DTI Sydney holds TNK webinar on real estate investments for overseas Filipino investors

 

 

DTI Sydney holds TNK webinar on real estate investments for overseas Filipino investors

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA —The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Sydney, DTI’s overseas office in Australia, held a webinar on real estate investment opportunities last August 13 as part of its Trabaho, Negosyo, Kabuhayan (TNK) webinar series to help overseas Filipinos investors (OFIs).

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, we have organized five webinars covering topics such as franchising, trademark registration, stock market investing, budgeting techniques, saving and other investment opportunities,” PTIC Sydney Commercial Consul Alma Argayoso said.

Speakers from Arthaland Corporation, Ayala Land International, Megaworld International and COL Investment Management Inc. shared how the Philippine real estate industry coped amid the pandemic and discussed its challenges and prospects.

Mr. Manuel Arbues II, Ayala Land’s Regional Head for Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa, shared that the COVID-19 restrictions initially affected their sales but the business recovered by June to July when community quarantine restrictions were eased. This was a positive development despite widespread unemployment, drop in overseas remittances and the repatriation of over 100,000 overseas Filipinos.

Arbues also noted that the unprecedented remote working situation highlighted the advantages of large scale, integrated, mixed-use and sustainable communities. He also pointed out that information technology, infrastructure, communication and e-commerce are essential to thrive in the new normal.

The webinar also discussed the Philippines’ first Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), the Ayala Land Real Estate Investment Trust (AREIT), from the basics of REITs to the benefits and risks of buying REIT shares.

COL Financial Investment Management Inc.’s President and Chief Information Officer, Mr. Marvin Fausto, discussed how a REIT or a company that owns and manages income-generating assets or real estate property such as apartments, offices, malls, warehouses and hotels, is often considered a more affordable and attractive form of investment. He explained that this is because a REIT typically offers higher yields and stable income, despite coming with some risks.

Even though Ayala’s REIT share price fell on its debut listing, Fausto shared that REIT is a positive development in the country and believes that there are more real estate companies interested to list their own REITs.

“This is a good opportunity for investors, particularly the retail investors who cannot afford a large amount to invest in a real property, but can generate the comparative yield and return by just buying REIT shares,” Fausto said.

“REITs can be used to diversify one’s portfolio. It has been proven historically in other parts of the world that REIT investors, over the long term, can get a very good yield above the normal interest rates,” he added.

PTIC Sydney partnered with the Australia Philippines Business Council (APBC), and the Philippine Consulates General (PCG) in Sydney and in Melbourne in this fifth instalment of the TNK webinar series.

PCG Sydney’s Consul General Ezzedin Tago commended the timeliness of the initiative in this period of pandemic, while PCG Melbourne’s Acting Consul General Anthony Mandap observed that real estate investment in the Philippines is intimately connected with income, the economy, peace and order, and the political climate, as well foreign relations, travel regulations, and dual citizenship.

PTIC Sydney concluded the webinar by inviting participants to attend upcoming online trainings such as the APBC’s webinar on updates on the Philippine economy and key PH-AU business insights. PTIC Sydney’s upcoming webinars will also tackle franchising, agribusiness and regional investment opportunities.

The TNK is an initiative of the DTI in partnership with other government agencies, private sector, academe and civil society organizations, to increase incomes by generating more jobs and promoting entrepreneurship. The program aims to popularize entrepreneurship as an alternative to unemployment, job-seeking or migration.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Mr. Ramon Ramajo, Marketing Director Sales Asia-Pacific 3, Megaworld International Mr. Eduardo Alcordo, President, Australia Philippines Business Council (APBC); Ms. Alma F. Argayoso, Consul Commercial, PTIC Sydney; and Mr. Oliver Chan, Senior Vice President, Arthaland Corporation

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Ms. Alma F. Argayoso, Consul Commercial, PTIC Sydney; Mr. Eduardo Alcordo, President, Australia Philippines Business Council (APBC); Mr. Anthony Mandap, Deputy Consul General, Philippine Consulate General Melbourne and Mr. Manuel Arbues II, Regional Head of Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Ayala Land International Sales

 

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Under community quarantine, DTI continues Diskwento Caravan

To continue providing affordable basic goods to the public in the midst of the COVID19 pandemic, the Department of Trade and Industry’s Consumer Protection Group (DTI-CPG) started conducting another series of Diskwento Caravan in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The Diskwento Caravan (DC) is a DTI initiative in partnership with the manufacturers and distributors of basic necessities and prime commodities, which aims to provide reasonably-priced quality products to the consumers. These food products are priced lower than their suggested retail prices and sometimes are being sold in packs, which provides savings to consumers.

Starting last April, during the enhanced community quarantine, the DTI successfully conducted twenty-one (21) caravans, which benefited a total of 6,797 households in Navotas City, Taguig City, Pasay City, Mandaluyong City, Malabon City, Caloocan City, Pasig City, Muntinlupa City, Parañaque City, Las Piñas City, San Juan City, Cavite, San Mateo Rizal, and Pateros. In total, the DTI visited and served thirty-nine (39) Barangays located in the abovementioned areas from April – June. Consumers were able to purchase low-priced bread, canned sardines, canned meat, instant noodles, bottled water, condiments (vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce), coffee, powdered milk, etc.

The DTI gathered some testimonials from the consumers during the conduct of Diskwento Caravan.

“Malaking tulong itong program na ito dahil mas afford namin ang paninda dito at mas makukuha naming ang mga pangangailangan ng mga anak namin sa pang araw araw. Sana sa buong Pasay magkaron nito.” – Dolor B. Manlapas

“Malaking bagay po itong proyekto ng DTI na ito lalo na ngayong krisis dahil mura po ang mga bilihin.” – Louise Garica

Napakalaking bagay ng Diskwento Caravan ng DTI dahil hindi na namin kailangan gumising na maaga para pumunta sa palengke. Dito sa caravan sa katabing Barangay, mas mura pa ang mga bilihin. – Ron Valderama

“Malaking tulong po ang Diskwento dahil sa convenient po ito para sa amin dahil hindi na naming kailangan bumyahe ng malayo para makabili ng mga bilihin.” – Anna Marie

For this month, the DTI Consumer Policy and Advocacy Bureau, as the Bureau in charge of organizing caravans in NCR, in partnership with the Local Government Units, will conduct the said caravan in the following areas from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

Location

Date

Brgy. Talon 5 Covered Court Las Piñas City

19 August 2020

Phase 1 Covered Court, Brgy. 176, North Caloocan City

19 August 2020

Consumers are advised to visit the DTI Consumer Care social media accounts for the succeeding schedules of the said caravan in NCR and for other updates.

“The DTI extends its appreciation to the manufacturers, retailers, and the LGUs for their cooperation and efforts so we could bring the Caravan to the consumers and provide them access to basic necessities and prime commodities, the products that they use daily, at discounted prices, while they are heavily affected by the community quarantine”, says DTI Consumer Protection Group Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo.

The DTI, through its Regional and Provincial offices, also conduct the Diskwento Caravan to ensure consumers’ access to low-priced goods, especially in these trying times.

To report establishments that sell basic necessities and prime commodities beyond their suggested retail prices, consumers may call the One-DTI (1-384) Hotline or send an email to ConsumerCare@dti.gov.ph.To check the latest SRPs of BNPCs, consumers may visit this link https://www.dti.gov.ph/konsyumer/latest-srps-basic-necessities-prime-commodities/. END

Towards the digital “next normal,” PH Gov’t partners with PayMaya 

for an improved payment system on PCAB’s online transactions  

 PayMaya Philippines, Inc. is now an official partner in automating the transactions of the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB), particularly its pilot on online contractor’s license renewal portal (pcabgovph.com) that serves around 15,000 contractors all over the country.  The service of PayMaya is an additional digital payment option for contractors aside from the existing Land Bank LinkBiz Portal.

 The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed by the Department of Trade and Industry, PayMaya, Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), and Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) authorizes PayMaya to be a digital collecting agent for the services of Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP) starting with the PCAB Online license renewal. 

 

 

 

With this integration with PayMaya, users will have a more convenient payment option since they will now be allowed to pay within the PCAB website for license renewal itself, using credit, debit, and prepaid cards as well as with their PayMaya-registered mobile number. Upon PayMaya’s collection of the renewal fees from the contractors, Land Bank of the Philippines will serve as the settlement bank, which will then remit the payments to the Bureau of the Treasury.

“At PayMaya, we have always been supportive of the government’s continued pursuit of providing efficient, transparent, and accessible services to the public with the help of digital payments. We are delighted to assist DTI-CIAP in their digital transformation journey, enabling them to offer much-need services to various industry stakeholders as well as allowing Filipino contractors to transact safely and conveniently from their homes, especially in light of our current public health situation,” said PayMaya Founder and CEO Orlando B. Vea.

PCAB, with the assistance from USAID DELIVER Project, has successfully integrated an end-to-end digital payment system for the said online renewal facility to further promote efficiency in the license renewal process.

“The service of PayMaya is a welcome digital payment option for contractors. We are happy to continue pursuing modern services for the benefit of our industry stakeholders, as we can help them reallocate their time from applying licenses and permits to growing their businesses thus paving more avenues for job creation,” DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said.

In the recent State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Rodrigo Duterte underscored his call to simplify processes for government transactions in line with the pandemic situation as well as the ease-of-doing-business in the country. “I reiterate my call for all government instrumentalities to implement systems that shall make physical queuing a thing of the past,” President Duterte said.

“This initiative, and the online renewal platform system, manifest the commitment of the national government to lead the way in digital transformation and compliance with the Ease of Doing Business Law.” DTI Sec. Lopez added.

A move to modernize services towards economic development

CIAP Alternate Chairman and DTI Undersecretary Ireneo Vizmonte proudly announced that “this MOA complements the effort of CIAP in modernizing its services as we have committed last January 8 this year, together with the PCA and all relevant stakeholders, to work on 30 action plans for the next 10 years.”

The 30 action plans were set to realize the full economic and employment potential of the construction industry and achieve the government’s vision declared in the Philippine Construction Industry Roadmap 2020-2030: Global Partners in Building Nations. “One important action agenda is the modernization of the services across the whole organizational umbrella of the DTI-CIAP, and a large part of that is the simplification and automation of contractor’s license applications,” Vizmonte added.

“[This] is a momentous event as we formally launch our partnership between the online renewal system application with PCAB and PayMaya. This online platform of PCAB was only developed in four weeks’ time as the urgency of finding alternative mechanisms for the efficient delivery of services, despite the pandemic we are all experiencing, is of primary importance,” said PCAB Chairman Dr. Pericles Dakay in his MOA signing speech. “Working with the kind assistance and the generosity of the USAID-DELIVER Project, we are able to design an operational system for license renewal applications which went live last June 2, 2020,” he added.

Since its launching, there have been 8950 sign ups, signaling that the PCAB Online Renewal Portal has gained traction and support from the contractors. As of August 7, PCAB has renewed and released around 5,000 digital contractors’ licenses out of 5,593 online submissions.

The Philippine Contractors Association (PCA), PCAB’s long-time private sector collaborator, voiced their support on this endeavor as they commit to continue working with the government in improving business transactions through online systems that harness e-commerce like PCAB’s online contractor’s license renewal portal.

“Every partnership is monumental. Our members are happy with this and challenge us to deliver even better. It is always rewarding to see how we create solutions together, as we shift from the usual or conventional to convenient way of making transactions,” PCA President Wilfredo Dacena said. “PCA will continue to work with the government to make the industry stronger. We keep looking forward to the continued partnership especially as we work together in emerging from this crisis,” he added.

The whole PCAB licensing system is still undergoing a continuous process of improvement. “Our resolve is to work with our stakeholders, as we continue reviewing and developing better systems covering all our other transactions, to cater and benefit all contractors,” assured Executive Director, Atty. Herbert DG. Matienzo.

More e-payment options will be integrated and made available soon for faster and more convenient transactions as DTI-CIAP, PCAB, and USAID continue working to improve the system and collaborating for the future automations of other transactions such as new applications for license, upgrading of license category, consortium and joint venture applications.

CIAP is an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry. (END)

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PCAB released 5,000 digitally renewed licenses through

PCAB Online Renewal Portal

“This entire situation and experience reminds me of the great philosopher Socrates who once said that ‘The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new’ I must say this best describes how we are able to rise up to the challenges of this pandemic, of course, our digitization has a long way to go but we will get there,” the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) Chairman Pericles Dakay noted as they released 5,000 digitally renewed licenses out of 5,593 online submissions as of August 7, 2020.

“Working with the kind assistance and the generosity of the USAID-DELIVER Project, we are able to design an operational system for license renewal applications, which went live last June 3, 2020,” Chairman Dakay added.

 

 

 

In a month’s time, PCAB, together with its partners and construction consultants, and with the IT and technical support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), revisited the Contractor’s License Law (RA 4566) and conducted comparative analysis and benchmarking of licensing international best practices.

As key outcomes, the PCAB Online Renewal Portal was developed, and pertinent documentary requirements were relaxed and reduced from 24 to just nine (9) digital submissions. These are done not only as a COVID 19 response, but as a move to further automate PCAB’s transactions. The initiative’s core objective is to advance the ease-of-doing-business for the construction industry that contributes about 17% of the country’s GDP based on the 2019 statistics and creates a multiplier effect in the economy particularly in job creation—one of the most crucial components of the Administration’s economic recovery plan.

“We focus on building something from scratch while forging partnerships with our companies that also aim to provide the best services possible. I am optimistic that this is just the start of better and greater things to happen and that we will continuously change via creative and innovative disruption,” said Chairman Dakay.

Improving the system, more payment options

On August 7, 2020, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) with PayMaya, Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), and Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) to authorize PayMaya as an additional digital collecting agent for the services of CIAP, specifically starting with the PCAB Online license renewal. With this integration with PayMaya, users will have a more convenient payment option since they will now be allowed to use credit, debit, and prepaid cards as well as their PayMaya-registered mobile number for payment.

“This is the first time that PCAB is embarking onto automating its decades old processes, and this is a learning experience for the rest of us here. We immediately convened to plan and improve payment options that is why we have engaged more partners in the process such as the Bureau of the Treasury and the PayMaya,” PCAB Executive Director Herbert E.D. Matienzo said.

Currently PCAB has 8950 registered contractors in the system that is about 59% of the estimated 15,000 PCAB-licensed contractors up for renewal by the end of July. Since the PayMaya and 7/11 ECpay channels were made available, the number of payments also increased to 5,654 from 104 renewal applications during its first week in June.

This effort is pursuant to the vision of the Philippine Construction Industry Roadmap 2020-2030—that is to have a construction industry equipped with efficient, modern, and digital technologies, founded on a culture of integrity, professionalism, and innovation. The 30 action items identified in the Roadmap for the Construction Industry of the Philippines (CIAP-PCAB) aim to modernize its services in compliance with Ease of Doing Business Law.

The Philippine Contractors Association (PCA), PCAB’s long-time private sector collaborator, voiced their support on this endeavor as they commit to continue working with the government in improving business transactions through online systems that harness e-commerce like PCAB’s online contractor’s license renewal portal.

“Every partnership is monumental. Our members are happy with this and challenge us to deliver even better. It is always rewarding to see how we create solutions together, as we shift from the usual or conventional to convenient way of making transactions,” PCA President Wilfredo Dacena said. “PCA will continue to work with the government to make the industry stronger. We keep looking forward to the continued partnership especially as we work together in emerging from this crisis,” he added.

Contractor’s License Renewal extended until September 2020

PCAB still encourages contractors to renew using the PCAB Online Renewal Portal even until the end of September 2020 without any penalty. However, it should be noted that those who fail to accomplish their renewal will not be given a license to continue operating until they complete the renewal process.

“We also thank REID Foundation, who’s always with us in crafting our construction industry roadmap. PCAB would like to also acknowledge that the fast pace of the development of the portal would not have been possible without the collaborative dialogue with private sector partners, most especially, the Philippine Constructors Association (PCA),” PCAB Executive Director Matienzo said.

More e-payment options will be made available soon for faster and more convenient transactions as PCAB and USAID continue working to improve the system and collaborate for the future automations of other transactions such as new applications for license, upgrading of license category, and consortium and joint venture applications.

CIAP is an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry. (END)