Stock News 2011: DMCI flaunts high-rise expertise

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With DMCI Homes taking the top spot in the medium-rise residential development category, it’s only consequential for the builder-developer to literally, level up.

The company’s latest project is Flair Towers – a two-tower high-rise condominium complex that will reflect the same winning advantages that have generated success for DMCI Homes’ mid-rise projects all over the metro. Following the developer’s commitment to innovation, this project will emerge with its own outstanding attributes that will distinguish it from other products in the market.

DMCI Homes uses its 55-year construction heritage to do what may seem impossible: turn high-rise living into a resort-style daily experience. Rising at 41 storeys on 1.4 hectares of prime land, Flair Towers uses the company’s expertise in creating luxurious communities for condo dwellers. DMCI Homes tempers the modern constraints of urban living through a grand solution: the Lumiventt Design Technology.

This innovative concept in high-rise living refers to an architectural building design that aims to maximize the natural benefits of “light” (lumen) and air (ventus). The Lumiventt design allows light to enter and fresh air to freely circulate among common areas and even in the residents’ individual units through Sky Patios, or three-storey high openings at the front and back of each building, on every five floors.

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/322854/dmci-flaunts-highrise-expertise

Stock News 2011: PLDT awaits regulators’ go-ahead on P78-billion Digitel deal

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Although stockholders of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) approved yesterday the telco’s takeover of Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Inc. (Digitel), the P78-billion deal – supposed to be completed at the end of the month, could still be left dangling without the nod of regulators.

“We don’t see a legal impediment,” PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters after the stockholders’ meeting the other day. However, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) still has to hold a second hearing on the transaction next Tuesday (June 21).

Meanwhile, in this week’s stockholders’ meeting, PLDT elected Pangilinan, Nazareno, Ray Espinosa, Oscar Reyes, Tatsu Kono, Takashi Ooi, Tony Tan Caktiong, Helen Dee, Juan Santos, and Lourdes Rausa Chan as Directors. Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, Pedro Roxas and Alfred Ty were elected independent directors.

PLDT needs a go-ahead from the NTC as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the asset valuation and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) for the block sale of the Digitel shares, among other technical requirements.

“It’s beyond our hands,” he admitted. “If everything goes well next week (at the NTC hearing), we hope it will be sooner than later. But we can’t tell how many days (it will take).”

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/322852/pldt-awaits-regulators-goahead-p78billion-digitel-deal

Stock News 2011: Cebu Pacific buys 37 Airbus jets

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Budget carrier Cebu Pacific announced Thursday it had ordered 37 new Airbus jets worth $3.8 billion as part of its ambitious plans to expand operations across the Asia Pacific.

Cebu Pacific chief executive Lance Gokongwei told a news conference his company had ordered 30 Airbus A321neo jets and seven A320 aircraft, to be delivered between 2015 and 2021.

He said the airline also had another option for 10 more A321neo jets, which can carry more people and fly longer distances than the A320s that currently dominate Cebu Pacific’s fleet.

“These 220-seater aircraft will be a game changer for Cebu Pacific,” Gokongwei said.

“We will be able to serve cities in Australia, India and northern Japan, places the A320 cannot reach.”

Cebu Pacific is already the number one airline in the Philippines in terms of passenger numbers, having expanded rapidly in recent years to overtake national carrier Philippine Airlines.

http://business.inquirer.net/4368/cebu-pacific-buys-37-airbus-jets-worth-3-8b

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• Philippine budget carrier buys 37 new Airbus jets (seattlepi.com)
• Airbus wins orders from Asian budget carriers (marketwatch.com)

Stock News 2011: PHINMA invests P424 M in US and local BPO firms

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PHINMA Corporation is investing about P424 million for the acquisition of a US-based and a local business process outsourcing firms focused on business research and competitive intelligence.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, PHINMA said its executive committee has approved the purchase of an 85 percent interest in Fuld & Company, Inc. (Fuld) for $7.99 million.

Fuld is a business research and consulting firm focusing on business and competitive intelligence. It is incorporated in the United States, with offices in the US, UK and China.

The PHINMA executive committee also approved the purchase of a 100 percent interest in Business Back Office, Inc.-Global Business Research Support (BBI) for not more than P26 million and subscription in new shares for P52 million. BBI is a Manila-based Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) firm.

“The acquisition of both firms will provide growth for PHINMA Corporation in the higher value business process outsourcing spectrum,” PHINMA said.

It added that the twin acquisitions of complimentary businesses will provide outsourcing jobs and build skills in the field of business research and competitive intelligence offering globally competitive products and services through a dedicated knowledge process outsourcing center and research engine in the Philippines.

http://mb.com.ph/node/322541/phinma-inve

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• Philippines lifted by outsourcing boom (marketwatch.com)

Stock News 2011: SMC wants 51% of Indophil

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Diversifying giant San Miguel Corporation is holding its ground and will not be making any more investment in Indophil Resources NL unless the Philippine conglomerate is allowed to acquire 51 percent controlling stake in the mining company.

In an interview, SMC president Ramon S. Ang said there are many unresolved issues regarding SMC’s planned investment in Indophil Resources and these will have to be resolved first before they buy any more Indophil shares.

Ang said in a text message earlier that among these issues is SMC’s requirement that it gets a controlling stake in Indophil.

Because of these unresolved issues, Ang said they are not buying any more Indophil shares even if it means the dilution of SMC’s 10.1 percent stake in Indophil which it had acquired for Australian$41.29 million.

SMC’s main interest in Indophil is the latter’s 37.5-percent stake in Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI), which has the rights to the Tampakan gold and copper mine in South Cotabato.

http://mb.com.ph/articles/322380/smc-wants-51-indophil

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• Philippine court affirms ruling on San Miguel chair's stake (reuters.com)

Stock News 2011: GPLAC gears up for expansion after record year in profitability

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Generali Pilipinas Life Assurance Company (GPLAC) described 2010 as a record year in terms of profitability following the strategic focus it successfully implemented on its bancassurance distribution channel.

Central to this strategic focus was a dramatic shift from single-pay plans to selling products with recurring premiums, a move purposely designed to create a steady source of premium income, and thus resulting to stable profits for the company.

The company’s bancassurance operations showed an impressive growth of more than 167% in terms of new business recurring premiums to P550 million from P205 million the year before. Group insurance premiums also climbed up 21 percent at the end of 2010.

"Now that we have successfully enhanced our business model, with a much better equipped bancassurance sales force, coupled with a steady and profitable group insurance customer base, this company can look forward to sustainable long-term growth, " said Generali chief executive Renato Vergel De Dios. "We are committed to continually strengthen our financial position and deliver value to our clients and stakeholders."

The strong performance of GPLAC in 2010 continued in the first quarter of this year, posting significant increases in premiums from its individual business and group business by 64 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

http://www.mb.com.ph/node/322249/gplac-gear

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• Generali First-Quarter Premiums Decline 8.3% on Life Business (businessweek.com)
• Generali Eyes Strong Year (online.wsj.com)

Stock News 2011: Call centers can lower cost with cloud-based technology

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Local call centers can now lower the cost of their contact handling and workforce optimization infrastructure by up to 43% over a five-year period by utilizing cloud-based offerings rather than installing equipment in their own facilities, according to a new Frost & Sullivan report titled “Premise Vs. Hosted Contact Center: Total Cost of Ownership Analysis.”

The study, sponsored by leading cloud solutions provider inContact, analyzed 12 call center designs ranging in size from 50 to 500 seats and in functionality from different telephony systems such as ACD, IVR, chat, outbound dialer, quality monitoring, workforce management, customer feedback, agent hiring and eLearning system.

The analysis of total cost of ownership (TCO) concluded that hosted call center services significantly reduce TCO over premise-based systems in both three- and five-year scenarios for all 12 designs analyzed.

“Overall, call centers could save on costs of systems and applications, implementation, maintenance and upgrades, and hosted per-agent, per-month fees. The pay-as-you-go hosted pricing model of this technology allows call centers to eliminate in-house hardware investment as well as related IT infrastructure, maintenance, and upgrade expenses that go with premise-based infrastructure,” inContact Country Manager Junie Pama said.

“Compared with cloud-based solutions, traditional premise-based infrastructure requires an upfront capital investment that can easily exceed $1 million, maintenance contracts that are typically 15%–25% of the purchase price, other ongoing expenses, and equipment replacement every five to seven years,” he added.

http://mb.com.ph/node/322250/call-center