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Lazada sees ‘above average’ PHL growth in the region

SINGAPORE – E-commerce platform Lazada said that the Philippines is among its leading markets in Southeast Asia on the back of its improving internet penetration and consumer base.

“Among countries, the Philippines is already one of the leading ones, market-size wise. It’s above average, for sure. We have a very large population base here. Gross domestic product per capita growth is also high. Internet penetration is still growing. I think the growth speed-wise, it is slightly above average in Southeast Asia, for sure,” Lazada Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) James Dong said in an interview on Wednesday.

Further, Mr. Dong said that Lazada holds a strong market position in the Philippines and the other countries where the platform is operating. He opted not to disclose specific figures on the company’s financial performance.

“At least in the region…, we are the number one or two player in all the markets that we operate in. We tend to keep that market position,” Mr. Dong said.

Separately, Lazada Philippines CEO Carlos Barrera said that there are opportunities for the company to grow, particularly in the logistics sector.

“We are in a position where we can continue to grow and invest and support the country. Obviously, we’re reaching some good critical sites,” he said, adding that there are “still so many opportunities to invest and to grow, specifically in the logistics domain.”

Mr. Barrera added that Lazada is continuing its efforts to expand the company’s reach in the Philippines.

“Both we and our partners are constantly expanding the coverage and the reach… Today, there are about 35 logistics companies in the country and more than 1,000 delivery hubs from different companies even in the remote locations,” Mr. Barrera said.

“Definitely, logistics is a big opportunity from first-mile delivery, middle-mile, to last-mile. It’s an industry that has been growing and will continue to grow,” he added.

Further, Mr. Barrera said that Lazada is aiming to make more affordable products available to Filipinos.

“The goal of this year is to have more frequent purchases and to provide more opportunities to capture more categories and more products from lower price points,” Mr. Barrera said.

“From a company perspective, improving loyalty retention, getting users to spend more time with us, is very, very important. Filipinos have traditionally been very loyal, but now after the pandemic, it’s important to continue improving this,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mr. Dong said that Lazada remains confident in terms of achieving growth in the region despite challenges such as the rising interest rate and inflationary pressures.

“I am confident because we did not pursue overly aggressive growth — which up until the first quarter of 2022, seems to be the direction and strategy for many players in the region,” Mr. Dong said during his keynote speech at the Lazada’s Brands Future Forum on Thursday.

“We are here for the long haul, to achieve sustainable, long-term growth… Our key mission is to build an engaging shopping platform that provides the best customer experience, with a clear differentiation tailored to each market,” he added.

Lazada, which is the Southeast Asian unit of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, is targeting to serve 300 million shoppers by 2030 and to post $100 million in annual gross merchandise value.

Founded in 2012, Lazada has operations in six Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The e-commerce platform currently has about 160 million active users and over one million active sellers every month.

What to see This Week (09/02/22)

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

THE RED Ribbon Army was once destroyed by Son Goku. Individuals who carry on its spirit have created the ultimate androids. However, these two androids now call themselves superheroes and start attacking Piccolo and Gohan. Directed by Tetsuro Kodama, the film features the voices of Masako Nozawa, Toshio Furukawa, Yūko Minaguchi, Ryō Horikawa, Mayumi Tanaka, and Aya Hisakawa. IndieWire’s Emma Stefansky writes, “Super Hero takes a slightly new approach to Dragon Ball in a number of ways. First, there’s the animation, a decision made by director Tetsuro Kodama: computer generated and fluid in three dimensions yet styled to evoke the classic lines and angular body shapes of the animé… Then there’s the fact that, unlike most of Dragon Ball, this film follows Piccolo and Gohan as protagonists instead of the usual suspects Gohan’s dad Goku and their erstwhile enemy Vegeta.” Film review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer gives the film a score of 92% and an audience score of 95%. 

MTRCB Rating: PG

Hunt

Hunt is set four years after the real-life assassination of South Korean president Park Chung-hee in 1979 under mysterious circumstances. Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae directs (his debut) and stars in this thriller which follows agents of the Korean National Intelligence Service — Pyung-ho at the International Department and Jung-do at Domestic Department — who are both independently hunting a North Korean mole within the agency. The film also stars Jung Woo-sung, Jeon Hye-jin,  Heo Sung-tae, Go Yoon-jung, Kim Jong-soo, and Jung Man-sik. Variety’s Peter Debruge writes: “The last few scenes are so ludicrous as to be laughable, but that doesn’t sabotage the fun, allowing Lee to entertain, even as Hunt cynically makes its case that in Korea, there can be no such thing as a peaceful revolution, nor a clean transfer of power.”

MTRCB Rating: R-13

Easter Sunday 

FILIPINO-American stand-up comedian Jo Koy plays a man returning home for an Easter celebration with his family. During the visit, he struggles to give equal attention to his mother and son, and get his cousin out of trouble. Based on Jo Koy’s life and his comedy routine, and directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, the film also stars Lou Diamond Phillips, Tony nominee Eva Noblezada, Tia Carrere, Lydia Gaston, Eugene Cordero, Rodney To, Brandon Wardell, and stand-up comedian Joey Guila. The Hollywood Reporter’s Frank Scheck wrote, “Easter Sunday earns points for its cultural bona fides, its loving portrait of the community it celebrates, and its almost entirely Filipino and Asian American casting. And Koy reveals himself to be a likable screen presence deserving of more starring roles. But it falls hopelessly flat in its comedic aspirations, more closely resembling the sort of bland network sitcom to which its main character aspires.” Film review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer gives the film a score of 45% and an audience score of 70%.

MTRCB Rating: PG

Emergency Declaration

WHILE investigating a terrorist threat that goes viral online, Korean authorities discover that a suspect has recently boarded an international flight bound for the United States. When a healthy passenger on the same flight suddenly dies a gruesome death, panic erupts both in-flight and on the ground. With steadily decreasing fuel and international refusals to offer aid, the captain and crew will be forced to take unprecedented emergency measures in an attempt to save the lives of their passengers. Directed by Director Han Jae-rim, the film stars Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-Hun,  Jeon Do-yeon,  Kim Nam-gil, Im Si-wan, and Kim So-jin. Variety’s Peter Debruge writes, “Airline disaster movies are nothing new (they’ve been around long enough to inspire a Zucker brothers spoof more than 40 years ago), but when you have creative minds working to reconfigure the details in original ways, they never get old.” Film review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer gives the film a score of 56% and an audience score of 78%.

MTRCB Rating: PG

Kisaragi Station

THE JAPANESE horror film follows a young female student’s investigation into a railway-based urban legend. Directed by Jirô Nagae, the film stars Yuri Tsunematsu, and Eriko Sato.  According to a review on The Straits Times: “Moviegoers get a baffling twist ending but no pay-off, much less any helpful answers to the central mystery.” The paper gives the film two out of five stars.

MTRCB Rating: R-13

More consumers search for products via e-commerce platforms — Lazada

LAZADA

SINGAPORE — Over half of Southeast Asian consumers are using e-commerce platforms as a search engine to look for products, according to a report conducted by Lazada.

Lazada released on Thursday its “Transforming Southeast Asia: From Discovery to Delivery” report during its LazMall Brands Future Forum in Singapore, which showed that 57% of shoppers in the region are searching for products directly on online marketplaces.

The report included six countries in Southeast Asia, namely: Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. It involved a total of 38,138 e-commerce users.

“More than half of Southeast Asian consumers now use e-commerce marketplaces as search engines to find what they want,” Lazada Group Chief Executive Officer James Dong said during a speech during the forum.

“Today’s online shopping journeys are dynamic since buyers have so many ways to discover and shop for products. E-commerce marketplaces like Lazada have surpassed social media and search engines to become the discovery channel of choice,” he added.

Aside from e-commerce platforms, the report said that social media are still used by 50% of consumers, followed by Google Search at 40%, and super apps such as Grab at 9%.

“E-commerce has evolved into a crucial component of the retail landscape in recent years. As a result of the ongoing digitalization of modern life, shoppers from almost every country today benefit from online purchases,” the report said.

Further, Lazada’s report showed that e-commerce user penetration in Southeast Asia is seen to improve to 63.3% by 2025, equivalent to 413 million expected users. It noted that the 2025 projection is higher than the 53.8% reported this year.

“This shift away from commonly-used search engines highlights the importance of e-commerce marketing solutions and the digitalization of businesses to remain resilient and relevant amid rising global interest rates and inflationary pressures,” it said.

For the Philippines, the report said that it expects user penetration to reach 47.8% by 2025, equivalent to 55.8 million expected users. This is higher compared with the 42% user penetration in 2022.

The report showed that the Philippines’ user penetration in 2022 is lower compared with other countries such as Indonesia (64.1%), Singapore (59%), Vietnam (58.2%), Thailand (56%), and Malaysia (47.1%).

“We absolutely believe that e-commerce will only grow and will play a stronger role in our region and in the Philippines,” Lazada Group Chief Business Officer James Chang said in a separate interview.

According to Mr. Dong, e-commerce marketplaces such as Lazada have “surpassed” social media and search engines as the platform to use when looking for products.

“The behavior and mindset change during the past two years have driven more high-quality consumers who are looking for high-quality authentic products, and high-quality experiences,” Mr. Dong said.

The report also revealed that 94% of shoppers used the search function to look for products on Lazada, and 94% of them proceeded to buy the items that they found.

“Lazada’s surveys found that customer stickiness and retention was most likely with wider product assortment, competitive pricing, increased convenience and varied options, as well as a highly-personalized shopping experience,” the company said.

“Additionally, 71% of shoppers purchased products as a result of Lazada’s tailored-to-user ‘Recommendations’ feature,” it added.

The LazMall Brands Future Forum is a trade event that gathers industry leaders across Southeast Asia and Lazada partners to exchange ideas and innovations targeted at enabling brands and sellers to offer a “differentiated retail experience” in the region.

LazMall is a digital mall that offers products from leading international and local brands.

Lazada, which is under the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, is eyeing to serve 300 million shoppers by 2030 and achieve $100 million in annual gross merchandise value. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave 

Disney mulls membership program to offer discounts and perks

WALT Disney Co. is exploring a membership program that could offer discounts or perks to encourage customers to spend more on its streaming services, theme parks, resorts, and merchandise, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Wednesday.

Internally, some executives have referred to Disney’s initiative as “Disney Prime,” although that won’t be the name of the program, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the discussions.

A membership program is one of the ideas that is being explored, a company spokesperson said.

Discussions at Disney are in the early stages and it wasn’t known how much the company would charge for membership and how long it would take to launch such a program, WSJ reported.

A membership program would help Disney increase customer spending on its products and services, while giving it access to information about consumer preferences. —  Reuters

Consumers more concerned about rising prices than the pandemic

THE majority of Southeast Asian (SEA) consumers are more concerned about rising prices of goods than the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to research firm Ipsos.

“SEA has experienced strict and lengthy lockdowns, low vaccination rates, and a disrupted supply chain for the past two years. But now, SEA citizens are more eager to socialize with increasing vaccination numbers and the tourism rebound,” Ipsos said in a statement, following the release of its “SEA Ahead” survey results.

The survey covered the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It found that 71% of SEA consumers were confident with the current COVID-19 situation in the country. In the Philippines, the figure is 68%.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic dropped to third among SEA consumers’ top concerns, with personal finances and inflation ranked as the top two concerns.

In the Philippines, the top three concerns are personal finances, the COVID-19 pandemic, and rising prices or inflation.

According to the study, the majority of Filipino consumers say they are “very impacted” by the rising prices of goods.

“Despite this, they continue to spend on necessities such as food, cleaning products, and personal care products and are saving money in other ways. In the Philippines, savings are being made in food, gasoline, and personal care,” Ipsos said.

In July, Philippine headline inflation quickened to 6.4% year on year, its fastest pace in nearly four years, driven by soaring prices of food and higher transport costs.

“Inflation is yet another hurdle we are facing. While Filipinos have exhibited resilience and optimism over the years, it is apparent that both the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation are points of concern all must address,” Vicky V. Abad, Ipsos country manager in the Philippines, said in a statement.

“As Filipinos adapt to the supply chain disruptions and rapidly evolving market, there is a call for both government and private sectors to work on their empathy muscle and develop a true understanding of Filipinos’ needs to better support them and bounce back as one,” she added.

Despite this, 54% of SEA consumers say their economic outlook remains positive and 56% seem hopeful that their personal finances will be better.

Meanwhile, the study found that most countries were eager to start socializing amid more mobility. In the Philippines, consumers were comfortable visiting family and friends (77%), dining in restaurants (70%), and participating in gatherings (46%).

“While most citizens start to revert to their pre-pandemic ways, some behaviors adopted during the pandemic persist including being more health conscious and using online shopping,” Ipsos said.

It reported that 87% proactively manage their health and wellness through food and beverage choices while 85% buy products that support their physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Ipsos Southeast Asia Chief Executive Officer Suresh Ramalingam said that with most of the region transitioning to an endemic phase of COVID-19 and coping with inflation, it is more important that leaders “exercise resilience and longer-term foresight to adapt to rapid, complex change.”

“Inflationary times are indeed challenging — how are we going to innovate? Adjust pricing strategies? Rethink brand differentiations? Amidst the uncertainties, the way forward requires determining what is right for your consumers, balancing short-term gains and long-term risks, and most importantly, building your empathy muscle to create real connections with them and take relevant actions,” he added. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

New Lord of the Rings series brings a female story to the forefront

MORFYDD CLARK (center) stars with Benjamin Walker (L) and Robert Aramayo (R) in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

LOS ANGELES -— Morfydd Clark stars in the new series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power as Galadriel, an Elven warrior who wishes to stop evil from returning to the fantasy world of Middle-earth.

The series, one of the most expensive ever made, will arrive on Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime Video on Friday, with new episodes based on the appendices of the original J.R.R. Tolkien novels airing weekly.

Ms. Clark said her role as Galadriel gave her the opportunity to explore stunts that show off the power of her character behind the backdrop of a historically male-dominated society.

“Gender just isn’t the same in Middle-earth in that I’m playing a character who can physically take down any man around her,” Ms. Clark said during an interview. “It was really interesting to try to embody someone with a huge amount of physical strength.”

Co-executive producer Patrick McKay said Tolkien has had “some of the greatest female characters in literature” and Galadriel was one of the first characters the creators thought about for the new story.

“Imagining what her world was like and what she might have been struggling with from clues throughout the text was really a joy,” Mr. McKay said.

Trystan Gravelle who plays Pharazon shared the same sentiment and said he doesn’t think there’s anyone more “badass on this Earth than a woman.”

“To see that on screen, to see Morfydd take names and take numbers like she does, is incredible,” he said.

Among others, the show stars Robert Aramayo, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Sophia Nomvete, and Nazanin Boniadi and is set during the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years prior to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings films.

The series follows both new and seasoned characters as they face the re-emergence of evil in Middle-earth and carve out legacies that will last lifetimes. — Reuters

DTI says employers need to be more open to hiring K-12 program graduates

K-TO-12 STUDENTS at a high school in Marikina City during their in-person graduation ceremony on July 2, 2022. — PHILIPPINE STAR FILE PHOTO/WALTER BOLLOZOS

TRADE Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said most employers are still stipulating university degrees in their hiring requirements, adding that the Kindergarten to Grade 12 (K-12) program needs to ensure that its graduates are really workforce-ready.

“When the K-12 was introduced, I recommended that (companies) review the qualifications for hiring because there is no need for a college degree (for many jobs),” Mr. Pascual said on DZMM Teleradyo.

“When you check the job descriptions nowadays, almost all require college degrees. This should change because we already have the K-12 program. But it’s still not enough to say that having the program is enough. We need to prove that the K-12 program is able to produce holistically-developed individuals,” he added.

K-12 extended the basic education cycle by two years at the secondary level. It was designed to make students employable after completing the program.

In July, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. gave the Department of Education one year to review on the program and make recommendations on continuing it or not. 

According to a Pulse Asia survey, 44% of 1,200 respondents were reported to be unhappy with the current system. It found that the main concern of families was the financial burden while not boosting employability.

“When K-12 was formed, its purpose was to produce holistic Filipinos. This means if you graduate from the program, assuming it was implemented properly, then you are ready to join the labor force. You don’t need to go to college,” Mr. Pascual said.

He said that there is a deeply ingrained expectation that workers be college-educated.

“The mindset of people is that you cannot fully prepare for work when you don’t have a college degree, which is totally an erroneous mindset,” he said.

“Whoever is in charge of reviewing the educational system needs to pay close attention (so that) we have all the ingredients for running a K-12 program that’s well designed and well implemented,” he added. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

BSP moves to boost banks’ cyber defense

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) is working to strengthen banks’ cyber resilience through industry-wide initiatives to protect consumers amid increasing digital payments.

The central bank said in a statement on Thursday that it has completed the Advanced SupTech Engine for Risk-Based Compliance (ASTERisC*), which will be deployed among selected BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs).

“ASTERisC* is a unified regulatory and supervisory technology (RegTech and SupTech) solution that streamlines and automates regulatory supervision, reporting, and compliance assessment of BSFIs’ cybersecurity risk management,” the BSP said.

As the lead Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) of BSFIs, the BSP will also be issuing the Financial Services Cyber Resilience Plan, headed by the central bank’s Financial Supervision Sector–Technology Risk and Innovation Department.

The plan is seen to improve the regulatory and supervisory environment for cybersecurity. It will also serve as the primary framework for policies and strategies to strengthen cyber defense in the financial services industry.

“The BSP continuously engages the BSFIs, relevant government agencies, and industry associations for a cohesive and industry-wide approach to addressing emerging threats and risks, as well as enhancing cyber incident response, threat intelligence, and overall situational awareness in the country,” the central bank said.

Former BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno in December said the central bank is looking to issue stronger regulations on banks’ cyber defense following hacking incidents involving BDO Unibank, Inc. and UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc.

The National Bureau of Investigation in January arrested several people allegedly behind the hacking incident that affected more than 700 BDO clients.

In March, the central bank approved BSP Circular No. 1140, amending risk management regulations to strengthen cybersecurity and minimize losses from online fraud and illicit activities.

“The BSP constantly reminds the public to practice cyber hygiene under its cyber awareness and digital literacy program themed, #E-Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility,” the central bank said. 

The central bank added that it is committed to maintaining the soundness and stability of the Philippine financial system by boosting their cyber resilience as more consumers shift to online transactions.

Latest data from the BSP showed the share of digital payments in the total volume of retail transactions in the country rose to 30.3% in 2021 from 20.1% a year earlier amid growing adoption of online transactions amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, the value of payments done online represented 44.1% of total retail transactions last year, higher than the 26.8% share in 2020.

The BSP wants digital payments to make up 50% of all transactions both in volume and value by 2023. — K.B. Ta-asan

Nokia seeks bigger role in PHL’s digital transformation

MULTINATIONAL telecommunications company Nokia Corp. said on Thursday that it is committed to providing purpose-designed solutions for the country’s digitalization initiatives.

The company aims to help transform Philippine industries and enterprises through its “mission-critical solutions,” Nokia officials said during a briefing.

“As the Philippines continues to move towards its Industry 4.0 roadmap, it is more critical than ever for enterprises to accelerate the adoption of technologies to unlock new opportunities and boost the Philippines’ economy,” Nokia Philippines Head Carlos Reyes said.

According to the company, the Philippines was one of the earliest Southeast Asian nations to take a lead in the deployment of fifth-generation (5G) technology.

“5G is a key enabler for the Philippines’ digital transformation journey, and the next generation in connectivity will empower the country’s enterprises and organizations to prepare for Industry 4.0,” Nokia said in an e-mailed statement.

“Alongside bringing the country to the next era of connectivity, it also quickly responded to the increasing digital demands exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic with a government policy accelerating the nation’s strategy towards Industry 4.0,” it added.

Nokia’s solutions for enterprises include Nokia Smart Node, Network Slicing, and Intelligent Edge.

“Industry 4.0 and private wireless enable industries to fuse physical with digital processes by connecting all machines as well as sensors and mobile workers in the most flexible, affordable, secure, and reliable way available, providing mission-critical solutions for enterprise customers,” the company said.

Nokia said it now has 233 commercial 5G deals and powers 77 live 5G operator networks.

“Out of these, Nokia has 21 commercial 5G deals across the Asia Pacific and Japan region – where the company is playing an active role in bringing the region to the 5G future, while also combining its network and security expertise to create security solutions for 5G networks,” it noted. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Stuff to do (09/02/22)

Araneta City starts pushing Christmas

TRUE to its motto “The City of Firsts,” Araneta City is beating the Jose Mari Chan Christmas memes to the punch by pushing its Christmas events starting on the first day of September. Folks in Quezon City who feel inclined to see Santa Claus and his friends (including a marching band) on the very first day of the “ber” months can drop by Farmers Plaza at 11 a.m., Ali Mall at 1 p.m., Gateway Mall at 3 p.m., and Fiesta Park at 5 p.m.

Where the Crawdads Sing holds sneak previews

MYSTERY FILM Where the Crawdads Sing will have sneak previews on Sept. 5 and 6 in selected theaters before the film opens across the country on Sept. 14. Based on the best-selling novel by Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing tells the story of Kya, an abandoned girl who raises herself to adulthood in the dangerous marshlands of North Carolina. The film has crossed the $100 million benchmark globally. Viewers can check with their favorite theaters for ticket prices and screening schedules.

Mula Sa Buwan restaged

THE FILIPINO musical Mula sa Buwan runs until Sept. 11 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater, Circuit Makati. It is a Filipino musical adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac, based on Soc Rodrigo’s Filipino translation of Edmond Rostand’s play. The Filipino musical adaptation’s book and lyrics are Pat Valera, with original music and lyrics by William Elvin Manzano. Set in Manila during World War II, Mula Sa Buwan tells the story of a young cadet, playwright, and poet named Cyrano who falls in love with his childhood best friend Roxane. His extremely large nose hinders him from confessing his love to her, so instead he helps handsome cadet Christian woo her by giving him the words he wishes he himself could say. The musical stars Myke Salomon, Gab Pangilinan, and Markki Stroem. For tickets, visit Ticketworld (premier.ticketworld.com.ph/) or mulasabuwan.com/partners. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/mulasabuwan/.     

Ben&Ben holds send-off concert

NINE-piece folk pop band Ben&Ben will be holding a send-off concert at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Open Grounds on Sept. 3 before leaving the country for their North American and Canadian tour. For tickets to the send-off concert, visit www.ticketnet.com.ph/events/detail/Ben-%26-Ben-Send-Off-Concert or https://www.ovationtickets.com/benandben2022.

AUB, Atome launch BNPL credit card

ASIA UNITED Bank Corp. (AUB) has partnered with buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform provider Atome and Singapore-based financial technology (fintech) firm MatchMove to launch Atome Card in the Philippines as it expects the sector to continue growing.

“This tripartite partnership and innovation between a digital-first financial services provider like AUB, a BNPL leader like Atome, and a fintech like MatchMove will help further accelerate financial inclusion of the unbanked and underbanked in the Philippines,” AUB’s head of Operations and Technology Group Wilfredo E. Rodriguez said in a statement on Thursday.

Atome Payment Partnerships Director Magic Tang said this is the first time the company is introducing the Atome Card to consumers in the Philippines, “thanks to the great partnership we enjoy with AUB and MatchMove.”

“We’re excited for the collaboration with Atome and AUB and the launch of the innovative Atome Card because it is aligned with the MatchMove goal of delivering secure and smooth spend, send and lend solutions. The Philippines has an increasing population of digital users and the card not only reaches out to the underbanked sector, but also empowers them by giving them the luxury of time, choice and seamless control of their finances,” MatchMove Chief Executive Officer Shailesh Naik said.

The credit card has no income requirement. Consumers can register their interest in getting an Atome Card via the latest version of the Atome app or Atome’s website. Selected consumers will receive an e-mail inviting them to apply for the card.

There are no annual fees, sign-up fees or other charges for the card. The virtual or physical card can be used at any in-store or online retailer that accepts Mastercard.

The card allows users to buy now and pay up to 45 days later with a P200,000 credit limit. Clients can view and manage their payment schedule through the Atome app.

AUB’s Mr. Rodriguez said the Atome Card offers consumers flexibility and access to quality products and services through digital commerce.

He said BNPL allows Filipino consumers to pay less at the point of purchase, without worrying about higher rates when completing their payment later on.

Citing the fourth-quarter 2021 BNPL survey of Research and Markets.com, AUB said BNPL payment in the country is expected to grow by 109.7% year on year to reach P45.2 billion in 2022, as demand for flexible and convenient payment solutions continues to increase.

Atome launched in the Philippines in October last year, with over 600 online and offline retail partners. In the region, it is also affiliated with over 15,000 online and offline retailers in nine other markets, namely: Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, China, and Japan. 

Meanwhile, MatchMove is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and is authorized by card networks to issue virtual and physical cards globally with partner banks.

MatchMove has offices in India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

AUB and its subsidiaries saw their consolidated net income surge in the first semester amid a higher total operating income and lower loan loss provisions.

The group’s consolidated net profit was at P2.9 billion in the first half of the year, rising by 50% from the P1.9 billion seen a year prior.

AUB’s shares went up by 30 centavos or 0.70% to close at P42.90 each on Thursday. — K.B. Ta-asan

Australia PM focused on workplace reform as he marks 100 days in office

REUTERS

SYDNEY — Prime Minister (PM) Anthony Albanese said his government was focused on jobs and workplace reform as the country faces economic challenges in the recovery phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a speech in Canberra to mark 100 days in office, Mr. Albanese said his government had a growth agenda that was pro-business and pro-worker. A government-hosted jobs summit this week will bring together key employer and union groups to discuss wages growth, productivity, migration and workplace reform.

“The biggest single outcome I am hoping for is the beginning of a culture of cooperation,” Mr. Albanese told the National Press Club. Mr. Albanese said widespread skills shortages were acting as a handbrake on the economy, and it was unwise for the previous government to tell temporary visa holders to leave Australia during the pandemic as borders closed.

In addition to discussions on lifting Australia’s migration intake, the government would look at creating “more paths to permanent migration” to attract foreign workers back in areas including nursing and engineering, he said.

The government’s immediate priority is shoring up the economy to give families and businesses security and certainty, he said. “Australia is already in the ‘recovery’ phase — and that’s presenting its own economic challenges. Including significant and unpredictable supply and demand imbalances which are driving up costs, for businesses and families.”

The pandemic was a race that Australia wasn’t ready for, he said. “We were left vulnerable — not just by complacency and a failure to plan, but by years of cuts and willful neglect to the very services and skills we needed most. We found ourselves economically exposed, hanging on the end of the global supply chain.”

Nurses, teachers and aged care workers were exhausted by the pandemic and there was a need to boost employment in these sectors for the decade ahead, he said.

Many industries and small businesses in hospitality, tourism and education were also struggling to reboot. Mr. Albanese criticized the record of the Conservative former government’s nine years in power, including “chaos” in energy policy and stagnant wages.

He highlighted the action his government had already taken on climate change, its decision to hold a national referendum seeking approval to recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the constitution, and its support for raising the minimum wage.

Australia’s central bank warned this month inflation was heading to three-decade highs requiring further hikes in interest rates that would slow growth sharply. — Reuters

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