Asean to strengthen intra-

bloc economic strength

Viet Nam News/Asia News Network / 04:37 PM August 05, 2018

SINGAPORE — Foreign ministers from Asean countries have agreed to enhance

internal strength through increasing intra-bloc trade and investment and regional
economic connectivity.
The 51st Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM 51) ended last Thursday in
Singapore with a Joint Communiqué urging the bloc to enhance its internal strength
through increasing intra-bloc trade and investment and regional economic connectivity.
The Foreign Ministers of the 10 Asean countries also reached consensus on building a
resilient and innovative Asean on the foundation of the implementation of reached
targets and initiatives, including the launch of the Asean Smart Cities Network,
cooperation in cyber security and harmonisation of legal frameworks.
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The ministers agreed to continue efforts for the effective implementation of the Asean
Community Vision 2025 and blueprints for building the Community’s three pillars,
narrowing the development gap, enhancing connectivity, and to promote links between
those blueprints and theUnited Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In the context of natural disasters in the region, including the dam collapse in Laos, the
ministers called for increasing mutual cooperation and support, including the role of the
Asean Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management
(AHA Center).
On the bloc’s external relations, the ministers acknowledged progress in cooperation
between Asean and its partners and agreed to further bolster ties.
The ministers agreed to build the Asean-China Strategic Partnership Vision 2030 to be
adopted at the 21st Asean-China Summit in November this year, convene the 21st
Asean-Japan Summit to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Asean-Japan ties also in
November, and hold the 4th Asean-Russia Summit at the end of this year.
The ministers also signed documents to extend the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation
with Argentina and Iran, bringing the number of signatories to 37.
Regarding the South China Sea, the Asean ministers reaffirmed the importance of
maintaining peace, security, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in
the disputed sea. They took note of concerns on the land reclamations andactivities in
the area, which have eroded trust and confidence, and may undermine peace, security
and stability in the region.
The ministers urged self-restraint in the conduct of activities and avoid actions that may
further complicate the situation and escalate tensions in the East Sea, and the peaceful
settlement of disputes in accordance with international law, including the 1982
UNCLOS, along with the full and effective implementation of the 2002 Declaration on
the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC).
They took note of the progress of negotiations toward an effective Code of Conduct in
the East Sea (COC), including the agreement on a Single Draft COC Negotiating Text,
and emphasised the need to maintain an environment conducive to the COC
negotiations.
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Addressing the AMM 51 and related meetings, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh underlined the multi-faceted progress made in internal
Asean cooperation and between Asean and its partners.
Amid rapid and unforeseeable developments in regional and global situations, the
Vietnamese Deputy PM proposed that Asean focus more on intra-bloc cooperation.
He also suggested that the bloc maintain solidarity and its central role, while enhancing
its collective capacity to respond to arising challenges.
Deputy PM Minh also shared concerns about recent activities in the waters, including
militarisation, which he said affected peace, security in the region and trust among
countries. He urged concerned parties to restrain themselves, avoid actions that can
complicate the situationwhile adhering to agreed principles and commitments, including
those mentioned in the DOC, thus maintaining an environment conducive for the
negotiation of the COC.
On the sidelines of the summit, Deputy PM and foreign minister Minh held meetings
with several of his counterparts from Cambodia, Lao, Malaysia, Japan and Norway.
Previously, he met Singaporean President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Long, where the host leaders and guest expressed appreciation at the growing bilateral
ties with increasing political trust.

Source: http://business.inquirer.net/255093/asean-strengthen-intra-bloc-economic-
strength

LBC launches safe delivery, pick-up services

for online sellers
With the growth of mobile and internet access in the country, online shopping is emerging as a very
attractive option for buyers and store owners alike.

Online shops, which use websites or social media platforms to move goods, attract those who have no
time to go to the mall or simply prefer to shop in the comfort of their own homes, skipping the hassle of
traffic jams and crowded shopping centers.

Payment options vary for those who prefer to shop online.

Many buyers still opt to pay or receive their goods by meeting with sellers in person. However, these can
be inconvenient for those with busy schedules. It might also require additional transport expenses for all
parties.
Some sellers also offer a "Cash on Delivery" (COD) option, where buyers can pay for goods upon
delivery of their package.

WHY CHOOSE COD AND COP

Those wary of digital payment methods which require some disclosure of credit card details, prefer to use
COD and other means such as those offered by leading service provider LBC.

Aside from COD, services introduced by LBC to help online businesses to further their aim of providing
a "total solution for e-commerce" include Cash on Pick-up (COP), Returns and Refunds, and even Payroll
Disbursement.

However, according to LBC's Senior Vice President for Philippine Retail Operations Oliver Valentin,
there are still many untapped payment options that can make online selling safer for buyers and sellers
alike.

"Nakita namin na ang mga Pilipino ngayon, nagpu-put up sila ng businesses and ginagamit nila ang e-
commerce o ang online medium as a way to offer their products," he said.

According to Michelle Garnica of Garnica Surplus Store, she has been receiving positive feedback from
her customers regarding LBC's new payment options.

"So far naman, mas happy ang customers ko dahil mas convenient para sa kanila kung paano magbayad,"
she said.

With COP, buyers can now add LBC as a pick up point. LBC's diverse store locations allow sellers to
ship anywhere in the Philippines and reach more customers. They just have to visit any LBC branch and
transact with an LBC personnel who will guide them through the process.

Source:

Dating seaman at online seller, nagkapera

sa papaya
Kung dati'y dalawang beses lamang sa isang buwan kung makausap niya ang kanyang pamilya, ngayon
ay araw-araw nang nakaka-bonding ni Jerry Pangilinan ang kanyang dalawang anak at asawa.

"Hindi na ako kilala ng anak ko, malayo ang loob sa akin. After two months, alis na ulit," kuwento ni
Pangilinan sa dati nilang kalagayan.

Malaking hirap at sakripisyo ang hinarap ni Pangilinan sa kanyang mahigit 10 taon na pagtatrabaho
bilang seaman.

Hindi naging madali ang "long-distance relationship" para sa kanya at sa asawa niyang si Ghie na noo'y
kapapanganak lamang.

Malaki ang naging gastos ni Ghie sa kanyang panganganak, kaya naman nagpursige si Jerry na
makipagsapalaran sa ibayong baybayin para mabayaran ang kanilang mga utang.

Sa pag-aasam na makatulong sa gastusin, nag-part time naman bilang online seller si Ghie. Nag-umpisa
siya sa pagbebenta ng baby products at gadgets mula China.

"Kapag may sarili ka palang negosyo, 'yong oras mo halos 20 hours kang gising at 4 hours ka na lang
natutulog," kuwento ni Ghie.

Pero sulit naman daw lahat ng puyat at pagod nang maka-"jackpot" sila noong 2013.

MAY PERA SA PAPAYA

Habang lumalaki ang kanilang pamilya at dumarami ang pangangailangan ng kanilang mga anak,
napagdesisyunan ng mag-asawa na subukang gumawa ng sarili nilang produkto.

Isang manufacturer ng sabon ang nag-offer na gumawa ng formula para sa sarili nilang brand na tinawag
nilang Skin Magical.

Sa halagang P7,000 ay nakipagsapalaran ang mag-asawang Pangilinan sa papaya. Tinawag nila ang
kanilang unang produkto na Rejuvenating Papaya Soap.

Ito ay mayroong peeling, whitening, at moisturizing properties na agad namang tinangkilik ng mga nais
magpaputi ng balat.

"Ang Pilipino kasi ngayon, mahirap man o mayaman, nahihilig talagang magpaputi ng skin," ani Ghie.
Hindi inaasahan ng mag-asawa na magiging patok sa mamimili ang kanilang mura at epektibong
produkto. Mula sa sa papaya soap, mayroon na silang 100 iba't ibang uri ng beauty products sa
kasalukuyan. Nariyan ang toner, lotion, sabon, facial cleanser, at marami pang iba.

'MAGIC' JACKPOT

Kung dati'y pa-isa-isa ang order na natatanggap ni Ghie, ngayo'y umaabot na sa 150,000 sets ang dini-
deliver nila sa kanilang humigit kumulang 80 franchisees at 180 distributors sa buong bansa.

Kaya naman noong 2013, nagdesisyon na si Jerry na tuluyan nang dumaong sa kanilang tahanan at
tulungan na lamang ang kanyang misis na palaguin ang kanilang negosyo.

Sa ngayon, si Jerry ang nakatoka sa production at distribution ng kanilang mga produkto. Si Ghie naman
ang may hawak sa marketing at product development.

Masusing binabantayan ng mag-asawa ang bawat prosesong dinadaanan ng kanilang producto -- mula sa
quality control sa kanilang laboratoryo hanggang sa shipping sa iba't ibang lupalop ng bansa.

Ayon kina Ghie at Jerry, ang sekreto raw sa paglago ng kanilang negosyo ay ang pagiging tapat nila sa
kanilang produkto at customers.

"Kahit mura siya, hindi siya tinipid sa ingredients. At very safe po talaga 'yong ingredients niya," ani
Ghie.

"Doon po magtitiwala ang mga customer namin, kaya babalik-balikan niya ang aming produkto," dagdag
ni Jerry.

Sa kasalukuyan at mayroon na ring apat na branches ang kanilang bagong business venture na Skin
Magical Beauty Wellness & Spa.

Source: https://news.abs-cbn.com/advertorial/business/07/31/18/undefined

PSE: Companies to continue expansion amid

shaky market conditions
By Luchi de Guzman, CNN Philippines
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13) — The stock market closed just shy of the 7,400
point mark on Friday, posting steady recovery over the week.
The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index ended at 7,399 points, 0.66 percent up from the
previous day's close. The market opened at 7,225.95 points on Monday as it tried to recover from
the one-year low of 6,986.88 points recorded on June 25.

PSE President and CEO Ramon Monzon said he expects the market to stay at the 7,200 to the
7,400 level in the coming days.

"Probably we'll hover around this area for the next few months unless something happens in the
trade war or some other global development that could affect markets all over the world,"
Monzon said in an interview with CNN Philippines' Business Roundup.

The looming trade war between world's first and second largest economies -- the United States
and China -- has negatively affected stock trading for the past few days.

The PSE also took a huge dip after the latest inflation report, where commodity prices reached a
five year high at a 5.2 percent inflation rate in June.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) also reported Thursday that the $901.78 million foreign
portfolio investments in June was completely wiped out by the approximately $1.426 billion
pulled out by investors from the stock market.

The PSE executive said that there are a variety of reasons why foreign investors exited from the
Philippine market, including the depreciation of the Philippine Peso and the high inflation rate.

"Hopefully the BSP is addressing these problems and I think there should be another rate
increase sometime in August. Hopefully it would help arrest the inflation problems we are
encountering right now," Monzon said.

He added that should the third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) announcement be
favorable, more investors could be attracted back to the market.

Nevertheless, Monzon noted that more companies are continuing to expand through the stock
market, and that the PSE is close to reaching its ₱200 billion capital raising target for the year.

"We were surprised at the state of the capital raising activities considering the condition of the
market," said Monzon, adding that the PSE had raised ₱150 billion for the first half of the year.

"It seems that companies are continuing with their expansion regardless of what seems to be the
ails affecting the market," said Monzon.

Source: http://cnnphilippines.com/business/2018/07/13/stock-market-ramon-monzon-
business-roundup.html
Chip labour: Robots replace waiters in
China restaurant August 5, 2018, 11:40 AM Published

By Agence France-Presse

The little robotic waiter wheels up to the table, raises its glass lid to reveal a steaming plate of local Shanghai-

style crayfish and announces in low, mechanical tones, “Enjoy your meal.”

Little “robot waiters” deliver food to patrons in this Shanghai restaurant (AFP / MANILA BULLETIN)

The futuristic restaurant concept is the latest initiative in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s push to
modernize service and retail in a country where robotics and artificial intelligence are increasingly being
integrated into commerce.

Raising efficiency and lowering labor costs are the objectives at Alibaba’s “Robot.He” diners, where waiters
have been replaced by robots about the size of microwave ovens, which roll around the dining room on table-
high runways.

“In Shanghai, a waiter costs up to 10,000 yuan ($1,500) per month. That’s hundreds of thousands in cost every
year. And two shifts of people are needed,” said Cao Haitao, the Alibaba product manager who developed the
concept.

“But we don’t need two shifts for robots and they are on duty every day.”

The diners are attached to Alibaba’s new Hema chain of semi-automated supermarkets, where grocery
shoppers fill their “carts” on a mobile app and have the merchandise brought to them at checkout via conveyor
tracks on the ceiling, or delivered straight to their homes.

Alibaba now has 57 Hema markets in 13 Chinese cities, all of which will eventually feature the robotic
restaurants.

Industry experts say they serve more as showcases of Alibaba’s tech prowess than a serious business model in
a country where labor costs are relatively low.

But the restaurants also typify the rapid adoption of new technologies in a country where the government is
increasingly using facial-recognition technology to police streets and identify law-breakers.

Automation nation

With digital payments via mobile phone already now rivaling cash for many purchases, growing numbers of
pharmacies, bookstores and other retailers have dispensed with cashiers, allowing customers to order and pay
for their desired merchandise, which is often handed over by a robot.

Alibaba’s e-commerce rival JD.com has announced plans to open 1,000 restaurants by 2020 in which food will
be prepared and served by robots.

JD.com and others are also working to incorporate airborne drones into their delivery networks.

The movement could help companies reduce costs as growth rates in China’s e-commerce boom begin to
plateau.
“Before, everyone was all going for rapid expansion. Now the growth is gone and everyone has to focus on
improving their operations,” said Jason Ding, a China retail expert with Bain & Company.

“Operation is all about cutting costs and providing better service. So these automated machine technologies, in
the right place, can play a role there.”

At Robot.He, customers book tables and order entrées via apps, and the diner’s novelty often draws long
queues.

Ma Yiwen, 33, brought nearly a dozen colleagues with her.

“We are all foodies and we use our lunch time to try good food near our office. The idea of a robot delivering
food to our table is very innovative so we wanted to see it ourselves,” she said.

The restaurant says automation helps keep costs down, an additional lure for 20-year-old customer Ma
Shenpeng, who comes once a week.

“Normally for two to three people, a meal costs about 300-400 yuan, but here, all this table of food is just over
100 yuan,” he said.

Chinese AI advocates predict robots will someday perform a range of mundane duties as living standards rise,
from delivery to sweeping floors and providing companionship, particularly as China’s labor force has shrunk
due to the recently relaxed one-child population control policy.

But it’s a delicate issue for Chinese policy-makers due to the potential for human job losses, and the
government is in the midst of a long-term push to develop the country’s services industry partly as a job
creator, as manufacturing increasingly becomes mechanized.

Wang Hesheng, a robotics professor at Shanghai’s Jiaotong University, said the cost of robots remains too high
for widespread consumer use and that many companies were merely jumping on the government’s high-tech
bandwagon.

But robotics could spread if China labor costs continue to grow, he said.

“Maybe when labor costs rise higher and higher, robots will balance out with humans,” he said.

Source: https://business.mb.com.ph/2018/08/05/chip-labour-robots-replace-waiters-in-
china-restaurant/
MPIC expansion targets logistics
Updated August 4, 2018, 10:27 PM

By James A. Loyola

Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) is investing billions in its new logistics business as it
anticipates rapid growth as the robust economy boosts consumer spending.

In a press briefing, MetroPac Movers, Inc. President Marilyn Aquino said they are almost tripling their
warehousing capacity in two years from the current 35 hectares in Davao and Cebu to about 95 hectares to
become the country’s largest warehouse operator.

MetroPac Movers recently acquired a 20 hectare parcel of land in Cavite on which it will build a 141,000-sqm
covered warehouse space for a total investment of R8 billion.

Aquino said they are also planning to acquire a 30-hectare property in Northern Luzon while they are
negotiating for the acquisition of an additional 10 hectares in Davao City.

“Warehousing is a business that is very stable and we are putting most of our resources in that business but we
are also developing in-house, organic growth, the ability to do the last mile in logistics (door-to-door
delivery),” she said.

Aquino said “we’re working hand-in-hand with marketplaces like Shoppee, and so hopefully we will be able to
develop the last mile delivery, but in terms of margin, the better margin is in the warehousing business but we
do not want to be left behind when the e-commerce and the last mile delivery really kicks off.”

MetroPac Movers is also developing its trucking business which needs more drivers for its 522 trucks. It also
has a contractor with 1,000 trucks.

With clients such as blue-chip consumer firms Procter & Gamble, Selecta, and Unilever, Aquino said their
trucking business can also be “our entry point into more warehousing clients.”

Meanwhile, she said “we are offering another service which is cross-dock for our clients.” With this service,
suppliers deliver goods bound for retailers at their facility and MetroPac Movers takes care of the distribution.

“It’s when we put their products in a truck for delivery to 7-11 stores so that five products will be in just one
truck and only one truck will be needed to deliver instead of five. It’s something, a new service that we are
starting this month,” said Aquino.

Source: https://business.mb.com.ph/2018/08/03/mpic-expansion-targets-logistics/