5 entrepreneurial opportunities available in a service sector

If there is anything which a good majority of the maritime stakeholders would agree on, it would be that maritime education is primarily focused on developing competent seafarers according to international and national standards. Undoubtedly, the seafaring industry offers substantial benefits not only to seafarers and their families but also to this archipelago struggling to provide the basic needs of its citizens. The seafarers’ foreign exchange remittances translate into improved balance-of-payment and contribute to socio-economic gains for the government and the population. These benefits unfortunately tend to limit the concept of Philippine maritime education to just seafarer’s education. There is every reason why stakeholders, both in government and industry, aim to nurture a pool of Filipino merchant mariners who are on top of the list of choices by shipowners in the global maritime community. Such endeavor has for decades been in this archipelago’s blueprint for a sustainable ... » Learn More about Transforming Philippine maritime education

As digital adoption continues to accelerate in Indonesia, lenders are finding it challenging to identify the fast tracking of real time and updated data sources of online transactions. The country will witness a notable growth in digital transactions by 33.2 percent year on year to Rp 337 trillion this year from approximately Rp 253 trillion in 2020. Having said this, Indonesia’s lack of reliable data to make credit decisions has caused inefficiencies in the financial ecosystem. This has initiated the need to look into alternative data which will provide a visual direction of the financial credibility of borrowers in the country. It will also give lenders an overview of payment defaults within a controlled risk. Alternative data is proven to complement traditional credit scoring methods which will inevitably lead to the increase of the number of consumers’ creditworthiness in the population. It is common practice for lenders to look into alternative data when a borrower has no ... » Learn More about Alternative data to financially boost Indonesia’s population

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) encouraged repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to venture into agribusiness to sustain their family’s needs. Speaking at the “Agri-Negosyo Para Sa OFWs” virtual event, Rafaelita Aldaba, DTI undersecretary for Sub-Task Group on Agribusiness, highlighted agribusiness as a viable venture particularly during the coronavirus pandemic. She explained that engaging in farming can help achieve food security and provide profit to those who venture into it. The government has been working on implementing programs to assist Filipinos amid the pandemic. The JMC covers the programs, projects, services and initiatives of the DTI, Department of Agriculture, Department of Science and Technology, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and National Economic Development Authority. “The Agri-Negosyo offers full service information to OFWs, from starting an agri-business, investment opportunities, crafting a business plan, availing ... » Learn More about Repatriated OFWs urged to venture into agribusiness

The global shipping industry has accelerated its digitalization during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic and smaller vessels were stepping up their game to stay competitive. A recent study by Ocean Insights showed that 42 percent of businesses in the freight industry would change their supply chain strategies due to the pandemic, while 67 percent of them said technology plays a major role in doing so. IEC Telecom, one of the leading international providers of satellite communications services saw that the maritime sector has turned to digital solutions due to a range of logistical challenges that encompass ports, vessel surveys, supply chain matters, and crew communications. ”With a digitalized world now inevitable, the digital economy has grown two and a half times faster than the global gross domestic product (GDP) over the past 15 years. It is now worth $11.5 trillion globally, equivalent to 15.5 percent of the global GDP. The global digital transformation ... » Learn More about Maritime industry boosts digitalization

As life under coronavirus restrictions grinds on, hospitality businesses have modified their services to weather the lockdown as best they can. We looked at the costs and benefits of a hotel staycation versus a "cruise to nowhere". Many hotels now offer no-contact staycation packages for those weary of being stuck at home, while Dream Cruises has been offering 2- and 3-night "cruises to nowhere" on its lone operating ship, the World Dream. To help Singaporeans understand the costs and benefits of each option, we gathered staycation rates from four major hotels to compare their relative value against a cruise. Key findings: The average cost per night for the most basic hotel staycation was $396, but prices varied significantly by hotel, room size, and package level. Dream Cruises offered an average of $488 per night on its cruises to nowhere. The Marina Bay Sands was one hotel we found charging more than a cruise, with its cheapest packages costing an average of $550 per night ... » Learn More about Should I stay or should I cruise? Comparing the value of staycations and cruises to nowhere

SINGAPORE: There is a tongue-in-cheek joke that the coronavirus did far more for digital transformation than any company’s most well-intentioned Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) or Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Because of COVID-19 we saw mass adoption in telecommuting, increases in on-demand food and services and a spike in virtual platforms like Google’s Hangout and Microsoft’s Teams and while Netflix added 15.8 million subscribers from January to March alone as the pandemic-linked lockdowns forced people to stay at home. Slack added over 9000 new users in the first months of the pandemic and Zoom shares rose 112 per cent. Schools of all levels utilised video-conferencing programmes and e-learning while grandparents jumped onto mobile-based payment platforms like PayNow to minimise physical contact with cash-based payment. The local banking scene also made strides with the awarding of four local digital banking licenses. A consortium of Grab-Singtel was awarded a full ... » Learn More about Commentary: Forget digital banks – many still prefer the trip to the branch

FILIPINO seafarers have been included in the vaccine priority list to ensure their employment and safety of global supply chains. Lawyer Iris Baguilat, president of the Döhle Seafront Crewing (Manila), welcomed the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force to give priority to seafarers (IATF) as vaccination against Covid-19 becomes mandatory for global travel. As part of an international labor force, Filipino seafarers compete with other nationalities who were already vaccinated by their respective countries to be fit to work onboard. “After a long wait, Filipino seafarers finally have the protection they deserve. Finally, all our efforts have come to fruition. Filipino seafarers are now next in line for a vaccination. Currently, the government is vaccinating citizens with comorbidities. If a Filipino seafarer has a chronic respiratory disease, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, malignancy, diabetes mellitus, and obesity, he should sign up for the ... » Learn More about Seafarers on deck for Covid-19 jab

San Miguel Corporation (SMC), through packaging subsidiary San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corp. (SMYPC), is looking to train underprivileged youth for technical jobs to provide them access to economic opportunities and help improve overall competencies in the country’s manufacturing sector. SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon Ang committed to continue helping indigent students in the care of the Sisters of Mary Schools — Adlas Inc. (Boystown) in Silang, Cavite following SMYPC’s donation of manufacturing equipment and renovation of the school’s mechanical workshop. “Now more than ever we need to produce bright, talented young minds that are central to driving the manufacturing sector forward. Through this program, we hope to raise the interest of the next generation of Filipinos and equip them with skills in modern technologies to make them industry-ready and self-reliant,” Ang said. SMYPC and Mesco Inc., a partner for machine tools, donated two computer numerical ... » Learn More about SMC upgrades ‘Boystown’ facilities to train underprivileged youth for technical jobs

President Duterte has urged Congress, especially the Senate, to fast-track three pending bills that will further open up the economy to more foreign investors and help it recover from a pandemic-induced recession. In an April 12 letter to Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Mr. Duterte said he had certified the immediate passage of amendments to the Public Service Act, Foreign Investments Act and Retail Trade Liberalization Act. The proposed changes to the antiquated Public Service and Foreign Investments laws would allow greater foreign participation in previously restricted sectors while in the retail trade law, these would bring down the capitalization ceiling for foreign-led retailers that want to operate in the country. Speaker Lord Allan Velasco also received the letter, a soft copy of which was sent by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III to reporters on Tuesday. Enacting these measures into law would “address the immediate and continuing need for legislative reforms ... » Learn More about Duterte asks Congress to prioritize 3 bills to speed up economic recovery

First of two parts After the lapse of more than forty years, it is appalling to hear domestic shippers and cargo owners that shipping costs in the interisland routes are staggeringly high compared with those in short-sea international trades. Domestic productivity is much affected by the shipping costs of raw materials such as fertilizers as it is expensive for agricultural produce to reach the market. These are areas that need to be addressed. The country’s domestic fleet achieved some level of modernization with the advent of containerized ships and roll-on/roll-off vessels; and maritime safety considerably improved too. These are attributes that PD 474 identified as crucial to promote rural productivity; nonetheless more needs to be done. The distinct and obvious mandate of PD 474 which seems to have been overlooked is the development of the Philippine merchant fleet both in domestic and overseas trade. While the number of modern fast crafts and RORO ships may have increased ... » Learn More about Development of the Philippine merchant fleet takes the backseat