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IMF panel urges central banks to closely monitor inflation, ‘act appropriately’

WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund’s steering committee on Thursday urged global policy makers to monitor pricing dynamics closely, but to “look through” inflationary pressures that are transitory and will fade as economies normalize.  

The International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), made up of 24 finance ministers and central bank governors from IMF member countries, said in a final communique that governments should “carefully calibrate” domestic policies to an evolving pandemic.  

“We will continue to prioritize health spending and protecting the most vulnerable, while shifting focus, as appropriate, from crisis response to promoting growth and preserving long-term fiscal sustainability,” they said.  

Inflation concerns, stoked by pent-up demand, supply chain bottlenecks, higher energy and commodity prices and weather events have been a hot debate topic at IMF and World Bank annual meetings this week, and contributed to the Fund trimming its global growth outlook on Tuesday.  

“Central banks are monitoring price dynamics closely and can look through inflation pressures that are transitory. They will act appropriately if risks of inflation expectations de-anchoring become concrete,” the IMFC said, a reference to the banks using monetary policy tools to control inflation.  

The language was toned down from an earlier draft that called for central banks to be ready to take “decisive actions to maintain price stability.”  

TRANSITORY OR DURABLE?  

Policy makers are wrestling with the inflation question as wealthy countries move beyond the pandemic to recovery, while developing economies struggle with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) variants, low vaccine access and a lack of resources. An abrupt tightening of monetary policy in the United States or Europe could prompt devastating fund outflows from developing countries, the IMF has warned.  

“The key question is to know whether this is a transitory inflation or not. Nobody has a response to that key question,” French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters on Thursday, adding that he’s been discussing it this week with US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde.  

Magdalena Andersson, the Swedish finance minister who chairs the IMFC panel, told a news conference that more initiatives were needed to ease global shortages of key goods, adding: “It’s important that we get the global value chains working better than they are today.”  

The IMFC also called for clear communications by policy makers to limit negative cross-country spillovers and to use macroprudential tools to limit financial vulnerabilities.  

The statement noted the growing divergences between rich and poor countries in economic recovery and access to vaccines, noting that recovery risks are tilted to the downside.  

RESERVES LENDING  

The IMFC said it welcomed the IMF’s efforts to establish a new Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) to help channel a $650 billion allocation of reserve assets to provide affordable long-term financing to poor and middle-income countries undertaking structural reforms and working to maintain balance-of-payments stability.  

“The RST should preserve the reserve asset characteristics of the SDRs,” the IMFC said. “We call upon the IMF to develop and implement the RST and collaborate closely with the World Bank in this process, and to provide technical support in exploring viable options for channeling SDRs through multilateral development banks.”  

G20 finance ministers backed plans for the new trust on Wednesday. — David Lawder and Andrea Shalal/Reuters 

PHL is top target of banking malware in Asia-Pacific, Kaspersky says

Screenshot via Kaspersky

The Philippines had the highest number of users attacked by banking Trojans — a type of malicious software — in the Asia-Pacific (APAC). According to cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, the country accounts for 22.26% of all banking Trojans discovered in the region in 2021. 

The rise of digital payments in the region paired with insufficient protective measures in personal devices have led to banking Trojans counting among the most impactful malware for online consumers. 

Other vulnerable countries include Bangladesh (12.91%) and Cambodia (7.16%), according to data presented at Kaspersky’s Cybersecurity Weekend virtual media forum on Thursday.  

“APAC has always been one of the leaders in digital payment adoption, driven by developed countries like China, Japan, South Korea, and even India. This pandemic extended the use of this technology significantly further — particularly in still-emerging economies in Southeast Asia and South Asia,” said Vitaly Kamluk, research director of Kaspersky-APAC, at the forum.  

He shared that Kaspersky Security Network’s (KSN) historical data showed a certain form of financial attacks paralleling the rise of cashless payments: “After analyzing the figures we have on financial threats, we learned that there was an outbreak that started in early 2019 in APAC — banking Trojans.”  

Banking Trojans are a dangerous type of malware that steals money from users’ bank accounts, either by obtaining credentials for access or one-time passwords to online bank accounts.  

“We see that it will continue to pose a significant threat to both financial organizations and individuals here as we continue to see more users and startups dipping their feet into the digital payments field,” Mr. Kamluk added.  

SECURING THE DIGITAL ECONOMY  

Kaspersky’s latest study, titled “Mapping a secure path for the future of digital payments in APAC,” showed that 37% of respondents in the Philippines said they started using digital payments during the pandemic — the highest in the region — followed by India at 23% and Australia at 15%.  

“Businesses are now digitalizing their operations to capture additional revenue through digital payments, while consumers are heavily reliant on it due to the ease and convenience it offers,” said Chris Connell, Kaspersky-APAC managing director.   

However, given the threats that come with it, a great number remain skeptical: first-time users admitted being afraid of losing money online (48% of respondents), being afraid of storing their financial data online (41%), and finding the whole process of coming up with passwords and security questions too troublesome (26%).  

Though digital payments are convenient and safe in an era of social distancing, all sectors must secure the digital economy moving forward, added Mr. Connell.  

Mr. Kamluk shared reminders to protect against cybercrime:  

For individuals:  

  • Update your software regularly.  
  • Pay attention to security software alerts.  
  • Be more suspicious in communication.  
  • Use complex passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA).  
  • Use hardware digital wallets and diligently follow its security protocols.  
  • Install a reliable security solution for your devices, including mobile phones.  

For businesses and financial organizations:  

  • Defend your perimeter with reliable vendor.  
  • Run cybersecurity drills.  
  • Verify your supply chain software.  
  • Monitor the latest trends and attacks.  
  • Motivate staff to report suspicious findings and contacts.  

— Brontë H. Lacsamana 

Mark Villar: Building the Filipino dream, one block at a time

In the last four years under the leadership of Secretary Mark Villar, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has already provided over six million jobs to Filipinos.

In 2021 alone, it has so far generated over 700,000 jobs — from January to Aug. 31, 2021, a total of 768,062 jobs were already listed under the government-backed infrastructure program.

With the aim to employ 1.6 million more workers as the present administration pushed to a close, the DPWH has launched last August its “Bigay Trabaho” online job fair that offers job opportunities from various job contractors in the country.

These job descriptions range from welders to laborers, materials and civil engineers, technicians, scaffolders, foremen, equipment operators, and carpenters, among the like. So far, it has already employed more than a thousand workers across the country.

With these numbers, the DPWH have already achieved some major infrastructure completions, thanks to the laborers working under them — a major feat for the everyday Filipino’s dream to provide for their families, while at the same time being part of the country’s nation-building.

ACCESS POINTS FOR TOURISM AND LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURES

For the Tourism Road Infrastructure Program (TRIP), a total of P121 million was allocated from 2016 to 2021 for the construction, improvement, and upgrading of 4,268 km of roads, with 2,436 km of tourism roads completed.

Under the Roads Leveraging Linkages for Industry and Trade (RoLL-IT) Program, a budget of P42 billion for about 1,519 km of roads leading to industries and trade corridors across the country were appropriated, with 704 km of it already completed.

For the KAlsada TUngo sa PAliparan, Riles at daungAN (KATUPARAN) Project, from 2016 to 2021, a total of P29 billion has already been allocated, for the upgrading and improvement of 906 km of access roads to airports, railway stations and seaports, with 443 km of it already completed.

For the current situation of the country with the ongoing health crisis, regional evacuation centers were also utilized as health/quarantine facilities to provide health monitoring and treatment.

Farm-to-mill roads under the Agri-Infrastructure Support Programs are also under way, with 2,025 km of farm-to-market roads already completed, and 95 km of farm-to-mill roads completed.

The Tatag ng Imprastraktura Para sa Kapayapaan at Seguridad (TIKAS) Project, on the other hand, focuses on the 616 military/police projects, with 133 of them already completed. The Basic Education Facilities Fund Program has already built and constructed 150,149 classrooms, while 2,064 school workshop buildings and other school facilities were constructed, rehabilitated, and improved.

For the current situation of the country with the ongoing health crisis, regional evacuation centers were also utilized as health/quarantine facilities to provide health monitoring and treatment — there are now 230 completed evacuation centers, with 105 of them currently under construction, rehabilitation and improvement.

Mega community quarantine facilities, dormitories and modular hospitals are also part of the DPWH’s current projects, in response to the ongoing pandemic — there are now a total of 819 quarantine facilities, off-site dorms, and modular hospitals totaling to 29,776 bed capacity.

JULY 2016 TO MAY 2021

IN NUMBERS

To rectify the flood situation of the country every typhoon season, there have already been 11,340 completed flood control projects, with 4,155 currently under construction.

These include the Kabasalan River Flood Control Structure in Zamboanga Sibugay, the Estero De Sunog Apog Pumping Station, the flood risk management project in Cagayan River and the Tagaloan River.

5,950 bridges were also completed during these 5 years, with 1,859 of them under construction. These include the BGC-Ortigas Center Link Road Project, the Estrella Pantalleon Bridge, and the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge.

On the works are the Panguil Bay Bridge that will connect the City of Tangub in Misamis Occidental to the Municipality of Tubod in Lanao del Norte. The Panay-Guimaras-Negros Link Bridge is another major connecting project, with the 32.47-km, two-sea-crossing bridge connecting the three islands. The Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge, also under development, is a 32.15-km link starting from Brgy. Alas-asin in Mariveles, Bataan, crossing Manila Bay towards Brgy. Timalan, Naic, Cavite.

The DPWH also completed numerous road widening, construction and improvements from July 2016 to May 2021, with 29,264 of them already completed, and 15,134 ongoing ones. These include the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX), TPLEX Extension, Central Luzon Link Expressway, the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 and the C3-R10 Section, the NLEX-SLEX Connector Road, the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3, the NAIAX Phase II, the Alabang-Sucat Skyway Connection and Ramp Extension, and the Cavite-Laguna Expressway, among many others.

 

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US port’s supply chain fix challenge: selling 24/7 shifts 

IMAGE VIA THE PORT OF LOS ANGELES

LOS ANGELES — The Port of Los Angeles is beginning the hard work of convincing terminal operators, importers, warehouses owners and trucking firms to embrace moving more cargo at night.  

“It’s not a single lever we can pull today to open up all the gates,” Executive Director Gene Seroka said on Thursday.  

On Wednesday, the White House gathered stakeholders including retailers Walmart and Home Depot, logistics firms United Parcel Service and FedEx, and electronics supplier Samsung. The companies pledged to use more overnight workers to ease the backups at the Los Angeles and Long Beach port complex that is the No. 1 gateway for trade with China.  

We’re “trying to squeeze every minute, every hour of efficiency out of this port that we can,” said Mr. Seroka. Most work is currently done during the day, although some parts of the operation already run 24/7. The White House said adding more overnight shifts could double available time to move cargo and union leaders are onboard.  

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) fueled demand for consumer goods while at the same time closing factories and ports. A shortfall of workers ranging from truckers to warehouse staff are driving up the cost of goods, contributing to product shortages, and raising alarms about a worsening global supply-chain crisis.  

The global supply chain “was creaking along before the pandemic,” said John Porcari, port envoy for the White House Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force.  

The health crisis laid bare weaknesses in a brittle global supply chain built for predictable, just-in-time cargo flows, he said. In many cases, it is “your grandfather’s infrastructure that we’re working with.”  

STRESS AT EVERY LINK  

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach significantly lag Chinese rivals when it comes to port efficiency, according to a ranking prepared by the World Bank and IHS Markit.  

Port terminals in China usually operate 24/7, many tasks are automated and labor slowdowns are rare, US-based shipping industry consultant Jon Monroe said.  

Messrs. Seroka and Porcari stressed that US supply chain improvements will not come at the flip of a switch. Changes are needed at every link to ease the impact of unintended consequences, they said.  

The White House efforts announced Wednesday are expected to account for just 3,500 additional containers per week being moved at night — a tiny fraction of the 120,000 containers already moving each week.  

Meanwhile, there are 62 container ships waiting to unload some 500,000 containers at Los Angeles/Long Beach — and another 25 are scheduled to arrive in the next three days.  

Those vessels are carrying parts and components for US manufacturers as well as seasonal goods for retailers racing stock up for the Nov. 26 kickoff of the make-or-break holiday selling season, Mr. Seroka said.  

Extended hours at Los Angeles/Long Beach could benefit Honda Motor Co, hit hard by the automotive chip shortage, and Mattel, which is under pressure to get holiday toys to stores, according to Panjiva, the supply chain research unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence.  

And the effort raises the question of where to put all the stuff.  

The Greater Los Angeles area logged a record low vacancy rate of 1% for warehouses and other industrial space during the third quarter, according to CBRE Group, a commercial real estate services firm.  

“If we increase the capacity at the port, then we still have to find space to temporarily store goods in warehouses,” said Douglas Kent, an executive vice president at the Association for Supply Chain Management. — Lisa Baertlein/Reuters  

Mendoza’s Gensan Punch wins award at Busan film fest

https://scfilmsinternational.com/

Brillante Mendoza’s HBO Asia Original film Gensan Punch won the Kim Jiseok Award at the 26th Busan International Film Festival. It shares the award with The Rapist by Aparna Sen from India.

The awarding ceremony was held in Busan, Korea, on Oct. 15.

Inspired by the true story of Naozumi Tsuchiyama (played by Itokazu Shogen), Gensan Punch follows a disabled Japanese man who goes to the Philippines to train and pursue his dream of becoming a professional boxer. The Gensan Quarter of General Santos City has long been known for producing boxers such as Manny Pacquiao. The film tackles the issue of discrimination towards the disabled in the competitive sport.

Gensan Punch shares the prize with The Rapist, which is about a woman who wants her rapist — who has gotten her pregnant, and who has been sentenced to death — to tell her why he did it. Variety.com described the film as “a deeply affecting portrait of personal trauma and an intelligent examination of social and cultural factors fueling the horrifying prevalence of sexual violence in India.”

Seven films — from Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, the Philippines, and Singapore — vied for the award which is awarded to the film that “reflects the contemporary standing of Asian cinema.”

Written by Honee Alipio and directed by Brillante Ma. Mendoza, Gensan Punch was described by the film festival’s jury as having an “incredibly strong story narrated in a documentary style. It is not just a story of a hero’s path to victory, but a story of building human relationships. Okinawa and Gensokyo are two seemingly different worlds, but they are connected by the warmth of people and their beliefs.”

A Filipino-Japanese production, the film was screened at the Busan International Film Festival’s A Window on Asian Cinema Competition; it will also screen in the Gala Selection (non-competition) at the upcoming 34th Tokyo International Film Festival (Oct. 30 to Nov. 8).

Gensan Punch was filmed in the Philippines and Japan. The cast includes Ronnie Lazaro, Kaho Minami, Beauty Gonzales, and Vince Rillon.

HBO Asia Originals have had a winning streak at international film festivals recently. Filipino actor John Arcilla, who stars in On the Job, won the Coppa Volti at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 11.

The 26th Busan International Film Festival runs until Oct. 16.

Gensan Punch will premiere on HBO GO and HBO in December. — MAPS

‘Fake it until you make it’: 5G marketing outpaces service reality

PIXABAY

WASHINGTON — Mobile phone companies advertise high-speed 5G service with US maps splashed with pink or blue to suggest widespread coverage, but the latest generation wireless technology is actually only available less than a third of the time in the best served states, new data shows.  

5G technology was designed to be faster than 4G wireless, with so little latency to help make things like driverless cars possible. 5G running on low band spectrum is the slowest, but it has the advantage of considerable range while mid-band can’t travel as far, but is faster. High band spectrum, which is sparsely available, may travel only a mile but is by far the fastest.  

An analysis done by OpenSignal released on Thursday found that their testers connected with T-Mobile 5G just 34.7% of the time, AT&T 16.4% of the time and Verizon just 9.7%. And that’s generally not for the fastest 5G many expect.  

The numbers are in stark contrast to what the carriers promise about 5G in their advertisements, showing how much they are banking on 5G as a selling point in the hotly-contested market for cellular service.  

T-Mobile advertises that it has “America’s largest, fastest, and most reliable 5G network” with a map covered almost completely in pink, suggesting broad coverage. The map does not distinguish what type of 5G a customer will get, but the fine print states it’s a mix of lower-performing versions. Top-performing “ultra capacity” 5G coverage, meanwhile, is only available in “hundreds of cities and [for] millions of people” instead of most of the country.  

AT&T says it has the “most reliable 5G network,” citing a test done for AT&T by Global Wireless Solutions, which evaluates mobile networks. The company notes, however, that its high speed 5G+ is “available in select high-speed zones and venues in over 20 states across the U.S.”  

Asked about what appears to be a disparity between advertising and coverage, T-Mobile’s Grant Castle, a vice president in network engineering, said that he thought the company is doing well.  

“Is our network as big and broad as I would like it to be? No, we’re still working on it,” said Mr. Castle.  

Andre Fuetsch, chief technical officer, Network Services at AT&T, said in an emailed statement that 5G “is still early in its lifecycle and is being evolved and enhanced through ongoing investment and innovation.”  

The BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division has criticized claims made about 5G by all three of the companies, including one in August that prompted Verizon to change its claim about it being the “most reliable” to indicate that it did not specifically refer to 5G service.  

“5G right now is [in] the fake it until you make it stage,” said Harold Feld, of advocacy group Public Knowledge which promotes affordable communication, adding that when new technology is developed, advertising often gets ahead of actual deployment.  

Low income neighborhoods, and to some extent rural areas, are generally the last to get new technology, said Christopher Mitchell of the advocacy group Institute for Local Self Reliance.  

Mr. Mitchell said that what is touted as 5G in rural areas is often just “incrementally faster 4G.”  

“We’re not expecting to see the super fast 5G in many rural areas. T-Mobile has been better about that,” he said. “I feel like there’s been a lot of dishonesty in the advertising.”  

Internationally, the story is similar. South Korea tops the list of best 5G availability at 28.1% of the time, with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Hong Kong all above 25%, according to an OpenSignal report from early September. — Diane Bartz/Reuters 

Africa’s farmers click with digital tools to boost crops

PXHERE

NAIROBI — Until a year ago, it would take Pamela Auma a whole month to prepare the land on her farm in western Kenya for planting ahead of the rainy season.  

With hoe in hand, the mother-of-seven spent her days digging up the one-acre (0.4-hectare) plot — roughly the size of a football field — and praying she would finish in time to sow her maize and beans crops before the rains arrived.  

These days, the same job takes her less than two hours, with the help of a tractor she hired through Hello Tractor, a Kenya-based smartphone app that connects small-scale farmers with nearby tractor owners.  

“The tractor is much better than doing it by hand. It gives a quality job and works very fast,” said Ms. Auma, 52, by phone from her farm near the city of Kisumu.  

“Before it was hard to find a tractor to hire and it was very costly. Now, the booking agent can quickly find a tractor owner near me by using his phone.”  

Across Africa, a growing number of smallholder farmers are tapping into digital technologies to access information, services and products to improve efficiency, boost crop yields and increase incomes.  

From Nigeria to Ghana to Kenya, a slew of innovations in agricultural technology — or agri-tech — have emerged over the last decade to serve small farmers, who have long been neglected yet are crucial to the continent’s food security.  

These range from SMS weather alerts and mobile apps offering credit, seeds and machinery to more advanced solutions such as precision farming, which uses satellite, drone imagery, and soil sensors to provide real-time data on crop health.  

Aloysius Uche Ordu, director of the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think-tank, said this digitalization of farming has the potential to transform the sector.  

“Africa is the world’s breadbasket — or should be. It has vast arable land, grows a wide variety of crops and has vast irrigation potential with seven major rivers,” said Ordu.  

“Yet, Africa imported $43 billion worth of food items in 2019. Digital technologies … are eliminating the traditional inefficiencies of smallholder food production and helping to close the yield gap.”  

RUSH TO FEED THE WORLD  

More than 80% of the world’s 600 million farming households are smallholders who own less than two hectares of land, says the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  

Taking up 12% of arable land globally, these small growers produce more than one-third of the world’s food.  

But smallholder farmers across the region face a plethora of challenges.  

Farm work is labor intensive and time-consuming. Most farmers face limited market reach, have little information to improve their output, and cannot access credit or insurance to help them get hold of quality agricultural services and inputs such as seeds, fertilisers and machinery.  

On top of that, increasingly erratic weather attributed to climate change is hitting crop yields and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdowns have stifled their ability to access supplies and sell their produce.  

But while many farmers struggle to grow enough to make a living, the world needs more food, fast.  

The World Resources Institute predicts the global population will reach close to 10 billion by 2050, and to feed that number of people, food production will need to grow by nearly 60%.  

‘UBER FOR TRACTORS’  

Digital technologies are key to making sure the world has enough to eat, say agri-tech innovators.  

Taking advantage of Africa’s fast-growing network of mobile phone users, there are now more than 400 digital agricultural solutions in use across sub-Saharan Africa, according to a 2020 report by global telecoms industry lobby GSMA.  

Hello Tractor, the app Auma uses to help with her farm work, operates in 13 countries including Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania and is often described as an “Uber for tractors”.  

The app lets tractor owners rent their machines to smallholders in their area and allows farmers to pool together to rent a vehicle at affordable rates.  

The tractors are fitted with GPS devices so owners can monitor their location and activity.  

“Mechanization is so important to be a productive farmer. But, small farmers have labor and time constraints where they have a very short window to plant and if they don’t plant on time, they lose yield,” said Hello Tractor’s CEO Jehiel Oliver.  

“So this technology is a way to get this expensive equipment to farmers.”  

Since launching in 2014, the company has served about half a million farmers, said Mr. Oliver, adding that 55% of the app’s customers were using a tractor for the first time.  

There are also apps, like DigiFarm in Kenya, which act as one-stop shops that let farmers bypass middlemen to access low-cost seed and fertilisers, loans and insurance providers, and bulk purchasers.  

In Ghana, Farmerline — a voice services and SMS platform —  provides farming advice, weather forecasts, market prices and financial tips to about 1 million small growers.  

Moses Dery Sekyere, 41, who grows beans, maize and millet on a 10-acre farm in southern Ghana’s Ashani region, said he subscribed to Farmerline in September.  

“The information shared with me about harvesting techniques and post-harvest storage has been really beneficial to me this planting season,” he said in emailed comments.  

“Now I know how to better handle my produce after harvesting them.”  

PlantVillage Nuru app can scan a diseased plant and give advice on how to treat it, while more hi-tech solutions like Nigerian start-up Zenvus use sensors to analyse soil data such as temperature and nutrients so farmers know what fertiliser to apply and when to irrigate.  

DIGITAL DIVIDE  

Korie Betty Maru, founder of Digital Farmers Kenya, a Facebook group with more than 436,000 members that shares advice and farming technologies, said small-scale farmers are eager to adopt technology and modern ways of farming.  

“Be it finding new buyers for their produce, seeking advice from agronomists on fighting pests, or trying out more efficient products such as solar pumps for irrigation,” she said.  

Yet despite their abundance, many digital solutions struggle to scale and fail to improve the lives of farmers, researchers have found.  

A study by Netherlands-based Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation (CTA) shows more than 33 million smallholder farmers in Africa have registered for some form of digital service, but less than a third use them enough to feel the full benefits.  

Internet access is also still out of reach for most small growers in sub-Saharan Africa, where penetration rates are about 26%, says the GSMA.  

And women farmers are being left out due to the digital divide — the GSMA reports women in sub-Saharan Africa are 13% less likely than men to own a mobile phone.  

In a region where 40–50% of smallholder farmers are women, only a quarter are registered users of digital services, according to the CTA.  

Researchers say major investments need to be made in building information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and improving digital literacy in rural areas.  

Elias Nure, who heads the digital climate-smart agriculture team at the charity Mercy Corps’ AgriFin initiative, which provides specialised digital solutions to farmers, said one of the biggest challenges is adapting these tools.  

“Some of these solutions are unbelievable, such as precision agriculture tools, remote sensing tools, blockchain tools and artificial intelligence,” said Mr. Nure.  

“But, a lot of them are not developed for African farmers and may not be 100% tailored for smallholders.” — Nita Bhalla/Thomson Reuters Foundation  

More ways to shop for good this Christmas

Bukid Ni Bogs, an organic farm and soap-making business

Alagang AyalaLand program supports social enterprises selling sustainable gifts

The Christmas season ushers in the spirit of gift-giving to bring joy to everyone’s homes. And as we begin thinking of what presents we may want to give our families and friends, we can also share and spread happiness to different communities across the country.

From bamboo-made essentials expertly handcrafted by Aetas in Zambales to schoolbags sewn with love by women in Batangas, perfect gifts with a sustainable purpose await you and your loved ones in several developments of Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI).

As part of its Alagang AyalaLand program, ALI allocates rent-free spaces in Ayala Malls for social enterprises to help them grow their business and create more livelihood opportunities. These enterprises offer an array of eco-friendly, useful, and creative products that can be practical gifts for everyday living.

Bukid ni Bogs, an organic farm and soap-making business, is among these social enterprises, with stalls in Glorietta and TriNoma.

Founded by Bogs Castro, this business produces organic soaps made with ingredients sourced by organic farmers in Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur. The soaps are prepared with their signature banana leaf packaging, along with tags that have spinach seeds to let buyers plant edible greens.

Their Travel Sampler, a bag containing five hotel bars of variants, including Activated Charcoal, Turmeric, Cucumber, Calamansi, and Papaya, can be an ideal gift for loved ones who prefer using eco-conscious and multipurpose products.

Gifting these organic soaps by Bukid ni Bogs, therefore, is both functional and eco-friendly. And most importantly, you help an enterprise that focuses on uplifting the status of women farmers and educating people on the significance of an organic way of living.

More handy and sustainable gift items are bamboo straws, a product skillfully made by the Aeta community from Zambales and for sale at Anything Eco in TriNoma.

Anything Eco started selling metal straws in 2017, hoping to eradicate wasteful single-use plastic sippers. To take this advocacy further, the enterprise developed bamboo straws as well. Gaining much support from people over the idea of creating eco-friendly pieces for daily living, the business expanded its bamboo products with the help of the Aeta community.

Anything Eco has now grown into an enterprise where one can shop for a range of environment-friendly products like sunglasses, journals, tumblers, and cutleries to give as presents for different loved ones. The business also has a service where you can customize some products, making your gifts more personal.

“With this program, we are able to pursue our dream of changing the lives of the indigenous Aeta people for the better,” said Jay Ramos, Anything Eco’s founder.

“Partnering with Alagang AyalaLand gave us the opportunity to reach more people and spread our advocacy that aims to guide people in changing their lifestyles and practices towards sustainable systems in an ethical, economical, and efficient way, and to ensure that wastes become valuable for other uses.”

Other functional presents to give are schoolbags and lunch bags made by the women working at Ten Foundations.

Set up by Belfast native Ian Campbell in 2012, Ten Foundations aims to empower Filipinos with skills, education, training, and employment needed to live in a healthy and self-sustaining environment. The business helps women in Balayan, Batangas on learning how to use industrial sewing machines for making quality schoolbags. These backpacks come in three styles named Pagasa, Kalinga, and Aruga.

The bags of Ten Foundations are sold not only in the Philippines but also in schools around Northern Ireland. All proceeds go back to those women working at the Batangas livelihood center.

Though the lockdown had prevented Ten Foundations from marketing bags in schools, their space at Ayala Malls Manila Bay and other Ayala Malls will help them continue promoting their bags and helping several women to provide for their families.

Some social enterprises supported by Alagang AyalaLand also sell food products that can complete your Christmas celebration.

The Pure Bites, a business of Marianne Dagohoy, has a store in Ayala Center Cebu. The enterprise sells healthier food choices like salad meals, nutrient-filled smoothies, and tofu dishes. It can also complete pantry containers with different ingredients such as Himalayan salt, chia seeds, almond nuts, goji berries, and more.

The Pure Bites hopes to increase awareness about the importance of having a balanced and healthy diet for Filipinos.

“The Alagang AyalaLand program has paved the way for my small business to prosper,” said Ms. Dagohoy. “This is our family’s bread and butter. Our workers are employed again after losing their jobs because of the pandemic. Our whole team is beyond thankful for this opportunity.”

ALI’s Alagang AyalaLand program is now supporting more than 300 social enterprises across 32 Ayala Malls nationwide. For every purchase of the products of these social enterprises, you are not only supporting local goods but also sustaining Filipino talent, culture, and communities all over the country.

 

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Finer details for grander living

Artist’s perspective of 3BR with Den Master Bedroom

Luxury features accent grand living at Grand Hyatt Manila Residences South Tower

As days pass mostly at home, one’s workspace, amusement, comfort, and unique lifestyles might usually depend on a single place.

Elevating the experience of these home activities, Grand Hyatt Manila Residences (GHMR) South Tower lets you live a life in style and luxury with its world-class home systems and its exceptional amenities.

GHMR South Tower teams up with global brands to furnish your space with comely and convenient design. The development is the first Grand Hyatt branded residential condominium in Southeast Asia and lets you experience #LivingGrand marked by a true Grand Hyatt distinction.

Superior furniture from Space 2000

From the kitchen cabinet systems and bedroom closets, GHMR South Tower guarantees that the residential units contain superior furniture with the help of Space 2000.

Known as one of the pioneers of the modular furniture industry in the Philippines, Space 2000 is a high-end homegrown furniture brand, with materials and hardware manufactured in world-class technology that are mostly based in Europe. Installed in GHMR units are Space 2000 Show Kitchens with quartz countertops and high-gloss-finish cabinet doors. Service kitchens are also built with high-end solid surface countertops with a laminate finish for an overall improved cooking experience. Furthermore, bedrooms are fashioned with Space 2000 closets that are made with a high-end laminate finish, giving homeowners stylish storage for their personal belongings.

Entrepreneur and Space 2000 Founder, Florence Ko explains, “Aside from the sleek and highly-advanced modular furniture systems, GHMR together with Space 2000, let’s you fill your home with exquisite pieces that reflect a hotel-like ambiance. Through our dedication to excellence, creativity and world-class standards, each unit is surely designed to give grand experiences every day.”

Gaggenau innovations for kitchen inspirations

Getting inspired to discover new recipes, explore more ingredients, and create gastronomical experiences would be easier through the innovative, professional-grade kitchen appliances that Gaggenau provided in the units of GHMR South Tower.

The two-bedroom units have an integrated range hood and cooktop. The show kitchens of the three-bedroom units and the three-bedroom units with den have a chimney-type range hood, cooktop, and built-in oven.

The Show Kitchen of 3 Bedroom with Den Units features Gaggenau chimney-type Rangehood, cooktop, and built-in oven, as well as a high-end refrigerator.

Elevating the promise of hotel-like luxury living, all Gaggenau products are exclusively built using genuine materials and the industry’s leading technology. Aside from its sleek style and uncompromised durability, Gaggenau integrates an intuitive interface that allows residents to cook with greater accuracy, thus resulting in the very efficient use of energy.

“We sincerely believe that both Gaggenau and Grand Hyatt Manila Residences are globally renowned brands that are known for their quality of product and aesthetics. Both characteristics are also evident in Gaggenau products. We just don’t look good on the outside using authentic materials but also create great functionality when residents use the appliances,” says Ferdinand Ong, Founder of Living Innovations.

Outstanding finishings

The floorings of GHMR South Tower further establish the unique ambiance of the place. Made of polished natural stone from Turkey colored in cream or beige, such floors cover the Living-Dining-Hallway-Show Kitchen floor area in two-bedroom and three-bedroom units. Meanwhile, in those areas of the three-bedroom units with den, the floorings are polished white natural stone coming from Greece.

Every bedroom has closets with high-end laminate finish.

Leading global brands like GROHE, TOTO, and Kohler are also incorporated to provide quality toilet and bath fixtures in each unit. Boasting a luxurious shower experience, all units come with GROHE telephone shower fixtures. Setting apart the master toilet & bath in three-bedroom units in the mid zone, including those with dens, its toilet and bath space include rain shower features and a Kohler acrylic bathtub. For the three bedroom units with den in the high zone, they come with a free-standing TOTO bathtub.

Lavatories in the two-bedroom and three-bedroom units come with Kohler and GROHE fixtures; while the three-bedroom units with den at the high zone are fitted with GROHE lavatories that come with easy-to-clean and antibacterial features. All units also incorporate GROHE toilet accessories in metal chrome finish.

Master and common bathrooms in all units come with TOTO water closets with the brand’s signature CeFIONtect glaze, to keep the water closets cleaner for a longer time, and a high-performing flushing system. The Master toilet and bath also come with a TOTO washlet seat that provides comfortable rear, front and oscillating cleansing functions, heated seat with temperature control, and energy-saving function. Meanwhile, the common toilet and bathrooms have Ecowasher seats that include rear and front cleansing functions, with a soft closing seat and cover.

Home of grand, unique experiences

Besides the global brands that helped design the residential units, GHMR South Tower offers more unique experiences from home to uphold its “living grand” philosophy for its residents.

Just as the spaces are designed with elegance, GHMR South Tower is also architectured with a wraparound glass façade. It houses 188 residential units of two-bedroom and three-bedroom configurations complemented with high ceilings, expansive windows, and private balconies to have a panoramic view of the city.

Beyond GHMR South Tower, homeowners can easily access the adjacent Grand Hyatt Manila hotel. Another exclusive benefit is the grant of the highly-coveted, two-year Globalist membership. The highest level in the World of Hyatt loyalty program, it gives privileges with Hyatt hotels and resorts around the world.

Come home to a grand, hotel-like place every day at the Grand Hyatt Manila Residences South Tower. For inquiries and to know more about Grand Hyatt Manila Residences South Tower, email invest@federalland.ph or visit this website.

Contact (02) 8551-1212 to schedule a private viewing at the showroom of Grand Hyatt Manila Residences South Tower, located at 8th Ave. cor. 35th St., Grand Central Park, Bonifacio Global City.

 

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Attractive real estate deals boost September online housing fair success

The biggest real estate promos made Lamudi’s second online housing fair a success, marking another milestone for the company

The second online housing fair by Lamudi, which ran from Aug. 31 to Sept. 24, saw significant success backed by the attractive real estate discounts from the biggest developers in the country. Lamudi’s property fair featured exclusive promos, discounts, and low monthly amortization. Some real estate developers also offered gift certificates and free home appliances.

Lamudi CEO Kenneth Stern expressed gratitude for the developers that participated in the event, namely RLC Residences, AboitizLand, SOC Land, Futura by Filinvest, Aspire by Filinvest, Golden Topper, Taft Properties, PA Properties Hankyu Hanshin, Priland, Lumina Homes, Solar Resources, Worldwide Central, Damosa Land, The Hauslands, and brokerage firm PropertyPRO.

Similarly, Mr. Stern thanked the organizations and personalities that shared their expertise on different matters related to property buying and design. These include the official partners KONE, Nook, AIDE, and BDO, as well as event partners Happy Helpers, Clean All PH, Feng Shui Consultant Sofia Relosa, Zassy Green, Pag-IBIG, and Great Eastern Termite (GET) and Pest Control.

Lamudi was also backed by media partners The Manila Times, BusinessWorld, Business Mirror, Malaya Business Insight, Sunstar, Mindanao Times, Sunstar Cebu, MediaBlast Digital, Real Estate Blog PH, and Manila Standard for the success of the second Online Housing Fair.

Property fair highlights

Properties located in key metropolitan areas such as Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao were featured at the fair, as well as developments in urban areas near the capital region. Property seekers heavily considered the special deals on vertical developments, a reflection of the emerging trend of people looking for residences or rental properties near central business districts at the backdrop of the nearing return to the office.

Property seekers aged 25 to 34 were the most active property seekers in the property fair. With a growing career and family, this market segment holds excellent buying power and considers property investment more seriously to create a stable future for loved ones.

Value of webinars

The webinars featured in the housing fair also captured thousands of property seekers. Property previews recorded a sizable number of views, a reflection of the strong interest in knowing more about the developments featured in the fair. The talks on financing options attracted a huge audience as well, pointing to the market’s proactive attitude of managing the property buying budget.

In the same way, a lot of the fair participants tuned in to the webinars tackling investing in real estate amid the pandemic. As the global health crisis still looms, property seekers tune in to webinars for expert advice on the security and stability of future investments.

In line with property seekers’ needs during this time, the webinars on property technology recorded a significant number of views. Proptech introduces new platforms that help property seekers cope with movement limitations amid the pandemic.

Up next: bigger, better housing fair in 2022

Given the success of Lamudi’s two online housing fairs this year, the real estate platform takes the digital property buying and selling journey up a notch for its next online housing fair in 2022. Partnering with trusted property developers in the country and addressing pressing real estate questions through its informative webinars, Lamudi will stay true to its mission of helping property seekers find their dream home online.

In a time of uncertainty, Lamudi offers added value in the homeownership journey through attractive real estate deals, taking property seekers closer to realizing their property goals. Different lifestyle brands and personalities from home-related industries will also be gracing the online event.

For more information on the next online housing fair, visit Lamudi’s official Facebook page.

For media partnership inquiries, contact kristine.quilon@lamudi.com.ph.

 

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Pepper’s Philippine office (PSO Manila) joins the Circle of Excellence at the prestigious Asia CEO Awards 2021

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 over 350 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.

Head of Operations, Shakira Snowdon, 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 2021. 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 and benchmarks for employee retention, with a 99.4% retention rate as of September 2021. PSO Manila’s 2021 engagement survey shows engagement is at 87% and is in the 99th percentile for Culture of Engagement, 97th 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 year marks the beginning 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.

“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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SEC: Sustainability Champion

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the Philippines’ national government regulatory agency mandated to supervise and enable the country’s corporate sector and capital market.

As such, the SEC Philippines is at the forefront of promoting good governance toward the competitiveness and sustainability of the business sector, the broad participation and effective protection of the investing public, and the overall development of one of Asia’s fastest growing economies.

The SEC Philippines currently supervises more than 600,000 active corporations and other forms associations across the country. As the corporate sector continues to expand, and given the evolving nature of transactions where the corporate vehicle is being used to defraud the investing public, and the ever dynamic character of the capital market, the SEC Philippines must progressively perform its critical role as the prudent registrar and supervisor of the corporate sector and the independent guardian of the capital market.

To advance corporate governance reforms, the SEC Philippines pushes for the adoption of corporate governance codes, sustainability reporting guidelines, and such other rules. In parallel, it conducts forums and dialogues with stakeholders to discuss the most pressing and prevalent corporate governance issues within and outside the country.

The SEC Philippines also implements secure and efficient company registration and monitoring systems, and spearheads the country’s Protecting Minority Investors Task Force to ensure ease of doing business, as well as transparency and accountability among corporations.

Moreover, the SEC Philippines actively participates in global development initiatives as a member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions, ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF), the Global Financial Innovation Network, and the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators, among others. At present, it acts as the chairperson and secretariat of the ACMF Working Group-D on the ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard initiative.

The SEC Philippines is recognized both locally and globally for its sustainability and good governance efforts.

This October, the SEC Philippines was hailed as one of the Circle of Excellence Awardees for the Best Sustainability Company of the Year in the 12th Asia CEO Awards.

The 12th Asia CEO Awards promotes the Philippines as a premier business destination for global enterprises by awarding companies and executives in the country who have excelled in various sectors. With the theme “Recover, Reset, Reignite”, it once again accorded prestigious recognitions to various players in the industry, with esteemed judges from different industries and the government sector.

For its efforts on good governance, the SEC Philippines received the 3G Advocacy and Commitment to Corporate Governance Award from London-based organization Cambridge IFA.

The 3G Awards are part of a premier recognition program that highlights excellence in good governance and commitment to social welfare in 3 major streams: Government & Politics, Corporate Sector, and Social Sector & Philanthropy. The Commission received the award in an Online Awards Ceremony on May 25, 2021 .

In 2019, the SEC Philippines was also the recipient of the ISAR Honours Award for the Philippines from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva, Switzerland. The ISAR, or the International Standards of Accounting and Reporting, recognized the Commission’s adoption of the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, which created awareness among companies on the business case for sustainability reporting in the Philippines.

 

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