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CPG and Accor launch Novotel Suites Manila in Mandaluyong City

PROPERTY developer Century Properties Group, Inc. (CPG) partnered with global hospitality group Accor to launch Novotel Suites Manila at Acqua in Mandaluyong City.

The hotel is located at Coronado St. in Mandaluyong City in an area bordering Makati City. It features 152 rooms and suites with a practical, cozy, and contemporary design.

“The opening of Novotel Suites Manila at Acqua underlines our long-term commitment to expand our portfolio in the Philippines. Novotel’s relaxed and lively atmosphere resonates with our guests, we are delighted to offer the second Novotel address for travelers, long-staying guests and locals to work, play and relax,” Accor Premium, Midscale, and Economy Division in Asia Chief Executive Officer Garth Simmons said in a statement late Tuesday. 

Novotel Suites Manila at Acqua features various room sizes ranging from a 31-square meter (sq.m.) standard room suited for corporate travelers, the 45-sq.m. deluxe suite and 75-sq.m. superior suite for families and long-staying guests, and the 91-sq.m. premier suite that features a 180-degree view of the city via its curved floor-to-ceiling window.

All suites feature working, living, and dining areas, and kitchens that come with a microwave, Nespresso machine, induction cooker, cooking equipment, and cutlery.

“With the renewed interest for travel globally, having Novotel Suites Manila at Acqua to host travelers will further boost the Philippine government’s push to bolster the tourism industry,” CPG President and Chief Executive Officer Marco R. Antonio said. 

Novotel Suites Manila at Acqua also features an all-day dining restaurant called Tempus, located on the sixth floor. It offers a breakfast buffet and a la carte options for lunch and dinner. A private dining room across the restaurant could accommodate up to 20 guests. It can serve as a venue for birthday celebrations, reunions, and lunch meetings.

The hotel also has an infinity swimming pool on the sixth floor, while its 21st floor features a lobby lounge and two meeting rooms that could accommodate up to 30 guests each. It also offers a fitness center with free weights and modern cardio machines for guests who are fitness enthusiasts.  

“Guests will feel the warmth of home at Novotel Suites Manila at Acqua. It will usher in a new concept of ‘home away from home’ experience for long-stay travelers who are in Manila for business and for families who are in search of a weekend leisure,” Novotel Suites Manila at Acqua General Manager Raul Aquino said.

Accor is a global hospital group that has over 1,000 properties across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific while CPG has business interests in the sale and development of mid- and high-rise condominiums and single-detached homes, leasing of retail and office space, as well as property management.

On Wednesday, shares of CPG at the local bourse fell five centavos or 1.61% to P0.305 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

A phased phaseout

PHILIPPINE STAR/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

The government says it is not ending the jeepney industry but simply improving it, requiring modern fleets under corporate or cooperative operators, for the benefit of consumers and the environment. But jeepney owners say what the government is doing now is indirectly ending their industry, and thus ending the livelihood of many individual owners and drivers.

The perspectives are seemingly irreconcilable. Jeepney operators and drivers have again gone on strike, against a plan that was started six years ago, while the government appears to be wavering yet again on the move to “modernize” the jeepney industry, which include the “consolidation” of franchises and routes under corporations or cooperatives operating at least 15 units in every route.

The state aims for economies of scale, but jeepney operators prefer a “scaled” economy with plenty of “small” operators. The government wants new vehicles on the road, but jeepney operators claim refurbished ones should be okay. The regulator is thus pushing for mergers, but owners obviously would rather operate as individuals.

Years back when taxi operators were told to upgrade their units, and the vehicle age was capped at 10 years, despite protests from operators, the government went ahead with the plan. To date, many taxis are relatively new models, while Grab cars are practically brand new. The taxi industry has also been somewhat “consolidated” under several big operators.

The fact remains that the jeepney, as it is, is an outdated mode of public transportation. It began post-war as a matter of necessity, and with only surplus vehicles available for the purpose in a war-torn economy emerging from World War II. More than 75 years since, the same style “jeepney” remains on our roads as the most common form of public transportation.

I support the government plan to “modernize” the industry, and I assume many commuters feel the same way. Perhaps even drivers feel the same. I reckon anyone who drives the whole day for a living would prefer to take the helm of a comfortable, convenient, and efficient vehicle rather than old clunkers that expose them to heat, noise, pollution, and possibly safety issues.

The present issue, I believe, is mainly with operators or owners who would rather not change the way they are currently making a living. These are “small” operators with individual franchises, earning mainly from fixed “boundaries” or rentals, possibly avoiding taxes, and passing on fuel costs to drivers who earn commissions rather than salaries. In short, every time a unit goes out, the operator will surely make money but the driver is left to his own abilities to earn.

That said, I believe the government should go ahead — finally — with its move to “update” the industry. It has been six years since 2017 when the plan was started, with the initial deadline set for 2018. Operators have been given several extensions already. The hard deadline for end-2023 should now be observed, despite what some senators and congressmen might think.

According to the government, to date about 56% or 96,000 jeepney franchises and 70% of UV Express franchises nationwide have already been consolidated. So, the issue of consolidation covers a minority of jeepney franchise holders. So, why should the government, majority of transport owners, and commuters all be held back by these “holdouts”?

These “holdouts” also insist that individual jeepney operators should still be granted a five-year franchise even if they refuse to join a cooperative, in effect granting them another five-year extension on the consolidation deadline of 2023. They claim that agreeing to consolidation now is the first step to their losing their individual franchises and their livelihood.

While this may be true, what they did not say is that consolidation also means their losing the “tradability” of their personal franchises as a commodity that can they individually sell or lease or “transfer” to other operators for a price. Moreover, with a five-year term for franchises from 2023, effectively, these jeepney operators push the phaseout to 2028, or after the current Administration. Of course, under a new president in 2028, they can ask for another extension.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) countered that it could simplify the consolidation process, but that consolidation is non-negotiable. It also said a five-year term for franchises could be considered, and that it was willing to waive traffic-related penalties so that jeepney drivers and operators could renew their vehicle registration. Personally, I don’t agree with the LTFRB offer. But I guess these are small “losses” compared to finally getting the modernization plan on the way.

The industry’s counter to “modernization” is jeepney “rehabilitation,” claiming that poorer operators cannot replace their old vehicles with more expensive units. And this, to me, is the crux of the matter. The point is, poorer operators cannot really afford modernization. Consolidation is a means to make modernization more affordable, but a minority of jeepney operators refuse to budge on the issue.

Rehabilitation, in my opinion, is simply a means to further delaying “upgrading” the industry. It will just keep an outdated mode of public transportation on our roads even longer. Jeepney operators claim the high cost of modern jeepneys is a “barrier to entry” for poor operators and unjustly favors the rich, and that franchise consolidation is a means for “corporate capture” of the “small-capacity public transport” industry.

But is that not the point of modernization? Small-capacity public transport need not be a small operation, always. In the same way that banks and insurance companies have been told to merge and consolidate and raise their capital, with the aim of protecting the interest of the public they serve. The telecommunication industry also went through a consolidation phase, so did the taxi and bus industries, and even the airline and shipping industries.

Investors in any industry that offers a vital service to the public should be sufficiently prosperous to afford services that are comfortable, convenient, efficient, and safe. The public should not be settling for anything less. Why should the jeepney industry be allowed to continue operating like we are still in the post-war era? Even the old Philippine National Railways is set for modernization.

The five-year extension since 2018 is not enough, claims the jeepney industry. The pandemic in 2020-2022 further impoverished the industry, they insist. And with that, they should be given another extension — perhaps five years? — to gain enough resources to afford “modernization.” So, the government should again put off removing old and dilapidated jeepneys from our roads.

Should we keep the jeepney industry by the poor, and for the poor? Or, is it only the jeepneys and their drivers that are poor, as well as many of their users, but not necessarily their operators? Doesn’t the public deserve a modern jeepney industry? Don’t drivers deserve to get paid decent salaries by corporate or cooperative operators rather than just working on commissions? Shouldn’t operators be required to pay the proper taxes on their income, and be compelled to reinvest profit to further improve services?

Again, the government finds itself between a rock and a hard place. Again, jeepney operators are on strike. And, in all this, again, the public is the loser. One can only wonder how and when the matter will finally end. Five years from now? Lyrics from an old Sam Cooke song comes to mind: “It’s been a long, a long time coming, but I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will…”

 

Marvin Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippine Press Council

matort@yahoo.com

Mama Sita’s annual storytelling tilt launches Holiday Edition

MGA KUWENTONG Pagkain (MKP), the annual storytelling contest launched by the Mama Sita Foundation in 2012 celebrates its 11th year with a focus on festive Filipino food fare.

Dubbed “Pamaskong Pagkaing Pilipino,” this year’s contest round aims to put a spotlight on Filipino holiday recipes and cherished traditions that bring family and friends together.

Entries may include heirloom recipes and their back stories, which could highlight a family or community tradition. The essay could also put an interesting spin on a particular ingredient or crop which is widely used in the region, or pay tribute to the people who put food on the table — from the farmers who grow them to the home cooks who prepare them.

The essay writing contest has a broad scope and allows for some degree of flexibility on subjects, settings, and focus. But through the years, MKP’s underpinning theme has remained the same, which is the power of Filipino food to nurture relationships and transcend barriers.

Entries must not exceed 1,000 words in English or in Filipino and must be submitted in .pdf format via e-mail (hello.mkp2023@gmail.com) or via this link (https://bit.ly/MKPForm2023).

Criteria for judging are the following: 40% Cultural Significance — or the entry’s ability to convey a cultural element in Philippine Christmas celebrations or holiday traditions built around Philippine cuisine; 20% Narrative Effectiveness which evaluates the entry’s storytelling in terms of clarity and pace; 20% Theme Relevance which looks for strong alignment with the initiative’s overall theme of uniting people through Filipino food; and the remaining 20% for Creativity and Originality which refers to the entry’s uniqueness in storytelling approach, style, and technique. Cash prizes and gift items from the Mama Sita Foundation await this year’s winners.

The deadline for submission of entries is on Jan. 25, 2024.

Updates will be made on the official MKP Facebook and Instagram pages and the Mama Sita Foundation’s website.

The MKP initiative is inspired by Filipino food icon, Teresita “Mama Sita” Reyes, who dedicated most of her life to promoting Philippine cuisine in every corner of the world.

Government must increase education investments to improve PHL tech talent

THE GOVERNMENT must ramp up investments in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education to improve the Philippines’ competitiveness in technology talent, according to an expert.

While updated modules on programming are already being offered to students, access to these opportunities needs to be improved, Jay Pegarido, country manager at tech firm Sansan Global Development Center, Inc., said in an interview with BusinessWorld.

“Providing financial support to schools, supporting internships and apprenticeships to students, and developing STEM-related joint training programs,” he said.

“Competition is growing in the Philippines for software developers, and companies are having to find new ways to attract the best talent in the space as we head into the end of the year,” Mr. Pegarido added.

Software developer was the second top-paying job last year with an average monthly wage of P70,595, data from the Occupational Wages Survey by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed.

A March report from the International Data Corp., a global market intelligence company, said around 60-80% of Asia Pacific organizations are seeing an information technology skills shortage, struggling to fill vacancies.

In a July report, the Asian Development Bank said the Philippines should use education technology to bridge the skills gap or risk job losses due to rapid technological advancement.

Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), also add to tech talent competition, but not to a worrying extent in the short- to medium-term, Mr. Pegarido said.

“The difficulty and cost involved in hiring exceptional tech talent has caused some firms to examine how AI may be able to replace or augment some functions traditionally delivered by human software engineers — but demand remains high for human capital,” he said.

A study from McKinsey in June showed generative AI allowing software developers to complete code tasks up to twice as fast.

“The real outcome [for AI] in the short- to medium-term will be increased productivity and more effective IT teams than ever before from a performance standpoint,” Mr. Pegarido said. “As someone who has worked in the tech sector for decades, in both the Philippines and overseas in markets like Japan, I remain convinced that having an excellent human team is more essential than ever.”

“If people in charge of building tomorrow’s IT teams in the Philippines like me are rapidly hiring talent, it’s a sure sign you don’t need to be worried about robots taking over just yet. The Philippines has a bright future as a very human tech hub ahead of it,” he added.

Public and private sector leaders should also ensure the country is well-positioned to compete globally in terms of emerging technologies, Mr. Pegarido said.

Sansan opened its development center in Cebu last year, with plans to double its current team size and hire over 50 more software engineers next year, he said.

“We believe more firms across Southeast Asia will continue investing in their digital transformation journeys that the pandemic served as a catalyst for,” he noted as an outlook for the tech sector next year. — Miguel Hanz L. Antivola

InstaPay, PESONet transactions climb by 30.6% as of end-October

TRANSACTIONS coursed via the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) InstaPay and PESONet gateways continued to climb at end-October amid the sustained popularity of digital services.

The combined value of transactions done through the BSP’s automated clearing houses InstaPay and PESONet rose by 30.6% to P10.39 trillion as of October from P7.95 trillion in the same period last year, based on data posted on the central bank’s website.

In terms of volume, transactions coursed through the clearing houses grew by 43.7% to 733 million as of end-October from 510 million in the comparable year-ago period.

China Banking Corp. Chief Economist Domini S. Velasquez said InstaPay and PESONet transactions are expected to continue rising significantly.

“Coming from the pandemic, Filipinos saw the ease of conducting financial transactions online. The rise of digital banks will also contribute to increased volume,” she said in a Viber message.

There are six digital banks currently operating in the country, namely Tonik Digital Bank, Inc., GOtyme, Maya Bank, Overseas Filipino Bank, UNObank, and UnionDigital of Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc. 

“Additionally, more and more investment products catered to retail clients can be accessed through internet and mobile banking. These developments will continue to push for further digitalization of financial transactions,” Ms. Velasquez said.

BSP data showed the value of PESONet transactions increased by 24.3% to P6.39 trillion as of end-October from P5.14 billion a year prior.

The volume of transactions that went through the payment gateway stood at 75.69 million, 8.6% higher than the 69.68 million seen as of October 2022.

On the other hand, the value of transactions coursed through InstaPay surged by 41.8% year on year to P4 trillion as of October from P2.82 trillion a year prior.

The volume of InstaPay transactions grew by 49.13% to 657.76 million from 441.06 million at end-October last year.

PESONet and InstaPay are automated clearing houses under the central bank’s National Retail Payment System, which was launched in December 2015 to promote a safe, efficient, affordable, inclusive and reliable retail payments system.

PESONet caters to high-value transactions and is considered as an electronic alternative to paper-based checks.

On the other hand, InstaPay is a real-time electronic fund transfer facility for low value transactions of up to P50,000.

The increase in PESONet and InstaPay transactions is expected to help the BSP achieve its twin goals to have 50% of retail payments done digitally and 70% of adult Filipinos as part of the formal financial system by the end of this year. — Keisha B. Ta-asan

OCS opens office in Mandaluyong

GLOBAL facilities management company OCS Group, through its local unit, inaugurated an office in Mandaluyong City to mark its debut in the Philippines.

OCS Facilities Philippines Services, Inc. (OCS Philippines), which is part of the OCS Group, will provide services that are expected to enhance the functioning, safety, and long-term viability of buildings, grounds, infrastructure, and real estate assets.

These services include “non-core” duties such as cleaning, technical maintenance, gardening, security, pest control, and transportation.

Globally, the group employs over 130,000 staff and operates in 26 countries with an annual revenue forecasted to grow to 4 billion British pounds by 2027. Locally, it operates nationwide and currently has over 4,000 employees.

Located at SM Offices’ Mega Tower in Mandaluyong, OCS Philippines opened its office with Pronove Tai International Property Consultants as a tenant representative on Tuesday.

“I am extremely excited as we enter this new chapter for OCS Philippines. We are uniquely positioned to move forward in the market with our tailored Integrated facilities management model,” said Phillip Carter, OCS Philippines’ managing director, in a press release.

“With our global strength and history, as well as our local and regional knowledge, I see the launch of the OCS brand in the Philippines as a real ‘game changer’ in the Philippines [facilities management] market,” he added.   

The company said that with the debut of the brand in the Philippines, it seeks to operate across all business sectors. It claims to have a strong foothold with offices in Manila, Cebu, and Davao.

“OCS Philippines currently provides services to corporate offices, manufacturing plants, healthcare, telecommunications, energy, and logistics, to name just some of the segments they work in,” it added.

In the future, it plans to incorporate more technology into its operations including utilizing robotics machines for cleaning, which is seen to significantly reduce the physical labor of its workers and boost focus on tasks that need more “human touch.”

“Moving forward, as the new brand is launched in the Philippines, the company intends to expand to a wider range of industries, including the rapidly expanding renewable energy sector, education, and hospitality, among others,” the company said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

Asia’s Muslims grow weary of the West’s double standards

IZUDDIN HELMI ADNAN-UNSPLASH

WASHINGTON’s unwavering support for Israel during its ground invasion of Gaza is coming under increasing scrutiny in the Global South.

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi this week hosted a delegation of foreign ministers from the Arab and Islamic world, including representatives from Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Egypt, and Indonesia. Beijing said it is ready to work with these countries toward a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of hostages, the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid, and an “early, comprehensive, just and enduring settlement of the Palestinian question.”

This is not a new line from Beijing, but it will no doubt be welcomed by some in the Muslim world, particularly in Southeast Asia, which is keen to see more global leadership on an issue that has stoked outrage across communities. Tensions have been running high since Oct. 7, when Hamas militants surged across the border and killed 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals and took as many as 240 hostages.

The region’s two largest Muslim majority countries — Indonesia and Malaysia — have long taken a strong pro-Palestinian stance and neither has diplomatic ties with Israel. As the civilian death toll in Gaza climbed above 13,000 following Israel’s military campaign, with images of dead and injured children flooding their timelines, tens of thousands of Indonesians and Malaysians have attended rallies and sermons in support of Palestinians.

The protest movement is spreading to all areas of public life in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, where 87% of the 280 million strong population follow the faith. In a social media video message to his followers on Nov. 13, Asrorun Niam Sholeh, the chairman of the Fatwa Division at the Indonesian Ulema Council, the highest Muslim authority in the land, laid out the four principles behind an edict that urged the faithful to boycott Israeli products. There have also been social media lists encouraging people to avoid well-known American brands like McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, and Coca-Cola. Those protesting say the double standards of the US in the Middle East are becoming increasingly apparent.

It’s a similar picture in Malaysia. At a rally in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 24, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim joined thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters to condemn what they are calling “barbaric” acts in Gaza. The country has refused to cut ties with Hamas, and Anwar has spoken to the head of its political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, to express “Malaysia’s unwavering support for the Palestinian people.” In parliament, the prime minister said the US embassy had tried to pressure him to change his mind, but he refused.

“Popular opinion in Malaysia is causing leaders to speak out forcefully,” Sidney Jones, the New York-based senior adviser to the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict in Jakarta, told me. “In Indonesia, there is no way that the President Joko Widodo could have met with President Joe Biden recently and not said he had delivered a message about Gaza to the US.” This has yet to cause a serious rift between the US and Indonesia — the two countries signed a comprehensive strategic partnership at that same meeting — though if Indonesians volunteering in hospitals in Gaza are killed, it could prompt more representations from Jakarta to Washington, she notes.

The pressure is already rising. Indonesia’s chief diplomat, Retno Marsudi, in a video message from the foreign ministers’ meeting in Beijing, “strongly condemned” what she said were Israeli tank attacks on the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza on Monday, in which it is thought 12 civilians were killed. Israel says the medical facility is used to disguise Hamas’ underground command and control center, a claim both the Indonesians and the Palestinians deny.

This is just one example of how the conflict is spilling over into Southeast Asia. Washington’s unquestioning support for Israel is contentious in the region, notes Joseph Liow, dean of Nanyang Technological University’s College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. Much of this is a hangover from the aftermath of Al-Qaeda’s attacks on the US on 9/11 — in particular the US-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan — that is still fresh in the minds of many Malaysians and Indonesians. “That script is going to play out again, and that is going to create difficulties for the leaders of these countries,” he says.

Enter China, which has been quick to spot the opportunity to act global peacemaker, despite its many limitations. Beijing has been trying to position itself as a powerful player in the Middle East, after it helped broker a détente between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The US has urged China to use its influence to prevent the conflict from spreading further, but President Xi Jinping has yet to use the leverage he has with Russia and Iran to influence either the war in Ukraine or Gaza. Even now, as more nations in the Arab and Islamic world are turning to Beijing, it has little more to offer besides commitments to keep talking.

The Chinese are likely to continue their relationship-building with the Islamic world on the Palestinian issue, overtures that are likely to be welcomed, despite Beijing’s mass arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. Human Rights Watch in 2021 concluded that these violations constituted “crimes against humanity.” But the focus for many Muslims in Asia is the fate of their fellow Muslims in the Middle East, not in Xinjiang. Comments by Biden warning Israel about extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank will do little to win over those suspicious of US intentions. The question now is whether Beijing can bridge the gap between its diplomatic ambitions and its ability.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Pick-me-ups

Caffeinated delights to perk you up for the holiday season

THERE are a couple of major brands which recently launched additions to their caffeine-laden offering. Jollibee has come up with new coffee blends while Serenitea has developed Christmas brews in collaboration with Pan de Manila.

JOLLIBEE
Celebrity daughter and Le Bal de Débutantes-lister Atasha Muhlach (the daughter of actor Aga Muhlach and Miss Universe-Philippines Charlene Gonzales) is the first endorser of Jollibee Coffee Blends. The fast-food giant is now diving into coffee with three new blends, namely: The Hot Fresh Brew, (P45, exclusively available during breakfast hours), The Iced Latte and The Iced Sweet Black (both available at all hours for P50-P75 depending on the size). The Hot Fresh Brew is a regular cup of joe, brewed with 100% arabica beans, while the Iced Latte offers a blend of iced coffee, fresh milk, and sweet syrup. The Iced Sweet Black is iced coffee and sweet syrup, that lends a bolder flavor.

“I’m thrilled to officially be part of the Jollibee family and to endorse the new Coffee Blends,” Ms. Muhlach said in a press release.  “Their deliciously rich taste makes them the perfect choice for me as a coffee enthusiast. Just as each blend offers a unique taste experience that is fun to discover, my personal journey has also been about self-discovery and embracing my individuality. This collaboration with Jollibee is not just about promoting a product; it’s about sharing joy and elevating daily moments with every bite or, in this case, cup.”

The Jollibee Coffee Blends are now available nationwide.

SERENITEA
Serenitea is coming out with Christmas-themed drinks in collaboration with Pan de Manila called Maligayang Festivi-teas. There are two: Yema Mais Con Yelo (P180, large) and Ube Pandan Green Tea (P188, large). Yema Mais Con Yelo, their take on the traditional summer cooler, is made of green tea with sweet corn, syrup and ice, and topped with yema (sweetened solid egg yolks) and cheese shavings. Ube Pandan Green Tea, meanwhile has green tea, pandan, coconut strips, and of course, ube (purple yam). These drinks are now available nationwide.

Meanwhile, for the homegrown brand’s 15th anniversary, they’re bringing back the Jumbo Cup promo. On certain days in the middle of December (in this case, on Dec. 14, 15, and 16), a large-size purchase of one of the drinks on Serenitea’s promo list will be automatically upsized to a Jumbo (one liter) for free. The drinks available for Jumbo upsizing include: Pearl Milk Tea, Okinawa Milk Tea, Hokkaido Milk Tea, Wintermelon Milk Tea, Summer Breeze, Winter Frost, Fruitea Green Apple, Fruitea Lychee, Fruitea Cranberry, Brown Sugar Regular Fresh Milk, Taro Lover, and Crème Brulee Milk Tea.

This promo will be available nationwide at all Serenitea branches, as well as on the teashop’s third-party delivery app partners like Grab and Food Panda, and cannot be used in conjunction with other promos and discounts (i.e. senior citizen).

BSP’s net income falls at end-Aug.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas main office in Manila. — BW FILE PHOTO

THE CENTRAL BANK’S net earnings went down by 70.9% as of August, dragged by higher interest expenses, preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

The BSP’s net profit fell by 70.9% to P22.9 billion in the first eight months from P78.82 billion seen in the same period last year.

This is despite the increase in its net gains from foreign exchange rate fluctuations to P43.67 billion as of end-August, 2.8% higher than the P42.5 billion seen in the same period in 2022.

Revenues in the eight-month period stood at P117.13 billion, up 2.1% year on year from P114.72 billion.

Broken down, the central bank’s interest income rose by 23.1% to P127.52 billion from P103.57 billion.

But miscellaneous income, which includes trading gains, fees, penalties, and other operating income, stood at a net loss of P10.4 billion versus the P11.15-billion net gain in the previous year.

Meanwhile, the BSP’s expenses climbed 75.9% year on year to P137.87 billion at end-August from P78.37 billion.

This was driven by the surge in interest expenses, which more than doubled to P109.67 billion from P44.47 billion. 

Other expenses incurred dropped by 16.8% to P28.2 billion from P33.91 billion a year earlier.

Separate BSP data showed the total assets held by the central bank inched up by 0.3% to P7.43 billion as of end-August. Liabilities also edged up by 0.2% to P7.29 billion.

The central bank’s net worth stood at P137.46 billion at end-August, higher than P128.1 billion a year earlier. — Keisha B. Ta-asan

SSI Group posts 22% jump in net income

TANTOCO-led specialty retailer SSI Group, Inc. recorded a 22% increase in its net income during the third quarter to P520 million amid higher revenues.

In a statement on Wednesday, SSI Group said its third-quarter revenues rose by 16% to P6.5 billion.

From January to September, the company said its net income grew by 66% to P1.5 billion while revenues improved by 21% to P19 billion.

“The group’s focus on engaging customers through a compelling brand portfolio, strategic store network and diverse on-line presence, allowed the group to capture strong discretionary spending during the first nine months of the year,” SSI Group said.

According to SSI Group, nine-month sales from its various e-commerce sites and third-party marketplaces reached P1.4 billion, accounting for 7.5% of its nine-month revenue.

SSI Group President Anthony T. Huang said the company’s nine-month results “demonstrate the value of group emphasis on delivering world-class customer experiences.”

“The group also continues to benefit from a resilient customer base, a flexible operating platform, an optimized expense base, and a strong cash position,” Mr. Huang said.

SSI Group’s brand portfolio covers various specialty and lifestyle concepts spanning the luxury, casual and fast fashion, beauty, footwear, home, and restaurant categories. Based on its website, the group has 96 brands across 555 stores.

On Wednesday, shares of SSI Group rose nine centavos or 3.32% to P2.80 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Saving space

WORK WITH ISLAND-UNSPLASH

THE shrinking of workspace is becoming a trend. Many offices have totally discarded the concept of a permanent space assignment, preferring what is now called a “hoteling” approach. The office worker is assigned whatever space, usually just a table with plugs and ports for the computer, is available now. The paradigm for the company employee is that of a hotel guest being given any vacant room that is available. So, the worker may find himself beside the PR associate one day and an accounting clerk the next.

Even before the pandemic, at least 20% of the employees were out of the office at any one time, and usually more than that if one includes workers on field visits, sales calls, vacation leaves, and travel. With the hybrid system that combines face-to-face (FTF) meetings and attendance with Work-From-Home (WFH), the percentage of staff off the office premises can go as high as 70%. Even when they are outside the home, they may be at the client’s meeting rooms or out malling, accessible by mobile communication.

To take care of unexpected overflow, there is a conference room available for meetings and temporary space. The hoteling approach reduces the rental and power overhead and optimizes space utilization on an “as needed” basis, adhering to the principles of “just in time” inventory.

Condos too have introduced smaller spaces, using as architectural models the design of living areas found in yachts and cruise ships. Rooms are given multiple functions allowing a dining area to also serve as the bedroom, though not at the same time, unless the meal being consumed belongs to a bed. Single dwellers are also becoming common. Of course, they are allowed to have temporary guests occasionally.

The shrinking living space is nothing new as the Japanese have employed this approach for decades, using the “tatami” not just as a mat for sleeping or sitting on but also a unit of measurement and a way of dividing space. Small spaces seem to be a specialty of this culture that has also invented the bonsai, a way of dwarfing even a large tree to grow in a pot with its roots bulging out.

There is the “vendo” hotel, where you open the hatch by dropping money in a slot thus requiring no receptionist. This features a cylindrical sleeping space much like a coffin and not recommended for those with claustrophobia. These “rooms” come with disposable towels and bed sheets, even a hanging small TV, and are stacked together in a honeycomb array. These cubicles are usually found in train stations.

Closet space presents the biggest challenge in discipline and sense of order. Online shops have introduced the vacuum machine to get more shirts in one plastic bag by sucking out the air space between them, much like how bacon is squeezed into a flattened package. These bricks of clothes can then be piled on top of each other rather than hanging from a bar.

Another variant of the closet problem is the check-in luggage when travelling. With the ingenuity of Filipinos to pack as much into the luggage to prevent even a mosquito from taking refuge there, the airlines have imposed a maximum weight for each luggage. Occasionally this entails a public airing of dirty linen at the check-in counter as the bag is relieved of its burden — is this a hotel towel, Sir?

Space as a scarce resource is also subject to the law of supply and demand. The dynamics are simple: reduce the need for space and make do with what’s available. This requires the disposal of excess inventory, instead of expanding the storage area to accommodate shopping habits gone awry.

Relationships, however, need breathing room. Couples that feel suffocated by too much affection or control, or both, require that they give each other more space. This distancing of bodies may not be accommodated in the shrinking living space. Maybe, the hoteling approach in offices can apply, sometimes literally.

Even in the last rites, the final resting place has shrunk. No longer is a plot of land required. Inurement (rather than burial) only requires one vase. This is deposited in a locker-like vault that can accommodate more than one occupant. Even in the life hereafter, saving space seems to apply. Anyway, there is no longer any need… for breathing space.

 

Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda

ar.samson@yahoo.com

The multicloud road: a step-by-step guide for medium-sized firms

OVER the past decade, cloud offerings have evolved significantly, transforming the way medium-sized businesses (MBs) operate. Cloud computing has made it possible for MBs to access enterprise-level technology and infrastructure. Philippine enterprises are growing an appetite for the cloud market recently as hybrid operations become the new norm for most Filipinos. In the next few years, more companies will migrate workloads to the cloud, driving enterprise spending to $2.6 billion in 2024. 

Beyond spending, different cloud service providers (CSPs) have their own unique selling points. Some specialize in cloud deployment types, hosting offerings, or specialize in a particular application, to name a few examples. In order to unlock the full potential of multicloud without being constrained by siloed ecosystems of proprietary tools and services, medium businesses should instead take a multicloud by design approach to streamline IT operations by bringing cloud experiences to dedicated IT environments.   

To give you an example of what a multicloud by design solution may look like, a business may have services from three different CSPs: one for hosting SAP, one for hosting containers, and one for disaster recovery services. 

The opportunities of this kind of multicloud strategy include better IT infrastructure efficiency, greater flexibility to meet challenging requirements, improved time to market and enhanced performance — all great benefits for a growing medium business. The possibilities are endless, and the reality is that each business must find the right combination that fits their structure while enabling them to meet their short- and long-term goals.

So where do you begin? Below is a guide on how you can assess, design and deploy your multicloud journey.

Phase 1: Goals and Assessment 

The discovery phase is arguably the most important step on your multicloud journey. As with any business initiative, your business goals should be front and center, and building your multicloud infrastructure is no different. Before any decisions are made, you should ensure that you have clear goals and rationale for moving to multicloud. Reducing IT cost is a key driver, but you may also be looking to improve compliance, and increase competitiveness in the market. At this early stage it’s important to engage with all your key stakeholders to ensure that you’re all starting this journey on the same page.

Once you’ve defined your goals, you’ll need to take a closer look at the current application landscape and ask yourself: should it stay, or should it go now? This involves doing a deep-dive on your applications through the lens of your new multicloud goals and deciding what action you must take to achieve your goals.

A good framework for this is the 6 Rs:

• Rehosting: Many early cloud projects gravitate toward net new development using cloud-native capabilities. However, in a large legacy migration scenario where the organization is looking to scale its migration quickly to meet a business case, a majority of applications are rehosted. Most rehosting can be automated with tools.

• Replatforming: A few cloud optimizations are used in order to achieve some tangible benefit, but otherwise the core architecture of the application is not changed. For example, reducing the amount of time spent managing database instances by migrating to a database-as-a-service platform.

• Refactoring: This is typically driven by a strong business need to add features, scale, or performance that would otherwise be difficult to achieve in the application’s existing environment. While this pattern tends to be the most expensive, it can also be the most beneficial if you have a good product market fit.

• Repurchasing: This most commonly occurs when moving to a SaaS platform, i.e. Salesforce.com, an HR system to Workday and so on.

• Retire: During the application discovery it might be revealed that an application is no longer required or is redundant to other applications. The organization’s lifecycle process can be used to retire these applications.

• Retain: Some applications might be retained “as-is,” because legacy OS and applications are not supported in the cloud or the business justification for migrating is insufficient.

Phase 2: Requirements and Architecture Design

Once you understand the business needs for adopting multicloud, and the application landscape, the next step is defining technical requirements that the cloud provider needs to fulfil. Though this will heavily depend on the cloud deployment type. The key here will be to map these technical requirements back to the business goals.

For example, for an infrastructure-as-a-Service deployment, some of the requirements you set out could be “Automation and API access,” which would map back to a business goal of increasing competitiveness within the sector. Another example could be “Security Policy Enforcement,” which would meet the goal of improved compliance. When this is defined, you move on to the architecture design phase. With a multicloud by design architecture, IT teams can run individual workloads on the cloud service that will best increase application efficiency and reduce costs.

Phase 3: Getting people on-board and on-track 

With your requirements and architecture in place, you need to prepare the business for change — no mean feat! To get the full benefit of a multicloud environment, IT organizations need to adopt a service-orientated framework. A few examples of what this might look like:

• From IT-centric to customer-focused

• From siloed organization to cross-functional and multiskilled teams

• From reactive operations to proactive operations

This may feel like a disruptive change, but it provides an opportunity to create an agile IT organization. The journey toward a multicloud environment requires new skills and creates new roles inside your organization. For existing employees, there are opportunities to upskill and move into new roles, including Cloud Architects and Cloud Developers. New ways of doing business will require new processes and policies, including blueprint and automation policies, chargeback policies, capacity management, and security policies.

Finally, once everything is in place, you can create your roadmap and execute your journey to multicloud. Over time, you can drill down into detailed project plans, but the idea is to provide the business with an overview of this journey.

So, what’s the catch?

The reality is that any company’s multicloud journey will be different, depending on an enterprise’s goals, stakeholders, and its IT environment. You may spend more or less time in each phase, and the roadblocks along the way may take time to unpick. However, the benefits of a multicloud by design approach keep stacking up, and if you want to stay agile and continue to provide customers with the best experience, the bumps along the way will provide short-term pain but long-term gain that will keep your organization ahead of the game in the years ahead.

 

Ronnie Latinazo is the country general manager of Dell Technologies Philippines.

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