Manila FAME International highlights Filipino creativity this October

The world’s trendsetters and style hunters are set to visit the Philippines once more when Manila F.A.M.E. International, the country’s second longest running tradeshow for furnishings, houseware, holiday décor, and fashion accessories take place on 17 to 20 October. And this time, they are bound to discover new design ideas and captivating products from four top Filipino designers Carlo Tanseco, Joel and Olive Enriquez, and Yvonne-Quisumbing Romulo through the Merchandise Development Consultancy Program (MDCP).

When the show was launched in 1983, buyers from all over the world were introduced to a new design philosophy that blended traditional Asian elements with the Filipinos’ own brand of modernism and creativity, resulting in revolutionary products for the global market. Two decades later, the show continues to amaze international buyers with its stylish and sophisticated collection, and the April edition proved just that, which generated a total of U$ 51 Million a positive sign that Philippine manufacturers continue to deliver value and that the country is still among the leading destinations in the region for design-driven products.

Introduced in 1997, the MDCP paved the way for local and foreign designers to work closely with the country’s local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to develop globally competitive products. Using a wide cross-section of natural indigenous materials endemic to the Philippines, and combining these with modern production techniques and processes, the designer, manufacturer, and the artisans find ingenious ways to interpret their innovative ideas into compelling artistic expressions. The resulting products are displayed to advantage in unique special settings, which are considered among the most anticipated highlights of the Manila F.A.M.E. International.

One of the highlights of the October fair is a half-day forum by the Nelly Rodi™ agency, a Paris-based company with a worldwide network of professionals and represented in more than 17 countries. The forum, which will take place on 16 October, will tackle the latest factors that influence lifestyle, consumer behavior, and consumption patterns, which create an impact on product design and development. CITEM organized the event in time with Manila F.A.M.E. so that exhibitors could maximize their trips by taking advantage of this unique opportunity to learn and interact with leading experts in branding.

The forum will also address the need of the home furnishings industry, and give them access to market intelligence information and developments in international home furnishings markets and how it impacts on Philippine exporters/manufacturers. It also aims to educate Philippine manufacturers and exporters on the concept of integrating product development, marketing and market research and sociological influences and how it can be a basis of improving the long-term competitiveness of Philippine home furnishings industry. All in all, the forum hopes to upgrade the skills and talents of Philippine designers through this method of product design and development, and enhance the image and reputation of the Philippines as a source of design-driven merchandise.

Nelly Rodi™ agency has a wealth of in-house experts: fashion artists, designers, sketchers, scenographers, and model makers. Its clients include Moët Hennessy, Louis Vuitton (LVMH) Group, Givenchy, Agnés B., Benelux Orient, Foire de Paris, Department of Export Promotion (Thailand) and L’Oreal Professional.

Aside from exhibitors, CITEM expects practicing designers, architects, interior designers and other creative professionals, as well as representatives from the government and the academe to participate in this event.

For information, please contact CITEM’s Softgoods and Hardgoods Division at (+632) 833-1258 or (+632) 831-1265 or email softgoods@citem.com.ph or hardgoods@citem.com.ph. You may also visit www.manilafame.com.

Six home building companies to attend Middle East Fair

Exporters eye business contracts in Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Six Filipino exporters in the home building sector hope to clinch business contracts in the Middle East market, specifically Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Philippine companies Grace Park International, Lightworks Resources Inc., Madeka Stone Development Enterprises, Raphael Legacy, Teresa Marble, and World Chem Enviro Technologies will represent the Philippines in the country’s first foray into Big 5 Dubai (28 October-November1), the Middle East Fair targeting the construction market.

“The Philippine home building sector is ready for independent promotion in Dubai,” according to Trade Assistant Secretary Fe Agoncillo-Reyes, head of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the export promotion arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

For the past three years, Philippine home building companies would join firms engaged in furniture and home accents in INDEX, another Middle East show for furniture, interiors, and retail design.

The Philippines first participation in The Big 5 Dubai is expected to establish contracts with the key decision makers in the Gulf region, as well as equip the Philippine construction materials supplies company with knowledge on best industry practices and standards. The Philippine participation is organized by CITEM.

This year, the participation to the Big 5 Dubai is also seen as a venue to secure supplier contracts and bigger sales, according to James Rosca, export manager of Teresa Marble. As majority of construction projects in the Gulf near completion, demand for woodworks and coverings is expected to increase.

Teresa Marble has been operating for more than 25 years supplying marbles to countries like the United States and Asia. It has an annual production capacity of 12,000 cubic meters sourced from Bulacan, Rizal, and Cebu.

Grace Park International makes wooden kitchen systems. It is the country’s only manufacturer of particle boards.

Lightworks Resources, Inc is famous for its earthenware pieces and will introduce its bathroom sink, wall, and floor tiles in the fair.

Madeka Stone Development Enterprises has 15 years of experience in manufacturing and distributing natural stones. It will seek to clinch deals for its slates, wood stones, shell stones, and coco coir.

Raphael Legacy, an awardee of utility patent for its mosaic products will feature its Greek and Roman inspired mosaic tiles, floor tiles, and medallion.

World Chem Enviro Technologies, Inc., provider of waste and wastewater treatment technologies, equipment and related process, on the other hand, will look into UAE’s US$7 billion spending for water resources development for the next 25 years.

The Philippine pavilion will be at BN E445 of Shaikh Maktoum Hall.

Philippine construction materials suppliers are specified for prestigious projects worldwide because of its competitive price and quality, environment-friendly operations, customer orientation, sales and delivery reliability, and excellent post sales service commitments.

The country’s readiness and capacity to supply bulk requirements are credited to its abundant natural resources. Philippine marble known for its color and durability has recorded US$ 9 million of exports in 2005, posting an annual growth rate of 7.7%. The country has 13 exporters with abundant supply from Bulacan, Metro Manila, Romblon, Cebu, Nueva Ecija, and Batangas.

Woodworks is also one of the growth drivers of Philippine construction material industry with an average growth rate of 29%. Last year, woodworks has contributed US$ 107.49 million from the country’s construction material exports.
The sanitary and bathroom fixtures manufacturing industry posted US$27.15 million in 2005, recording an annual growth rate of 36%.

More Brits interested in ethnic food

Filipino food manufacturers urged to tap the UK market

Philippine food manufacturers of fruit juices, biscuits, and other ‘comfort foods’ will have huge potential in the United Kingdom market, according to Nicholas Orledge, a consultant for the UK who worked as a senior buyer for Tesco.

Tesco is a UK-based international supermarket chain and the largest British retailer, both by global sales and by domestic market share.

Orledge said that the UK’s rising population and increasing immigrants have led to a globalized food consumption patterns among Brits and also in the growth of exotic foods.

According to Orledge, Philippine food products will surely gain attention from British consumers by arranging trade fairs in their country, creating promotional materials, and following their food standards. He noted that since Britons are very concerned when it comes to food ethical issues, Filipino manufacturers should comply with the strict UK regulations in order to gain deals.

The British food expert was in Manila as guest speaker for the IFEX Symposium Series: ‘The Global Challenge of Food Safety and Regulatory Compliance in the United Kingdom’ organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) and the Brand Management Team for food of the Department of Trade and Industry.

During the symposium, he introduced the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Food Technical Standard which is developed to be used as an evaluation of the retailers’ own brand food products. This Standard is regarded as the benchmark for best practice in the food industry. It is now used outside the UK and has evolved into a global standard, not only to assess the retailers’ supplies, but also to serve as a framework where companies can base their supplier assessment programs.

Orledge advised the participants that Philippine food manufacturers who wish to market in UK should pass the BRC’s qualifications such as creating a computer-generated system which manages the traceability, receipts, and process controls of the products, training quality-assurance officers in the factories, and building new factories where foods can be sanitarily processed and packaged. Other food standards that are very important for consumers include the ingredient list, allergens, production methods, origin labeling, information and risk, and nutrition labeling.

The seminar was participated by various food companies such as Branded Food and Ingredients Enterprise, Coffee Blends Export Corp., First Choice Food, Florence Food Corp., Gem Foods Inc., Grand Alphatech, KSK Food Products, Leslie Corp., Liwayway Mktg. Corp, Marketreach Distributors, Marikina Food Corp., Mega Fishing Corp., Monde Nissin Corp., Nutrilicious Food Corp., Oriental Synergies, Primex Coco Food, Rebisco Food of Group Companies, Profood International, RFM Foods, and Universal Robina Corporation.

Philippines pushes for aggressive marketing promotions of ICT and BPO in the US

Philippine business processing companies’ foray into the global market will be given a boost through a trade and investment mission organized by the Department of Trade and Industry through the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) and the Board of Investments (BOI).

“The mission aims to sustain the government’s aggressive marketing promotions of the Philippine IT and BPO capability on customer relations management, procurement, financial, H&R, data transcription, design and engineering, as well as animation in the United States,” explained Trade Assistant Secretary Fe Agoncillo-Reyes, executive director of CITEM.

The US mission (25 September-4 October) is also in coordination with the Philippine Trade and Investment Center and will focus on Chicago, New York, Miami, and Denver as primary target markets for the Philippines. The Philippine delegation will consist 10 companies providing BPO and IT sourcing services.

Activities during the mission include a business forum on the Philippine IT advantage, pre-arranged business meetings, and a high-level networking reception.

The United States remains the Philippines’ primary source market for outsourced business processes and contact center services. Driven significantly by the prosperity to send business processing work oversease, cut costs, and focus on core competencies to remain globally competitive, the US accounts for about 60 percent of the total BPO spending in the global market.

According to statistics, the global BPO market is projected to reach 173 billion dollars by 2007. In 2004, global BPO market reached 131 billion dollars. Presently, North America remains the dominant market for ITES-BPO services, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the total market.

“The United States presents new commercial opportunities to our BPO firms,” said Agoncillo-Reyes. “Its total core insurance BPO is projected to grow to 3 billion dollars in 2006. Also, US will remain, by far, the largest finance and accounting BPO market, with transaction management functions driving its growth.”

Meanwhile, the United States’ human resources work (e.g. HR consulting services, HR volume processing services) accounted for 24 billion dollars in 2004 and is seen to rise to 42 billion dollars by 2008.

“We would like to help our small enterprises in the BPO space who want to collaborate with international partners through this trade and investment mission. These local enterprises are going to be crucial players in the knowledge-based economy and the US mission can become a strong bridge for partnerships and investments,” added Agoncillo-Reyes. “Also, we hope to invite delegations from the United States to attend e-Services Philippines, the government’s flagship show for our players in the IT and ITES industries.”

BPO in the Philippines is one of its fastest growing industries. The BPO boom was led by the demand for offshore call centers. In fact, there were about 112, 000 workers employed in call centers in 2005, and the industry generated about 1.12 billion revenues during the same period.

In addition, the BPO industry in the Philippines has the largest number of accredited accountants in Asia. Filipino accountants are known for their flexibility in working with multiple standards in accounting.

According to neoIT’s Annual Mapping Offshore Markets Update in 2005, the Philippines is ranked 3rd in the world’s top BPO destinations. It is considered the most serious rival to India when it comes to BPO.

As more US firms focus on core competencies, Agoncillo-Reyes said, opportunities abound for niche back office services. For the Philippines, its cultural and geographic lead is already a key advantage. It is only a matter of developing scalable skills and resources required by target niches through domain expertise and continuous training.

“If we are to leverage on our unique attachment to the US model, there are vast opportunities present for customer contact center, business back office, human resources work, content management and development, arts and engineering, procurement, software and medical transcription,” said Agoncillo-Reyes. “The challenge is to position the Philippines as a preferred sourcing destination of choice for US companies”

Also, it is projected that the US labor shortage will reach its peak in 2010 to 2015, when the retirement of baby boomers will result in as many as 15 million jobs unfilled. In a fight to remain competitive, companies are looking beyond traditional labor markets. Thus, the need to hire a third-party provider like the Philippines to manage their non-core processes remain evident.

For information on joining the Philippine delegation to the United States, please contact CITEM, IT Services and Electronics Division at (02) 8325044 and 8312201 locals 212, 251, and 278, or email itservices@citem.com.ph.

Philippine MT companies explore US market for transcription deals

The Philippine medical transcription industry expects to secure bigger business deals from healthcare institutions in the United States through its participation to the 78th AHIMA Convention and Exhibition (7-12 October) in the United States, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) reported.

The United States’ medical transcription industry is worth 25 billion dollars and is expected to grow by 20 percent annually, industry reports said. This is due to the increasing documentation demand to support reimbursement, risk management, and the need for more data.

Despite being the largest market in MT services, the United States is experiencing a shortage in medical transcriptionists, as its younger population were no longer interested in entering the MT profession leaving the industry with aging transcriptionists between 47-51.

“This growing shortage of medical transcription personnel in the US because of retirement and inadequate new recruits joining the profession opens up opportunities for Philippine MT companies,” noted Trade Assistant Secretary Fe Agoncillo-Reyes, head of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM). “Our cultural closeness to the United States, American educational system, including American diction and pronunciation give our local MT an advantage in dealing with American clients.”

The Medical Transciption Industry Association of the Philippines (MTIAPI) and CITEM organized this year’s Philippine participation to AHIMA.

AHIMA stands for American Health Information Management Association and represents more than 50, 000 educated health information management professionals. As a professional organization, they make and influence buying decisions.

To date, the Philippines accounts for 10 percent of the total MT work that the US outsources to Asia. Filipino transcriptionists can transcribe up to 1,000 lines per day, at a 98% accuracy rate. In 2003, the Philippines was awarded the largest medical transcription contract in the world (
23, 000 lines per day), according to the Philippine IT Pffshore Network.

“We see further growth in the demand for medical transcription as US industry reports say that there are approximately 6, 700 hospitals in the US have yet to convert medical notes to electronic files,” said Agoncillo-Reyes.

The Philippine medical transcription industry is an emerging industry with its rich pool of low-cost yet English-proficient and IT-skilled workers with medical backgrounds, familarity with US medical standards and practices, and advanced and cost-competitive telecom infrastructure, as well as the speed it can deliver output to the United States due to the 12-hour difference between two countries.

In 2005, the Philippines ranked third in the world for top BPO destinations based on neoIT’s Mapping Offshore Update. The Philippine MT industry employs about 5, 000 professionals and offer transcription services for mergency reports, consultation reports, clinicial notes, psychiatric evaluation, laboratory x-ray reports and therapy and rehabilitation notes using highly advanced software and equipment from the United States.

For the past years, the DTI through CITEM, the Board of Investments and its Foreign Trade Service Corps together with MTIAPI and Pearl2 projects have been promoting the Philippine capability in transcription in the US. Other than the participation to AHIMA, their other efforts include international trade and investment mission, business matching activities, and seminars.

For information about the Philippine participation to AHIMA, please contact CITEM’s IT Services and Electronics Division at (+632) 8325044 and (+632) 8312201 locals 212, 251, and 301, or email itservices@citem.com.ph