What's On Expat Philippines News Paper

Cebu International
Convention Center
as Prime Convention
Destination

By Richard A. Ramos

ALTHOUGH THE CEBU International Convention Center, (CICC), has reinforced Cebu’s drawing power as a favored Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions (MICE) destination not only in the Philippines, but in the region as well, a ranking tourism official warned against possible obstacles that may hinder further progress for Cebu.
    Located in Mandaue City, the PhP800 million CICC was funded entirely by the Cebu Provincial Government headed by Governor Gwen Garcia who accepted the challenge to put up the structure in time for the 12th Asean Leaders Summit held last January 2007.
    According to Department of Tourism Assistant Secretary Edu Jarque, the Cebuanos should not be complacent nor neglect its services sector since Cebu can still lose out to bigger competition due to failure to address the specific needs and wants of its clientele. “Just like Singapore, Cebu should continue to re-invent itself and create new products in order to keep the visitors coming back. It is not enough to rely always on the beaches as the main attraction since the tourists may soon look for something new,” he said.
    Singapore is in the midst of a massive multi-billion dollar construction of an integrated casino complex complete with hotels, convention centers, resort, shopping, and dining facilities to be completed by 2010.
   Jarque also urged the stakeholders to render high-quality products and services to cope with the demands of the international markets. “People don’t mind paying for more as long as they receive upscale goods and services in return. We should also invite nongovernmental organizations to support the CICC by bidding for future conferences and events to be held years from now. This requires linkages with organizations based in such plac

es as Geneva and Washington, D.C.,” he added.
    While he admitted that some infrastructure in the CICC was lacking, he pointed out that majority of the facilities are in place. Not to be discounted likewise are the spillover benefits to the nearby provinces such as Bohol and Negros Oriental, resulting in a huge multiplier effect as more and more stakeholders gain from the many events.
    “It just needs a little more promotions and training for the service industry in order to complete the picture. And don’t forget that you also have to contend with Manila counterparts such as the PICC and the World Trade Center,” Jarque related during the weekly 888 Media Forum held at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
   For her part, Tourism Regional Director Dawnie Roa revealed that the CICC has been booked till May 2009, thus ensuring steady patronage despite the fact that many events such as weddings, baptisms, and certain conventions are off-limits to the facility in order to preserve the CICC’s prestige of having hosted the historic summit.
   Earlier, Gov. Garcia related that the CICC would only host events of utmost international and prime significance as she refuses to allow the place to cater to just any event.
   On the question of Returns on Investments, Roa downplayed the issue, saying that Cebu is still cashing in on the massive international exposure as generated by the historic Asean Summit to the point that they are not really keen on recouping their expenses as of yet.
   The CICC is due to undergo a renovation scheme to expand its convention space and add more facilities and equipment so as to offer a more fully-integrated convention complex in accordance with global standards.

Strong Visions and
Bold Decisions
By Ana Kristine B. Valenzuela

Chief executive officers and their representatives attended the recently concluded Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) Conference to listen to an optimistic view on the Philippine economy.
   One of the speakers, Dr. Fredric Neumann, predicted that the Philippine Peso by the end of the year would go up to 43 against the US dollar. He said that the dollar was not anymore hoarding the global gross domestic product (GDP). Still this would not have much effect on the country and the Asian economy. The peso would continue to rise as uptrend in Asian currencies carry on.
   “How can this be?” Neumann, a Hong Kong economist mused. “Because the center of economic activity is shifting away from the US towards other nations. The US economy as a share of the global GDP has shrunk.”
    Asian goods are highly demanded as import goods to the United States and other nations, with China seemingly pulling the Asian economy with a big share of the global GDP. Much of the economic activity is now focused in Asia and Europe.
Asia along with the Philippines is “decoupling” itself from US.

Soon the Philippines will no longer be reliant on the world’s biggest economy; the backbone being the remittances from Filipinos working abroad. “The peso will continue to rise because remittances (from overseas-based Filipinos) will continue to pour into the country. The ability of the Central Bank to buy dollars is limited,” Neumann said.
According to Central Bank figures, at least USD1 billion of monthly income is sent from Filipinos working out of the country; 30–40 percent of the rising remittances comes from the US. Nevertheless, Neumann said this will have no effect on the economic growth. A hold back in the US economy would have not much consequence. A big chunk of Filipinos working in the US are either in health care or in the academe.
Neumann expected that by the end of five to ten years, the Philippine economy can no longer rely on OFWs. The increase in money remittances from overseas Filipinos was held down in the past few months. He noted that the country should focus on drawing more investors and find out how to develop potential from the outsourcing, mining and tourism sectors.

Two-faced Phone
By Ana Kristine B. Valenzuela

TwinPhone Inc. recently launched the TwinPhone TPH500. The TPH500 allows two SIM cards to be used simultaneously.
    It is also the only mobile phone that use three-way calling for free by simply pressing the speaker function. This feature can be done without request from the service providers for conference call.
    Inventor of the TwinPhone is Aiman Taher, a commercial pilot who often saw his passengers clutching two phones. He experimented with the idea in 2005 and finally perfected the prototype this year.
    Taher partnered with Twin

Phone Philippines president and CEO Allyson S. Artes in marketing these two-faced phones. He hopes to capture at least 2 to 3 percent of the Philippines’ cellphone market. “At least 300 thousand units for the first year,” Artes answered optimistically when asked how many does he plan to sell for the initial run. This phone according to Artes is a test of acceptability. If all goes well, TwinPhone will launch another unit in about six months.
TwinPhone is available in all Semicon outlets and registered dealers nationwide and is also being marketed across the Asia Pacific.

What's On & Expat - Philippines