Road map for ESL industry

Sun.Star Cebu <> Thursday, July 9, 2009

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Reporter

IN a bid to make Cebu an international hub for English language learning, private and public stakeholders will develop and implement a “road map” to bolster the interest of potential international students to learn English in Cebu.

The road map, which is part of the Cebu Hub of English Language Excellence Project, will bring together individuals and key people from the Provincial Government, local government units, the academe and government agencies like the Department of Tourism and Department of Education. In a meeting next month, they will identify Cebu’s strengths and discuss issues hounding the English learning and teaching sector.

“There is a (global) shift now; more and more international students (turn) to speakers of English as a second language, like the Filipinos, for English training (instead of hiring) Americans, Canadians, and other nationalities who primarily speak English,” said Paul Robertson, Asian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Journal chief executive officer.

One factor for this shift, he said, is the huge influx of Korean tourists in the Philippines. He added that these tourists come to the country to immerse in “long and intense” training on English.

But he observed that the Philippines, particularly Cebu, is not yet ready for the “sudden, massive” demand for Filipino ESL (English as a second language) or Tesol (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) teachers due to the lack of organization and regulation in the industry, as well as the shortage of affordable teachers’ training courses in ESL or Tesol.

Best practices

“If we don’t start the project now, other countries will do it, like India and China,” warned Robertson.

The road mapping for the project will consider the best practices of the Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Information Technology (Cedf-it) in organizing the IT players in Cebu sd Cebu positions itself to be an IT hub.

Once Cebu has established itself as a global hub for English learning, Robertson said it would be easy for local stakeholders to get more international students from the Middle East, Japan, China, and Taiwan.

“Cebu should not concentrate its English learning and teaching facilities on Korean students but also on other nationalities, especially the Chinese,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.

Robertson said he will propose during the meeting with local stakeholders the possibility of attracting more foreign investors to consider Cebu as a potential area for ESL schools that can be operated by local staff and teachers.

“They can even make their schools exclusive for the people of their countries. With more investors putting up more schools for ESL, more schools would also be specializing in specific areas such as business English and tourism English to attract students,” Robertson said.

Several potential investors, he said, are coming to Cebu on Aug. 8 to attend the Cebu International Tesol Conference at Diplomat Hotel, Cebu City.

About 300 persons, including English teachers and educators-to-be, are expected to attend the conference that is organized by the Tesol Philippines, Asian EFL Group, and Time Taylor International Ltd.

Asian EFL Journal is an academic second language acquisition research journal and business entity under Time Taylor, an Australian company registered in Korea.

Filed under: Business, Education, Employment, Tourism

Retailers told to give convenience, out-of-ordinary experience to buyers

Sun.Star Cebu <> Tuesday, July 7, 2009

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Reporter

THESE days, shopping is no longer about the stores but about stories and experiences, said global marketing and advertising firm JWT.

JWT Manila chief executive officer Jos Ortega urged retailers to let their customers experience beyond the ordinary.

He cited several examples, including Apple that provided units that customers can try.

“(But) first, you must know your brand story. And be authentic.

Customers won’t be fooled. If they are, they won’t visit you again. Engage your clients and deliver your message,” Ortega said.

He urged retailers to strengthen their front lines since the employees are crucial in carrying out the store’s brand story.

Ortega was in Cebu for the 3rd Cebu Regional Retail Conference where he spoke about design techniques for the retail sector.

In the same event, Marge Martinez, The Nielsen Company (Philippines) Inc. associate director for retailer services, advised retailers to make a good and lasting impression on both regular and new shoppers.

“The struggling economy has a significant impact on how and where people shop. Now is not the time to cut corners on factors that will negatively impact shopping experience. Treat every shopper like it’s their first time in your store,” said Martinez.

The Nielsen Company (Philippines) Inc. has found that several retailers across the world are innovating by putting up in-store clinics, and stressing health and wellness messaging in store layouts, product assortment and advertising.

Martinez also pointed out that shoppers, who want convenience, are calling for malls to offer everything under one roof and for retailers to continuously replenish their products.

She noted that in response, commercial malls are expanding; community malls are combining supermarket, gym and health center and boutiques in their premises;
bakeries are putting up seats within their areas to encourage shoppers to eat; and convenience stores are offering more than just groceries.

She also observed that regional supermarkets are understanding local needs and creating modern wet markets while traditional store owners are upgrading their stores to become independent mini-marts or groceries.

“Some big players are going to smaller store formats in order to grow faster in the race for good locations and reach more consumers,” Martinez said.

Filed under: Business, Employment, Entrepreneurship, Retail, Small and Medium Enterprises

SM wants another mall

Sun.Star Cebu <> Monday, July 6, 2009

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Reporter

A SECOND SM mall for Cebu by 2011.

SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPHI) president Hans Sy made the disclosure, adding that the company is in the middle of negotiations for the possible acquisition of three separate properties in Cebu where the company plans to build one more mall.

“I should say (there will be) good news toward the third quarter (this year). By then, we should be closing some deals, although (we) cannot promise you that we will be able to acquire all three properties,” Sy told a press conference Friday.

At first, he declined to reveal the location of the three properties, but he admitted later that one of the sites is the South Road Properties (SRP), the 300-hectare reclamation project of the Cebu City Government.

“It would be very ideal to close all three. I wish I could take all three. If I can, I would. Hopefully, it would include the SRP. That is how bullish we are with Cebu. We already acquired a new site in Davao and General Santos, so why not (also) look at Cebu when it is among the best in the Visayas and Mindanao,” Sy said.

2011 opening

Once it closes a deal, SMPHI will immediately start construction and open a new mall “within 18 to 30 months.”

If it closes all three deals, SMPHI will simultaneously build three SM mall branches and open them by 2011.

For each development, SMPHI will implement a “formula” of starting on an area of 80,000 to 85,000 square meters before upgrading it into a mall occupying 200,000 square meters—about the same size as SM City Cebu.

“Definitely, we have to have at least a second mall in Cebu.

The locations we have identified are very ideal and have the (potential) for expansion,” Sy said.

He believes that Cebu is ready for more malls, saying there is enough market despite the global financial crisis.

In 2007, Sy disclosed plans of building two future malls in Cebu—each expected to cost P1 billion—once SMPHI has found land for the projects and after the completion of the SM City Cebu Northwing.

Offer

In October last year, the Cebu Investment Promotions Center, the marketing arm of the SRP, disclosed that SMPHI made an offer to buy a 20-hectare parcel of land at SRP for a mixed-use development project.

Meanwhile, SMPHI will open this year a supercenter in Las Piñas and a shopping center in Cavite, bringing the total number of SM malls nationwide to 36.

Next year, the company targets to open four malls, all in Luzon. Construction of SM malls in Davao and General Santos is underway. The malls are expected to be completed by 2011.

SMPHI also has three malls in China—Chengdu, Jinjiang and Xiamen—and will be putting up the fourth in Suzhou, China next year.

“Our main focus is still the Philippines. There is still room for growth here. China is our growth story five years from now.

We are, little by little, building our brand name there,” said Sy who attended the inauguration of China Bank Cebu Business Center last Friday.

With so much competition in China, he said SMPHI’s strategy is to enter into third-tiered cities where most of the residents are not familiar with shopping malls.

Sy also disclosed that SMPHI has brought the equipment that will introduce Imax (Image Maximum) cinema technology in Cebu.

The company is renovating Cinema 4 at SM City to house the equipment.

When asked for updates on the planned convention center of SM Investment Corp. (SMIC), Sy said the company is still focused on finishing the Radisson Hotel—an SMIC property that will be managed by international hotel management chain Radisson—located beside SM City Cebu mall at the North Reclamation Area, Cebu City. The hotel will soft-open in November this year.

SMIC, he said, is still studying ways to come up with enough parking slots for the three-story convention center that is planned to rise on an 8,000-square meter area next to Radisson Hotel and SM City Cebu mall.

Filed under: Business, Construction/Building, Employment, Fun/Entertainment, Retail

CCCI awardees stress importance of hard work in success of business

Sun.Star Cebu <> Thursday, July 2, 2009

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Reporter

BEING inspired and being able to inspire were among the traits shared by the six local entrepreneurs who were honored during the 14th Annual Grand Chamber Awards Tuesday night.

The top award—Entrepreneur of the Year—was handed to Profood International Corp. president Justin Uy who was described during the awards night as a “self-made business icon.”

When he was 12, Uy started selling cigarettes to vendors on consignment. Shortly after, he he ventured into shell craft and later opened an egg and poultry business.

He enabled Profoods to achieve further growth amid economic and financial difficulties, and positioned the company as leading producer and exporter of processed fruit products.

“I am here partly because of my brother and sisters. I think my greatest success is to get 11 of us to work together. That is something I am very proud of,” said Uy who received the award from Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, Rep. Raul del Mar (Cebu City south) and Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Samuel Chioson.

In a separate video message, Uy said the secret of being a successful entrepreneur is hard work. “There is no replacement for it,” he added.

The other awardees—Hyundai Cebu president Edward Onglatco as the Young Entrepreneur of the Year; San Remigio Beach Club president Antonio Ynoc as the Countryside Entrepreneur of the Year; CNT Lechon proprietors Norman and Catherine Quijada as Small Business Entrepreneurs of the Year; 33 point 3 Exports Inc. president Jenifer Cruz as the Socially Responsible Entrepreneur of the Year; and Royal Oaks International School president as the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year—shared his views about the importance of hard work and perseverance.

The CCCI picked its awardees based on social responsibility, personal integrity, their businesses’ strategic direction, entrepreneurial spirit and the financial performance of their companies.

The Grand Chamber Awards, which was culmination of the Cebu Business Month 2009 of the CCCI, also included four special citations.

The Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC) received a special citation for promoting Cebu to foreign direct investors.

According CCCI, CIPC is the “driver of investment opportunities in Cebu, the provider of business research and data…(and) the developer and trendsetter of economic thrust and direction.”

Cebu Mitsumi, Inc. got a special citation for employment generation and for being the top employer in Cebu. The electronic parts manufacturer had 8,393 workers as of March and contributes at least P40 million a month to the local economy.

A special citation for exemplary commitment to Cebu was given to Lexmark Research and Development Corp. for bringing its research and development operations to Cebu.

The company was also lauded for having “greatly contributed (and for being a) catalyst (in propelling) Cebu’s information and technology toward global competitiveness.”

British Armour Manufacturing International Inc. also received a special citation for exemplary contribution to innovation and technology. The company has more than 30 years of expertise in armoring and providing protection to guarantee ballistic safety with high quality design.

Grand Chamber Awards 2009 chair Alice Woolbright Fernandez said in a statement that the award’s goal was to provide “more than our usual dose of inspiration in today’s crucial and fragile economy.”

Filed under: Business, Employment, Export Sector, Retail, Small and Medium Enterprises

Flour millers lament low demand, entry of smuggled variety in RP

Sun.Star Cebu <> Wednesday, July 1, 2009

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Reporter

ALTHOUGH food is a necessity, consumption of baked products has been dampened by the global economic slowdown.

Philippine Foremost Milling Corp., the country’s second largest flour miller, reported that its sales have declined as Filipino consumers start experiencing the effect of the global financial crisis.

Dr. Alfonso Uy, president of Philippine Foremost Milling Corp., lamented that the effect of the crisis has been aggravated by the entry of smuggled flour into the country.

Uy blamed the declining demand for flour on high prices. He said wheat from the United States has caused the price of flour to go up. Wheat is the main ingredient of
flour.

Last year, demand for flour fell around 20 percent industry-wide. Another five-percent drop is expected this year, Uy said.

He said production of the flour milling industry is contracting. Flour millers in the country used two million tons of wheat three years ago but processed only 1.8 tons in 2007 and 1.5 tons last year.

Weak demand has caused prices of flour to drop since third quarter last year.

“(But) the commodity market is picking up again. (So) there is no chance for flour prices to go down some more,” Uy said.

While the market is yet to fully recover, Philippine Foremost Milling Corp. is maintaining a baking school and “going out of its way” to encourage the public to use more flour products.

Uy was in Cebu last June 18 as one of the featured entrepreneurs in the Meet the Business Icons, one of the highlights of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Cebu Business Month 2009.

Filed under: Business, Employment, Entrepreneurship, Export Sector

Loan relief for jobless

Sun.Star Cebu <> Tuesday, June 30, 2009

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Reporter

THE Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-Ibig Fund) will implement a housing loan restructuring program that will allow members who have lost their jobs to “hold on” to their houses and lots.

Pag-Ibig Fund has made the offer under its Socialized and Low-Cost Housing Loan Restructuring and Penalty Condonation Program.

Victoria dela Peña, department manager of Pag-ibig Fund-Mandaue Branch, said the program will assure displaced workers that their properties acquired through Pag-Ibig Fund will not be foreclosed immediately if they go on default due to financial difficulties.

A borrower is considered in default when he fails to pay three consecutive monthly amortizations.

Dela Peña said defaults are inevitable among some Pag-Ibig Fund borrowers, especially in the face of the global financial crisis, since their priority would be food and education for their children.

“Once a borrower is in default, his loan would already be due and demandable but we give him until the ninth month before we initiate foreclosure proceedings. He is given a long period to fulfill his payments,” she said in an interview last week.

Default

The Pag-Ibig Fund, in its website, said the new restructuring program will cover delinquent accounts with at least three months of unpaid amortization payments as of March 16, 2009. It will be implemented within 18 months from the effectivity of the program’s guidelines, which were approved on March 30.

Dela Peña hoped the time stated in the guidelines would be enough for member-borrowers to find another job so that they would be able to continue paying their loans.

“If the borrower really has a hard time paying his monthly amortizations after the sixth month or so, we would advise him to sell his property so that Pag-Ibig would still consider him a good account. By the time his finances improve, he can easily avail another housing loan through Pag-Ibig,” she said.

Pag-Ibig’s restructuring program, mandated under Republic Act 9507 or the Socialized and Low-Cost Housing Loan Restructuring Act of 2008, aims “to provide relief to delinquent borrowers in this time of financial crisis through condonation of accumulated penalties and a portion of accumulated interest.”

RA 9507 became effective last March 16 after President Arroyo signed it.

Under Pag-Ibig’s restructuring process, principal terms and conditions of the original loan are modified in accordance with an agreement, setting forth a new plan of payment on a periodic basis.

Dela Peña said that unlike previous restructuring programs of Pag-Ibig, this new program does not require any down payment or processing fee.

Without giving figures, dela Peña said several Pag-Ibig borrowers—including displaced overseas and local workers—are already in default due to lack of financial
resources.

Still, in the first four months of the year, she noted that the Visayas group of Pag-Ibig Fund is collecting up to 95 percent of the loans, manifesting “high collection efficiency.”

Filed under: Business, Employment

Fast food chain posts sales hike

Sun.Star Cebu <> Thursday, June 25, 2009

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Reporter

DESPITE the global economic slowdown, McDonald’s outlets in the country are experiencing positive growth and increasing sales.

This was disclosed by George Tan Yang, chairman of Golden Arches Development Corp., which brought the international fast food chain brand to the Philippines in 1981.

Yang told a press conference last week that McDonald’s accommodated a growing number of customers who used to dine in sit-down casual restaurants.

Yang, however, declined to give growth figures for McDonald’s Philippines.

Golden Arches is the Philippine franchisee of American fast food chain McDonald’s. There are about 300 McDonald’s outlets in the country. The company is eyeing to build around 15 more this year.

“We have not really experienced any downturn. We are experiencing growth in crisis as some sit-down restaurants are experiencing a decline (in sales and visitors).

Overall, we have positive growth,” said Yang, who was one of the featured entrepreneurs in the recently-concluded Meet the Business Icons organized by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the Cebu Business Month.

The global financial crisis, Yang observed, has made consumers prudent and caused them shift to fast food.

Still, he said, Golden Arches continues to maintain the quality of food and services of all McDonald’s outlets in the country to ensure customer satisfaction.

Yang said that with the continued growth in sales, getting investors to build more McDonald’s outlets in the country would not be a problem. He admitted, though, that the problem may be in finding suitable sites for the new outlets.

Asked for his advice to existing and would-be entrepreneurs amid the crisis, Yang said: “Go back to the basics. Serve your customers the right way and give them the best products and services. Be consistent with your service. Wait and better days will come.”

Filed under: Business, Employment, Retail