IT-Academe alliance pushed

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu Educational Development Foundation for IT (Cedfit) aims to strengthen the industry-academe linkage system in Cebu to sustain the ICT growth in the province.
Cedfit president Bonifacio Belen said that although the industry-academe linkage structure is already there, this time a more active stance will be started by Cedfit to sustain Cebu’s position as one of the premier ICT destinations in the world.
In coordination with the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines, Belen said Cedfit will soon formulate a sound roadmap for a stronger industry-academe linkage in Cebu.
Because the ICT industry is the most dynamic sector, the academe has to trail blaze with the fast changing need of industries for specialized skills, especially in high-value IT skills like programming, software development, animation, and others.
This effort is not only seen to attract big-ticket investments for ICT sector, but also promote the “brain-gain” bid of the country, luring Filipinos who are working abroad, to come back home, and find the stable job opportunity.
A sustainable industry-academe linkage is very important for the growth of the sector they are complementary sectors that one cannot survive without the other.
Cedfit, which primary aims to sustain and increase the quality and quantity of manpower in ICT industry in Cebu, will soon introduce its industry-academe roadmap, which include the provision of ready-employment for ICT graduates from different universities and colleges in Cebu.
For high-value skills in IT profession, such as software and web development, technical support, and other complicated and sophisticated skills demand in the sector, most big companies offer at least P40K a month salary.
Currently, there is a shortage of supply for high-value IT skills. Demand is estimated at 1,500 per year. Cebu on the other hand, can only supply an average of 50 software engineer graduates a month.
The influx of big names in the IT industry in the world, that have existing operations in Cebu, will surely attract more multinational IT companies to come to Cebu.
Belen said the province should be ready to supply with the needed talents of these IT company giants.
The challenge now is on how to improve the number of graduates having specialized degrees in different ICT fields.
 This is the reason why a more intensified academe-industry linkage will be set up in Cebu. Serious partnership between these two sectors should be sustained for long term, and Cedfit is going to cement this system further.
Another challenge is also in the engineering methodology process of doing high-end IT works, Belen said.
“Higher-end IT is very broad, and complicated. Its skills’ requirement is also constantly moving,” he said.

Source: The Freeman Cebu

Microsoft slashes licensing, software fees for iCafe

CEBU, Philippines - In its effort to sustain the Internet Café industry (iCafe) in the Philippines, Microsoft Philippines has rolled out the lowest priced software products and licensing for the first time in history.
Microsoft Philippines Inc. License Compliance Manager

Fortune Abelo-Magsadia announced to at least 130 iCafe owners the Microsoft’s industry strengthening efforts through its Microsoft iCafe Program.
“In the past eight years, Internet Café owners had been asking for best price. To help them with their businesses we introduced this program designed for the industry, with affordable software and licensing prices,” Magsadia said in an interview.
The iCafé program is Microsoft's response to one of Internet café customers' unmet needs: secure a dependable computing experience in a shared PC space.
Like Internet cafés, Microsoft aims to give more underserved Filipinos access to technology.
“Microsoft wants to forge a partnership with Internet cafés to achieve its shared purpose of empowering more Filipinos with technology

, especially those who cannot afford to own a PC,” she said.
Microsoft offers secure and dependable computing in licensing packages that are relevant and affordable for Internet café owners who are looking to serve their customers better and expand their business, she stressed.
As an introduction to the program, Microsoft announced the major slash of Windows 7 (Operating Software) from P9,000 to P2,000 (plus) until May of this year.
Microsoft Office on the other hand, is now pegged at P999 including rental rights fee.
The Billgates-owned company has picked Cebu as its pilot area for the national launching of this program.
“There are a lot of benefits that an iCafe can take advantage of, once they will enroll in the program,” Magsadia said.
Aside from slashed prices, the program offers value added services for free, such as billing and metering tools, PC help tools, among others.
“We are trying to provide them [iCafe owners] value added services and products,” she explained.
This effort is part of Microsoft’s bid to help iCafe industry to operate in legitimate business, meaning employing licensed software, and grow their businesses, at the same time helping the rest of Filipino people to have easy and affordable access to the world-wide-web.
Because of bottleneck competition, the iCafe industry in the Philippines is now struggling and is now in the “survival of the fittest” mode. Getting help from the major infrastructure provider, like Microsoft, is a big help for the industry.
In an earlier interview with one of the largest players in the Internet Café industry in Cebu Francis Lim, he said that profit in Internet Café business is shrinking.
With the seemingly saturated market for Internet Cafes that becomes like a Sari-Sari store, that one can find an Internet Café in every corner Lim said the battle in the industry now is providing value-added services, while renting charges have dropped significantly over the years.
While a lot of Internet Café businesses have folded up in the last few years, because of tough competition, Lim said others are thriving, as they have continuously invested on sustainable measures like software and hardware upgrade, and providing conducive ambiance both for gamers, and web browsers.

Source: The Freeman Cebu

Korean investor calls for more inbound flights to Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - Korean investor in Cebu are requesting for more flights

from Korea and other foreign countries to Cebu to give boost to the already increasing number of tourist arrivals in the province and in the whole country in general.
Imperial Palace Waterpark and Spa General Manager Richie Kang said that they are hoping that the Department of Tourism would address the need for more flights coming in to Cebu.
Kang said during the weekly 888 news forum in Marco Polo Plaza Hotel that at present there are already flights from different airline companies like Korean Air however there is still a need for more.
He said that for Imperial Palace, almost 50 percent of their guests are Koreans while 25 percent are Japanese, Chinese and Europeans while 25 percent are locals.
These numbers are continually increasing said Kang since they go to different countries and promote not only their Imperial Waterpark but Cebu and the Philippines as well.
For the Korean market, Kang said that it decreased in the past year by 15 percent due to the economic crisis plus the A H1N1 scare in September to November.
However, he said that they have seen the numbers go up by December, which is also the summer break for Koreans, and since a lot of Korean parents send their kids to Cebu to learn English.
According to Kang, it is relatively cheaper for parents to send their kids to Cebu than to have it in Korea . He said that the presence of the students here, who spend a maximum of three to four months for their classes, go to Imperial Palace before they go back to Korea or when their parents visit them.
He also pointed out that Koreans see Cebu as one of the safest provinces.
Department of Tourism Senior Adviser Phineas Alburo said that with the help of the new tourism act or the RA 9593, the need for more flights would certainly be looked into especially with DOT Secretary Ace Durano appointed as the Vice Chairman of the Civil Aviation

Board as per the new tourism act.
Alburo added that they are “optimistic but cautious” on a better tourism performance for 2010 despite a not fully recovered economy yet due to the global economic crisis.
In fact, he said that there is better performance now, arrival wise, and indicates a good year for the tourism industry.
Jenny Franco, the Vice President for Visayas for the Tourism Congress said that the matter of adding more flights for major destinations was even part of their strategic planning in the tourism board.
Franco said that this will certainly be given due attention especially since they have the Cebu Interline Association with them which could represent the private sector from the airline industry in Cebu .
The increasing tourists arrivals in the province would also be accommodated well said Senior Adviser Alburo with more hotels opening.
He said that also with Imperial Palace opening up, the 556 rooms are a welcome addition to the 14 thousand rooms all over Cebu.—

Source: The Freeman Cebu

Cebu's first IT incubation facility gets DOST support

CEBU, Philippines - The Technology Business Incubator (TBI), which is the first IT incubation facility in Cebu, is set to go full swing, after getting the full support of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
The TBI at the University of the Philippines Visayas Cebu College (UPVCC) provides both office space and services, where technology based start-ups can be nurtured and given knowledge and skills to succeed.
In a press conference, UPVCC Dean Enrique Avila said that this year TBI, in partnership with DOST and other support organizations like the Ayala Foundation, will roll out its services components to the potential techno-preneurs.
TBI Incubator manager

Pauline Wade said that the establishment of the facility is one of the primary tools to arrest brain-drain, and promote “brain-gain” encouraging brilliant developers to start their own, and make their name in the world’s technology trade, rather than being employees of technology giant companies.
According to Wade, the incubator concept, just like what other countries are doing, is expected to lure more Filipinos to “come home again” and take advantage of their skills and become successful entrepreneurs.
UPVCC is one of the two universities in Cebu, which was given by the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) the recognition as “Center for Excellence” in Information Communication Technology (ICT).
Avila said that UPVCC is going to make IT as the anchor-course of the college. The TBI on the other hand, will provide a venue for students to pursue their innovations and software creations in order to be recognized in the market.
One of the concerns aired by the local techno-preneurs here, through the Cebu Software Development Association of Cebu (CebuSoft) is the continued piracy of brilliant developers by the technology giants, thus the local software development industry has remained struggling.

Source: The Freeman Cebu

Cebu property owners, developers asked to submit more documents to increase city’s tax collections

IN order to improve the city’s tax-collection efforts, the Cebu City Council has passed an ordinance requiring property owners and developers to submit to City Hall more documents pertaining to any horizontal and vertical developments.

The ordinance, approved by the council last week, requires property owners and developers to submit to the city documents like service and supply contracts with their contractors, list of materials and suppliers, and contracts with subcontractors.

The documents will be required in getting building, occupancy and other permits from City Hall.

The author of the ordinance, councilor Nestor Archival, said the measure is two pronged: One is to encourage developers to hire Cebu City-based contractors; and two, for the City Treasurer’s Office to properly assess development as basis for the collection of real-property tax.

“We are creating a system where the Office of the Building Official [OBO] and the city treasurer have the same records,” Archival told the BusinessMirror. “This will ensure that developers and contractors will be honestly declaring their projects and they will be properly taxed.”

Archival said many contractors working on the city are actually from other cities and are just hiring subcontractors here. With the ordinance, the city government will be able to properly impose taxes on the developers who will, in turn, be encouraged to hire city-based contractors.

Underdeclaration of incomes by contractors will be caught when their projects seek for occupancy permits—which will reflect the magnitude of the projects they worked on. Developers cannot also underdeclare their developments as this will be cross-checked with documents from the contractor.

Archival said the ordinance will not create another layer of red tape as the documents required by the OBO and the treasurer must already be ready before projects start and the city is only asking for a copy.

The ordinance is also not meant to impose another layer of tax as the city is only relying on old tax codes and rates. The city treasurer and the OBO are only streamlining their process to be more efficient.

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Source: Business Mirror

Remittances rise to $17.3B in 2009

THEY always knew their goal would be exceeded, and sure enough, on Monday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said overseas Filipino worker (OFW) remittances grew at an annual clip of 5.6 percent to hit $17.3 billion in 2009.      

This was faster than the hoped-for growth of just 4 percent in a year when such flows were to suffer along with many others because of the global economic crisis.

BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. never doubted the OFW remittances would remain resilient, no matter the dour forecasts that this important source of foreign exchange would fall victim to the global crisis as well.      

But according to BSP Deputy Governor and officer in charge Diwa Guinigundo, the cumulative remittances of overseas Filipinos coursed through banks were stronger than expected in 2009.

Instead of growth of just 4 percent as expected, these grew instead by 5.6 percent year-on-year to $17.3 billion, or $200 million more than target.

The 2009 level exceeded the BSP’s forecast of $17.1-billion remittance flows, or a 4-percent growth for the year.

Remittances from sea-based and land-based workers rose by 12.1 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.

For December 2009 alone, remittances grew by 11.4 percent, registering the highest level at $1.6 billion, he said in a statement.

These flows provided strong support to domestic demand, allowing the country to evade a feared recession by actually growing 0.9 percent in terms of the gross domestic product (GDP).

The remittance level for the year accounted for 10.8 percent of GDP as it proved resilient amid the recent global financial crisis.

Guinigundo said the remittance flows were underpinned by factors, such as the sustained demand for Filipino workers overseas, specifically the skilled workers such as engineers, medical practitioners and teachers; and the conduct of bilateral talks with host countries which continue to open up new employment opportunities abroad for Filipinos and facilitate hiring of displaced workers who were affected by the global economic difficulties.

The remittance flows were also affected by the continued expansion of bank and nonbank service providers’ international and domestic market coverage to capture a larger share of the global remittance market, as well as the introduction of innovative products and services that cater to remitters’ specific needs.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said 41.6 percent or 221,548 of the total approved job orders of 532,214 in 2009 were processed during the year, possibly adding to the stock of remitters.

Processed job orders comprised mainly of service, production, and professional, technical and related job categories needed in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Hong Kong.

The remaining 58.4 percent are still to be filled up.

The geographical diversification of OFWs has also contributed to the resilience of remittance flows.

Since not all host countries were severely affected by the global financial crisis, Middle East countries (Saudi Arabia, in particular, which is the major destination of OFWs) continue to absorb a significant number of deployed OFWs, including those that have been displaced elsewhere, Guinigundo said.

Source: Business Mirror

Robinsons Land posts double-digit first-quarter profit

The real estate arm of the Gokongwei Group of Companies reported double-digit profit growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal year buoyed by strong earnings from the flagship mall division.

In a filing to the local stock exchange Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) said net income from October to December 2009 rose 28 percent to P869.2 million. This, on the back of combined revenues (which includes hotel revenues) which added 10 percent to P2.49 billion.

The growth was driven by the company’s 41-percent hike in the earnings of the commercial centers division, which accounts for over half of the company’s gross revenues or P1.4 billion.

“Significant rental increment was contributed by the newly opened malls in Dumaguete, Ilocos Norte, General Santos, Tacloban and Davao. Metro Manila malls led by Robinsons Galleria Ortigas also contributed to the growth while other provincial malls also posted decent growth in rental revenues,” said RLC. 

This improved profit picture was also supported by interest income and movie revenues which amounted to P100 million and P164 million for the period, respectively. Without these, the segment still posted a 16-percent growth.

The high-rise and residential building division, which accounts for 22 percent or P603 million of revenues, saw a decline of 14 percent due to lower completion of several projects.

However, significant revenues were realized from recent projects such as East of Galleria, Gateway Garden Heights, McKinley Park Residences, The Fort Residences and Woodsville Viverde.

The office space and hotels segments each contributed about a tenth of total revenues at P264.8 million and P289.2 million, respectively. Office rentals were up 5 percent due to rental charges from Cybergate Centers 2 and 3. Lease income is derived from six office buildings, Galleria Corporate Center, Robinsons Equitable Tower, Robinsons Summit Center and Towers 1, 2 and 3 at Robinsons Cybergate Center.

Meanwhile, hotel revenues were higher by 3 percent due to the opening of Summit Ridge Tagaytay Hotel. The other existing hotels—Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila, Holiday Inn Galleria Manila and Cebu Midtown Hotel—posted occupancy rates of 76 percent, 79 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

The housing and land development division reported realized revenues amounting to P136.1 million, from P137.2 million during the same period last year, or a slight decline of 1 percent. This was brought about by lower percentage completion of various ongoing projects.

Shares of Robinsons Land added 2.17 percent to end Friday’s session at P11.75 each.

Source: The Business Mirror

Total budgets P300M for expansion efforts

FRENCH-owned Total (Philippines) Corp. has earmarked for this year more than P300 million
to expand its domestic business and operation systems, Ernst Wanten, the company president
and managing director, said on Wednesday.
At the inauguration of Total’s double-hulled, double-bottom MT Camille vessel, Wanten said the
company is here to stay amid the challenges faced last year.
“We will continue to invest in the Philippines. This year alone we have budgeted over P300
million to fund our expansion program,” said the Total executive.
Wanten added that they are ready to pour in more resources to meet the energy requirements
of the country should the right opportunities come along.
Part of its expansion program, Total recently upgraded its waterborne fleet with the acquisition
of MT Camille, a 3,651-deadweight-ton vessel, which is under an exclusive time charter with
Sun Marine Corp. Total said MT Camille is classified by the Korean Register of Shipping to
have been accredited by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS). IACS
assesses a ship’s structural strength and integrity, power generation, function and reliability of
systems, and other built features with regard to maintaining essential services on board.
Total said MT Camille will also go through the company’s strict vetting process to make sure the
vessel complies with regulatory standards.
Wanten said industrial safety and environmental stewardship are paramount to his company.
He added that in the case of marine transport, the acquisition of MT Camille starts with strict
selection criteria for chartered ships, followed by one of the most stringent vetting processes in
the oil industry.
“And while current shipping policies mandate a 20-year age limit to ships over 30,000 tons, we
have a modern fleet with an average age of five years,” Wanten said.;
MT Camille, which was built in 2004, can attain an average speed of 11.5 knots while carrying a
capacity of as much as 4.12 million liters of different white petroleum (gasoline, diesel and
ethanol) products.
It is also equipped with computerized cargo handling, advanced navigational, oil pollution
prevention and first-class satellite communication systems.
Dexter Flores, Total vice president for operations, said the new vessel will improve the
efficiency of the company’s waterborne distribution network by as much as 30 percent. “Its
bigger capacity, faster speed and higher discharging rate mean that we will be able to deliver
more products to more customers in a much shorter time,” he added.
In November Wanten said they have programmed to invest P120 million in Cebu to expand their
retail network. “The plan to expand in the Visayas, through Cebu, is an indication of [Total’s]
long-term commitment of doing business in the country amid some issues that continue to
hound the industry,” he said.
Wanten said they are planning to construct at least eight to 10 retail stations in Cebu. The first
station, he added, is expected to open shortly after Christmas or before the end of the year.
Wanten said they plan to build three more retail stations around Cebu in the next six months.
The Total executive said they will also put up a P10-million depot in the province. The facility will
have a capacity to store 2 million liters of various fuel products although this can be easily
expanded to accommodate more inventory.
He added that they will continue to expand their retail stations in Luzon. “In the past 12 years of
its operations in the country, we have already invested P4 billion in the country. The focal point
remains to be Luzon since there are still a lot of opportunities in the island-region,” Wanten said.
Total has been expanding its sales network by about 10 to 15 stations every year.

Source:  business Mirror