US firm eyes SMEs in Davao

By Nelson C. Bagaforo
Sunstar Davao

AN AMERICAN firm that manufactures power backup systems is seeking partnership with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Davao Region, offering products and services specifically designed for SME clients.

Emerson Network Power, which started its business operations in the Philippines in 2001, launched Friday a whole line of products and services that would address power protection needs, not only of large corporations, but also of other sectors, such as manufacturing, telecom, banking, and small and medium enterprises, which comprise more than 90 percent of businesses in Davao Region, and even individual personal computer users.

Emerson also launched its uptime partner program in Davao to better serve SMEs and other targeted partners, such as government agencies and business process outsourcing (BPOs).

"We want to keep their equipment work all the time...to boost their productivity and competitiveness," Emerson Network Power (Philippines) Inc. managing director Laurence Chan said.

He said Emerson intends to gain a bigger share of the market in the region, adding that they have embarked on similar product launches in Metro Manila in May and Cebu on Wednesday to tap SMEs, the fastest growing sector in the region.

"We would like to get a piece of that market," Chan said.

Emerson Network products are distributed in the Philippines by Lamco International Trading Co., but Friday's launch here was also meant to bring in more resellers.

Lamco is the country's largest IT distributors in the country, distributing computers and computer-related products to value-added resellers, systems integrators and retailers.

Emerson, on the other hand, provides a full spectrum of reliable power, connectivity, and precision cooling solutions for computers, communications, healthcare and industrial system.

Hitesh R. Prajapati, Emerson's channel business director, said the company has operations and distributorship in almost all parts of the world. It has three manufacturing plants in Asia, including one in Philippines located in Rosario, Cavite.

He said the company posted a sale $17.3 billion for fiscal year 2005.

Prajapati said he foresees Emerson's remarkable growth in the next few years as more sectors realize the need to protect equipment, products, and data from power supply interruptions.

He said the prices of Emerson Network Power products are "very competitive" but there are more value-added benefits in purchasing the systems.

Chan said customer care services, which Emerson has outsourced to Sykes, also provides 24-hour technical support to buyers.

He expressed confidence about the company's technology, saying the company has been consistently named among Forbes top 400 most admired companies in the world.

In 2005, Emerson also landed on no. 2 spot as world's most admired companies as listed by Fortune magazine, behind General Electric (GE). On the third spot was Sony.

Emerson Network's customers include Globe Telecom, Smart Communications, Dell, IBM, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Nokia, Siemens and Citibank.

Arroyo to open trade exhibit 2006

Sunstar Davao

PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is expected to open the Davao Trade Exhibit (Date) 2006 and lead the launching of the National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center (Nerbac) at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in Davao City on September 15.

Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) president Bienvenido Cariaga announced during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Monday that the President will be the keynote speaker and will delve on the growth of small and medium entrepreneurs.

Cariaga said other personalities invited to the event are Budget and Management Secretary Rolando G. Andaya Jr., Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila, Agriculture Secretary Domingo Panganiban.

Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte and other local officials will be among those who will join the President's party during the opening of the trade exhibit.

Cariaga said they are expecting about 5,000 participants coming from all parts of Mindanao and from the Visayas and Manila to attend the affair.

There will be foreign participants who will join the round table discussion on global opportunities and among those who confirmed are from the embassies of Britain, US, Sweden, and Indonesia.

He said they are still awaiting confirmation from the embassies of Malaysia, Japan, India, Australia, Canada and Taiwan.

Of the 140 target exhibitors, 90 percent of those invited already confirmed and have signed contracts and the remaining 10 percent are with reservations.

Figures released by DCCCII showed that Date in 2005 had an income through sales generated from business of P82 million or 32 percent higher in 2004 with only P55.5 million, which was much higher with 55 percent over the 2003 sales of only P36 million.

Cariaga said they projected an increase in sales this year by 20 percent as against that of 2005.

Aside from the exhibit, the other activities are business matching, product and service presentation, jobs fair, and reverse trade fair.

Robinsons plans 5 malls, hotel

Inquirer
Last updated 09:58pm (Mla time) 09/03/2006

Published on page B4 of the September 4, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

ROBINSONS LAND CORP. of taipan John Gokongwei is building new malls and possibly a new hotel in Tagaytay City in the next two to three years as it continues to remain bullish on the economy.

In a draft prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), RLC identified five new malls that may open between 2007 and 2008: in Paco (Manila), Davao City (Davao del Sur), Tagaytay City, Dumaguete City (Negros Oriental), and Pulilan (Bulacan).

These sites will add 130,000 square meters in terms of gross floor area to the company's existing 18 malls with a total floor area of 1.2 million square meters.

RLC said it was also expanding Robinsons Place Manila by another 62,672 square meters to include boutiques with luxury brands and a first-class restaurant. The expansion of Robinsons Manila may be completed in the first quarter of 2008.

Expansion of Robinsons Place in Bacolod is also ongoing to include themed retail areas that may showcase regional Philippine cuisine, brands and products and other retail services. This will result in an additional 5,529 square meters and may be completed by the third quarter of 2008.

RLC's commercial center division, which develops, leases and manages shopping malls, accounted for 49 percent of RLC's total revenues as of the first half of 2006 and roughly 68 percent of total income in the same period.

RLC is also beefing up its hotel portfolio with plans to build one in Tagaytay City. The hotel is currently in the design phase and may be completed in 2009. The proposed hotel will consist of 54 hotel rooms, 36 serviced apartments, five luxury villas and conference facilities. As of June 30, RLC's hotel division accounted for 13.6 percent of its total revenues. The property giant now has three hotels and an apartelle offering a total of 820 rooms. These are Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila (263 rooms), Holiday Inn Galleria (285 rooms), Cebu Midtown Hotel (197 rooms) and Robinsons Apartelle (75 rooms).