Businessmirror october 07, 2017

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overheating I

By Bianca Cuaresma

NG Bank Manila economist Joey Cuyegkeng believes a few cracks are already showing in the country’s fastgrowing economy, hinting of potential overheating down the line. This is despite the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s (BSP) repeated assurance that the economy can handle the pressure.

Cuyegkeng said strong liquidity conditions and loan growth, plus the most recent upside surprise to the September inflation print, add up and amplify the concerns of overheating in the local economy.

“These developments add to a growing list of data indicating the possible beginnings of overheating. The list includes imbalances—deterioration of the trade deficit and current account, acceleration in fiscal spending and a wider budget deficit,” the private economist added.

An overheating economy is one whose capacity to produce cannot keep up with the pace of its demand expansion. Inefficient supply allocations also arise, as stakeholders start overestimating the economy’s potential for further growth. Overheating in the economy could feed into a high economic growth that is unstable and unsustainable, and ultimately triggers a significant increase in the country’s inflation rate.

Latest data from the Central

Bank showed cash supply in the country—broadly measured as M3—accelerated to 15.4 percent in August from the 13.5 percent in July. While the BSP does not give actual projections for the country’s M3 growth, officials earlier said they expect liquidity expansion to be around 9 percent to 12 percent for 2017.

The 15.4-percent acceleration in August, Cuyegkeng said, is also stronger than expected, per their current models. The economist said ING Bank antici-

pated only a marginal acceleration of M3 to around 14 percent in the month—still within their so-called sweet spot of noninflationary money-supply growth of 10 percent to 15 percent.

The strong bank lending was also flagged by Cuyegkeng, saying the 20.4-percent loan growth in August beat their anticipation of a moderation of credit expansion, as compared to the 19.7-percent increase in July.

“The acceleration we saw may Continued on A2

No stopping rapid hike in Manila office-space lease

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By Roderick L. Abad | Contributor

espite the looming slowdown in the growth of the information technology and business-process outsourcing (ITBPO) industry—the biggest workplace occupier in the country today—Manila will continue to post the highest increments in prime-office rents among the global cities in Asia Pacific up to 2020, with a projected cumulative increase of 19.1 percent.

PESO exchange rates n US 50.9510

Per the three-year forecast of Knight Frank (KF) for 15 Grade A office markets in the region that was announced by leading realestate service provider Santos Knight Frank (SKF) during the recent launch of the fourth edition of Global Cities: The 2018 Report in the Philippines, strong demand from the offshoring and outsourcing market will continue to push rental levels upward in the country’s capital.

This shows that Manila is fast becoming a global city and is now a vital hub for industries such as information technology and business-process management (ITBPM), according to Rick Santos, chairman and CEO of SKF.

“After witnessing unprecedented growth in this megacity over the last decade, we expect Ma-

nila’s expansion to accelerate along with the Philippines’s booming economy, as demand for space remains robust,” he said, while citing that more than 3 million square meters of new office space will be added to the market in the next four years

Brisbane, which is just 2.6-percent shy of matching the growth pace of the frontrunner, is likely to register the second-highest level of increases in prime lease rates at 16.5 percent between 2017 and 2020.

Just this year, the Australian city has seen rental growth returning following years of contraction since 2013.

Likewise, Singapore, a highly developed city-state that has experienced office lease softening since the second quarter of 2015, is bucking the downward trend, with a spike on

lease charges at 15.8 percent, as demand begins to exceed supply.

Bangkok will have the fourthfastest rise in asking fees at 11.4 percent. Hong Kong is next with rental hike at 10 percent due to an anticipated constant influx of tenants from mainland China.

Completing the 13 markets that will enjoy a surge in lease growth over the three years are Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) at 8.7 percent; Seoul, 8.1 percent; Mumbai, 7.7 percent; Melbourne, 7.4 percent; Sydney, 5.8 percent; New Delhi, 4.6 percent; Kuala Lumpur, 2.5 percent; and Tokyo, 1.8 percent.

Despite healthy demand, Shanghai (-0.2 percent) and Beijing (-0.3 percent) are the only two markets projected to see softening of rents, as more inventory of office spaces is added to these Chinese

cities over the period.

“On a regional basis, the performance and fundamentals of the Manila office market look solid.

While some of the other Southeast Asian markets are seeing demand [to] remain sluggish and the major Chinese cities are seeing huge amounts of new supply, the Manila market has one of the tightest vacancy rates in the region, and looks set for a strong 2018,” said Nicholas Holt, Asia Pacific head of research at SKF.

‘No effect’

THE demand for office spaces will not be affected by the perceived weakening IT-BPO momentum.

This was underscored by SKF top executives despite reports on the sluggish industry growth.

Continued on A2

n japan 0.4519 n UK 67.4999 n HK 6.5263 n CHINA 7.6538 n singapore 37.4392 n australia 40.0628 n EU 59.9184 n SAUDI arabia 13.5866

Source: BSP (5 October 2017 )

Alphaspirit | Dreamstime

Economy showing more signs of

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Saturday, October 7, 2017

No stopping rapid hike in Manila office-space lease Continued from A1

On September 27 the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) revealed in a media briefing that the local outsourcing sector expects annual revenue expansion level to just be around 9 percent until 2022, much lower than the 17-percent growth it was used to seeing in the past six years.

“But we’re not seeing that happening anytime soon,” SKF Senior Director for Research and Consultancy Jan Custodio said of their company’s expectations .

Under the IT-BPO industry’s 2022 road map, the sector is seen to generate revenues of $38.9 billion by end-2022, from a six-year revenue of $25 billion until 2016.

“Again, the Philippines is a major destination for outsourcing jobs. And with the qualified labor and the more affordable rates that we’re offering, we’ve always maintained that competitive level on a global scale,” Custodio said.

The outcome of Knight Frank’s study, likewise, contradicts projections of Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC), which bared in its September 25 news conference that the domestic office market has witnessed a decline in takeup from IT-BPOs in the first eight months of this year compared to the same period in 2016.

Of the 653,589 sq m of leased and under-negotiation work spaces

in Metro Manila from January to August 2017, outsourcing and offshoring firms occupied some 41 percent, or about 268,000 sq m.

During the same period in 2016, the real-estate advisor and brokerage firm disclosed that the IT-BPO players accounted for 65 percent of rented office space nationwide.

“We’ve always maintained our positive outlook in this sector over the years. In fact, when people were saying that the industry was going to go down, we’ve always maintained our position that the industry was always trying to grow. And over the years, we’ve always been right in our predictions,” Custodio said.

“We have a different position with regard to the position of IBPAP and the other service providers. Though we are not at liberty to discuss some certain issues, we are still seeing growth in the industry,” he added.

Security threats, tax reforms

Santos said concerns of potential locators, such as security risks in the Philippines, specifically the peace-and-order problem in Mindanao, have no bearing at all on the current status of the outsourcing sector.

“With the Marawi situation, it’s not something to consider,” he said, while conceding that some of the call centers might have slowed down a bit in their expansion to

this conflict-stricken area.

But in terms of some of the captives, the SKF chairman and CEO cited that they continue to grow and expand.

“The bulk of the BPOs will really be going into Southern Luzon, and they’re also be going to Cebu [and the] Visayas area. There are BPOs who go to Mindanao, but that number is not significant,” Santos said.

For SKF Senior Director for Tenant Representation and Office Agency Joanie Mitchell, the companies going out and expanding in large quantities are the ones who actually feel worried about the situation in the war-torn areas of Mindanao.

“So I think it was more of the small- to medium-size players. But the bigger players were still in the market,” she said.

As to the tax-reform agenda of the Duterte administration that might result in drastic changes to the industry, she cautioned that uncertainties could make it hard for companies to expand here.

“That’s a big issue because it pertains to their operating cost.

That could have added not only 12 percent on their rent, but also the importation of all their hardware, which, based on existing incentives of the Peza [Philippine Economic Zone Authority], were VAT exempted. So I think once we resolve that, things will get a bit more back to normal,” Mitchell said.

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Economy showing more signs of overheating Continued from A1

partly reflect some frontloading of purchases ahead of the implementation of the tax-reform package that not only includes lower individual income tax and higher excise taxes for fuel and sweetened beverages, but also higher excise taxes on automobiles,” the economist said.

Higher inflation

The bigger indicator, however, is this week’s announcement of the Philippines’s September inflation rate at 3.4 percent—the highest in five months.

While these sharp growth trends in the monetary conditions of the Philippines are seen to reflect strong economic activity and likely represent a good GDP turnout for the second half of the year, Cuyegkeng said the flip side to this acceleration is that demand pull pressures on prices are likely to continue rising.

“The September inflation rate, together with the acceleration in monetary indicators, add other indicators that may presage overheating. The other indicators include imbalances in the economy—wider trade deficits, a current-account deficit and fiscal deficits, and a positive output gap since 2016,” the economist reiterated.

Cuyegkeng is not the first to warn the country about the potential risks of overheating, which is now showing its early signs and symptoms.

In February international credit watcher Fitch Ratings said the Philippines is still at risk of overheating and overinvestment

“amid persistent high loan growth, particularly in the real-estate sector, as the industry has been a significant source of credit over the last five years.”

Singapore-based DBS Bank, in June, also said given the aggressive infrastructure overhaul, “there is a need to manage overheating risks in the economy”.

Moody’s Investors Service, in its June assessment of the local economic dynamics, also found a number of indicators pointing to overheating risks in the Philippine economy.

“While broad macroeconomic stability has been maintained so far, a number of metrics indicate material capacity constraints that signal a risk of overheating,” the credit watcher said.

Thus, Moody’s said it could only consider raising the country’s rating should the government succeed in defusing signs of prospective overheating in the economy and financial system, aside from improving the predictability and stability of the political climate.

IMF’s word

In early August the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in the conclusion of its Article IV Mission in the country that while the country’s strong growth is broadly stable, economic managers should continue to be vigilant of overheating risks particularly attached to strong loan growth and investment.

“The combination of rapid credit growth, buoyant private investment and fiscal expansion could lead to overheating,” the IMF said.

“IMF staff team supports the

authorities’ plans to raise infrastructure and social spending while avoiding overheating and preserving investor confidence,” the global monetary authority added.

Time to tinker

Thus, to curb the overheating risks and concerns, Cuyegkeng believes the Central Bank needs to pull the trigger and start tinkering with its monetary-policy levers before the year ends.

“We continue to expect that the BSP may need to implement a preemptive tightening at the December meeting to head off overheating in the economy. This would also address the need to possibly reanchor inflation expectations while preserving interest-rate differentials [in the wake of a likely Fed rate hike],” the economist said.

The Central Bank has been maintaining key policy rates unchanged since 2014.

In its latest monetary-policy meeting, the BSP’s Monetary Board decided to maintain the interest rate on the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase (RRP) facility at 3 percent. The corresponding interest rates on the overnight lending and deposit facilities were also kept steady. The reserve requirement ratios were likewise left unchanged.

The decision was made on the back of a “manageable inflation environment”, albeit admitting that the balance of risks to the inflation outlook also continues to be on the upside. The BSP still expects inflation to fall within its 2-percent to 4-percent target for the year, particularly averaging at 3.2 percent for this year and in the next two years.

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The World BusinessMirror

Saturday, October 7, 2017

A3

Choco lovers take a big bite out of cocoa glut

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hocolate lovers in Asia are taking a big bite out of the global cocoa glut. From India to China, where demand is growing faster than in major markets like Europe or the United States, consumers are eating more chocolate. At the same time, big growers in West Africa are harvesting smaller crops. Top processors Cargill Inc. and Barry Callebaut AG expect those trends to erode a glut that made cocoa one of the worst-performing commodities the past year.

“The crop probably will not be as strong as last year, and you’ll see growth in demand,” Harold Poelma, president of Cargill ’s cocoa and chocolate unit, said in an interview in Singapore. “These two things together make for a modest surplus, which is the expectation that we have now.”

Cocoa prices plunged 34 percent last year and are dow n again in 2017, after big harvests in Ivory Coast and Ghana overwhelmed demand. Production in the t wo countr ies—which account for two-thirds of global supply—is now set to fall, as is the harvest in Indonesia, Asia’s

top producer. Citigroup Inc. forecasts the surplus will shrink to as little as 50,000 metric tons in 2017 to 2018, from almost 500,000 tons a year earlier.

Since touching a nine-year low in April, cocoa on ICE Futures US in New York is up 19 percent to $2,084 a ton on Thursday. While hedge funds have been betting all year that prices would keep dropping, they have reduced their net bearish holdings for three straight weeks to the lowest since early August.

To be sure, any rally may be limited because there is still too much cocoa left over from last

Sweet tooth

year’s harvests, though the glut is shrinking, Citigroup said in a September 20 report. The bank sees prices at $2,005 this year and $2,150 in 2018.

Still depressed

“World cocoa-bean prices are likely to remain depressed in 2018, amid forecasts of another year of oversupply and increased inventor ies due to favorable weat her,” Bloomberg Intel l igence analysts Diana Gomes and Duncan Fox wrote in an October 3 report.

Top producer Ivor y Coa st har vested a record crop in t he season t hat just ended, w it h purchases e xceed ing 2 mi l lion tons for t he f irst time. Out put may shrink to 1.88 million tons t his year, accord ing to t he med ian estimate in a Bloomberg su r ve y of t raders, a n a ly st s, brokers and g r inders. Ghana, the second-biggest grower, will delay the start of the new cocoa crop as it waits for the proceeds of a $1. 3 -bi l l ion s y nd ic ated loan to pay far mers.

Supply in A sia is a lso set to

dec line as gover nment incentives mean Indonesian far mers favor ot her crops, inc luding cor n, r ice a nd pa l m oi l.

Product ion by A sia’s big gest g rower is e x pected to shr ink by 8 percent t his year and 10 percent in 2018, accord ing to ag r i-tech star t-up P T Koltiva.

A s a resu lt, t he countr y w i l l need to import a record volume of beans t his year, Soetanto Abdoellah, the chairman of the Indonesian Cocoa Board, sa id in an inter v iew in Singapore t his week.

That ’ll just add to demand t hat ’s a lready accelerating in A sia as incomes g row and peo ple develop a taste for choco l ate. W h i le con s u mpt ion i n Europe and t he A mer icas has ea sed sig n i f ic a nt ly, it ’s now a lso “recuperating ,” sa id Ben De Schr y ver, Bar r y Ca l lebaut’s A sia-Pacif ic president.

“If the economy continues to grow, as we foresee it, we also expect that cocoa and chocolate will grow, particularly in Asia, where you have people moving into middle-class incomes and people getting more familiar with the product,” Cargill ’s Poelma said.

Asian demand will probably climb 3 percent to 4 percent annually in coming years, compared with long-term global growth of 2 percent, according to the trading company. India’s annual growth in chocolate and cocoa consumption over the next five years may be close to 15 percent.

While demand in China has been f lat in the last few years, it may rebound to 3 percent to 4 percent in the future.

“We’ll be coming off a big surplus, the crop will be a little bit lower,” De Schryver said in an interview this week while attending the International Cocoa Conference in Singapore. “This year it will be down, we don’t know how much it will be down. It’s too hard to predict at this point.”

Bloomberg News

A4

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Epic ad creativity judged by journalists worldwide

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By Roger Pe

o r mo ne y - g r a b b i n g. H av i n g said that, the mix has changed slightly. We get more entries f r o m i n d e p e n d e nt a g e n c i e s now—in fact, t hey ma ke up around 50 percent of our entries—while the networks tend to enter slightly less work, but of a ver y high quality.

et’s avoid the fancy titles.

Let’s just call them creative Directors. Creative director A is former boss of Creative Director B. The former transfers to another advertising agency but the creative umbilical cord between the two remains rubbery strong.

Creative Director C is from a competing ad agency. For some reason he doesn’t get invited to chi-chi parties and other industry events where CDs A and B are always present.

Creative Director D is from a local ad agency. He wants to penetrate deep into the inner circle of A and B but always ends up an outsider. Reason: He is not from a multinational ad agency.

Creative Director E is a charming social butterfly and with an odd foreign accent. She spends more precious executive hours i n i ndu st r y meet i ngs rat her than brainstorm with her agency wards. She also gets invitations to judge more than what she could chew.

Creative Director F is a protégé of an industry “kingmaker”. She is a remnant of an old epoch. She has been in advertising when digital was still an unknown territory.

All these characters are fictitious. But they are becoming real.

Picture all of them in a highprofile advertising creativ it y judging. Walk through the cocktails’ beso-beso, with echoing guffaw in the background as sound effects. You may chance upon phubbing (combination of “phone” and “snubbing”.

To be phubbed is to be snubbed by someone using a cell phone while in your company and not paying attention. As you mingle and hear red-wine glasses clinking, and see the hors d ’oeuvres cleaned off the trays, you hear the head of jury say, “ Time to scrutinize the entries!”

He makes a speech and reminds that you abstain from voting for your agency’s entries. Hmm, who will give out fat zeroes or perfect 10s? Let’s see.

After rounds of voting, score sheets are turned over to auditing firms. The short list and the final list of winners are not supposed to leak. Even media are told to embargo the news prior to “The Big Night”, also called the gnashing of teeth and moment of whining, by the way.

Biases in advertising award judging? Let’s face it, they have been talked about for many years.

Some people don’t want to speak up because it may doom their career.

But we’ve seen one or two big ad agency networks, at certain times, express their sentiments, even declaring not participating.

Ivan Raszl, owner of one of the world’s most browsed advertising creativity sites, “Ads of the World”, says: “The credibility of some awards is very low because we are awarding ourselves. A multinational head of creative judges another multinational ad agency work, and vice versa.

“Just the night before, they both drink and party together on the same beach.

“The industry is small and all big shots know each other. It’s just unrealistic to expect from people who know each other and, most of the time, respect and like each other, to be objective. If they hate each other, it’s even worse. Their decisions will be consciously or unconsciously affected by their personal relationship,” he continues.

R aszl notes t hat independent fashion jour na lists and critiques judge fashion shows.

Independent safety and other authorities rank new models in car shows. “It would be inconceivable and ridiculous if Vivienne Westwood were to judge Tommy Hilfiger’s work, or if Ford were to rate Volvo’s safety

Who designed the Epica logo and why was it named that way?

We rebranded a couple of years back. Our web site and logo were designed by an agency called Vasava, in Barcelona. They’re extremely talented friends of mine: we worked together years ago on a book about the history of the jeans brand Diesel. The pyramid represents the peak of success, of course, while the black lines represent lines of print. Epica stands for the Editors’ and Publishers’ International Creative Awards.

Would AI (artificial intelligence) invade advertising in the future? ratings. Yet, that’s exactly what the advertising industr y does,” he says.

lifestyle trends. He is also a favorite speaker at conferences around the world. Here he is:

Independent, third-party judging

Apart from being the only awards show judged by journalists around the world, what makes Epica an important awards show?

The solution to this uncomfortable situation, according to Raszl, is to create juries that consist of one or a mix of real consumers (like a trial jury), clients or independent advertising critiques, probably made up of journalists from major ad publications.

“When creatives judge their fellow creatives in awards shows, one might argue that it’s a good way to ensure strong work. Others might argue, it gets a bit ‘incestuous’,” Adweek, another global advertising trade magazine, says.

Epica Awards

Founded in 1987, Epica is the only major ad industry awards show judged solely by journalists working for marketing and communications publications around the world. It highlights that its judges are journalists who are largely detached from the personal relationships of advertising— and even barred from judging work from their home countries.

We persona lly inter v iewed Mark Tungate, a British journalist and author of “The Epica Book”, Adland: A Global History of Advertising, and other subjects specializing on media, branding, travel,

I think the answer is in the question. The fact that we have this unique jury of journalists means that we’re entirely objective and unbiased. None of our jurors are going to vote for or against a piece of work depending on whether they once worked at the agency, or they’re in the same network, or a rival network. They are interested in great work, that’s all. I’d also say Epica, as an event, is one of the few places where the worlds of journalism and creativity overlap.

But as communities, both agencies and journalists are storytellers. So they can learn from one another.

Has the number of entries to Epica Awards grown over the last three to five years? If yes, how many percent?

Well, we’re a fairly modest awards show and the number of entries has stayed fairly stable at around 4,000 a year. In fact, in 2016, the exact number was 3,800, a 2-percent increase on the previous year. Obviously, it would be nice to have more, as the fridge in our staff kitchen need s repl ac i ng , but, at t he same time, we’re not g reedy

There have been a few recent examples of agencies experimenting with AI, but they remain fairly anecdotal for the time being. It’s true that chatbots are being used as marketing tools and replacing customer help departments. But I’m pretty confident there will always be room for human creativity. Our foibles, anxieties and strange obsessions are also what make us effective creators. Could an artificially intelligent human being make the film Blade Runner, which is, essentially, a discourse on what it means to be human? I don’t think so.

Without newspaper journalists, would respect for other journalists diminish?

Seriously, I think the image of the incorruptible newspaper journalist, seeking after the truth, is a romantic one that continues to have a certain allure. That’s certainly what attracted me to journalism as a young man. That and Tintin, obviously. But in today’s world, I’m not sure it’s possible to be “just” a newspaper journalist. You have to be skilled at video, social media and even podcasting. The journalist of today is a multimedia one.

What would be the medium of the future, let’s say, in the next five to seven years?

Interestingly I think certain high-quality print media will survive. Newspapers and magazines will be regarded as artisanal, almost luxury items, rather in the

way that vinyl records are today.

I’m a great believer in what I call “analogue snobbery”.

Books are going that way, too.

But it seems certain that the vast majority of media will be consumed on mobile devices. I read The New York Times on my phone every morning. Having said that, at the weekend I tend to buy the hefty print version and sit at a café poring over it. It’s the difference between taking a quick shower,or wallowing in a bath.

How extensive are you reaching out to Asian markets?

Getting better, I would say.

Last year we had gold winners from the Philippines (two, in fact!), India, Japan and Taiwan.

We also had entries from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and, of course, Thailand, which is a very creative market. Part of the problem is that we’re based in Paris so we can’t travel extensively in Asia promoting the awards. Got a fridge to pay for, you know.

There are some people who don’t believe in awards, your thoughts?

Not ever yone likes awards, but ever yone likes to win one.

Plus, agencies like to measure themselves against the comp e t it ion , i n my e x p e r ie nce.

It’s tr ue that awards require an investment, and many of the shows have become rather expensive to enter, but, at the same time, they motivate hardworking staff and build creative careers. It’s pretty difficult to say “I’m one of the world ’s most creative people” without being able to prove it in some way.

Awards help with that. I could tell you I’m an author, but, sooner or later, you’re going to want to see one of my books.

Tu n g a t e ’ s l a t e s t b o o k , Branded Beaut y: How Marketing Changed the Way We Look, is now on shelves. It has also been translated into French and attracted an amount of press attention in France, with articles in Le Monde and L’Express. There are also new editions of two older books, Fashion Brands and Adland, which go into greater depths about how these related sectors are adapting to the digital era. Interested parties who may want t heir work judged objectively may log on to www. epica-awards.com

Sports BusinessMirror

Editor: Jun Lomibao | mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

By David McHugh

F

The Associated Press

RANKFURT, Germany—Multimilliondollar sponsorship deals of the kind between adidas and the University of Louisville—in focus after a scandal over alleged bribes paid to high-school athletes—are not just an effort to burnish the image of sports gear makers.

They can be a cost-efficient way to boost sales against tough competition, marketing experts say.

Whether in US college sports or European soccer, adidas and its major rivals Nike and Under Armour reach potential customers more effectively by getting their brands used in the biggest events, say marketing experts.

Criminal charges brought last week against an adidas marketing executive and nine others drew renewed public attention to the perfectly legal practice of paying university sports programs to wear branded goods. Gatto and others are accused of funneling $100,000 to the family of a highschool athlete to gain his commitment to play at Louisville and to sign with adidas once he became a professional.

Louisville and adidas announced a 10-year, $160-million extension of their sponsorship deal over the summer.

That deal is just one among increasingly expensive arrangements. The top recipients this academic year are UCLA with $16.5 million from Baltimore-based Under Armour, followed

by University of Texas with almost $12 million and University of Michigan with $9.8 million, both from Nike, according to the Center for Research in Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Payments have risen as the big three competitors bid for exposure that, marketing experts say, can often be more effective and targeted than expensive television advertising.

Universities in the top five leagues, or “conferences” in US sports speak, are in line to get over $200 million this school year, up from around $100 million just five years ago, according to the center’s figures.

“Increased investment by Under Armour starting in the 2014-15 academic year, along with continued investment by Adidas, have led to a re-investment by Nike in the intercollegiate athletics space to retain national powers such as Ohio State and Texas, and bring Michigan back into the fold from Adidas,” the center noted in its latest report.

George Belch, chairman of the marketing department at San Diego State University’s College of Business Administration, put it this way: “It’s expensive, but if you want to sit at the table and play the game, you have to ante up.”

How much is too much to spend on

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CRIMINAL charges brought last week against an adidas marketing executive and nine others drew renewed public attention to the perfectly legal practice of paying university sports programs to wear branded goods. AP

endorsements? Academics have been trying to figure out what the returns on investment are and marketing experts say the companies surely have their own internal metrics. But “only they know exactly what the return is,” Belch said.

Jonathan Jensen, assistant professor in the sports administration program at North Carolina, notes that the value of sponsorship deals measure the truckloads of equipment

given to the schools at retail price, which is far more than the cost to the company to have them produced.

“When you see $250 million, it’s not actually $250 million, it’s more like $75 million,” he said. And based on what a 30-second commercial costs, having a team wear the company’s gear can far outweigh the investment in terms of valuable exposure.

That can be money well spent in an era

The Tamaraws seek their first finals appearance when they go for a sweep of the NU Bulldogs at 8 a.m., while the Blue Eagles will try to wield the broom against the University of Santo Tomas Tigers at 10 a.m.

The semifinals duels are best-of-three affairs.

NU won Game One over Arellano University in straight sets, 25-17, 25-16, 25-23, behind the 24-point production of Jaja Santiago on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-5 Santiago is again expected to flash her killer instinct in Game Two. “It would be good for us if we end this series in Game Two because we want to prepare well for the finals. We’re also excited to defend our title,” Santiago said.

S

the past games and I like the way things are going. We have one more,” Racela said. “Hopefully, we finish the first round with a win.”

Adamson University is also on a roll. But, unlike the Tamaraws who had a week’s to rest, the Falcons are coming off a grueling week where they scored a 79-60 win over UE last Sunday and a 73-71 escape over University of the Philippines behind Sean Manganti’s game-winning putback three days ago.

“Well, it’s a brutal week for us. We’ll be playing a fresh FEU. Hopefully, our training and previous games will keep us afloat against FEU,” Adamson Head Coach Franz Pumaren said.

Racela, however, stressed that “it’s going to be a tough game” as his wards take on an

where people can use digital technology to skim past television commercials. “They don’t need to buy airtime,” Jensen said, “because they are literally part of the event.”

On top of that, favorable licensing deals on merchandise mean that the company can earn back much of its sponsorship money solely from fans buying the jerseys. “The schools themselves are really just in the past two, three or four years getting smart about

negotiating and forcing the brands, especially Nike and Under Armour, to pay what they should be,” Jensen said.

Similar calculation applies to sponsorship deals outside the United States. Gerd Nufer, director of the German Institute for Sports Marketing in Reutlingen, attempted to figure out how many jerseys companies would have to sell to repay their endorsement deals with national sports teams at the soccer World Cup.

Local bets vow to give foreigners tough challenge

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HE foreign bets look to dominate but the local aces are ready for the challenge, guaranteeing a fierce duel for top honors in the centerpiece Elite category of the 2017 Powerman philippines Asian Championship presented by Summit Natural Drinking Water, which unwraps tomorrow at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga.

Thomas Bruins of the Netherlands sets out for the crown that eluded him the last time out, as he banners the men’s field that includes Matt Smith of Australia, and Malaysians Ziq Junaidy and Jason Loh with John Chicano, Joey de los Reyes and Cipriane Topia tipped to carry the cudgels for the Filipinos in the premier run-bike-run event organized by F&F International Events Group.

Japanese Airi Sawada and Alexandra McDougall, also from Australia, lead the chase in the women’s Elite side.

The event also serves as a qualifying event for the next Powerman World Championships. “It’s all about investing in the Filipino duathlete’s potential, pushing their boundaries, and expanding their competitive horizons with the ultimate goal of sending our top Filipino duathlete to the Powerman World Championships,” Powerman Philippines General Manager Coach Kaye Lopez said.

Events on tap are the premier Powerman Classic (10-km run, 60-km bike and 10-km run), Powerman Short (5-km run, 30-km bike and 5-km run) and Powerteens set on smooth, wide roads of Clark with the course offering scenic views of the North Luzon and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac expressways.

Filipina Monica Torres, who ruled the International Triathlon Union Asian Middledistance division in the recent Powerman Asian Duathlon in Malaysia, has begged off at the last minute due to health reasons.

Smith, meanwhile, joins Bruins, the current No. 2 in Powerman world ranking, in the centerpiece division with the world No. 9 also fancied to vie for the crown in the event, which drew 1,127 participants in the individual and relay competitions.

De los Reyes, who finished fourth overall in Powerman Thailand early in the season, has also vowed to go all out to improve on his previous Powerman finish in Indonesia.

RED WARRIOR PASAHOL The Lady Falcons, on the other hand, needed to be more cautious against the Lady Tamaraws, who stretched them to five sets, 21-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-14, 15-8, in Game One. Adamson University lost ace hitter Jema Galanza to a season-ending foot injury, urging Adamson University Head Coach Airess Padda to make major adjustments.

“We were missing Jema so much so I tried a few things. I thought it just came down to our desire to win and execution in the last two sets.

Hopefully, we can keep that up,” Padda said.

FEU is also playing without top player Bernadeth Pons, who is focusing on the Lady Tams’ campaign in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines beach volleyball tournament. Lance Agcaoili

Tams, Falcons clash in UAAP elims closer URGING teams Far Eastern University (FEU) and Adamson University clash today with both teams hoping to extend their winning streak and end their first round on a high note in Season 80 Universiy Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball action at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Tamaraws and Falcons, tied for third place with 4-2 win-loss cards, test each other’s mettle at 4 p.m.

Cellar-dwellers University of the East (UE) and University of Santo Tomas (UST), each toting 0-6 records, collide at 2 p.m.

FEU Head Coach Olsen Racela said he has been satisfied with how his team rebounded from a 1-2 start, losing to powerhouse teams Ateneo and De La Salle.

“I like the way we’ve been playing in

A5

SPONSORSHIPS GOOD BUSINESS

Lady Bulldogs, Lady Chiefs go for sweep in PVL semis WO-TIME champion National University (NU) and Adamson University goes for the clincher against their respective semifinals foes in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Collegiate Conference today at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

The Lady Falcons try to pierce to the finals for the first time since the Shakey’s V-League Season 8 when they try to sweep the Far Eastern Lady Tamaraws at 4 p.m.

The Lady Bulldogs, meanwhile, shoot for their fifth straight trip to the finals as they take on the Arellano University Lady Chiefs at 6:30 p.m.

In men’s action, two-time titlist Ateneo and FEU also try to forge their finals showdown.

Saturday, October 7, 2017

Adamson University side he calls as “a well-coached team with a good system.”

In the day’s other game, Alvin Pasahol, who played his heart out with a 49-point performance only for UE to lose to defending champion De La Salle, 100-106, on Wednesday is expected to lead the Red Warriors’ charge.

But UE Head Coach Derrick Pumaren stressed that his Red Warriors should not rely too much on Pasahol as they could not underestimate the Growling Tigers, who bravely fought off their rivals in their six losses.

“We need something coming in because UST is also playing well. I think they are stronger than their 0-6 record, the way they’re playing,” Pumaren said. Lance Agcaoili

MAKES UAAP HISTORY A

LVIN PASAHOL’S University of the East (UE) Red Warriors are going down to what could potentially be the multititled team’s worst season in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament.

But Pasahol, 22, the Red Warriors’ 6-foot-3 sophomore combo guard, has earned himself a niche in UAAP history.

Pasahol, a prized find from Holy Cross of Davao College, scored 49 points in UE’s 100-106 loss to defending champion De La Salle last Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, shattering the league-record 46 points gunner Allan Caidic made when the team won its 17th crown at the expense of Pido Jarencio and University of Santo Tomas in 1984.

Caidic, as everybody knows, is now a Philippine Basketball Association Legend and has stamped his mark as a prolific shooter in Asia.

Furthermore, Pasahol’s output made the 36 points James Yap, also a Red Warriors, recorded in 2002 look measly.

“I am speechless. Even I could not believe that I did that,” said Pasaol, who was 20-of-30 from the field and also grabbed eight rebounds and four steals. “I just played my best and granted my coach’s wish—to

play my game—and my teammates did a great job and really trusted me in this game.”

It was also the highest scoring output in 15 years, surpassing National University’s Jeff Napa’s 43 points (10 three-pointers) he recorded also in 2002.

Pasahol was the man of the hour— despite his Red Warriors tumbling to their sixth straight loss. He made the historic performance against Ben Mbala’s careerbest 39 points for the Green Archers.

“I think that this is the first time that I told the boys in the dugout that this is a game that, even though we lost, I’m really proud of the way we played,” UE Head Coach Derrick Pumaren said.

De La Salle dominated UE all the way, but the Red Warriors fought back from 25 points down, 75-100, to threaten the Green Archers.

“I told them to dig deep. We got to get something really positive out of this game. We can’t just go down,” Pumaren said. “We just got to go down fighting and they responded and we were able to catch up.”

Pumaren was all praises for Pasahol.

“I think this is the first time that I’ve coached a local that scored 49. Alvin is different compared to the former players I coached in the amateur,” he said. “Alvin is like he doesn’t know the play, he looks like he’s not listening to instructions, but once he starts to play, he knows the play.” Lance Agcaoili ALVIN PASAHOL’S 49 points are now the most points scored by a University Athletic Association of the Philippines player.

A6 Saturday, October 7, 2017 | Editor: Mike Besa

Callaway Chrome Soft X

address that small but important segment of the golfing population, Callaway created the higherspinning Chrome Soft X. Callaway used a slightly thinner urethane cover, increased the size and hardened the compression of the Dual SoftFast core, and enhanced the HEX Aerodynamics. As a result, the Chrome Soft X should generate more ball speed and spin through the entire bag.

On the golf course, the Chrome Soft X performs as expected. It doesn’t seem to have lost any distance at all when compared to its storied sibling, but it does feel firmer and perhaps a bit weightier at impact. These are positives as far as I’m concerned, although others might disagree.

Where the Chrome Soft X excels is around the green. There’s nothing that this ball can’t do. It will spin if you have the ability to make it do so. It lands soft and holds firm and feels great off the wedge.

The Chrome Soft X is surprisingly durable.

I bounced one off the cart path and found just a little scuff mark where ball met concrete.

You could easily play a couple of rounds with one of these.

The thing to remember here is that the Chrome Soft X is a complimentary model to the Chrome Soft. The additional spin make it a less than ideal solution for golfers fighting hooks or slices but for golfers that want a bit more bite with their approach shots, the X is a top contender. Pick up a box for PhP2,795 at a proshop near you. Mike Besa

Great ball, but not for everyone

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ower and lower spin.

That seems to be the mantra of the golf industry as of late. Lower spinning golf balls to go with lower spinning drivers for optimum distance. Now the trend has spilled over into iron designs, as well with hot faced irons that are easy to hit and launch the golf ball miles.

But we seem to have hit a point of diminishing returns here.

While the gains with the driver are undeniable, the results with the irons perhaps leave a little to be desired. Most professionals will tell you that they expect an iron to spin roughly its number multiplied by a thousand. So, a 6-iron is supposed to spin at 6,000 rpm, a 7 at 7,000, etc.

But looking at launch monitor data with recent iron models reveals that they spin over 1,000 rpm less than before. This means that an approach shot hit into a green with a long iron or hybrid has little chance of holding the green.

Modern irons counter that by making trajectories higher from club to club relying on the steep angle of approach into the green to keep the ball from running off too far after it hits the putting surface

but this too has its limitations as golfers are used to seeing their irons fly at specific heights.

Callaway seems to have gotten that message. The new Chrome Soft X ball is designed to spin more than the very successful Chrome Soft. The Chrome Soft is probably still the best golf ball Callaway makes for most golfers but for the ones for whom it’s a less than ideal fit, Callaway now makes the Chrome Soft X. The original Chrome Soft golf ball, launched in 2015, had the very soft compression of 65.

When Callaway released the 2016 version of Chrome Soft, it gave the ball a slightly higher compression (75), which improved its consistency on short-iron shots. The compression of its new Chrome Soft X is 90.

The reason for the higher compression has to do with the low-spin profile of the Chrome Soft, a blessing to most golfers as it helps their shots fly straighter and farther. It’s not ideal for some tour pros and better golfers, however. They often have a ball flight that is so dialed in that the lower spinning performance of the Chrome Soft makes their shots harder to control. To

Matsuyama to join star-studded field at the CIMB Classic

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Matsuyama

orld No. 3 Hideki Matsuyama has committed to play in the CIMB Classic next week, ensuring for the first time two top-5 golfers from the Official World Golf Ranking headlining the $7-million Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour tournament in Malaysia With two-time defending champion and world No. 4 Justin Thomas, who is also the newly crowned FedExCup champion, having confirmed his title defense earlier, Matsuyama’s fifth straight appearance in the PGA Tour’s only tournament in Southeast Asia will ensure plenty of fireworks for golf fans to enjoy at TPC Kuala Lumpur from October 12 to 15.

The 25-year-old Matsuyama has been one of the top performers on the global stage where he has won six times over the past 12 months, including two World Golf Championships tournaments, as well as posting two top-5s in the majors at the US Open and PGA Championship this season.

Matsuyama featured in his first CIMB Classic in 2013 on a sponsor’s invitation and has come close to winning where he finished T5 in 2015 and second last year behind Thomas.

Tengku Dato’ Sri Zafrul Aziz, CIMB Group chief executive said: “We are thrilled to welcome Hideki Matsuyama back to the CIMB Classic.

Since playing in our event as a sponsor’s exemption in 2013, Hideki’s career has been on a sharp rise with multiple victories achieved on the PGA Tour and at home in Japan over the past year.

“Golf fans will be in for a worldclass treat as Hideki has an impressive track record at TPC Kuala Lumpur, which clearly suits his game. It’ll

SHOOTING STAR S

By Jim McCabe

o good, so fast. Just don’t suggest to Justin Thomas that he’s moving swiftly enough to lock himself into an atmosphere that includes the likes of Tiger Woods or Steve Stricker—despite the potential to join them, at least in the record books.

That the 24-year-old Thomas will travel more than halfway around the world to play in the 2017 CIMB Classic from October 12 to 15 and give chase to such notable names is no worry. Not when TPC Kuala Lumpur sits at the other end of the lengthy trip. Thomas’s passion for Malaysia and the CIMB Classic remains as strong today as it was that fall Sunday in 2015, when he recorded his first Professional Golfers’ Association Tour victory.

Or as strong as it was last fall when he left after having successfully defended his title.

Two trips to the CIMB, two victories. Eight rounds, 144 holes, 49-under par, 59 birdies, two eagles. You better believe he’s a huge fan.

“It’s awesome. To win two in a row there ranks right up there with my accomplishments,” said Thomas, who recently won the FedExCup with a second-place finish at the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake, which came with a cool $10-million bonus payout.

Flash back to 2016 when Thomas, then a

be fun to see if he can deny Justin Thomas a third successive victory at the CIMB Classic. Their presence is a huge boost as it will mean our tournament will feature two golf stars from the world’s top-5 for the first time since our inauguration in 2010.”

Next week’s CIMB Classic will include nine Major champions, 10 Presidents Cup team members, 15 players from the top-50 of the Official World Golf Ranking and 18 winners from the recent PGA Tour’s 2016-2017 season.

The major winners who have committed to the eighth edition of the CIMB Classic include Americans Keegan Bradley, Stewart Cink, Jason Dufner, Lucas Glover, Davis Love III, South African stars Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel and, of course, Thomas, who has enjoyed an outstanding season with five victories, including a first major win at the PGA Championship in August and the FedExCup, which saw him earn a of $10-million bonus payout two weeks ago.

Other leading names heading to Kuala Lumpur include world No. 15 Paul Casey of England, 19thranked Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain, Europe’s Ryder Cup stalwart Ian Poulter, 2011 Masters Tournament winner Charl Schwartzel, this season’s The Players Championship winner Si-woo Kim of South Korea and South African star Branden Grace, who wrote golfing history at the British Open by becoming the first man to shoot a 62 in a major in July.

Advance tickets for the CIMB Classic are now on sale on www.ticketpro.com.my, Ticket Pro sales channels and select MST Golf Stores in the Klang Valley. Fans who purchase tickets from now until October 8 will enjoy early-bird pricing, with tickets costing RM62 each for the first round (October 12) and second round (October 13). Prices for the third round (October 14) and final round (October 15) are RM99 per day. A season ticket for all four rounds is priced at RM199.

The CIMB Classic is also sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Professional Golf Association of Malaysia (PGAM). The premier Malaysian tournament is also the first of three PGA Tour events in Asia during the month of October.

raw, talented, but winless young star-on-the-rise scripted a dramatic comeback story. Falling out of the lead when he rinsed his approach to the par-4 14th and made double-bogey, Thomas showed remarkable resiliency. He birdied each of the next three holes to edge Adam Scott by one.

“I still can’t believe that just happened,” said Thomas that Sunday after his breakthrough victory.

Well, guess what? Two years later, the thought of that bounce-back effort still warms his heart.

“Yeah, it will always be special and the way I did it is even more special,” he said, while taking a break from his tournament schedule in the FedExCup playoffs back in the US. Thomas said when he gets into contention now at tournaments—like the Tournament of Champions and Sony Open in Hawaii and the PGA Championship—“I look back to [the 2015 CIMB] and draw strength.”

So much happened that week at the CIMB Classic, especially in the wild, up-and-down final round, “that I feel like I have been able to, and will be able to, continue to use that round to my benefit.”

Whereas the 2015 win included a second-round 61 and a 67-66 weekend rally, Thomas in 2016 started and finished with rounds of 64 and sandwiched 66-71 into the middle to win by three over Hideki Matsuyama.

If you’re not a believer yet—despite Thomas’s five amazing wins this year that include a maiden major title at the PGA Championship in August —then digest those sidelights to his CIMB Classic wins.

He beat Scott two years ago, Matsuyama last year. Pretty good competition.

“It’s one of those things that’s hard to explain,” said Thomas, a young kid who grew up in Kentucky, played at the University of Alabama and offers no rationale for his near-flawless play at TPC Kuala Lumpur. But if pressed, he’d point to the grasses and the fact that he’s able to take advantage of generous driving holes.

“I think the big thing is, it’s a lot of wedges and I feel that I have a really, good wedge game,” Thomas said. “The greens don’t [allow] the ball to spin a lot, so the ball kind of stays where it lands.”

Beyond Thomas being a scoring machine at TPC Kuala Lumpur and running off wondrous stretches of brilliant play—he played the last 23 holes bogey-free for 13-under in 2016—there has been a steady

Canyon Woo

Where n health

The eighth green at Canyon Woods Resort

thomas

domination of the closing holes. In eight rounds, Thomas has shot 21-under on Nos. 13 to 18 and that’s an impressive blueprint for victory anywhere.

If he were to pull off a third straight victory at the 2017 CIMB Classic, Thomas knows he’ll join elite company. He would be the first player since Steve Stricker in 2009, 2010 and 2011 to win the same tournament (the John Deere Classic) at least three times in a row.

Thomas takes enormous pride just to be mentioned in the same breath as Stricker, a player he idolizes. But when you factor in how Woods made a habit out of rolling to consecutive wins at the same tournament (four straight at both the Farmers Insurance Open and Arnold Palmer Invitational; three in a row at the Memorial Tournament and at the Doral Resort), it’s all a bit much. Thomas considers Woods arguably the greatest player ever, which is why he was flattered to have dinner with the former world No. 1 recently.

No, there weren’t any questions about how one wins the same tournament time after time. That’s because “there’s probably no way to explain it,” Thomas said. “It’s just something you enjoy and take pride in.”

After the CIMB Classic, Thomas will headline the $9.25-million inaugural CJ CUP @ Nine Bridges on Jeju Island, South Korea. Don’t be surprised if he goes on to win that tournament, too, with his current run of form.

Canyon Woods Resort doesn’t want for scenery

www.pinoygolfer.com | Saturday, October 7, 2017 A7

ods Resort Club

nature and h are as one

The first green encourages you to go for it

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Story & photos

by Mike Besa

ust off the beaten track that is the Tagaytay Ridge on the Diokno Highway heading down to the town of Lemery in Batangas is the sleepy, scenic Canyon Woods Residential Resort. A project of Tagaytay Grasslands, a subsidiary of G2 Global, Canyon Woods seems to have somehow survived and prospered while other golf clubs and resorts have fallen on hard times.

Canyon Woods found their salvation in the overseas Filipino. Not the contract workers, but the longtime expatriate looking to come back to the motherland to retire and enjoy the fruits of a lifetime of hard work. To them Canyon Woods was an easy choice. The development is beautiful with drop-dead-gorgeous views almost everywhere you look. The streets are lined with pine trees and the houses look like they’d look at home in the California highlands. Unlike many golf developments, there’s a thriving community of full-time residents here. This isn’t a weekend getaway for the people here; the majority live here year-round and there lies its charm. Of course, once word got out that people were buying into the dream of Canyon Woods, more followed and that brings us to where the resort is today.

The club boasts a good range of facilities for the members and their guests. The showcase feature of the resort is the Clubhouse, a 9,800-square-meter affair designed by renowned architect Francisco Mañosa that features first-class dining facilities, convention/function rooms, business center, 49-seating capacity mini-theater, a posh health-andwellness spa, salon, gym with Cybex machines and free weights, indoor heated swimming pool, gift shop, recreation center and children’s playground.

Along the fully landscaped nature trail lies one of the most distinguishable landmarks in the area, the Pavilion Campsite. The biggest of its kind, the Pavilion Campsite showcases a 25,000-sq-m recreation and sports center. It houses badminton, basketball, tennis, volleyball and squash courts, a man-made lake, an 18-hole crazy mini golf, outdoor swimming pool, and bowling and billiards at the Bowling Center. There’s literally something for everyone here.

Nestled in one of the resorts prime locations high up on the property is the Chapel of the Most Holy Name of the Child Jesus. This auspicious center of worship can accommodate 200 people, making it an ideal site for weddings and other significant religious occasions. Anticipated Mass is celebrated at 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays, again placing the needs of the growing community at the forefront of the development.

Guests have a choice of lodging while at Canyon Woods but I’m partial to the Casitas. Also designed

by Francisco Mañosa, the Casitas provide a wonderful view of the mini golf or the man-made lake and the pavilion. Each room of the 20-unit Casita is equipped with the finest amenities to make members’ and guests’ stay a most comfortable one. On the other hand, the Villas, inspired by North American woodland architecture, have two to four rooms each. These villas cater to the families who prefer to stay under one roof. The Lodge consists of 20 deluxe rooms and five suites with bedrooms that conform to the Club’s look with style-parquet flooring, exquisite upholstery and rustic ambiance. Finally, the Peak is a full-blown hotel with its own swimming pool that offers some of the best views of the property.

The golf course is a surprisingly difficult ninehole track. Designed by Golf Force’s Boy Escaño, it requires a complete array of shots and good course sense to post a good score. The layout meanders along the mountainside, you will be asked to carry ravines, traverse water and hit blind shots to unseen fairways on sheer faith. There are even a couple of holes to take your driver out and let

one rip. It’s short, but you’ll find use for quite a lot of clubs in your bag. Since you play all the holes twice to make a full 18, Canyon Woods provides another set of tees not significantly longer than the first set. I found that a fun way to enjoy what the course had to offer was to go around the first time to get a feel for it then take some risks on the second nine. Good fun, that.

For example, No. 1 is a short par 4 of about 220 yards. The green is fronted by a ravine and a pretty deep bunker and just dares you to go for it. The sensible thing would be to take an iron off the tee then hit onto the green. It’s really straightforward played this way. But take the driver or a 3-wood and let it rip when you play it again. There’s even a sign in the back of the green that exhorts you to “Go for it!”

No. two requires a 110-yard shot, a green guarded on three sides by water. Find the green and birdie is a real possibility. Three is a 280-yard par 4 with enough room for most to pull driver and make a go for the green. It’s well within reach of the longer hitters but beware of OB lurking to the right and a ravine just left of the green. Four is the first of the truly difficult holes. The longest par 4 on the course, it’s cut right on the edge of the mountain with a ravine guarding the right side of the fairway. Trees obscure your view of the landing area, adding further to the difficulty of the task at hand. The green is severely elevated (a good 40 feet above the fairway) and will penalize shots long and short. A false front sees to it that anything short rolls back down to the fairway below and the green sits adjacent to the pond that fronts the second hole so anything long or left goes in the water.

The ducks that make their home there won’t be of any assistance determining your point of entry, so exercise prudence with the approach shot.

Five is a medium-length par 3 of about 150 yards but the green sits so far down below the tee box that you’re effectively playing a shot of 120 yards off the tee. Six is the only par 5 and the most difficult hole on the golf course. It’s short and on another layout, a lot of golfers would have no trouble reaching it in two but at Canyon Woods, the tee shot is blind over a ravine. The landing area sits on a flattish spot on the ridge from where you traverse yet another ravine before taking on the elevated green. The green’s no picnic either; it’s got a severe slope built right into the middle of it.

Seven and eight are both short par 4s that require you to shape the shot off the tee to the left, a tough task for the average golfer. Seven requires a wedge over a second ravine to approach the green. Eight presents a different opportunity for the golfer that hits a high ball. I found that I could take a 6-iron off the tee and carry the trees that separate the tee box from the ninth green.

That puts me in flip wedge distance of the most scenic green on the property. The round ends with a 185-yard par 3 that plays longer than it reads on the card. The sliver-thin green faces the tee shot dead on to receive the golf ball, which is a good thing with OB so close to the right side.

The only caveat is that a short section of the Diokno Highway that leads to Canyon Woods from the Calamba-Nasugbu road has been closed because of continuous landslides. A new bridge is currently under construction and will reconnect Canyon Woods with the rest of Metro Tagaytay when it’s completed. Until then, you have to take the route through Talisay and Laurel in Batangas to make your way there. A bit of an inconvenience, but the drive down from the Tagaytay Rotunda is one that car enthusiasts will appreciate. It’s a gorgeous two-lane road through old-growth rain forest.

If you love golf and love a challenge, the ninehole course at Canyon Woods will provide you with both. It might be a bit of a trek to get there, but the challenge of the golf course and the rest of the club’s amenities will make up for it.

OurTime

A8 Saturday, October 7, 2017 • Editor: Efleda P. Campos

BusinessMirror

Tacloban celebrates Elderly Filipino Week

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By Elmer V. Recuerdo | Correspondent

ACLOBAN CITY—The number of registered senior citizens in this city who are availing themselves of social pensions has increased dramatically over the year.

Data from the city’s Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs (Osca) showed registered social-pension beneficiaries now number 4,810 as of the end of the third quarter this year compared to 1,950 in 2016, or more than double the previous year.

Tacloban City Mayor Cristina Romualdez attributed the increase of beneficiaries to the extensive campaign of the City Social Welfare Office to enroll indigent senior citizens to the government pension program.

“The welfare of our elderly will always be among the top priorities of the city government,” she said. The city government is mandated to provide senior citizens a pension of P6,000 a year.

Tacloban also provides medical

dti, eu call for social enterprise camp participants

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OTABATO CITY—A foreignfunded group and the Department of Trade and Industry in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DTI-ARMM) are pursuing applicants for this year’s “Local Changes: A Social Enterprise Ideation Camp”.

The camp is open to the youth and even to the elderly who are willing to learn through the project. They must submit a two-minute video, which will explain the impact of their social enterprise idea to the community.”

—Malang In pa r t nersh ip w it h t he St re n g t he n i n g C iv i l S o c ie t y Participation in Social Enterprise Education Development (CSO-SEED), DTI-ARMM Secretary Anwar Malang on Tuesday said the project is funded by the European Union (EU) and cofinanced and implemented by the British Council.

Slated in Davao City from November 5 to 11, the weeklong camp aims to assemble diverse individuals who would like to explore their creative side while offering space to exchange, foster, think and collaborate about social innovations through social enterprise.

Malang said that, through the camp, the CSO-SEED hopes to encourage individuals to use social enterprise to create visions for a better, secure and more prosperous future. PNA

and burial assistance to the city’s indigent elderly.

On October 1 hundreds of senior citizens participated in a parade, dubbed “Walk for Life”, around the city’s downtown area to drumbeat support for a series of activities in celebration of the Elderly Filipino Week.

The weeklong activities that will run until Saturday also include a consultation dialogue regarding Republic Act (RA) 9994, or the expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, scheduled Thursday. Dialogue participants included owners of local establishments, transport operators and other government agencies talked on issues and concerns pertaining to benefits and privileges of senior citizens as mandated by law.

This year’s celebration, with the

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A GROUP of older people rests at the aisle of One Esplanade Building in Pasay City as they await the start of an event honoring the elderly. October has been designated as Filipino Elderly Month. ROY DOMINGO

theme “Pagkilala Sa Kakayahan, Ambag At Paglahok ng Nakakatanda sa Lipunan”, will include a medical mission and the Search for King Lolo and Queen Lola 2017.

The series of activities were

sponsored by the Osca, in coordination with the Tacloban City Federation of Senior Citizens Associations and the city government.

Proclamation 470, issued by

then-President Fidel V. Ramos in 1994, started the yearly celebration of Elderly Filipino Week, with the aim of raising awareness on RA 9994 and to address issues concerning the elderly sector.

Barangay Poblacion, Kidapawan City.

Another centenarian, Teofilo Cayme, is 101 years old, also of the same village. At 102 years old, Remedios Barzaga, born on January 17, 1917, still has vivid memories of her life on earth.

Also recipient of the recognition and financial assistance from the local government was Faustina Costelo, 102, born in February 1915.

Aside from the assistance from the LGU, the centenarians each received P100,000 cash from the Department of Social Welfare and Development. The elders took home grocery items as a gift from Osca.

Meanwhile, centenarians in Palawan are looking forward to receiving benefits with the recent approval of an ordinance providing them cash gifts and other incentives.

Authored by Board Member Cherry Pie Acosta, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan unanimously approved the “Palawan Centenarian Ordinance of 2017” on Tuesday, according to a statement from the office of Provincial Information Officer Gil Acosta Jr. The ordinance provides a onetime grant of P10,000 to elderly people who are 100 years old and above, and P2,000 each year as birthday cash gift. The fund will be taken from the DSWD as included in the General Appropriations Act. A plaque of recognition will also be awarded to the living centenarian to honor their longstanding contributions to their families and communities.

The statement said the ordinance showed Palawan gives importance to senior citizens and the sustain-

able development of the Filipino culture and values.

In an earlier interview, Acosta added the ordinance is based on the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 10868, which honors and grants additional benefits and privileges to Filipino centenarians.

The implementation of the ordinance will be led by the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office in coordination with the Osca and the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office of the 23 towns in Palawan.

Acosta added that, under Section 1, Paragraph D of RA 9994, the provision of additional cash incentives “will encourage the centenarians’ families and their communities to reaffirm the valued Filipino tradition of caring for the senior citizens”. PNA

Ilocos Norte eyes home for the aged

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AOAG CITY—A home-care facility for the aged is being considered for Ilocos Norte, courtesy of the provincial government.

Dr. Josephine Ruedas, officer in charge of the Provincial Health Office, said it is about time for a home for the aged to be established in the province and all throughout the country.

Earlier this year, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Region 1 initiated the construction of a home-care facility in San Juan, La Union.

With an initial fund of P12 million, this is the first-ever public facility in Region 1 that will cater to the needs of abandoned, ailing senior citizens and those neglected by relatives due to financial difficulties.

In Ilocos Norte, Ruedas said, the proposed home for the elderly will prioritize abandoned, neglected, unattached, homeless and abused senior citizens.

In a DSWD survey, more than 700 senior citizens are living by themselves in La Union alone.

A similar situation occurs in parts of the Ilocos provinces and Pangasinan. PNA

DSWD backs calls for pension hike

T

Kidapawan, Palawan honor centenarians

OTABATO CITY—The Office of Senior Citizen Affairs (Osca) of Kidapawan City honored and recognized four centenarians this year as part of the local government’s recognition and assistance program.

Osca honored the centenarians and other senior citizens from the city as the country observed from September 25 to October 1 the Elderly Filipino Week with the theme “Pagkilala Sa Kakayahan, Ambag At Paglahok ng Nakakatanda sa Lipunan”.

On Monday the office of Mayor Joseph Evangelista announced that among the four elders, Cenon Ordona was the oldest at 105 years old.

Ordona was born on April 12, 1912. He is currently residing with his children and grandchildren in

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SATELLITE FLOWER MARKET IN BAGUIO

An elderly woman is busy arranging the flowers she sells in a stall along the fence of the Melvin Jones Football Field in Baguio City. The area is gaining the reputation of being the city’s satellite flower market where roses can sell from P100 to P200 a bouquet. MAU VICTA

HE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) supports proposals to make the pension fund for all senior citizens in the country universal.

“If we had the funds to make this possible, why not? We are all for helping our senior citizens, especially those who come from impoverished backgrounds and have no other sources of steady income or means of livelihood. They are, and will always be, on top of our priorities,” said Aleli B. Bawagan, DSWD assistant secretary for the Office of the Secretary Group.

Bawagan added many senior citizens in the country need more and better benefits beyond what they currently receive from the government and its various agencies.

“Based on reports, the population of senior citizens is pegged at 5.8 million as of 2010; this is equivalent to 6.5 percent of the population. The benefits they receive are either very poor or nonexistent,” she said. “We at the DSWD will be the first to admit the assistance we provide to senior citizens is far from enough, and we want to increase and improve the services and programs we have for them, starting with the senior-citizen pension fund.”

Bawagan cited a report released by the Coalition of the Services of the Elderly, where only 17 percent of senior citizens receive the P500 social pension even if the majority, or 54 percent, do not receive any pension at all. In the meantime, among those who receive pensions from either the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance Service, or from military service, only 34 percent receive less than P2,000 a month, while more than half, or 52 percent, receive less than P3,000.

“Our indigent senior citizens

Based on reports, the population of senior citizens is pegged at 5.8 million as of 2010; this is equivalent to 6.5 percent of the population. The benefits they receive are either very poor or nonexistent.”­

—Bawagan have very specific needs for medicine and health care. Those who are supported by their children and relatives are fortunate, but many others whose own children are also very poor have no other sources with which to buy maintenance medicine or to pay for medical services and regular checkups.

The least we can do for them is to ensure they regularly receive a pension. The DSWD’s pension fund is only P500 a month, but we hope this will increase in the coming years,” Bawagan said.

Bawagan added House Bill 3934 filed by Party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani T. Zarate of Bayan Muna, calls for an increase in the monthly pension of DSWD senior-citizen beneficiaries from P500 to P2,000 to augment the daily subsistence and medical needs of seniors. PNA

The Millennials BusinessMirror

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Chinatown delivery boy goes to Harvard Business School Excel V. Dyquiangco Contributor

I

N the Hollywood movie The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner (Will Smith) is a dad who struggled to financially make ends meet.

Gardner was so broke and homeless that he and his toddler son slept at a train station toilet to survive the night. Eventually, Smith’s character rose to become one of the top New York stock brokers, establishing his own brokerage firm with offices in New York, Chicago and San Francisco.

Much like the story of Gardner, Spectrum Investments Inc. (SII) President Carl Dy also started from the bottom.

Armed with nothing but his life motto, “To be better than before, be better than others and be better than expected”, he literally clawed his way to the top.

Smarts

DY considered himself not a smart kid growing up: he almost flunked high school and nearly got kicked out of his freshman year.

Dy practically believed he was a failure, as he grew up in an environment where his future was defined by academic success. He was made to believe that he would not make it big because he was not as smart as the others who were bound for success.

For him, passing school was the ultimate challenge. Going overseas to study in an Ivy League university felt almost like wishful thinking; a dream that is hard to achieve both academically and financially.

At 12 years old, Dy was given the opportunity to work in an uncle’s hardware store in Binondo: not inside an air-conditioned office but out under the hot sun as a bike delivery boy.

“I never felt unaccomplished just being a delivery boy,” he said.

“At that time, I enjoyed the freedom of biking around Chinatown getting to see different stores and meeting different people.”

For Dy, his sense of accomplishment was immediate.

“As soon as you deliver a package, there is an immediate accomplishment.”

He earned P50 a day and got paid every Saturday a stipend of P300 per week.

“It was empowering,” he said.

“It was sweet. I no longer have to depend on others for the things I want. I just have to wake up every day, go to work and deliver goods.

If I wanted P1,000, I just have to wake up, go to work for 20 days and I could have the money to buy the toy I wanted.”

Dy said he would dream a lot while riding his bicycle around Chinatown during his days as a delivery boy.

“I would dream of buying myself a nice school bag, new school shoes and, of course, the toys that my parents were not able to buy for me due to lack of budget”, he said. “I was a young boy that time.

Life was simple.”

Earnings

THE turning point in Dy’s young life started during his college days when he was introduced to assets and liabilities. An asset is something that puts money into his pocket and where liability is something that takes away money from it, he explained.

“I have learned that the secret formula to be wealthy is to build and grow your passive income, which is an idea I was truly blown away with. So I started studying

Dy poses beside a sign along Harvard Way, Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 10, 2016.

more about it,” Dy said. “I also firmly decided that I would grow my passive income and what better way to do it than through real estate.”

Like his parents who are also into sales, Dy started working as a proper t y consu ltant for Ayala Land Inc. He was one of the youngest in his group and one of the last to make an “icebreaker sale”.

He didn’t think it was going to be hard—he almost threw in the towel and considered real estate was not for him. He remembers having such difficulty convincing his clients to trust him as he had no experience. All he ever wanted to do was to close a sale regardless of the client’s needs and financial standing.

Yet, Dy believed it was a onesided selling strategy. Years of experience has taught him that the client’s needs and interests are the priority, closing a sale is a by-product of being able to give more value to the client.

He didn’t give up.

After years of trying to learn the ropes, he decided to put up SII, a property portfolio advisory company. Fast forward 25 years later, Dy pursued his dreams of going to an Ivy League school.

This time, he aimed not just for a university in Hong Kong or Singapore but all the way to the Har-

vard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts.

Lessons

DY, currently a property speaker and is a top resource for Philippine property information, credits his success to the belief not to allow other people to define who he is “if you failed once or a few times in your life”.

“It does not mean you are a failure. God uses challenges to prepare you for a bigger purpose,” he said. “If nine people say you are a failure, and one person said you will succeed, believe in that one person who gives positive reinforcement.”

He also dreams big “God has big plans for you— if you are struggling right now.

Keep on praying and believe that God has big plans for you and me.

We just have to anchor on Him and know that there is a better tomorrow.”

Dy said in his journey he has met two kinds of people: one will discourage you, while the other will encourage you.

“Choose to be with people who inspire and pushes you to be better,” he said. “It may not be the easiest at first, but in the long run it will level you up and make you better.”

Finally, Dy advices: “Don’t stop growing. And always be curious.”

Karen, Miss Earth, applies laws of physics in path to success

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

K

AREN Ibasco is both beauty and brains.

Ibasco, 26, was recently crowned Miss Earth Philippines 2017. Moreover, she finished both her BS Applied Physics major in Instrumentation and Masters of Science degree in Applied Physics major in Medical Physics from the Royal Pontifical University of Santo Tomas (UST).

Above this mouthful of academic accomplishment, Ibasco fears one thing: becoming irrelevant, especially among millennials.

“I believe not only the millennials but people of all ages lack the knowledge of what’s truly happening around us,” Ibasco, a self-confessed geek, said in reply to the BusinessM irror’s questions sent via e-mail. “That’s why I am very grateful for Miss Philippines Earth for paving a way for me to share my voice and my advocacy.”

Nevertheless, she said millennials can also help promote the worthy cause of saving Mother Earth by harnessing the power of social media.

Ibasco describes her master’s degree as “physics penetrating the world of medicine”.

In a nutshell, she said the field deals about using radiation for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

“Specifically for my field, which is under radiation oncology, we use high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells while avoiding [risking] organs and normal tissues,” she explained.

Winning the crown boosted Ibasco’s confidence, developed her character and gave her emotional strength.

“It also allowed me to build relationships

A9

Automating the work of the ‘Bumbay’ Maxine Mamba byInspired Maxine Mamba

life notes

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Y helper, Ate Tes, couldn’t get to my house to start her job because she didn’t have enough money for transportation. She said there was no Bumbay, a common cultural loan provider for Filipinos who have no access to credit. I gave her the money she needed. Other Filipinos are not so lucky.

To put it in perspective, P100 stood in the way of her livelihood and poverty.

In the Philippines, many still live below the poverty line. Many also have no or little access to credit. Meanwhile, major microfinance operators have expanded their loan portfolios into the billions of pesos. There is a need to bridge the gap between those needing access and those that have the wherewithal to provide credit.

There are apps and web sites nowadays that help the regular employee get by until the next payday. There are also apps that allow banks to provide to those outside the radar, like farmers and contractual workers, with access to loans to fulfill their needs like irrigation, home loans, medical care, university education, car loan and store supplies.

There’s also a free mobile app that links the majority of the population without access to credit to banks. Other web sites will connect borrowers to lenders that, unfortunately, are not banks.

At a much smaller level, individuals need credit. From home and vehicle loans to funds that can pay for medical care or university education, there are only a few who doesn’t need credit. Still, also few are those able to get homes for their children or get that capital boost for their business that will spell the difference between failure and success.

Despite economic growth, the Philippines’s formal banking sector simply cannot accommodate and process the millions of Filipinos who desire credit. The costs versus benefits and revenue of opening branches and catering to the financial demands of large sections of the population are simply

not justified from the perspective of a large bank. In the past only non-governmental organizations, local cooperatives and smaller lenders provide loans. I read somewhere that an estimated 5 million people have taken microloans in the country. Typically, these loans are under P100,000 and unsecured.

My research has also shown that those accessing microcredit tend to show considerably higher income growth and lower poverty rates over the long term than those not accessing these facilities. Given the success of microcredit, the central government has moved swiftly to regulate and promote the growth of the industry. Research from the Asian Development Bank indicates that the Philippines policy framework in relation to microlending is among the best in the world.

One key bottle neck is physical access. Given a large and remote rural population, as well as an abundance of small towns, many operators simply have difficulty reaching large segments of the population.

Today these logistical challenges can be overcome.

The government of Kazakhstan began using the free mobile app Turnkey Lender to build a national credit bureau. A custom option allows peer-to-peer lenders to track debits and credits. The app also allows banks to issue loans remotely. A range of software systems allows microlenders to transparently allocate risks, assess a potential borrower’s credit rating and track loan payments and performance. The app also allows microfinance lenders to assess credit worthiness, track repayments and assess risk and future borrowing opportunities. Loans are tracked via mobile phone and one can chat with loan officers within the cloud-based app.

Perhaps, apps like these are the automated Bumbays who can provide not just enough to get by today but for a more financially secure future for Ate Tes and the thousands of people like her who just need to be given not only to pay for a fare but, more important, a break in life.

For questions, comments and suggestions, contact Maxine Mamba at MillennialUniverse@ yahoo.com. The comments and views expressed in Mamba’s column do not necessarily reflect those of the BusinessMirror’s.

My grandfather is an insect Vernon Velasco

millennial universe

I

killed my grandfather.

It was a confession I made to my mom, who believes that a moth swinging by at the house is a reincarnation of a dead relative.

Specifically, the insect in question has to be what I later learned as Antheraea pernyi, a four-winged humongous kind that is teak in color. We would see the moth either meditating on the sofa or clinging to the silverware or taking a breather within the folds of my sister’s bedroom curtain.

The insect evoked among us a more intense feeling of dread than would flying cockroaches and massive spiders darting from one hideout to the next, not as much, owing to its sinister appearance but as to how our mother would admonish us to observe in its presence a profound sense of quiet, the way she might when we are in a room and we get a sudden whiff of candles and spent flowers, which she takes to mean as a visit from the dead.

We had not seen a Antheraea pernyi for quite a long time when we recently stumbled upon one stuck for days on the linoleum. After doing math on her head, my mother identified the moth as our late grandfather, saying that it’s November, “his birth month” and that par-

ticular visit was supposed to remind us of that.

“He’s watching us,” she warned.

To pay respect we steered clear of his whereabouts, even excusing ourselves if we wanted to pass. I wasn’t that careful, however, as once, in a half sleep, I stepped on what felt like egg shell in a different area of the house and it didn’t take time at all before I realized I stepped on my grandfather, his insides sticking to the sole of my feet like caramel.

“WTF!” “WTF!” I imagine my mom saying.

“You killed my dad!”

I explained to my mom that it was an accident, that at least I did not kill his father the way we swat flies off the table and hit lizards with slippers. I really felt sorry for myself and tried to console her, until it occurred to us that, bored, our grandfather might be tired of being an insect, and was suicidal the way you might hurl yourself onto the path of a speeding train.

The message was clear: He needed help.

And insect reincarnates like my grandfather visit the house in hope of being, say, stepped on, so that they could, perchance, come back as a baby.

Vernon Velasco is a staff of the BusinessMirror’s advertising department. The views Velasco expressed in this column do not necessarily ref lect those of the BusinessMirror’s.

135 million Millennials drive world’s fastest retail market

This undated photo courtesy of The Varsitarian shows Miss Earth Philippines 2017 Karen Ibasco waving to fans. The Varsitarian

with my cocandidates [who] I treat as family,” she explains.

It took a while for Ibasco to realize she won this year’s edition of Miss Earth Philippines. She said she feels very thankful to God for giving her the opportunity to use the title as a platform to reach out to a wider range of audience in catering environmental awareness to people’s consciousness.

“I’m very excited to represent the Philippines in the international stage and shout ‘Philippines’ after my name,” Ibasco said.

She said she is always open for privatesector participation in promoting environmentalism. Moreover, Ibasco is a strong

Saturday, October 7, 2017

believer that the government should work hand in hand with companies like Merrell to invite other businesses or organizations to join in upholding the protection of the environment. She said she believes this is one of the best ways to reach out to people in making them aware and helping them to participate to care for the Earth.

“We are stronger if we are all together in this movement.”

As the reigning Miss Earth Philippines, Ibasco is expected to go on different school tours to educate the younger generation about the preservation of the environment.

Furthermore, she is raring to tour the

country and see beautiful tourist spots “I haven’t visited and also to promote it to others”.

“I’m also excited to work hand in hand with different environmental organizations, how we can strengthen environmental awareness with different projects.”

After finishing her master’s degree, she taught mathematics and physics in UST for about a year. Later, she practiced her field of study at the UST Hospital’s Department of Radiation Oncology as a medical physicist.

Ibasco said after her reign, she’ll go back to her practice as a medical physicist to help cancer patients.

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AKISTAN’S burgeoning youth and their freewheeling attitude toward rising incomes have turned the nation into the world’s fastest-growing retail market.

The market is predicted to expand 8.2 percent per annum through 2016 to 2021 as disposable income has doubled since 2010, according to research group Euromonitor International.

The size of the middle class is estimated to surpass that of the United Kingdom and Italy in the forecast period, it said.

Pakistan’s improving security environment, economic expansion at near 5 percent and cheap consumer prices are driving shoppers to spend up big. Almost two-thirds of the nation’s 207.8 million people are aged under 30, according to the Jinnah Institute,

an Islamabad-based think tank.

“We have a new millennial shopper at hand.

They don’t mind spending to have the kind of lifestyle they would like,” said Shabori Das, senior research analyst at Euromonitor. “It’s not like the Baby Boomer generation where savings for the future generation was important.”

Pakistan is bucking the trend in the US— where stores are closing at a record pace as e-commerce undermines bricks-and-mortar.

It’s also attracting foreign operators: Turkish home appliance maker Arcelik AS and Dutch dairy giant Royal FrieslandCampina NV entered the market last year via acquisitions.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp. and Renault SA are all building plants in the South Asian nation. Bloomberg News

BusinessMirror

A10 Saturday, October 7, 2017

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The dark days before Grab and Uber PRIMETIME

DINNA CHAN VASQUEZ @dinnachanvasquez luckydinna@gmail.com

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UST five years ago, it was a nightmare to take a cab out of Port Area, where I worked at that time.

My friend and I would stand at a dark corner for at least 30 minutes while empty taxis passed by, asking us to do a spiel on where we were going. Meanwhile, giant trucks were all over the place. There was one time that we stood there for nearly two hours. In the end, we got a ride with a colleague. Still no cab.

Things got even more nightmarish when the holiday season kicked in. There would be taxi lines outside malls but, again, you needed to stand in line for hours before you could get a ride home.

The scenario has since changed. We now need a

smartphone with mobile data and any one of two apps, Grab or Uber, to get a ride (usually a sedan) from point A to point B. According to the company’s web site, Uber was conceptualized in 2008 one night in Paris when two men (Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp) had difficulty hailing a cab and thought how much better the world would be if they could just tap a button to get a ride.

This story makes me wonder why no one thought of creating something like Uber here in the Philippines. Uber’s services and mobile app were officially launched in San Francisco three years later, with riders getting a black car for 1.5 times more than the cost of a regular taxi.

Uber officially launched in the Philippines in 2014.

It’s story here has not been smooth, as it recently had to pay a huge fine to get out of a monthlong suspension.

Grab is a Malaysian company that was launched in 2012. It’s still known there as MyTeksi. It started its expansion in Southeast Asia and reached the Philippines in 2014. Grab in the Philippines offers an array of transport and delivery services.

Uber and Grab are heaven sent for working people and those who don’t own vehicles. For instance, if you don’t want to arrive at a party in a taxi, you can always

book Grab Premium or Uber Black.

These two transport services aren’t perfect. We’ve had to deal with exorbitant fares, rude drivers and wonky navigation, too, just as we had before Grab and Uber came along.

But despite these, at least we’re assured of getting a ride as long as we can afford it. There have been issues about safety and security, but those concerns are there even when you’re taking a taxi or taking a bus.

I’m just happy that now we have choices. Even my mom doesn’t need to wait on the street for a taxi. We book a Grab or Uber car for her, which fetches her at the gate of the house.

Even deliveries are quicker and more efficient, thanks to Grab Express and Grab Express Lite. If I have several appointments during the day and I have to carry around so much stuff (press kits, etc.), I call for Grab Express to bring it home while I go about my chores and meetings.

The apps are not difficult to use (truthfully, network signal is the usual problem). You can choose to pay in cash or via credit or debit card.

As a commuter, I appreciate that Grab and Uber (and other forms of transport) have offered us choices, instead of us having to stand for two hours waiting for a cab that will never take us home. ■

Mobile technology to grow further in the Philippines

BY RIZAL RAOUL REYES MOBILE is the way to go as far as business is concerned in the Philippines, according to an executive of a major technology company.

“Mobile transactions in the Philippines year-on-year between 2016 and 2017 have grown 33 percent. We’re seeing more and more consumers want to do business that way,” said Jason Miller, chief strategist of commerce of Akamai Technologies (www.akamai.com), in a recent interview with BUSINESSMIRROR. The company is, according to Wikipedia, a “content delivery network and cloud-services provider” headquartered in the United States.

Miller said there’s going to be continuous growth on the use of mobile devices in the Philippines and Asia because the people in these places are quite receptive to the use of mobile technology. It’s also a fact that the daily horrendous and chaotic traffic situation, especially in Metro Manila, is contributing to the growth of mobile technology, as thousands of commuters use their mobile devices for various functions while struggling through traffic.

In his presentation to local customers, Miller said mobile Web traffic is bigger than that in the desktop space. “Sixty nine percent of the Web traffic is generated by mobile devices, which offers proof that mobile is the primary device of most Filipinos,” Miller pointed out.

Furthermore, he said 70 percent of Filipinos use the mobile phone first when they open their e-mails. “I use my

mobile device when I open my e-mail in the morning,” Miller pointed out. To ensure that business can maximize e-mail to drive customers, Miller said e-mail needs to be responsive in terms of optimized mobile Web page that can make browsing easier for the consumer.

“The Philippines is actually one of the highest users of social media in Southeast Asia. That is good way to reach out to customers where they are,” Miller said.

“Filipinos spend 3.5 hours on the mobile platform while surfing the Internet. That number is bigger than the time they spend on a desktop or watching television,” he added.

Furthermore, the growth of mobile will see the stronger partnerships and alliances between telecommunication companies and the business sector to enhance their position in the market.

Gerald Peñaflor, country manager of Akamai Philippines, said local businesses are now realizing the value of mobile technology in enhancing their business. “I think this is a natural evolution for the business sector to ride on the trend,” he said during the same interview.

“As the mobile prevalence in the country continues to peak, the other sectors will follow the trend, especially in the country where going to the mall is quite difficult because of the traffic,” he added. Aside from the major retail players, Peñaflor said Akamai is also talking with small retail shops to strengthen their mobile platform. Moreover, he added Akamai is also meeting with regional players in Asean region to explore business potentials in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Miller said small and medium enterprises must also explore the power of mobile technology, as it can reach to more markets here and abroad.

“It is the perfect storm. If you look at in a business perspective, they don’t have to invest so much in building the infrastructure in order for them to achieve the same result as they would with is an alternative platform such as this one.”

Miller said omnichannel retailers and e-commerce merchants are aware that business performance must be consistent throughout the year In a society that now considers smartphones essential

to daily life, Miller said the 2017 holiday season will be the “mobile and online” season. “Fifty three percent of mobilesite visitors will leave a page that takes longer than three seconds to load,” he said.

He added web site performance is a critical part of the customer experience and key to maintaining customer attention and completing online transactions. “As consumers’ expectations continue to soar, e-commerce retailers need to provide high-performance experiences because even small degradations will cause buyers to go elsewhere in an instant,” Miller noted.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Saturday, October 7, 2017 A11

NOKIA 8 FLAGSHIP ANDROID SMARTPHONE ARRIVES IN PH

Nokia 8, along with other Nokia Android smartphones, penetrates PH’s robust smartphone market

E

NDING weeks of anticipation, HMD Global unveils Nokia’s new flagship smartphone, the Nokia 8, today at the Intramuros Ballroom, Manila House, Taguig.

Nokia 8’s entry into the Philippine market reflects Nokia’s vision of growing its smartphone business in the country, the fastest-growing smartphone market in the ASEAN. The Philippine launch comes on the heels of a successful global launch that demonstrates continued support for the brand.

“The Philippines has always been a strong market for Nokia.

Filipinos, particularly those in the provinces, have a strong affinity for Nokia phones, which have always delivered on quality, reliability and innovation. We want to continue broadening and deepening our reach here, especially in untapped provinces that need high-quality mobile communication technologies,” said Shannon Mead, HMD Global Country Manager, Philippines.

HMD Global, the new home of Nokia phones, is looking to position Nokia as the go-to smartphone for Filipinos across the different market segments. “Nokia will continue to leverage quality and innovation to serve the thriving smartphone market,” Mead shared.

Nokia 8 forerunner Android smartphone

THE Nokia 8 brings mobile communication technology to a new level and marks three world firsts for Android smartphones.

The phone features the first-ever Dual-Sight camera, allowing users to capture or livestream moments in both first- and second-person perspective. The 13MP front and rear cameras, co-developed with ZEISS, can run simultaneously and show images in

new ground while reinforcing old foundations. The Nokia 8 combines premium design and powerful performance to enable smartphone users to create and share experiences in many new ways. We are excited about the positive feedback about Nokia smartphones and look forward to engaging the country’s robust mobile phone market even more in the coming days,” said Mead.

Making smartphone technology more accessible

split-screen mode, inspiring everyone to “Be less Selfie, be more Bothie.”

“This marks the coming of Nokia on Android, which is clearly the dominant OS with its 94 percent share of the global market. Nokia phones are future-proof to support new Android OS versions, making it even easier for users to optimize the phone’s features and functions,” Mead said.

The Nokia 8 smartphone pioneers the use of OZO audio to deliver immersive 360-degree spatial surround sound. This high-fidelity

playback complements 4K videos and brings Hollywood technology in mobile technology.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 835-powered phone features a seamless unibody with a full-length graphite shielded copper cooling pipe for better heat dissipation, especially when running demanding applications. It runs on Android Nougat 7.1.1 and comes in single- and dual-SIM variants.

“Nokia’s latest innovation reflects its commitment to connect people with technology that breaks

With its business principle anchored on the belief that every Filipino should have access to the best mobile communication technology, Nokia offers a wide range of smartphones to address the needs of the different market segments. This means a smartphone for every user type, need and pricing considerations.

The Nokia 3, optimized for everyday use, comes in a precisionmachine aluminum frame to ensure a strong build unheard of in the affordable smartphone segment. It features a 5-inch Gorilla Glass HD screen and 8MP cameras. LTE 4G connectivity allows fast download and streaming, supported by 16GB

of internal storage. A microSD card slot allows up to 128GB capacity.

The Nokia 5, which packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 octa-core processor, has 2GB RAM and 16GB storage expandable to 128GB. It features a 13MP camera with dual-tone flash and a 5.2-inch HD screen. A fingerprint sensor provides extra security and convenience.

Another octa-core smartphone, the Nokia 6, has a 5.5-inch full-HD in-cell hybrid display with a wide viewing angle and wide color reproduction for a fully immersive entertainment. This is complemented by dual speakers with Dolby Atmos and a smart amplifier. It has a 16MP main and an 8MP front cameras and 32GB internal storage capacity.

Availability and pricing

Nokia 8 units come in both steel and polished blue while the other Nokia phone models, Nokia 3, 5 and 6, offer a wider range of color selections.

The Nokia 8 lists at P29,990 SRP while the Nokia 6 is available for P11,990. The Nokia 3 and Nokia 5 are priced at P6,990 and P9,990, respectively.

The dark days before Grab and Uber A10

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

/

A LEAKED photo of the muchanticipated Huawei Mate 10.

BusinessMirror

Saturday, October 7, 2017 A12

Building a smart home?

Then you need Wi-Fi windows!

THE TECHNIVORE ED UY

whereiseduy@gmail.com

“We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.”—CARL SAGAN

T

HERE’S a famous saying about the eyes being the windows to the soul, and if that is true, then windows must be the entry or access to the essence—or the soul—of every home.

Maybe that’s the reason my mom would spend hours when buying a new set of curtains and even longer when deciding which set of drapes she’d want to use next.

Seeing a fresh new set was always a pleasant surprise, as it gave our house a quick makeover of sorts. Unfortunately, washing them was another completely different story. I guess that’s why my dad eventually replaced it with window blinds.

A well-dressed window is more than just a decorating decision. It is, more important, a stylish way to add or block light, provide privacy and create the mood inside one’s home.

But I’ve never thought they’d come a time when you need to “power dress” windows, as well.

Yup. After the doors, it seems that windows are next ones to go high tech.

A few weeks ago I met with the Philippine partners of Hunter Douglas, one of the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality, innovative window

treatments. They’ve been in the business since the 1940s, when Joe Hunter collaborated with Henry Sonnenberg toward the production of venetian blinds. They’ve done window dressings for the most luxurious homes and office buildings across the globe, not only to provide shade but also showcase the consumer’s lifestyle and self-expression.

This year Hunter Douglas gives new meaning to the term “power dressing” as they introduce their latest innovation, called the PowerView Motorization System. Its a pioneering concept that offers convenience, technology and seamless connectivity keeping balance between light control, energy efficiency and the art of window styling.

“Connectivity and integration is the trend now,” said James Sia, general manager for Hunter Douglas Window Covering Products and Licensing for Asia. “Worldwide, we see a growing trend in smart-home technology. There are décor-friendly gadgets, automated door locks, security systems, automated lighting systems, air conditioning with programmable thermostats and, now, programmable window coverings.”

With the PowerView Motorization System, window blinds and shades become smart and intuitive, adapting to your preferences for natural light or protecting your privacy. Aside from enhancing the elegance of any room in the house, your window treatments now move with your preset mood, style and natural-light requirements.

With just a click of a button on the stylish Pebble Remote Control, the Programmable Motorization System allows you to preset scenes and schedules as to how you want to enjoy your day. The shades rise automatically in the morning to greet the sunrise, slide down midway to protect you from direct sunlight at noon, and then slowly lower to close at sunset to provide the privacy you deserve for quiet family time or a tranquil night’s rest.

You can set your preference to have rooms operate independently, or work together in synchronization with the help of the two-way communication technology between Shades and Hub, or between Hub and App for accurate positioning and control of your shades.

You can even control it remotely by downloading the PowerView app on your mobile device, which can even be a useful security feature to make it look like there is someone in your house at anytime of the day.

Stephen Sy, president of Focus Global Inc., Hunter Douglas’s exclusive licensee in the country, said they’re excited to bring this technology to discerning Filipino homeowners.

“With the PowerView Window System, the world’s most beautiful window treatments have evolved into the most intelligent window treatment, as well. It means you can have style, revolutionary functionality and technologically advanced products for your home and office at the same time. You can have it all without having to compromise.”

HEOS BY DENON BEYOND Innovations, one of the leading distributors of audio devices, is making another harmonious collaboration with iconic Japanese brand Denon as it introduces the Heos series to the Philippine market.

Known for providing advanced, state-of-the-art but cost-effective technologies for its consumers, the addition of Heos promises to bring consumers beautiful sound and, more important, make life with technology entertaining, effortless and convenient.

Heos is a wireless music system that allows you to control all your music effortlessly from anywhere in your home. All you need is one or more Heos speakers and the free app.

The free Heos app instantly gives you multiroom audio control, and it can be installed on as many phones and tablets as you like. Use your multiroom audio system to group several rooms together and play the same song—perfectly synchronized in party mode. Or, play a different song in every room when everyone wants to dance to their own tune.

More important, the Heos system allows you to play music from a huge selection of sources whether its from Internet radio or online music services or from your own smart devices, USBs, PCs and NAS. There are currently four Heos speakers available.

The Heos 1 provides custom dual drivers, including a wide range midwoofer and precision dome tweeter.

Its the ideal wireless portable speaker for outdoor fun as the enclosure is sealed for humidity resistance,

making it ideal for outdoor fun. Use it poolside or on the spa deck with confidence.

The Heos 3 is a dual driver design with two Class D amp channels and is is ideal for small- to mediumsized rooms.

The Heos 5 has two custom-designed tweeters, and two midwoofers powered by four Class D amp channels, along with a passive radiator. It gives absolutely amazing sound from a discreet and stylish powerhouse. It is ideal for medium to large rooms.

Finally, the Heos 7 features seven drivers, including two passive radiators, two custom tweeters and midwoofers and a large subwoofer powered by five dedicated Class D amplifiers. It is built with rich and genuine materials with a brushed metallic apex for a stylish, yet solid, build.

WATERPROOF MATE 10?

IF you’re a Huawei fan like me, you’re probably excited about the highly anticipated reveal of the Mate 10 on October 16 in Munich. But I don’t think we have to wait that long as several web sites have already uncovered huge amounts of information regarding Huawei’s upcoming flagship device.

According to the leaks, the Mate 10 features a gorgeous bezel-less design—one of the thinnest on a smartphone. The back features the Leica dual-camera setup and the rear fingerprint scanner (which I like).

The rear cameras have 12-MP and 20-MP sensors, respectively, with both having an f/1.6 aperture.

It will also have a massive 4000-mAh battery with super charge, high-speed LTE connectivity of up to 1.2-Gbps, and IP67, rating which means it is splash proof.

The Mate 10 will be the first to use the Kirin 970 chip, Huawei’s first mobile artificial intelligence computing platform featuring a dedicated Neural Processing Unit. Compared to a quad-core Cortex-A73 CPU cluster, the Kirin 970’s new heterogeneous computing architecture delivers up to 25 times the performance with 50 times greater efficiency.

The smartphone will have several variants—the Mate 10, Mate 10 Pro, Mate 10 Lite—and will be available in at least three color options: silver, blue and bronze/brown.

What do you think? Will the Mate 10 be the phone worth waiting for?

/ TECH THOUGHTS: “Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master.”—CHRISTIAN LOUS LANGE