Australia's SomnoMed finds Philippines ideal Manufacturing hub

SomnoMed is seen as an "employer of choice" by the Philippine government. Jessica Hromas

SomnoMed finds Philippines ideal hub for its sleep devices

-by Mark Eggleton

For sleep device manufacturers SomnoMed, the decision to manufacture in the Philippines was based on having a historic connection to the country. The company's Australian-designed non-invasive oral appliances were being manufactured by a third party in the Philippines when in 2009 it took the decision to set up its own operation.

Neil Verdal-Austin, executive vice president for Asia-Pacific, said once the decision was made it took until February 2010 before SomnoMed flicked the switch on its own facility.

"We stayed in the Philippines because we knew the country and its infrastructure from our existing relationship so we set-up a separate business, acquired premises, imported equipment and employed a number of locals," he said.

As to why the company chose the country as its manufacturing hub, Verdal-Austin cites the Philippines location in Asia and reach and access into other markets.

"You're looking at distribution into Asia very quickly as well as good access into the United States and one stop into all the major hubs of Europe," he said.

The Philippines' strong reputation as a business processing hub works well for an advanced manufacturer such as SomnoMed. Mr Verdal-Austin said as the company's SomnoDent product has evolved into an intelligent device that monitors sleep patterns, the Philippines' already strong IT infrastructure has proved a boon.

Suitable workforce

"We also have access to a workforce that's well-educated with proficient English skills and an easy to manage cost base," he said. Moreover, as more companies move some operations into the country, business clusters are developing with SomnoMed's facility now in close proximity to a number of global pharmaceutical companies.

Mr Verdal-Austin said before establishing the manufacturing operation the company was aware of the potential pitfalls through their previous relationship with a third party manufacturer.

"There were a lot of hoops and hurdles to get going and little bit of time-wasting but we're aware of our responsibilities and ensure we're on top of all our regulatory requirements and the renewal periods for permits and licenses. We're seen as an employer of choice by the Philippine government and our employees are well-paid and offered a health plan."

SomnoMed's biggest markets remain Japan and South Korea but the company has a distributor in Singapore looking after the ASEAN nations.

"All of these countries are at different stages on the curve of medical treatment but it's a very exciting region and [as each country becomes more affluent] we know we'll penetrate even further into these markets," Mr Verdal-Austin said.

"For a company like ours it's about educating the medical fraternity to change their prescribing behaviour and getting medical associations to accept and adopt the treatment." - The Australian Financial Review

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Immigration Lookout for De Lima, Baraan, Bucayu, Villasanta, Dayan, Sanchez, Adricula and Cristobal issued

Sec. Aguirre says Sen. De Lima pocketed billions. Photo: CNN Philippines

DOJ issues immigration lookout bulletin for De Lima, 8 others

The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) against Sen. Leila De Lima and five other persons for their alleged involvement in the New Bilibid Prison's (NBP) illegal drug trade. The lookout order prevents them from leaving the country without corresponding travel authority from their heads of offices.

Those covered in the ILBO include De Lima, former DOJ Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III, former Bureau of Corrections Chief Franklin Jesus Bucayu, former Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission Director Reginald Villasanta, and De Lima's former aides, Ronnie Dayan and Joenel Sanchez. On Monday, the NBI added Mark Noemin Adricula, Warren Cristobal, and Jose Adrian Dera to the list.

In a memorandum addressed to the Bureau of Immigration dated October 7, Friday, DOJ Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II instructed immigration officers to "be on the lookout for" and to quickly relay to the DOJ, NBI, and Office of the Security information about the named individuals. Those subject to an ILBO can still leave the country, but require travel authorization from their heads of offices.

"Considering the gravity of the possible commission of any offense, there is a strong possibility that they may attempt to place themselves beyond the reach of the legal processes of this Department by leaving the country," the memorandum said. "We thus deem the issuance of an ILBO against the subject persons prudent in order to at least monitor the itineraries of their flight, travel, and/or whereabouts."

De Lima questioned the basis of the ILBO since no charges were filed against her. However, she added that she has no international engagements and no intentions of leaving the country soon.

"Huwag ho kayong mag-alala dahil wala po akong kabalak-balak na umalis ng Pilipinas para iwasan yung ihahain niyo sa akin na mga kaso," she said on Monday. "Inosente po ako. Ang guilty lang po ang tumatakas."

[Translation: You don't have to worry since I have no plans of leaving the Philippines to avoid the cases. I am innocent. Only the guilty try to escape.] – CNN Philippines

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HSBC upgraded Philippine Economic Growth Forecast 6.3 - 6.5 Percent

HSBC hikes anew Philippine growth forecast to 6.5%

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. raised anew the country’s economic growth forecast as the Philippines continued to stand out as one of the strongest performers in Asia.

In its latest Asian Economics report for the fourth quarter, HSBC economist Joseph Incalcaterra said the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection has been revised upwards to 6.5 percent instead of 6.3 percent this year due to the stronger-than-expected expansion in the first half.

The country’s GDP growth accelerated to seven percent in the second quarter of the year from 6.8 percent in the first quarter amid the strong boost from election related spending.

This brought the GDP expansion in the Philippines to 6.9 percent in the first half from 5.5 percent in the same period last year.

“The Philippines continues to stand out as one of Asia’s strongest performers. Following the strong outturn of growth in the first half of 2016, we recently raised our full-year forecast from 6.3 percent to 6.5 percent,” he said.

The bank sees the country’s GDP growth easing to 6.4 percent in the third quarter and to six percent in the fourth quarter.

“Although growth will moderate in year-on-year terms through the second half as the impact from the elections and budget front-loading wears off, overall domestic demand will nonetheless remain resilient as government spending continues to fuel growth,” Incalcaterra said.

Likewise, HSBC retained the GDP growth forecasts for 2017 and 2018 at 6.3 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively.

“This isn’t to say there aren’t challenges to growth. After all, exports have been contracting rather sharply as of late – while imports of capital equipment surged – and the trend growth of remittances has also moderated to approximately 3.5 percent,” he said.

Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed cash remittances contracted 5.4 percent in July, bringing down the growth in the amount of money sent home by Filipinos abroad to three percent in the first seven months of the year.

Authorities believe the growth in receipts from the business process outsourcing (BPO) as well as tourism sectors would cushion the slowdown in the cash remittances.

“While remittances may not provide the same boost to consumption as before, we think that the improvement in domestic employment opportunities, mostly from construction, BPO and tourism, are more than able to offset the effect for now,” he said.

The economist noted long-term issued such as the structural trade deficit as well as the not too bright outlook for manufacturing exports outside of electronics.

He pointed out the Philippines would remain highly vulnerable to weather trends with the onset of La Niña after the bout with El Niño. - philSTAR

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