Watsons partners with K-Beauty brands in Asia
Just as K-Drama and K-Pop have surged in the entertainment scene, K-beauty is making inroads in the skincare and cosmetics industry.
Watsons, the leading offline and online (O+O) health and beauty retailer in Asia, was quick to recognize that K-Beauty “is highly sought after by our Watsons customers even during the pandemic,” says Susanna Yen, Exclusive Brands Director of Watsons International., adding, “Watsons has partnered with a number of K-Beauty brands to deliver more choices to beauty lovers across Asia while helping to incubate up and coming brands to expand their penetration.
Mise En Scí¨ne and COSRX are two outstanding examples that show how Watsons has helped K-Beauty brands enter new markets and build up a strong market position.
Mise En Scí¨ne is a total hair cosmetic brand that offers a diverse range of hair styling products. COSRX, on the other hand, is another K-Beauty skincare brand launched through Watsons in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines exclusively in 2017, resulting in a compound annual growth rate of over 80%.
Watsons’ strong O+O capabilities enable customers to enjoy the benefits of convenient shopping either at home or in-store, which effectively helps K-beauty products and many other health and beauty brands to engage and connect with its target customers.
PLDT, Smart broaden food security program
PLDT and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. implemented its Plant Smart program to support the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition, which includes increasing food availability and accessibility.
In 2021, planting kits were distributed to over 3,000 communities nationwide.
Each planting kit contains vegetable seeds, loam soil, and fertilizers to help families grow their own food at home. In collaboration with the Department of Agriculture — Agricultural Training Institute, Smart also produced the Kalye Mabunga series of how-to videos to guide recipients in starting their edible gardens.
In Quezon City, Smart partnered with a civic organization to encourage home gardening among locals struggling in the pandemic.
Social Action Commission of the Archdiocese of Palo in Leyte received planting kits to support more farmers.
The Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) councils in General Santos City are using the donated planting kits to expand the city’s sustainable food security program. Farmers from the provinces of Cebu, and Antique, indigenous cultural communities in Cagayan de Oro City, Bukidnon and Misamis Occidental, and households in Zamboanga City and Iligan City have also benefitted from the initiative.
BDO wins Asia’s Top Sustainability Advocates Award
BDO Unibank was recently conferred with the prestigious Asia’s Top Sustainability Advocates Award at the 2021 Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability (ACES) Awards, an event that features the finest corporate leaders in Asia.
The award is given to companies that show genuine interest in the well-being of its stakeholders through corporate social responsibility initiatives that are integrated into policies and operations, with a high level of employee and top management involvement on community engagement, environment, and social empowerment programs.
BDO is one of the only five awardees in the region and the only bank to receive the honors.
“This recognition is a testament to how much BDO Unibank embodies the values of sustainability and incorporates them in everything the Bank does. This inspires us to further elevate our sustainability efforts and make them more inclusive to benefit our various stakeholders,” said Marla Garin-Alvarez, BDO vice president for its sustainability office.
The ACES jury highlighted BDO’s Sustainable Finance program that funds renewable energy projects nationwide, and the BDO Foundation’s financial education program embedded in the public school K-12 curriculum, as pioneering initiatives to promote positive environmental and social impact in the country.
Xiaomi’s Rai donation
Xiaomi Corp. announced that World Vision Philippines and Yayasan Food Bank Malaysia will each receive a donation of $100,000 from Xiaomi Foundation Ltd., to support those affected by Typhoon Rai in the Philippines and Malaysia.
In the Philippines alone, based on the country’s disaster council, more than 870,334 families or 23,380,167 individuals have been impacted by Typhoon Rai, and over 348,642 houses damaged. Hundreds and thousands of volunteers are working around the clock to help those affected and to provide survival essentials such as food and water, hygiene kits, kitchen and cooking sets, emergency shelter kits, and more.
Cebu Pacific mounts relief efforts
Cebu Pacific continues its various relief efforts for people and communities that were affected by the recent Super Typhoon Odette, transporting since December 18, various essential goods and volunteers free-of-charge, to destinations including Cebu, Bohol, Siargao, and Surigao.
CEB has also partnered with both national and local governments, and private entities, such as Philippine Red Cross, UNICEF, World Vision Philippines, and Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation, Inc.
On December 29, CEB flew 32 medical workers from Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital and Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium, mobilized by the Department of Health Health Emergency Management Bureau , free-of-charge to Siargao and Dinagat Island, where they provided free medical assistance to the victims of the natural disaster.
The airline has also taken care of its own people who are based in areas devastated by the typhoon. More than 1,600 Cebu Pacific employees across its 16 stations needed assistance. Relief goods and emergency cash were provided to them, while other CEB employess in Manila assisted in operations at the Cebu and Manila airports.
Apart from the free transport of essential cargo during this time, CEB provided 12 sweeper flights to bring home stranded passengers from Siargao and Puerto Princesa.
Pusong Filinvest disaster relief program
Filinvest Land, through its Pusong Filinvest disaster relief program, distributed free potable water to families affected by Typhoon Odette in Cebu.
The distribution was done in coordination with the local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management offices of Lapu Lapu City, Talisay City, and Cebu City.
Filinvest Land partnered with its sister company FDC Water Utilities, to source potable water from its water desalination and treatment plants in Mactan and provided this for free to affected families in Cebu.
Over 5,000 families are estimated to benefit from the distribution of a total of 200,000 liters of clean and drinkable water that began December 23.
PSBank supports underprivileged children
Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) renews support for the welfare of visually impaired, indigent and special children through the bank’s annual donation to its corporate social responsibility (CSR) partners — World Vision, Chosen Children Village Foundation Inc. (CCVFI), and Resources for the Blind Inc. (RBI).
PSBank donated a total of P300,000 to aid these three child-friendly organizations in providing shelter, basic necessities, education, and other special needs for the underprivileged children under their care.
World Vision commits in using the financial assistance to continue their programs for the welfare of underserved Filipino families. The organization spearheads community development initiatives and helps parents find a source of livelihood to better support their kids.
Chosen Children Village Foundation provides abandoned children with mental and physical handicaps a caring and loving home.
PSBank’s donation to the Resources for the Blind was intended to help realize the organization’s mission in helping blind Filipinos reach their full potential through counseling, education and training, and rehabilitation programs.
GMA Network exec honored
GMA Network first vice president and head of Regional TV and Synergy Oliver Victor Amoroso was recently conferred a Command Plaque by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for his
contribution to the AFP Health Service Command Transformation Roadmap (AFPHSCTR) Multi-Sector Advisory Board (MSAB).
Amoroso was honored for “championing the Armed Forces of the Philippines Health Service Command Transformation Roadmap towards a strong functional systems and processes of good governance and genuine transformation that successfully led to conferral of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Transformation Roadmap Institutionalization Pathway Proficient Status with Gold Governance Trailblazer Certification.”
In 2020, at the height of a global pandemic, Amoroso was selected as a distinct member of the Multi-Sector Advisory Board that provides expert advice in the implementation of the AFPHSCTR. He was appointed as its Committee Chairperson for Communications and Advocacy.
Netbank, Investree to serve PH SMEs
Investree strengthened its commitment to support the development of SMEs across the Philippines by collaborating with Netbank, banking as a service platform in the Philippines which provides low-cost and high-quality banking services. Through the collaboration, Netbank allocated funds for Investree clients to support the initiatives that will be carried out in 2022 to contribute towards the Philippines’ economic growth, provision of new jobs, and paving the way for scaling up businesses. In addition, Investree is awaiting SEC permit to operate in Visayas and Mindanao which will allow the service to reach nationwide after being able to serve SMEs in Luzon Area providing convenient access to funds and marketplace platforms connecting SMEs and institutional investors.
Investree co-founder & CEO Kok Chuan Lim, expressed, “Investree Philippines is very excited to have onboarded Netbank as one of our first institutional investors in the Philippines. We have been working with the team at Netbank since we obtained our license earlier this year to jointly develop services that will improve ease of use for our SME issuers and reduce credit risks for our note investors. I am confident that our partnership will further enhance the adoption of crowdfunding as a viable working capital source for our SME clients.”
