The Wutz Up in the Philippines!

Despite the economic slowdown, the domestic franchising industry remains robust with a projected 5 to 10 percent growth in sales this year over last year propelled largely by a robust homegrown franchises, which is growing faster than the foreign brands.

Robert F. Trota, president of the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA), told reporters at the opening of the 17th Philippine International Franchise Conference and Expo (PIFCE) that the growth in the local franchising has been robust despite the economic slowdown.

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MANILA, Philippines - Overnight decline on Wall Street and a perceived weak investor sentiment forced Philippine stocks to end the week slightly in the red.

The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index slipped for the second consecutive day to hit 1,872.22 points after shedding 8.16 points during Friday’s trading. The all-shares index also slid, paring 5.58 points to 1,211.02.

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MANILA, Philippines–The Ayalas’ Bank of the Philippine Islands plans to team up with British insurance giant Prudential Plc in its bid for the country’s biggest and most profitable insurance group Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co.

Inquirer sources from the financial community said BPI and Prudential were in talks to pool resources to vie for the remaining Philippines assets of beleaguered American International Group, which is paring down assets across the globe.

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SM captures 2 International Award

Philippine conglomerate SM Investments garnered awards from two prestigious international publications.

First, SM was voted as one of the Philippines’ Best in Corporate Governance for 2008, based on a survey by Hong Kong-based, The Asset magazine. SM was voted for the same award in 2007. The award gives credence to the progressive approach that the holding company is taking in the area of corporate governance. The other awardees were Manila Water, Ayala Corp, Globe Telecom, and Bank of the Philippine Islands.

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