Plan for growth

SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Singapore-headquartered super app Grab's plans to go public in the United States, in what is the largest blank cheque company deal ever, is testament to the growth prospects of South-east Asia and Singapore's start-up ecosystem, analysts and industry players said. Grab, which started out as MyTeksi to address the safety concerns of taxi commuters in Kuala Lumpur, announced on Tuesday (April 13) its agreement with Altimeter Growth, a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) backed by Altimeter Capital, which will see the combined entity valued at around US$39.6 billion (S$53.2 billion). Rajive Keshup, investment director at Cathay Innovation, said the deal spotlights the South-east Asia ecosystem - a market not driven primarily by capital or stimulus bubbles, but by economic fundamentals, such as the growth of the middle class, consumption and discretionary spending. Chua Kee Lock, chief executive of Vertex Holdings and managing partner of ... » Learn More about Grab’s US listing plan casts spotlight on South-east Asian ecosystem

We know that success doesn’t just happen; it’s planned. Having a goal is commendable, but as the French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” And no one has ever accomplished anything by just wishing. Recently, I had the opportunity to get an update on the 10-year Maritime Industry Development Plan (MIDP) 2019-2028, also known as the Marina roadmap. As Engineer Emmanuel Baybayan Carpio, Marina’s director for policy and planning service, remarked in his Preface to the Plan, the MIDP 2019-2028 is a milestone since, “It is the first time that this kind of a comprehensive plan was crafted to provide the direction to the Philippine maritime industry in charting its path to global competitiveness and sustainable growth.” Such a comprehensive plan called for a participatory process that required the contribution of thousands of stakeholders. There’s a reason why astronomical observatories are located in every region of the globe: ... » Learn More about The maritime industry development plan

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

BANGKOK – Thailand’s central bank is likely to keep benchmark interest rates on hold this week, according to the consensus view of strategists at the World Economic Forum on ASEAN last week. The country’s central bank, which meets Wednesday to decide on policy, is under pressure to raise the lending rate from a record low of 1.5 percent after the economy grew 4.6 percent in the second quarter from a year ago. That exceeded a forecast of 4.5 percent, though growth expanded at a slower pace quarter-on-quarter, and ING economists said investment remains a “missing link” in the economy. The state planning agency kept its 2018 growth forecast at 4.2 to 4.7 percent and raised its projection for export gains despite escalating global trade tensions. “Strong quarterly GDP growth above 4.5 percent year-on-year coupled with full employment is a recipe for the upcoming [Bank of Thailand] rate hike,” Koon How Heng, head of Markets Strategy at UOB, said in an e-mail on Friday. “A rate hike ... » Learn More about Thailand’s Central Bank Likely to Keep Benchmark Interest Rates on Hold

Jollibee Group targets to open 100 stores of the Vietnamese pho chain brand, PHO24, in the Philippines, with three scheduled this year. The fast food giant on Monday said the expansion looks to make PHO24 a leading global pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) chain. Meanwhile, the first Philippine store opening for the year is scheduled in February at the Jollibee Tower in Ortigas Center in Pasig City. “We are looking forward to the new store openings of PHO24 this year as part of plans for the long-term strategic growth of the Jollibee Group,” Jollibee Group Country Business Group head for the Philippines Joseph Tanbuntiong said in a statement. Tanbuntiong added that they are also developing the brand’s delivery platform and will be launching new product offerings. Jollibee Group has been operating PHO24 in the country since 2018, with the first branch at the DoubleDragon Meridian Park in Pasay City. “We have seen the growing love of Filipinos for authentic Vietnamese cuisine, and ... » Learn More about Jollibee to open 100 PHO24 stores

Fast food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) is eyeing to open 28 stores in North America this year. In a statement on Friday, JFC said the expansion will serve as Jollibee’s largest addition to its North America network in the company’s history. Of the 28 planned additional stores, 19 would be introduced in the United States and nine in Canada. JFC said 2020 was Jollibee’s “most aggressive year” yet as it introduced 16 stores across North America despite the pandemic. “We have remained nimble and optimistic, which has led Jollibee to defy expectations amidst an extremely difficult year and experience double-digit sales growth across North America,” President of Jollibee Group North America, Philippine Brands Maribeth Dela Cruz said in a tatement. “Make no mistake though, we would not be weathering these hard times without the support of our customers. They’ve showed up for us, and now we want to show up for them. We’re incredibly grateful for the continued support we’ve ... » Learn More about JFC to open 28 stores in North America

Fast food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) incurred an attributable loss of P13.5 billion in the first nine months of the year, a turnaround from its P4.2-billion profit in the same period last year. In a regulatory filing on Monday, JFC also reported 27.1-percent weaker revenues for the period to P92.7 billion from P127.2 billion year-on-year. Its system-wide retail sales for January to September was 26.1-percent lower year-on-year to P126.4 billion from P171.1 billion. Meanwhile, JFC booked an attributable loss of P1.6 billion in the third quarter, a contraction from the P10.2 billion loss in the second quarter, which included the P7-billion expense of its business transformation program. Revenues for the quarter stood at P30 billion, 30.6-percent down year-on-year due to the lost sales related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. JFC’s system-wide sales for July to September this year also slumped 29.2 percent to P40.6 billion from P57.4 billion last year. ... » Learn More about JFC still unprofitable in Jan-Sept

THE HAGUE: Dutch firm Philips said on Monday its third quarter net profit rose sharply as its health arm got a boost from demand driven by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. Net profit for the three months to September jumped more than 63 percent from a year earlier to 340 million euros ($400 million) while sales were up 10 percent at five billion euros, said the company which has diversified out of its traditional electrical appliances business into health. “I am pleased that, under challenging circumstances, we have been able to execute our plans and return to growth and improved profitability,” Chief Executive Officer Frans van Houten said in a statement. Van Houten highlighted the progress made by the medical division. “It is clear that the Covid-19 pandemic is far from over, and our teams remain fully focused on delivering against our triple duty of care — meeting critical customer needs, safeguarding the health and safety of our employees, and ensuring ... » Learn More about Philips Q3 earnings boosted by virus

SINGAPORE: Singapore's economy grew by 0.2 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2021, a turnaround after three quarters of contraction, as the country continued its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 2 per cent between January and March, extending the 3.8 per cent growth in the previous quarter, advance estimates by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Wednesday (Apr 14) showed. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a decline of 0.2 per cent. Singapore's economy has been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic. After the first case was reported in Singapore on Jan 23 last year, Singapore posted 0 per cent growth in GDP in the first quarter, followed by contractions in the following three quarters. Last year, the economy shrunk by 5.4 per cent, Singapore's first annual contraction since 2001 and its worst recession since independence. "The expansion is a ... » Learn More about Singapore economy grows 0.2% in Q1, first expansion since COVID-19 outbreak

BEIJING (Global Times): There is a high likelihood that China and the US will post a bilateral trade record this year, experts said, as their industries and economies are closely intertwined and cannot be decoupled, despite ongoing geopolitical spats and some US politicians' hue and cry intended to stem China's rise. The inseparable China-US economic relations are reflected in the two countries' trade data. Although no moves have been taken yet to remove the trade-war tariffs, China-US bilateral trade started to take off around mid-2020 in the depths of the pandemic and has showed no signs of abating into 2021. According to Chinese customs data released on Tuesday (April 13), China-US trade spiraled up by a striking 61.3 per cent in yuan terms in the first quarter of this year to reach 1.08 trillion yuan ($165 billion). This growth outpaced all of China's other major trading partners including Japan, the EU, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) economies. Although ... » Learn More about Soaring China-US trade points to ‘political chill, economic heat’