Nationwide contest highlights mobile applications by students

THREE of the best innovative mobile and wireless applications over the past eight years of the Sweep Innovation and Excellence Awards will soon test the market as business start-ups, making that huge leap from mere school projects into commercial products that people can actually use.

“Providing these young developers the platform to create applications that help solve life’s little problems fits with Smart’s goal of harnessing technology for people to live more,” said Ramon Isberto, Public Affairs Group head for Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart).

Tax notes: Taxability of homeowners’ association dues

REVENUE Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 9-2013 was issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) last Jan. 29, 2013 to clarify the taxability of association dues, membership fees, and other assessments/charges collected by homeowners’ associations from its homeowner-members and other entities.

New outlet allows USB charging

AS more people find it impossible to go places without their portable devices, the need to constantly recharge batteries becomes evident.

Limpag: Stop paying for (or pirating) MS Office, get LibreOffice

LIBREOFFICE released version 4.0 of its office productivity suite a few days ago and early reviews and feedback point to a solid release.

LibreOffice is the free and open source equivalent to Microsoft Office. Unlike Microsoft Office, which costs as much as P10,995 for a single license under the Home and Small Business edition, LibreOffice is free.

Smart offers ‘widest’ LTE coverage

WITH the long-awaited release of Apple iOS 6.1, iPhone 5 users in the Philippines can now have the most extensive Long Term Evolution (LTE) service from Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart).

Tattoo@Home offers free unlimited calling

TATTOO@Home is offering subscribers free unlimited landline to mobile calls to Globe and TM. This is on top of the free monthly service fee and Globe NDD offered before, the company said in a press statement.

Group backs move to allow foreign equity in rural banks

THE Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) expressed support for allowing foreign equity in rural banks, saying this will boost the industry.

In an email interview, RBAP president Edward Leandro Garcia said the move is “very positive news” for rural banks.

Coal Asia accelerates production

COAL Asia Holdings, Inc., the holder of the country’s second largest coal reserves and resources with the potential to become the biggest producer of high-grade bituminous coal – is accelerating its commercial production thru its subsidiary Titan Mining & Energy Corp. (TMEC) from its previously projected target date of January 2014 to October 2013.

Optimistic forecasts

WHETHER they are established business owners or just like practicing the art of feng shui, most are optimistic that the year of the water snake will be a good year for business.

For feng shui expert Aldric Dalumpines, the arrival in droves of tourists in Cebu to witness the Sinulog Festival was just the start of good things for the province.

Less spam, but keep guard up, Kaspersky says

THE heightened use of anti-spam protection by Internet users has caused a drop in spam volume in 2012, a recent report by Kaspersky Lab said.

The volume of spam or electronic junk mail declined by 8.2 percent to 72.1 percent last year, from 80.3 percent in 2011 and 82.2 percent in 2010.

Change of theory

PETITIONER Duty-Free Philippines Services, Inc. (DFPSI) is a manpower agency that provides personnel to Duty Free Philippines (DFP). On March 16, 1989, respondent Manolo Tria was employed by petitioner and was deployed to DFP as a warehouse supervisor. On Aug. 27, 1998, DFP found the respondent guilty of dishonesty for his direct participation in the fake condemnation and pilferage of the missing 1,020 Marlboro Pack of 5’s cigarettes and ordered his dismissal from the service for loss of trust and confidence.

Batuhan: The prosperity gospel

IT is interesting how this new twist on the Christian gospel has enjoyed a tremendous surge in popularity lately.

Homeowners’ groups, condos lose tax perks

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has removed tax perks of homeowners’ associations, condominium corporations and recreational clubs.

In an interview with Sun.Star Cebu, Punongbayan & Araullo (P&A) director for Cebu and Davao- Tax and Payroll Outsourcing Wendell Gahinhin said these establishments are now required to pay an income tax of 30 percent based on net income and a 12-percent value-added tax (VAT).

Globe, Johnson & Johnson strengthen partnership

GLOBE Business recently reinforced the partnership with Johnson & Johnson (Philippines), Inc. (J&J Philippines) to deliver communications solutions to the healthcare company, which covers the latter’s consumer sector, medical devices and diagnostics sector (Johnson & Johnson Medical Philippines), pharmaceutical sector (Janssen Pharmaceutica) and its affiliate Global Finance Services in Manila.

Website bridges owners of properties, renters

WITH nearly 50 percent of property buyers being investors hoping to cash in by renting their purchases out, a startup company has developed a website to bring together owners with those looking to lease property.

Real estate broker Anthony Leuterio started operating Rent.ph in October after developing it for a year. He admitted that bidding for the domain name cost him “millions” and took six months but he feels it was worth it.

Smart LTE coverage nearly triples since commercial launch

LESS than 6 months after Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) launched the Philippines’ first commercial Long Term Evolution (LTE) service, the company has nearly tripled its coverage across several locations in Metro Manila.

Ng: Facebook musical

FACEBOOK and social networking are now mainstream. So much so that award-winning composer Jude Gitamondoc has come up with a musical comedy on the topic. The musical, entitled “FB’ed or Facebooked,” will premiere next month and is written with a script that pokes fun on Facebook-related issues such as what it means to inform people that your relationship is complicated or poke them or like their statuses.

Lapu coop ‘among best in PH’

MEMBERS of Subaspa Multi-Purpose Cooperative (SMPC) never thought their coop would grow big when they organized it in 1992. But not only did the coop grow, it was named one of the country’s most outstanding cooperative.

SMPC members credited their success to hard work and commitment.

Fuente Triangle to build new residential tower

AFTER successfully launching three residential condominium projects, Fuente Triangle Realty Development Corp. is ready to embark on a fourth project on Osmeña Blvd.

Vice president for marketing and sales Ben Turcuato told reporters Tuesday that the Fuente Tower 4 is set to begin construction in two weeks and will be 24 to 26 storeys. Fuente Triangle is a subsidiary of J. King and Sons Co.

Entrepreneur finds niche in Filipino home-cooked meals

A FILIPINO-CHINESE entrepreneur has found his niche in Filipino home cuisine.

Steven Edward L. Tan turned his passion for cooking to his advantage when he first ventured into the food business in December 2006 by opening Kul Kitchen, a restaurant serving home-cooked meals at the Cebu IT Park.

300 franchising prospects available in expo: organizer

MORE than 300 franchising opportunities are available for Visayas and Mindanao in this year’s Cebu Franchise Expo, organizers said.

The 14th Cebu Franchise Expo (CFE) will be held on March 8 to 10 at the SM City Cebu Trade Hall. The event is organized by the Filipino International Franchise Association (FIFA) together with RK Franchise Consultancy (RKFC) and local franchise players.

Toral: E-commerce Boot Camp lessons

LAST Nov. 29, I launched the E-Commerce Boot Camp online with the intent of providing free e-commerce lessons. It was meant to help me validate the contents of my 3rd e-commerce book and help aspiring entrepreneurs (I targeted 100) put up their e-commerce businesses.

It is also supported by face-to-face sessions. The first happened at UP Diliman in Quezon City last Jan. 11. This coming Saturday, the Cebu face-to-face session will take place in Location63.

Turn organic farms into tourism sites: FCBI head

WHILE waiting for harvest, entrepreneurs can turn their organic farms into agri-tourism sites, said a top official of a business organization.

Tourism advocates in Cebu express support for VAT exemption of tourists

TOURISM advocates in Cebu said yesterday they will support the move by retailers to ask Congress to exempt foreign tourists from paying value-added tax (VAT).

Entrepreneur Jonathan Jay Aldequer said the move will show that the country is serious about its tourism.

Tesda launches 2 training programs

TWO training programs were launched last week that are intended to help women who own small convenience stores and more than 3,000 poor individuals in Central Visayas.

Director General Joel Villanueva of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) launched in Mandaue last Wednesday the Sari-Sari Store Training and Access to Resources (S3TAR) and Cash for Training Project (C4TP).

Security Bank earns record P7.5B

SECURITY Bank Corp. released its unaudited 2012 full year results which show an all-time high net income of P7.5 billion and a return on equity of 22 percent.

New start-up offers photo editing services

DESPITE the availability of photo editing software, founders of a newly-opened startup that provides photo editing services believe there is a market that they can serve.

Art gallery opens 2nd Cebu outlet

AN ART gallery that aims to be a venue for Visayas and Mindanao artists to showcase their work opened its second outlet in Cebu last week.

Qube Gallery opened on Thursday at The Persimmon Plus by Aboitizland in Mabolo, Cebu City. Qube’s first gallery is at the CAP Art Center on Osmeña Blvd.

Tax notes: Location restriction for tourism economic zone enterprises

THE Board of Directors of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) has approved new rules for tourism economic zones (TEZ) where development must take place outside Metro Manila, Cebu City, Mactan Island and Boracay.

Investment road show to feature Bahrain

A ROAD show this week in Cebu City seeks to recruit Filipinos to invest in or collaborate with companies in Bahrain, as well as drum up interest in a summit two months from now.

The Arab-Philippine Business Summit (APBS) 2013 road show opens today, Feb. 4, at the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu Hotel. It’s also in preparation for the first APBS on April 9 to 12, hosted by the Bahrain World Economic Summit (BWES).