Top US bank sets up BPO in PhilippinesTop US bank sets up BPO in Philippines Top US bank sets up BPO in Philippines

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Despite moves by US President Barack Obama and the United States Congress to discourage outsourcing, one of the biggest US banks has decided to locate some of its non-core business support activities in the Philippines.
Wells Fargo & Co., the second largest US bank in deposits, home mortgage servicing and debit cards with $1.3 trillion in assets, is setting up a business support center in Manila as the country's booming business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is projected to produce more than 120,000 new jobs this year.
Company officials did not disclose the value of the investment neither the number of BPO workers the operations would employ.
"We selected the Philippines to be part of Wells Fargo's international footprint based on the country's reputation for strong customer service, a large English-speaking population and a cultural affinity to the United States," said David Caldwell, managing director of Wells
Fargo Philippines Solutions, the local subsidiary of the US banking giant.
The new investment is also good news for property developer Megaworld Corp. on whose McKinley Hill Cyberpark project will rise a new building to serve the outsourcing needs of the US banking giant.
"Our location in McKinley Hill gives us a strong foothold as we are among our peers in the industry," Caldwell said.
Wells Fargo joins other high-profile BPO locators at the 14-hectare McKinley Hill Cyberpark, including Accenture, HP and Thomson Reuters.
Wells Fargo Philippines Solutions already occupies two floors of buildings 8 and 10 Upper McKinley Road, and it will also lease a campus-type building currently being constructed in McKinley Hill Cyberpark.
PH reputation enhanced
The US bank's launch of an in-house business support center here was welcomed by labor leader and former Sen. Ernesto Herrera, saying it has reinforced the Philippines' reputation as "an exceptional global hub for labor-intensive and information technology-enabled outsourcing services."
"We are counting on Wells Fargo's new center to help provide gainful employment to our college-educated, fluent English-speaking professionals, many of whom remain idle," said Herrera.
Variety of functions
He said Wells Fargo's new Philippine center deals with a variety of functions, including customer service and back office support.
Herrera, who is locked in a struggle for leadership of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), said his labor group's new members include VOICE, a labor federation of contact center employees.
According to Herrera, the country's booming BPO industry, which fully employs some 630,000 Filipinos, produced $11 billion in revenues in 2011.
The Business Processing Association of the Philippines sees industry revenues jumping 18 percent to $13 billion this year, he said.
Based on the projected incremental revenues of $2 billion, Herrera said the industry could create around 126,000 new jobs this year.
Worries over US bill
According to Herrera, Wells Fargo's decision to shift more jobs offshore comes amid worries in the Philippines over an anti-outsourcing bill in the US Congress.
Herrera said the proposed US Call Center and Consumer Protection Act, introduced by New York Rep. Tim Bishop, would require the US Department of Labor to track firms that shift contact center jobs overseas. Those firms would be ineligible for any direct or indirect US federal loans or loan guarantees for five years.
Boost for cyberpark
The bill would also require contact center staff to disclose their location to US consumers, who would be given the right to be routed to a US-based call hub upon request, Herrera said.
However, Herrera said he does not expect the US Congress to pass the bill, which he said is being opposed by US corporations that are benefiting from outsourcing.
Megaworld said the entry of Wells Fargo was a big boost to the McKinley Hill Cyberpark, which is on a rapid expansion mode, with the ongoing construction of the four-tower Science Hub beside the Venice Piazza commercial and retail area.
As an IT park accredited by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, McKinley Hill Cyberpark offers locators income tax holidays and other perks, including the duty-free importation of office equipment.
"We are proud that one of the United States' top four banks, Wells Fargo, has chosen McKinley Hill Cyberpark to set up their new Philippine service center," said Jericho Go, Megaworld's first vice president for business development.
"This move highlights the attractiveness of the Philippines as an investment destination and its human resource capabilities," Go said.
One of US Big 4
Founded in 1929, the San Francisco, California-based Wells Fargo is one of the so-called Big 4 US banks regarded as "too big to fail" at the height of the 2008 global financial crisis. The three others are Bank of America, Citigroup and JP Morgan.
JP Morgan and Citigroup have long existing in-house back offices in Manila through JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A. Philippine Customer Care Center and Citigroup Business Process Solutions Pte. Ltd.
Bigger franchise
Although Bank of America does not yet have in-house back offices here, Herrera said the Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender is known to have outsourced some of its customer support activities to an independent BPO provider with extensive Philippine operations.
Wells Fargo is emerging from the 2008 financial crisis with a bigger franchise, after it acquired rival banking giant Wachovia Corp., which had been weakened by mounting bad loans, Herrera said.
A highly diversified financial services company with more than 80 different business lines, Wells Fargo has 6,335 branches, 12,094 ATMs, 70 million customers and 264,000 employees, he said.

Philippines urges responsible use of power by China

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Philippines' Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario yesterday shrugged off reports that China was boosting its military spending by more than 11 percent this year, calling this a "sovereign right" of the nation with a booming economy.

"We are impressed with the economic growth of China and we praise them as this growth is no doubt benefiting the Philippines as well," he said in a statement.

But "with an expanded economy and military," Del Rosario said, "we are relying on China to fully utilise its vast global influence in a more responsible way, especially in terms of promoting peace, prosperity and stability in the region."

Last week, Del Rosario told a media forum the Philippines had "committed ourselves to improve our national defence by building a minimum credible defence posture to protect out national sovereignty."

Given the country's lack of resources, he said "it behooves us to proactively seek the assistance and cooperation of our various international partners to achieve this minimum credible defence posture, which is a fundamental attribute of any sovereign country."

Increased US aid

Del Rosario said Manila would receive from Washington this year at least US$144.66 million in defence aid, an increase of $21.4 million over the previous year's assistance.

"We also acquired a Hamilton-class cutter from the United States last year and are expecting the delivery of a second cutter this year. Negotiations are likewise underway for more defence articles, including newer air assets for the Philippine Air Force," he said.

US Deputy Chief of Mission Leslie Bassett said on Sunday that the United States was looking for ways to improve military engagement with the Philippines.

"We are not talking about anything beyond what we've already got in the terms of agreement. What we're looking at is whether the Philippines might be interested in changing our military engagement, making it a little bit more profound, shifting its emphasis a little,"

Bassett said at the close of a three-day road show "America in 3D" that includes planting mangroves and painting schools.

But he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer the conversations were "very preliminary" and that the Philippines had "complete sovereignty and the complete decisions to decide what it does and doesn't want to do."

PAF acquisitions

The Philipine Air Force (PAF) on Monday said it expected to acquire aircraft and assets for territorial defence in the remaining four years of the Aquino administration.

According to the PAF spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Miguel Okol, the first phase of their upgrade program dubbed "Back to Basics" is nearly completed.

From this year up to 2016, the PAF will move to the second phase dubbed "Horizon 2" that targets air assets apt for defence against external threats.

On Friday, the PAF will formally accept four of eight new "Sokol" multipurpose combat utility helicopters ordered from PZL-Swidnik in Poland for 2.8 billion pesos (US$65 million).

Four more helicopters are expected to be delivered in the last quarter of the year.

The first phase targets to acquire assets meant for internal security operations, including eight combat utility helicopters, seven attack helicopters, one C-130 cargo aircraft, a long-range patrol aircraft and 18 basic trainer aircraft.

The second phase or "Horizon 2" will take place in the 2012 to 2016 time frame, according to Okol.

"For Horizon 2, PAF expects the delivery of territorial defence assets such as surface attack aircraft, lead-in fighter jet trainers, long range patrol aircraft, air defence radar and a special mission aircraft, which will greatly boost the country's defence stance against external threats," he said.

The new Sokol helicopters, which will replace the PAF's Vietnam War-vintage UH-1H "Huey" utility helicopters, will greatly boost the PAF's search and rescue, medical evacuation and combat utility missions since the choppers are reliable in all weather conditions. With a report from Nestor P. Burgos Jr., Inquirer Visayas.

source:

Yahoonews

China grabbing "Reed Bank" 50 Miles off Palawan Philippines

Colliding China and the Philippines in West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) over oil surveys

The looming conflict in the Philippines waters as china's aggression and assertiveness in invading neighboring territory flared over the oil race in the sea. The conflict begun last year 2011 when Lieutenant-General Juancho Sabban received an urgent phone call from an oil company saying two Chinese vessels were threatening to ram its survey ship, the Philippine commander's message was clear: "Don't move, we'll come to the rescue."

Within hours, a Philippine surveillance plane, patrol ships and light attack aircraft arrived in the area of Reed Bank in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea). By then the Chinese boats had left after chasing away the survey ship, Veritas Voyager, hired by UK-based Forum Energy.

But the tension had become so bigger; Forum Energy chief Ray Apostol wanted to halt two months of work in the area.

"They were so close to finishing their work. I told them to stay and finish the job," Sabban, who heads the Western Command of the Philippine Armed Forces, said at his headquarters in Puerto Princesa on Palawan Island, the main Island of the Province of Palawan that administer the Spratlys Archipelago.

Reed Bank or Recto Bank is an undersea territory of the Philippines located 50 miles or 80 Kilometers from the province of Palawan believed to rich in oil and natural gas deposits

Over the next few days, Philippines President Benigno Aquino III would call an emergency cabinet meeting, file a formal protest with China, and send his defense secretary and armed forces chief to the Western Command in a show of strength.

The March 2011 incident is considered a turning point for the Aquino administration. The president hardened his stance on sovereignty rights, sought closer ties with Washington and has quickened efforts to modernize its military capability by spending billions.

A year later, Forum Energy is planning to return. Top company executives said the company intended to sail to Reed Bank within months to drill the area's first well for oil and natural gas in decades, an event that could spark a military crisis for Aquino if China responded more aggressively.

The US military has also signaled its return to the area, with war games scheduled this month with the Philippine navy near Reed Bank, Palawan Province of the Philippines that China is bound to view as provocative.

"This will be a litmus test of where China stands on the South China Sea issue," said Ian Storey, a fellow at the Singapore Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. "They could adopt the same tactics as they did last year and harass the drilling vessels, or they might even take a stronger line against them and send in warships."

A decades-old territorial squabble over the South China Sea is entering a new and more contentious chapter, as claimant nations search deeper into disputed waters for energy supplies while building up their navies and military alliances with other nations, particularly with the US.

Reed Bank, Palawan Province is claimed by China in which is under the province of Palawan Philippines, it's just one of several possible flashpoints in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) that could force Washington to intervene in defense of its Southeast Asian allies.

US President Barack Obama has sought to reassure regional allies that Washington would serve as a counterbalance to a newly assertive China, part of his campaign to "pivot" US foreign policy more intensely on Asia after a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama brought up the South China Sea at an Asia-Pacific summit in Bali in November. He had a surprise one-on-one with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the subject, although Beijing had insisted the issue should not be on the agenda at all.

"As Southeast Asian countries run to the US for assistance, Beijing increasingly fears America aims to encircle China militarily and diplomatically," said Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, Northeast Asia director for the International Crisis Group.

"Underlying all of these concerns is the potential that discoveries of oil and natural gas beneath the disputed sections of the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) could fuel conflict."

The area is thought to hold vast untapped reserves of oil and natural gas that could potentially place China, the Philippines, Vietnam and other claimant nations alongside the likes of Saudi Arabia, Russia and Qatar.

Manila is beefing up its tiny and outdated naval fleet and military bases, adding at least two Hamilton-class cutters this year and earmarking millions of dollars to expand its Ulugan Bay naval base in Palawan.

It's no match for China's fleet, the largest in Asia, which boasts 62 submarines, 13 destroyers and 65 frigates, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

China last month launched the fourth of its new 071 amphibious landing ships that are designed to quickly insert troops to trouble spots, for example, disputed islands.

The US Navy has announced it will deploy its new amphibious assault vessels, the Littoral Combat Ships, to the "maritime crossroads" of the Asia-Pacific theatre, stationing them in Singapore and perhaps the Philippines.

Washington's renewed presence in the Philippines – a former US colony that voted to remove US naval and air bases 20 years ago – follows the US announcement last year of plans to set up a Marine base in northern Australia and possibly station warships in Singapore.

Manila is talking about giving Washington more access to its ports and airfields to re-fuel and service US warships and planes. The two countries will conduct war games off Palawan Island in late March – focusing on how to deal with a take-over of an oil rig in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea).

China has warned oil companies not to explore in the disputed South China Sea, over which Beijing says it has "indisputable sovereignty". Chinese ships have repeatedly harassed vessels that have tried.

After ExxonMobil discovered hydrocarbons off the coast of Danang in central Vietnam, an area also claimed by China, one of China's most popular newspapers warned in October nations involved in territorial disputes should "mentally prepare for the sounds of cannons" if they remain at loggerheads with Beijing.

Despite the threats, the Philippines and Vietnam have continued to explore for oil and natural gas further offshore in the West Philippines and  South China waters, driven by persistently high oil prices and more advanced deepsea technology.

The Philippines had reported as many as 12 incidents of Chinese vessels intruding into its sovereign waters in the past year, an unusually high number, Sabban said.

In one of the most serious incidents last October, a Philippine navy ship seized Chinese fishing boats after colliding with one of them, prompting protests from China for their return. At least 12 Chinese fishermen have been arrested over the past year. Half of them remain in detention in Palawan.

"China has no right to tell us we should first ask for permission from them to explore the area," Sabban said. "We have explored that area back in the 1970s, so why can't we explore it now? We knew there was a substantial deposit of natural gas even before all of these things started."

Manila said Reed Bank, about 80 Kilometers or 50 nautical miles west of Palawan Island at the southwestern end of the Philippine archipelago, was within the country's 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

But Beijing believed it was part of the Spratlys, a group of 250 uninhabitable islets spread over 265 542km2, claimed entirely by China, Taiwan and Vietnam, and in part by Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines.

While China prefers to solve the disputes one on one with its smaller Southeast Asian neighbor, Washington has sought to internationalize the issue, given half the world's merchant fleet tonnage sails across the sea and around these islets each year, carrying $5 trillion (R37.35 trillion) worth of trade.

"If we don't develop our positions in our exclusive economic zone, then we will only be giving it away and will be at the losing end," Saban said. – Reuters 


From:http://betterphils.blogspot.com/2012/03/china-grabbing-reed-bank-50-miles-off.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RebuildingBetterPhilippines+%28Rebuilding++Better+Philippines%29#.T1ZidHmAq3M

Qatar Airways bids goodbay to Cebu airport

Qatar Airways has call it quits for Cebu after more than eight long years of developing the network.

The airline decided to suspend flights to Cebu starting April this year due to economic reason. The inaugural Doha-Cebu flight of Qatar Airways started at Mactan Cebu International Airport on Dec. 11, 2003. The airline served the route three times weekly. It never grow from there.

"We cannot simply fill our planes and grow despite our existence here for more than five years" Cebu commercial manager Mohammed El Emam said yesterday.

In contrast, Manila got the better share of the airline but is prevented from expanding the route due to bilateral restrictions.

"The problem with Cebu I think is domestic connections to other places in Visayas and Mindanao region." says Emam.

"In Manila, you could virtually connect to any places in the Philippines and airlines offered bigger planes such as Airbus 320 to ferry passengers." Emam adds. "In Cebu, you get a commuter plane to the provinces."

But Cebu-based travel agencies has other reasons in mind.

"The Cebu-Qatar route is much more expensive as compared to Manila-Qatar, and sometimes the difference is huge when you consider flying other airlines to the middle east" says a local operator Jenny Franco.

"Perhaps because they operate on monopoly", the operator adds.

However Emam stressed that even if they are alone in Cebu, there is no monopoly for them as plenty of airlines are available in Manila which is an hour away. He stressed that Cebu pricing is actually market based, and since it has fewer passenger to fly they have to pay more.

"It's more or less an economy of scale, if you like" says Emam.

Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) recently asked Qatar Airways to reconsider its decision of withdrawing from Cebu.

“We understand the factors that triggered Qatar Airways to suspend its flights to our island, but we are in dire need of the services of your airways” Chioson said in his letter to the airline.

Hotel and restaurant owners have a different reason.

“I believe it’s a combination of factors that pushed Qatar Airways to that decision: the low cargo revenues, the low yield from business-class,” said Hotel, Resorts, and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC) president Hans Hauri.

In an advisory sent to its partners and clients, Qatar Airways said it will stop servicing the Cebu-Doha route because of rising fuel cost and high operating expenses.

The airline said passengers with flights after March 26 will be provided with alternative flights like the Manila-Doha route that flies twice-weekly.



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Officials: US pledges $144M for Philippine defense

MANILA, Philippines—Washington has pledged to provide $144 million in addition to a warship this year to help bolster the Philippines’ territorial defense, officials said.

The Philippines has turned to the United States, a defense-treaty ally, and other Western countries to acquire warships, fighter jets and radar to strengthen its security amid a long-simmering territorial dispute with China and other countries in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

The US has already provided one warship and approved the delivery of a second one this year.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario confirmed the assistance late Wednesday and said he and other officials would visit Washington on April 30 to seek additional aid and discuss joint military exercises.

Air Asia Philippines is now open for business in the Philippines - another budget carrier for the Filipinos

AirAsia Philippines on Tuesday announced it will begin flights on March 28, giving almost free fares to its first 20,000 passengers to Kalibo and Davao.

The no-frills budget airline said the fare of P275 is for a one-way ticket and already includes taxes. The seat sale is actually a zero-fare promo with the seat totally free and the guest is actually paying only P275 to cover the fuel surcharge, processing fee and government mandated fees such as aviation security fee and VAT, said AirAsia Philippines in a statement.

Kathleen Tan, regional head of the AirAsia commercial plane fleet, said they had ferried at least 2 million passengers with AirAsia Berhad, the Malaysia-based mother company which began its operations at Clark in 2005 offering flights to Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia.

Tan said they will utilize their two brand-new Airbus 320 for twice-a-day flights to Bangoy International Airport in Davao and Kalibo International Airport via the Clark International Airport.

Marianne B. Hontiveros, AirAsia Philippines’ president and chief executive, said in a briefing that the company has submitted applications to Singapore, Malaysia, China, Thailand, Hong Kong and Macau for airport slots and flight permits two weeks ago,

“I think it would take two to six months,” she said.

“For instance, it would depend on the diplomatic agreement between countries,” she added. Flights will be immediately launched should papers be completed, Ms. Hontiveros said.

The company fulfilled additional requirements imposed by the Philippine Civil Aviation Regulator (CAAP) such as data on its aircraft, proposed initial training for crew, documentation of maintenance system, among others.


Sources:
Youtube.com
http://philippineairspace.blogspot.com/2012/02/air-asia-philippines-opens-for-business.html

AirAsia Philippines now in the Philippines - another budget carrier available for all Filipinos

AirAsia Philippines on Tuesday announced it will begin flights on March 28, giving almost free fares to its first 20,000 passengers to Kalibo and Davao.

The no-frills budget airline said the fare of P275 is for a one-way ticket and already includes taxes. The seat sale is actually a zero-fare promo with the seat totally free and the guest is actually paying only P275 to cover the fuel surcharge, processing fee and government mandated fees such as aviation security fee and VAT, said AirAsia Philippines in a statement.

Kathleen Tan, regional head of the AirAsia commercial plane fleet, said they had ferried at least 2 million passengers with AirAsia Berhad, the Malaysia-based mother company which began its operations at Clark in 2005 offering flights to Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia.

Tan said they will utilize their two brand-new Airbus 320 for twice-a-day flights to Bangoy International Airport in Davao and Kalibo International Airport via the Clark International Airport.

Marianne B. Hontiveros, AirAsia Philippines’ president and chief executive, said in a briefing that the company has submitted applications to Singapore, Malaysia, China, Thailand, Hong Kong and Macau for airport slots and flight permits two weeks ago,

“I think it would take two to six months,” she said.

“For instance, it would depend on the diplomatic agreement between countries,” she added. Flights will be immediately launched should papers be completed, Ms. Hontiveros said.

The company fulfilled additional requirements imposed by the Philippine Civil Aviation Regulator (CAAP) such as data on its aircraft, proposed initial training for crew, documentation of maintenance system, among others.

sources:
Youtube.com
http://philippineairspace.blogspot.com/2012/02/air-asia-philippines-opens-for-business.html