Philippines Lead Asia reports 326% increase in smartphone sales in 12 months

Telecom Lead Asia: The Philippines has reported 326 percent increase in smartphone sales over the last 12 months.

 

The emerging telecom market has become the fastest-growing market for smartphones in Southeast Asia.

 

According to GfK, the country recorded the highest jump in smartphone market share among its neighboring countries in the region, growing from 9 to 24 percent.

 

The growth in the country was significantly higher than the 78 percent growth posted in Southeast Asia's seven major markets, namely the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

 

In July this year, GfK reported that one of four Filipinos own a smartphone, driven by the increasing affordability of smartphone devices across the country.

 

Filipino consumers bought five times as many smartphones in the first five months of this year compared to a year ago, bringing smartphone sales to almost 1.7 million units as of May this year.

 

"With major manufacturers announcing their intentions to launch low-end smartphones priced below $100, smartphones will be within the reach of an even larger pool of consumers and the market is expected to grow even faster when these models are made widely available," said GfK digital technology account director Gerard Tan.

 

According to IHS, smartphone shipments in 2013 are forecast to account for 54 percent of the total cellphone market.

 

Globe Telecom said it offers a range of smartphones bundled with its postpaid plans. For Plan 299, subscribers can get the latest Android devices such as the Huawei Y100 or Samsung Champ Deluxe Duo for free, complete with a consumable postpaid plan for calls, texts, and mobile internet.

 

The telco carries a complete suite of smartphone devices offered across its postpaid plans, available for free or at a minimum cashout payable for 24 to 30 months.

 

"Globe has maintained a strong partnership with some of the world's leading device manufacturers, empowering us to bring the latest smartphones to the country under our flagship postpaid plans," said Martha Sazon, head of Globe Postpaid.

 

Globe's postpaid base has grown by 76 percent within the last two years. In the last twelve months, Globe Postpaid has already added close to 348,000 new subscribers, bringing total subscriber count to 1.6 million, a 28 percent increase.

 

(pix for this article is sourced from intellasia.net)

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Philippines seeks ₱75-Billion PPP funds for rehabilitation 25 State hospitals

Public-Private partnership (PPP) investments are critical to the rehabilitation and improvement of 25 ailing government hospitals for ₱75 billion (at ₱3 billion each), according to an official of the Department of Health (DOH).

 

Health Undersecretary Dr. Teodoro Herbosa announced on Tuesday that the government is infusing ₱3 billion as counterpart funds for the initial improvement of these government hospitals to make them attractive to prospective PPP investors.

 

"If the government alone were to handle the rehabilitation of these 25 hospitals, it would take us more than 25 years to do it because of limited funds and the bureaucracy," Herbosa said at a briefing on PPP projects at the British Embassy in the Philippines.

 

He said the Philippine Orthopedic Center, whose medical infrastructure he said became outdated in 1960, is one of the government hospitals up for PPP investment with an estimated amount of ₱5.6 billion.

 

Herbosa, who heads the DOH Task Force for PPP and Health Facilities Enhancement Program, said the DOH Vaccine Self-Sufficiency Program is also being offered for PPP investment worth P1.2 billion.

 

To highlight key PPP investment opportunities in the Philippines, the United Kingdom Trade and Investment is hosting a seminar mission for British investors and companies on November 8 and 9 in Manila to help them explore opportunities on PPP and infrastructure investments in the country. A similar mission will also be held in Vietnam.

 

The Manila mission aims to provide a platform for British companies engaged in the Aquino administration's PPP program, enabling them to present their areas of expertise and capabilities before an audience of government agencies, key industry players, local suppliers and services firms that are potential partners of the British firms.

 

Britain is the country's largest investor in the past decade with combined net foreign direct and net portfolio investments from 1999 to 2010 worth $12 billion.

 

London said PPP projects that can be explored in the Philippines could reach 10 billion pounds to include roads, ports, airports, rail, health, education, power, water and agriculture.

 

It added that these projects, which had been made a priority for rollout from 2012 to 2013 and will cost £3.3 billion, include transport projects estimated at £2 billion and infrastructure projects at £1.3 billion.

 

The British Embassy is sending Herbosa and key government experts from the DOH, the Department of Transportation and Communications and the Department of Finance to London from October 7 to 15 to engage with British experts on the PPP program.

 

Herbosa said medical cost would not increase when the 25 government hospitals are "semi-privatized" under the program.

 

Under the rehabilitation plan, he added, 30 percent of hospital beds are for patients who can afford to pay and 70 percent will be reserved for sponsored patients, including the poor and those from the lower middle class, whose expenses will be shouldered by PhilHealth.

 

Among those targeted by the plan are Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital, Jose Fabella Hospital, San Lazaro Hospital, Quirino Hospital and National Mental Health Hospital.

 

ABS-CBN News

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