The Ascott Limited Philippines ushers the festive season with a back-to-back celebration for its properties’ tree lighting ceremonies, Ascott BGC Manila’s five-year and Citadines Bay City Manila’s one-year milestone anniversaries.

Both properties have been continuously providing travelers the comforts and little lavishes that make Ascott their home of choice away from home. Each stood strong among the competition in their respective areas with Ascott BGC Manila being announced the Philippines’ Leading Serviced Apartments 2019 by World Travel Awards and Citadines Bay City Manila ranking the best hotel in Pasay and best value hotel in Luzon in TripAdvisor.

“I am proud of the success of Ascott in the country with the aspiration of providing a way away from home. I thank my colleagues as they help bring this vision to life and our guests in embracing the Ascott lifestyle.”, said Daniel Wee, Country General Manager of The Ascott Limited Philippines.

To round out the celebration and express appreciation to the community, a donation was made to the official beneficiary of Ascott – Gawad Kalinga. Ascott has been supporting the organization for the past four years in helping the community feed 700 kids via Kusina ng Kalinga. The strong relationship between Ascott and Gawad Kalinga gives meaning to Ascott’s credo— “Building People, Building Community”.

To date, four operational properties are in Makati City central, namely Ascott Makati, Somerset Millennium Makati, Somerset Olympia Makati and Citadines Salcedo Makati; while Ascott Bonifacio Global City Manila, Somerset Alabang Manila, Citadines Millenium Ortigas Manila, Citadines Bay City Manila, and Citadines Cebu City are the first Ascott properties in Taguig, Muntinlupa, Ortigas, Pasay, and Cebu respectively.  

For inquiries and reservations, visit The Ascott Limited’s website at https://www.the ascott.com/en/index.html.

: Ascott BGC Manila General Manager Sue Ponnudurai with the Head of Departments toasting for the property’s 5th Anniversary

Ascott Management team during the Tree Lighting Ceremony of Citadines Bay City Manila

The Ascott Limited is a Singapore company that has grown to be one of the leading international lodging owner-operators. Ascott’s portfolio spans more than 180 cities across over 30 countries in Asia Pacific, Central Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the USA.

Ascott has more than 67,000 operating units and close to 45,000 units under development, making a total of more than 112,000 units in over 720 properties.

The company’s serviced residence and hotel brands include Ascott, The Crest Collection, Somerset, Quest, Citadines,  lyf, Préférence, Vertu, Harris, Citadines Connect, Fox, Yello and POP!.

Ascott, a wholly owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Limited, pioneered Asia Pacific’s first international-class serviced residence with the opening of The Ascott Singapore in 1984. Today, the company boasts over 30 years of industry track record and award-winning brands that enjoy recognition worldwide.

Ascott’s achievements have been recognised internationally. Recent awards include World Travel Awards 2019 for ‘Leading Serviced Apartment Brand’ in Asia, Europe and the Middle East; Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Awards 2019 for ‘Best Serviced Residence Brand’; DestinAsian Readers’ Choice Awards 2019 for ‘Best Serviced Residence Brand’; TTG China Travel Awards 2019 for ‘Best Serviced Residence Operator in China’. For a full list of awards, please visit https://www.the-ascott.com/ascottlimited/awards.html.

About Capitaland Limited

CapitaLand Limited (CapitaLand) is one of Asia’s largest diversified real estate groups. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, it owns and manages a global portfolio worth S$131.7 billion as at 30 September 2019. CapitaLand’s portfolio spans across diversified real estate classes which includes commercial, retail; business park, industrial and logistics; integrated development, urban development; as well as lodging and residential. With a presence across more than 200 cities in over 30 countries, the Group focuses on Singapore and China as its core markets, while it continues to expand in markets such as India, Vietnam, Australia, Europe and the USA.

CapitaLand has one of the largest real estate investment management businesses globally. It manages eight listed real estate investment trusts (REITs) and business trusts as well as over 20 private funds. Since it pioneered REITs in Singapore with the listing of CapitaLand Mall Trust in 2002, CapitaLand’s REITs and business trusts have expanded to include Ascendas Reit, CapitaLand Commercial Trust, Ascott Residence Trust, CapitaLand Retail China Trust, Ascendas India Trust, CapitaLand Malaysia Mall Trust and Ascendas Hospitality Trust. 

Save the Children Philippines has awarded corporate partners for life-changing actions for children to have a healthy start, access to quality education and protection from all forms of violence, both in their day-to-day lives and when disasters strike.

Atty. Alberto Muyot, Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children Philippines said support from corporate partners is critical to sustain humanitarian response and development programs that benefit children in times of natural disasters and emergencies.

“Save the Children Philippines,  together with our partners,  is committed to deliver transformative programs to children in the most deprived and marginalized situations,” said Muyot. “The unwavering support of our corporate partners inspire us to sustain our work and achieve breakthroughs.”

Representatives from 95 companies, schools, and organizations in the Philippines gathered at the Manila Marriott Hotel yesterday, where Save the Children Philippines showcased ways companies and institutions can support programs.

Johnson and Johnson Philippines and GSK Philippines were recognized as “Partners of the Year” for their high impact support for programs and emergency response. Johnson and Johnson Philippines provided support in promoting maternal, newborn, and child health and nutrition and addressing severe malnutrition of children in deprived areas in Metro Manila. GSK Philippines provided support for the affected children and families of Typhoon Ompong, communities affected by Dengue outbreak, and those affected in Davao del Sur and North Cotabato during the Mindanao earthquakes.

Save the Children Philippines also awarded partners under the following categories:

·         2018 Most Outstanding Grant Project Donor- Johnson and Johnson for “Strengthening and Empowering Partners to Scale up Maternal and Newborn Child Health and Nutrition;”

·         2018 Most Outstanding Global Grant Project Donor- Prudence Foundation for the following projects:

–       FIRST READ, an early childhood learning program

–       Education Safe from Disasters that puts in place and automate a management information system for disaster preparedness in all public schools.

–       Local Empowerment through Access and Participation (LEAP) in Panay to build resilience of children and their families from disasters.

·         Corporate partners which initiated fundraising activities were given special awards under the following categories:

–       Workplace Giving under Sparebucks4Change-Johnson and Johnson

–       Fundraisers-Marriott Worldwide Business Councils Philippines

–       Christmas Campaign-Utkilen Norway

–       Emergency Donors- Insular Foundation

–       Gift in Kind  (Media category)-CNN Philippines

–       Gift in Kind-Terry SA Inc for Havaianas

–       Special Awards were given to British Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines and European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines.

Naida Pasion, Chief Business Development Officer urged support to Sustainable, Area-Focused and Empowering (SAFE) programs in Metro Manila, Leyte and Samar provinces and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.

“Investing in children is good for business,” said Pasion. “When children become the best that they can be, as adults, they are the prime movers of a vibrant market.”

Bruce Winton, Chair of Marriott Worldwide Business Councils Philippines reiterated the company’s commitment to programs supporting children. The global hotel chain is one of the new corporate partners for 2019 which hosted a series of events and activities to raise funds for children. These include Run to Give, Charity Golf Tournament, Opt-In-Donation for all hotel guests across all Marriott-owned properties.

Save the Children Philippines showcased programs being supported by corporate partners through an exhibit, these include:

·         First Read project, a critical support for children in the first three years to develop foundational skills on literacy and numeracy.

·         Project Nurture, a life-saving support for children who are severely malnourished.

·         Maternal, Newborn and Child health and Nutrition, an integrated support for health and nutrition of pregnant and lactating mothers in the deprived areas of Metro Manila and Mindanao. The program ensures health and well-being of babies in the first 1,000 days through breastfeeding, proper nutrition and access to health service and early childhood education.

·         Build Urban Children’s Resilience against Shocks and Threats of Resettlement (BURST) project that helps children and their families being displaced in Metro Manila to find relocation and resume classes.

Atty. Muyot, in his closing remarks said support from corporate partners helped Save the Children Philippines reach around 4.2 million children in the most deprived and marginalized situations to get access to education.

“The impact that we bring to children has created ripples of hope,” he said.

Recognized as the first hotel in BGC, F1 Hotel Manila remains one of the most competitive when it comes to delivering excellent service in the hospitality industry. This was recently acknowledged by Tripadvisor as they awarded F1 Hotel Manila a Certificate of Excellence as proof that the hotel consistently delivered excellent service throughout the year. With 7 successful years under its belt within the industry, Tripadvisor has been an important tool in determining where the hotel stands. Each department is exhibiting more than what is expected, making the hotel’s mission and vision possible and in arm’s length every functioning day. The establishment continues to progress and evolve along with the supervision of its General Manager, Cindy Brual, who has been in the hospitality industry for almost 20 years. Applying her years of experience, F1 Hotel Manila was able to achieve excellent ratings on Tripadvisors from guests under her management and also with the help from her respective Department Heads.

Noticeable for its modern amenities and spacious upscale accommodations located at the heart of the bustling city of BGC, F1 Hotel Manila continues to strive for excellence in terms of guest service as it is the bread and butter of the hospitality business. To experience the exceptional service we give to the guests, you may call 7908-7888 or follow @f1hotelmanila on Facebook and Instagram for inquiries and reservations.

Philippine property seekers and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are encouraged to mark their calendars for the upcoming Lamudi Housing Fair in Mall of Asia happening this December 14, 2019. As the last leg of the Housing Fair series by the leading real estate platform Lamudi, the one-day fair will gather some of the most trusted names in real estate and related industries to guide property seekers and home buyers in finding the home of their dreams.

Overseas Activity on Lamudi

The appetite for real estate from OFWs and foreign investors continue to grow. In the last two years alone, there has been an 81% increase in the number of sessions outside the Philippines in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017. Based on sessions on Lamudi from outside the Philippines during this period, the top ten foreign destinations that have shown interest in real estate properties are:

1. United States
2. Canada
3. Singapore
4. United Arab Emirates
5. Australia
6. Saudi Arabia
7. United Kingdom
8. Japan
9. India
10. Hong Kong

The biggest growth came from India, with a 425% increase from 2017. Canada, on the other hand, showed a 216% increase in the fourth quarter of 2017.

When compared with the distribution of OFWs around the world in 2018, the location of inquiries shows familiar places. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2018 Survey on Overseas Filipinos, 82.6% of OFWs worked in Asia, 0.9% came from Africa, 2.1% came from Australia, 7.8% came from Europe, and 6.6% came from North and South America.

The Philippine Statistics Authority mentions that in Asia, 18.7% of OFWs worked in East Asia, including Hong Kong (6.3%), Japan (3.3%), Taiwan (5.5%), and other countries such as China and South Korea (3.7); 9% worked in Southeast and South Central Asia, including Malaysia (2.4%), Singapore (4.9%), and other countries including Brunei, Cambodia, and Indonesia (1.7%); and 54.9% worked in Western Asia, including Kuwait (5.7%), Qatar (5.2%), Saudi Arabia (24.3%), United Arab Emirates (15.7%), and other countries such as Bahrain, Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan (4%). 

The Growing Interest from Overseas

Based on Lamudi’s data, the number of sessions from 2017 to 2018 nearly doubled, showing a strong interest in real estate from overseas in the period of October to December. Saudi Arabia accounted for 7% of the sessions outside the country on Lamudi during this period. As the “most preferred country of destination among OFWs,” 25.4% of the 2.3 million OFWs have worked here anytime during the period April to September 2017, says the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Hong Kong, which had 6.5% of OFWs as of 2017, accounted for 18.41% of searchers on Lamudi from 2017 to 2018.

Japan served as the place of work for 3.3% of OFWs in 2018, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. It is also where 3.25% of Lamudi searches came from in the third quarter of 2018, which is a 95.83% increase compared to the same period in 2017.

The United States is yet another OFW-rich location that has shown interest in real estate properties in the Philippines. Property seeker activities on Lamudi show that 21.5% of sessions outside the country come from the United States, and it has shown a 93% growth from 2017 to 2018.

Meanwhile, Singapore showed a 79% increase in sessions in the same time period, and Australia showed an 82% increase.

Global Pinoys Come Home

The Lamudi Housing Fair, to be held in SM Mall of Asia Music Hall on December 14, 2019, is the place to visit for property seekers coming back to the Philippines to spend their holidays with their families. Aside from the Christmas festivities keeping Filipinos busy this time of year, now is also the time to look for investment properties that can be a source of passive income or the realization of a life-long homeownership dream.

At the housing fair, property seekers can visit the booths of exhibitors PA Properties, Damosa Land, Inc., BPI Family Housing Loan, Robinsons Land Corporation, RCD Land, CDC Holdings, Inc., MyCitiHomes and more to know their housing and real estate investment options.

Those interested in saving money when buying real estate can stick around for the UnionBank auction of foreclosed properties.

The one-day event is also a place for brokers and agents to network and find potential clients. It is also a day for learning, as learning development coaches from Lamudi Academy will be sharing pointers on converting online leads to sales and improving online strategies.

The Lamudi Housing Fair in MOA has major sponsors Federal Land, Inc., Lancaster New City by PRO Friend, and Eton. The minor sponsors for the event are DMCI Homes and Aboitiz Land, Inc. Lamudi also worked with event partner Subdivision and Housing Developers Association, Inc. (SHDA) to make the housing fair possible.

Visit lamudi.com.ph/housing_fair for more information.

Last November 14, 2019, Lamudi, the leading online real estate platform, gave out prestigious awards to the most notable developers all over the Philippines. With two new categories and more nominations, Lamudi’s Outlook Awards 2019 proves to be a better representation of the developments that have been created for seekers–and of the buyers’ choices that ultimately crowned the night’s winners.

Lamudi’s The Outlook: Philippine Buyers’ Choice Property Awards 2019, co-presented by Philippine Daily Inquirer Property and Holcim, received 30% more nominations from developers this year, particularly coming from Visayas and Mindanao. With established names and boutique developers in the real estate industry vying for the awards, the competition was bound to be fierce–and fierce it was, as the discerning market ultimately decided the winners for the House, Condominium, and Mixed-Use categories.

History Speaks for Itself

Filinvest Land, Inc., which was awarded Best Affordable Condo in Luzon for Value for Money in 2018, proved their strength as a property powerhouse with their wide range of developments. At The Outlook Awards 2019, they bested other nominees for the Best Premium Condo for Visayas and Mindanao with their development, Sanremo Oasis at City di Mare. Filinvest’s Best Affordable House award last year for their development, Claremont, was also complemented by this year’s win for Best Premium House in Luzon for their development, The Peak.

Another powerhouse worth mentioning is Avida Land Corporation, with Avida Towers Makati Southpoint winning Best Premium Condo and Avida Southfield Settings NUVALI winning Best Affordable House in Luzon. Avida Land was also last year’s winner for Best Premium Condo for Trust and Reputation of Developer for their development Avida Towers Asten.

Megaworld Corporation, last year’s Best Developer in Visayas and Mindanao, also took home two awards at the Philippine Buyers’ Choice Property Awards 2019 for The Albany (Best Luxe Condo) and The Mactan Newtown (Best Mixed-Use Development).

Here is the complete list of winners for The Outlook Awards 2019:

Luzon Winners

Best Affordable Condo – Cheer Residences (SM Development Corporation)

Best Premium Condo – Avida Towers Makati Southpoint (Avida Land Corporation)

Best Luxe Condo – The Albany (Megaworld Corporation)

Best Affordable House – Avida Southfield Settings NUVALI (Avida Land Corporation)

Best Premium House – The Peak (Filinvest Land, Inc.)

Best Mixed-Use Development – Hamilo Coast (Costa del Hamilo, Inc.)

Visayas and Mindanao Winners     

Best Affordable Condo – Casa Mira Towers Labangon (Cebu Landmasters, Inc.)

Best Premium Condo – Sanremo Oasis at City di Mare (Filinvest Land, Inc.)

Best House – Amoa (AboitizLand, Inc.)

Best Mixed-Use Development – The Mactan Newtown (Megaworld Corporation)

Special Awards

Best Green Project – Three E-Com Center (SM Prime Holdings, Inc.)

Best Innovation Project – The Seasons Residences (Sunshine Fort North Bonifacio Realty Development Corporation)

Best Co-Living Space – MyTown Co-Living Hubs (Philippines Urban Living Solutions, Inc.)

Best Co-Working Space – Acceler8 (UnionSPACE)

Personality of the Year – Jose “Joe” Soberano III, Chairman, President and CEO of Cebu Landmasters, Inc.

Grand Awards

Best Developer – Luzon – DMCI Homes

Best Developer – VisMin – Cebu Landmasters, Inc.

Best Boutique Developer – Luzon – PHINMA Property Holdings Corporation

Best Boutique Developer – VisMin – DATEM Homes, Inc.

To open the awarding ceremony, Lamudi’s Global Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Kian Moini cited the real estate trends that make the Philippines a force to be reckoned with in Southeast Asia.

The gala also honored the recently departed real estate leaders John Gokongwei, Jr. of JG Summit, Lucio “Bong” Tan, Jr. of Eton Properties, Willie Uy of 8990 Holdings, Henry Sy of SM Investments, and Liberator “Levy” P. Laus of The LausGroup of Companies.

Bhavna Suresh, CEO of Lamudi Philippines, ended the night with encouraging closing remarks about real estate’s continued growth in the country.

The Outlook Awards’ official TV partner is Cignal TV and the official event partner is Makati Shangri-La Hotel.

The event’s media partners are Business Mirror, Business World, Manila Standard, Malaya Business Insight, and The Philippine Star.

Lamudi also worked together with partner organizations Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA), Land Registration Authority, Re/Max, Colliers International Philippines, Ikea Southeast Asia, A. P. de Jesus & Associates, Philippine Daily Inquirer Property, Housing and Urban  Development Coordinating Council, Buskowitz Group, Santos Knight Frank, Buensalido + Architects, German Chamber of Commerce, British Chamber of Commerce, Australian – New Zealand Chamber of Commerce, Italian Chamber of Commerce, European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP), and Starbucks to make the event possible.

Visit lamudi.com.ph/outlook2019 to know more.

Country’s Largest Business-2-Business Expo, Conference, and Networking Event for Small and Medium Enterprises – the Philippine SME Business Expo & Conference [PHILSME] opened once again for its 9^th edition today, November 12, 2019 at Function Room 4 of the SMX Convention Center Manila, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City.

Today’s ribbon cutting ceremony was graced by Maria Carlota Kim (from HP Philippines); Carla Jean Roa (Sales Executive from Alkaviva Waters Philippines); Trixie Esguerra (Host); Andrew Francisco (Chief Finance Officer of Freshworks, Inc.); Kristine Pesquisa (Marketing and Sustainability Officer of Esquire Financing); David Abrenilla (CEO & Founder of PHILSME); Director Jerry Clavesillas (DTI-BSMED Bureau Director); Ana Joy Rocero (Regus & Spaces by IWG); Patrick Gentry (CEO & Founder, Sprout Solutions Inc.) & Rich Cortez (Sales Coordinator of DV Boer Farm International).

Over 250 exhibiting brands will offer a wide array of business solutions and opportunities from industries of Information Technology, Business Consultancy, Logistics, Financial Technology, Business Financing, Human Resources & Recruitment, Office Spaces, Marketing & Advertising, Franchising, Distributorship and many more. Technology Innovations Village opens once again for its second year featuring top tech business solutions for SMEs.

Aside from the expo, a business conference on November 13 will be staged tomorrow featuring top industry experts to speak about “How to Grow Your Business”. TV Hosts & Entrepreneurs RJ Ledesma & Howell Mabalot, Digital Marketing Guru Mannix Pabalan will be among the roster of top-caliber conference speakers.

PHILSME is sponsored by Regus & Spaces, Esquire Financing, Alkaviva Waters Philippines, Sprout Solutions, HP Philippines, DV Boer Farm International, i4 Asia Inc. and Ersao Taiwanese Restaurant.

Visit www.philsme.com for more details.