BTS in 2019 Clockwise from left: Jin, RM, Jungkook, J-Hope, Suga, V, and Jimin — DISPATCH/EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/
SEOUL — The announcement by K-pop mega band BTS that members would serve mandatory military service in South Korea has removed a cloud of uncertainty that has hung over their plans.
Investors in HYBE Co., BTS’ management group, responded to the news by driving its shares up as much as 7.8% on Tuesday.
The relatively shorter break, after the company picked 2025 as the potential date for BTS’ return as a group, also appeared to hearten the market.
“Sales from BTS will not disappear. Members’ individual activities, release of content and photobooks already filmed and older album sales will be highly profitable,” said Ji In-hae, analyst at Shinhan Investment Corp.
“However, with the biggest moneymaker absent, the key (for HYBE) will be how much sales are made from new businesses,” including Ithaca Holdings, Ji added.
A South Korean pop culture phenomenon and success story, BTS have become a worldwide sensation since their 2013 debut. Their upbeat hits and social campaigns aimed at empowering youth catapulted the band as the world’s best-selling artists in 2020 and 2021, according to International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
As the biggest grossing K-pop act, some 880 billion won ($615.11 million) in sales were generated by BTS in 2021 alone, about 70% of HYBE’s 1.3 trillion won revenue, said Hazell Lee, analyst at NH Investment & Securities.
In 2020, BTS accounted for 730 billion won in sales out of the company’s 796 billion won revenue, she noted.
During the 2020 initial public offering (IPO) of what is now HYBE, the seven members received a total of 64.6 billion won worth of common shares, or 9.23 billion won of shares each based on the IPO price.
Forbes estimated BTS had an annual income of $50 million as of 2020.
BTS’ economic impact will be partly eroded while the members carry out their military service.
The Korea Culture and Tourism Institute estimated that BTS’ 2020 No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, “Dynamite,” had an economic impact worth 1.7 trillion won including direct sales and exports of related goods such as cosmetics and clothing.
Hyundai Research Institute estimated that BTS’ average annual production impact is about 4.1 trillion won, and the value-added economic effect is about 1.4 trillion won, in a 2018 report.
The relatively short break for the members, however, has set at ease investors and fans alike.
“Demand will be maintained, as the vacuum that will be felt by the fandom is only about one year with members carrying out individual activities while enlisting sequentially,” NH’s Lee said. — Reuters
At its height, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic shut down public transportation in the Philippines.
As restrictions loosened, a transport consortium implemented the EDSA Carousel, a dedicated busway spanning the length of the MRT Line 3 along the main thoroughfare of Metro Manila, a city notorious for traffic congestion.
With people reporting back to office, commuter demand for the busway has shot up.
Primo V. Morillo, convener of The Passenger Forum, explains what government needs to do to enhance the EDSA Carousel bus service and ease public transport woes.
TAKEAWAYS
Invest in the busway and bike lanes so they will not just be ‘pop-up projects.’
The EDSA busway and dedicated bike lanes are able to cater to commuters who take a bus or ride a bicycle, but the government must still allocate a decent budget for them.
“We think those are two things that are promising, but we need to further invest in it,” said Mr. Morillo. “The EDSA busway, for example: we really need to ensure that we streamline the process [of] how to pay the service contractors.”
Bus operations tend to be problematic with contractors not plying routes because they’re not paid, he said. This then reduces the number of buses on the road, increasing commuters’ waiting time. Even a subsidy for procurement of better buses would help.
Similarly, the bike lanes should not just be a “pop-up project” — it’s good that they exist, but infrastructure and policies should also be pedestrian- and bike-friendly, he added.
Maximize bus stations to accommodate the large number of commuters.
Given the metro’s heavy commute traffic, the bus stops that were put up along with the bus rapid transit system have proven insufficient.
“They just used the stations of the MRT, and some of the stations that do not use the MRT stations are even worse. We need to make the stations look like a real station. It needs a waiting area and it needs ample space for people,” Mr. Morillo said.
He specified that, in order to maximize it and make it work better for commuters, the state will have to invest in it. Both bus terminals and bus stations have to be improved.
Reorient the transport policy to focus on moving people rather than cars.
The Passenger Forum’s assessment of Metro Manila’s urban planning and Philippine transport policy in general is that it’s car-centric.
“It prioritizes moving cars rather than moving people. It prioritizes road widening, highways, and even skyways (elevated expressways), rather than trains, additional train lines, sidewalks, and bike lanes,” said Mr. Morillo.
For ordinary people to easily travel in the city, infrastructure and policy must change.
“Now, it seems that the policy is that if you find it hard, just buy a car, because we are making it easier for those who have cars,” he added.
Interview and text: Brontë H. Lacsamana Videography: Earl R. Lagundino and Joseph Emmanuel L. Garcia Video editing: Earl R. Lagundino
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has spoken with energy companies as it considers a plan to use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to both push down oil prices for consumers and support longer-term demand for producers, two sources familiar with the matter said.
The discussions, which involve combining new releases from the stockpile and setting the schedule for buying the oil back, reflect the White House’s desire to combat rising pump prices without hurting domestic drillers or refiners.
Rising retail gasoline prices have helped boost inflation to the highest in decades, posing a risk to Mr. Biden and his fellow Democrats ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections, in which they are seeking to keep control of Congress.
Mr. Biden said last week gasoline prices are too high and that he would have more to say about lowering the costs this week. David Turk, his deputy energy secretary, also said last week the administration can tap the SPR in coming weeks and months as necessary to stabilize oil.
The administration has spoken with energy companies about buying back oil through 2025 to replenish the reserve, known as the SPR, the sources said, after Mr. Biden in March announced the biggest sale ever, 180 million barrels, from May to October.
To stabilize oil prices, which rose before falling last week and steadying on Monday, it is also preparing to sell about an additional 40 million barrels of SPR oil, which could be announced soon, said a third source.
The Energy Department still has about 14 million barrels of SPR oil left to sell from the 180 million barrel release, which was slowed in July by holidays and hot weather. In addition, the administration is mandated by a law Congress passed years ago to sell another 26 million barrels of SPR oil in fiscal year 2023, which started Oct. 1.
“The administration has a small window ahead of midterms to try to lower fuel prices, or at least demonstrate that they are trying,” said a source familiar with the White House deliberations. “The White House did not like $4 a gallon gas and it has signaled that it will take action to prevent that again.”
Average U.S. gasoline prices hit about $3.89 a gallon on Monday, up about 20 cents from a month ago and 56 cents higher than last year at this time, according to the AAA motor group. Gasoline prices hit a record average above $5.00 in June.
The White House and the DOE did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the talks with energy companies.
In May, the DOE said it would launch bids late this year for a buy-back of about one third of the 180 million barrel sale. It suggested then that deliveries would be linked to lower oil prices and lower demand, likely after fiscal year 2023, which ends Sept. 30 next year. Two sources said the buy-backs could continue through 2025.
Biden officials in recent months also urged oil refiners including Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Valero to not increase exports of fuel and warned them it could take actions if plants do not build inventories. The administration has not taken a potential ban of gasoline and diesel exports off the table although opponents of such a move say it could exacerbate Europe’s energy crisis and raise fuel prices at home. — Reuters
SEOUL — South Korea’s Hyundai Motor is considering options for its suspended Russia operations that could include selling its manufacturing plant there, South Korean media reported on Tuesday.
Many factories in Russia have suspended production and furloughed workers due to shortages of high-tech equipment because of sanctions and an exodus of Western manufacturers since Moscow sent armed forces into Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Hyundai Motor recently submitted to management a report analyzing its future prospects in Russia due to the difficult operating environment, Dong-a Ilbo newspaper said, citing an unidentified auto industry source.
Hyundai Motor was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters.
Hyundai Motor, which together with affiliate Kia Corp. is among the world’s top 10 biggest automakers by sales, builds about 200,000 vehicles per year in Russia, about 4% of its global production capacity.
“We estimate that Hyundai and Kia together could generate at least a 450 billion won ($315 million) loss this year due to the business environment in Russia,” said Esther Yim, an analyst at Samsung Securities.
Hyundai Motor suspended operations at its Russian factory in March and a regulatory filing from the company showed it sold no cars in the country in August and September.
“While it’s still unclear what Hyundai would do with its Russia factory, Hyundai has a lot to factor in to actually exit from Russia, such as financial situations and its relationship with Russia and the United States,” said Kim Jin-woo, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities.
Last week, Nissan Motor Co Ltd 7201.T said it would hand over its business in Russia to a state-owned entity for 1 euro, taking a loss of about $687 million in the latest costly exit from the country by a global company. — Reuters
MANILA — The Philippines will continue to use interest rates to mitigate against inflation and may step in to defend a depreciating peso, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Tuesday.
“We may have to defend the peso in the coming months, but the overall forecast is that we are still doing better than other countries in terms of inflation,” Marcos posted on Twitter.
The Philippine peso, which has lost 13.5% against the U.S. dollar year-to-date, has depreciated the most of Southeast Asian currencies this year, contributing to the four-year high inflation recorded in September.
The country is monitoring external and domestic developments to see how authorities can intervene in financial markets to address risks like currency depreciation and inflation, its economic planning chief said on Tuesday.
The government can deploy monetary tools like tweaks in the interest rate and market intervention to address currency risks, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan told a news conference after a meeting between Marcos and his economic team. — Reuters
For the third year in a row, PSO (Manila), Pepper Money’s Philippine office, has once again been chosen as an awardee of the Circle of Excellence (COE) for SME Company of the Year in the 12th Asia CEO Awards.
The shared service facility operates on behalf of the Australian and New Zealand consumer and commercial lending operation Pepper Money and other third-party services and employs almost 500 Filipino employees locally.
PSO Manila offer a wide range of managed business outsourcing and offshoring services from originations lifecycle, including provision of post settlement support to customers via frontline contact centre and back-office servicing activities through to HR support, that greatly reduce costs without exposing risk.
Shakira Snowdon, Country Head, Philippines, said she was honored by the recognition of their high performing team and their continued success: “We’re honored and delighted to be recognized as a finalist for SME Company of the Year 2022. This achievement recognizes our team, their values, and their commitment to driving a great culture, involvement in social and giving programs, and our continued business growth and excellence by always putting our people, our customers and partners at the heart of what we do.”
Culture
According to Ms Snowdon, PSO Manila has a culture that sets it apart in the marketplace: “We drive a high-performance culture throughout our business with strong governance, people, and process management practices.”
To support this, “We strongly support and live the diversity and inclusion principles and recognize the value of attracting and retaining employees with different ideas, abilities, and backgrounds to achieve our core competencies.”
With the creation of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee within the business, different sub-groups were established to focus on the ongoing empowerment and training of staff.
These sessions alongside other engagement programs led to a positive culture that far exceeds industry standards. PSO Manila’s 2022 engagement survey shows engagement is at 86% and is in the 98th percentile for Culture of Engagement, 96th percentile for Strategic Alignment, 97th for Manager Execution, and 96th for Manager Motivating and Relating.
High engagement has its advantages according to Ms Snowdon, “We know our highly engaged team translates to less recruitment fees, reduced percentage of agents in training, and higher quality and more efficient outputs.”
Social Commitment
PSO Manila invests in activities and initiatives that demonstrate a genuine interest to improve the lives and conditions of people within and outside the organization.
“This is the second year of our Pepper Giving program. It brings to life PSO Manila’s community and charitable initiatives in the Philippines. The program is run by passionate volunteer employees,” says Ms Snowdon.
The committee is governed by the Global Pepper Giving policy framework that ensures clear direction for Pepper’s charitable and community ventures. The committee has three main principles that govern all decisions and initiatives. First, to support organizations that work to provide the social necessities of life including housing and shelter, transport, education, and a means of earning a living. Secondly, Pepper will work with organizations that are seeking a different pathway to help others who are underserved by traditional support structures. And lastly, support is provided to inspire innovation and courage amongst those in need to find different pathways to achieve their goals, explains Ms Snowdon.
Business performance and growth
Despite the ongoing uncertainty of the economic impacts of COVID-19, PSO Manila has continued to drive growth across all areas, finding new opportunities to build on the foundations of success and delivering a broad range of shared services.
Where other companies experienced a downturn during the pandemic, PSO Manila challenged the accepted, and continued to invest in their service and product offering. The group experienced a 200% growth in headcount since 2020. Through diversifying their service and product offering, the business has achieved great success and sustainable growth.
“We don’t just aim to meet Service Level Agreements, for us it’s about exceeding those expectations. We educate our agents, so they understand the role that the tasks they complete have in the end-to-end process. This includes customer impact and awareness of dependencies on and outcomes of the tasks they undertake,” she says.
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The world’s largest financial institutions increased their backing of companies in the agriculture, forestry and land use sectors most responsible for deforestation in 2021, a new study showed on Tuesday.
Issued by the Forests & Finance Coalition of NGOs, which looks to improve transparency, policies, systems and regulations in the financial sector, the report found that finance to those companies rose over 60% to $47 billion between 2020 and 2021.
The analysis comes ahead of the next round of global climate talks in November at which protection of rainforests and other climate-crucial biodiversity are set to be a central theme.
Banks have pumped $267 billion into forest-risk commodity firms since the signing of the Paris Agreement on climate in 2015, the study said, while investors were holding $40 billion in bonds and shares as of September this year.
“The world’s financial institutions are actually increasing their lending to the very industries driving humanity to the brink,” Tom Picken, director of Rainforest Action Network’s Forest and Finance Campaign, said in a statement, citing “dangerously inadequate” policies.
Forests & Finance policy assessment of 200 financial institutions exposed to companies working in areas at risk of deforestation in Latin America, Southeast Asia and West and Central Africa scored 59% of them under one out of 10, sign of “an abject failure” to mitigate environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks.
In Indonesia, for example, southeast Asian pulp and paper producers are continuing to expand production, putting the country’s remaining forests under pressure; while in Brazil, the beef industry has contributed to 80% of the Amazon deforestation since 1985, the report said.
Finance firms’ policies on providing credit or investment to both sectors were “very weak”, the study also noted, and have done little to avert environmental degradation, support indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights or ensure companies are not exploiting people through forced labor.
“This latest assessment shows how big banks and institutional investors are blind to the urgency of the moment,” Picken stated. — Reuters
Logo of social media app Parler | source: https://bit.ly/3CGFxsn
American rapper Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, has agreed in principle to buy Parler, the social media platform popular among US conservatives, parent company Parlement Technologies said on Monday.
Nashville-based Parler, which has raised about $56 million to date, said it expects the deal to close during the fourth quarter of 2022. It did not give a deal value.
Parler, which launched in 2018, has been reinstated on Google and Apple Inc’s app stores after being removed following the US Capitol riots in January 2021. Parler is one of several social media platforms, including Gettr, Gab and Truth Social, that position themselves as free-speech alternatives to Twitter Inc.
Last month, Parler created a new parent company, Parlement Technologies Inc, as part of an overhaul.
In an interview with Reuters Monday, Parlement Technologies Chief Executive Officer George Farmer said the deal talks with Ye began recently, after Paris Fashion Week.
In Paris on Oct. 3, Mr. Ye, who is also a fashion designer, wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the phrase: “White Lives Matter.” Four days later, he made Instagram posts that several Jewish groups called anti-Semitic. Meta Platforms, which owns Instagram and Facebook, locked Mr. Ye out of his Instagram account for the posts.
Mr. Ye then moved to Twitter, posting on Oct. 8 for the first time in two years; Twitter soon locked his account.
The Parler deal came together quickly, Mr. Farmer said, and Parlement was “presented with an opportunity.”
“The motivating factor with him was the discussion about Instagram blocking him.” Mr. Farmer declined to comment on whether the deal includes a break-up fee if either party terminates it.
Mr. Ye in September terminated his partnership with apparel retailer Gap Inc., while German sporting goods maker Adidas on Oct. 6 said it is reviewing its business partnership with the rapper.
Mr. Farmer said Monday he is not concerned about Parler’s advertising prospects under Mr. Ye.
“I see this as a warning shot across the bow for companies that want to de-platform people,” Mr. Farmer said. “There are increasingly advertisers who want to advertise to this space.”
Mr. Ye seemed to have joined Parler on Monday and had about 91 followers at the time of the announcement. He now has 3,900.
“In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,” he said in a statement.
Mr. Farmer says Parler has 16.5 million registered users. Research firm Apptopia estimates the platform has been installed 11.7 million times since launch, with an estimated 40,000 daily active users.
Forbes estimates Mr. Ye to have a net worth of $2 billion. — Reuters
LONDON – Online sex worker Martha blames Britain’s cost-of-living crisis for her dwindling earnings – partly due to increased competition as soaring household bills push more women to sell sex.
“People are offering more for less because they’re desperate for money,” Martha, 29, who asked to use a pseudonym to protect her identity, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“I worry this is going to get worse as purses are stretched further,” she said, adding that her daily income had fallen in recent months to about 150 pounds ($165) from 250 pounds previously.
Martha took up online sex work last year after being made redundant. She has since found a job as a retail assistant, but said she needs the additional income to cover rising living costs as she saves money to have a baby.
Charities and sex workers’ collectives across Britain have reported an increase in people starting or returning to sex work this year as annual consumer price inflation runs at about 10% – the highest in the G7 group of big advanced economies.
The English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP), a network of current and former sex workers campaigning for decriminalization, recorded a 30% jump in the number of callers seeking support for starting sex work in June, while charity Beyond the Streets said it had seen women returning to sex work, or doing more of it.
Manchester Action on Street Health (MASH), a charity that supports female sex workers, recorded more than 100 new service users between December 2021 and April 2022, the highest number of new clients the charity has seen during a three-month period in four years.
As more people enter the trade and clients tighten their purse strings, sex workers may feel forced to offer services they are less comfortable with or take greater risks, campaigners warn.
“The more desperate you are for money, the more ready you are to provide services that you wouldn’t normally want to,” said ECP spokesperson Laura Watson.
Exchanging sex for money is legal in Britain but support groups say they are deterred from helping sex workers by laws against inciting or facilitating prostitution, potentially endangering people starting sex work for the first time.
“People are going out there as an escort for the first time without having spoken to anyone … The possible safety implications of that are very worrying,” Ms. Watson said.
SECOND JOBS
Increases in food and energy prices continue to outpace pay rises in the world’s fifth-biggest economy, causing real pay for British workers to drop at the highest rate since 2001 this spring and forcing many to find a sideline.
A recent survey by insurer Royal London found that more than 5 million British workers have taken up a second job to help make ends meet.
Some are choosing sex work, either as a one-off or as a regular source of additional income, drawn by the flexible hours and instant remuneration.
“A lot of women are in other jobs or on benefits and trying to top up their income,” the ECP’s Ms. Watson said.
“Some women will just go out on the street to get enough money to pay the bill,” she said, adding that about 70% of the ECP’s network are mothers.
Research from the Young Women’s Trust, a charity, found that the cost-of-living crisis is taking a heavier toll on women.
It found that almost half of single mothers had been unable to afford food or essential supplies in the last 12 months, with three in 10 young mothers skipping meals so their children could eat.
Many women lack access to the affordable childcare or flexible working opportunities that would allow them to work additional hours in regular jobs, said Claire Reindorp, chief executive of the Young Women’s Trust.
But while sex work can be flexible and quick-paying, it is difficult for workers to raise prices during inflationary bouts because they lack labor protections, said Tess Herrmann, a doctoral researcher at the School for Business and Society at the University of York.
“The bills go up, food prices go up, and a lot of wages remain the same, that’s especially true in precarious jobs and the gig economy,” she said.’
‘LESS POWER’
Martha creates adult content for digital content subscription service OnlyFans, adult website LiveJasmin and clients who contact her directly via social media platform Twitter.
Online sex workers have reported being offered less money by clients, who may pay sex workers directly for content they request via private message or leave tips in addition to subscribing to content or paying per view on OnlyFans.
Some creators of adult content on OnlyFans say their income has dropped by 30% in the past two months.
Nearly 200,000 more creator accounts were submitted for approval on the platform in September 2022 on the previous year, according to OnlyFans’ transparency report.
“If there are more workers fighting for a smaller amount of money, that means workers have far less power to negotiate with clients,” said Audrey Carradonna, a spokesperson from United Sex Workers, a union.
She echoed Watson’s concerns about the risks faced by people starting sex work for the first time, saying two other measures aimed at regulating the online sex trade could push novice sex workers into riskier street work.
Last year, payment provider Mastercard tightened its policies on adult websites while Britain’s Online Safety Bill seeks to ban adverts for sex from digital platforms.
“If more people start working in known areas on the street, they might face more police interaction, which forces them to work in more isolated areas, which in turn is far more dangerous because then they’re far from help,” said Carradonna.
Despite such uncertainties, Martha said sex work had provided her some financial security in testing times.
“I don’t think I could get by without it,” she said. — Reuters
HAGONOY, Philippines – In a town in northern Philippines where floods have become a perennial problem, motorcycle taxi drivers have modified their vehicles to keep passengers dry and high above the floodwaters.
Motorcycle taxis, a popular form of transport in rural Philippines, have had steel tubes added to the forks of the vehicles, boosting them by a few extra feet to allow them to operate in the worst kinds of floods.
Some streets in Hagonoy just outside the capital Manila have been impassable in recent years, with rain levels reaching as high as two meters (6.5 feet) in monsoon season, when residents either wade through thigh-deep water or travel in small boats.
One of the town’s problems, according to officials, is the rapid rise in informal dwellings along a nearby river and lack of adequate waste management solutions. — Reuters
One of the grandest business awards in Asia has once again proven that the Philippines is truly home to enterprises and executives of the highest global standards.
The Real Deal: Asia CEO Awards 2022 successfully culminated its search for the best and most deserving business icons with an awards night attended by more than a thousand delegates last Oct. 11 at the Marriott Grand Ballroom.
Asia CEO Awards Chairman Richard Mills
In his introductory message, Asia CEO Awards Chairman Richard Mills said, “We have entered the decade when the Philippines emerges as a premier economy on the world stage. Already the fastest-growing economy in the Asia Pacific region, it is projected to achieve upper-middle-income status by 2024.”
“Leaders in diverse industries like tourism, logistics, agri-business, transportation, on and on say it will supercharge economic development as recovery takes hold. The astonishing success of online work has also opened up vast new avenues of opportunities for Filipinos,” shared Mr. Mills while inviting everyone to enjoy the night. The “Asia CEO Awards is one of the only times of the year when such a large and impressive group of leaders are gathered in one place — that includes you.”
Supported by title sponsor PLDT Enterprise and major sponsors Airspeed, iCXeed, Insular Life, Kyani, LBC Business Solutions, Paraiso Village Farm, Reed Elsevier, Regus, Smart Enterprise, United Neon, the said award-giving body is committed to promote the country as a premier business hub in the region. Asia CEO Awards official knowledge partner is PwC; official venue is Manila Marriott; and official media partners are CNN Philippines, BusinessWorld, DOOH, INQUIRER.NET and SMNI.
“This year, we celebrate the unwavering strength and resilience embodied by the winners and nominees of the 13th Asia CEO Awards. On behalf of PLDT Enterprise, I congratulate and salute all our awardees for their exemplary display of leadership, commitment to their respective businesses, and contributions to their industries,” said Joseph Ian G. Gendrano, senior vice-president and head Enterprise and International Business Groups PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications, Inc.
This board judges include Dr. Bernie Villegas, economist, author and professor; Atty. Alex Cabrera, former chairman and senior partner of PwC; Don Felbaum, former president of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines; Jack Madrid, president and CEO of the IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines; Atty. Darlene Berberabe, former CEO of Pag-IBIG Fund; Bing Sibal-Limjoco, CEO of Francorp; Felino “Jun” Palafox, Jr. PhD, founder of Palafox Associates and Palafox Architecture Group; and Richard Mills, Asia CEO chairman and former president of Canadian Chamber of the Philippines.
Lifetime Contributor Awardee for 2022
Photo shows Asia CEO Awards 2022 Lifetime Contributor of the Year former Secretary of Trade and Industry Ramon Lopez (fourth from left) with board of judges (from left) Atty. Darlene Berberabe, Bing Sibal-Limjoco, Jojo Gendrano, Dr. Bernie Villegas, Arch. Felino ‘Jun’ Palafox Jr., Richard Mills, Jack Madrid, and Alex Cabrera.
Asia CEO Awards 2022 Lifetime Contributor awardee is Ramon Lopez, who is currently one of the independent directors of SM Investments Corp., and Airspeed International Corp.
He was the former Secretary of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) from June 30, 2016 to June 30, 2022. He served for the full term in the administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
During his term, he chaired the ASEAN Economic Ministers meetings in 2017 (Philippine lead year) as well as DTI institutions such as the Board of Investments (BoI), the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), the Export Development Council (EDC), Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) Advisory Council, Philippine International Trading Corp., CITEM, and the Halal Board. He also supervised agencies such as the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).
Grand Winners and Circle of Excellence Awardees
CSR Company of the Year
Grand Winner
Alaska Milk Corp.
Presented by Paraiso Village Farm, ALASKA MILK CORP. was awarded CSR Company of the Year Grand Winner for highlighting corporate social responsibility (CSR) in providing a social commitment to the Filipino people and for developing projects that contribute to the betterment of the society.
Circle of Excellence
Bounty Agro Ventures, Inc.; Genpact Services LLC — Philippine Branch; IBM Philippines, Inc.; Innodata Knowledge Services, Inc.; Maybank Philippines; Megaworld Foundation; Personal Collection Direct Selling, Inc.; PJ Lhuillier, Inc. / Cebuana Lhuillier; Radio Mindanao Network (RMN); Shopee Philippines, Inc.; Tech Mahindra Limited Philippines
Diversity Company of the Year
Grand Winner
Chevron Holdings, Inc.
Presented by iCXeed, CHEVRON HOLDINGS, INC. was awarded Diversity Company of the Year Grand Winner for demonstrating proactive acceptance and respect for human differences including race, religion, gender, gender identity and physical ability.
Circle of Excellence
Concentrix Philippines; Genpact Services LLC — Philippine Branch; Home Credit Consumer Finance Phils., Inc.; IBM Philippines; Lexmark Research and Development Corp.; Manulife Business Processing Services; Northern Operating Services Asia, Inc.; Procter & Gamble Philippines; 3M GSC
Entrepreneur of the Year
Grand Winner
Michael Allan S. Canlas of Kitchen 77 Food Creations, Inc.
Presented by Regus, MICHAEL ALLAN S. CANLAS OF KITCHEN 77 FOOD CREATIONS, INC. was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year Grand Winner for building and growing organizations and for providing pioneering services and product, employment for Filipinos and expansion into multiple locations.
Circle of Excellence
Kristine Brown, CEO & co-founder, Chalkboard; Laurice A. Chiongbian, President & CEO, Qavalo, Inc.; Ann Cuisia, CEO & founder, Traxion Tech, Inc.; Rolan Marco Garcia, CEO, Embiggen Group; Mark Sultan Gersava, CEO, BAMBUHAY; Kim Frances Lato, CEO, president & founder, Kimstore; Earl Martin Valencia, co-founder & chief business owner, Plentina Lending, Inc.; Rolandrei Viktor “Zark” Varona, president, Zark’s Food Ventures Corp.; Felix Concepcion Veroya, founder & CEO, Ask Lex PH Academy (ALPHA); Kevin Yao, CEO, Autokid Subic Trading Corp.
Executive Leadership Team of the Year
Grand Winner
Vitarich Corp.
VITARICH CORP. was awarded Executive Leadership Team of the Year Grand Winner for achieving important success while overseeing a major organization and for demonstrating exceptional leadership skills resulting to the maximization of stakeholder values.
Circle of Excellence
Air Asia Philippines; Airspeed Group of Companies; Infosys BPM Philippines; KMC Solutions; Lexmark Research and Development Corp.; Megaworld Corporation; NEARSOL Philippines; Pag-IBIG Fund; PSG Global Solutions, Inc.; VXI Philippines
Expatriate Executive of the Year
Grand Winner
Jared Morrison of VXI Global Solutions
JARED MORRISON OF VXI GLOBAL SOLUTIONS was awarded Expatriate Executive of the Year Grand Winner for achieving measurable success while overseeing an organization within Philippines, and whose strong contribution to the development of the country’s economic capabilities cannot be denied.
Circle of Excellence
Kamal Asarpota, CEO, Eastvantage; Razvan Diratian, APAC managing director, Avon Cosmetics, Inc.; Christo Georgiev, country manager & chief operations officer, FinScore; Alexander Grenz, president & CEO, Allianz PNB Life; Sanjiv Kumar Gupta, president & country head, IBM Solutions Delivery, Inc.; Amit Jagga, SVP & country leader, Concentrix Philippines; Fiona Kesby, CEO, GoTeam; Christian Eyde Moeller, CEO, Lionheart Farms (Philippines) Corp.; Aseem Roy, country head, Wipro Philippines; Angeline Tham, founder & CEO, Angkas
Global Filipino Executive of the Year
Grand Winner
Steven Tan of SM Supermalls
Presented by PLDT Enterprise, STEVEN TAN OF SM SUPERMALLS was awarded Global Filipino Executive of the Year Grand Winner for being a beacon of world-class success and excellence in business.
Circle of Excellence
Gregory H. Banzon, chief operating officer, Century Pacific Food, Inc.; Christopher Cabognason, chief distribution officer, Allianz PNB Life; Gil G. Chua, group chairman & CEO, DDB Group Philippines; Ralph Ray Dacay Chua, chairman of the board & president, Shireli Manufacturing Company and Immuni Global; Henry Albert Fadullon, president, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc.; Alex Gamboa, president, AG&P Industrial; Jean Henri Lhuillier, president and CEO, PJ Lhuillier, Inc. / Cebuana Lhuillier; Jose Teodoro K. Limcaoco, president & CEO, Bank of the Philippine Islands; Rosemarie Rafael, chairwoman, Airspeed Group of Companies; Alvin So, ASEAN region head, Bayer Consumer Health; Vanessa L. Suatengco, general manager, Diamond Hotel Philippines; Eppie Titong, senior vice-president, VXI Global Solutions, LLC; Lito Villanueva, executive vice-president, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), chief innovation & inclusion officer of Digital Enterprise & Innovations Group, and head and chief digital transformation advisor — YGC
Most Innovative Company of the Year
Grand Winner
AstraZeneca
Presented by United Neon, ASTRAZENECA was awarded Most Innovative Company of the Year Grand Winner for their meaningful accomplishments that demonstrated management talent performing at the highest standards, and for being recognized as internationally significant.
Circle of Excellence
Advance; Concentrix Philippines; FinScore; JustPayto, Inc.; Land Bank of the Philippines; Lexmark Research and Development Corporation; PJ Lhuillier, Inc./ Cebuana Lhuillier; RightsLedger, Inc.; Traxion Tech, Inc.; TTEC
Service Excellence Company of the Year
Grand Winner
Wipro Philippines, Inc.
Presented by Airspeed, WIPRO PHILIPPINES, INC. was awarded Service Excellence Company of the Year Grand Winner for showcasing significant success in service excellence leading to high service level standards for their clients, employees and communities.
Circle of Excellence
Angkas; CGI Philippines, Inc.; Home Credit Philippines; Infosys BPM Philippines; Pag-IBIG Fund; Securities and Exchange Commission Philippines; TTEC; VXI Global Solutions
SME Company of the Year
Grand Winner
Ask Lex PH Academy
Presented by LBC Business Solutions, ASK LEX PH ACADEMY was awarded SME Company of the Year Grand Winner for beating the odds that small and medium-sized enterprises face especially in turbulent times and ending up stronger, more profitable and more successful than ever.
LIONHEART FARMS (PHILIPPINES) CORP. was awarded Sustainability Company of the Year Grand Winner for being a trailblazer in environmental progress and for having a strong commitment to global sustainability.
Circle of Excellence
Alaska Milk Corp.; Bank of the Philippine Islands; Concentrix Philippines; Filinvest Reit Corp.; Land Bank of the Philippines; Meralco; Procter & Gamble Philippines; TDCX (PH), Inc.; Tech Mahindra Limited Philippines
Technology Company of the Year
Grand Winner
Usher Technologies, Inc.
USHER TECHNOLOGIES, INC. was awarded Technology Company of the Year Grand Winner for standing out in the fields of Information and Communications Technology, Bio Technology and Material Science, Sciences and Math and Engineering.
Presented by Reed Elsevier, PROCTER & GAMBLE PHILIPPINES, INC. was awarded Top Employer of the Year Grand Winner for achieving unparalleled success while overseeing a business enterprise using management talent at the highest international standards.
Circle of Excellence
B&M Global Services Manila, Inc.; Concentrix Philippines; Hewlett Packard Enterprise; HSBC Electronic Data Processing (Philippines), Inc.; ING Business Shared Services B.V. Branch Office (IBSS Manila); PSG Global Solutions, Inc.; Shopee Philippines, Inc.; Sitel Philippines Corp.; Teleperformance Philippines; TTEC; 24/7 Customer Philippines, Inc.; Ubisoft Philippines; Unilever; VXI Philippines; Wipro Philippines, Inc.
Wellness Company of the Year
Grand Winner
Concentrix Philippines
Presented by Kyani, CONCENTRIX PHILIPPINES was awarded Wellness Company of the Year Grand Winner for being a leader in promoting workplace health through activities and organizational policies designed to support healthy behavior in the improved health outcomes of their employees.
Circle of Excellence:
B&M Global Services Manila, Inc.; Datamatics CMS Philippines; Diageo APAC SSC LTD INC; Hewlett Packard Enterprise; Infosys BPM Philippines; Land Bank of the Philippines; Quantrics Enterprises, Inc.; Tech Mahindra Limited Philippines; VXI Global Solutions
Young Leader of the Year
Grand Winner
Avin Ong of Fredley Group of Companies
Presented by Gemma Gaerlan, AVIN ONG OF FREDLEY GROUP OF COMPANIES was awarded Young Leader of the Year Grand Winner for accomplishing remarkable achievements that advance the nation’s economy or social standing in the eyes of the world.
Circle of Excellence
Cindy Rose T. Burdette, CEO, ALLCARE Technologies Philippines, Inc.; Kaiser Estrada, president & managing director, Streamlined Campaigns; Rolan Marco Garcia, CEO, Embiggen Group; Stephanie Anne Kubota, CEO, Rush Technologies, Inc.; Micah Pil, founder, Ikigai Animation Studio; Karen Jane Salutan, founder and CEO, EdukSine Production Corp.; Sharon M. Vaswani, CEO, Panophthalmics Enterprise, and chairwoman, Fortis Medi Pharmaceutical, Inc.; Jet Yu, founder and CEO, Property Interactive Marketing Enterprise Realty Corp.
Young SHERO of the Year
Grand Winner
Dalareich Polot of Ginto Fine Chocolate and Dalareich Chocolate House
Presented by InLife, DALAREICH POLOT OF GINTO FINE CHOCOLATE AND DALAREICH CHOCOLATE HOUSE was awarded Young SHERO of the Year Grand Winner for being a woman leader under 40, who is recognized for her success while overseeing organizations that help put a spotlight in the nation’s economy and social standing in the eyes of the world.
Circle of Excellence
Cindy Rose T. Burdette, CEO, Allcare Technologies Philippines, Inc.; Stephanie Tumampos, GeoData scientist & science communicator, Technical University of Munich; Shawntel Nicole Nieto, founder, One Cainta Food Program, president, Sustainable PH; Arizza Ann Nocum, co-founder and president, Kristyano Islam Peace Library, Inc.; Lou Sabrina Ongkiko, master teacher I, Culiat Elementary School; Diana Paguirigan, marketing and communications manager, Eastvantage; Romae Chanice Marquez-Pena, chief operating officer, Eduksine Co.; Sharon M. Vaswani, CEO, PanOphthalmics Enterprise, chairwoman, Fortis Medi Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
The SEC, under the leadership of Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino, was the most awarded agency during the Anti-Red Tape Authority's (ARTA) Doing Business Summit on May 6, 2021. The ARTA recognized the SEC as a “Doing Business Competitiveness Ranking Mover” for instituting the most number of reforms considered in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 Report; and cited measures adopted by the SEC toward protecting minority investors (PMI), which served as “Big Impact Indicator” and “Most Improved Indicator” of ease of doing business in the Philippines, based on World Bank’s report.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been recognized by the Asia CEO Awards for providing high service level standards to its stakeholders, ensuring the growth of the Commission while also contributing to the overall development of the Philippine business sector.
The Commission was named Airspeed Service Excellence Company of the Year in the 13th installment of the Asia CEO Awards held at the Manila Marriott Hotel on October 11.
Winners of the award were chosen based on service level improvements and advancements made by the organization to enable business expansion; the financial impact of such improvements; pioneering achievements; customer satisfactions; as well as other recognitions garnered by the initiative.
SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino, and Commissioners Javey Paul D. Francisco, Kelvin Lester K. Lee, Karlo S. Bello and Mcjill Bryant T. Fernandez, along with the directors and assistant directors of the Commission, pose for a photo at the new SEC Headquarters in Makati City.
“The SEC has always been at the forefront of devising new programs that would make transacting with the Commission easy and hassle-free. These programs serve to further the growth of our corporate sector as we move to a digital-first world, while ensuring that our stakeholders can adapt to such changes,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said.
“We thank the Asia CEO Awards for the recognition of our humble efforts, and likewise commit to upholding the standards of excellence we have shown the public thus far.”
Over the past two years, the SEC has rolled out several programs under its digital transformation program to further improve the ease of doing business in the country and spur the growth of domestic enterprises. Among these is the Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Company (eSPARC), which allowed for an easier and faster company registration process.
The SEC reaped global recognition for advocating good governance and transparency in the Philippine corporate sector, receiving from Cambridge International Financial Advisory the Global Good Governance (3G) Advocacy and Commitment to Corporate Governance Award for the second consecutive year, and the 3G Transparency Award during the seventh installment of the annual 3G Awards Ceremony held by the London-based finance advisory on May 18 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The automation of the registration process helped grow the number of newly registered domestic corporations and partnerships by 50.50% and 33.5%, respectively, in 2021. Since its launch in April 2021, the system has so far processed 95,163 applications for company registration.
The Commission has also launched Electronic Filing and Submission System (eFAST), which allows companies to digitally submit their audited financial statement (AFS), general information sheet (GIS), and other reportorial requirements. In total, eFAST has already received 439,165 reports as of September 16, 2022.
Moreover, the Commission came out with the Electronic System for Payments to SEC (eSPAYSEC) to facilitate the online payment of registration fees, charges, penalties and other transaction fees with the SEC using debit and credit cards, digital wallets, and other cashless payment options.
Since its launch, eSPAYSEC has recorded a total of 37,639 online payment transactions and collected P256.82 million in fees and penalties, averaging at P15.2 million per month from March 2021 to August 2022.
Moving forward, the Commission has more digitalization programs set to be launched, including an online search portal, a registry system for the accreditation of external auditors and auditing firms, a system for integrated compliance monitoring, evaluation and enforcement, a system for stress testing for capital market intermediaries, and a complaints management system.
To support its digital transformation initiatives and protect its systems from cyber-attacks and data leaks, the Commission has created the Cybersecurity and Shared Services Division. It also established the Cyber and Forensics Division, which shall focus on prevention and detection of securities fraud committed through the use of the internet, social media and access devices.
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