Gas explosion at US mall injures 21

PLANTATION CITY, Florida - A powerful explosion from a suspected gas leak ripped through a shopping mall in Florida on Saturday, injuring 21 people, the fire department said.

The explosion sent debris flying across the parking lot of the Fountain Plaza shopping center, damaging an LA Fitness gym, numerous cars and blowing holes in neighboring buildings in the city of Plantation, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Miami.

"We got our workout in, picked up the kids, walked out, got in the car, drove away and as we drove away everything exploded. It was a pretty crazy scene," said Jessi Walasheck, who witnessed the explosion.

Deputy fire chief Joel Gordon told reporters two of the injured were in serious condition after the blast, one of whom had potentially life-threatening injuries.

"We found patients scattered all around the debris area," he said, but added the injuries generally "are not as severe as what we thought they would be."

His department initially called it a gas explosion and Gordon said ruptured gas lines were found in the debris, but the cause of the blast has not been confirmed.

No one has been reported missing.

"As bad it was, it could have been a lot worse," he said.

A major avenue running past the mall was shut down as a rescuer aided by a dog combed through the wreckage.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Lazada goes premium, fights fakes with first 'mall'

MANILA -- Shopping app Lazada on Friday launched what it called a "shopping mall," targeting premium shoppers while cracking down on fakes in the online marketplace. 

Items sold on LazMall are "100 percent guaranteed authentic" where the brands themselves identify the sellers, Lazada Philippines CEO Ray Alimurung said. LazMall can be accessed from within the main Lazada app.

LazMall will open on Sept. 9 with discounts of up to 90 percent. While virtual, it is Southeast Asia's largest mall with 70 million product listings, the company said. 

"We felt a need to carve out a different experience and to emphasize that it is a premium experience," Alimurung said.

LazMall purchases are delivered within 24 hours, faster than those made on the main platform. Items can also be returned in 15 days, he said. 

The company that is 83-percent owned by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is "very, very serious" about offering only authentic products. Allegations of counterfeit are investigated immediately, Alimurung said.

"We're not just working with any seller. The seller has to be recommended by the brand," he said.

Official merchants include Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, JBL, Philipps, Mac, L'Oreal, Dove, Olay and Levi's. 

Traffic-weary customers seeking bargains and household products like baby diapers have driven growth for Lazada, which also hosted sale events for mall giant SM. 

In the US, e-commerce giant Amazon opened a physical bookstore in New York last year. It later opened physical pick up points for online shoppers who don't want their purchases delivered to their homes.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Ortigas & Co opens new mall

MANILA, Philippines - Ortigas & Co. has opened its new upscale mall at Capitol Commons in Pasig City.

With over 30,000 square meters in three levels, Estancia will be home to over 70 retailers such as Isaac Mizrahi, P.S. from Aéropostale, French clothing brand Eden Park, jewelry and accessory brand AGATHA Paris, Spanish retailer Cortefiel, British shoe brand Kurt Geiger, and Swiss shoe label MBT.

"Estancia means ‘to stay a while’. We built it to create an atmosphere that celebrates food, fashion, and entertainment; we built it in such a way that people will indeed be drawn to stay and linger at the mall," Cathy Casares-Ko, General Manager of the Shopping Centers Division of Ortigas & Co, said.

Estancia will also feature New York-based furniture design brand West Elm and three Pottery Barn brands -- Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and Pottery Barn Teens.

The new mall will also have various restaurants such as Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen, Peanut Butter & Co., TWG, Banana Leaf, Pepper Lunch, Craft Coffee, and Clockwork.

New restaurant concepts are also opening at Estancia such as the Shoju bar, Eum Ma Ne, Bap Bap, the first Buffalo Wild Wings in the country, and Japanese curry house CoCo ICHIBANYA.

"We made it a point to continue offering unique dining experiences in Capitol Commons through Estancia. We invite everyone to come to our Urban Flavors Weekends on December 13 & 14 as we give a preview of some of our gastronomic choices in both Estancia and the Gastro strip," Casares-Ko said.

Estancia is holding an Urban Flavors Weekend this month.

For a minimum fee of P500, one can try tasting portions from establishments such as Ba Noi’s, Black Olive, Nomama, XO46 Bistro Filipino, Eum Ma Ne, Cara Mia Gelato, Jipan Café & Bakeshop, and Larcy’s Cupcakery Café.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

SM's Henry Sy retains spot as richest Filipino - Forbes.com

MANILA - Shopping mall magnate Henry Sy has again topped Forbes.com's list of the 40 richest Filipinos.

According to Forbes.com, the 87-year old Sy and his family has a net worth of $9.1 billion, or about P385 billion.

He owns SM Investments, a conglomerate that runs 43 malls in the country and five in China, the Philippines' biggest bank, BDO, and the country's fastest-growing condominium developer, SMDC.

His son, Henry Jr., has a joint venture with State Grid Corp. of China that holds the 25-year concession for the Philippines' power transmission highway.

Second on Forbes' list is tobacco tycoon Lucio Tan and family, who was estimated to have a net worth of $4.5 billion, or about P190 billion.

Besides controlling the Philippines' tobacco monopoly in a partnership with multinational Philip Morris, 77-year old Tan also is part owner of Asia's oldest carrier, Philippine Airlines, a substantial interest in which he sold to long-time beverage rival, San Miguel Corp.

Third on Forbes' list is port operator Enrique Razon Jr., who was credited with a net worth of $3.6 billion, or about P152 billion.

Apart from International Container Terminal Services Inc., the 52-year old Razon also has interests in mineral exploration and recently has ventured into the tourism space with his gaming firm, Bloomberry.

Fourth on Forbes' list is John Gokongwei Jr., who has an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion, or about P135 billion.

The 84-year old businessman's empire includes the Philippines' fastest-growing budget carrier, Cebu Pacific, food manufacturer Universal Robina, and property firm Robinsons Land.

Fifth on Forbes' list is 90-year old construction magnate David Consunji and family, who are worth of $2.7 billion, or about P114 billion, Forbes.com said.

Other businessmen on the Forbes list in order of their net worth are the following:

- Andrew Tan, $2.3 billion;

- Jaime Zobel de Ayala and family, $2.2 billion;

- George Ty and family, $1.7 billion;

- Roberto Ongpin, $1.5 billion;

- Eduardo Cojuangco, $1.4 billion;

Senator Manuel Villar is also on the list, coming in 18^th with a net worth of $720 million.

Among world's top billionaires

Sy and family also ranked 116^th in Forbes' list of the world's billionaires, which 72-year-old Mexican telecoms owner Carlos Slim topped, with a net worth of $69 billion.

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, 56, came in second with $61 billion, and Berkshire Hathaway chief executive and investing legend Warren Buffett, 81, was in third place with $44 billion.

article source: interaksyon.com

Robinsons mall heist leaves 3 hurt

Two security guards and a bank teller were wounded in a robbery incident inside Robinsons Metro East mall in Barangay Dela Paz, Pasig City on Friday.

Chief Superintendent Miguel Laurel, Eastern Police District director, said two armed men robbed a bank teller who was supposed to deliver money to Robinsons Bank.

Aside from the bank teller, two security guards were injured in the robbery. They were bank teller security aide Edwin Garcia and grocery store guard Domingo Rodriguez. The teller’s identity has yet to be revealed.

Laurel said the teller disclosed that some P550,000 were taken by the suspects.

He said the two men were armed with .45-caliber pistol each.

Another man also reportedly served as the robbers’ lookout, while two more waited outside the mall.

The injured victims were rushed to nearby Salve Regina General Hospital for treatment.

The suspects’ get-away vehicle, a white Hyundai vehicle, was abandoned in Barangay San Roque, Marikina.

Laurel said they will investigate how the armed suspects were able to enter the mall.

“Malaking tanong iyan dahil may mga gwardya. Mahigpit naman ang mga gwardya, yan ang tinitignan natin.,” Laurel said.

Police will also examine footage from the closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera to identify the suspects.

A witness said mallgoers panicked upon hearing the gunshots. She said the shootout lasted about 5 minutes.

The mall management has yet to issue a statement regarding the incident. – reports from Johnson Manabat, dzMM; and Doland Castro, ABS-CBN News

article source: abs-cbnnews.com

Boy Figures In Escalator Mishap

MANILA, Philippines — A seven-year-old boy's arm was caught in an escalator inside a supermarket in Caloocan City the other night. Felix Aparehado, was rescued and brought to the Manila Central University hospital for treatment of his hand. Sketchy reports showed that the incident happened at 7:30 pm inside the Puregold Monumento mall in Caloocan City.

Melody Aparehado, the aunt of the victim, told authorities that they went to the establishment along with his sons. When she went to the comfort room, she said she was shocked to see her nephew already snagged to the side of the escalator.

Her son told her that they were playing near the escalator when his cousin suddenly tripped and the latter's arm was caught in the escalator's belt.

Melody lamented that there should have been a security guard in the area to avoid such things from happening.

Norman Bacalao, the head of the security personnel, however said that they did have roving security guards in the area and he was in fact the one who first saw the incident.

He said that this was the reason why he immediately called a rescue team and coordinated with their personnel to cordon-off the area to allow the rescue workers to move freely.

It took three hours before the boy was finally rescued. One of the rescue workers said that they had a hard time getting the boy out because the latter's arm seemingly clamped into the escalator belt and the stairstep.

The management of the branch of Puregold assured the relatives of the boy that they will shoulder all the medical expenses of the latter until he is discharged from the hospital.



source: mb.com.ph

SM Group confirms talks to acquire Ortigas Holdings

MANILA, Philippines -- The country's biggest mall owner and operator has confirmed that it is in talks to acquire a majority stake in the holding firm of the Ortigas family.

"We confirm that SM Group is in the process of discussion for the acquisition of majority interest in Ortigas Holdings Inc. The amount and details of the transaction are still under discussion and subject to finalization," Jose Sio, SM Investments Corp. finance officer, told the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The Ortigas & Co Ltd. Partnership own Greenhills Shopping Center, the financial district Ortigas Center, Tiendesitas, Frontera Verde, Valle Verde subdivisions, Greenmeadows, Greenhills subdivisions, Luntala, Circulo Verde, and Viridian in Greenhills.

source: interaksyon.com