Wimbledon extends BBC partnership until 2024

Wimbledon will continue to be broadcast on BBC at least until 2024 following a four-year extension to the longest partnership in sports broadcasting history.

"We are delighted to be further extending our long partnership with the BBC up to 2024," chairman of the All England Club Philip Brook said in a statement.

"We greatly value the BBC's commitment to delivering large national audiences for The Championships across a multitude of high quality platforms," he added.

Wimbledon will complete a partnership of 80 years of television and 90 years of radio with the BBC in July 2017.

The BBC registered a peak audience of 13.3 million for Andy Murray's second Wimbledon title on BBC One, while the Scot's first title in 2013 was watched by 17.3 million people across the UK. (Reporting by Debanjan Bose in Bengaluru; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How to franchise a foreign brand

MANILA - With the economy booming, never before have more brands wanted to come into the Philippine market.

Every week new foreign franchise brands have been opening, and a question we always get is, what would smaller scale business owners have to do to become master franchisees of foreign brands?

Contrary to popular belief, big conglomerates are not always the top franchise partner of foreign brands, what’s important to them is to find someone who is an able, suitable and willing franchise partner.

Able:
A would-be master franchisee would need sufficient business experience in order to start, grow and run a foreign brand. A good understanding of customer service, marketing and financial & business acumen would be important for a would-be partner. Equally important is of course the ability to fund the capital requirements and get locations.

A foreign brand will look to you to develop multiple locations, and would rely on you to find the right locations for the brand and fund the development of the first few stores. So when evaluating your capital, it is best to ensure that you have enough capital to open a few stores and not just one.

Suitable:
Foreign brands would be looking at someone who can follow the systems they have developed. They would look for someone who can help localize, but still keep the essence of the brand. And as with any partnership, they would look at your values and your company’s values. It is critical that there is a fit in brand values as this would ensure a smoother partnership.

Willing:

Foreign brands would prefer that as the owner and investor, you would be actively participating in the business. They know there’s no substitute to an owner being involved in growing his business and his investment, so they will want to understand how involved you will be. This is the advantage of smaller scale business owners, as oftentimes, acquiring foreign brands is a significant step for your group and will surely merit a lot of your attention and expertise.

If you think you are an able, suitable & willing master franchisee, then do take the next step and pursue a foreign brand. It helps if you show initiative – whether flying to meet the franchisor or already pre-selecting locations and preparing a business plan. In addition, introductions or referrals go a long way, whether getting introduced by a partner, consultant or franchise brokers. Also, make sure you attend franchise shows where foreign brands are participating, as it’s your chance to talk face to face with multiple foreign franchise brands and find the right one for you.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

PLDT, SM Sign Branding Alliance

MANILA, Philippines --- The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has strengthened its ties with the country's biggest mall developer and operator, SM via a three-year branding alliance with SM's P3.6-billion Mall of Asia Arena, the latest events venue to open in Metro Manila.

The 16,000-seater complex located at SM's Mall of Asia in Pasay City is a six-level, world-class sports and multi-event complex with a gross floor area of 64,085 square meters. It serves as a venue for concerts, sports matches, musical and theater productions, fashion shows, circuses and corporate events.

The MOA Arena, launched last Saturday, will grant branding rights and license to have the phrase "powered by PLDT" displayed with the Mall of Asia Arena name.

The partnership will also carry multiple branding agreements with SM and PLDT including the MOA Arena state-of-the-art Daktronics scoreboard, rotational ribbon a first in such a venue in the Philippines,

digital spots, PLDT murals and exclusive PLDT show rooms located at the MOA Arena complex.

The MOA Arena will also carry two PLDT corporate suites as part of the 3-year partnership. Various businesses of PLDT, such as ALPHA Enterprise, SME Nation and HOME, will be featured in these spaces.

"We are excited to partner with SM in bringing world-class entertainment, sporting events, and other quality activities to the Filipinos through the Mall of Asia Arena," PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

source: mb.com.ph

Bayan taps DataOne for enterprise cloud offerings

MANILA, Philippines — Lopez-led telco firm Bayan Telecommunications is tapping data center services provider DataOne in its initial foray into offering cloud computing services to its business customers.

Under the partnership, Bayan will be offering its potential customers under its Bayan Business brand cloud-based services in the spaces of applications, platform, and infrastructure.

DataOne, meanwhile, will be providing the back-end data center infrastructure needed to deliver the cloud services in its Tier-3 data center located at the IBM Plaza Building in Eastwood City, Libis, Quezon City.

Among the suite of services under the portfolio touted by DataOne as “CloudSecure” that will be offered through Bayan include applications such as Microsoft Exchange and Sharepoint; platforms such as MS SQL and MYSQL; virtualized servers based on Microsoft’s Hyper-V or VMWare; and cloud storage services.

Bayan said their offerings could range from as low as P3,500 per month to as much as P17,000 per month, but may change depending on the user’s unique customization requirements.

But executives claimed their offerings are readily available upon launch since these are cloud services already being offered by DataOne, citing long processes with other cloud providers before availing of their services.

DataOne President and CEO Cyril Rocke said that even though local cloud providers are competing with global cloud services the likes of Amazon’s and Google’s, the Bayan-DataOne tandem can compete on two grounds.

“One, we are in-country. Businesses have access to the cloud globally, but we also believe that there is value in having a provider located here in the Philippines,” Rocke asserted.

DataOne, which was started in 2002 by the Keppel Group of Singapore, has been offering data center outsourcing, managed infrastructure, operations management, and computing services to local businesses.

Two, Rocke said, the partnership will provide expert support to potential customers as it will tap into a pool of seasoned IT professionals who have been in the industry for a long time.

Joevel Rivera, vice president for product development and management at Bayan, said they decided to take the partnership route instead of offering the cloud services on their own so they can leverage the competencies of each company.

“Let’s face it. Offering cloud services is not really the core competence of telcos. Access is our competence,” Rivera stressed, adding that a company needs to be focused on IT in order to provide such services effectively.

Bayan claims that through the partnership, it will now be offering the most complete suite of cloud computing services to the market.

These services, according to executives, will not only be offered to large enterprises, but even to small companies with less than 10 employees as well, which comprise more than 90 percent of the total number of businesses in the country.

Rivera added that today is the perfect time for firms to jump on the cloud bandwagon, considering that the infrastructure and applications are already in place, unlike a decade ago.

“Things have changed significantly. Today, there are so many ways for companies to move large amounts of data,” he added.

source: interaksyon.com

Joint statement of the Philippines-United States ministerial dialogue

Following is the text of a joint statement by the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America issued on 30 April 2012, in Washington, D.C.

The Philippines-United States alliance: Charting a course forward


I. Preamble

The Philippines-US alliance is stronger than ever, reflecting the deep and abiding ties linking our two nations and forged through a history of shared sacrifice and common purpose. Seventy years ago this month, thousands of Filipino and US troops served together in defense of our last strongholds in Corregidor and Bataan.

Later, when we signed our Mutual Defense Treaty in 1951, we united against the spread of communism. Today, Filipinos and Americans are inextricably bound by common values and shared aspirations, including a commitment to democracy and the rule of law, building a robust economic partnership, and deepening people-to-people ties.

Our alliance remains an anchor for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. With this in mind, our Ministers meet today in Washington to reaffirm the Manila Declaration signed by our governments on November 16, 2011 and to ensure that our alliance remains robust, agile, and responsive in order to meet changing global and regional dynamics.

Our consultations seek to address common strategic and security objectives, promote economic cooperation, advance people-to-people ties, and enshrine principles of good governance and the rule of law.

The Ministers reaffirm our shared obligations under the Mutual Defense Treaty and our mutual commitment to the peace and security of the region.

II. Common Strategic Objectives

The Republic of the Philippines and the United States articulate the following shared objectives characterizing our collective and individual engagements in the Asia-Pacific region:


Enhance peace, security, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific.
Support efforts to increase cooperation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM+), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the East Asia Summit (EAS).
Reaffirm our common interest in maintaining freedom of navigation, unimpeded lawful commerce, and transit of people across the seas and subscribe to a rules-based approach in resolving competing claims in maritime areas through peaceful, collaborative, multilateral, and diplomatic processes within the framework of international law, including as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Recognizing the outstanding contributions of the Philippines as the ASEAN country coordinator for the United States since 2009, ensure a smooth transition as Burma assumes this role in July.
Strengthen bilateral and regional cooperation on humanitarian and disaster relief preparedness activities and enhancing combined capabilities in responding to natural disasters.
Support expanded regional counterterrorism cooperation through intelligence sharing and coordination of surveillance and interdiction efforts.
Encourage the efforts at the regional and international levels including the East Asia Summit to promote nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. We agreed that we should continue to work together to ensure compliance and implementation of relevant United Nations non-proliferation commitments and to pursue cooperation through multilateral mechanisms.
Reduce all types of environmental degradation including illegal fishing, deforestation, poaching of endangered species, climate change, and destruction of coral reefs.
Cooperate in the prevention and eradication of piracy.



III. Security Partnership

The Republic of the Philippines and the United States reaffirm our shared obligations under the Mutual Defense Treaty, which remains the foundation of the Philippines-U.S. security relationship. In seeking to enhance our security cooperation, we intend to do the following:


Continue to hold discussions through the Bilateral Strategic Dialogue Defense Working Group and the Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board on further enhancing the defense and security aspects of our alliance on the basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit, in accordance with both countries’ domestic laws and constitutional processes, and the Mutual Defense Treaty, the Agreement Relating to Military Assistance, the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement and the Agreement Regarding the Treatment of United States Armed Forces Visiting the Philippines (Visiting Forces Agreement).
Jointly explore modalities for strengthening the defense capabilities of the Philippines in order to establish a minimum credible defense posture through robust cooperative security assistance programs.
Affirm that our respective military forces should be prepared to respond in a timely and effective way to the range of contingencies that may arise in our region, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and should be able to work with the armed forces of regional partners.
Ensure that our collective defense capabilities and communications infrastructure are operationally and materially capable of countering the full spectrum of traditional and non-traditional threats.
Cooperate on building the Philippines’ maritime security presence and capabilities and strengthening its maritime domain awareness in order to contribute to national defense and enhanced regional security related to issues such as illegal fishing, transnational crime, and natural disasters. To that end, the United States intends to transfer a second High Endurance cutter to the Philippines this year.
Review joint exercises and training activities and afford priority to those that have high value and great impact with regard to our common objectives, such as but not limited to maritime security.
Continue our joint counterterrorism efforts, including through U.S. non-combat support to the Philippine security services in combating al Qaeda-linked terrorist groups in the southern Philippines.
Continue joint training and exercises such as the recently completed Exercise Balikatan 2012 to enhance force interoperability.
Support the National Coast Watch System and work to expand joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) activities to deter and respond proactively, rapidly, and seamlessly to various situations in the region.
Enhance cooperation in information sharing in a timely manner particularly during emergent situations, and work towards establishing appropriate mechanisms for this purpose.
Maintain our cooperation with respect to the protection of cyberspace. Enhance the resilience of critical infrastructure to counter cyber threats.
Strengthen cooperation and participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations.


IV. Burgeoning Economic Relationship

The Republic of the Philippines and the United States are long-standing economic partners that share a mutual commitment to free trade, economic opportunity, and poverty reduction. We intend to work together to deepen and enhance our bilateral economic relationship through the following:


Reaffirm the Partnership for Growth Joint Statement of Principles signed in Manila on November 16, 2011 and seek to mobilize a broad range of Philippine and U.S. entities within and outside our governments to achieve a more accelerated, sustained, and inclusive growth path for the Philippines.
Endeavor to increase bilateral trade and investment through continuing our Trade and Investment Framework Agreement discussions, among other efforts.
Note our shared desire to continue discussing the Philippines’ interest in eventually joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. Seek to support cooperative activities that promote readiness in key areas, including mutually beneficial legislative measures that may serve as building blocks to the TPP.
Continue implementation of the five-year, $434 million (USD) Millennium Challenge Corporation compact between the Philippine and the United States in order to reduce poverty, promote inclusive economic growth, and create new opportunities for the Filipino people.
Reaffirm the Philippines-U.S. customs and trade facilitation agreement signed during the 2011 APEC summit in Honolulu.
Support programs to increase tourism exchanges between the two countries, and identify and address obstacles to more vibrant tourist exchanges.


V. Mutual Commitment to Government Transparency and the Rule of Law

Our nations are committed to principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Convention against Corruption, and other applicable international instruments related to human rights and good governance.

As joint steering committee members of the Open Government Partnership, we support a set of common principles guiding the relationship between governments and their citizenry. We support continued efforts to promote greater government transparency and the rule of law.

Among other measures, we intend to promote the establishment of a National Justice Information System for the Philippines, an integrated criminal justice database system that will facilitate the efficient recording, monitoring, tracking and reporting of crimes, cases, offenders, and victims.

We also intend to continue our close cooperation in countering the global scourge of trafficking in persons.

VI. Conclusion

The Philippines-U.S. alliance remains an essential element undergirding regional peace, security, and prosperity. As our nations reflect on the strength and durability of our alliance, we also look to enhance our relationship in order to address even more effectively the range of regional challenges and opportunities that are of interest to both our governments. Both nations therefore resolve to continue our regular consultation and coordination on these issues.

source: gmanetwork.com

Binalot, Robinsons Forge Location Partnership

MANILA, Philippines — Binalot Fiesta Foods Inc. (BFFI), home of classic Pinoy dishes wrapped in banana leaves, expects to roll out 12 new stores this year for a total of 52 stores as it signed a partnership agreement with Robinsons Malls to be able to get prime locations at cheaper rates.

Under the partnership, Binalot franchisees are to enjoy lower rent, prime location, good relationship with lessor or mall administrator and easy approval on marketing activities initiated by the franchisee.

This was agreed during a meeting between Binalot Business Development Manager Mary Panganiban and Robinsons Category Lease Manager Mike Hilario.

BFFI president Rommel T. Juan said the company has opened 10 branches last year and 12 more this year for a total of 52 stores. BFFI also expects to maintain a steady annual sales growth of 5 percent.

Of the 32 Robinsons shopping malls in the country, BFFI is only present in five and hopes to include more mall in the future. Binalot stores are present in Robinsons Malls in Galleria, Otis, Imus, Metro East and Calasiao, Pangasinan.

Most of its outlets are stand-alone and non-mall based strategically located in the National Capital Region and some parts of Luzon.

Juan also said they intend to reopen its Subic outlet to have a total of seven company-owned stores.

Each outlet, a minimum of 15 square meter has a total investments of P2.5 million inclusive of the P500,000 franchise fee.

Juan said the company has geared up for the year 2012, which is the Year of the Black Water Dragon.

Its black color symbolizes dark and deep water, an omen promising wealth and prosperity only to those brave enough to tame its fierce roar. The dragon’s serpentine head and tail, both linger atop the clouds, as if declaring the unpredictability in the direction of its movement. The forecast says that there is wealth to be made, but be wary of challenges along the way.

“That’s why Binalot faces 2012 with renewed strength, energy and vigor,” Juan said.

Among the most recent partner franchisees to open inside Robinsons Malls is Anna Lim of Robinsons-Otis (Manila) last Nov. 18. The same goes for James Mazo of Robinsons Imus (Cavite) who broke ground last Dec. 8 and Paul Nicolas Castellano of Robinson Metro East last Dec. 22. These three are welcome additions to Binalot stores already operating in several locations. Robinsons Calasiao (Pangasinan) is also set to open under the partnership with franchisee Ruffy Meneses, who incidentally spearheads the expansion into Pangasinan with teritorial and unit franchise agreements signed in Dagupan, Pangasinan last October.

In the past year alone, Binalot’s strong network of stores is reinforced with the addition of new franchises in Jupiter St. Makati, PGH Taft Manila, Marikina, University of Pangasinan, Gaisano Mall, Lyceum Northwestern University, and the abovementioned Robinsons stores.

source: mb.com.ph