Wednesday, December 31, 2008

New tourism niche rises in med education sector

Updated August 08, 2008 12:00 AM

Aside from the increasing influx of foreign travelers, foreign students who are enrolling in Cebu’s prestigious universities are also coming in numbers, which is bringing in a different segment in the tourism sector dubbed as “educational tourism.”

Cebu Doctor’s University vice-president for Administration Engr. Oscar A. Tuason said in an interview that they have been noticing a growth of foreign students in their school in these past school years.

He said that the need for these foreign students to study in universities here in the country is the result of economic boom in their respective countries.

Right now, Koreans, Indians as well as Iranians and Nepali students have been growing in number taking up medical courses such as nursing, dentistry, physical therapy and medicine in Cebu’s medical schools.

Tuason explained that in Korea, medical graduates only have three years of tertiary education, which makes them unqualified to be accepted in the United States so there is a need to pursue further studies.

And since the Philippines have a cheaper cost for getting additional units, most of these Koreans are coming over.

After a Korean medical student fulfills the units required by his or her course curriculum, they are awarded with diplomas that can be honored for practice in the US, said Tuason.

Indians on the other hand are having a so-called wellness boom in their country so the demand for medical practitioners are just as high.

Tuason said that as for Cebu Doctor’s University, they have been closely working with four international travel agencies to bring in Indian students to Cebu.

He said that these travel agencies based in Hong Kong and Singapore has already brought in big groups of around 150 to 200 Indians in Cebu.

Before starting with their education and training, these foreign students are recommended to learn English for a maximum of six months as the methods of teaching here in Cebu is in the English language.

Tuason shared that educational tourism is a big segment in our tourism industry as students stay in the country for a long time and spends their money to buy local products and services which goes back to the economy.

The influx of foreign students has also increased the profit margins for the hospitality industry and even for small time apartment owners as these students who usually come to the country in bulk needs a place to stay for a long period of time all throughout their schooling. – Rhia de Pablo

For comments, rejoinders you want to share or inquire, or learn more about Cebu Real Estate Industry, Call..

Realtor SAMUEL LAO, REBL#1341
PAREB-Cebu Realtor's Board Inc. (2nd VP Elect,2009)
RealtyOPTIONS Marketing & Consultancy Inc.- President/CEO
Tel Nos: (+63 32) 5166194 / 2550374
Mobile: (+63 918) 9236123 / 0922.8236123

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Real estate newbie bullish about “signature projects”

Updated August 29, 2008 12:00 AM

Eyeing the increasing remittances of overseas Filipino workers, a new player in Cebu’s dynamic real estate business sector is bullish in creating “signature projects” that would address the ever-changing market demands.

Paramount Property Ventures Inc., this four-year old real estate developer that spun off from a mining business is now looking at aggressively intensifying their position in Cebu’s real estate sector with a new project that embodies a new concept dubbed as “smart living.”

PPVI president Abelardo Cañedo, Jr. said that their current waterfront community project in Tulay, Minglanilla called Fonte di Versailles features the industry’s one-of-a-kind smart living concept that provides a lifestyle and wellness living that answers the demands of the market at the same time providing convenience to their buyers.

With its Italian architectural theme, Fonte di Versailles exemplifies the principles of “ergonomics” in its floor plans, house designs and features taking into consideration the human factor of a home.

The development has four house models that include the formal Italian Renaissance Alessandra, and the three Italian-Mediterranean architectural model houses Delanna, Isabella and Gianina with prices that range from P6.8 million to P14.9 million.

After its construction kicked-off in the first quarter of this year, Fonte di Versailles is now undergoing massive land development and is targeted to be completed in the first quarter of next year.

The company’s business development consultant and sales and marketing head Boler L. Binamira, Jr. said that their units have escalated its pricing since they initially opened in June. Their Alessandra model for instance has increased from an initial pricing of P9 million to P14. 9 million and its recommended value has reached to around P20 million already.

Although still a young company in Cebu’s dynamic real estate industry, Paramount Property Ventures believes that with the uniqueness of their projects, they can survive the growing competition as they are already at par with major players.

“Real estate in Cebu is anchored on experience. The company may be new but the people working here have ample experience in the real estate industry. We are not bothered with competition. We may be new but we are already directly competing with big and major players in the industry,” said Binamira.

He said that the real estate sector is now in an upswing trend as OFW remittances are continually increasing amidst the slowdown in the global market, recessions and the rising cost of living. —Rhia de Pablo


For comments, rejoinders you want to share or inquire, or learn more about Cebu Real Estate Industry, Call..

Realtor SAMUEL LAO, REBL#1341
PAREB-Cebu Realtor's Board Inc. (2nd VP Elect,2009)
RealtyOPTIONS Marketing & Consultancy Inc.- President/CEO
Tel Nos: (+63 32) 5166194 / 2550374
Mobile: (+63 918) 9236123 / 0922.8236123

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Cebu real estate boom swells realtors’ profits

Updated August 16, 2008 12:00 AM

Due to Cebu’s evident boom in the real estate sector with several ongoing housing developments in the area, realtors are reaping positive prospects as they have more properties to sell thus increasing their profit margins.

In an interview with Gerry B. Yangyang, president of the Association of Realtors Board Inc.-Cebu Realtors Board Inc. (PAREB- CEREB), he shared their association’s confidence with Cebu’s booming real estate sector.

Yangyang said that as compared to five or 10 years ago, Cebu’s real estate sector has already gone a long way as now more new and big players have already joined the ball game.

He said that although there have been emergence of several competition offering different housing types; there are still plenty of room to capture the ever growing and evolving market.

“Its very different now because compared to before, there were not as many developers yet but now there are new developers and the sector is in a state of boom. There are also more buyers now as the demand is very great for real estate these days,” he stressed.

He said that in the country as a whole, it has been reported by a public sector agency that there is still around three to five million backlog of houses and this statistics reflects the big market that is waiting to be tapped.

Since they earn by commissions, Yangyang sees the upsurge of Cebu’s real estate industry as an opportunity for realtors to receive higher income.

As a standard rate, realtors receive commissions from real estate developers of up to five percent to as high as eight percent depending upon the discretion of a particular company.

“The boom in the real estate helped realtors individually to gain higher sales and profits thus by generating increase of income,” he said.

With the continuous boom in the sector Yangyang believes that the unprecedented surge in the country’s inflation will not inadvertently cause a downtrend in their sales but instead it will not hinder developers to further pursue more projects in turn providing more opportunities for them.

“The increasing prices of oil and the prices for construction materials has affected the pricing of units but although this has decreased the affordability of buyers, its effects are just minimal and we believe that economic fundamentals will stabilize in time,” Yangyang pointed out.

And despite these minimal effects brought about by inflation, the number of housing buyers have not decreased which still showed the market’s bullishness with the real estate industry,” he said.

Yangyang also noted the impact of the continuous overflow of careers and job opportunities in Cebu which he said could have attributed to this positive outcome.

“Because of the presence of many job opportunities, prospective buyers right now are still able to produce income that enables them to afford a particular housing investment,” he said.

PAREB- CEREB has been established in the 1960s and right now the organization is composed of about 180 members.

They recently organized their First Cebu Real Estate Expo 2008 at SM City Cebu featuring top local real estate companies such as the AboitizLand Inc., Taft Property Ventures, Club Ultima, Pacific Land Ventures, Maria Luisa Properties, MSY Holdings, Corp. Eastland Property Ventures Inc., Camella Communities, as well as developers composed of Geo-Estate Land Development Corp, Syntech Properties, Nexland Ventures Estate, Anita’s Subdivision, and among others.

For comments, rejoinders you want to share or inquire, or learn more about Cebu Real Estate Industry, Call..

Realtor SAMUEL LAO, REBL#1341
PAREB-Cebu Realtor's Board Inc. (2nd VP Elect,2009)
RealtyOPTIONS Marketing & Consultancy Inc.- President/CEO
Tel Nos: (+63 32) 5166194 / 2550374
Mobile: (+63 918) 9236123 / 0922.8236123

www.laosamuel.com
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OFW remittances keep real estate sector afloat

By Rhia De Pablo Updated October 18, 2008 12:00 AM

Despite the worsening credit crisis, the real estate industry continues to thrive due to the continuous flow of remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers.

Boler Binamira, consultant for business development and sales and marketing head of Paramount Property Ventures said that having examined the macroeconomic factors of the impact of the global economy to the country’s economy, they have noted that there has been a lift in the sectors of business process outsourcing (BPO), real estate and agriculture.

He said that although some sectors have experienced slowdown such as the manufacturing and services sector, true gains have been achieved by some sectors, of which real estate is one.

He said that the sector, which continues to depend largely on the OFW remittances for growth, retains positive projections despite the global crisis.

“Surprisingly, the real estate trend continues to be bullish now as OFW remittances continue to increase,” he said.

Despite claims by economists that OFWs are now holding on to their money and delaying their purchase of real estate investments due to fears of the effects of the global crisis, OFW remittances continue to flow in and is expected to further grow even bigger than what the Central Bank projected.

He said that if we examine closer, only 10 percent of the entire OFW population deployed abroad are directly and adversely affected by the US recession and these are Filipinos working in financial institutions.

He said that majority of our OFWs are employed in the medical and professional fields so despite the crisis, remittances will remain stable.

He said that Central Bank reported that 30 percent of OFW remittances are targeted to be invested in real estate investments.

Binamira said that they expect that OFW remittances will grow at around 10 percent more than last year’s $14.4 billion.

He said that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) projected that the country will generate $15.5 billion OFW remittances while Central Bank projected around $15.9 billion.

And as of August this year, the remittances have already reached $10.9 billion, which shows how realistic these previous projections were, he said.

The continued soar of the country’s OFW remittances prompted Paramount Property Ventures to decide on undertaking a major high-end real estate development project called Fonte di Versailles which targets the OFW market.

Fonte di Versailles which is composed of about 300 units on a nine hectare lot located in Minglanilla is now under its pre-development selling stage.

It is a beachfront community which features smart living concept, the first of its kind in the province that merges the science of ergonomics with Italian-inspired aesthetic.

With units ranging from P6.8 million to P14.9 million, Fonte di Versailles is now 10 percent sold after aggressive marketing kicked off in June.

“Real estate is not an insulated industry. It is propelled by the growth of OFW remittances as well as other sectors such as the rise in BPOs and also the lower interest rates offered by banks and financing institutions. All these factors keep the sector and companies like ours bullish in developing value for money real estate developments,” he said.


For comments, rejoinders you want to share or inquire, or learn more about Cebu Real Estate Industry, Call..

Realtor SAMUEL LAO, REBL#1341
PAREB-Cebu Realtor's Board Inc. (2nd VP Elect,2009)
RealtyOPTIONS Marketing & Consultancy Inc.- President/CEO
Tel Nos: (+63 32) 5166194 / 2550374
Mobile: (+63 918) 9236123 / 0922.8236123

www.laosamuel.com
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Real estate sector reaping benefits from the crisis

By Rhia de Pablo Updated December 05, 2008 12:00 AM

The real estate industry shows a perfect contrast of the economic world as it continues to reap benefits from the global financial crisis while the latter continues to cloud over key business industries.

And as the real estate industry remains impermeable amidst the global financial crunch proving to be the safest investment during the tough times, property developer 8990 Housing Development Corp. keeps its optimism with new developments and expansion plans lined up for next year.

8990 Housing Development Corp. chairman and president JJ Atencio said the housing sector in the country will continue to be strong especially for the low cost housing segment next year.

“The crisis that we are facing now started from the housing finance sector due to speculations but our products are not speculative because it’s affordable and we cater to a “need” market. People buy from us because they need a house and are tired of renting,” said Atencio.

He pointed out that another reason they remain bullish of the industry is that even if we are currently facing financial difficulties, the people in Cebu continues to be employed and enjoy government-funded projects.

“There are a lot of developments happening in Cebu and housing is a mere result of these positive developments,” he added.

He said that 2008 has been a good year for their company and he projects that by yearend, they will be able to achieve a “reputable marginal gain” of 16. 7 percent over last year’s sales.

And to show their appreciation to their valued clientele, the company is currently giving a Christmas promo that allows their homebuyers that have been behind their payments to start clean next year and update their accounts.

The Christmas promo waives penalties acquired by homebuyers that were not able to pay their arrears and also provide incentive of 50 percent discount in the monthly amortization for those homebuyers who have religiously paid on time, said Atencio.

The company also give P200 peso gift certificate outright for every P4,000 paid for delayed amortization.

Atencio said that the Christmas promo that will end until December 23 will be a prelude to a bigger promo next year so they urge their homeowners to consider the promo seriously.

“We are doing it because it’s the Christmas season and we like to show our appreciation to our home owners who gave their trust and confidence to Deca Homes,” said Atencio.

He said that they are also doing this promo because next year the industry will be facing issues on the sustainability of the Pag-Ibig Fund and as its partner they want to help ensure that borrowers will be able to pay their monthly amortization which is the major source of the fund that could be used by new borrowers.

“The demand for housing remain strong so we will concentrate on making sure that we will have enough funds so that potential homeowners will be able to get their homes next year,” Atencio explained.

And still looking at a brighter year ahead in 2009, 8990 Housing Development Corp. will be undergoing two new projects in the first quarter.

The first project will be a seaside development in Talisay with about 900 units and around 1000 units in Mactan.

Atencio said that at the moment they have already acquired the lots for these new developments and are at the stage of completing the permits.

Aside from these new projects, 8990 Housing Corp. is also looking at expanding to a new territory in Iloilo for the first quartet of next year as they have already concluded negotiations for lots which they will buy before yearend.

8990 Housing Development Corp. is behind low cost housing projects such as Deca Homes Tungkil, Minglanilla, Deca Homes Tunghaan, Minglanilla, Deca Homes Mandaue, Mactan and Danao.

This year alone, the company successfully completed eight projects in Cebu and turned over 2, 000 units collectively in their main operations here in Cebu and in Davao.

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For comments, rejoinders you want to share or inquire, or learn more about Cebu Real Estate Industry, Call..

Realtor SAMUEL LAO, REBL#1341
PAREB-Cebu Realtor's Board Inc. (2nd VP Elect,2009)
RealtyOPTIONS Marketing & Consultancy Inc.- President/CEO
Tel Nos: (+63 32) 5166194 / 2550374
Mobile: (+63 918) 9236123 / 0922.8236123

www.laosamuel.com
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Boutique real estate firm thrives on niche projects

Updated November 28, 2008 12:00 AM

Despite the glooming effect of the current global financial crisis to some industries, a Cebu-based developer remains cautiously bullish with its prospects of serving untapped markets especially with the positive turnout of its high-end development in Banawa called Panorama.

Panorama is the current project of Marvel Communities Inc., a boutique real estate developer which has built and maintained highly differentiated communities here in Cebu for the last 15 years.

Marvel Communities managing director Martin L. Qua said they were able to easily dispose five units out of the 10 that were initially offered, without making so much effort on marketing and promotions.

Qua stressed that houses in Panorama boast of unique features that could be considered as a first-of-its-kind here in Cebu.

He said that Panorama will be the first full service residential community in the city wherein home owners will enjoy the same luxuries and benefits offered in condominium and hotel developments.

“Our houses will make one feel like living in a hotel with its loose density and it’s also like living in a condominium wherein full service features will be provided for such as maintaining the lawn, car washing, uniformed landscaping, repairs, and if the owners go abroad they can leave us their keys,” he explained.

Since the project features a contemporary tropical architecture, Panorama will be a first class resort community within the city as each home will have a feel of a five star resort.

Most homes will also have an open floor plan with integrated kitchen, living and dining areas that frame spectacular city, mountain or landscape views.

Qua said that they also offer free stylish architecture and interior design services that will be customized based on the tastes and preference of their home buyers.

“Each house will be distinct from the other and it will be like building their own house. We already have ready designs which they can choose from or integrate from their own preferred concepts. This development will be so niche because it will serve the specific needs and requirements of our clients,” Qua pointed out.

Another unique feature of Panorama is its ultra low density as Marvel Communities is looking at building only a few units in the property to preserve the exclusivity and huge free space of the community.

Panorama’s construction was started more than a year ago and its units are currently priced from P10 million to as high as P15 million.

However, Qua will not launch the project in public to control the phase of its development and keep the exclusivity of the community as well as maintain a low-key position in Cebu’s real estate industry.

Marvel Communities Inc. aims to make a mark in Cebu’s upscale development segment by creating very niche projects catered to specific needs of clients that could not be found in Cebu.

But Qua stressed that unlike other high-end developers in the industry, Marvel Communities strives to provide the kind of lifestyle that their client-base truly deserves that’s why they opened their budget for the project and tapped the best design team in the industry for Panorama.

The project was master planned by one of the top urban planners in the world; Palafox Associates, which is also behind the designs of projects such the Rockwell Center and the Mckinley Forbes Park redevelopment in Makati City; Punta Fuego resort community in Batangas, the Cebu Business Park, and the Northtown Homes among others.

“If you decide to go into high-end development, you should differentiate yourself from the rest and better make sure that you offer something more than the usual products offered by other developers,” said Qua.

Marvel Communities also recently completed the Banilad Villas, comprised of luxury residences with a contemporary tropical design located at a prime subdivision in Banilad.

They also developed the Banilad Place, Cebu’s first Mediterranean-inspired residential development designed by Architect Pablo Antonio Jr., a nationally acclaimed architect. —Rhia de Pablo

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For comments, rejoinders you want to share or inquire, or learn more about Cebu Real Estate Industry, Call..

Realtor SAMUEL LAO, REBL#1341
PAREB-Cebu Realtor's Board Inc. (2nd VP Elect,2009)
RealtyOPTIONS Marketing & Consultancy Inc.- President/CEO
Tel Nos: (+63 32) 5166194 / 2550374
Mobile: (+63 918) 9236123 / 0922.8236123

www.laosamuel.com
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2008 scores a milestone for Cebu's ICT industry

By Ehda M. Dagooc Updated December 29, 2008 12:00 AM

After almost a decade of toiling hard to place Cebu in the world’s Information Communications Technology (ICT) map, it was in 2008 that efforts finally paid off when Cebu was proclaimed as the world’s number one emerging global outsourcing destination.

"It's reaping time in 2008, after all the hard work we've done to make Cebu a legitimate ICT or BPO hub. It’s a reputation that will benefit the whole economy of Cebu in the long run," said Cebu Investments and Promotions Center (CIPC) managing director Joel Mari S. Yu.

In a survey conducted by Tholons, a reputable IT magazine, at the end of third quarter this year, Cebu ranked as the number one Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) site among 50 promising cities worldwide.

This development is regarded as the "greatest achievement" of the entire ICT industry in Cebu, wherein a strong collaboration between the government and the private sector was made as an example in pushing the ICT industry in the Philippines.

Since 2001, when Cebu City decided to shift into an IT destination rather than a manufacturing investment destination, the IT industry, has since continuously provided jobs that now reached 20,000 people.

Now, Cebu is the home of big IT firms and outsourcing giants in the world, like Wipro, IBM, Accenture, and soon other industry giants like Tata Group in India, Hewlett Packard (HP), and Flor Daniels, among others will make their presence here.

Last year, Cebu ranked third as the world’s top emerging outsourcing destination. With this prestige, Yu said Cebu easily attracted new outsourcing investors, not just call center companies, but out sourcing firms that require high skilled professionals such as animators, software programmers, accountants, lawyers, medical transcriptionists, human resource experts, content providers, and others.

To date, there are a total of 36 foreign direct investors in IT and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) operations, excluding the 23 call center firms. Combined, these companies employ over 20 thousand workers to date.

Cebu Educational Development Foundation for IT (Cedfit) executive director Bonifacio Belen echoed Yu’s pronouncements saying that the year 2008 marked Cebu ICT industry's history. It kicked off the record of Cebu's legitimacy in the ICT field, not only as investment hub for IT and outsourcing companies, but also as "melting pot" of the world's in-demand IT professionals, as schools and universities had started to produce world-class ICT talents.

According to Gregg Gabison, USJ-R dean for College of Computer and Communication Technology, enrollment in ICT related courses, especially in Computer Engineering and IT had been increasing in the last couple of years, specifically this year because of Cebu's position as an emerging BPO destination all over the world.

"We are expecting an increase of enrollees in ICT courses in the coming school year 2009-2010, because of Cebu's tremendous need for IT professionals," Gabison said adding that ICT courses interest is expected to level with the nursing and other medical courses soon.

Gabison, who is also one of the advocates of ICT industry development in Cebu, and at the same time sits as board of director for Cedfit, said that the good industry and academic linkage of Cebu is one of the largest contributors to Cebu's fast development as a number one emerging BPO destination in the world.

Cebu produces at least 23,000 fresh college graduates every year. Majority of these graduates are employable in any outsourcing company may it be voice (call center) or non-voice operation such as software development, medical transcription, accounting and legal outsourcing among others.

According to Yu, with the incessant building of Cebuano developers to invest on Cyber Park and IT Building facilities, Cebu is on the best position to accommodate the world's outsourcing companies that will locate here.

Job vacancies in the broad Information Technology (IT) and IT-enabled services in Cebu are expected to reach 15,000 by 2009, this includes the huge need for software developers and IT engineers.

The study of Tholons that placed Cebu on the top of ranks was determined by six categories, which included scale and quality of workforce (including education), business catalyst, cost, infrastructure, risk profile, and quality of life.

Cebu bested other 50 emerging outsourcing cities in the world, that include; Shanghai and Beijing in China, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Krakow in Poland, Kolkata, India, and Cairo, Egypt.

“The world's biggest outsourcing companies are now looking at Cebu. Now, we are a legitimate outsourcing destination. The world is now looking at Cebu," said Yu.

According to Tholons, top notch global service providers such as Accenture, ACS, Cognizant, HP, IBM, Infosys, Wipro, among others are continually increasing their global presence. In a way, the choice of the right city has become more important than the choice of the country.

It is rather the city [than the country], which represents a more accurate package of attributes that service providers seek.

"Thus, Cebu City and Monterrey matter more than the Philippines and Mexico from a decision stand point," the Tholon survey result contained.

After seven years of working hard to put Cebu in the global spotlight as the most preferred outsourcing site, Yu said the work has finally "paid off".

"Now, we want to aim for the best and a fully developed outsourcing destination in the world," he added.

While the outsourcing giants in the world are now focusing their eyes on Cebu, this will bring good news not only to the economic performance in the city, but significantly to Cebuanos as this will pave the way for the turn-around of employment rate.

CIPC immediately started an advocacy to encourage LGUs and concerned government agencies to improve infrastructure support, sustain the quality of and quantity of workforce, minimizing "cellphone snatching" in the streets, or stabilizing the peace and order situation.

According to Tholon, cities in the Philippines, like Cebu, continue to avail of their large English-proficient workforce in catering the US customer-service market.

Yu said with the global economic downturn, the Philippines, especially Cebu is one of the few gainers, as most companies now in the US and even Europe are looking at outsourcing options to stay in the business.

The Tholons survey included 50 emerging outsourcing destinations in the world, including Toronto in Canada, Belfast in Ireland, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Moscow in Russia, New Singapore City, and San Jose in Costa Rica, among others.

To support the growth of the IT industry in Cebu, IT training firm, Kaisa Consulting, in partnership with Business software solutions provider SAP Philippines has opened this year the first eAcademy in Cebu, to sustain the province's continues need to offer highly-skilled IT professionals.

Kaisa Consulting and SAP's Cebu eAcademy is the first locator of the Technology Business Incubation center of the University of the Philippines-Visayas, which is located at UP-Cebu.

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For comments, rejoinders you want to share or inquire, or learn more about Cebu Real Estate Industry, Call..

Realtor SAMUEL LAO, REBL#1341
PAREB-Cebu Realtor's Board Inc. (2nd VP Elect,2009)
RealtyOPTIONS Marketing & Consultancy Inc.- President/CEO
Tel Nos: (+63 32) 5166194 / 2550374
Mobile: (+63 918) 9236123 / 0922.8236123

www.laosamuel.com
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Adventure tourism revs up in 2008

By Ehda M. Dagooc Updated December 30, 2008 12:00 AM

To fulfill the dream of making 2008 an “exciting year” for the province’s tourism industry, stakeholders launched this year several initiatives to sustain the sector’s attractiveness to both the foreign and domestic travelers, while the rest of the world faces economic difficulties.

Cebu tourism prime movers started to think of “out-of-the-box” concepts to keep the industry going. Capitalizing on adventure tourism, the industry was able to attract sophisticated tourists, who normally preferred the comfort of five-star resort in a tropical environment with exotic activities that added spice to the tourism trade.

Both local government units (LGUs) and private sector in Cebu started to bank on the untapped adventure tourism potential maximizing on the province's alluring nature-based sites.

Aside from pro-activeness of the LGUs to promote their respective town's attractions, Cebuano capitalists also invested to provide adventure-related facilities, such as the launching of Island's Banca Cruises and JetScape—an inter-island jet-ski tour service.

Cebuano tourism chief Joseph Ace Durano was indeed effective in convincing local players to maximize the potential of adventure tourism in Cebu, including the promotion of Cebu as a "wedding destination" for Japanese couples.

These initiatives, among others have sustained the radiance of Cebu as a tourism hub in the Philippines, although most travel plans during the year were postponed due to the US recession.

DOT-7 regional director Patria Aurora Roa also told tourism stakeholders early this year, to promote Cebu as a pilgrimage destination not only during the Lenten season, but throughout the whole year.

Durano said the active stance of Cebu to tap the adventure tourism component provides another revenue stream for LGU's and become business opportunities for capitalists, as huge fun-seeker tourists right now are demanding for more adventure-type of activities in the Philippines.

In the United States alone, adventure tourism is a US$450 million industry. The Philippines is seen to generate more as it is blessed with ample sites that can be developed for this type of activity to generate good tourism revenue, while providing local residents, especially rural people to earn from tourism revenues.

Cebu, for instance, according to Durano has not yet maximized its potential in providing adventure or nature-based tourism activities, describing it as "still in a very small scale", unlike other places in the Philippines, specifically Palawan.

Durano urged LGUs in Cebu and private sector players to start capitalizing on this avenue, as every town in the province could develop its own "adventure tourism" attraction, may it be trekking, bird watching, island hopping, and caving, among others.

"This is not a capital intensive investment. Part of the adventure is to preserve the authenticity of the place, and its culture. Thus, there is a need for LGUs and private sector to partner in this area," Durano said in an interview over the weekend.

Cebu, which has gained its prestige as the center for tourism in the Philippines, should immediately take advantage of this emerging tourism revenue stream for tourism, Durano said.

The secretary said that there are a lot of activities that will be developed into "adventure tourism" attraction from southern to northern parts of the province, including the West.

Durano mentioned that the Toledo City area could develop a lot of adventure tourism activities, the town of Alegria also should develop the caving and bird watching adventures, among other activities.

Since adventure tourism needs an active participation from the LGUs, Durano said DOT will help LGUs to organize its community in developing several activities which are geared towards adventure tourism, such as equipping the local residents and community in running such service.

Durano emphasized that part of the adventure is to preserve the authenticity of the service, and activity itself, like a local resident should be in the front line, and speaking non-straight English with a very local accent is already a good presentation.

Although during the middle of 2008, Cebu's has seen the slide of Korean arrivals, this has not affected the province's tourism vitality, Durano said.

Emerging markets such as Indians, Chinese, Russians, among others have continued to strengthen Cebu's tourism trade within the year, making tourism as one of the economic engines of Cebu in 2008.

Because of this development, Durano said Cebu has grabbed the attention of international and local airline companies to start up direct flight services, or chartered flights.

In fact, Philippine Airlines (PAL) re-opened its Cebu-Osaka flight this year, with its confidence that Cebu has started to regain its attractiveness to the Japanese market. The flag carrier also announced this year its plan to open up more direct flights from Cebu to other Asian destinations like Singapore.

This year, Cebu has also seen the importance of domestic travelers as saviors against the weakening interest among foreign travelers.

"The domestic market has kept the [tourism] industry afloat," said Department of Tourism (DOT) secretary Joseph Ace Durano.

Durano expressed concerns on the drop of Korean arrivals to Cebu, and Central Visayas, however he is optimistic that resiliency of the local market can sustain the active tourism industry in the Cebu, or in the Philippines in general.

In fact, record showed that domestic travelers to Cebu jumped to 8.43 percent, totaling 479,307 from January to June this year, according to data from DoT regional office here..

"Don't just rely too much on the Korean market. There are other emerging markets that you can capitalize," he advised tourism stakeholders here as stakeholders were alarmed of the Korean arrival decline.

Durano said that Koreans, who top the list of visitors to the Philippines, have put off travel plans in reaction to the depreciation of the Won currency and the financial crisis in the United States.

In Korea, record of outbound travelers went down by 5.5 percent, not just going to the Philippines, but anywhere in the world.

The decline of Korean arrivals to the Philippines should not be a cause of alarm, as the entire market now, all over the world, is adopting postponement of travel plans, especially from the United States, and Korea is not exempted.

DoT 7 records confirmed Korean arrivals to Cebu registered 103,139 visitors that plunged 10.44 percent compared to the first half of last year, which was at 115,161.

To help cushion the decrease in Korean arrivals, while at the same time lure in new market tourists like the Europeans and the resurging Japanese visitors, Durano urged tourism players to continue developing innovative tour packages.

Activating attractive travel packages to the domestic market can aid the temporary decline of international tourists' arrivals, especially from Korea, Durano said.

Part of the innovative concepts is the promotion of Cebu as "Wedding Destination" in Asia. This was announced by Durano in the middle of 2008.

Durano announced that while his department is pushing the Philippines as premier "Wedding Destination" in Asia, Cebu has been made the center of this campaign.

Durano mentioned that facilities of five-star resorts for garden wedding ceremonies and reception, such as in Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort, Hilton Cebu Resort and Spa, and Plantation Bay Resort and Spa.

City-based hotels like Marco Polo Cebu, Waterfront Cebu City Hotels and Casino, among others also provide facilities for garden wedding ceremonies for both local and foreign couples.

According to Durano the Philippines is closely working with the Japanese Association of Travel Agents (JATA) to push this new campaign.

He said Cebu could take advantage of this attraction, and wedding coordinators could also find good opportunities in partnership with travel operators and resorts here.

While most Japanese are Buddhist in religion, a growing number of especially the young generation are seeking adventures in their wedding memories, and holding ceremonies outside of their country is found to be an exciting adventure for Japanese lovers.

Although, wedding ceremonies here is done in a Christian or Catholic (religion way), Durano said Japanese lovers' are attracted to the "ceremony" itself, regardless of the religion.

Shangri-La Mactan has built a wedding chapel, called "Ocean Pavilion" primarily to cater the increasing number of foreign and local guests, holding their wedding ceremonies in the Resort.

Even, Plantation Bay Resort and Spa hosted an underwater wedding ceremony last year.

As this campaign is expected to also open another revenue stream for the wedding planning industry in Cebu, players are seeing hitches when it comes to new rules and regulations set by the Catholic Church on wedding ceremonies.

Meanwhile, during the International Tourism Congress, held in June of 2008, stakeholders in Cebu agreed to help curb the alarming brain-drain problem in the tourism sector.

"We should not hold our manpower. If they wish to go out let them go [abroad]. It's nice [for them] to have global perspective because one day they will go back and work here," said Roa, commenting on the issue of fast turn-over of tourism sector manpower that are pirated to overseas' hotels, resorts, cruises, and restaurants.

The Philippines' tourism industry which is considered as one of the biggest revenue earners for the country, should work harder in sustaining or achieving the world-class service standard, and refuse to believe that the industry is largely served by what they call "leftover" skills.

Stakeholders were convinced that "constant training" is the name of the game for the industry right now, in fighting brain-drain phenomenon. It does not matter anymore if local hotels, resorts, are now being used as "schools" or stepping stones to get employment abroad.

Big players in the tourism sector, such as five-star resort Plantation Bay reported that it is investing hugely in the recruitment and training, as the speed of manpower turnover is at all time high.

"Regrettably, we only wish them well. What we do is to continuously spend on, hiring and training new people," said Plantation Bay president Manuel Gonzalez.

Plantation Bay, which maintains a total of 450 people has to strengthen human resource management team, to sustain the availability of world-class accommodation skills, serving the sophisticated tourists from all over the world.

Just like any other player in tourism, as well as in medical sector, Gonzalez said Plantation Bay is losing people to employment offered by international companies that operates cruises, resorts, and hotels.

National Association of Independent Travel Agencies (Naitas) chairman emeritus Robert Lim Joseph for his part said that brain-drain in the tourism sector is inevitable, local employers can not compete with the high monthly take-home pay offered by overseas companies.

In trying to arrest this problem, Joseph said Naitas, in cooperation with other tourism industry organizations are calling the attention of Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) to improve the school's curriculum and provide industry players with highly-skilled accommodation professionals, so that players will not have to spend more in training.

"We want people to come and work, but we have to give them [world-class] skills," Joseph said.

Currently, only seven percent of the total graduates in hotel-restaurant management (HRM), and other tourism service related courses, is absorbed by the industry. This has to be improved in order for the industry to sustain its growth and take advantage of the tourism advantage of the Philippines, Joseph said.

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For comments, rejoinders you want to share or inquire, or learn more about Cebu Real Estate Industry, Call..

Realtor SAMUEL LAO, REBL#1341
PAREB-Cebu Realtor's Board Inc. (2nd VP Elect,2009)
RealtyOPTIONS Marketing & Consultancy Inc.- President/CEO
Tel Nos: (+63 32) 5166194 / 2550374
Mobile: (+63 918) 9236123 / 0922.8236123

www.laosamuel.com
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Construction industry hopes for brighter '09

By Rhia de Pablo Updated December 31, 2008 12:00 AM

Despite the onset of the global economic crisis, the construction sector is still hoping that the year 2009 will still be bearable since prices of construction materials have gone down.

“The last quarter of 2008 was terrible and hopefully it was the bottom of it. Right now, everyone is cautious as we don't know how bad it will get for the upcoming year,” said Charles Kenneth Co, director hardware Co. Inc. in a recent interview.

Co said that their sector is hoping to still have a brighter year in 2009 despite that there is not much to look forward to as the financial crisis worsens and is predicted to hit the country this year.

Although he said that there are still several reasons to remain optimistic because projects in the city’s reclamation areas are scheduled to start which would mean more demand for construction products as well as more jobs to players in the sector.

He said that as World Bank projected, they can only expect around two to three percent of growth for next year.

On the other hand, NEDA7 regional director Marlene Rodriguez recently reported in a Regional Development Council (RDC)-Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) meeting that of the third quarter of 2008 the services sector in Central Visayas which are supposed to have been “more resilient to pressure on the economy” have experienced the global economic turmoil.

Rodriguez said that construction activities in the region have suffered a slow growth as investors became cautious in pouring in their huge investments in the wake of the global economic crisis.

The high prices of construction materials in local market have also caused big ticket construction projects to be put on hold and made overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) cancel their plans to buy residential properties as they anticipated the worse effect of the crisis.

Rodriguez also said that there might be fewer construction projects to be started for the next six months of the coming year especially that economic drivers for the last years such as ICT, real estate and tourism sectors have also been under a slowdown.

Meanwhile, Cebu Contractors Association (CCA) president Peter Paul Dy urged the players in the construction sector to still be bullish and look at a brighter prospect for the coming year.

“We must always hope for a brighter year in 2009. All indications show that next year will not be an exciting year, to put it mildly. But, this should not be reason to sulk in the corner. All the more that we must be working together to lessen the negative impact that this financial crisis may bring to the industry in particular and the economy in general,” said Dy.

Anastacio Muntuerto Jr., Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry former president and a player in Cebu’s hardware and construction sector said that in another interview that consumers and players should take advantage of the currently lower construction material prices.

He said that since prices are currently at its lowest, there is a huge opportunity for investors and players to finish or to start any construction project.

“Early this year is the right time to construct because the materials are more affordable and cheaper compared to last year. Those who have money now and have construction projects should think of exploiting the situation while some can put their money on real estate investments because it is always a good hedge against inflation,” said Muntuerto.

On the other hand, Cebu Holdings Inc. president Francis O. Monera said that despite the threats of the current crisis, they are still looking at a good year this year.

After the inauguration of the I3 at the Asiatown IT Park in December this year, Monera said that more high-rise establishments should be expected to be constructed and operated at the location this year.

This will include their company-owned E Block, a mixed use development complex that will also complement the city’s flourishing business process outsourcing industry which economists have predicted to gain positive effects from the global economic crisis since global companies would tend to outsource operations which are not part of their core business in to trim down cost of operations.

For comments, rejoinders you want to share or inquire, or learn more about Cebu Real Estate Industry, Call..

Realtor SAMUEL LAO, REBL#1341
PAREB-Cebu Realtor's Board Inc. (2nd VP Elect,2009)
RealtyOPTIONS Marketing & Consultancy Inc.- President/CEO
Tel Nos: (+63 32) 5166194 / 2550374
Mobile: (+63 918) 9236123 / 0922.8236123

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Amid A Global Credit Crunch : Real estate sector remains brisk

By Ehda M. Dagooc Updated December 31, 2008 12:00 AM

Year 2008 turned out to be the “best year” for Cebu’s real estate industry with both local and international investors eyeing Cebu for their project expansions.

Giant developers like Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), Filinvest Land, Robinsons Land, Aboitiz Land, SM Prime Holdings, Landco, Sta. Lucia, among others announced their strong interest to expand their respective land banks in Cebu to pursue bigger projects here, aside from their ongoing residential and commercial developments.

The dynamic tourism and Information and Technology sectors aligned with the growing interest of global Pinoys to invest their hard-earned cash in the Philippines, especially Cebu, buoyed the sales performance of residential projects such as condominiums.

One of Cebu’s biggest real estate developers, Land Asia Development Corporation revealed that Cebu’s real estate industry is experiencing a "real rebound" unfazed by the global recession.

Land Asia president Mariss Inting said like 10 years ago, after the regional economic crisis in 1997, Cebu likewise gained real estate rebound with local tourism hotspots gaining interest from the international market.

Inting said demand for seaside residential units has never skyrocketed as fast as this year, thus giving developers the cue to look for idle properties for development near the beaches or mountain side properties.

Cebu Holdings Inc (CHI), the developer of Amara reported a surprising sales performance this year, as the luxurious residential project has become one of the investment channels for wealthy Cebuanos.

Tetta Baad, head of the Real Estate Development Group for CHI, said that some consumers are now looking for good investment channels for their money, as some financial institutions, and giant investment firms are experiencing turbulent times.

Surprisingly, while other residential projects are banking on the foreign-funded sales, Amara is getting 67 percent of its total sales profile from the locally-generated funds, from businessmen.

Belt tightening measures, generally adopted by global consumers, has not affected the formal introduction of the limited lots available in this prime location in Amara North, off the northern part of Cebu, in Lilo-an.

The real estate industry in Cebu, is "somehow" gaining an advantage, while "moneyed" individuals are looking for good "real estate" investments that could provide good returns for their money.

"Real estate [investments] provides wealthy people a more secured place for their money, as real estate are one of the safest investment instruments," said CHI president and chief executive officer (CEO) Francis O. Monera

In fact, he revealed that 36 percent of Amara buyers are paying in "spot cash", which indicates that "people have money."

Based on a CHI study, only 33 percent of the Amara lot sales were from foreign funds. These are usually Filipino immigrants and professionals who are deciding to invest on good properties back home.

CHI put in a good amount of investments in other real estate projects in Cebu, including the building of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) project at the Asia Town IT Park, to accommodate the robust demand for office space in the city.

Residential and commercial developer AboitizLand Inc. spent P2.3 billion in real estate projects for Cebu this year, providing new residential and commercial facilities, amid the projected slowdown of consumer spending.

AboitizLand Inc., president and chief operating officer (COO) Andoni F. Aboitiz said that the largest capital expenditure the company has made was the development of its Urban Village development called "Persimmon", of which P2 billion will be spent for the full completion of the project.

The company started to construct a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) building at the Mactan Export Zone (MEZ-2) called iMEZ, that would incur at least P160 million for the building construction alone.

The five-story building is projected to be completed by next year.

Also, AboitizLand will open its phase-2 development of the zen-inspired chic residential project in the Southern part of Metro Cebu called Kishanta with a total investment of P150 million for the horizontal development of Kishanta subdivision expansion.

"There is always a need for housing, although interest rate is seen to creep up due to the double-digit inflation and high fuel prices. But we would rather continue on our project stream, rather than always waiting for the [perfect] timing," Aboitiz said.

The threat of consumer budget tightening has not discouraged the AboitizLand's expansion mode, hoping that this economic challenge could only last for short term. F3 Properties Inc., a company that had been focusing on its furniture export business has decided to take advantage of the fertile real estate sector in Cebu, through the opening of San Fermin Place, a P200 million seaside residential project in Mactan.

F3 Properties managing director Peri S. Villarta said that it is ripe time to offer good real estate projects, especially those who want to invest their money outside of banks and other investment channels.

"Real estate [investments] is going to be there forever. There might be risks in the real property investment, but it is still considered as one of the safest investments," she said.

This is the first time that the company entered into the real estate business, diversifying its focus from furniture exporting. Although, the Cebuano-owned F3 Holdings still maintains a furniture manufacturing plant in China.

The San Fermin Place is situated on a 2.2 hectare property in Maribago, Mactan. It offers 14 available lots and 21 townhouses. This year also, Robinson's Land Corporation (RLC) announced its interest to expand its land bank in Cebu, to further take advantage of the province's dynamic real estate sector in both commercial and residential segments.

Meanwhile, RLC, the real estate development arm of conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc., started its real estate project activities in Cebu with several development projects launched, including the five-hectare condotel project called Amisa in Mactan, the

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) building called Cybergate Cebu in Fuente Osmeña, and its recent acquisition of government-owned property at the North Reclamation Area (NRA).

G Summit Holdings Inc., president and chief operating officer (COO) Lance Gokongwei said that the company is looking at expanding its land bank in Cebu to prepare for more projects in the next few years.

The company recently acquired a 4-hectare property at the NRA, near the old White Gold Department Store, and is currently drawing up plans to develop the property for mixed use development, Gokongwei said.

He said the four-hectare land will have a hotel, commercial complex, residential units, and office buildings.

The young Gokongwei, who is now in-charge of the conglomerate's operation built by his Cebuano father John Gokongwei, said that Cebu offers huge opportunity for the group's several business arms, specifically retail, real estate and airline operations.

Although he did not divulge any specific preference of the companies property interest in terms of location, Gokongwei said the company is on constant lookout for opportunities to purchase or buy good real estate properties in Cebu, to add up to its existing land bank.

So far, the RLC's biggest investment venture in Cebu is the construction of the five-star resort and condotel coastline project called AmiSa in Mactan.

Reportedly, the Gokongwei group expressed interest to buy a property at the South Road Property (SRP).

More pocket-sized commercial projects were also introduced this year in Cebu, such as the first real estate venture of RobinLand Inc. with the building of its cyber RobinLand Business Center (RBC).

Food manufacturing and agri-business traders also took advantage of real estate trade in developing a five-hectare property as another Information Technology (IT) Park in Cebu.

"This is our first venture into the real estate business involving the IT industry. It's a good move to diversify our business," said Albert Go, who partly owns Qimonda Holdings Inc. (QHI), which is now starting an IT Park development at the Don Sergio Osmeña Boulevard, North Reclamation Area (NRA).

Go said the company is now fast tracking its construction of the Qimonda IT Center, which will transform the family-owned property into a commercial area. The project will cost an initial investment of P500 million.

Property- management firm Colliers International observed that while there were lots of property projects launched this year, or broke ground this year, developers have continually pursued their active land banking pursuits.

"Developers have continued to make their "land banking" in preparation for the global economic recovery," said Colliers International general manager for Cebu Rodulfo Lafradez.

As of end of 2007, there were a total of 181,257 square meters of office spaces in Cebu province. During this period five office buildings completed, adding of 30,924 square-meters to the Cebu office stock.

In the first quarter of 2008, this number has increased to 198,466 square meters of the space courtesy of the opening of Cebu IT Tower in Cebu Business Park.

Based on the market overview released by CB Richard Ellis, a property management company, it observed that the Metro Cebu residential market remained generally healthy despite the current economic crisis.

The motivation to own a house continues to be sustained by the local market, which is partly driven by the increased spending capability of a number of local residents as a result of the growing BPO industry and the continuous remittances from the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).


For comments, rejoinders you want to share or inquire, or learn more about Cebu Real Estate Industry, Call..

Realtor SAMUEL LAO, REBL#1341
PAREB-Cebu Realtor's Board Inc. (2nd VP Elect,2009)
RealtyOPTIONS Marketing & Consultancy Inc.- President/CEO
Tel Nos: (+63 32) 5166194 / 2550374
Mobile: (+63 918) 9236123 / 0922.8236123

www.laosamuel.com
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