Singapore-based blockchain firm Pundi X announced that it has onboarded Ambidextr as a partner merchant, enabling the latter to accept cryptocurrencies as payment options for its services. This makes the digital marketing firm the first Philippine-based business to accept crypto payments through Pundi X.
With the partnership, clients who wish to avail of Ambidextr’s advertising services will be able to pay for them using one of the various cryptocurrencies supported by the Pundi X payment ecosystem spanning over 16 tokens, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), XEM, and Pundi X’s own token, the NPXS. This will allow for more
secure and seamless payments powered by blockchain technology.
“Our partnership with Ambidextr proves that our technology can enable crypto payments for a variety of use cases,” said Zac Cheah, Co-founder and CEO of Pundi X. “While the XPOS continues to empower brick-and-mortar merchants all over the world, this partnership gives businesses a safer way to pay for not just products but services as well, furthering our commitment of making blockchain more accessible for everyone.”
“At Ambidextr, we believe in harnessing the power of technology to optimize processes, and that carries over to our payments,” said Junie Agcaoili, Managing Partner of Ambidextr. “We’re honored to partner with Pundi X in enabling our clients to not only be exposed to cryptocurrency but also to experience for themselves its numerous benefits.”
Digital payments for digital marketing
Ambidextr will be accepting crypto payments through the XWallet, Pundi X’s mobile app that supports a variety of cryptocurrencies and facilitates smooth transactions. Clients who wish to pay for Ambidextr’s services such as media relations, events management, and inbound marketing through cryptocurrency will only need to download the XWallet app, top it up with a crypto asset of their choice, and scan Ambidextr’s QR code to complete the transaction.
Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. (PCPPI) joins Asia CEO Awards Circle of Excellence for Corporate Social Responsibility through the company’s commitment to uplifting the Filipino community.
Dubbed as the Oscar award for businesses, Asia CEO Award acknowledges corporate and non-corporate organizations for their contributions to nation-building through projects promoting environmental protection and awareness, livelihood programs, and youth development.
PCPPI made it to the list of esteemed corporations with notable entries that include its national LuntiangYaman Program and “Water for Peace in Marawi”.
Embarking on sustainability early on, PCPPI kicked off its LuntiangYaman program in 2014, which is its overall sustainability goal for water, electricity and fuel consumption. Last year, through the LuntiangYaman program, the bottling firm reduced water use by 32.1%, electricity by 36.2%, fuel by 6.5%, and recycled 81% of in-plant waste. With the efficient use of natural resources, PCPPI increased cost savings and market recovery while reducing its environmental footprint.
“Westarted our LuntiangYaman program to create a culture of environmental responsibility within our operations,” PCPPI Senior Vice President Allan Frias said. “We wanted to uphold our commitment to sustainability within the company to positively impact the many communities that surround us. Through their engagement with PCPPI, we hope to encourage these communities to start their own sustainability journey and magnify the impact of sustainable practices across the country.”
In 2018, PCPPI further strengthened its commitment to sustainability through the launch of its sustainability framework anchored in a three-pronged approach to ‘Engage, Transform and Lead’. Focusing on three priority areas – Water Stewardship, Circular Economy and Inclusive Business, the company bolstered its commitment to uplifting communities, which led to more impactful initiatives like “Water for Peace in Marawi”.
“Water for Peace in Marawi” is a program between PCPPI, the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) and the Local Government of Lanao del Sur to bring aid to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Marawi after the city’s five-month siege. Providing access to clean and safe water much-needed by the communities especially at the time of Ramadan, PCPPI turned over seven 20,000-liter tanks to a total of six transitional shelters, and one 3,200-liter water tank each to ten underserved schools. The company also conducted trainings on water efficiency and promoted proper hygiene and waste management through Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) activities which include series of lectures and workshops for both student and parent attendees.
In the recently held Global Handwashing day, PCPPI conducted WaSH trainings in TucaBoganga Elementary School and Marantao Elementary school. Nearly 500 students received hygiene kits, and parents and teachers participated in seminars further discussing proper hygiene and vaccination in relation to the recent Polio outbreak.
PCPPI also activates its large network of employee volunteers, led by the company’s Bukluran Council, for annual programs such as the Department of Education’s BrigadaEskwela and the coastal clean-up drives.
PCPPI’s nationwide BrigadaEskwela 2019 benefitted over 500 students with high-grade drinking fountains in five schools surrounding their Modern Trade Operations, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog Region, Cebu, and Davao offices. The company also promoted hygiene and sanitation by conducting proper handwashing demos and donating handwashing facilities with hygiene kits that has served over 1,000 students.
Recently, PCPPI actively participated in the local observance of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day 2019, which is the largest volunteer effort for ocean’s health. The company had over 321 volunteers joining the operation with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) local units nationwide. The volunteers cleaned an estimated 5km of distance, picking up a total 3,102 kg of trash that filled 242 trash bags.
“As we champion sustainability in every aspect of our operations, we strengthen our cause with the values we uphold in the company and carry it on outside the walls of our offices and plants. Everything PCPPI achieves and continues to achieve is because of our concerted efforts ultimately aimed at uplifting the lives of every Filipino.” Frias concluded.
As consumer tastes steer towards an increasingly eco-conscious society, more entrepreneurs are finding opportunities along the intersection of “good for business” and “good for the planet”. Conceived at Asian Institute of Management’s Sustainable Tourism Hackathon in 2017 and founded by Paul Joseph Galacan, travel platform Trakaro aims to promote awareness for sustainable tourism in the Philippines.
Trakaro provides users a tourism establishment’s sustainability—and not just their customer—rating, a measurement made possible through the triple bottom line Fylla rating system the Trakaro team conceptualized with the help of AIM’s Dr. Andrew L. Tan Center for Tourism.
The app targets avid travelers who are willing to do their share in advocating for a greener future but are wondering what the practices and benefits of sustainability are.
It can be described as the local TripAdvisor for sustainability. But what makes a business sustainable in the first place?Paul Galacan, Founder and General Manager of Trakaro Sustainable Travels, giving a talk on sustainability in Zambales.
Defining a sustainable business
Trakaro determines the sustainability of the establishments they rate through the triple bottom line approach of their Fylla rating:
1. Planet. Preference is given to locally sourced food as well as ingredients that are more sustainable (e.g., meat vs. vegetables) and sourced directly from farmers. They ascertain these variables through Transforming Tourism Value Chains with their SEC-registered NGO partner, the Philippine Center for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development, Inc.
2. People. Preference is also given to those that empower the local community and give economic incentives to locals for them to stay and not migrate. Those who hire within the community and whose employees have families that live in the vicinity have higher ratings.
3. Profit. This refers to how businesses keep their bottom lines healthy whilst keeping their practices sustainable. “If customers have great experiences, then that translates to higher profits,” Galacan says. The startup wants to do away with the stigma that sustainability is bland and boring.
Fylla has a 0-10 metric with 7 being the minimum passing grade.
The team further attests the accuracy of their ratings system by engaging with trusted establishments and checking receipts to ensure that the said facilities have a healthy carbon footprint. And whenever possible, they do personal site visits too.
Business must be pursued “with a judicious use of resources, overall well-being of people, and ecological good in mind,” says Jove Benosa, Zero Waste Campaign Officer of EcoWaste Coalition. He explains that a significant way of doing this is ensuring businesses are compliant with these ecological solid waste management tenets of Republic Act 9003: [1] avoidance if not reduction of plastic waste and plastic product packaging; [2] minimizing and optimizing food wastes; [3] performing primary waste segregation; [4] practicing recycling and reuse; [5] observing segregated waste collection and schedules; and [6] proper disposal of residuals (e.g., bulky, toxic/special wastes).
Abigail Aguilar, Regional Urban and Mindset Campaigns Coordinator of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, adds that a sustainable business should look at all aspects of its business model, from food sourcing and disposal to energy and water use.
At present, Trakaro limits their platform to the assessment of hotels, restaurants, and tour operators. They don’t yet have the expertise as yet to put into metrics other factors such as waste management, plastic use, and energy consumption.
“We are inviting other rating systems like the Anahaw Awards and the Zero Carbon Resorts in the platform so that it’s not just the Fylla rating proving the sustainability rating of the establishments. It also helps us make Trakaro a holistic platform,” Galacan shares.Caption: The Trakaro team from left to right – Paul Galacan, General Manager; Jo Anne Paril, Sales and Marketing Head; and Kat Chua, Business Development (photo by Joshua Gantuangco).
Opportunities for growth
Greenpeace Southeast Asia’s Aguilar notes that “good initiatives” like Trakaro “need to be developed and mainstreamed. They not only provide info for travelers and other concerned citizens, they point them in the right direction of businesses that are doing their best to lower their environmental footprint.”
She suggests looking at some other aspects that could be incorporated into a business’s Fylla rating: rainwater harvesting, reusable cutlery, paperless offices, composting, and solar panel installations.
EcoWaste Coalition’s Benosa echoes the need for proper engineering infrastructure, water conservation, and renewable energy. He states that these actions “could be carried out with proper education and a robust campaign to all stakeholders. These just need to be reviewed, relearned, monitored, and effectively enforced.”
Individuals are becoming more aware about their carbon footprint and how their activities impact nature. Trakaro is one of a growing number of startups that hopes to meet the need for sustainable solutions that empower communities and help the environment.
THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry is set to pilot educational programs to reskill and upskill 1 million workers over five years to adapt to automation.
Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) President and Chief Executive Officer Rey C. Untal said in an interview on Monday that he wants the industry’s upskilling program to exceed the 100,000 per year employment growth target.
“Why one million? We also want to get ahead of the curve. We don’t want to just meet what our growth trajectory is. We’re saying: if we will aspire for a program, then we might as well exceed what we are shooting for,” he said.
Upskilling and reskilling includes workers already employed in the IT-BPM industry. The five-year timetable starts as soon as the program is launched.
Mr. Untal said that industry’s employment growth would mostly come from higher complexity work.
P40 BILLION NEEDED
The IBPAP analysis found that the upskilling and reskilling of a million workers would require P40 billion in funding from government and foreign assistance.
Mr. Untal noted that a proposal approved in the House of Representatives and now being considered in the Senate to reduce corporate income tax rate and overhaul fiscal incentives sets aside P5 billion yearly for the skills upgrade program of the industry.
Programs would include partnering with universities to send IT-BPM employees to teach classes, help craft curricula based on industry needs, and invite lecturers to companies to learn best practices.
IBPAP also hopes to tap online training providers.
Mr. Untal said that meeting the employment growth target had been a challenge in the past two years, with rivals like India moving to upskill their employees ahead of the Philippines.
“The challenge will continue. But what we have seen is the pivot [to more complex functions] is already happening,” he said.
With upskilling, Mr. Untal said that the Philippines could increase jobs in the industry by attracting more contracts even as existing contracts shrink due to automation. Employees that lose jobs can be moved to new contracts as companies diversify their portfolios and retrain workers.
Mr. Untal said that talent and the right business environment is key to attracting potential investors. The industry targets to have 15% of the global market.
Mr. Untal said that IBPAP plans to sign a memorandum of agreement with an agency on Oct. 29 to formalize an arrangement to make available training opportunities for employees and future employees in the industry.
The industry recorded $24.8 billion in revenue 2018, about six percent more than the previous year’s $23.4 billion. Last year’s growth was faster than the 2.18% increase recorded in 2017, but still short of the nine percent annual revenue growth target in the IBPAP 2022 road map.
The industry also had 1.23 million direct employees last year, about five percent from 2017 but below the eight percent annual road map target.
IBPAP will be releasing its recalibrated road map targets during its International Innovation Summit on Nov. 12 at Manila Marriott Hotel in Pasay City. Plenary session topics include demystifying digital transformation, establishing lifelong learning and employability, and legislative priorities.
THE PROPOSAL to extend employees’ probation period to two years from the current six months has no chance of approval in the Senate, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said on Wednesday.
Probinsyano Ako Rep. Jose C. Singson, Jr. filed House Bill No. 4802, which he said intends to enable employers to further train and assess whether employees meet job demands.
Asked about its chances in the Senate, Mr. Sotto told reporters “palagay ko malabo (I think chances are slim that that bill will be approved).”
Senate Minority leader Franklin M. Drilon, for his part, had earlier said the bill will be “dead on arrival.”
Mr. Sotto agreed, saying in jest: “malamang, baka sa ambulansya pa lang, on the way, hindi on arrival, on the way (It will likely die in the ambulance on the way, not on arrival).”
The bill sought to amend Article 296 of Presidential Decree No. 442, or the Labor Code of the Philippines, by stretching the allowable period for probationary employment up to 24 months. Mr. Singson argued in the explanatory note of the bill that the currently prescribed six months is “insufficient,” particularly in positions that require specialized skills.
Mr. Sotto, however, said the proposal will worsen contractualization in the country, which Congress has been trying to address through tighter restrictions on contracting.
Mr. Sotto said he does not agree with the bill “sapagka’t ang pinaguusapan nga natin alisin ang contractualization (because we are actually looking at the end of contracting),” he said.
“Ito parang pinapalapad mo ‘yung contractualization, pinapahaba mo lalo (Under this bill, you are prolonging contracting periods).”
A bill setting stricter contracting controls was approved in the last Congress but was vetoed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte due to provisions employers objected to. The bill had been refiled both in the Senate and in the House of Representatives, respectively by Senator Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) Rep. Raymund Democrito C. Mendoza. Both are now being discussed at the committee level.
NO BUSINESS, LABOR SUPPORT
Sought for comment on the move to prolong employees’ probation period, a senior official the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECoP) President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. said in a telephone interview on Wednesday: “We were not consulted on that, so we have nothing to do with that bill; and as a matter of fact, we are trying to see what is really the value of that bill.”
“Offhand, wala naman kaming naririnig o nagku-complain (we have not heard any complaint) whether from the employer or the labor side na maikli ‘yung six months (that the current six-monthy probation period is too brief).”
For the Associated Labor Unions-TUCP, “the bill will have a very negative impact sa mga (on) workers because… mas lalawak ‘yung poverty gap (it will worsen poverty as workers concerned will not be entitled to benefits given to regular employees,” ALU-TUCP Spokesperson Alan A. Tanjusay said in a telephone interview.
Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III in an Oct. 19 statement opposed the proposal, saying it will deny workers their right to security of tenure. He said the two-year probation is “too long” and is not in accordance with the Duterte administration’s policy. — Charmaine A. Tadalan
ILOILO CITY — Minimum wage rates in Western Visayas are expected to increase before the end of the year following the regional board’s approval.
Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE)-Western Visayas Regional Director Cyril L. Ticao said the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) will submit the new rates to the National Wages and Productivity Commission, a DoLE attached agency, for approval.
“Padala pa ni sa (It will be sent to) Manila for approval sang (by the) National Wages and Productivity Commission. After that, i-publish for 15 days so possibly last week of October or first week of November mag-take effect,” Mr. Ticao said in an interview on Tuesday.
Under the new wage order, the daily minimum rate of workers employed in non-agriculture, industrial and commercial businesses with more than 10 workers is set at P395, up by P30 from P365.
Those employed by businesses with up to 10 workers will get a P15 increase to P310.
For the agriculture sector, the new daily minimum wage will be P315 from the current P295.
Existing rates took effect July 12 last year under Wage Order No. RBVI-24.
Mr. Ticao said the RTWPB approved the new rates after holding a review and public hearings on the petition filed by the New Independent Workers Organization based in Negros Occidental last July.
The original petition sought a P60 increase for non-agriculture/industrial/commercial with more than 10 workers, as well as P50 for those with up to 10 workers and in the agricultural sector. A separate rate increase of P80 was also proposed for workers on the tourist island of Boracay.
The Western Visayas RTWPB covers the provinces of Negros Occidental, Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, and Iloilo, including their respective component cities and the independent city of Iloilo. — Emme Rose S. Santiagudo
BEIJING — China will implement new regulations that aim to make it easier to do business from Jan. 1, 2020, China’s state planner said on Wednesday, amid increasing pressure on the world’s second largest economy.
The new policies will guarantee equal market access and protect fair competition in the market. They also promise to strengthen existing protections under the law.
Foreign companies operating in China have long complained of unfair treatment when it comes to market access, burdensome red tape and weak law enforcement. China’s private firms, which have a harder time accessing financing than state-owned enterprises, have also been harder hit by the economic slowdown.
The measures said that foreign and domestic companies should be treated equally, as should all types of market entities regardless of ownership.
China will set up a punitive damage system for infringements on intellectual property, according to the measures. Intellectual property protection is a key issue in negotiations between China and the United States that seek to end a bruising trade war.
Public bids and government procurement should be transparent, fair, and open to all, the measures said.
The European Chamber of Commerce in China complained of “blatant discrimination” against foreign companies in public procurement, in a paper released in September.
The measures come as recent data points to increasing pressure on China’s economy, which grew at a near-30-year low in the third quarter this year. — Reuters
FOR MEMBERS of the LGBTQ community, coming out of the metaphorical closet is the first step into a new life, and it makes the difference between merely surviving and really living. In coming out, someone steps out of the smoke and shadows they’ve wrapped around themselves. It’s not an easy step, and it always takes years of self-examination, and of course, it comes with the fears of rejection, and several hard questions for yourself and others.
And now members of the LGBTQ community will have a tasty way of announcing what some call their “second birthday.”
Just as some families have gender-reveal parties for their soon-to-be-born babies where one of the rituals involves cutting open a cake and revealing a color inside (pink for girls, and blue for boys), gays, lesbians, and the rest of the rainbow brigade can have the same experience — on their own terms — with a series of LGBTQ cakes from The Cakeshop by Sonja, in a campaign called My 2nd First Birthday.
“The advocacy aims to celebrate the second time a person recognizes his/her/their new gender identity in a bid to renew lives, push for acceptance, give pride and celebrate genuine love in society. The recently unveiled campaign launched a short film featuring celebrity fashion stylist, Vince Uy, and introduced a special line of cakes, which features designs and colors inspired by the LGBTQ community,” explained a press release.
The special line of cakes introduced by Sonja’s founder Sonja Ocampo include “O-Gay Cake,” a chiffon layered cake with a surprise of chocolate nibbles inside; the “Les-bi Honest Cake” which is slathered with marshmallow icing; and the “BI-the way,” “Transtastic,” and “Queerly Beloved” which are pound cakes covered with thick buttercream with colorful layers inside representing the different LGBTQ flags, thus sending a message of diversity, even within the spectrum of the LGBTQ rainbow.
A portion of each sale of the cakes until December will go to the LoveYourself Foundation for its mission to provide aid to HIV+ patients.
The cakes were launched in Glorietta on Oct. 11, which was National Coming Out Day.
Said Ms. Ocampo, “It’s a celebration. It’s about people finding the courage to celebrate themselves entirely for who they are. Loving yourself and being yourself is something to be celebrated.”
She pointed to the cakes, which are plain on the outside, but are riotously colorful on the inside. “Some of them might look ordinary on the outside, but I guess what matters is on the inside,” she said, a lesson we can all learn.
At the end of the day, is it really just a cake? A confection in the face of a life about to change is but a small mercy; a small step, but Paul Junio, Digital Strategy and Brand Management Head from LoveYourself Foundation said, “If you have a lot of small steps… it will really make a big impact.” — Joseph L. Garcia
PANAY ELECTRIC Co., Inc. (PECO) is allocating about P1.1 billion in the next 10 years to upgrade and expand its existing facilities, including the construction of new substations and the replacement of its meters with “smart” ones, a company official said.
“One of the issues we see with Iloilo is that in 10 years time, we’re gonna get 180 megawatts (MW). So to source that supply, you’re really going to have to have creative solutions,” Marcelo U. Cacho, PECO head of public engagement and government affairs, said in a briefing on Wednesday in Taguig City.
PECO has embarked on four solutions, namely retail electricity supply, net metering, “pasa kuryente” that allows the transfer of a consumer’s excess capacity, and lease-to-own solar energy systems.
Mr. Cacho, a fifth-generation member in the family business, said the company has also launched its smart metering project, which allows prepaid metering, real-time wireless meter reading, automatic disconnection and reconnection. Smart meters also lower the rates due to customer load profiling, he said.
“We’re expecting an investment of close to P205 million for the smart meters,” he said of the capital expenditure in the next five years or until 2024.
“Then of course, there’s an opex (operating expense) component. So the opex component we can estimate between P10-P20 million,” he said.
At present, the company has a total customer count of 64,000, Mr. Cacho said, translating to a peak demand of 123 MW, which is reached during the month of May.
The company has so far installed 2,000 smart meters and another 2,000 will be delivered within the year.
On net metering, a program that allows customers with their own power generation systems to sell their excess capacity, PECO takes the energy thrown back by its customers’ solar energy systems and credited to their regular electricity bill.
“Our net metering system further gives our consumers the power of choice, because now they can choose to generate their own electricity and save money in the process,” Mr. Cacho said.
“Pasa-kuryente” service allows solar panel owners to pass on to other consumers any excess power their system has generated.
“These are just some of the initiatives that PECO has done for the Ilonggos,” Mr. Cacho said. “But we’re not stopping there, because we believe that the people of Iloilo deserves a dynamic kind of service that is improved and enhanced as the years go by.”
Iloilo-based PECO claims to be the first 100% Filipino-owned private enterprise and the leading energy innovator in the Visayas. The distribution utility has been serving Iloilo for the past 95 years.
ON A recent trip to Iloilo, Jeannie Javelosa, chief visionary officer of GREAT Women (the acronym for Gender-Responsive Economic Actions for the Transformation of Women) — a platform that supports women for economic empowerment through microenterprises — visited a weaving community and noticed that production speed was slow. The older weavers said that poor eyesight made it difficult to work.
“We can help enhance the productivity of our weavers by having their eyes checked and giving them new eyeglasses. We had wondered why our GREAT Women weavers were so slow and realized it was because many of the older weavers could not see anymore,” Ms. Javelosa said.
GREAT Women focuses on the sustainable supply chain of yarns, textiles, lifestyle apparel and gifts. It works closely with 40 weaving communities including indigenous communities, nationwide.
As a way to help the community of weavers, restauranteur Trish Panlilio opens its third culinary collaboration with GREAT Women at Mulberry Door in BGC, Taguig City.
“We are happy to be partnering with the GREAT Women platform, because our rich indigenous Filipino culture is something to be proud of and its preservation is something that we openly ought to support,” Ms.Panilio said in a press release.
DINING FOR A CAUSE
In line with the collaboration, 20% of the proceeds from selected dishes in the existing menu of Mulberry Door will be donated to GREAT Women to help in providing eyeglasses or spools of thread to the Bagobo Tagabaw and lbaloi community weavers.
The selected dishes from Mulberry Door are Chipirones, Bone Marrow Onion Soup, Mushroom Chicken Asiago served with Sourdough Bread, Callos with Garlic Baguette, Luca’s Chicken Kiev with Mashed Potatoes, Eggplant Parmigiana with Ciabatta, and Lemon Carbonara.
“We need to find meaning in our collaborations, in the kind of work that we do and the cause we support,” Ms. Javelosa told the press over lunch on Oct. 16.
The collaboration runs until the end of December.
SLOW BUT QUALITY FASHION
In celebration of National Indigenous Peoples’ Month, Shangri-La Plaza will host the People’s Pride Cultural Fair, a pop-up trunk show in partnership with GREAT Women on Oct. 24 to 27 at the mall’s East Atrium. The event will showcase food and craftsmanship of Filipino indigenous groups such as the T’boli, Yakan, and Maranao.
“You cannot be a great woman kung cute ka lang (if you are just cute). You are a great woman when you are helping others and in the process, you become empowered,” she said.
Mulberry Door is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at 8 Forbestown Road, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. For more information and reservations, call 8810-5427, 0918-998-7474, or 0977-412-8002. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman
AIRASIA Philippines is aiming to swing to profit this year.— FILE PHOTO
PHILIPPINES AIRASIA, Inc. said its load factor rose to 86% during the third quarter of 2019, as it expanded its capacity with the launch of new international routes.
In a preliminary operating statistics report released by AirAsia Group Berhad, AirAsia Philippines’ load factor stood at 86% during July to September, from 77% during the same period a year ago.
Load factor is the measure used by airlines on how much an aircraft’s carrying capacity is utilized.
“AirAsia Philippines expanded capacity by 19% during the quarter on the commencement of new international routes and an increase in frequency on both domestic and international sectors,” the budget carrier said.
During the third quarter, AirAsia Philippines’ capacity stood at 2.45 million seats, 19% higher than the 2.05 million seats a year ago.
AirAsia Philippines carried 2.1 million passengers during the third quarter, a 33% increase from the 1.57 million passengers recorded a year ago.
As of end-September, AirAsia Philippines had a fleet of 24 aircraft versus 21 aircraft a year ago.
Earlier this month, the company said it is delaying its initial public offering to next year or 2021, as it focuses on corporate reorganization.
AirAsia Philippines is aiming to swing to profit this year from posting a net loss of P2.11 billion in 2018. It is also hoping to hit revenues of P30 billion by end-2019. — Arjay L. Balinbin
THE Samsung Galaxy Fold will be sold in the Philippines “soon” following its official launch in other markets last month, the company said in a statement on Tuesday, which comes after a months-long delay because of a defect in the foldable phone’s design.
“Following the successful launch of the Samsung Galaxy Fold last month where it sold out in a number of countries, Filipino consumers now get to take part in unfolding the future of devices as Samsung brings this new category of mobile technology to the Philippine shores soon,” Samsung Philippines said.
“During the past several months, Samsung has been refining the Galaxy Fold to ensure it delivers the best possible experience. Not only did Samsung improve the Galaxy Fold’s design and construction, but also took the time to rethink the entire consumer journey,” it added.
The Galaxy Fold, first announced by Samsung Electronics Co. in February, was set to be released in April. However, problems with the phone’s screen prompted the company to push back its launch to address the issues.
Local pricing has not been released, but the Galaxy Fold is sold starting at $1,980 in the United States.
“The category-defining Galaxy Fold is a device that defies the barriers of traditional smartphone design. Now, we’re excited to release this pioneering mobile technology, and allow consumers to experience it for themselves,” said DJ Koh, Samsung Electronics President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division.
“Consumers have responded positively to larger screens, and the Galaxy Fold’s revolutionary form factor offers a bigger, more immersive screen without sacrificing portability. This is what we call innovation of new mobile experience in action.”
The foldable phone has a clamshell design. Its main display is a 7.3-inch Dynamic AMOLED Infinity Flex Display. Meanwhile, the cover screen is a 4.6-inch HD+ Super AMOLED Display.
“When closed, users can access essentials on the cover display comfortably with one hand, and when opened, they can explore new ways to multitask, watch videos, play games, and more, on its immersive 7.3-inch Infinity Flex Display,” Samsung said.
The Galaxy Fold has six cameras: a 10-megapixel (MP) cover selfie camera, two front cameras (10MP selfie camera and 8MP RGB Depth camera), and three rear cameras (16MP ultra wide camera, 12MP wide-angle camera and 12MP telephoto camera).
“The Galaxy Fold transforms how users capture, share, and edit mobile content. When closed, you can shoot a quick video, and then simply open the device to watch it on a larger screen — with App Continuity, the video seamlessly transitions from the cover display to the main display,” the company said.
“With Multi-Active Window, you can run multiple apps at once in real-time and effectively multitask: Edit footage, browse through the photo gallery for still shots, and read emails from friends and co-workers, all at the same time.”
The phone runs on Android 9 and has 12GB RAM with 512GB internal storage. Its LTE model features a 4380mAh battery, which is fast charge compatible on wired and wireless. The Galaxy Fold also has a 5G model.
Samsung said every Galaxy Fold comes with exclusive access to specialized customer care services, including one-on-one access to Samsung experts and a 24/7 support hub online or over the phone.
“Samsung will further elaborate on its plans in the Philippines to ensure every aspect of the Galaxy Fold experience is as extraordinary as the device itself,” it said.
