by Ferry Bayu | Aug 14, 2023 | Business
Most Grab drivers want to keep job after pandemic: ADB
MANILA — Around 90 percent of food delivery riders on Grab would like to continue working for the platform even after the COVID-19 pandemic, a study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) showed.
“We asked our respondents, 12,000 of them, in Manila, Cebu, and Davao, and we asked them, were they willing to continue their work with Grab food delivery? More than 90 percent of them said that they would continue after the pandemic,” Takashi Yamano, principal economist at the ADB’s Economic Research and Development Impact Department, said on Monday.
Food deliveries proliferated in key Philippine cities during pandemic-induced lockdowns.
“So it was not one-time shift to this work, but they are intending to stay with the work. And I believe that this workforce will continue to expand,” Yamano said.
Yamano noted that Grab drivers enjoy having an independent working environment and a decent income from their job.
“Many drivers we talked to said they enjoy not having supervisors observing their work,” he noted.
“(They also have) decent earnings, so on average, workers earn about P5,700 per week. This adds up to average monthly wage of P23,000 with Grab… In their previous jobs they earned about P15,000,” he said.
Yamano stressed, however, that government must give gig economy workers, like food delivery riders, some sort of social protection.
“Although they are independent contractors, bringing them into the social economy, formal economy is very important… This is a new form of employment,” he added.
“There’s an advantage of this kind of contract, platformers contracting independent work. There’s benefits to it. So instead of restricting their work, maybe find a proper way of helping them,” he said.
by Ferry Bayu | Aug 14, 2023 | Business
AnyMind Group releases Q2 2023 earnings
Company made an operating profit for the quarter and continued to see quarterly year-on-year growth across revenue, gross profit and adjusted EBITDA
AnyMind Group [TSE:5027], an end-to-end commerce enablement company, has today announced its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2023. Please see below for some highlights pertaining to the company’s Q2 2023 earnings disclosure.
Further information can be found on the investor relations site (Q2 2023 earnings presentation; Q2 2023 financial report).
About AnyMind Group
Founded in April 2016, AnyMind Group [TSE:5027] is an end-to-end commerce enablement technology company with a purpose to make it exciting for everyone to do business. The company provides two broad offerings to brands and businesses, publishers and influencers: Brand Commerce and Partner Growth. Brand Commerce provides businesses with the company’s platforms for manufacturing, e-commerce enablement, marketing and logistics, whilst Partner Growth provides web and mobile app publishers along with influencers and content creators with platforms for monetization and optimization. Partner Growth customers can also tap on the company’s Brand Commerce offering. AnyMind Group has over 1,300 staff across 19 offices in 13 markets, including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China, Japan, India and the United Arab Emirates.
Chris Lu
Regional Head, Communications
ch***@**********up.com
+65 6386 7368
by Ferry Bayu | Aug 14, 2023 | Business
Investors look to BSP buffer after anticlimactic economic growth
Stock market investors will be bracing for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) next policy meeting on Thursday while digesting a steady stream of second quarter corporate earnings.
This comes as the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) continued its downtrend after the government released last week disappointing economic growth data for the second quarter. The PSEi lost 0.7 percent to 6,405.91 from the previous week.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the PSEi was resting just above the major support zone of 6,400 to 6,250. He pegged the key resistance areas for the PSEi at 6,730 to 6,830.
The BSP Monetary Board will have several data points to consider in the upcoming interest rate setting meeting.
The chief consideration among these was the recent July inflation report showing inflation cooling for six straight months to 4.7 percent.
HSBC Asean economist Aris Dacanay maintained their expectation that the BSP would keep its policy rate stable at 6.25 percent on Aug. 17.
“Although [the second quarter Philippine economic] growth surprised to the downside, we think risks to the inflation and policy rate outlooks are to the upside,” Dacanay said.
“To some extent, growth cooling may also support macroeconomic stability and domestic balance … Although marginally improving, the national saving rate has not normalized to prepandemic levels while investment continues to be robust,” he said.
“This imbalance may then require a tight monetary stance to help rein in demand, incentivize saving and bring the domestic economy back to balance,” he added.
by Ferry Bayu | Aug 13, 2023 | Business
Generali Philippines Announces new President and Chief Executive Officer
Generali Life Assurance Philippines, Inc. (Generali Philippines) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Hak Hong Soo as President and Chief Executive Officer.
Edryan Lorenzo
+639164901076
ed****@************cy.com
by Ferry Bayu | Aug 11, 2023 | Business
BSP says may hike rates if…
MANILA — Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona said the central bank would only raise rates if there were new supply shocks on inflation.
Remolona made the statement in an interview with Nomura economist Euben Paracuelles
“If we have new supply shocks on inflation, which are unusually large, and if El Niño turns out to be very severe and combined with a confluence of other factors, we would have to tighten again,” the BSP governor said when asked what would trigger a resumption of the hiking cycle.
“Headline inflation is at 4.7 percent year-on-year, and we want to get to the target of 2 to 4 percent. But we also want to be comfortable that inflation is staying within that range and inflation expectations remain anchored,” he noted.
“If we don’t tighten when those shocks materialize, then expectations could get out of hand, inflation will feed on itself, and it gets much harder for us,” he explained.
Asked if policy settings would be kept stable if no supply shocks happen, Remolona said, “The pause means the signals from the data are still mixed and not consistent. Some indicators show the economy is holding up, some show it is weakening.”
“If this continues, then it’s likely prudent for us to still pause,” he said.
Remolona said the BSP would be cautious about cutting rates.
“If there’s a chance that we might have to raise rates again after we start cutting, we don’t want to take the risk from these quick reversals. I think the exit has to be a smooth process and this is what central banks have learned over the years. Sudden reversals are bad,” he said.
Inflation further eased for a sixth consecutive month in July. The BSP has said it remained ready to adjust the monetary policy stance if necessary to ease price pressures.
Easing inflation has allowed the BSP to keep rates steady at 6.25 percent during its last policy-setting meeting. The next meeting is on August 17.
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