M NexGen Energy IPO

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved NexGen Energy Corp.’s planned initial public offering (IPO), which is intended to raise up to P579.6 million.

The SEC en banc recently approved the registration statement of NexGen Energy, covering 1.49 billion shares, the commission said in a statement on Thursday.

NexGen Energy’s IPO will consist of 300 million common shares priced at up to P1.68 each, while selling shareholder Pure Energy Holdings Corp. will offer up to 45 million shares at the same price as part of the overallotment option.  

Pure Energy, the parent company of NexGen Energy, is a holding company that has assets in hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, as well as bulk water and distribution facilities.

The projected offer period is set from July 1 to 8, with listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) scheduled for July 16, according to the company’s preliminary prospectus dated May 31.

If realized, NexGen Energy will be the third company to go public this year, following OceanaGold (Philippines), Inc. and Saavedra-led Citicore Renewable Energy Corp.

NexGen Energy anticipates netting up to P478.4 million from the offer, which will be used to partially finance its renewable energy projects in Zambales, Cavite, and other regions across the country. It will not receive proceeds from the sale of the overallotment option shares by Pure Energy.

The company’s shares will be listed and traded on the small, medium, and emerging board of the PSE.

For the offer, NexGen Energy has appointed Chinabank Capital Corp. as the sole issue manager and sole bookrunner, with Investment & Capital Corp. of the Philippines serving as joint lead underwriter.

Established in 2017, NexGen Energy currently operates three solar plants via its subsidiary SPARC — Solar Powered Agri-rural Communities Corp., with an aggregate capacity of 13.859 megawatts-peak (MWp).

The company also has two other main subsidiaries, 5hour Peak Energy Corp. and Airstream Renewables Corp., which are engaged in solar and wind projects, respectively.

NexGen Energy aims to develop 1,683 MW of ground-mounted and floating solar plants, and onshore and offshore wind projects in the next five years. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Arthaland Corporation sets 2024 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting on June 28

NOTICE OF ANNUAL STOCKHOLDERS MEETING

NOTICE is hereby given that the 2024 annual stockholders meeting of ARTHALAND CORPORATION will be held on 28 June 2024, Friday, 9:00 A.M. at the Sapphire Room, 8/F Arthaland Century Pacific Tower, 5th Avenue corner 30th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City 1634 and will be convened by the Presiding Officer in said address. Attendees who may want to attend through remote communication and participate during the meeting must register at

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yQNoVUVTRwGLyYdhNp5YUg

The Agenda for the meeting is as follows:

1. Call to Order
2. Secretary’s Proof of Due Notice of the Meeting and Determination of Quorum
3. Approval of Minutes of
a. Annual Stockholders Meeting held on 30 June 2023, and
b. Special Stockholders Meeting held on 31 January 2024
4. Notation of Management Report
5. Ratification of Acts of the Board of Directors and Management During the Previous Year
6. Election of Directors (including Independent Directors)
7. Appointment of External Auditor for 2024
8. Other Matters
9. Adjournment

Only stockholders of record on 07 June 2024 will be entitled to further notice of and to vote at this meeting. Electronic copies of the Information Statement which will include the manner of conducting the meeting and the process on how one can join the same, as well as vote in absentia, among other relevant documents, will be made available in www.arthaland.com and the Electronic Disclosure Generation Technology of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE EDGE).

WE ARE NOT SOLICITING YOUR PROXY. However, if you cannot personally attend the meeting or participate through remote communication but would still like to be represented thereat and be considered for quorum purposes, you may inform the Office of the Corporate Secretary at the address indicated below or through investor.relations@arthaland.com not later than 21 June 2024 (Friday). You will thereafter be advised the following business day of any further action on your part, which may include accomplishing a proxy.

 

 

 

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CIMB Bank PH eyes ‘significant’ income growth

CIMB.COM

CIMB BANK Philippines, Inc. (CIMB Bank PH) turned a profit last year as strong customer growth drove increases in loans and deposits, its top official said on Thursday.

The digital-only commercial bank also expects to log “significant,” above single-digit net income growth this year, CIMB Bank PH Chief Executive Officer Vijay Manoharan said at a briefing on Thursday.

“Five years into our business, we are amongst the very few digital banks globally that can confidently say that we are a profitable venture. We are no longer in the red. That is a significant milestone on top of still investing in the business,” Mr. Manoharan said, but did not give a specific 2023 profit figure.

“Significantly stronger would mean not single digits. We expect it to be much healthier than last year,” he added when asked by how much he expects the bank’s net profit to grow this year.

The bank is aiming to disburse P75 billion in loans this year, he added, which would mark a 23% growth from the end-2023 level. It has disbursed about P25-30 billion as of end-May, Mr. Manoharan said.

On the funding side, the bank is also aiming for a total deposit cash in level of P500 billion, which would be up by 200% from the end-2023 level, he said, adding total deposit cash ins stood at P100 billion as of end-May.

The lender reached eight million customers at end-May with total active customer accounts at just above 11 million.

Of its total customers, deposit customers were at 6.5 million, while 3.5 million were loan customers as of May.

CIMB Bank PH aims to reach 8.5 million customers this year as it wants to grow its customers by a million annually.

Meanwhile, Mr. Manoharan said the bank’s funding income could be affected by potential rate cuts by the Philippine central bank later this year.

“The rate cuts will affect the deposit rates, but we’re not pegged to the overnight rates. What we follow is the market rates. If they cut it by 50 basis points (bps), we won’t cut ours by 50 bps. If the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) cuts their rates, we take a bit of a hit for our funding income. But we don’t adjust like that because we are still aggressively competing,” he said.

He said he expects nonperforming loans to grow at a single-digit rate this year, noting that 95% of the bank’s borrowers are able to pay their loans on time, while the remaining 5% borrow in large amounts and are unable to repay their loans. 

CIMB Bank PH is looking to tap overseas Filipino workers and the micro, small, and medium enterprise sector within the year through its digital embedded financing strategy, Mr. Manoharan added, and is looking to offer digital loans, savings accounts, and payment products targeted for these markets.

“We plan to get into the fray within the year, at least start to dabble our toes and tease a little bit this year… We’ll start to do some pilots, some learning, launch something, and learn from it,” he said. — Aaron Michael C. Sy

Lea Salonga to join Madame Tussauds Singapore

A WAX image of award-winning actress and singer Lea Salonga is set to grace the star-studded halls of Madame Tussauds Singapore this year.

Ms. Salonga is best known for her iconic performances as Kim in Miss Saigon, the singing voice of Disney princesses Jasmine and Mulan, and as the first Asian to play Eponine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway. She has toured worldwide as a singer, performing sold-out concerts.

“We are truly excited and honored to have Lea’s wax figure,” shared Elaine Quek, Head of Sales and Marketing at Madame Tussauds Singapore, said in a statement. “Madame Tussauds has always been about showcasing remarkable talent and bringing the audience closer to them through lifelike wax figures. We know a lot of people all over the world are excited to see Lea Salonga in wax. The whole Filipino community globally is beaming with pride, that’s why we knew we had to reach out to her and make it happen here.”

“When my manager said this is happening, that Madame Tussauds is interested in making a wax figure of me, it was an absolute honor and privilege to be asked. It’s fantastic!” Ms. Salonga was quoted as saying during her sitting session with the Madame Tussauds Singapore team of sculptors and artists.

The wax figure is set to be unveiled in the third quarter of this year.

Madame Tussauds Singapore is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with figure launches, activities, and promotions throughout the year.

Constitutional provision disallowing full foreign ownership of ad agencies a non-issue

FREEPIK

Resolution No. 6 of both Houses of Congress asks the House of Representatives and the Senate for the revision of Article XII, Section 11; Article XIV, Section 4, Paragraph 2; and Article XVI, Section 11, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution which all stipulate that public services should exclusively be owned by Filipinos.

This column addresses only the issue that is Article XVI, Section 11, Paragraph 2 which says:

“The advertising industry is impressed with public interest, and shall be regulated by law for the protection of consumers and the promotion of the general welfare.

“Only Filipino citizens or corporations or associations at least 70 per centum of the capital of which is owned by such citizens shall be allowed to engage in the advertising industry.”

In effect, Resolution No. 6 asks for the removal of the provision disallowing full foreign ownership of advertising entities, better known as advertising agencies, from the Constitution. The reason advanced by the proponents of the resolution is that the provision deters foreign direct investments, industry growth, and creation of more jobs.

Deliberations on the provision at issue would be a waste of time. No constitutional convention is necessary just to amend the provision. President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. can issue an executive order allowing full foreign ownership of advertising agencies as he did for companies in the telecommunication industry.

I would like to point out though that there was no restriction on full foreign ownership of advertising agencies from 1945 to 1972, yet there was no influx of foreign agencies in the country. J. Walter Thompson merely bought an existing agency, Philippine Advertising Services (PhilAds). Compton Advertising initially partnered with Ace Advertising, gradually taking control of it.

In 1945, Harry Lee, just discharged from the US Army, put up Philippine Advertising Services or PhilAds. Lee had worked for J. Walter Thompson (JWT) before the war. One of the agency’s first clients was Philippine Manufacturing Co. (PMC), the Philippine subsidiary of Procter & Gamble.

In the mid-1950s, the pressure from the worldwide clients of JWT to open an office in Manila was mounting. So, JWT offered to buy PhilAds, which Lee had styled after JWT. Lee grabbed the offer. PhilAds became J. Walter Thompson, the first Philippine advertising agency owned wholly by a foreign agency.

When JWT acquired PhilAds, its client PMC began to look for another agency as JWT is known to be Unilever’s agency worldwide. PMC feared that Unilever would eventually ask JWT Manila to service the Philippine Refining Co. (PRC), Unilever’s Philippine subsidiary.

PMC found Ace Advertising, which was originally the advertising department of the Araneta Group of Companies. All new brands PMC introduced from 1958 onwards were assigned to Ace.

What PMC feared happened in September 1963, by which time PMC had changed its name to Procter & Gamble (P&G). Unilever did ask JWT New York to tell JWT Manila to resign the P&G account and to take on its Philippine subsidiary, PRC.

Thus, Ace Advertising got the entire P&G business. One of P&G’s agencies in the US was Compton Advertising. In 1964, Compton bought 30% of Ace. It eventually took control of Ace.

Only McCann-Erickson of the many New York-based advertising agencies set up its wholly owned office in the country. The other foreign agencies — LINTAS, Foote Cone & Belding, Leo Burnett, Grey, Ted Bates, Publicis, Batten Barton Durstine & Osborn, Doyle Dane Bernbach — opted to be minority partners with local agencies instead of opening their wholly owned offices.

If McCann created new jobs, they were only of the rank-and-file category — accounting clerks, secretaries, and gofers. As for the account managers, copywriters, artists, and other creative people, McCann pirated them from other agencies. No university or college during that period offered courses in advertising crafts like copywriting, commercial production, etc. Those crafts were learned on the job or by apprenticeship. A new agency had to lure people from other agencies to be functional immediately. That is what McCann did in the beginning.

McCann-Erickson Philippines was established by Dick Guersey, who was originally brought into the country by Don Andres Soriano to head his newly formed agency, Philippine Advertising Counselors (PAC). One of the accounts of the new agency was Coca-Cola. When Don Andres sold the agency in 1961, Guersey resigned from PAC. He then flew to New York to persuade McCann-Erickson to open an office in Mania with him as president.

When McCann opened an office in Manila — actually in Makati — Guersey took the Coca-Cola account, as well as the whole team handling the account, away from PAC. He also took away Philippine Packing Corp. (a subsidiary of Del Monte California) and Carnation, both McCann worldwide clients, from small Filipino-owned agencies. The two agencies nearly closed shop due to the loss of their premier accounts.

McCann threatened to get Filipro (a subsidiary of Nestlé, another McCann aligned company) from one of the bigger Filipino-owned agencies. The Filipino owner was well connected with the powers that be and very influential in the advertising industry. He was a rabid nationalist, too. Less aggressive in the pursuit of Filipro, McCann got only a piece of the Filipro business.

When McCann started eyeing ESSO, Pete Teodoro started to talk about nationalizing the advertising industry. Teodoro, a former public relations officer of Elizalde y Cia, opened the Philippine Promotion Bureau (Philprom) in 1945, the first strictly Filipino advertising agency. As to be expected, its first client was Elizalde y Cia.

Philprom subsequently landed ESSO, the giant oil company. “Put a tiger in your tank” was its advertising tagline. Having been a public relations man, Teodoro had good connections with the press. He also got staunch support from Filipino owners of agencies who had been “robbed” of their principal clients by a foreign agency.

The call for nationalization grew so loud that in 1972, the Board of Investments succumbed to the pressure, handing down the rule that all advertising agencies be 70% Filipino owned. The rule didn’t apply to JWT, Ace Compton, and McCann because they were already foreign owned before the rule was set. Rules do not apply retroactively.

However, the rule was inserted into the 1987 Constitution. That is Paragraph 2 of Section 11 of Article XVI. It looks like the provision was sneaked in as Article XVI is third to the last article of the Constitution. And Article XVI is about general provisions.

A provision mandating advertising agencies to be at least 70% owned by Filipinos is very specific. It is therefore out of place under General Provisions. In fact, such a provision is out of place in the Constitution. Ours is the only Constitution in the world that has a provision on advertising agencies. As they say, “Only in da Pilipins!”

 

Oscar P. Lagman, Jr. was an account group director at J. Walter Thompson, a consultant to J. Romero & Associates, and the founding executive director of the Philippine Board of Advertising.

OFWs spend about 1.2 months’ pay on recruiting fees, ILO says

PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

THE International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Thursday that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) paid about P100 billion in fees to land overseas jobs between October 2016 and September 2019.

“Overseas Filipino workers spent on average just about 1.2 months of their salary to pay back or cover the recruitment costs paid to get their jobs abroad,” the ILO said in a study.

OFWs received an average of P45,000 during their first months of work overseas.

The study recommended that OFWs have better access to jobs overseas, targeting higher-skilled jobs reflecting their educational attainment, while reducing the financial burden of recruitment. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

Singapore’s Clime Capital invests in Mober’s green fleet expansion

LOGISTICS company Mober Technology Pte., Inc. (Mober) has secured $6 million from Singapore-based Clime Capital Management Pte. Ltd. to fund its green vehicle expansion.

“Not all funding is created equal. Having Clime Capital as an investor adds significant credibility to Mober and solidifies our commitment to sustainability. This partnership not only enhances our reputation but also accelerates our progress towards achieving our ambitious sustainability goals,” Mober Chief Executive Officer Dennis O. Ng said in a media release on Thursday. 

Mober secured the investment from the South East Asia Clean Energy Fund II (SEACEF II), which is being managed by Clime Capital.

The Singapore-based fund manager helps create investment opportunities for companies focusing on green projects.

“Clime Capital’s blended finance model enables clean-energy entrepreneurs to scale their businesses to achieve financial sustainability while also generating positive environmental impact,” said Clime Capital Chief Investment Officer Joshua Kramer.

Mober said the investment will help fast-track the rollout of its electric vehicle (EV) initiative in the Philippines.

“The SEACEF II investment will accelerate the transition of Mober’s delivery fleet to EVs by enabling the company to overcome obstacles to EV adoption, particularly high up-front costs and the current challenges to EV asset financing in the Philippines,” Mober said. 

Mober is targeting to transition all its vehicles to full EV by 2025. It is also working to phase out its internal combustion engine or ICE vehicles by 2027.

Mober is a Philippine-based company that offers delivery services by tapping green-energy solutions. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

Vivant unit’s desalination plant starts production

ROPLANT/ FLICKR.COM

THE DESALINATION plant operated by a unit of Vivant Corp. has commenced production of five million liters per day (MLD) of water, the company said on Thursday.

Located in Cordova, Cebu, the plant’s first train or skid is now operational, capable of providing potable water to around 5,000 households within Metro Cebu, the company said in a statement.

Isla Mactan-Cordova Corp. (IMCC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Vivant Hydrocore Holdings, Inc. operating under the brand name Vivant Water, oversees this initiative.

Compared to ground and surface water, which are traditional water sources in the country, Vivant Water President Jess Anthony N. Garcia said that the seawater desalination can serve as a third source of water.

Once completed, the desalination plant can generate 20 MLD potable water in the first phase, which Mr. Garcia said is equivalent to the average daily consumption of 20,000 Filipino households.

“When fully operational, the water from the plant will be a sustainable source of drinking water and will ultimately help address the ongoing water crisis in Metro Cebu,” the company said.

IMCC was awarded a 25-year contract in 2021 to supply desalinated water to the Metropolitan Cebu Water District.

The project is being constructed by Watermatic Philippines, a joint venture company of Vivant and WaterMatic International of Israel, while the project site was provided through a partnership with the municipal government of Cordova.

Vivant Hydrocore holds the Vivant group’s water infrastructure investment portfolio as a wholly owned subsidiary of Vivant Infracore Holdings, Inc., which in turn is wholly owned by Vivant.

Vivant has investments in various companies engaged in electric power generation and distribution and retail electricity business. It recently entered the water industry arm, “with a diversified portfolio in the areas of bulk water supply, wastewater treatment and water distribution,” the company said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

The power of neuromarketing in digital marketing

Neuromarketing, an interdisciplinary field that combines neuroscience with marketing, delves into the subconscious mind to understand consumer behavior and decision-making processes. By employing advanced tools such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG), neuromarketers uncover insights that traditional methods like surveys and focus groups often fail to capture. These insights provide a deeper understanding of consumer preferences, motivations, and responses to marketing stimuli. Neuromarketing is not only about understanding what consumers say they want, but also about deciphering what truly influences their actions and choices, making it an invaluable tool for businesses striving to create more effective marketing strategies.

Today, the practical applications of neuromarketing have been expanded and made more accessible by marketing technology platforms, revolutionizing digital marketing strategies and making sophisticated marketing techniques affordable for a broader range of companies.

One of the primary practical applications of neuromarketing is enhancing user experience (UX) design for digital platforms. Through technologies like eye-tracking and EEG, researchers can understand how users interact with websites and apps. Platforms like Contentsquare, a digital experience analytics platform, offer detailed user behavior analytics, providing data on mouse movements, clicks, and scrolling behavior to optimize digital interfaces. This data-driven approach allows businesses to create more intuitive and engaging digital experiences, thereby enhancing user satisfaction and retention.

Neuromarketing has also proven instrumental in optimizing digital advertising strategies. Traditional methods often fail to capture the subconscious impact of advertisements on viewers. Neuromarketing techniques measure real-time brain activity and emotional responses to ads, revealing which ones are most effective. Platforms like Adjust, a mobile measurement partner (MMP) excel in this area by providing robust attribution tracking and analytics, allowing marketers to determine which ads drive specific user actions. This helps in making data-informed decisions to enhance emotional engagement and recall, ultimately leading to more effective ad placements and content optimizations.

Transitioning from advertising to content marketing, neuromarketing plays a crucial role in content creation. By understanding how different types of content affect the brain, marketers can produce material that resonates more deeply with their audience. Platforms like Insider, a customer data and experience platform (CDxP), enable highly personalized and contextually relevant messaging, allowing marketers to craft compelling stories tailored to individual preferences. This enhances engagement and shareability, as the content is designed to align with the emotional triggers and interests of the audience.

Neuromarketing offers valuable insights for optimizing social media marketing strategies as well. Social media platforms are saturated with visual and textual content vying for user attention. Platforms like Contentsquare provide insights by tracking user interactions and identifying which types of content generate the most engagement. This allows marketers to create more captivating social media content that effectively captures user attention, utilizing neuromarketing principles to drive higher engagement and interaction rates.

Moreover, neuromarketing enhances personalization in digital marketing. Traditional personalization strategies rely on demographic or behavioral data, but neuromarketing segments consumers based on their neural and emotional responses. Platforms like Adjust and Insider advance this approach by offering advanced segmentation and targeting capabilities. By using these insights, marketers can deliver tailored campaigns that resonate on a deeper emotional level, improving conversion rates and customer satisfaction.

In addition to content and advertising, neuromarketing provides valuable insights for e-commerce. Understanding how consumers make online purchasing decisions is critical for e-commerce success. E-commerce platforms leveraging Adjust’s analytics can optimize product displays and descriptions to enhance the online shopping experience and boost sales. Adjust’s comprehensive attribution data helps businesses understand the entire customer journey, identifying which touchpoints are most influential in the decision-making process.

The real-time analytics provided by these platforms are another critical aspect of their value proposition. Adjust, Insider, and Contentsquare offer real-time data that allow marketers to monitor user behavior as it happens, making immediate adjustments to improve user experience. This capability is crucial for resolving issues quickly and ensuring a positive user experience, much like neuromarketing’s emphasis on measuring and responding to immediate consumer reactions.

Furthermore, fraud prevention features in platforms like Adjust ensure the accuracy and integrity of marketing data by detecting and preventing fraudulent activities. Accurate data is essential for understanding genuine user behavior, which is a foundational aspect of neuromarketing. By eliminating fraudulent data, marketers can make more informed decisions based on true user responses and engagement.

In essence, while MMP platforms like Adjust, customer engagement platforms like Insider, and digital experience analytics platforms like Contentsquare, may not explicitly position themselves as neuromarketing tools, they incorporate many underlying principles of neuromarketing. Through detailed behavioral data collection, user segmentation, attribution tracking, A/B testing, retention analysis, fraud prevention, personalization, and comprehensive analytics, these platforms help marketers understand and influence user behavior in ways that closely align with the goals of neuromarketing. Thus, businesses using these platforms are effectively leveraging neuromarketing principles to enhance their digital marketing strategies, drive user engagement, and achieve better business outcomes.

The views and opinions expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FINEX and these institutions.

 

Reynaldo C. Lugtu, Jr. is the founder and CEO of Hungry Workhorse, a digital, culture, and customer experience transformation consulting firm. He is a fellow at the US-based Institute for Digital Transformation. He is the chair of the Digital Transformation IT Governance Committee of FINEX Academy. He teaches strategic management and digital transformation in the MBA Program of De La Salle University. The author may be e-mailed at rey.lugtu@hungryworkhorse.com

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