“It’s important to know how our prepaid customers think. If you’re a telco, how do you convince a farmer to spend his money on prepaid load over food?” – Ernest Cu, President and CEO of Globe Telecoms

From http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/12/19/09/getting-know-sophisticated-prepaid-user

What was that? Globe wants to convince farmers to spend their money on prepaid load over food? Did I read that correctly? Whatever happened to business ethics, corporate social responsibility or just plain decency? I know that profit is the main reason for business, but this is another issue and it’s absolutely, well… wrong!

Poverty is the country’s biggest problem; lack of financial literacy is a leading reason why poverty is very difficult to battle —  then we have corporate giants who even brag about how they want to milk us Pinoys the limited money we have.

This makes me even more passionate about the advocacy to bring financial literacy to Pinoys! Hmmm, maybe I should also change my telecom provider.

This appeared in my column at the Business Mirror in 2009

A few days ago, I was walking along Orchard Road in Singapore. I was marveling at how the huge department stores on that famous road were adorned with Christmas decorations. In fact, every store in Singapore was well-decorated: Orchard, Raffles, Bugis—all the commercial areas were intricately decorated for the holidays and were all beautiful.

In a few days I’ll be off to Hong Kong. I am pretty sure that like Singapore, Hong Kong will be just as beautifully decorated for Christmas, and by this time, it will be bustling with a lot of shoppers.

Christmas was originally a Christian holiday, commemorating the birth of our Savior, yet Singapore and Hong Kong are not predominantly Christian societies. Christmas has become a holiday everyone celebrates, regardless of religious affiliation.

While walking through the shopping areas at this time of the year can be a visual treat, the density of the shoppers can be an unpleasant encounter. Sifting through department stores, boutiques and all that trying to find the right gift for your loved ones can be challenging, especially for men like me. Don’t forget the many Christmas dinners you either host or attend.

What’s more maddening for me is the price tag this holiday carries. I am sure there are many out there who have no idea how much they spend during the holidays—and this is a perpetual issue year after year. Many times, we find that we overspent for the holidays again and vow to be more prudent the next year around.

Giving gifts to people you care about is a great gesture; kindness in any form is good, in my opinion. However, one must be mindful of the cost. Does this spending hurt the budget?

Worse, do you get in debt just to celebrate Christmas? What’s the real cost of all these? Why has rabid commercialism taken over such a holy celebration? Isn’t Christmas about Christ? Do we not celebrate this season to pay homage to the birth of our Savior who gave His life so we can be saved? What’s the connection between how we celebrate Christmas with our salvation through Christ? Jesus was born with utmost humility, in a manger.

I’m not trying to be a spoilsport; I love Christmas—giving and receiving gifts, attending parties and all that. But let us always remember the true essence of Christmas—that it is about Christ, not Santa.  If we can really understand “real Christmas,” we would not need to be financially strained during the holidays.  We can’t outgive the Lord because He has already given us the best gift we can ever receive; something we just need to take—Jesus Christ. Jesus is truly the reason for the season and we need to be reminded as such year after year.

Merry Christmas to all!

“The virgin will be with Child and will give birth to a Son, and they will call him ‘Immanuel’—which means, ‘God with us.’”
—Matthew 1:23, NIV

Philippine Remittances reach highest level
A new record high for remittances was seen this Oct, reaching $1.53 bln.
This was up by 6.7% Yoy and was better than the previous high of $1.49 bln established in the month of  June.
Remittances year to date totaled $14.3 bln, up 4.5% YOY

ADB raises growth forecast for developing Asia

The Asian Development Bank raised growth forecasts for Asia’s developing economies
Regional economies should grow +4.5% in 2009 and +6.6% in 2010.
Three months ago the ADB’s forecast was a +3.9% in 2009 and +6.4% in 2010
This signifies expectations of a V-shaped recovery for EMA
Essentially, the higher forecast was due to better than expecetd growth in the third quarter of 2009.
However they also warned against any “hasty withdrawal of stimulus packages”.
“If done too soon, recovery may be at risk; if too late, fiscal deficits and monetary expansion could become unsustainable and inflationary.”
Inflation is expected to be muted in short term but expected to pick up in medium term.
Emerging markets expected to attract capital flows given higher growth relative to developed economies.
Risk to EMA growth is a short-lived recovery of more developed global economies.