by admin | Dec 22, 2017 | Headlines, National News
MAKATI – After the record-breaking investment approval of Php 616.7 billion for 2017, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Board of Investments (BOI) met with Russian investors from BT SVAP LLC on 20 December 2017 to discuss investment intentions focusing on a pipeline coating facility in the Philippines (PH).
“More investors have expressed their confidence in the country’s economic stability and business environment under the Duterte administration. They wish to partner with us in providing more jobs and opportunities for Filipinos, especially those at the bottom of the pyramid,” said Sec. Lopez.
Igor Shaporin, BT SVAP LLC’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, expressed the company’s intention to put up a facility in Mariveles, Bataan where accessibility to sea and land transportation is easily available.
The company’s prospect location would require a big land area and will have innovative production technology in pipeline coating.
The Moscow-based BT SVAP LLC is an integrated company specializing in the development and implementation of innovative solutions in industrial production and construction of pipeline system for fuel-power complex, chemical industry, and housing and utilities infrastructure.
The group also focuses on production of protective shelves for pipes and pipelines which uses modern hi-tech production and logistics facilities, as well as multifunctional design-engineering units.
The trade chief conveyed PH’s openness to investors and the government’s efforts in diversifying investors, while also ensuring ease of doing business in the country.
“This could be a pioneer technology in the country. Apart from investments, sharing of technological know-how, and employment generation, this will also open opportunities for our domestic market and export industry,” said the trade chief.
Also at the meeting were Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, BOI Managing Head and DTI Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo, and DTI Undersecretaries Nora Terrado and Rowel Barba.
by admin | Dec 20, 2017 | Announcements, Local News / Bohol Balita
THE MANAGER EDITOR
Radio Stations Newspapers
BOHOL MEDIA
Province of Bohol
The KITA UG ANG GOBERNADOR (KGOB) has been an effective avenue for information dissemination, transparency in government, and has provided a strong link between government and people thru responsible media.
In line with this, and in the Spirit of Christmas; we will have a simple Christmas Thanksgiving after the program on December 22, 2017 at Café Caloy, Pres. Carlos P. Garcia Heritage House, Tagbilaran City.
Recognizing your important role in this, we are inviting you and your media to join with us in this event.
The governor will be joining us for the program but will be attending another important function after. However, he will be with us at around 11:00 in the morning for lunch.
Anticipating you and your media’s presence.
Thank you so much for your continued support for KGOB and the programs of the Provincial Government and for a better Bohol.
Merriest Christmas and a more Fruitful New Year!
AUGUSTUS E. ESCOBIA
Effective Development Communication Office
NB. Don’t have all the email ad of BOHOL Media members
by admin | Dec 19, 2017 | Headlines, Tech Talk
Globe Telecom’s international connectivity capacity provides the leading telecommunications provider with the ability to activate more than 16 Terabits per second (Tbps), sufficient to service the bandwidth demand in the country and satisfy the market’s hunger for faster internet services. Globe seeks to correct the separate public pronouncements made by the DICT Undersecretary Eliseo Rio and BCDA President Vince Dizon who placed the industry’s combined capacity at 2 Tbps.
While Globe has enough capacity to provide world class internet service, right-of-way access and unreasonable permit issues hamper the connectivity of many Filipinos.
“Our biggest hurdle in delivering consistently good internet (service) is the cumbersome number of permits and right of way issues that prevent us from building the last mile connectivity that would allow world class internet services to be enjoyed by the ordinary household or any person using a mobile phone. We have repeatedly called on the government to help address these issues that are prevalent at the local government level. Now with more people adopting to internet use much faster than the infrastructure can be built, then the problem gets exacerbated,” said Globe President & CEO Ernest Cu.
Out of the Globe Telecom’s current bandwidth capacity of more than 16 Tbps, the company’s “lit-up” capacity is less than 3 Tbps as the rest of the bandwidth remain unused owing to insufficient last mile infrastructure. Aside from permitting and right of way issues, other last mile concerns are the non-standardized tower fees across LGUs and real property tax challenges, explained Cu.
For years now, Globe has been struggling with permitting challenges at the local government levels. To build one cell site alone, the telco has to secure 25 permits from local government units. Processing the permits, meanwhile, takes at least eight months to complete. Laying down the fiber optic cable to reach homes is another tedious process altogether.
Constructing more cell sites is necessary for the Philippines to match and even surpass its Asian neighbors in cell site density, emphasized Cu. “We keep comparing ourselves with developed countries and our highly developed Asian neighbors on internet speed. What we don’t realize is that we are facing problems unique to the Philippines,” added Cu.
User-per-cell site density in the Philippines is 2,244, based on estimates of 21,000 total cell sites in the country against internet users of around 47.1 million. This statistic only underscores the urgency to build the necessary infrastructure that the country needs.
With the country growing in step with the rest of Asia, a digital economy will require more bandwidth and better internet services. It is imperative to look at the issues squarely with both government and industry working together to deliver a better internet experience.
Globe in recent years invested heavily in expanding its international cable connectivity, to stay ahead of the demand curve in terms of bandwidth capacity. This is in recognition of the growing demand for much-improved internet services in the country to fuel the engines of the booming economy.
Just last August, Globe launched the Southeast Asia-United States (SEA-US) cable system that has a design capacity of 20 Tbps capacity and directly links Asia to the US. The system boosts the speed of data transmission and improves the efficiency of connectivity, among other benefits to the public.
by admin | Dec 16, 2017 | EDCOM News, Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
Bohol’s Open Governance model took center stage in this year’s ASIA PACIFIC LEADERS FORUM ON OPEN GOVERNMENT in Jakarta, Indonesia last December 14.
The host country thru Indonesia’s Ministry of Planning invited Bohol Governor Edgar M. Chatto to speak on Sub National Open Governance and its impact to development taking the experience of Bohol province.
Gov. Chatto’s name was among the list of nominated speakers evaluated by the organizing committee in Jakarta.
His innovations in Open Government both in executive and legislative branches and the strong indorsement of the Philippine Government earned for him the slot to speak in the Forum attended by over 500 delegates from Asia Pacific countries.
Also invited to speak in the Forum were DBM Secretary Ben Diokno, who spoke on Participatory Budgeting and COA Chairman Michael Aguinaldo who shared the Philippine experience in Transparency policies.
The Philippine delegation was received warmly in Indonesia by Philippine Ambassador Maria Lumen B. Isleta and top officials of Liwayway Group of Companies owned by Amb. Carlos Chan, Richard Yu and Kyle Sy.
The one day trip of Gov. Chatto to Indonesia was his shortest foreign travel so far fully sponsored by the Indonesian government at no expense to the province of Bohol including that of his wife Balilihan Mayor Pureza Veloso Chatto who accompanied him.
Gov Edgar Chatto – one of the Resource Speakers at the Asia Pacific Leaders Forum on Open Government at Hotel Borobudur, Jakarta, Indonesia
by admin | Dec 15, 2017 | Business, Headlines
On the sidelines of the meeting of the 11th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez discussed with an Argentinian investor how to expand sourcing of local seaweeds. Sec Lopez met with one of the owners of food ingredient-producer Farmesa, which has a plan to set-up a seaweeds processing plant in the Philippines.
The Philippines will be their first manufacturing operations outside Argentina, according to Mr. Agustin Perez, Head of Farmesa’s International group. Mr. Perez confided that aside from the big potential of locally sourcing seaweeds, he finds the Philippines business environment stable and the economy very dynamic, which add on to his confidence in pursuing their growth story in the Philippines. He cited the country as one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
FARMESA, is an Argentinian family enterprise that specializes in the R&D, production, and exportation of food additives and ingredients to several food companies worldwide. Sec. Lopez reaffirmed that their expansion plans can bring them closer to both the source of their main ingredient seaweeds, as well as the market of their products in the Philippines and Asian region.
They recognize as well the potential of harnessing the FTA and GSP trade arrangements that the Philippines have with other countries in the region as well as in US and EU.
Secretary Lopez lauded Farmesa for their decision to choose the Philippines ahead of other candidate countries for the company´s expansion. The availability of raw materials plus the strategic location of the country factored highly in the country’s evaluation. They currently had to source seaweeds from several Asian countries and bring it to Argentina for processing. Now they can focus their sourcing in the Philippines and do the processing right in the country. While they have existing client companies, they plan to export bulk of their production.
Secretary Lopez reassured the investor of President Duterte’s commitment that there will be no corruption in their dealings with government and to ensure their ease of doing business, the full assistance of the Board of Investments and PEZA will be extended when they start to implement their plans to produce and export.
Also in the meeting were the Board of Investments Managing Head, Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo, and DTI’s Mexico-based Commercial Counselor for Latin America Vichael Angelo Roaring.
