Nespresso gears up for Mediterranean summer

June 27, 2024 | 12:02 am

NESPRESSO is launching a new color and flavors fit for the summer (in Europe at least) with the Unforgettable Mediterranean Summer collection. Inspired by destinations like the French Riviera, the Greek Islands, and the Balkan Peninsula, the colorful summer collection is designed to smell, taste, and look like a dream holiday.

Nespresso enlisted the color experts at Pantone Color Institute to create a sensorial palette that echoes iconic Mediterranean seaside towns, starring a hero Mandarin Orange shade for the Vertuo Pop and Essenza Mini machines, available for a limited time only. Colors like Habanero Gold, Muskmelon, Aquarelle, and Blue Iolite are seen in other accessories.

The Mediterranean-inspired, limited-edition coffee collection is designed to be enjoyed over ice. These include Sunny Almond Vanilla flavor for Vertuo, a smooth and refreshing flavored coffee with a light-roast blend of Arabicas, reminiscing of a cruise into a Mediterranean summer. This new flavored coffee comes in collectable Habanero Gold packaging, designed in collaboration with Pantone and featuring the Pantone chip to add an extra touch of sunshine.

Now mainstays in Nespresso’s summer collections, the Coconut Flavor for Original and Tropical Coconut Flavor for Vertuo, continue to add an exotic spin to summer days.

Actress and model Solenn Heussaff, the celebrity guest for the Nespresso launch event at Bonifacio Global City on June 13, told us how she liked her coffee: “I like it hot. And I take it with oat milk, usually.”

“Though I do love my classic coffees, I think it’s nice to experiment every now and then,” she said about Nespresso’s new selections.

Earlier this year, Nespresso opened its latest boutique in TriNoma in Quezon City. This brings the number of their boutiques to seven, including their first outpost outside Metro Manila at Ayala Center Cebu, which opened in 2022. As for other areas, “Right now, we’re serving our customers outside Metro Manila through the website,” said Millet Valdez, Head of Marketing for Novateur Coffee Concepts Inc. (Nespresso Philippines). “We’re focused on perfecting our internal processes to be able to serve a market that’s outside Metro Manila. The next expansion plans outside of Metro Manila would be Pampanga, definitely… and then Davao. In key cities in the Philippines, we want to be there as well.”

The Nespresso Unforgettable Mediterranean Summer Collection launches on this month online at www.nespresso.ph and in Nespresso boutiques in Power Plant Mall, One Bonifacio High Street, Robinsons Magnolia, TriNoma, The Podium, SM Mall of Asia, and Ayala Center Cebu. — JL Garcia

Lenovo Philippines launches new AI-powered gaming laptops

June 27, 2024 | 12:02 am

LENOVO PHILIPPINES last week launched its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered lineup of Legion and Lenovo LOQ gaming devices that also feature a new thermal design, it said on Monday.

“Our mission is to provide Smarter Technology For All and we achieve this by bringing together the best features and innovations to bring our users the best in performance, design, and functionality. The latest generation of Lenovo devices is a testament to that commitment as the devices embody the perfect blend of power, precision, and style that every gamer dreams of,” Mike Ngan, general manager of Lenovo Philippines, said.

The brand said the new devices use AI for peak power efficiency, with the Lenovo LA AI Core Chips providing a fully user-customizable AI-assisted performance boost.

“In addition, gamers can also expect a brand new thermal design solution built to keep up with long hours of gaming. Lenovo, in partnership with Intel, redefined thermal design with the Legion Coldfront Hyper thermal solution to help manage airflow within gaming laptops,” it said.

The new thermal system is exclusive to the Lenovo Legion 7i and Lenovo Legion 5i and “optimizes heat management by transforming the airflow within the chassis and channeling the hot air from the chips through a central hyperbaric chamber.”

“Gamers can also expect significantly cooler temperatures as the bottom D cover isolates the expelled hot air from the cold air drawn in by dual fans, allowing for higher frame rates during game sessions,” Lenovo added.

Meanwhile, the brand’s entry-level gaming line Lenovo LOQ will feature hyperchamber thermal technology.

The updated lineup of the Lenovo Legion Gen 9 series is made up of the Lenovo Legion 9i, Lenovo Legion 7i, Lenovo Legion 5i, Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, and Lenovo Legion Pro 5i.

“This lineup boasts of fully powered 14^th Gen Intel Core processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics for unbeatable processing power. Each device also comes with a 16-inch PureSight display which are per-unit color calibrated, up to 64GB of memory, and up to 2TB of Gen 4 PCIe storage on select devices,” Lenovo said.

Prices for these new devices start at P144,995.

Meanwhile, the new Lenovo LOQ Gen 9 laptops include the Lenovo LOQ 15IRX9 and Lenovo LOQ 15IAX9, which feature up to a 13^th Gen Intel Core i5 processor and up to a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 graphics card. Pricing for the Lenovo LOQ devices starts at P51,995.

“Lenovo’s latest Legion and LOQ lineups exemplify the brand’s commitment to continuous innovation. With these recent improvements to the devices’ internal and external hardware, complimented further by AI-assisted performance boosts and core chips, this generation of devices is the perfect representation of Lenovo’s vision to deliver Smarter Technology, and AI for all,” said Clifford Chong, AP Gaming Category manager at Lenovo Asia Pacific. — BVR

Europe’s deindustrialization and opportunities for the Philippines

June 27, 2024 | 12:02 am

Last week, on June 21, the country’s economic team held another Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB) in Tokyo, Japan. The speakers included Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto, Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan, Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick D. Go, and Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Francisco G. Dakila, Jr.

Before that, on June 19 and 20, the economic team also held meetings with Japanese business leaders from companies like Marubeni Corp., SMBC, and Rating and Investment Information, Inc.

According to various reports, Mr. Recto made a powerful announcement to the Japanese business leaders, saying, “The Philippines has a stable political environment and an investment landscape that has never been as open and liberalized. We are committed to working non-stop until the good becomes better and better becomes the best for business.”

Ms. Pangandaman underscored the economic and spending priorities contained in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, especially in agriculture and infrastructure. “Another sector that we’re going to push for in the coming years is of course digitalization, to ensure efficiency in the National Government and so that it will be easier for businesses to enter the country,” she said.

I support the economic team’s aggressive investment promotion activities because we need more foreign capital, technology, and management innovation to create more jobs in the country — and because there is growing trend of deindustrialization and degrowth in developed countries, especially in Europe.

Last week, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released the World Investment Report (WIR) 2024. I checked the foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in Asia and Europe and found several good and surprising developments.

First, FDI inflows to the Philippines are now comparable with those in Malaysia, Thailand, and Taiwan, and it is not true that Cambodia will “soon overtake” the Philippines in getting FDIs. But Philippine multinationals investing abroad — our FDI outflows — are not significant yet.

Second, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan are net exporters of capital — their FDI outflows are larger than inflows. China may soon join them.

Third, many countries in Europe are experiencing negative inflows, particularly Italy, Switzerland, Ireland, the UK, and the Netherlands. Russia also experienced having FDIs fly out, but only in 2022 when many multinationals exited as part of the economic sanctions by the West after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Fourth, those European countries that escaped negative inflows have experienced slowdowns, especially in 2023, including France, Germany, Spain, and Sweden. But their exports of capital, their FDI outflows, are rising (see Table 1).

The trend of rising FDI outflows is, I think, an indicator of more companies leaving those countries and investing somewhere else, especially in Asia.

What pushed those European companies to move elsewhere? I checked 10 countries’ economic growth and inflation rates over the past four years. All of them, except Spain and Russia, have had growth of below 1% or have had contractions. And they have had high inflation rates of above 5%. This suggests a trend of degrowth and deindustrialization (see Table 2).

Developed and industrial economies are not supposed to have high inflation because they can mass produce, then mass transport and distribute many things within their countries or amongst themselves. But high inflation has remained for the past two years already. Their climate and energy policies, and foreign and finance policies (like shunning cheap oil and gas from Russia), are now backfiring.

I am proposing two measures to the economic team.

One, that they go back to Europe, particularly three or four of these financial centers — Frankfurt, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, Stockholm, London, and Dublin — and tell the investors there that they should consider the Philippines in their FDI outflow strategy.

And two, the Philippines should not follow the climate and energy policies of these European countries which primarily caused their trends towards degrowth and deindustrialization. We should focus on saving the economy and jobs, not saving the planet as the planet does not need any saviors.

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. Research Consultancy Services, and Minimal Government Thinkers. He is an international fellow of the Tholos Foundation.

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

MREIT eyeing retail assets

June 27, 2024 | 12:02 am

LISTED MREIT, Inc. on Wednesday said it plans to diversify its asset portfolio beyond office assets by incorporating retail assets to support further growth.

“We are actually actively looking to diversify MREIT’s assets beyond the office sector. Starting this year, MREIT plans to inject also retail assets,” MREIT President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Andrew L. Tan said during the company’s virtual annual stockholders’ meeting.

“This strategic move provides shareholders with exposure to the strong performance of the retail sector and enhancing the company’s overall resilience and growth prospects,” he added.

MREIT is the real estate investment trust of listed property developer Megaworld Corp.

Mr. Tan said that MREIT is also studying other property types within Megaworld’s portfolio that “will bring value.”

“By broadening our investment horizon into new asset types, this will ensure MREIT will have a balanced and diversified portfolio that can withstand various market dynamics,” he said.

MREIT is set to increase its property portfolio by 48% to 482,000 square meters (sq.m.) after the planned acquisition of six office properties worth P13.15 billion.

Under the deal, MREIT will acquire Two West Campus, Ten West Campus, and One Le Grand Tower in McKinley West; One Fintech and Two Fintech in Iloilo Business Park; and Davao Finance Center in Davao Park District from Megaworld in exchange for 926,162,000 MREIT primary shares at P14.20 apiece.

The acquisition will add 157,000 sq.m. to MREIT’s office portfolio. MREIT is eyeing to have 500,000 sq.m. under its portfolio by yearend.

MREIT’s portfolio covers 18 office properties located in four Megaworld premier townships, namely 1800 Eastwood Avenue, 1880 Eastwood Avenue, and E-Commerce Plaza in Eastwood City; One World Square, Two World Square, Three World Square, 8/10 Upper McKinley, 18/20 Upper McKinley, and World Finance Plaza in McKinley Hill.

Other properties under MREIT include One Techno Place, Two Techno Place, Three Techno Place, One Global Center, Two Global Center, Festive Walk 1B, and Richmonde Tower in Iloilo Business Park; and One West Campus and Five West Campus in McKinley West.

On Wednesday, MREIT shares closed unchanged at P12.70 per share while Megaworld stocks fell by 0.56% or one centavo to P1.76 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Zed Philippines gets credit card issuer license

June 27, 2024 | 12:01 am

NEOBANK Zed Philippines, Inc. has received its certificate of authority to operate as a standalone credit card issuer from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), it said on Tuesday.

“Our BSP license makes us the first Philippine neobank to offer credit cards as a standalone issuer. This independence and our foundation as a technology company means we can rapidly and continuously improve our product, unconstrained by legacy systems,” Zed Co-Founder Danielle Cojuangco Abraham said in a statement.

Zed operated under a BSP-sanctioned pilot for the last six months, it said.

The Zed Card will be rolled out on an invite-only basis, starting with its waitlist. The Mastercard Titanium credit card has recorded close to 40,000 sign-ups since the waitlist was launched in March, the company said.

Those who signed up will be invited to apply for a Zed Card in the coming months, it added.

“Our priority is onboarding new users at a pace where we can ensure a stellar experience for every Zed customer, so hang tight,” Ms. Abraham said.

Zed Co-Founder Steve Abraham said that among its early cardholders, transaction volume is growing by 100% month over month, with 48% of customers transacting daily.

“We’re obsessed with delivering an exceptional customer experience, and our early usage reaffirms our view that the next generation is hungry for a completely different credit card experience that cuts out expensive fees, supports responsible spending and provides seamless control over your account,” he said.

The Zed Card has no annual fee or foreign transaction fees. Customers get up to 31 days of credit with zero interest and no revolving balance or interest charges.

Zed also sets each cardholder’s credit limit based on their current and future income, among other data. — AMCS

Dining In/Out (06/27/24)

June 27, 2024 | 12:01 am

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Diamond Hotel offers a taste of the past

DISCOVER a selection of fascinating dishes from the Galleon Trade era at the Diamond Hotel’s Corniche restaurant from June 26 to July 7, as prepared by featured chef and culinary heritage advocate chef Christopher Carangian. From the year 1529, Corniche serves Potaje de Adobado de Gallina, a chicken dish inspired by the Pipian which originated in Mexico. From 1613 comes Adobo de los Naturales, what is currently known as dry adobo and made from a combination of pork and chicken. Another dish to be highlighted is Quilauin from 1794, the first Filipino food seen by Antonio Pigafetta and referred to as the first adobo. Mr. Carangian will guide diners on the origins of Filipino cuisine through the dishes he will showcase at the Corniche lunch and dinner buffet, priced at P3,880 net per person. The Founder and President of Razorchef Philippines and Punong Heneral of the Culinary Generals of the Philippines, Mr. Carangian has a passion for exploring and reintroducing local traditional dishes to promote the country’s historical identity. Diamond Hotel will also recreate the Malolos Congress Dinner of 1898, when the proclamation of Philippine Independence was ratified in Bulacan. Dishes from the original French menu will be prepared by Mr. Carangian, alongside fine wine pairings on July 9 at the Diamond Ballroom at 7 p.m for P6,800 net per person. For inquiries, call 8528-3000 or e-mail restaurant_rsvn@diamondhotel.com.

A Culinary Journey: 2024 National Food Fair

THE DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry (DTI) has announced that the 2024 DTI-Bagong Pilipinas National Food Fair will be held from July 3 to 7 at the Megatrade Halls 1-3, 5^th Level, SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City. The five-day National Food Fair, billed as the Philippine Cuisine and Ingredients Show, and now in its 10^th year, serves as a platform for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the food and beverage industry, a sector that forms nearly half of all MSMEs in the Philippines. Last year’s event generated over P28 million in sales for almost 300 participating MSMEs. Food enthusiasts can expect a diverse selection of products from all regions of the Philippines, from fresh produce to processed and frozen items. There will be special settings to showcase priority industry clusters or sectors, such as the Coconut Industry Pavilion, KAPEtirya or Philippine Coffee Pavilion, the Philippine Island Wine, Beer, and Juice Bar, and Kusinang Filipino (Filipino Kitchen). The event will also feature booths by various government agencies and private sector partners who support the growth of MSMEs. Following the opening ceremonies on July 3, a program of activities will be open to the public throughout the fair. These include cooking demonstrations and business talks and workshops. Participation is free, both on-site and via livestream on the National Food Fair’s social media channels.

Kenny Rogers Roasters supports urban farmers

KENNY ROGERS Roasters held its third Farmvocacy Program, rooted on its message, “Eat Healthy, Help Greatly.” The program fosters a farm-to-table approach where every purchase of Kenny Rogers Roasters’ selected menu item provides support to local farmers. On its third year, the program selected its Chimichurri Roast, whose ingredients are sourced locally, as the featured dish. Early this year, customers who ordered the Chimichurri Roast Solo Plate, through dine-in, takeout, or delivery, also helped Kenny Rogers support Urban Farmers PH — an organization that nurtures unused public spaces, inviting people to discover that farming is enjoyable, doable, and transferrable. For every purchase of a Chimichurri Roast, a portion was donated to Urban Farmers PH. Through the Farmvocacy Program, the roast chicken restaurant chain has raised P300,000. The proceeds donated to Urban Farmers PH were used to support the Taguig Integrated School and Barrio Obrero Elementary School, providing essential resources for their plant beds, seedling nurseries, and technical training in urban farming. The Farmvocacy Program has also provided support to various local farming organizations, most recently with Samahang Magmamanga ng Zambales, Inc.

Jollibee Cheesy Yumburger: now with two patties

Jollibee is introducing the Double Cheesy Yumburger, a Cheesy Yumburger but with double the patties, double the cheese, and double its signature dressing. “Wala talagang tatalo sa Cheesy Yumburger, ever since bata pa kami, special talaga ito para sa’min,” said BINI Maloi, one of the voices of popular girl group BINI, Jollibee’s latest ambassadors, in a press statement. Available nationwide, the Cheesy Yumburger is available through dine-in, takeout, or through delivery apps. The Cheesy Yumburger Solo is priced at P65 and the Double Cheesy Yumburger Solo is priced at P124.

Paywatch raises $30M to expand product offerings

June 27, 2024 | 12:01 am

EARLY WAGE ACCESS (EWA) platform Paywatch has raised $30 million or P1.76 billion in fresh funding from a mix of equity and credit facilities, which it plans to use for its expansion in the Philippines and its other markets, it said on Monday.

Paywatch received over $14 million or P821 million in Series A equity investment from a consortium of US investors led by Third Prime, it said in a statement. The consortium includes Vanderbilt University and University of Illinois Foundation, with participation from new investors Octagon Venture Partners and Wooshin Venture Investment Corp.

It also secured $16 million or P939 million via credit facilities from global banks.

Paywatch said this was the largest funding round closed by an EWA player in Southeast Asia.

The company will use the proceeds of this latest fundraising to boost its growth and expand its products, it said.

A significant portion of Paywatch’s Series A funding will be used to enhance its embedded finance offerings along with its other innovation efforts.

The company expects to disburse over $ 120 million or P7.04 billion in salaries by the end of the year, more than doubling its lifetime volume.

To date, Paywatch has processed over $58 million or P3.4 billion in salaries and increased its disbursements to nearly $8 million of P469 million per month in Asia.

Paywatch added its disbursements are growing 15% month over month.

The company has been in the Philippines since 2023 and is partnered with real estate developers, luxury hotels, business process outsourcing companies, manufacturing, and retail brands.

It is also active in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea.

“The Philippines represents a pivotal market for Paywatch. The positive reception to earned wage access in the country is encouraging,” Paywatch Philippines President Rowell Del Fierro was quoted as saying. “The Series A funding underscores our commitment to Filipino workers. This achievement propels our broader impact, enabling us to reach more enterprises who share our vision of financial inclusivity and enhancing the country’s economic resilience.”

“Amidst this funding and tech winter, we take immense pride in the confidence shown by these esteemed investors and banks in our vision. From the outset, we firmly believed that providing earned wage access at the lowest, nominal fee to users while ensuring access to major financial institutions was the sustainable path. Although it was a more challenging route to market, our rapid growth and portfolio of high-caliber enterprise clients validate our approach,” Paywatch President and Co-founder Alex Kim said. — AMCS

Smoke belching exercises

June 27, 2024 | 12:01 am

CHARACTER ASSASSINATION as a business has become an agricultural pursuit with its dependence on troll farms. (There are also “click farms” that artificially raise the “clicks” or “likes” of websites or internet programs to make them more attractive buys for ads.) These non-agricultural farms are fertilized by mud that is then systematically slung at designated targets. Mixing metaphors, such mud-slinging vegetation is then burned and turned into smoke belching fuel.

Concerted efforts at negative publicity rest on the belief that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Smoke is a tool for negative perception — creating a thick haze of innuendoes and hearsay, meant to deprive a target of oxygen as he flails and gasps for his reputational wellbeing.

It is not important that what the scandalmonger puts out on social media posts, interviews, column feeds, and congressional hearings may not stand up in court. The objective is to push out the smoke relentlessly and create in the public mind sufficient suspicion and dismay. This negative perception arises from the simple presumption that with all the brouhaha, there must be some real basis for guilt by asphyxiation.

Repeated denials do not clear the smoke and may even prolong the foggy situation, as denunciations keep the story on the social radar. It can even be argued that merely ignoring the attacks may be a good alternative — I will answer these baseless allegations in the right forum. (Next question, please.)

Here are some smoke-belching techniques employed by the trolls:

Inflate the numbers. If smoke works, ashfall from volcanic eruptions are even better. Scandals are rated by their monetary value. Amounts equivalent to a small country’s GDP and described as the mother of all scams, even if too incredible to be real, is made part of the narrative. Without numbers, scandals are too ordinary to be noticed and won’t accomplish their discrediting job. A bag snatching incident is not even newsworthy — but I lost my phone with online banking apps.

Imply a conspiracy. Cover-ups, implication of political connections, and previous legal entanglements support a conspiracy theory. Blind items with unique descriptions like initials add to the enveloping smoke. Attempts of bribery will presume the involvement of even the foot soldiers and messengers just doing their jobs.

Accompany stories with unflattering photographs. Scandals are not complete without a photo of abject defeat, a mid-yawn demonstration of contempt for the proceedings, or a sarcastic grin. These posted shots could have been taken years back and involved an unrelated incident, like the wedding reception for an aging governor and his very young bride. Still, pictures contribute to the portrait of a disorganized person — just look at that smirk.

Add irony and ridicule. It’s good to post vlogs or short clips of the target, maybe a deep fake dance number with a pole. The satirical dig puts a bizarre spin to any denunciations and denials that are expected reactions to the sham video.

Of course, smear campaigns are not always meant to induce social or political change. More often now, a social attack can be launched by emerging tabloid-types of online media. These “journalists” employ innuendo and rhetorical questions (Is he about to be thrown under the bus?) to increase their readership. They can focus on business personalities who panic at the mere mention of their names in connection with a possible scandal. Can requests for ads from the target be far behind? (Yes sir, we will stop these foolish attacks on you.)

Some targets of calumny are hitting back with cyber libel suits. Still, only gossip mongers with their own programs can be subjected to legal suits. Just the public filing of a case is enough to slow down if not stop the diatribes of these self-anointed “influencers.”

Smoke wizards succeed only with the attention of the public. Magicians, after all, need an audience to gasp with awe at the sleight of hand. In the end the victim of troll attacks is saved by the indifference of the target audience.

The attention span of even the most avid news gobblers can be very short. To sustain it, new revelations or new objects of hate need to be exposed. And even then, the whole business of smoke belching can get tiresome and lose its appeal… much like having too much pork rind with beer.

Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda

ar.samson@yahoo.com

LRMC inks deal with Japan’s Sumitomo, Hankyu for LRT-1 operations boost

June 27, 2024 | 12:01 am

02-LRT-1-EG — PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

LIGHT Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) on Wednesday said it signed a deal with Japanese firms Sumitomo Corp. and Hankyu Corp. for technical assistance in the operations and maintenance of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) system.

Under the agreement, Hankyu Corp. will provide technical support to LRMC, aiding in the assessment of LRT-1 operations and enhancing procedures and staff training.

During the signing event in Makati City, Hankyu’s Senior Managing Director Masayoshi Uemura said that this marks the company’s inaugural involvement in a railway project outside Japan. Hankyu currently manages 190 kilometers of railway lines in the Kansai Region.

“Traffic congestion is very serious in the Philippines. It is of vital importance to mitigate the traffic congestion,” he said.

“To solve this problem, the railway service plays an increasingly important role in helping solve this crisis,” he added.

Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said that the agreement is expected to entice Japanese firms to invest in the country’s mass transport systems.

“This latest partnership for LRT-1’s operations and maintenance serves as showcase to convince new Japanese investors to seriously consider Philippine mass transport projects,” he said.

Mr. Bautista added that the agreement is timely as partial operations for the LRT-1 Cavite extension will begin in the latter part of this year.

“This added layer of assistance will be most helpful especially at this time when the Cavite Extension is about to start partial operations very soon,” he said.

The LRT-1 Cavite Extension project aims to add 11 kilometers to the current line, serving 800,000 passengers a day. It would also increase the number of LRT-1 stations from 20 to 28, linking Quezon City to Bacoor, Cavite.

LRT-1 is operated by LRMC. Sumitomo Corp. began investing in LRT-1 in 2020, supporting LRMC’s procurement of spare parts.

LRMC is the joint venture of Ayala Corp., Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp., and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte Ltd.

Metro Pacific Light Rail is a unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which is one of three Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being PLDT Inc. and Philex Mining Corp.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

PSEi member stocks performed — June 26, 2024

June 27, 2024 | 12:00 am

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.

Manila inches up in costliest city list for expats

June 27, 2024 | 12:00 am

The country’s capital inched up two notches to 131st out of 226 cities in the 2024 Cost of Living City Ranking by global consulting ﬁrm Mercer. Based on the rankings, the cost of living in Manila became relatively more expensive for international assignees.

Travel expo aims to boost VisMin tourism

June 26, 2024 | 10:01 pm

PTAA-TravelTour-Expo-2024 — photo by Edg Adrian A. Eva

Cagayan de Oro City, dubbed as the ‘city of golden friendships’ because of its local hospitality, will host the Philippine Travel Agencies Association’s (PTAA) first-ever travel event in the Visayas and Mindanao (VisMin) region.

The TravelTour Expo (TTE) 2024, launched by the PTAA, aims to highlight the region’s beauty and travel destinations.

The three-day travel event is set from July 19 to July 21 at the LimketKai Atrium in Cagayan de Oro City, the PTAA said.

“We believe this vibrant and welcoming city will bring us good fortune and foster business relationships. Let’s champion this event highlighting the beauty and diversity of the Philippines.” PTAA President, Evangeline Tankiang-Manotok said in her opening statement.

The agency aspires to make the Mindanao region the ‘pioneering destination’ in the Philippines, among other famous destinations in the country.

“Mindanao is so colorful, and I believe Cagayan has so much potential,” Ms. Tankiang-Manotok added.

PTAA also wants to empower the local travel agencies in the region by getting more market and potential clients in the upcoming travel event.

“Instead of this local agency dealing with another private agency in Manila to get their HongKong packages… Eurpoean packages, we could bring ourselves to them,” PTAA’s relations officer Jaison Yang explained.

The TTE 2024 will be a one-stop platform for travel enthusiasts to explore travel opportunities with over 50 exhibitors, including airlines, hotels, resorts, local travel agencies, and tourism boards, as they showcase their travel offers through exhibits and booths.

The expo is expected to gain 20,000-to-40,000-foot traffic across the 132 booths in the trade travel event, reflecting the growing interest in travel in the Philippines.

With high hopes for the CDO event’s success, PTAA plans that the TTE’s next venue will be at Iloilo (Visayas) in 2025. – Edg Adrian A. Eva