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Fans return to watch Manchester City-Tottenham final at Wembley

A CROWD of 8,000 watched Manchester City beat Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup final at Wembley on Sunday. — MANCHESTER CITY FB PAGE

LONDON — It almost felt like old times at Wembley on Sunday as a crowd of 8,000 watched Manchester City beat Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup final — the biggest attendance at a UK sporting event since the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

As part of the British government’s Events Research Program (ERP), the final was being used as a pilot event to test the safe return of supporters.

And while the 2,000 fans permitted from each club, plus 4,000 local residents, looked a little lost in the vast expanses of the 90,000-seater stadium, the sound of them making their voices heard was an uplifting one.

For more than a year, England’s stadiums have fallen silent, apart from a brief window late last year when small crowds were allowed before a deadly resurgence of the coronavirus.

It has been a dispiriting time for the game, with fans forced to watch at home from their sofas with artificial crowd effects pumped in to create a sense of normality.

But the sound of fans singing their songs at Wembley offered hope of better times ahead as Britain’s vaccine rollout continues to drive down deaths and infections from the virus.

City’s fans were wedged into one corner while Tottenham’s were at the other end. There were also 4,000 local residents and NHS workers in attendance with all those present having had to present proof of a negative coronavirus test.

Outside the stadium before kickoff, the atmosphere was good-natured with some rival fans joining together to protest the now-doomed European Super League. Mounted police ensured social distancing was adhered to.

Once inside the old rituals began after a poignant rendition of the national anthem from 92 NHS workers played out on Wembley’s giant video screens.

As has been repeated regularly in this seismic week for the sport following the Super League fiasco, the game is nothing without fans.

Both sets were quickly back in the old groove.

The announcement of the respective starting lineups was booed by the opposing fans, while there was plenty of industrial language hurled towards opposing players and match officials once the showpiece game kicked off.

Aymeric Laporte’s header sealed victory for City and their fans serenaded the players in the corner after the trophy was presented to captain Fernandinho — an outpouring of pent-up joy after the dark months of the past year.

It was clear what the support meant to City’s players as they joined in singing the club’s anthem Blue Moon.

City midfielder Riyad Mahrez summed up the mood.

“They made a massive difference, 8,000 was amazing and we look forward to having more of them back,” he said.

For Tottenham’s contingent, however, the day was a case of the same old story as it trooped before its team had even received its runner-up medals — reflecting on another disappointment and the continuation of a trophy drought stretching back to 2008.

Next month’s FA Cup final is expected to have 21,000 fans present while Wembley hopes to have at least 22,500 at the eight Euro 2020 games it will stage this year. — Reuters

Career-coaching platform to help people find jobs amid pandemic 

Image via Sociov

 

Sociov, an on-demand career-coaching platform, connects students who need help identifying their professional goals with suitable mentors. It also acts as a hub for coaches (who may be looking for higher-level coaches themselves) and training companies. 

The startup, short for Social Innovation, aims to capitalize on the Philippines’s untapped market. Similar coaching platforms abroad include San Francisco’s Better Up, Berlin’s CoachHub, and Vancouver’s Noomii.

The 2020 ICF (International Coaching Federation) Global Coaching Study, the largest coaching industry research study in history, reported that in 2019, the estimated revenue from coaching was $2.849 billion — a 21% increase over the 2015 estimate. The numbers of leaders using coaching skills is estimated to have risen by almost half (+46%). In Asia, the estimated number of such leaders more than doubled (+124%). 

“Coaching is a saturated market in western countries like Canada, USA, and England, but [the industry] is a very open space in Asia,” said Danille Fritzgerald O. Soria, Sociov’s chief executive officer. “If you were to ask me five years ago, which was the time I received my first coaching session, no one would have ever predicted this kind of growth.”

Sociov automates the client-to-coach matching process and provides information that helps clients decide on the right coach for them, while considering quality, accessibility, and affordability, said Mr. Soria.

Sociov is raising another round of investments this June, with a group of Filipino executives and an Indonesian angel investor indicating their interest. The funds will be used to launch resume and job interview coaching for job seekers and graduating students. The career coaching niche, said Mr. Soria, makes sense because a lot of people lost their jobs in this pandemic. 

Its private beta will launch this July. “We are initially targeting graduating students from big universities with 6–15 months left before graduation. We also plan to cater to other private colleges and institutions anytime soon,” he said. “Our partner-coaches love to work with fresh graduates and students coming from business, finance, economics, psychology, or communication courses.”

Last year, Sociov raised capital from several angel investors, an Australia-based professor, and a Filipino management consultant. 

There are currently 18 partner coaches earning with Sociov, 94 coaching hours served by these coaches, and 14 clients matched to date through Sociov’s concierge model. There are also 19 learners in its Coaching Academy.

In the web platform, the suggested ceiling price for resume coaching is P500 for a bronze coach, P1,500 for a silver coach, and P4,500 for a gold coach. For job interview coaching, the suggested ceiling price is P800, P1,800, P5,000, and 6,000 for bronze, silver, gold, and platinum coaches, respectively. The startup gets a 20–30% commission for each match. — Patricia B. Mirasol

China digital currency trials show threat to Alipay, WeChat duopoly

REUTERS

SHANGHAI — In China’s commercial hub Shanghai, six big state banks are quietly promoting digital yuan ahead of a May 5 shopping festival, carrying out a political mandate to provide consumers with a payment alternative to Alipay and WeChat Pay.

The banks are persuading merchant and retail clients to download digital wallets so that transactions during the pilot program can be made directly in digital yuan, bypassing the ubiquitous payment plumbing laid by tech giants Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba, and Tencent.

“People will realize that digital yuan payment is so convenient that I don’t have to rely on Alipay or WeChat Pay anymore,” said a bank official involved in the rollout of e-CNY for the Shanghai trial, under the guidance of China’s central bank. The official is not authorized to speak with media and declined to be identified.

China’s development of a sovereign digital currency, which is far ahead of similar initiatives in other major economies, looks increasingly poised to erode the dominance of Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat Pay in online payments.

That turf encroachment coincides with Beijing’s expanding effort to clamp down on anticompetitive behavior in the internet sector, part of a wider reining in of the clout of sector heavyweights.

Regulators scuppered Ant’s record $37 billion IPO in November and earlier this month imposed a sweeping restructuring on the fintech conglomerate controlled by Jack Ma. Mr. Ma’s Alibaba Group Holdings was recently hit with a record $2.8 billion antitrust penalty.

In public, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) says e-CNY won’t compete with AliPay or WeChat Pay, and serves only as a “backup” or “redundancy.”

But in private, state banks marketing the digital fiat currency for the central bank bluntly describe Beijing’s intention to undercut the duo’s dominance.

“Big data is wealth. Whoever owns data thrives,” said another banking official tasked with promoting the e-CNY.

“WeChat Pay and Alipay own an ocean of data,” so the e-CNY rollout facilitates China’s anti-trust campaign and helps the government control big data, he added.

The PBOC and Tencent declined to respond to requests for comment.

Ant declined to comment on the relationship between Alipay and e-CNY. Ant-backed MYbank said it is “one of the parties participating in the research and development” of the e-CNY, and “will steadily advance the trial pursuant to the overall arrangement of the People’s Bank of China.”

DIGITAL CASH
The e-CNY digitalizes a portion of China’s physical notes and coins, or currency in circulation (M0), and was launched last year in small pilot schemes in four cities.

Under a two-tier distribution system, the PBOC issues the digital currency to banks, which pass the money to individuals and companies.

The six banks in the e-CNY pilot schemes include China’s biggest lenders such Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, and China Construction Bank.

“The e-CNY’s ease of use will likely be comparable to Alipay and WeChat Pay, while its security function will likely be higher, and as sophisticated as Bitcoin,” HSBC wrote in a recent report, adding that it expects the digital currency to “proliferate” within China.

Among a slew of likely motivations cited by HSBC behind the push is the central bank’s desire to gain control of payment channels and consumption data from Alipay and WeChat Pay.

CONSPICUOUSLY ABSENT
Digital wallets, which are still being beta tested, can be bundled with a dozen popular apps including Meituan, JD.com, Didi and Bilibili, but conspicuously can not be linked to WeChat or Alipay. That means none of the participating banks can transfer e-CNY between their digital wallets and the two established payment platforms.

“PBOC doesn’t want to see the money being routed through third-party payment systems,” a banker said, citing the need for “information segregation.”

The e-CNY will digitize “the last mile” of consumption, enabling banks and merchants to capture data and gain insights into spending patterns, said Wilson Chow, Global TMT Leader, PwC China.

That data is now dominated by Alipay and WeChat Pay, which control a combined 94% of China’s online payment market.

Mass adoption of the e-CNY won’t happen overnight.

Chow predicts that e-CNY will account for roughly 10% of China’s electronic payments market in a few years, co-existing with Alipay and WeChat Pay.

To entice users, bankers said the PBOC will likely give “red envelopes” of free digital cash or discounts to Shanghai citizens around the upcoming shopping festival, an event aimed at promoting spending to fuel economic recovery from COVID-19.

PBOC deputy governor Li Bo told a forum last week that domestic adoption will precede cross-border payments with e-CNY, which many analysts believe will bolster the yuan’s global status as China seeks ultimately to break the dominance of the dollar settlement system.

“The priority of the yuan’s digitalization is currently to promote its domestic use,” Mr. Li said. — Reuters

Moderna applies for emergency COVID-19 vaccine use in the Philippines

MANILA – U.S. drugmaker Moderna Inc on Monday filed an application for emergency use authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines, Food and Drug Administration chief Rolando Enrique Domingo told reporters.

The Philippines expects the delivery of 194,000 doses of Moderna’s vaccine in May, and another one million shots in July.

The Philippines, which is battling one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in Asia, has so far approved the emergency use of six vaccines in the country. — Reuters

Globe encourages Pinoys to access its lifelines: Hopeline, HealthNow, Bantay Bata #163

To ensure that Filipinos are able to cope with mental and physical health concerns brought about by the pandemic, Globe encourages the public to access its “lifelines” such as Hopeline to receive free 24/7 mental health support, HealthNow to access health services, and Bantay Bata #163 to report domestic and child abuse.

Hopeline is a round-the-clock suicide prevention and crisis support desk of Natasha Goulbourn Foundation (NGF) created in 2012 with Globe providing the necessary technology for its operations. Since then, the hotline has received over 43,000 calls mostly related to depression, suicidal thoughts, and relationship problems in the last 2 years

Those who are in emotional crisis and in need of immediate assistance, may contact the hotline through 2919 (toll-free for all Globe and TM subscribers), (02) 804-HOPE (4673) or 0917-558-HOPE (4673).

“The uncertainties that surround us are a cause for anxiety and concern for many which could take its toll on our mental well-being. We intend for Hopeline to serve as a lifeline to those in need of support, and eventually help ease their burden,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe chief sustainability officer and SVP for Corporate Communications.

The Department of Health (DoH) reported almost 600 suicide-related calls during the months of January and February 2021 alone. The National Center For Mental Health (NCMH) hotline also receives an average of 1,002 monthly calls, with suicide calls accounting for 289 each month.

These staggering figures have given rise to the importance of mental health support platforms that people can easily access. Thus, NGF also partnered with telehealth service integrator HealthNow to give the public more ways to reach the hotline. With the partnership, Hopeline can now be accessed in the HealthNow app’s Urgent Help button which can be found on the app’s welcome page.

“Hopeline Philippines is here to help those with depression and those going through emotional crises especially now during these trying times. It just takes one call to save a life to suicide. One line, one call, one life. Be one with us,” said Jean Goulbourn, president and founder of Natasha Goulbourn Foundation.

HealthNow is a joint undertaking of 917Ventures and AC Health. It is a mobile app that helps patients conveniently consult with a doctor, buy medicine for delivery, and schedule clinic appointments without leaving their homes. The app may be downloaded from Play Store for Android and App Store for iOS.

Globe likewise continues to support the ABS-CBN Foundation, Inc.’s Bantay Bata #163 Helpline, which is free for all Globe and TM mobile phone users. It allows anyone to report child abuse especially during this period when children are at home most of the time. To call, simply dial #163.

Globe strongly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG), particularly UN SDG No. 9 which highlights the roles of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development. Globe is committed to upholding the 10 United Nations Global Compact principles and 10 UN SDGs.

To know more about Globe’s sustainability efforts, visit https://www.globe.com.ph/about-us/sustainability.html#gref.

European Union will let vaccinated Americans visit this summer — official

WASHINGTON — A top European Union official said Sunday that Americans who have been vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) should be able to travel to Europe by summer, easing existing travel restrictions.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told The New York Times that the union’s 27 members would accept, unconditionally, all those who are vaccinated with vaccines that are approved” by the European Medicines Agency. The agency has approved the three vaccines used in the United States (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson).

“The Americans, as far as I can see, use European Medicines Agency-approved vaccines,” Ms. von der Leyen said. “This will enable free movement and travel to the European Union.”

She did not say when travel could resume. The EU largely shut down nonessential travel more than a year ago.

European Union countries agreed this month to launch COVID-19 travel passes that would permit people who have been vaccinated against the disease, recovered from an infection or have tested negative to travel more easily.  — Reuters

UK lawmakers call for PM Johnson to publish big pharma lobbying messages

Image via Freepik.com

LONDON — British lawmakers on Monday called on the government to publish all communications with pharmaceutical companies to understand if private lobbying influenced its opposition to a waiver of intellectual property rules for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines.

The United States and a handful of other big countries, including the United Kingdom, have blocked negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) involving a proposal spearheaded by India and South Africa that now has the support of 100 WTO members.

The proposal would temporarily waive the intellectual property (IP) rights of pharmaceutical companies to allow developing countries to produce vaccines.

The waiver is opposed by the US Chamber of Commerce and big pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson.

A cross-party group of UK lawmakers has signed a statement calling for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, ministers, and senior civil servants to publish all email, text, and WhatsApp messages exchanged with pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists.

Patient advocacy and vaccine equity organizations have also signed the statement, including Global Justice Now, Just Treatment, StopAIDS, Frontline AIDS, Universities Allied for Essential Medicines UK, Students for Global Health, and Nurses United UK.

“The UK’s opposition to an intellectual property waiver on COVID-19 vaccines is utterly indefensible,” said Heidi Chow, senior policy and campaigns manager at Global Justice Now, which organized the joint statement.

A spokesperson for the UK government said it prioritized transparency but stakeholders had a right to expect a reasonable degree of confidentiality in their communications.

The UK was one of the biggest donors to Covax to ensure global access to vaccines and continued to encourage manufacturers to provide their vaccines on a not-for-profit, transparent basis.

“We are committed to exploring ways in which we can improve equitable access further and believe this should be done through the existing Intellectual Property framework,” added the spokesperson.

Last week US lawmakers and nonprofit groups heaped pressure on the Biden administration to back the patent waiver ahead of the next formal WTO meeting on the issue on May 5. — Reuters

 

For China’s property developers, Hong Kong is becoming Shenzhen’s backyard

Charlie Fong / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons

HONG KONG — Chinese property developers have turned their sights to Hong Kong’s border districts as mainlanders from neighboring boomtown Shenzhen consider parts of the former British colony as a more affordable long-term housing prospect.

The development plans are seen by some as a turning point, with buyers from what was once considered Hong Kong’s cheaper industrial hinterland increasingly viewing of the global finance hub as Shenzhen’s “backyard.”

While Hong Kong’s property market remains red-hot, the city’s international economic prestige has come under pressure after prolonged pro-democracy protests in 2019 and sweeping new national security laws last year.

Shenzhen’s stature, in contrast, keeps growing. During a visit last October, President Xi Jinping touted it as “a model city,” flagging plans to increase foreign investment.

In just a few decades, the sleepy backwater on China’s southern border has morphed into a tech hub of about 13 million, people towering over the fishponds and farmland in Hong Kong’s less-developed north. Hundreds of thousands move there every year.

In Shenzhen’s prime districts, such as Nanshan where tech giant Tencent is based, some house prices have already surpassed those in northern Hong Kong, which is one hour or more away from the expensive central business district.

“Our long-term view is Shenzhen will be the center and Hong Kong the periphery,” said an executive at a Chinese developer which bought land in the once less-appealing north, asking not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to media.

“People who work in Shenzhen may choose to commute from Hong Kong where home prices will be cheaper.”

Hong Kong Land Department records show that of the six northern residential plots auctioned off since 2019, three were bought by Chinese developers.

In a separate private deal last year, China Evergrande Group bought 250,000 square feet in the border town of Yuen Long, from Hong Kong’s Henderson Land for $600 million.

Property agents told Reuters the major Chinese developer plans around 200 units in the area and expects most buyers to be mainlanders. It bought at HK$10,000 per square foot and is looking to sell at HK$20,000, which it hopes will attract mainlanders from Shenzhen, an agent in contact with Evergrande said.

In the part of Shenzhen immediately across the border, prices are closer to HK$30,000 per square foot.

Evergrande is also selling 2,000 flats in the Tuen Mun neighbourhood — a 15-minute drive from Nanshan and close to a beach — after finishing a project on a plot bought from Henderson Land for $833 million in 2018.

Shenzhen-based Kaisa Group won a parcel there for $451 million last year, while major developer China Vanke has already built over 1,100 units.

Kaisa said the location, close to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, could benefit from closer integration between cities in the Greater Bay Area. Vanke’s Hong Kong unit said it was convenient for travel to Shenzhen and Macau, but added northern Hong Kong is not its sole focus.

Evergrande declined to comment.

‘ABNORMAL’ PRICES
According to realtor Midland, mainland Chinese bought 40% more residential properties in Hong Kong in the first two months of 2021 than a year ago, boosted by optimism that the border will reopen as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis eases.

The percentage of mainland buyers of new Hong Kong homes bottomed in the second quarter last year at 8.7% of transaction volumes, and rose to 11% in the first quarter this year.

More than 80% of their 2021 purchases were valued above HK$50 million ($6.4 million), Midland said.

“Chinese developers are upbeat about the Hong Kong property market,” said Midland HK residential CEO Sammy Po. “Northern districts are one of the areas Chinese investors are buying in.”

Tuen Mun and Yuen Long saw many anti-government and anti-China demonstrations in 2019. The protests are unlikely to resume, but tensions remain as some long-time residents feel the wealthy newcomers are disrupting their lifestyle.

“Tuen Mun has higher consumer goods prices than the city centre, that’s abnormal,” said 50-year-old Ms. Wong, who only gave her last name due to the sensitivity. — Clare Jim/Reuters

Pru Life UK claims number 1 spot¹ in life insurance industry ranking for 2020

Leading life insurer Pru Life UK is the new number one among life insurers in the Philippines in terms of New Business Annual Premium Equivalent (NBAPE) for the year 2020.

In a disclosure by the Insurance Commission (IC) today, Pru Life UK recorded a total NBAPE of P7.95 billion last year, which represents a 3.7% increase from the company’s NBAPE in 2019.

Pru Life UK President and CEO Antonio “Jumbing” De Rosas

“We are thrilled to finally announce that we are the new industry leader. I extend my congratulations to our PRULifers — agency leaders, agents, distribution partners, and employees — for their relentless commitment to our We DO promise of delivering our products and services with excellence. More importantly, I express our utmost gratitude to all our policyholders for their continued trust in the company,” said Pru Life UK President and CEO Antonio “Jumbing” De Rosas.

According to a media statement by the IC, the country’s life insurance industry as a whole recorded a 5.9% growth in premium income to P247.7 billion in 2020 from P233.9 billion in 2019.

The IC has adopted NBAPE, a global standard, to measure the Philippines’ life insurance industry’s sales performance more accurately. This yardstick helps the government body compare companies’ new sales by considering the two payment methods used in the industry — regular premium and single premium (also known as single-pay or one-time pay). A life insurer’s NBAPE is calculated by adding the value of regular premiums from products sold in a given year (or the initial annualized premiums) and 10% of single premiums written in the same period.

Since establishing operations in 1996, Pru Life UK has repeatedly pioneered new and innovative products for Filipinos. Its achievements include being one of the first companies allowed by the IC to issue dollar-denominated policies and the first to offer unit-linked or investment-linked life insurance products in the Philippines.

Pru Life UK embraced digital solutions and channels early on to propel its business further and expand its customer touchpoints. In 2019, it introduced Pulse, an all-in-one health and wellness solutions app. As a wellness ecosystem, the app educates and encourages users to lead a healthy lifestyle, enables them to interact with each other and offers rewards for completing health-related challenges. At the height of the pandemic last year, the company offered a free Personal Accident insurance and COVID-19 protection through Pulse as an additional measure to safeguard users against the virus. As of today, the app has been downloaded over three million times.

In 2020, Pru Life UK was also the first insurer to operate digitally, with nearly 100% work-from-home capability. It also further promoted Pulse, on which digital life protection solutions and payments were made available to promote customer convenience and safety. Meanwhile, the company’s agency force grew to over 44,000 agents last year, a 21% increase from 2019.

Pru Life UK first entered the top 10 list of life insurance companies in terms of First-Year Premiums in 1998. In 2007, it hit the P1-billion mark in terms of Annualized Premium Equivalent, a 130% growth from the previous year. Thirteen years later, it is now on top of the leaderboard, with a total net premium income of P30.9 billion, a 14% increase from P26.9 billion in 2019.

Twenty-five years of success

This significant achievement coincides with Pru Life UK’s 25th anniversary this year. To celebrate its success, Pru Life UK currently holds the We DO Health & Wealth: 25th Anniversary Celebration, featuring a 25-week free raffle bonanza.

“Last year was especially challenging because of the pandemic, but thanks to the remarkable resilience and strength of our people, coupled with the continued loyalty of our new and existing customers, we thrived. This celebration is our simple way of thanking our customers for letting us be their trusted life insurance partner for two and a half decades. In the years to come, we will continue to uphold our promise to be a company that listens and responds to the financial needs of our fellow Filipinos on their journey to achieve their health and wealth goals, and helps them get the most out of life,” added Mr. De Rosas.

Participants simply need to download Pulse and use its features to earn raffle entries. Users can increase their chances of winning by being more active on the app.

The 25-week raffle draw will award over P6 million worth of prizes to more than 600 winners, including a grand prize winner of P2.5 million cash, 25 winners of an iPhone 12 mini and 24 winners of an e-gift certificate worth P2,500. Official announcements can be found on Pru Life UK’s website and official Facebook page one day after the draw.

Meanwhile, Pru Life UK continues to provide its customers protection against COVID-19 with its latest free PRUPersonal Accident with COVID-19 and vaccine protection cover for adverse reactions valid for one year, issued on a complimentary basis to the first 250,000 registering via Pulse before May 31. This free insurance, a first-of-its-kind that offers the most comprehensive coverage in the industry, builds on the company’s free Personal Accident and COVID-19 protection launched in April last year and was extended to offer pos-COVID-19 vaccination coverage.

Pru Life UK’s unaudited Quarterly Reports on Selected Financial Statistics (QRSFS) for NBAPE in 2020 have been submitted and will be made available on the IC website https://www.insurance.gov.ph. For more information about Pru Life UK’s offerings and the raffle bonanza, visit www.prulifeuk.com.ph.

[1] In terms of New Business Annual Premium Equivalent (NBAPE) for 2020

US to provide vaccine components, medical supplies as India battles COVID-19 spike

WILMINGTON — The United States will immediately send raw materials for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, medical equipment, and protective gear to help India respond to a massive surge in coronavirus infections, US President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., said on Sunday.

“Just as India sent assistance to the United States as our hospitals were strained early in the pandemic, we are determined to help India in its time of need,” Mr. Biden said on Twitter after the White House announced a list of measures.

National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said US officials were “working around the clock” to deploy available resources and supplies to help India manufacture the Covishield vaccine and tend to the millions of Indians who are sick and dying. The United States will also send therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits and ventilators.

Washington was under mounting pressure to help India, the world’s largest democracy, after Britain, France, and Germany pledged aid over the weekend.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all citizens to be vaccinated and exercise caution, as the country set a global record for new COVID-19 infections in a single day. 

The United States was also pursuing options to provide India with oxygen generation and related supplies, Ms. Horne said.

US Representative Ro Khanna, Democratic vice-chair of the Congressional India Caucus, welcomed the announcement but urged Biden to go further and give India the United States’ unused COVID-19 vaccines doses from AstraZeneca Plc.

“Let’s use the US military and get as much oxygen and AstraZeneca doses to India as fast as we can,” he said.

The top US infectious disease official, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told ABC News on Sunday such a move was “something that certainly is going to be actively considered.”

AstraZeneca’s vaccine is not yet approved in the United States, which has stockpiled millions of doses, and top U.S. health officials have said they have enough doses of approved versions by three other drugmakers to inoculate all Americans in coming weeks. The nation’s top business lobbying group has also pushed the administration to send AstraZeneca’s vials to countries grappling with rising cases.

The White House had no comment on the possibility of providing AstraZeneca doses to India.

Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, said the engagement of top Biden administration officials reflected a welcome “seriousness of purpose” in addressing the crisis in India, but details were lacking.

He said the messaging around any loan of AstraZeneca doses should be carefully prepared to avoid the impression that Washington would be offloading “something that it doesn’t want.”

Senior US officials have expressed concern that new variants of the virus emerging in India could undermine progress made in the United States in fighting the pandemic.

The new wave of infections also threatens the economic recovery of India, the sixth-largest economy in the world.

Ms. Horne said the United States would send a team of experts to work with India from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and US Agency for International Development.

In addition to the immediate aid, the US Development Finance Corporation will fund a substantial expansion of manufacturing capability for Indian vaccine maker Biological E Ltd, or BioE, enabling the company to produce at least 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2022. — Andrea Shalal/Reuters

[B-SIDE Podcast] Intentional communication, career progression

Follow us on Spotify BusinessWorld B-Side

Alorica, a provider of customer management outsourcing solutions, has a young workforce: 30% are from Gen Z, and around 61% are millennials. “Freedom of thought is very important for them,” said Irene L. Tan, vice-president for learning and development at Alorica Philippines, Inc., who added that the company has benefited from the “brilliant ideas” originating from these generational cohorts. In this episode of B-Side, she tells BusinessWorld reporter Patricia B. Mirasol how intentional communication and creating a culture of care are key to retaining young talent when most of them are working from home because of the pandemic.

TAKEAWAYS

To keep young employees engaged, have a clear message. Embrace social.

Intentional communication — clear and purposeful messaging that accounts for the feelings of the receiver — is vital since 60% of Alorica’s Philippine workforce have been working from home since the pandemic struck.

“We repackaged our whole training program so it fits the virtual setting. We focused on how [frontline leaders] coach or problem solve virtually.”

Alorica produces videos, infographics, and micro-learning content to keep its young employees engaged. Its learning academy offers courses that support career pathing, leadership development, and life skills. Among these are “Til Debt Do Us Part” (a personal finance course) and “Before You Click Send” (a digital communications course). Self-paced materials have proven popular in the academy because of the greater control it allows. 

“It’s very important for our young workforce to make sure we have the social media aspect with features they enjoy that we can bring in a controlled environment,” she said, adding that both Gen Zs and millennials have a learning orientation that is very digital and process information in bite-sized pieces. 

Personal attitude dictates the pace of career growth… 

Self-motivation and the willingness to learn will allow employees to advance. “The opportunities are there,” she said. “It’s up to you how you will grab and learn from every opportunity. It all begins with how you challenge yourself.” 

Added Ms. Tan: “We promote 80–90% of folks from within so we need to have a very strong bench training for leaders.” 

…and so does adaptability.

One’s degree should not limit one’s career path, as the skills and knowledge learned can be adapted to other fields and functions. “You can grow laterally in an organization,” said Ms. Tan. “Adaptability is one of the special traits we look for.” 

Recorded remotely on May 14. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez, and Sam L. Marcelo.

Follow us on Spotify BusinessWorld B-Side

Honda rolls out great deals under Summer Holiday Service Offers

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) Honda’s automobile business unit in the Philippines announces its “Summer Holiday Service Offers” promo, which features different discounts and deals offered until May 31, 2021, at select Honda Cars dealerships and service centers nationwide.

Customers may enjoy a 20% discount on select genuine parts, lubricants, fluids, and accessories such as PM 2.5 cabin filter, regular cabin filter, spark plug, battery, brake pad, brake shoe, mineral oil (10W30), super long life coolant, automatic transmission fluid, manual transmission fluid, power steering fluid, HCF-2 CVTF fluid, brake fluid, and our existing additives such as engine cleaner and engine oil treatment.

Moreover, in order to provide clean air within the cabin ensuring a safe drive during the new normal, a 20% discount is given on the Honda-approved air purifier.

Additionally, customers may enjoy buy one (1) take one (1) promo in select original equipped (OE) City (2013-2020) and BR-V (2017-2021) tires. A 50% off discount is available on every purchase of two (2) City and BR-V tires, inclusive of seven (7) year manufacturer warranty from date of production.

On top of all these offers, different Honda services such as the Free 30-Point Check-up, BLITZ 1-Hour Preventive Maintenance Service, and Mineral Oil (10W30)-Based Change Oil Package with a discounted price of PHP 1,700 from the original suggested retail price of PHP 1,915 (for out-of-warranty vehicles only).

To know more about the Summer Holiday Service Offers, and the latest HCPI news and promos, visit the nearest participating Honda Cars dealership, or access Honda Cars Philippines, Inc.’s VIRTUAL SHOWROOM through HCPI’s official website at www.hondaphil.com.

For details, visit or call any of our select participating dealers today!

Applicable to dealerships nationwide:

Honda Cars Ilocos, Inc. Honda Cars Kalookan (Balintawak) Honda Cars Calamba
Honda Cars Pangasinan, Inc. Honda Cars Alabang Honda Cars CamSur (Pili)
Honda Cars Isabela, Inc. Honda Cars Global City Honda Cars Lipa City
Honda Cars Bulacan Honda Cars Makati, Inc. Honda Cars Cebu, Inc.
Honda Cars Nueva Ecija, Inc. Honda Cars Pasig Honda Cars Cagayan de Oro
Honda Cars Tarlac, Inc. Honda Cars Shaw Honda Cars Iloilo
Honda Cars Pampanga, Inc. Honda Cars Manila Bay Honda Cars Mandaue
Honda Cars Angeles-Clark Honda Cars Batangas, Inc. Honda Cars Negros Occidental
Honda Cars Baliuag Honda Cars Cavite Honda Cars General Santos, Inc.
Honda Cars Quezon City Honda Cars San Pablo Honda Cars Zamboanga
Honda Cars Manila

 

Service Centers:

La Union Service Center
Sta. Rosa Service Center
TandangSora Service Center

 

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