Wilcon Depot elevates retail home shopping in PH
WILCON Depot, the country's leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer, has launched its Virtual Reality (VR) Store Experience, offering customers a personalized and convenient way to explore its extensive product assortment from the comfort of their homes. CONTRIBUTED PHOTORecently, the Wilcon VR Store Experience was recognized as the "Digital Initiative of the Year – Philippines" at the Retail Asia Awards 2023. Understanding how VR technology has become increasingly popular in the industry for improving customer engagement and transforming how customers shop, Wilcon Depot harnessed its benefits to elevate its customers' shopping experience. Launched during the Worldbex event at the World Trade Center, Wilcon's VR Store Experience is an interactive 360-degree VR experiential tour that allows customers to discover the Wilcon Depot products conveniently through VR headsets. This immersive shopping approach enriches the customer experience beyond brick-and-mortar shopping and serves as a new standard and way for brand differentiation.
Source:Manila Times
September 20, 2023 17:33 UTC
Never allow 'only' to go haywire
A FRIENDLY warning to English speakers and writers: Never allow "only" to go haywire. ("It's only I that think Jennifer belongs to this league.") "I only think Jennifer belongs to this league." "I think Jennifer belongs only to this league." ("This is what I think: Jennifer belongs only to this league and to no other.")
Source:Manila Times
September 20, 2023 17:20 UTC
Sikh movement: India-Canada tensions explainer
The row centers around the Sikh independence, or Khalistan, movement. India has repeatedly accused Canada of supporting the movement, which is banned in India but has support among the Sikh diaspora. Here are some details about the issue:What is the Khalistan movement? India’s Sikh independence movement eventually became a bloody armed insurgency that shook India in the 1970s and 1980s. The Indian government has warned repeatedly over the years that Sikh separatists were trying to make a comeback.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
September 20, 2023 15:51 UTC
Sunac seeks US bankruptcy protection
Sunac China (1918) sought bankruptcy protection in New York as the defaulted developer moved to protect assets while its offshore debt restructuring nears its conclusion. Peer China Evergrande (3333), which is also working to restructure its offshore debt, last month made its own Chapter 15 filing. China's 16th-largest developer by contracted sales, Sunac first defaulted on a US dollar bond in May 2022. The company unveiled its offshore debt restructuring plan in March, and within several weeks investors holding more than 75 percent of those borrowings accepted the proposal. Meanwhile, Country Garden (2007) is said to have missed a US$15.4 million (HK$120 million) bond interest payment on Monday.
Source:The Standard
September 20, 2023 15:22 UTC
Marcos: Govt to increase rice buffer stock
ZAMBOANGA CITY (Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network): President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said the government is targeting a bigger buffer stock of rice in the country to ensure a sufficient supply of the staple food at a lower price. “We will increase the buffer stock so that we will no longer see the sudden spikes in prices,” the President explained in Filipino. “All the countries in Asia are trying to ensure that they have sufficient reserves (of rice), they have a buffer stock (and) that’s why they are racing to buy, which induces a rise in the price,” Marcos explained. But the long-term solution to this problem, according to the President, is increasing local rice production. We don’t want to be in a situation when the Filipinos go hungry because there is no sufficient supply of rice,” he added.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
September 20, 2023 14:24 UTC
India rejects Canada’s suspicions on role in Sikh leader’s murder
NEW DELHI — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said authorities were “actively pursuing credible allegations” linking New Delhi’s agents to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, a concern India dismissed as “absurd”. Nijjar supported a Sikh homeland in the form of an independent, so-called state of Khalistan in India’s northern state of Punjab, the birthplace of the Sikh religion, which borders Pakistan. Modi, in turn, conveyed strong concern to Trudeau over recent demonstrations in Canada by Sikhs calling for an independent state. Khalistan is an independent Sikh state whose creation has been sought for decades. RELATED STORIESIndia summons Canada High Commissioner, concerned over Sikh protestersModi scolds Trudeau over Sikh protests in Canada against IndiaYour subscription could not be saved.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
September 19, 2023 18:02 UTC
Marcos defends price cap on rice
They are buying at the same time, the price of rice also rises so we have to put a price cap,” he stressed. Marcos, who is also the agriculture secretary, said below normal rainfall is expected in the coming months due to El Niño that could result in lower yield. The Chief Executive has issued Executive Order 39, mandating a price ceiling of P41 for regular milled rice and P45 for well-milled rice. President Marcos seemed bent on lifting the price cap the government imposed on rice before the month ends, ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo revealed on Tuesday. Tulfo explained that there have already been recommendations from farmers’ groups to Marcos, who also sits as agriculture secretary in a concurrent capacity and chairman of the NFA Council.
Source:Philippine Star
September 19, 2023 17:59 UTC
Security threat?
Security threat? Perhaps the same intel has reached our National Security Council. This month, NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya raised the possibility of banning the use of TikTok on devices used by government security personnel. But whoa… users will surely ask, how is TikTok a national security risk? That a TikTok subsidiary is operating in China already says a lot, if you consider that Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat are banned in China.
Source:Philippine Star
September 19, 2023 17:40 UTC
35 Chinese ships remain at 'harvested' WPS reef, according to satellite image
CHINA's fishing/militia fleet is still at Rozul (Iroquois) Reef, the same area where corals were found to have been harvested in mid-September by divers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, according to a US satellite image. STILL HERE Satellite image taken on Monday, Sept. 17, 2023 shows China’s fishing/militia fleet still at Rozul (Iroquois) Reef which is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). At least 35 ships are visible in the area where corals have been harvested based on an underwater survey recently conducted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). "Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling, a coastal state granted an exclusive economic zone enjoys the rights to the resources within that zone. Vice Admiral Albert Carlos, commander of the AFP Western Command (Wescom), reported over the weekend that the corals that grow in abundance in the shallow waters close to Rozul Reef have disappeared, apparently due to massive coral harvesting.
Source:Manila Times
September 19, 2023 15:27 UTC
US firm sells $1.5b bank stake
The Capital Group Companies has sold a 2 percent stake in Postal Savings Bank of China (1658) to cash in HK$1.5 billion. The American financial services firm offloaded 407 million H-shares of the Chinese state-owned lender for a total of HK$1.53 billion last Thursday. Its holdings in the bank dropped from 5.36 percent to 3.31 percent after the disposal, below the disclosure threshold of 5 percent. Meanwhile, Wang Xing, the co-founder and chairman of Meituan (3690), sold a total of 1.95 million shares of Li Auto (2015) for HK$310 million last week, a separate filing showed. Wang, a non-executive director of the electric vehicle maker, had a 21.79 percent stake in the firm after the cut, down from 21.9 percent.
Source:The Standard
September 19, 2023 14:59 UTC
Valdez: We're banking on familiarity
(UPDATED) VOLLEYBALL star Alyssa Valdez said her teammates are going to trust each other as Creamline Cool Smashers fight without top playmaker Jia Morado in the upcoming Premier Volleyball League (PVL). "We've been together for so long, so we're banking on familiarity." Alyssa Valdez (right) PVL PHOTOIt also came after former teammate Morado signed a deal with Japanese team Denso Airybees in Japan V.League. For Valdez, she is more focused on the upcoming PVL conference, saying that she and her teammates are working hard. Creamline finished runner-up earlier in June during the Invitational Conference and are now focused on the Second All-Filipino Conference.
Source:Manila Times
September 19, 2023 06:38 UTC
Kai shares journey in Jr. NBA program
(UPDATE) NBA prospect and Gilas Pilipinas player Kai Sotto had thanked the Jr. NBA program to share his journey and experience with young basketball players in Japan. "Truly blessed to see the smiles on these young kids' faces. Previously dubbed as the "future of Philippine basketball," Sotto is playing for the Hiroshima Dragonflies of the Japanese B.League. He was part of the GIlas Pilipinas that saw action in the recent FIBA World Cup held in Manila. But also can't compare to the fun and joy we experience after it all ended," Sotto recently posted.
Source:Manila Times
September 19, 2023 05:27 UTC
WATCH: Hirosaki's cherry tree doctors
The city of Hirosaki, in Aomori, is one of the most famous places in Japan for cherry blossom viewing, attracting huge numbers of tourists in the spring sakura season. The city's cherry trees are cared for year-round by tree doctors who call themselves "Team Sakuramori." These specialists employ pruning techniques developed for the region's apple industry to keep the trees free from disease, prevent falling branches and extend their lives. VIDEO BY MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF JAPAN
Source:Manila Times
September 19, 2023 05:11 UTC
Ad campaigns, star endorsers helped platform soar
Between September and October 2020, JPEX secured cryptocurrency licenses in the United States, Australia and Canada. When advertising in Hong Kong, JPEX employs terms such as "Japanese cryptocurrency exchange," "super popular" and "Japan Exchange." JPEX launched its cryptocurrency platform in July 2020, offering a diverse range of services, including spot trading, futures contracts and savings accounts. JPEX expanded it's Hong Kong presence through advertising campaigns and reportedly had allocated a budget of about HK$40 million for the purpose - with placements on MTR stations and taxis, along with celebrity endorsements featuring Hong Kong actor-singer Julian Cheung Chi-lam. Malaysian-born Hong Kong model and actress Jacquelin Ch'ng Se-min also produced a video in mid-July promoting JPEX, but it has since been removed.
Source:The Standard
September 19, 2023 01:12 UTC
Fresh from the oven: Julie's Bakeshop releases new promo video
JULIE'S, the country's largest neighborhood bakeshop, shows its customers how light, fluffy and soft their bread is in a new promotional video. This is in line with their tagline, "Basta Julie's, Fresh Yan!" Julie’s Bakeshop promises to bring fresh goods to its customers in its latest promotional video featuring actress Kim Chiu. Anyone who shows up at Julie's is treated to fluffy, freshly baked bread every time." To find out more about Julie's, visit their official website at www.juliesbakeshop.com.ph and like their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/JuliesBakeshop.
Source:Manila Times
September 18, 2023 22:04 UTC