Free FTA forum slated on Monday

TO LET more stakeholders understand further the free trade agreements (FTAs), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will conduct an FTA information session on November 22 at the Royal Mandaya Hotel in Davao City.

China Bank marks 90th year with cuts in interest rates

CHINA Bank, the country's first privately-owned commercial bank, celebrated its ninth decade successful operations through nine promotions and activities.

The series of anniversary festivities kicked off with China Bank dropping the interest rate for HomePlus Loan to a low 7.5 percent annually fixed for the first year.

Global software firm to tap Filipinos

BRIMMING with confidence in the country's software engineers, a leading global security and infrastructure software provider inaugurated its lone Asian research and development office in the Philippines.

BPI introduces banking via broadband stick

ELECTRONIC banking leader Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) encouraged current and future clients who are in the lookout for speed and mobility to do free one-year transactions through Globe broadband.

Marie Josephine Ocampo, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of BPI, said the launch of the limited edition BPI 24/7 Globe Tattoo would surely empower consumers to do banking using the latest Internet technology.

No need to tap Pacquiao as tourism endorser

MALACAÑANG on Friday welcomed criticisms on the government's new tourism campaign slogan as it declined to refer boxing superstar and Sarangani Representative Manny Pacquiao as tourism "poster boy."

"I think with or without a designation, si Representative Pacquiao is already a sort of, hindi naman po poster boy, pero marami na pong naka-identify, if not po, 'yong buong mundo, na-identify na po si Representative Pacquiao as one of the icons po from the Philippines," Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte told Palace reporters.

Dancing attendants meant to show airline’s ‘fun culture’

WHILE it was popular on YouTube, the dancing flight attendants of Cebu Pacific was just an experiment, the airline said.

RG Orense, Cebu Pacific corporate communications manager, said they tried the dancing flight attendants to show the airline’s “fun culture.”

China Bank to open seven more branches in Mindanao

CHINA Banking Corp. is set to open seven more branches in Mindanao by next year.

WB exec confident grants won't go to politicians' pockets

COTABATO CITY -- A World Bank official in the Philippines expressed confidence that grants they have extended to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) will not go into the pockets of the local leaders as feared by some groups.

Water treatment facility seen to boost business

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has accredited a water testing and waste water treatment laboratory facility in nearby Sarangani, a move seen to help the local business sector, officials said.

China eyes Tagum City as culture, commerce center

TAGUM CITY -- The Chinese government sees Tagum City as a vibrant partner for an exchange of culture and commerce.

Ayala sets aside P1B for 1016 Residences

AYALA Land Inc. (ALI) yesterday announced the coming of another Ayala Land Premier project to the Cebu Business Park (CBP) this year.

Developer Ayala Land Premier, ALI’s high-end residential brand, has earmarked P1 billion as investment for the development of 1016 Residences, a 27-storey residential building. The project will stand on a 2,389 square meter (sqm) property with a 900 sqm footprint. It will house 109 units with 11 special units.

I.Protect: Non-registrable marks

Clint Fabiosa & Ana Liza Villamor

SECTION 123.1 of the Intellectual Property Code lists other names or symbols that are not registrable and could not be appropriated by the user:

Oro to lower amusement tax to 10 percent

THE City Government of Cagayan de Oro is set to implement a reduction in the amusement taxes paid by all movie houses and other related establishments from 30 percent to 10 percent starting January next year.

WB grants Armm $30M

COTABATO CITY -- The World Bank granted a $30 million loan to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) as part of the National Government's aim to reduce poverty and to support mechanisms for the promotion of a peaceful and safe environment in the conflict-affected areas in the region.

China Bank posts P3.75B growth

CHINA Banking Corporation (China Bank) posted a sturdy growth of 17 percent, equivalent to P3.75 billion from January to September this year.

Government to pour in major Mindanao agri infra projects

WITH its strong agribusiness potentials, Mindanao remains on top of the National Government's priority in agricultural development with more agri-related PPP (public-private partnership) projects coming into the region, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

DTI asks small enterprises: Invest inpackaging to increase product sales

TO entice more buyers, an official of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is encouraging micro, small and medium enterprises to invest in packaging.

Hotels, restaurants show off attractions in Lapu-Lapu event

ABOUT 19 hotels and restaurants showcased their best cuisines and cultural entertainment in the Tourism Nite in Lapu-Lapu City last Monday.

Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino (WAHC) manager Hembler Mendoza said the event was organized to showcase Lapu-Lapu’s best resorts to further draw in more international and domestic tourists.

Ng: Dynamics of competition

ONE interesting thing in the information and communications technology industry is how the dynamics of competition change.

There was a time when Google executives were directors of Apple and vice versa. They were allies in some respect, but right now, they are competitors. Obviously, Apple is now using AdMob and getting revenues from advertisements and Google is now their number one competitor for smartphones.

Simplified remittance scheme for Filipinos in Japan

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III said Filipinos in Japan will soon be relieved from high remittance fees as the government tapped Japan Post Bank to ease its cost and cut processing time starting next year.

Dole warns of delayed wages, benefits

THE Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) warned employers against instances where salaries and benefits of their workers are being delayed.

Customs collection down in 3rd quarter

CUSTOMS collection in Northern Mindanao for the third quarter this year went down by 7.75 percent compared to that of the same period last year, records from the Bureau of Customs (BOC)-Northern Mindanao revealed.

PLDT, Smart team up with global technology players

THE country's leading telco providers, PLDT and Smart, have joined an alliance of international technology players that will support the advancement of cloud computing in the Asian region.

1st Galing Mindanao MSME Trade Caravan set

IN AN effort to promote the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Mindanao and all their benefits to the regional economy, the Mindanao Microfinance Council (MMC) is putting together the 1st Galing Mindanao MSME Trade Caravan on November 19 to 21 at Limketkai Center in Cagayan de Oro City.

Philippines wins tax case vs Thailand

THE World Trade Organization (WTO) has provisionally ruled in the Philippines' favor in a cigarette tax dispute with Thailand, upholding Manila's complaints that Bangkok's policies violated trade rules.

‘Workers key in IT business’

GETTING into the information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) industry doesn’t require much capitalization. Instead, what small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should consider is getting the right workers for the business, an official from the Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP) said.

Cebu Pacific to add more flights to deal with holiday peak season

ANTICIPATING the increase in flight bookings for the peak season, Cebu Pacific will be adding more flights to several destinations.

RG Orense, Cebu Pacific corporate communications manager, said that with the delivery of newly acquired aircraft, they will be assigning these to different flights that have seen heavy traffic in recent months.

3 schools, 2 groups to sign agreement on patent libraries

FIVE organizations from Cebu will sign this afternoon the agreement to host Innovation and Technology Support Offices (ITSO) or patent libraries.

These groups are the University of San Carlos (USC), Cebu Institute of Technology University (CITU), University of San Jose Recoletos (USJR), Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF).

More mariculture parks set up in Davao Region

THE regional office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has announced the establishment of another mariculture park in Davao Region, this time in Matina, Davao City.

Davao's ICT sector girds for 1st software exhibition

DAVAO CITY'S information technology sector is gearing up for the 1st Software Exhibition in the city, with the expected participation of 60 exhibitors and 200 participants.