Globe to launch eSIM for prepaid users in Q3 2023

In response to the evolving technological landscape and the increasing number of phones equipped with eSIM capabilities, Globe will introduce an eSIM for its prepaid users by the end of the third quarter of 2023.

This strategic move is in line with the company's commitment to providing innovative solutions, enhancing the mobile experience for its customers, and embedding sustainability in its products.

 

"By the end of this quarter, we will launch our leveled-up version of the eSIM because we recognize the opportunity and we can also monetize the convenience that eSIM can give our customers. And it's also going to restructure the way we operate because there's less cost, it's fully Do-It-Yourself. It's really convenient for the customer," said Darius Delgado, Head of Globe’s Consumer Mobile Business.

 

Globe first introduced eSIM technology to its postpaid customers in 2018. An eSIM is an integrated SIM chip that is permanently embedded in the mobile device. It offers users the convenience of having all their mobile information at their fingertips, paving the way for a future of seamless connections.

 

The introduction of the eSIM for prepaid users comes with many benefits. Users can create multiple profiles using different mobile numbers on a single device. This feature allows them to effortlessly switch between lines, whether it's for after-office hours, travel, or any other purpose that suits their lifestyle.

 

eSIM technology also enables users to connect multiple gadgets, such as smartphones and smartwatches, under a single mobile number. This means users no longer have to fret about leaving their primary phone at home while heading out for a jog or a quick errand.

 

As Globe integrates sustainability practices within its operations, the eSIM initiative minimizes the reliance on physical SIM cards made of plastic. This, in turn, eliminates the need for new plastic materials and reduces waste generation and logistics. By opting for the eSIM, users are taking a step towards more responsible consumption behaviors, understanding that even small changes, when embraced collectively, can lead to significant positive impact on the environment.

 

While the eSIM is currently available for new and existing Globe postpaid customers, the upcoming launch for prepaid users marks a significant milestone in Globe's commitment to providing cutting-edge solutions that cater to the diverse needs of its customer base.

 

A Meal for A Cause: Albay Province holds benefit dinner for Globe-led Hapag Movement

Albay Governor Edcel Greco ‘Grex’ Lagman speaks at the benefit dinner for the Hapag Movement on August 11, 2023 at the Governor's Guest House in Legazpi, gathering key Albayanos. 

Leading digital solutions platform Globe and the Provincial Government of Albay have forged a partnership in support of the Hapag Movement, marking the first time a local government unit has joined the initiative against involuntary hunger. 

To solidify the partnership, Albay Governor Edcel Greco ‘Grex’ Lagman hosted a benefit dinner on August 11, 2023 at the Governor's Guest House in Legazpi, gathering key Albayanos.

 

All proceeds from the dinner will be channeled directly to The Hapag Movement, with the goal to supplement the efforts of the Provincial Government of Albay to provide meals to the families that have been affected by the ongoing state of calamity that the locality is still experiencing. This is a tangible commitment to alleviating hunger, reflecting the shared values and dedication of both Globe and the Provincial Government of Albay.

 

Janis Racpan, Globe Director for Business Development Segment Marketing, speaks at the benefit dinner organized by the provincial government of Albay for the Globe-led Hapag Movement. 

The initiative’s key partner organizations on ground are the Albay chapter for the Tzu Chi Foundation, an international humanitarian organization that is one of the implementing partners of the Hapag Movement, Albay Queen 102, Leo Club, and their mother organization Legazpi City “Host” Lions Club, PMJF, a socio-civic organization that focuses on eight global causes, including hunger.

 

Yoly Crisanto, Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer of the Globe Group, thanked the Provincial Government of Albay for stepping up to the challenge of addressing involuntary hunger.

“Tonight marks a huge milestone for the Hapag Movement because Albay is the first LGU to sign up and join us. We believe that LGUs are among the key pillars for nation-building,” Crisanto said.

“Our ambition is huge. And we cannot do it alone. That’s why a major thrust of Hapag Movement is to find partners for fund-raising and implementation. We are truly proud to have Albay as our first LGU and the Lions Club of Albay as our first implementation partner outside Metro Manila. Your support will go a long way in achieving our shared goal of uplifting the lives of our fellow Filipinos,” she added.

 

"Albay is committed to the welfare of its people, and this collaboration with the Hapag Movement, Globe and other partners will help us reach Albayanos who continue to reel from involuntary hunger. Tonight is just the beginning of what I hope will be a long and fruitful partnership,” said Lagman.

 

Representatives from the Tzu Chi Foundation and Legazpi City “Host” Lions Club, PMJF, also expressed their support.

 

"This support is timely as we continue to work to touch the lives of families who cannot afford to have proper meals in a day. Through compassion, love, and hope, we can alleviate the suffering of those in need and create a better world for all," said Jocelyn Chua  Tzu Chi Foundation Albay volunteer.

 

Paulin Imperial-Dy, President of Legazpi City “Host” Lions Club, PMJF, meanwhile, said: "Every act of service brings hope where it is needed most. We are proud to join hands with Globe, the Provincial Government of Albay, and other partners in this important mission."

 

The Hapag Movement is a Globe-led initiative that aims to help 100,000 families experiencing involuntary hunger in four years through supplemental feeding and livelihood support. Since its launch in 2022, it has been growing its ecosystem of partners, including NGOs and private sector partners working together to deliver life-saving and life-enabling support to vulnerable families.

 

Globe’s 917Ventures, Ayala Corp, Gogoro's joint venture to accelerate PH sustainable urban transpo

Globe’s 917Ventures Inc., Ayala Corporation, and Gogoro have formalized their partnership for a transformative deal with the establishment of a Joint Venture, Gogoro Philippines Inc. (Gogoro Philippines). The JV will revolutionize the Philippine transportation landscape and deliver clean and sustainable mobility utilizing Gogoro's trailblazing electric two-wheel vehicles and open battery swap network.

The partnership was initiated late last year, with the first GoStation unveiled at the Globe headquarters in Taguig City in April 2023, followed by the launch of a pilot program for Globe employees.

 

"Gogoro is Globe’s entry into the climate tech industry through 917Ventures Inc. The official signing of the joint venture is a big stride in our goal to provide eco-friendly transport that places at the forefront environmental stewardship and mobility for businesses and individuals. Our enduring dedication to effecting positive change in Filipino lives is further underscored by this initiative," said Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO.

 

“We are establishing a new smart electric transportation era in the Philippines. Gogoro Philippines, our joint venture with Globe’s 917Ventures Inc. and the Ayala Group, continues our global mission to empower cities with intelligent, eco-friendly mobility solutions that are open and accessible,” said Horace Luke, founder, and CEO of Gogoro. “Together, we are focused on accelerating the mass market shift to smart electric mobility and battery swapping addressing the urban mobility energy demands in a safe, sustainable, and scalable way.” 

 

Bernie Llamzon, CEO of Gogoro Philippines, added: "This alliance sets the stage for an EV revolution in the country. Our cutting-edge swappable battery system and smart mobility solutions will provide Filipino riders with a sustainable, cost-effective, and technologically advanced means of transport while reducing carbon emissions."

 

"Gogoro Philippines will be an important part of the EV ecosystem that we in Ayala are committed to build," said Cezar Consing, Ayala Corporation President and CEO.

 

Gogoro Smartscooters® are now in the streets of Manila, with Globe employees pilot-testing more than 50 vehicles under a two-month program meant to gain customer insights before the commercial launch later this year. These electric vehicles (EVs) harness the power of Gogoro's ingenious battery-swapping platform, enabling users to effortlessly exchange their drained batteries for fully-charged ones within seconds.

 

Gogoro Battery Swapping

 

The Gogoro system has found immense success in Taiwan, with its battery-swapping stations found in more locations than gas stations in Taiwan’s cities. Its network is a new generation of swappable battery refueling that is smart, safe, and continually optimizes itself to be dynamic and versatile for riders, businesses, and communities. 

 

The Gogoro Network supports nearly 550,000 riders and has more than 1.1 million smart batteries in circulation through its network of more than 12,000 battery swapping stations at over 2,500 locations in Taiwan. With 400,000 daily battery swaps and more than 480 million total battery swaps to date, Gogoro Network battery swapping has saved more than 680,000 tons of CO2 since it launched.

 

SM City Davao, SM Lanang join nationwide Brigada Eskwela

SM Cares and SM Supermalls continue to be a force for good in spreading happiness in communities. 

As a way to help ensure a child-friendly and conducive learning environment for students, SM City Davao and SM Lanang participated in this year’s Brigada Eskwela on August 17 at the Tugbok National High School. 

 

A total of 46 employees, led by SM City Davao mall manager Lester Tantoco and SM Lanang mall manager Kimberly Ann Remolona, have kept the bayanihan spirit alive to help prepare the school buildings donated by SM Foundation in time for the opening of classes.

 

Tugbok National High School principal Jeson Reyes expressed a message of appreciation for SM’s initiatives.

 

The annual Brigada Eskwela, which is themed this year as “Bayanihan Para sa Matatag na Paaralan,” highlights volunteer initiatives to ensure a clean, safe, inclusive, and child-friendly learning environment for learners and teaching and non-teaching personnel,  and strengthen the resiliency of schools and basic education.

 

 

Globe raises ₱51.9B on landmark tower sale, leaseback deal

Globe said it has achieved the fourth closing of 113 towers sold to Frontier Tower Associates Philippines Inc. (Frontier Towers) with a total cash consideration of ~₱1.4 billion. This amount reflects the value of the tower assets which are composed of 77% ground-based towers and 23% rooftop towers located in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Globe already received around~₱26.6 billion from Frontier Towers to date, as they gained ownership and management rights to 2,094 towers out of the 3,529 acquired towers. 

Globe also announced the closing of another 100 towers for ~₱1.2 billion or reaching to around ~₱13.4 billion received from MIESCOR Infrastructure Development Corporation (MIDC) to date. These tower assets are composed of 64% ground-based towers and 36% rooftop towers. With this recent closing, MIDC already has control of 1,120 towers out of the 2,180 towers covered by the ₱26.0 billion sale and leaseback deal signed on August 11 of last year.

In total, Globe already closed 54% of the tower deal transferring ownership of 4,039 out of 7,506 towers for ₱51.9 billion. Subsequent closings will happen as and when closing conditions are met. Globe will make relevant announcements in accordance with the rules of The Philippines Stock Exchange as and when appropriate.  

 

SMC, TESDA partner to start training Filipino workers for jobs at NMIA

SMC President Ramon S. Ang and TESDA Secretary and Director General Suharto T. Mangudadatu signs a memorandum of agreement to pave the way for the launch of a skills training program.

San Miguel Corporation (SMC) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) are launching a skills training program that will enable a greater number of Filipinos to participate in opportunities at its New Manila International Airport (NMIA) project as well as its various strategic initiatives across the country.

SMC President Ramon S. Ang and TESDA Secretary and Director General Suharto T. Mangudadatu, signed a memorandum of agreement that expands their existing partnership to more provinces to maximize job and livelihood creation and ensure that the benefits of growth resulting from its projects are widespread and shared by many.

 

“This is a great opportunity for many of our countrymen. The airport project and all our other projects, will not just generate jobs; more significantly, they will provide knowledge, skills, and technology transfer in construction, engineering, the operation of equipment and technologies, ground handling, aircraft maintenance, and many other fields,” said Ang.

 

“This gives our people a chance to learn valuable and highly-specialized skills right here in our country, while earning a decent living, and helping our country’s growth and development. Later on, they can bring these skills with them for better opportunities abroad, or to continue working for us to operate and maintain our facilities,” he added.

 

Ang cited that at the moment, the company is already working with over a hundred foreign experts in various fields at the airport project, currently in the first phase of construction--land redevelopment, or the process of turning what was once land converted into fishponds, back into land form again.

 

Filipinos working at the site are already learning from these foreign experts, and may then be tapped to teach and pass on skills and knowledge to the next batches of workers to be trained by TESDA, and hired by SMC.

 

The SMC-TESDA partnership, which started in 2020, is now expanded to include Pangasinan, Laguna, and Palawan. Initially, the partnership covered residents of Bulacan, Bataan, Batangas, Quezon Province, General Santos City, South Cotabato, and Davao del Sur.

 

In most of the pilot areas, graduates of the SMC-TESDA program also benefited from housing assistance, that allowed families to build or buy new homes, or in the case of Sariaya, Quezon, resettle in an SMC-built free housing community.

 

The program, which began in Bulacan and extended to different provinces, initially offered courses in heavy equipment operations, shielded metal arc welding, entrepreneurship training, electrical installation and maintenance, dressmaking, baking, and cookery.

 

Ang said: “As we are expanding our businesses around the country, a fully-capable workforce is an essential ingredient to our success. We thank TESDA for their sincere support and tireless efforts in helping us equip more Filipinos to improve their lives and help the country in the process.”

 

The SMC-TESDA program is also geared towards benefitting displaced workers, returning Overseas Filipino Workers, Senior Citizens, Persons with Disabilities, and other qualified clients.

 

PH to cultivate 'Bamboo Villages' to tap growing world demand

The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove in Baguio was named after a famous bamboo grove in Kyoto. It is part of the Mirador Heritage and Eco Park at Mirador Hill, Baguio City.(Photo by juriscarillo)

The Philippines has set its sights on capturing a small piece of the world’s billion-dollar bamboo market while simultaneously harnessing its bamboo resources to mitigate climate change.

In an interview Monday, newly appointed Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Deogracias Victor Savellano said the incumbent administration, through the Department of Agriculture (DA), is establishing a local version of the “Bamboo Villages” business model, which has been proven successful in other Asian countries.

He explained that this model entails the mobilization of land, labor and capital in rural towns, and then focusing them on the cultivation and subsequent processing of bamboo.

“The President (Marcos) is very excited about this. He can relate to the potential benefits of bamboo, having been a governor (of a province heavily dependent on agriculture) himself,” the DA official said.

Savellano noted that by 2030, annual revenues from processed bamboo are estimated to reach $90 billion.

The “Bamboo Villages” program can help generate additional livelihood for poor farmers and Indigenous Peoples in ancestral lands while generating foreign exchange for the country, he added.

In a recent report by the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council (PBIDC), it was revealed that Indonesia currently has about 1,000 bamboo villages while Vietnam has about 100.

The PBIDC, an attached agency to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), also noted that Thailand is investing some $10 billion to cultivate its domestic bamboo industry, so it too can compete for a share in the global bamboo market.

Currently, China dominates the international market, generating the biggest bamboo revenue at $35 billion yearly.

“Even if we can just capture the equivalent of 10 percent of China’s revenues, that is still $3.5 billion annually for the Philippines,” Savellano said.

The DA undersecretary also explained that aside from its untapped economic potentials, the aggressive planting of bamboo can also serve to fast-track the reforestation of denuded lands under the National Greening Program.

As a climate-friendly grass, bamboo absorbs 11 to 15 times the carbon dioxide compared to a hardwood tree, while also controlling soil erosion, he added.

During a Senate hearing on Aug. 9, Savellano asserted that an institutionalized bamboo program will be needed to consolidate different government programs on bamboo that are now scattered across agencies.

“We need to harmonize our programs that are now uncoordinated. We need to obtain the cooperation of each individual and harness all economic resources to attract private sector investment in bamboo,” he said.

Meanwhile, the PBDIC reported that the primary export destinations of Philippines bamboo products include the United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany and France.

As of 2022, investments in the local bamboo industry amounted to P89.2 million and domestic sales were placed at P143 million.

The sector generated 10,898 jobs, 5,012 micro, small and medium industries, and 92 community-based enterprises, according to the Council. (PNA)