Globalization and International Trading (Import/Export)

[Ady001]

Dapat kasi magtayo na tayo ng sariling mga kumpanya para naman dumami ang mga exports natin. Kung ang mga big retailers natin magdiversify, gumawa ng bagong kumpanya to manufacture goods, make them here and sell them, dadami pa ang trabaho at we can foster R&D.

[jpdm]

Originally Posted by Ady001

Dapat kasi magtayo na tayo ng sariling mga kumpanya para naman dumami ang mga exports natin. Kung ang mga big retailers natin magdiversify, gumawa ng bagong kumpanya to manufacture goods, make them here and sell them, dadami pa ang trabaho at we can foster R&D.

Agree here.

SM, Robinsons and even Puregold and Waltermart are harnessing Pinoy SMEs to produce their respective "home brands" like Bonus and best choice.

I do hope as these huge retailers are outsourcing their home brands, they also provide Pinoy SMEs with newer technology aside from ready market.

One good example is the LiLiw, Laguna -made shoes and footwear that are marketed as SM shoes and footwear.

These big retailers should minimized buying merchandise abroad because the practice does not bring income and employment to their main customers, Pinoys.

[jpdm]

Customs sees lift from China deal


Monday, 26 April 2010 00:00
Manila Times


THE Bureau of Customs is eyeing a lift in its revenue collection as well as a reduction in smuggling after it signed a bilateral agreement with the People’s Republic of China’s General Customs Administration.

On the sidelines of the signing ceremony, Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said the agreement on information exchange regarding importers and exporters would enable the bureau to detect promptly whether a shipment or trader is violating the Tariffs and Customs Code.

“We had proposed this to China four years ago since the Philippine government used to have a limited access in terms of information gathering regarding shipments from China. Thus, it was difficult to collar the culprits and prosecute them,” Morales said.

The Customs chief said China is one of the Philippines’ largest source of imported goods, as local traders prefer the mainland’s cheap products. The agreement also covers Hong Kong’s Customs Administration.

Imports from China account for 8.6 percent of the Philippines’ total merchandise goods purchases from abroad. Morales said the taxable goods from China and Hong Kong amount to at least P18 billion a year, “making China the [Philippines’] preferred trading partner.”

According to the National Statistics Office, China is the Philippines’ fourth export market with an 8.3 percent share of the total exports for the first two months of the year—an increase of nearly 13 percent year-on-year.

With the agreement, the Philippine Customs expects to improve its tax collection efficiency by between 5 and 10 percent from the first year of implementation, generating an incremental P900,000 to P1.8 billion in duties.

Under the agreement, the two countries’ customs administrations—upon request from any of the parties —may get all the necessary information about the traders, products, and methods in accurately assessing the tariffs and duties to be imposed on traded goods.

The Philippines already has a similar agreement with South Korea, Israel and Iran.

“Right now, we still have to do it via phone calls and emails [each time we suspect shipments and for verification purposes]. But within the year, we would come up with a database or electronic archive which would contain all the necessary information regarding the traders, goods and methods of assessing the right value of such goods,” Morales said.
Katrina Mennen A. Valdez

[jpdm]

Trade dept. sees surge in exports by 2nd half


Thursday, 06 May 2010 00:00
BY BEN ARNOLD O. DE VERA Reporter
Manila Times

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is projecting a double-digit increase in exports this year, with “robust” growth expected in the second half.

“The first semester will see growth returning but the second half of 2010 will likely be robust,” Trade Secretary Jesli Lapus said in a statement on Wednesday.

He said the growth would be brought about by “the continued recovery of the Philippines’ major markets and the improvement in demand for electronic products.”

Latest government data showed that total exports in the first two months of the year rose 43.4 percent to $7.15 billion.

In February alone, exports went up 42.3 percent to $3.57 billion, mostly because of a strong demand for semiconductors and electronics—which compose more than half of the country’s merchandize exports.

“Philippine shipments of electronics and semiconductors are expected to grow between 10 percent and 15 percent for the year, [to be] driven by strong demand notably from China,” Lapus said.

The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI) had projected a “conservative” growth of up to 20 percent this year, but the industry group said that this target could be raised further.

The government and other exporters’ groups have also been mulling on raising export growth projections.

The public-private Export Development Council had projected a 16-percent increase, while the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. had not ruled out recovering from the 25-percent slump last year.

[hakz2007]

Exporters get additional P100-M assistance

MANILA, May 13 (PNA) -- Malacanang has directed the Department of Budget and Management to check for possible funding source for an additional P100 million for exporters, Trade and Industry Secretary Jesli A. Lapus said.

Lapus said he asked Malacanang for the amount because the Export Development Fund has been realigned for the calamity fund during typhoon Ondoy.

Lapus, however, told Cebu Export leaders that the government cannot intervene in the continued strengthening of the foreign exchange rate.

During a meeting with Cebu export leaders, Lapus together with the officials of the National Economic and Development Authority and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas took turns in explaining the government policy on the foreign exchange rate.

Cebu export leaders have raised their concern on the foreign exchange saying the unrestrained strengthening of the peso has eroded their competitiveness in the global market.

Philippine Exporters Confederation president Venus Genson said that Cebu exporters, mostly using indigenous materials, have lost seven percent of what should have been their export revenues to strong peso.

Cebu exporters, which claimed to directly employ 50,000 and 150,000 indirect workers, have batted for a stable peso rate of not less than P45 to the greenback.

“They want a weak peso so I called NEDA and BSP to explain to them that the government’s monetary policy towards market driven rate,” Lapus said.

BSP managing director Wilhelmina Manalac stressed that, “BSP is not going to intervene in the foreign exchange rate because it is market determined. We only come in to smoothen the volatilities of the market.”

Manalac, however, said that the BSP has undertaken some initiatives under its Export Competitiveness Training to make exports competitive and to protect exporters from foreign exchange losses.

She said that the BSP export initiatives would enable exporters to look at other sources of competitiveness like productivity, innovation and technology.

Lapus also pointed out that a strong local currency would shield the country from the impact of high oil prices.

On the other hand, Lapus added that the export sector is booming.

Lapus said further said that Cebu exporters are going to get a total of P54 million from the ESF. A total of 6 Cebu projects with combined cost of P24 million have been cleared for funding under the ESF.

Cebu exporters also proposed funding for 7 projects at a cost of P122 million.

He said that of the P200 million ESF, which are supposed to fund 24 exporters’ projects that have been cleared for funding, only P51 million have been released due to procedural difficulties in liquidating the expenses.

This time, Lapus would like to release the fund directly to suppliers or export site organizers. Most of the exporters’ projects are for financing in their participation to local and international trade fairs. (PNA)

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=...d=3&rid=275602

[jpdm]

Govt expedites release of export fund


Saturday, 15 May 2010 00:00
Manila Times
BY BEN ARNOLD O. DE VERA Reporter

A public-private sector body overseeing the exports sector said it cut short the procedure in releasing money for projects that qualified under the Export Support Fund (ESF).

Trade Secretary Jesli Lapus, who also chairs the Export Development Council, said qualified projects would immediately be granted half of the project cost.

Previously, projects that were approved by EDC could only reimburse the amount they already spent, entailing the submission of receipts and documentation prior to reimbursement.

Lapus also said that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for another P100 million that would be allocated to exporters’ promotion activities.

Lapus told reporters after a meeting with Cebu-based exporters on Wednesday that this P100 million could be allocated to projects seeking financial assistance under the ESF.

Lapus said this was done following a request of exporters from the Visayas, who had submitted a position paper asking that DTI to distribute the remaining amount of the ESF.

The government had allocated P1 billion for the ESF to assist exporters amid the global economic slowdown.

But only 24 projects worth a combined P200 million was approved for financing by the ESF. Of the total amount approved, only P51.148 million had been released as of May 6, Lapus said.

The government later realigned the remaining balance of the ESF to projects that would mitigate the effects of recent calamities and disasters.

Lapus said DBM would have to check if the government could still release additional money for exporters.

Also, the Visayan exporters had asked the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to “rationalize their market intervention policy and set tighter intervention levels to avoid wide swings in the exchange rates.”

However, Lapus said the government could not do anything about the exchange rate. “The BSP’s policy is not to intervene. The forex is market-driven,” he said.

[Retro]

China Jobs Gain Signals Honda Offer ‘Tip’ of Iceberg
By Bloomberg News - June 2, 2010

June 2 (Bloomberg) -- China’s manufacturing job growth accelerated to the fastest pace in at least five years in the past three months, signaling more employers may be forced to follow Honda Motor Co. in offering higher wages.

The Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said yesterday in Beijing its average factory employment index for the past three months reached 52.7 even as its measure for manufacturing growth slid. The release came a day after Tokyo-based Honda offered a 24 percent pay increase to workers at a factory in the aftermath of a strike that shut down its Chinese production.

Faster job growth and higher wages will help Premier Wen Jiabao’s government rebalance the world’s third-largest economy away from export dependence. The shift may also stoke inflation, making it more important that officials contain prices in part by ending China’s currency peg to the dollar, said Peng Wensheng, head of China research at Barclays Capital.

“Honda’s just the tip of the iceberg, and it reflects the urgency of adjusting China’s growth model,” said Huang Yiping, an economics professor at Peking University and a former Citigroup Inc. chief Asia economist. “After three decades of rapid growth partly driven by cheap labor, China must adjust” to higher wages, he said.

Manufacturing Peak

Earnings are poised to rise even amid signs that the acceleration of growth in China’s industries may have peaked, economists said. Yesterday’s report showed the country’s manufacturing purchasing manager index dropped more than forecast, to 53.9 in May from 55.7 in April; readings higher than 50 indicate expansion.

The decline contributed to a sell-off in stocks that saw the MSCI Asia Pacific Index snap a four-day winning streak. It retreated again today by 0.6 percent as of 10 a.m. in Tokyo.

China’s regional officials are contributing to wage gains. After halting minimum wage increases last year amid the global recession, seven Chinese provinces raised their levels in the first quarter, according to the Labor Ministry. Companies from Dell Inc. to Hon Hai Group have also increased pay in their Chinese businesses this year.

Foxconn Technology Group, also known as Hon Hai Group, the assembler of Apple Inc.’s iPhones, said today it will raise workers’ salaries by at least 30 percent in China. At least 10 people have died this year at its manufacturing complex in Shenzhen and police are treating the deaths as suicides.

Honda Strike

Honda, Japan’s second-largest carmaker, said it plans to resume full operations today at its parts plant where workers went on strike. The company hasn’t decided when to reopen its four car-assembly plants in the country, said Akemi Ando, a Honda spokeswoman.

“The Honda strikes could lead to an increase in these types of incidents,” Auret van Heerden, president and chief executive officer of the Washington-based labor-monitoring group Fair Labor Association, said by phone yesterday. “This sort of labor action generally has a copycat nature.”

About a quarter of workers in nine Chinese provinces surveyed by the central bank said they expected at least a 10 percent pay increase this year, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported in March.

Tao Dong, a Hong Kong-based economist at Credit Suisse Group AG, said “I expect double digit wage growth a year for the migrant workers over the next few years.” China has about 145 million migrant workers across the nation, about 11 percent of the total population, according to government data.

‘End of an Era’

“The events have dramatized the beginning of the end of an era of China as world factory,” Tao said.
Faster wage increases and yuan appreciation should both be in policy makers’ toolkit to help reallocate resources away from exports toward domestic demand, said Peng at Barclays, who is based in Hong Kong. “Wage increases may push up domestic inflation so letting the yuan strengthen at the same time may help cool inflation.”

China’s consumer prices rose 2.8 percent in April from a year before, approaching the 3 percent target that the government has set for this year’s average.

Any change in the yuan’s 6.83 peg to the dollar, kept since July 2008 to aid exporters, may hurt manufacturers with thin profit margins, such as Zhejiang Mingfeng Car Accessories Co., an exporter of car covers and seats cushions whose margin last year stood as low as 2.5 percent.

‘Great Distress’

“Pressure on wages has been greater this year especially as we expanded our business after the New Year holiday,” said Bai Ming, deputy general manager of Zhejiang Mingfeng, adding that his company has raised wages by almost 20 percent. “Even a 3 percent yuan revaluation may cause great distress for our business,” he said.

China’s trade balance has already shrunk with foreign demand gains outstripped by domestic spending. The country’s gross domestic product climbed 11.9 percent in the first quarter from a year before, the most in almost three years.

China faces a “pressing” task in the “post-crisis era” to adjust its growth model and move away from growth reliance on investment and exports, which may be restrained by a slow world recovery, Vice Premier Li Keqiang wrote in the Chinese Communist Party magazine published yesterday.

[hakz2007]

May coco-oil exports increase by 122%

SHIPMENTS of coconut oil (CNO) for the month of May reached 123,570 metric tons (MT), 122.4 percent higher than the 55,555 MT shipped out in May 2009, according to industry estimates.

Based on the initial estimate of the United Coconut Associations of the Philippines, coconut-oil exports for January to May reached 601,605 MT or 211.67 percent higher than the 193,029 MT shipped out in the same period last year.

Ucap executive director Yvonne Agustin pointed to the growth in demand from major markets such as the United States and Europe for coconut oil as the single biggest reason behind the phenomenal increase of CNO exports in January to May.

CIIF Oil Mills Group vice president for exports Henry Lao projected that coconut-oil exports for the second semester could drop due to the effect of the El Niño weather phenomenon on coconut trees.

Lao, however, did not provide any estimate or projection.

The government is positive that coconut production will hit the 3-million-metric-ton mark this year owing to its ongoing efforts to increase output. The coconut industry is keen on hiking production so it could supply the demand for the mandated 1 percent to 2 percent biodiesel blending. The additional demand is placed at 100,000 to 200,000 MT.

Coconut oil has various applications in food preparation, medicine and cosmetic products, as well as herbicides and as feedstock for biodiesel, engine lubricant and transformer oil.
In Photo: IN this file photo, a farmer from Ayala Coco Farm in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, takes a snap rest before continuing her work for the day.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/ind...ri-commodities

[jpdm]

Dying’ skills buck the odds]

BY IRMA ISIP
Malaya Business Insights
June 2, 2010

A Swiss company continues the tradition of what could be a vanishing skill – high quality embroidery.

Tara Designs Philippines Inc. has been manufacturing and exporting embroidered table linen, bedroom and bathroom linen, kitchen and toilet accessories, garments curtains, and specialty fashion fabrics from Baguio City since the 1980s after moving its factory from Manila where it was originally founded by a Canadian lady in the 1970s.

Hit by the global financial crisis twice – in the 90s and last year – and by a devastating earthquake in 1992, Tara Designs has managed to come out stronger each time.

Supplying exclusively to clients mainly in Switzerland, Germany and Italy, Tara Designs uses the old way of machine embroidery that involves a special technique in producing exquisite and intricate products well-loved by its European clients.

These products, which competitors like China and Indonesia cannot replicate, have enabled Tara Designs to pierce the high-end scale of the market.

But the company is alarmed over the possibility of becoming extinct due to the scarcity of highly skilled embroiderers.

Today, there are no more schools offering training on this skill. Even the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority no longer finds its teaching a priority.

Sidelined by the depletion of embroiderers and hit by the crisis last year, Tara Designs turned these adversities into an opportunity.

To address the issue of scarcity of embroiderers, it started to take in young workers who want to learn the craft.

Hired initially as straight sewers, these interns get hands-on training for three years before they become operators.

The business depends largely on embroiderers who make up about 70 percent of Tara Designs’ employees, some of whom have been with the company for 25 years.

The company today has 196 employees, just half of the 400 it used to have. About 80 percent of them are women, hired particularly for their nimble hands.

Being skilled in manual embroidery of the olden days does not necessarily make one qualified to do the highly specialized embroidery operation at Tara Designs.

A combination of such a skill and a specialized technique with the use of improvised sewing/embroidery attachments is what it takes to produce Tara Designs’ much sought-after products.

Tara Designs has a department which develops and executes the design specified by a client.

Tara Designs has been trying to penetrate other markets like Asia, the Middle East and America, but Europe remains its top buyer.

"The market in Europe is a lot different but it also has changed over time. It prefers simple, elegant and chic designs, sometimes just the classic chain embroideries and less and less heavy embroideries," said Meme Candari, a consultant of the company.

Tara Designs works on all sorts of fabric which it sources from Switzerland, Italy and Japan: polyester, cotton, linen, cotton/polyester, wool, cashmere, silk, leather. You name it, they’ll stitch it.

The company has experienced a better first quarter as the market begins to recover from last year’s 35 to 40 percent decline in sales.

[jpdm]

P.1-B loss to technical smuggling bared


Written by Jennifer A. Ng / Reporter
Wednesday, 02 June 2010 09:02
Business Mirror

LOCAL businesses, led by the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI), disclosed on Tuesday that the government has lost at least P100 million in potential revenues from 2007 to 2009 due to the rampant technical smuggling of palm oil and palm olein.

FPI president Jesus Arranza alleged that some unscrupulous importers are in cahoots with some officials and employees of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to undervalue their shipments.

“We have records showing that some companies that have imported palm oil from the years 2007 to 2009 undervalued their shipments,” Arranza told reporters in a press briefing in Makati City on Tuesday.

One importer, he noted, declared the price of imported palm oil in container and packs at $0.10 per kilo. This is “dirt cheap,” said Arranza, compared with the $1.10 per kilo price declared by state-run CIIF-Oil Mills Group.

Figures released by CIIF show that the average price of palm oil was pegged at $1,200 per metric ton (MT) in 2009. This translates to around $1.20 per kilogram of palm oil.

Records released by CIIF, however, indicate that one importer paid for the imported palm oil at $70 per MT.

Arranza noted that the government lost around P23.01 million in value-added tax (VAT) last year due to the undervaluation of the imported palm oil. The importer, Matahari Trading Inc., allegedly did not pay around $494,940 in VAT in 2009.

Matahari Trading Inc. president Giovanni Ong, however, denied that his company is in collusion with BOC officials and that they resort to undervaluation of their shipments.

“Just because the international market price is pegged at a certain level doesn’t mean we have to follow that. We do not undervalue our products. Our price is based on the acquisition cost,” said Ong, partly in Filipino, in a telephone interview.

Matahari, he said, has been in the palm-oil business for 10 years and is the exclusive distributor of Bimoli cooking oil in the Philippines. Bimoli is a popular brand of cooking coil in Indonesia.

FPI said it would submit the documents they obtained to the Post-Entry Audit Group of the BOC.

Arranza said Port of Manila district collector Rogel Gatchalian would also be given copies of the documents.

FPI also suspects the possibility of the outright smuggling of palm oil last year. In 2007 palm-oil imports reached 119,000 MT. This climbed to 139,000 MT in 2008.

Last year importation simply dropped to 76,000 MT. “This may be a result of outright smuggling,” said Arranza.

[Ady001]

Originally Posted by jpdm

Geely has expressed its desire to put up an assembly plant here in the Philippines...and I never taught this Chinese company is huge..


China's Geely shares up on Volvo deal


Agence France-Presse
First Posted 19:07:00 03/29/2010

Filed Under: Company Information, Economy and Business and Finance, Mergers - Acquisitions - Takeovers, Automotive Equipment

BEIJING—Shares in Geely Automobile Holdings surged nearly five percent Monday after its Chinese parent company sealed a 1.8-billion-dollar deal to buy Volvo Cars from US auto giant Ford.

The Hong Kong-listed unit of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group rose as much as 4.9 percent to 4.30 Hong Kong dollars ($0.55) before closing at 4.16, up 1.5 percent in a stronger market.

The broader market finished 0.88 percent higher at 21,237.43.

"It is a comprehensive acquisition," said Jerry Huang, a Shanghai-based analyst with automotive research firm CSM Worldwide.

"Volvo will get funds which it needs badly at the moment and a market that has enormous potential. Geely gets a platform to learn and gain experience in the industry."

The deal signed Sunday ended more than a decade of Volvo ownership by Ford Motor Co., which saw the upmarket Swedish carmaker become a loss-making thorn in the side of the US giant, which is burdened with its own woes.

Geely chairman Li Shufu said he saw huge untapped potential for Volvo in international markets and especially in China, which has not only the biggest but also one of the fastest-growing car markets in the world.

"I see Volvo as a tiger. (The) tiger belongs to a forest, it can't be found in a zoo ... We need to liberate this tiger," he told a press conference after the deal was signed at Volvo Cars headquarters in Gothenburg, southern Sweden.

"The tiger has a heart and it lies in Sweden, (and) in Belgium but its power should be projected all over the world.

"I see China as one of the markets where Volvo can show it has the opportunity to liberate itself," he said.

Geely said it had not only secured financing for the 1.8 billion dollars it was paying, but was also eager to keep Volvo in operation.

It also said the deal, which Ford initially agreed to in December, included agreements on intellectual property rights as well as supply and research and development arrangements between Volvo Cars, Geely and Ford.

Pwede namang bilhin ng Pilipinas ang Volvo, turn their technology to our own.

[jpdm]

China nga hindi nabili ng technology. Rampant ang pag-pirate ng mga Chinese companies ng mga techonogy from rival companies.


Ex. Yung Chery QQ kamukhang kamukha nuong Chevrolet model. Gayang gaya.

Yung Geely na kotse ginaya yung kotse ng Daihatsu.

Tayo nagawa na ng FMC Anfra at even our jeepney.Konting improvement lang sa design at engineering aspect may panlaban na tayo.

Actually ang jeepney natin iconic puede namang magproduce ng aerodynatic and modern jeep at gawing parang British black taxi.

[jpdm]

EU woes to weigh on global growth,
says Stiglitz

Malaya Business Insights
June 3, 2010

ATHENS - Global economic growth will be "markedly lower" by the end of the year as European governments push through painful austerity measures, strangling the region’s recovery, Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said.

Stiglitz, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize for Economics, said on Tuesday it was not yet clear whether the world was headed for a double-dip recession, but that one thing was certain: Europe is going to face a roller coaster ride for the "foreseeable future".

"I think the only thing one can be confident about at this juncture is that there is likely to be volatility," he told Reuters in an interview in Stockholm.

"And volatility is bad for growth. This is not a zero sum game, this is a negative sum game."

World stocks fell on Tuesday and the euro skidded to a four-year low against the dollar on expectations that slowing growth in the euro zone and China would hamper the global economic recovery.

"The problem is that we’re in, you might say, a vicious cycle," Stiglitz said on the sidelines of a development conference. "Austerity is going to lower growth. A weak euro and a weak Europe is going to be bad for the United States."

European Union member states including Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy have announced austerity measures to placate nervous financial markets worried by Europe’s debt problems.

Spain’s parliament passed by just one vote last week government plans to shave 15 billion euros ($18.2 billion) off the fiscal deficit with measures including salary cuts for public workers and pension freezes.

Europe’s single currency has come under pressure on concerns that sovereign debt problems and slowing growth will usher in a new round of writedowns for the banking sector.

Exactly how painful the impact on growth will be is uncertain, Stiglitz said.

"It would depend to some extent on how successful the countries are in bringing austerity, how fast they bring those policies in. Because we have had such bad accounting of the banks, we don’t know how bad a shape they are in."

The fact that not just fiscally weak southern European countries, but also nations such as France and Germany at the euro zone’s core are under pressure to cut debt and deficits amassed during the financial crisis, is adding to concerns.

Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia University in New York and formerly a chief economist at the World Bank, said Europe needed to restructure expenditures and taxes in ways that would bring down government deficits while also enhancing growth.

He would not say whether the euro was currently undervalued or whether it could fall further against the dollar but said exchange rates and markets would remain extremely volatile until steady global growth resumed.

Apart from a potential spillover of Europe’s fiscal debt woes to the United States, Stiglitz said the world’s biggest economy had a host of its own problems to deal with: the banks, poor accounting standards, bad credit supply and higher mortgage defaults. - Reuters

[Ady001]

Originally Posted by jpdm

China nga hindi nabili ng technology. Rampant ang pag-pirate ng mga Chinese companies ng mga techonogy from rival companies.


Ex. Yung Chery QQ kamukhang kamukha nuong Chevrolet model. Gayang gaya.

Yung Geely na kotse ginaya yung kotse ng Daihatsu.

Tayo nagawa na ng FMC Anfra at even our jeepney.Konting improvement lang sa design at engineering aspect may panlaban na tayo.

Actually ang jeepney natin iconic puede namang magproduce ng aerodynatic and modern jeep at gawing parang British black taxi.

Pwede din, gawing ganito:





Ingenious din ang design ng jeepney natin eh. for example, instead of individualized seats, we use only elongated ones. Menos gastos na sa space, menos gastos pa sa seating.

[jpdm]

Investments to sustain rapid growth of electronics exports, says SEIPI

By Philexport News and Features
(The Philippine Star)
Updated June 07, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The impressive rebound of the electronics industry can be driven into sustained high growth if the Philippines embarks on an aggressive investment promotions campaign aimed at luring in the big multinationals, officials of a major electronics association said.

Semiconductor and Electronics Industry in the Philippines, Inc. (SEIPI) president Ernie Santiago and chairman Arthur Young stressed their view in a press conference on the sidelines of this year’s trade exhibit at the SMX convention halls in Pasay.

“The multinationals are now reviewing their global strategies and they are determined to make a presence in Asia,” Santiago said.

“They realize that China is not the only player. The reality is, the China plus plus scenario is at work and the Philippines must be made part of the investment destinations,” he explained.

He explained that the country must take full advantage of the smooth transition of government recently pulled off while Thailand is still struggling to form a new government.

“You must get out and get the investments,” added Young. “It all redounds to investments. If you order new machinery for added capacity today, it will be six months before it gets delivered, and two years to reap the higher growth. Texas Instruments (TI) decided to expand in Clark in 2007. It is reaping the dividends this year.”

The electronics industry leaders further pointed out that the spectacular growth of their industry in the 1990s that peaked at $2.16 billion in 1995 fueled double-digit annual growth in export. This sector propelled electronics to be the country’s leading export and since then captured at least 60 percent of total export revenues.

Investments slowed down in the past decade but jumped again to $1.4 billion in 2007 on the back of the decision of TI to put up its new manufacturing facilities at the Clark Freeport.

At the rate the industry has been recovering, its leaders expect exports this year to edge the performance in 2008 at $29 billion yearly sales. Their previous projection is a growth of about 29 percent this year which actual figures in the first four months have been revising upwards.

“A 45 percent growth will overtake exports of $31 billion in 2007 which may not yet be attained,”Santiago said. Robust growth is still expected next year but may not be as spectacular as this year due to under capacity of the local plants.

[jpdm]

Group calls for FTA moratorium

BY IRMA ISIP
Malaya Business Insights
June 7, 2010

Civil society is asking the incoming administration for a moratorium on all pending trade agreements pending thorough consultation and study.

Leading the campaign is the Trade Advocates Group (TAG), a network of non-governmental organizations and basic sectors working towards pro-people national trade agenda.

Former senator Sen. Wigberto Tañada, lead convenor of Fair Trade Alliance, warned against rushing headlong into trade agreements unprepared.

The country is currently undertaking talks on economic cooperation with the United States, the European Union and India.

FairTrade is a member of TAG.

"The Philippines must follow its own development paradigm with national interest at the core. We should stop the race to the bottom that neo-liberals have instituted for more than twenty years now. Government should realize now that it is not a case of one size fits all."

Addressing presumptive president Noynoy Aquino, Tañada said, "your government is in a position to reverse the ill-effects of unbridled liberalization, help our ailing industries and agriculture, save jobs and make the lives of Filipinos better."

Tanada said the average agriculture tariff in the Philippines is less than a third of Thailand’s applied tariffs, the reason the latter’s exports are growing three times faster than the Philippines’.

He said local tariffs are second lowest at about 20 percent after Singapore. He said China and India have adopted a tariff schedule of 40, 60 and 80 percent.

"We must take the step to recalibrate to the

level undertaken by Thailand, Indonesia, etc. We have been opening up too fast. Meanwhile, the industrial sector remains stagnant and the agriculture sector remains backward and unmodernized. The incoming administration should be decisive in enforcing the corrective measures," Tanada said.

Tanada likewise proposed the crafting of an agro-industrial master plan which will promote the development of viable industrial and agricultural sectors based on continuous capacity building and industrial complementation.

"We must ensure these agreements bring about reciprocal benefits to our people and that they help develop our industry and agriculture, thus creating the very much needed jobs for our people," he said.

TAG is particularly calling on the incoming administration for a halt in the implementation of the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), saying this is disadvantageous to local industries, particularly agriculture.

TAG said the country’s trade deficit with Asean has been growing, rather than declining.

ATIGA is a regional trade agreement which covers trade-related rules and regulations, including tariff liberalization, non-tariff barrier liberalization, rules of origin, trade facilitation, customs procedures, standards and conformance, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures. It came into force at the start of the year.

ATIGA aims to achieve free flow of goods in Asean as one of the principal means in establishing a single market and production base for the deeper economic integration of the region towards the realization of the Asean economic community by 2015.

[jpdm]

Export earnings up 38.9% in 1st 4 months

By Ronnel Domingo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:20:00 06/10/2010


EXPORT EARNINGS continued their double-digit rise in April at 27.4 percent year-on-year, reaching $3.573 billion, the National Statistics Office said Thursday.

But the rate of increase in April was slower than the 43.8 percent yearly growth observed in March, when earnings reached $4.181 billion.

Also, the April export performance was a turnaround from the 35.2-percent decline observed in the same month of 2009.

“This was the fourth consecutive month that exports registered positive year-on-year growth as global trade continued to recover,” said Augusto B. Santos, Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary.

From January to April, receipts hit $14.903 billion, growing by 38.9 percent from $10.73 billion the same period last year.

In April, the value of electronics products shipped out grew by 29.7 percent to $2.183 billion from the same month previous year.

Although electronic products accounted for 61.1 percent of total outbound cargoes that month, the country’s top dollar earner posted a decrease of 9.7 percent from $2.416 billion the previous month.

Still, growth in electronics shipments was driven by a 29.5-percent improvement in semiconductor components and devices.

NSO data further showed that receipts from the country’s second top export, coconut oil, went up by 372 percent year-on-year to $107.25 million.

Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, grew by 6.2 percent to $106.63 million.

Fourth on the list were woodcraft and furniture, which increased by 37.4 percent to $70.44 million.

Fifth were automotive wiring sets, which rose by 49.2 percent to $61.67 million.

Also, metals components went up by 64.1 percent to $51.88 million; products made from imported inputs, down by 4.4 percent to $47.62 million; cathodes made of refined copper, down by 31.2 percent to $42.95 million; petroleum products, down by 43.4 percent to $29.83 million; and tuna, down by 5.2 percent to $28.04 million.

Manufactured goods represented 86.7 percent of receipts and went up in aggregate value by 29.7 percent to $3.097 billion in April.

Agriculture products posted a total income of $208.12 million—an increase of 34.3 percent.

Receipts from mineral products reached $134.09 million, rising by 16.1 percent.

In April, all three of the biggest markets for Philippine goods had increased orders for shipments.

Japan regained the top spot with 17.3 percent of total outbound traffic. The value of shipments increased by 42.2 percent to $616.97 million.

Exports to the United States followed with 16.1 percent of total—up by 28.3 percent to $573.62 million.

Shipments to China made up 9.9 percent of total, rising 15 percent to $352.83 million.

[jpdm]

2-B RP-Russia trade in the works: Angara
Manila Business Insights
June 11, 2010

NEGOTIATIONS are underway to boost the bilateral trade between Russia and the Philippines from $200 million to $2 billion, Sen. Edgardo J. Angara disclosed yesterday.

Angara, Senate economic and finance committee chairman, said he will be in Russia next week to promote trade and investments there as guest of the Philippine embassy in its Independence Day celebration.

"There is a huge room for growth in trade between the two countries because Russia needs our main exports, such as tropical fruits, coconuts and carageenan (seaweed), while we can benefit greatly from accessing their oil, timber and metals," he said.

Angara said trade possibilities between the two countries are largely untapped as Russia is only the 29th largest trading partner in 2006 with less than one percent of Philippine exports.

"The Philippines and Russia are natural trade partners because of their proximity to each other," he said. "East Siberia and the Russian Far East are located in northern Asia, above our neighbors China, Japan and Korea."

Angara disclosed that Russia is currently looking at expanding trade with the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries "to increase economic activity in its eastern states and to stake a claim in east Asia’s regional integration."

"We should enhance foreign relations with Russia, particularly in the areas of trade, tourism, science, and technology," he said.

He said that the Philippine government has granted visa-free entry to Russian tourists for 21 days and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry has signed an economic cooperation agreement with the Russian government.

Angara noted that his home province is "trade-compatible" with Russia as Aurora grows Philippine main exports to that country -- bananas and coconuts.

He said that development plan for Aurora calls for promoting agribusiness, including the cultivation of seaweeds, and for developing forest plantations, which can tap Russia as a market.

[Ady001]

Spasibo. May rocket din na Angara ang Russia.

[hakz2007]

RP food exports to sustain high sales in Taipei food show

MANILA, June 21 (PNA) -- The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) sees robust sales of Filipino-made food products in the 20th Taipei International Food Show slated from June 23 to 27 at the Nangang Exhibition Hall in Taipei.

Meco said on Saturday that participating Filipino food manufacturers and exporters would bag more orders and sales this year with the promotion of premium, export-quality goods to Taiwanese and international buyers during the prestigious trade show.

Antonio I. Basilio, MECO resident representative and managing director, said Filipino food manufacturers and exporters should surpass last year's sales as they showcase more food products and heighten their marketing campaign and business-matching activities with Taiwanese companies.

Basilio said MECO hopes Filipino food producers would become more globally competitive through tie-ups with Taiwanese firms providing advanced production and packaging technologies along with capital infusions.

"Our local food manufacturers and suppliers have good prospects for this year because they have diverse products to offer at FOOD TAIPEI, which is one of Asia's most important food shows," said Basilio.

Basilio said Philippine participation in last year's food fair resulted in total export sales of US$ 10.10 million up from US$ 8 million in 2008.

MECO and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) have played an integral role in promoting Philippine fresh and processed food exports to Taiwan.

The Philippine Department of Agriculture joined MECO and DTI in focusing efforts to develop Taiwan as one of the Philippines' major export markets, sources of investments and technology partners for the enhancement of the global competitiveness of the country's food exports.

"This partnership is grounded on many factors: Taiwan's heavy dependence on imports of primary agricultural and aquatic products for its processing and re-export requirements; its domestic market's increasing appetite for imported fruits, vegetables and processed food items; its scientific advances in agriculture and aquaculture; its expertise in food packaging, processing and equipment manufacturing; and the Taiwanese Government's "Go South Policy" which will facilitate the firm positioning of the Philippines as Taiwan's gateway to the huge ASEAN market," said Basilio.

Basilio said that MECO and DTI had been encouraging the Philippine food sector to participate more actively in Taiwan trade and investment promotion activities as Taiwan provides a good platform for introducing and promoting fresh and processed food exports to the region and serves as a good partner in developing more globally competitive exports.

"It is a good source of competitively-priced food packaging, labeling and processing equipment," he said.

"The best way to upgrade global competitiveness is by working to deepen our food industry's inventory via greater diversity, finding wider and healthier applications of raw materials and increasing overall supply and volume by efficient production methods-- all through the access of Taiwan's advanced technologies," said Basilio.

Dita Angara-Mathay, Meco trade and investments director, said that the partnership of MECO and DTI in Philippine food export promotion had been substantial and successful as shown in the growing sales during the Taipei International Food Show over the past years.

Through MECO and the DTI, the Philippines mounted its first country pavilion in the Taipei International Food Show in 2002. Sales generated at the fair that year amounted to $ 0.86 million.

In 2004, Philippine exporters at the fair reported a 155 percent increase in booked sales of $ 2.2 million. Then in 2005, export receipts registered at the food fair amounted to $ 1.8 million while in 2006 the total export sales hit US$ 2.57 million.

In 2007, a 141 percent increment to this figure was registered with US$ 6.2 million in total sales, and the following year total sales rose to US$ 8 million or by 29 percent, said Angara-Mathay.

Angara-Mathay said MECO's seven year initiative in Philippine food export development resulted in a 1,074 percent increase of sales, from US$ 0.86 million in 2002 to US$ 10.10 million in 2009.

"We are upbeat that sales will be sustained this year because of the heightened marketing efforts of our local manufacturers and the quality food products they offer," he said.

Furthermore, Angara-Mathay said the combined efforts of MECO, DTI and DA in food export promotion in Taiwan have resulted in 35 Filipino delegates attending the show, a record number.

Angara-Mathay also said the participation in the trade fair would expose the growing Philippine delegations from this sector to new market and technological trends.

"In fact, this year the delegation will get briefings from the Council of Agriculture on food safety and import regulations, conduct ocular tours of the largest food retail outlets and have a one-day business matching session with 55 prospective investors and importers in Shangrila Hotel. All of these auxiliary programs were organized by MECO and DTI," Basilio said.

Basilio said this year's Philippine participants include RFM Corp., one of the biggest diversified food and beverage companies in the Philippines, which will showcase its sauce mixes, flour and rice based products, noodles with sauce mixes, pasta and spaghetti sauce, ready to drink juices, instant drink mixes, milk products, Aloe Vera drink, energy drink, Halal canned and frozen meat and Halal ice cream.

Other participating manufacturers include Philippine Fruits International Corp. (fruit purees, fruit concentrates and dried fruits); Tita Rosa Food Products, Inc. (sardines and gourmet dried fish in corn oil, sauteed shrimp paste in corn oil); RGIES Delicacies (butterscotch with cashew nuts/mango ships); Cordillera Products Trading and Holding Company (Cordillera Arabica, Kape Musang, strawberry jam);

See's International Food Manufacturing Corp. (banana chips, dried fruit cocktail, coconut chips, desiccated coconut, dried papaya, dried mango and dried pineapple); Mt. Kitanglad Agricultural Development Corp. or MKADC (fresh pineapples); Castillejos Agri-Farms Inc. or CAFI (tropical fruit jams, jellies, marmalades. chutney preserves in syrup and pure calamansi juice); and

Agrinurture Inc. or ANI (coconut juice, coconut milk, coco vinegar, rice noodles, mango nectar, mango puree and dried mango); and Primex Coco Products (desiccated coconut products -fine, medium, fancy shred, flakes, chips, coconut milk powder and banana chips).

FAB Sea Resources Corp., MS Seafood Supplier, JN Mercado Seafood Suply and JBI Foodstuff Supplier will market their fresh/chilled yellowfin tuna loins.

Meanwhile, fresh cavendish bananas will be marketed by the Federation of ARB/Banana-based Cooperatives of Davao or FEDCO while malunggay capsules, malunggay instant tea/powder, malunggay flakes and pancit canton and bihon will be showcased by MLGS Herb Products.

According to the trade show organizer Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the Taipei International Food Show had been the most popular platform for industry players to launch their products into the hottest Taiwan and overseas markets as it projected more business opportunities for participants this year.

Last year, Food Taipei welcomed over 4,000 overseas visitors and over 37,000 local visitors according to TAITRA.

http://www.positivenewsmedia.net/am2...ood_show.shtml