Megaworld expects P1.4B from new Greenbelt project

Megaworld Corporation, the country’s #1 residential condominium buildings developer, is still quite bullish for the real estate industry, as it expects P1.4 billion in sales revenues from its fifth Greenbelt-area project.

Dubbed Greenbelt Madison, the 31-story building will rise along Salcedo St. in Legaspi Village, Makati City. The location puts it a block away from Ayala Avenue, the country’s main financial artery.

Greenbelt Madison will have 276 executive studio and 2-bedroom units. Groundbreaking is slated for next year, with turnover scheduled towards the late part of 2012.

Megaworld is slated to deliver all units fully furnished upon turnover, its fourth such offering after Greenbelt Chancellor, Greenbelt Excelsior and One Central.
“Despite the ongoing financial crisis abroad, we are quite confident with Greenbelt Madison because of its prime location near Ayala Avenue and Makati Medical Center. We expect it to sell out in the next few months, just like its highly successful predecessor projects,” Megaworld VP for Marketing and project head Clifford Legaspi disclosed.

The project is Megaworld’s fifth offering within this prime Makati area. Already finished are Greenbelt Parkplace and Greenbelt Radissons. Now under construction are Greenbelt Chancellor and Greenbelt Excelsior.

Among the amenities planned for Greenbelt Madison are a 15-meter lap pool, gym, wading pool and a grand lobby. Parking will be allocated for residents across two basement levels and five podium floors.

Given the project’s location within the Makati business district, Megaworld is targeting “doctors, executives, entrepreneurs and investors” for Greenbelt Madison, according to Legaspi.

PayPal Integration Made Easier for Philippine Online Merchants

Manila, Philippines, December 15, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Mozcom PayEasy Online Payment System ("PayEasy") has signed up as a Channel Partner of PayPal, the world’s leading online payment provider. With this development, local online merchants can now instantly add PayPal as a payment option to their shopping carts or online payment modules, when they open a PayEasy merchant account. There is no need to learn new programming interfaces as the PayPal Express Checkout will integrate transparently with PayEasy giving online businesses a one-stop-shop payment solution that ranges from local ATM and mobile phone payments, to the major credit cards, and now, PayPal.

As one of the preferred payment methods on the Web in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, PayPal (www.paypal.com.ph) offers secure payments in 190 markets by providing an extra level of security and privacy as its users do not have to disclose credit card information directly to online merchants when paying for items. Additionally, PayPal's proprietary fraud detection models, 24/7 fraud monitoring, and protection for buyers against unauthorized transactions, gives shoppers peace of mind and more confidence to buy online.

"We are eager to work with PayPal in developing the local e-commerce market, and we are honored to be their first operational, locally-based Channel Partner in the Philippines," said Dick Chiang, Mozcom COO/CTO. "A strong global brand like PayPal can be a boon to local merchants as it gives a certain level of confidence and trust to foreigners who may be initially wary at buying from unknown Philippine websites."

"With e-commerce growing quickly in Asia, PayPal is committed to supporting the phenomenal rise of online payments in the Philippines, as well as around the globe," said Gene Wong, Head of PayPal Asia Merchant Services. "Working with PayEasy is a natural fit with PayPal’s global, all-in-one payment solution and we look forward to working with them to help enable more e-commerce growth in the Philippines and beyond.

About Mozcom

Mozcom PayEasy is the most comprehensive online payment system in the country today supporting all major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB, Diners Club), BancNet and MegaLink ATM cards, PayPal, China UnionPay, Globe G-Cash, Smart Money, Western Union, over-the-counter bank deposits, and direct account debit with major banks in China, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan. For more information, visit http://www.payeasy.ph or call +63(2)848-2606 .

About PayPal

PayPal is the safer, easier way to pay and get paid online. The service allows users to pay without sharing financial information and gives consumers the flexibility to pay, using their account balances, bank accounts, or credit/debit cards. With 65 million active accounts in 190 markets and 19 currencies around the world, PayPal enables global ecommerce. PayPal is an eBay company. More information about the company can be found at www.paypal.com.ph.

PayPal is headquartered in San Jose, California. Its European headquarters are in Luxembourg and its international headquarters (PayPal Private Limited) are located in Singapore.

Consumer advisory - PayPal Pte. Ltd., the holder of PayPal's stored value facility, does not require the approval of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Users are advised to read the terms and conditions available at www.paypal.com carefully before use.

iRemit Reports 47% Growth in Jan to October

iRemit Forges New Partnership with the Philippine Retirement Authority

I-Remit, Inc (iRemit) reported that its remittance volume for the first ten months of this year grew by 47 percent to $902 million compared with the same period last year.

iRemit's growth continues to soar higher than the industry. In its recent report, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas registered cumulative remittances of US13.7 billion for the first ten months of the year, 15.5 percent higher than the level recorded during the same period a year ago. Year-on-year, October remittances rose modestly by 3.3 percent.

Commenting on the results, Harris Jacildo, president and chief operating office said, "We anticipated the modest growth of the industry because of the reported global economic downturn. This affected our short-term results but put us in a good position to expand market share and enhance the customers' experience in the foregin markets. We shifted gears by remodelling the marketing strategies while at the same time aggressively expanding our international tie-ups. We absorbed many cost increases to keep our exchange rate competitive. We believe this strategy is important to maintain customer loyalty and to help our customers during these uncertain economic times."

As part of its expansion programs, iRemit partnered with the Philippine Retirement Authority(PRA). Both institutions forged a partnership with regard to information dissemination and promotion of PRA's Retirement programs including the tax-free private pension scheme under the Personal Equity Retirement Account or PERA law.

"This new partnership with the Philippine Retirement Authority underscores the strong commitment of iRemit to develop tangible strategies that address the needs of the overseas Filipinos in a challenging economic landscape," said Bansan Choa, chairman and chief executive officer of iRemit.
Choa added that iRemit has manifested its willingness to disseminate information and to assist in promoting those programs in the countries where it is present.

The appointment of iRemit as one of the agents of PRA in the information dissemination, promotion of programs and collection is another milestine for the company. "We're extensively working on several institutional partnerships with different companies that share our ideals and goals in helping Filipinos abroad especially during these volatile times," said Jacildo. He also stressed that this initiative will boost iRemit's performance and will serve as an instrument in acchieving the US 1 billion mark goal for 2008.

This month, iRemit recently opened its new branch in Perth, Western Australia. The company is currently present in 25 countries across the continents with over 600 international tie-ups and 4,000 payout centers nationwide.

Source: iRemit, Inc press release.