Tag: Philippines

Philippines – The Jollibee Group has announced the opening of the first Common Man Coffee Roasters (CMCR) branch in the Philippines at Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati City. 

With a mission to promote specialty coffee and all-day brunch, Common Man Coffee Roasters has expanded from Singapore to Malaysia and, more recently, the Philippines. Additionally, the business sells and roasts coffee beans. Besides that, it oversees the Coffee Barista Academy in Singapore and Malaysia, which provides thorough coffee education to both baristas and coffee lovers.

For context, in August 2023, the Jollibee Group disclosed that it was working with Food Collective Pte. Ltd. (FCPL) through FCJB Foods Inc. to manage Common Man Coffee Roasters’ and Tiong Bahru Bakery ownership and management in the Philippines. The Jollibee Group owns 60% of FCJB Foods Inc. in this business partnership. 

The café offers a wide range of specialty coffee options on its menu in the Philippines, with selections like the Nitro Honey Oat Latte and Filter Brew. The brunch menu, the Common Man Full Breakfast—which includes sausage, bacon, portobello mushrooms, hash browns, baked chorizo beans prepared in-house, and greens—also comes with handmade sourdough. Common Man Beef Brisket Benedict, which offers a dish of soft braised beef topped with creamy hollandaise and poached eggs.

Speaking about the launch, Ernesto Tanmantiong, Jollibee Group’s president and CEO, expressed, “We’re excited to bring the Common Man Coffee Roasters in the country and give the community an elevated café experience. Common Man’s consciously sourced coffee and numerous deliciously healthy brunch options contribute to this experience and help fulfil our mission of spreading the joy of eating to everyone. We invite everyone to come visit our first ever Common Man Coffee Roasters café.” 

Meanwhile, Koon Beng Chua, CEO of the Spa Esprit Group, “Having a roastery on site for us to showcase the roasting method will not only help the customers understand the coffee process better, but it will also offer a unique dining and sensory experience for them.” 

Speaking about the partnership, Joseph Tanbuntiong, Jollibee Group chief business officer, said, “This is the first café from our partnership with the Spa Esprit Group and we’re looking forward to expanding the Common Man Coffee Roasters experience to more people. The strong collaboration between the two partners is very evident and is greatly rewarded by the enjoyment we see from people upon entering the café and upon tasting our menu selections. We recognize the increasingly discerning palate of Filipinos and we’re here to delight them.” 

Manila, Philippines – Deustche Bank has announced the appointment of Dino Siason as its chief country officer for the Philippines, as well as head of head of corporate bank in the country. His appointment is effective April 1, 2024, and is subject to necessary regulatory approvals.

In his new role, Siason will lead Deutsche Bank’s 1,500 strong platform in the Philippines. He will be responsible for the corporate bank and investment Bank, along with one of the bank’s two key service hubs in Asia-Pacific, serving critical back and middle office functions globally. 

Siason will replace Michael Chua, who is retiring after working in the banking industry for nearly 30 years.

Siason will report to Burkhard Ziegenhorn, head of corporate bank for Southeast Asia and Australia and Kaushik Shaparia, CEO, emerging Asia and chief country officer of India.

He brings more than 20 years of financial institutions experience to this role and spent nearly 18 years with Citibank in the Philippines, Singapore and the Czech Republic. Most recently, he was Citi’s head of treasury and trade Solutions for the Central Europe Cluster, based in Prague. 

Throughout his career, he has held a wide range of roles across credit, client coverage and franchise management, with a strong focus on enabling clients to become more global. Siason will relocate to Manila.

“We are proud of our 48-year history in the Philippines and committed to growing in this increasingly important market. We’re delighted that our strong platform has attracted high quality talent like Dino, and look forward to him leading our franchise from strength to strength in the Philippines,” Shaparia stated.

Meanwhile, Ziegenhorn commented, “Dino will play a leadership role in taking our Corporate Bank in the Philippines to the next level. His global client coverage and product expertise combined with his deep local market knowledge, will help further differentiate Deutsche Bank in the Philippines.”

He added, “We are thankful to Mike for his dedicated leadership with the bank; he hands over a strong platform poised for further success. We have built many trusted and valued relationships here over past decades, and I am confident that Dino will significantly enhance and grow these over the years to come.”

Manila, Philippines – The Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) company has clarified that its proposed acquisition of the broadband business of Sky Cable has yet to be approved by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC).

This comes after multiple media reports stated that the PCC has approved PLDT’s acquisition of Sky Cable for PHP6.75b.

In a recent stock filing by PLDT, the company clarified that PCC has yet to conclude its review process of the proposed merger.

“Once the approval of the PCC is obtained, the sellers will continue to work on the other closing conditions which include, among others, the termination or cessation of Sky’s pay TV and cable businesses, obtaining all other applicable government approvals and clearances, and obtaining all required consents and corporate actions,” PLDT said.

Moreover, the company said that obtaining the closing conditions for the acquisition is necessary for the implementation of the proposed transaction.

Details about the merger first came into light when ABS-CBN, the parent company of Sky Cable, signed an agreement with PLDT back in March 2023 to sell off fully the business to PLDT.

“The proceeds from the sale of the shares of ABS-CBN and the settlement of Sky Vision’s obligations to ABS-CBN will be used by ABS-CBN to settle and fund its retirement obligations. The sale of the company’s ownership in Sky will also allow ABS-CBN to focus its resources on content creation,” ABS-CBN back then.

It is also worth noting that Cignal, the media firm under PLDT’s MediaQuest affiliate, had already a 34.99% stake in Sky Cable, which materialised back in 2022.

Philippines – BBDO Guerrero builds its creative team with the promotion of Mica Dela Rosa to creative director. 

Dela Rosa joined BBDO Guerrero in 2019 as a copywriter and has contributed to the agency’s portfolio. Some customers she works with include Chowking, Cornetto, and the Department of Tourism. Notably, she was a major contributor to the development of winning ads including It’s More Fun in the Philippines and The Pepsi Can Light Stick, which won awards at contests like the Asia-Pacific Tambuli Awards and the Kidlat Awards.

As the agency’s ambassador, Dela Rosa has taken an active part in a variety of competitions, including New Stars 2023 and the Young Lions competition sponsored by the Philippine 4A. She was granted admission to the London International Awards Creative LIAisons program as one of the network’s emerging creative talents. She profited from one-on-one mentoring during this program from some of the world’s most brilliant creative minds.

Speaking about the promotion, Dela Rosa said, “BBDO Guerrero is a great place to grow as a creative. I’m very grateful for the trust, and excited to do more fun and meaningful work with our partners.”

Meanwhile, David Guerrero, creative chairman at BBDO Guerrero, said, “We are proud to see Mica develop her creative confidence over the years. She approaches work with authenticity and a unique perspective. She is a great collaborator and a joy to work with, and she has our full support as she achieves even greater things in her new role.” 

Manila, Philippines – Digital finance service Coins.ph has recently unveiled its plans to accelerate its global expansion efforts, eyeing to enter the Australian market in 2024.

This announcement comes after Coins.ph’s Australian arm successfully acquired an ‘AUSTRAC’ (Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre) Digital Currency Exchange registration required for providing cryptocurrency exchange services in Australia.

Furthermore, this strategic action emphasises the homegrown company’s commitment to broadening its reach internationally and bolstering the availability of regulated and compliant digital asset services.

This expansion also marks a significant milestone in the company’s global journey, as the service will be catering to the growing Australian crypto market, as well as to Filipinos who are overseas in Australia, who can now look forward to a more connected financial experience that bridges their lives down under with their roots in the Philippines.

Talking about these expansion plans, Wei Zhou, CEO of Coins.ph, commented, “Coins.ph is primed for global expansion. Our journey began nearly a decade ago in the Philippines and since then, we’ve onboarded 18 million customers and expanded our services in both the digital asset exchange business and in e-wallet services.”

“Our team has top-tier talents with global experience in this industry. We’re thrilled to bring these capabilities to new markets.” he added.

Singapore – Telecommunications company Ericsson has announced the appointment of Daniel Ode as head of Ericsson for Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines and head of global customer unit for Singtel Group in Southeast Asia, Oceania & India.

In his new role, Ode will be responsible for driving Ericsson’s business and overseeing the company’s operations in these markets, and will be a member of the regional executive leadership team of Ericsson Southeast Asia, Oceania and India.

Prior to this appointment, Ode has been with Ericsson for more than 17 years and was serving as the acting head of customer unit for Northern and Central Europe, and head of GCU Telia Company. 

In these roles, Ode was leading Ericsson’s business with Telia Company in the Nordics and Baltics. He was driving the company’s business and operations towards Telia Company while managing this strategic partnership for the company.

With a wealth of experience in the telecommunications industry, Ode brings his knowledge and expertise to the new role with a diverse background that includes both international experience and a history of entrepreneurship, as he had once run his own entrepreneurial venture prior to his career in Ericsson. 

Commenting on his appointment, Ode said, “I am delighted to take on the role of leading our talented teams in Singapore, Brunei and Philippines and working with our customers in these markets to ensure that they stay at the forefront of 5G developments. We will leverage Ericsson’s technology leadership to contribute to the technological advancement and economic growth of these markets.”

Meanwhile, Nunzio Mirtillo, head of Ericsson Southeast Asia, Oceania and India, commented, “With his extensive experience of working in the telecom industry with Ericsson, I am confident that Daniel, together with his team, will continue to deliver on our commitment to support the Singtel Group and partner with service providers in Singapore, Brunei and Philippines towards delivering the full benefits of connectivity to customers and enterprises.”

Manila, Philippines – Local telecommunications company PLDT and its wireless unit Smart Communications recently partnered with the Philippines Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture (PPSA) to roll out a digital upskilling learning session for Filipino cooperatives (coops), MSMEs, and local entrepreneurs.

Under their digital upskilling-to-e-commerce program dubbed ‘eBiznovation’, PLDT, Smart, and PPSA provide local entrepreneurs, including those in the agriculture and fishery sector, with the right digital tools to help them grow their businesses online.

During the session, participating coops and MSMEs learned about effective strategies for boosting online presence, creating engaging content, and capturing an online market and turning them into loyal customers using basic social media platforms.

Apart from digital upskilling, PLDT and Smart also offer fundamental cybersecurity learning sessions for coops and MSMEs to ensure a safe and secure online business environment for all.

As part of these efforts, the group also recently supported the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and conducted a learning session among Laguna-based MSMEs on how to protect themselves and their businesses against fraud both offline and online.

Talking about these initiatives, Stephanie Orlino, AVP and head of stakeholder management team at PLDT and Smart, said, “In this rapidly evolving digital world, learning the fundamentals of digital marketing unlocks plenty of livelihood opportunities. Through eBiznovation, we aim to assist small-and medium-scale local enterprises in navigating the digital space efficiently and safely, and eventually help them boost their income.”

Meanwhile, Ma. Angela Primitiva Bautista, country director of PPSA, commented, “PPSA collaborates with a network of different stakeholders across the agricultural value chain to attain inclusive and sustainable agriculture in the Philippines. Through this particular initiative with PLDT and Smart, we aim to accelerate the adoption of digital innovations and ICT solutions and interventions across the agri-fisheries sector.”

Singapore – As we step into the promising realm of 2024, the marketing landscape in Southeast Asia is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by evolving consumer behaviours, technological advancements, and dynamic market trends. In this era of unprecedented connectivity and digitalisation, businesses are challenged to adapt swiftly to stay relevant and competitive. The region, known for its diverse cultures, rapidly growing economies, and technological adoption, is poised to witness groundbreaking shifts in marketing strategies. 

From embracing digital advancements to fostering sustainability and social responsibility, brands that proactively respond to the changing needs and expectations of consumers will be well-positioned for success in this dynamic region. The journey ahead promises challenges, but for those ready to seize the opportunities, the marketing landscape in Southeast Asia in 2024 holds immense potential for growth and impact.

To provide brands and marketers with the most up-to-date knowledge, best practices, and resources to ready themselves for the forthcoming industry trends and forecasts, MARKETECH APAC’s upcoming “What’s NEXT 2024” conferences has officially announced added details regarding its initial roster of speakers, as well as opportunities for both sponsors and attendees.

Its first conference for the year will be held in Singapore on March 7, 2024 at the Furama City Centre. Attendees of the What’s NEXT 2024: Marketing in Singapore one-day conference will be able to learn more about discussions and insights from these marketing leaders on topics revolving around AI, digital advertising, customer engagement, e-commerce, and customer experience. The initial lineup of speakers includes:

  • Jaslyin Qiyu, SVP, Head of Client Marketing and Digital Capabilities at Citi Singapore
  • Ronnie Brown, Chief Marketing & Distribution Officer at DirectAsia Singapore
  • Sulin Lau, Regional Head of Marketing and Brand for Deliveries, Mobility, Fintech & B2B at Grab
  • Jenny Tang, Head, Digital Marketing at Singapore Management University
  • Sophia Ong, Group Communications and Corporate Marketing at Singapore Post

Meanwhile, the next leg of the conference, What’s NEXT 2024: Marketing in the Philippines, will be held from March 19 to 20 at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria. Aside from the topics that will be covered in the Singapore conference, attendees for this two-day conference in the Philippines will also be learning insights regarding consumer insights, branding, and influencer marketing. The initial lineup of speakers includes:

  • Katrina Gonzalez, Global Marketing Director at Coins.ph
  • Benjamin Quiroga-Rivera, managing director, APAC at Emma Sleep
  • Greg Anonas, Marketing Director at Emperador Distillers, Inc.
  • Denice Sy, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at Ever Bilena Cosmetics Inc.
  • Rochelle Vandenberghe, Chief Marketing and Digital Business Officer at FWD Insurance
  • Raymund Villanueva, Chief Marketing Officer at GoTyme Bank

This follows the successful hosting of the What’s Next 2023: Marketing in Malaysia hybrid conference in the Philippines on December 5, 2023 at the Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur. The conference was attended by more than 200 in-person attendees and more than 100 virtual attendees including a diverse pool of Malaysian and international brands and agencies.

To learn how to be a part of this conference, click HERE for details on the Singapore conference, and HERE for details on the Philippine conference.

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Joven Barceñas at [email protected]. Meanwhile, please contact Katherine Sy at [email protected] for speaking opportunities; and Jizelle Barceñas at [email protected] for registrations.

Manila, Philippines – The merger between the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Robinsons Bank has officially been approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines, and officially took effect on 1 January. Through this merger, BPI will be the existing entity.

It is worth noting that the country’s Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) first approved the merger in September 2023. Then the country’s central bank (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) approved the merger on December 2023.

“The proposed merger will unlock various synergies across several products and service platforms, expand the customer and deposit base of both banks through the merged entity, and, at the same time, by capitalizing on BPI’s expertise and network, enhance the overall banking experience of RBC customers,” the parties stated in their stock filing for the merger.

It is also worth noting that BPI will now have indirect control with Legazpi Savings Bank, accounting for a 99.93% stake control. BPI is also an indirect owner of GoTyme Bank (18%) and Unicon Insurance Brokers Corp. (17.13%).

BPI has also stated that it will be able to expand its client base, accelerate growth, and ultimately increase shareholder value through partnerships with the Gokongwei Group.

The announcement adds to a series of proposed and completed bank mergers in the country, including the acquisition of Citi’s local consumer banking business by UnionBank, as well as the proposed merger of the country’s two state banks–LandBank and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

Manila, Philippines – Luxury fashion brand Prada has been recently reported to have entered a joint venture with Philippine luxury retailer SSI Group’s Stores Specialists, Inc., forming a new company in the process for Prada’s expansion in the Philippines. 

Prada’s new company with SSI Group, labelled as Prada Philippines Inc., will own all Prada stores in the Philippines with expectations to accelerate the brand’s growth in the market. 

The joint venture also seeks to enable operating efficiencies, as SSI and Prada transition from a franchisee-franchisor relationship to joint venture partners. The expansion also follows Prada’s higher sales performance seen in its Asian markets. 

Notably, SSI’s initial investment in the joint venture is PHP16.67m, whilst Prada’s initial investment is PHP25m. At completion, SSI’s total investment in Prada Philippines will be PHP152m, while Prada’s total investment in the joint venture will be PHP228m.

In terms of ownership, Prada S.p.A. owns 60% of Prada Philippines Inc., whilst SSI Group owns 40%. 

Prada Philippines Inc. is expected to commence operations on January 1, 2024, effectively taking over operations throughout all Philippine PRADA outlets.