The opening day of the 7th Philippine Business and Entrepreneurs' Expo is going to be big as the ASEAN MSME Business Forum will be held on the first day of the Expo. Witness movers and shakers in the business as they talk about relevant topics that are connected to the incoming ASEAN economic transition.

Mr. Ricky Alegre from BusinessMirror will define the role of the media in the preparation to the ASEAN Economic community and Mr. Willy Arcilla of the Wong+Bernstein Advisory Group will ask us if we are ready for it. On the larger financial side, Mr. Benjie Oliva from the Philippine National Bank will discuss the state of the remittance industry in the time of ASEAN integration.

On the local SME side, DTI-NCRO3 Chief Ms. Elma Viray will talk about the benefits of Negosyo Centers and why businesses need to connect to it, and the Landbank of the Philippines will discuss the connection between SMEs, the financial institutions and the inclusive growth that is the buzzword for today's changing economy.

The ASEAN MSME Business Forum will take place at the seminar room of the 7th Philippine Business and Entrepreneurs' Expo inside SM Megamall Megatrade Hall 1 from 1pm to 5pm. For information on how to join, text 0920 924 2532 or send an email at info@exlinkevents.com. Seats are under a first-come, first-serve basis.

This forum is made possible with the Philippine Marketing Association, and is organized by Ex-Link Events and SM Megamall Megatrade Hall. For information on Ex-Link Events, please call 633 0153, 643 3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com

Just last weekend, a tornado appeared in Manila out of nowhere, swinging objects surrounding it. The residents never knew that a tornado will pass through their area - what everybody know is the strong rains that have occurred in the early mornings of the weekend.

In these times, we don't know where calamities will appear - they may come while we sleep. This is the same with local businesses - go unprepared and be ready to fail fast. Let your business stay as a straw house and it will be blown away by the big bad wolf of changing times, trends and upgrades. This is why your business should be as free-flowing as a bamboo - even if it's a type of grass, it sways left and right, it's not bothered by the wind, and it's a very useful resource then and now.

Good thing we have the Business Sustainability and Resiliency Seminar this August 27. This features discussions on how to make your business sustainable from various resource speakers who are knowledgeable in their fields of work. From business coaching, to holistic approaches and to financial literacy, this seminar has got you covered.

If you don't want to let your business stay as a straw house, come to the Business Sustainability and Resiliency Seminar and get some bricks of wisdom to strengthen your business.

The Business Sustainability and Resiliency Seminar will be held at the Megatrade Hall 1, 5th Floor, Mega B of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City. This is part of the 7th Philippine Business and Entrepreneurs' Expo. Follow the 7th PBEX on Facebook for updates. Want to visit the expo? Register for free! Interested in the Seminar? Register below!


This event is organized by Ex-Link Management and Marketing Services Corporation. For partnerships, call 633-0153, SMS 0920 981 4376 / 0920 924 2532 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Follow Ex-Link Events on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Driver's license validity is to be lengthened up to 5 years. Passport validity to be lengthened up to 10 years. Processing is to be done online to decrease queues. Commitments in processing of documents will be delivered at a set time and date.

These are the things that President Rodrigo Duterte opened to the 17th Congress at the 2016 State of the Nation Address last Monday, and while there are some things that are not mentioned, what supposed to be a 30-minute speech went up to 100 minutes - and yet, we can say that it is mesmerizing.

President Duterte pointed out problems one at a time, and then proposed a solution. One of them is the establishment of the 8888 anti-corruption hotline, which will be connected to the Executive branch. This will complement the signed Freedom of Information executive order that he signed.

To sum his statement on the 8888 hotline, he made it clear that when he hears something wrong within his scope (Executive branch), "even a whisper," he'll take charge, go visit the person involved and ask why. "[...] hiwalay-hiwalay na tayo [...]," as he says it, should deter those who will try to do so.

The relation, or perhaps the benefit, of the 8888 hotline is that it is set up to help streamline the process of documents and to mitigate red tape that has been hampering the development of most Filipinos, including in the MSME industry. Once the hotline is set up in the succeeding weeks, we'll see how things will work - for the better, we really hope.

Today marks the opening of the 17th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines, and as stated in the constitution, the Congress will open with a State of the Nation Address led by the president of the republic. This year, the State of the Nation Address will be done by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, dubbed as the first president elected from the Mindanao region.

Last week, we did a quick survey among our peers on what are the 10 things that we would like to hear in President Duterte's first SONA:

1. No tax for employees earning below ₱25,000 - so that employees will have less burden budgeting their monthly allowances.
2. Increase in SSS Pension benefits - senior citizens depend on pension more to sustain themselves.
3. Make food prices affordable and accessible - more food bought for a set budget means more nourished families.
4. Ease transportation - less time spent on traffic means more time to spend on being productive
5. Increase and unify the minimum wage - so that businesses won't need to adjust wages if they are going to branch out to multiple locations across the country.
6. Abolish contractualization - secured jobs mean secured futures.
7. Improved healthcare services - If everyone can benefit from the government's healthcare services, the better.
8. Ease of doing government transactions - reducing the days alloted to business registration saves time, money and sweat.
9. Telecommunications infrastructure - faster connections mean faster processing of transactions.

The Internet of Things (IoT). Drones. Web 3.0. Startups. These are some of the buzzwords that describe how technology has helped (and for those who are wary of it, taken over) society as we know it. Just imagine your business integrating with the latest technology:

• You can make full use of drones to show your store's facade
• You can develop applications that will also serve as your virtual store
• Your website can have the best-pleasing design and yet still serve customers
• You can describe yourself as a startup

Simply taking your business online is one step of integrating the latest technologies into it. Imagine the number of debit card holders who does their transactions online now from those in the next five to ten years. Imagine how many people are using mobile phones now, and how many of them have set up their virtual debit cards; or has their coupons inside it. We are merely estimating that a few utilize these new technologies, and we can predict that in that time frame it will reach to a quarter or third of the populace.

This is just a nutshell in a plethora of reasons why businesses should enhance themselves using technology, and there will be more reasons in the future. Let's use the available resources that we can use now and play with it, for it will sure help us one way or another for the next wave of technologies.

The last two weeks showed us that the new government is results-oriented, and what more good example of this is the recent developments in the Agriculture Department (DA):

• Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol urged everyone to ensure implementation of programs to ensure rice sufficiency in the country,
• The National Irrigation Administration, the National Food Authority and the Philippine Coconut Authority are under the DA again,
• The secretary himself vows to focus on food production, which is the raison d'etre (reason of existence) of the department.
• Piñol also said that he plans to adopt the best practices of farmers in rice self-sufficient regions, and asks for updated soil data which has been used for four decades.

It is reported that the Philippines has the second-highest in Asia when it comes to electricity rates, just next to Japan. The high cost of electricity is a problem that is to be tackled by the Department of Energy under the new administration. Meanwhile, a 2014 ADB report puts the country next to Indonesia in the places with high water tariffs.

What does this mean for us, especially those in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise industry? High cost of utilities caused by high demand and low supply means that we have to build more sources of energy or basins of water to supply the needs of the public.

Building more sources of water and energy will require money, land and human resources. There are other sources that are active, such as water treatment facilities and wind power plants, but these won't be enough as there will be more people in the future. There's a reason why some people are more happy to invest in companies related to utilities, as it is expected that these companies will build more sources of utilities.

Of course, these things will not just be the government's responsibility alone - we have a part on this. If we know the value of these utilities, we will then take care of it, especially in a country where it is a bit pricey. If the MSMEs have their own measures to conserve water and energy, the better.

Utilities are so valuable - just a blackout or a water or phone interruption will hamper sales and the delivery of services, and if you know the value of something, you will use it wisely.

There are lots of ideas and concepts on doing business in the Philippines and more at the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City. You can talk with fellow entrepreneurs, or just observe and gain knowledge to polish your business and expand it further.


This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Today is a public holiday, as declared by the Philippine government, in observance of the Feast of Ramadan or Eid'l Fitr. Eid'l Fitr is celebrated by the Islamic faith three days after the end of the month of their fasting (Ramadan).

Speaking of the Islamic faith, they are the second largest population in the country, with 94% of them living in the southern part of the Philippines, especially in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) region, according to the data of the Philippine Statistics Authority (then called the National Statistics Office).

Imagine that you are in the food service industry and you want to cater to people of various cultures, including the Islamic faith. You will then research about their dietary laws, and why they do what they do. This is what you've found:

• They don't eat swine (pork) meat
• They don't eat meat of animals that has felt pain before being slaughtered, or has died of themselves
• They don't eat blood (thus they have a method of slaughtering that is based on their Quran called Dhabīḥah)
• They don't eat meat dedicated to other than Allah (God in Arabic)
• They don't drink alcoholic beverages
• They have a certification called "Halal," where the produce has been processed with the Islamic demographic in mind making it safe to eat by their standards.

After knowing this, you start to ask your friends who are Muslims what to do next so that you can cater to them. If your business caters to a wide variety of cultures, not just Islam, you will take consideration of the processes they do and the rules that they follow. Having a product or service that caters to, and respect different cultures is appreciated by your target market, so better think about the possibilities.

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There are lots of ideas and concepts on doing business in the Philippines at the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City. You can talk with fellow entrepreneurs, or just observe and gain knowledge to polish your business and expand it further.


This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

We've referred to earlier reports from the Philippine Statistics Authority on the tourism industry's contribution to the country's gross domestic product, which we can consider as well as the income generated by the country through its manpower.

This video gets in the details of Tourism Industry's "Big Chunk" that it has contributed to the growth of the country's income last year, and this is a must-see for those who want to take a step in the business of tourism.


There are lots of ideas and concepts on doing business in the Philippines at the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City. You can talk with fellow entrepreneurs, or just observe and gain knowledge to polish your business and expand it further.


This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

It's 2016. The word "startup" no longer applies to technology companies, and even some bigshot companies are now thinking like a startup. Design and appearance has evolved back to basics. Everything is connected.

As everything steps up, you and your workplace should do so as well, and here are three things you need to consider in innovating it:

• Know the latest trends. Knowledge is key when it comes to turning your business to a different direction, so read on the latest customer, employee and business trends to add to your knowledge. Get the concepts on the latest technology, visit expos and conferences, listen to resource speakers, so on and so forth.
• Observe your company's behavior. Your business' culture defines its personality, and if your business has a culture that you think is regressing nowadays, you need to step up and make your employees more alive through motivation and positive forward-thinking concepts.
• Build a transition plan. This is important especially if you are letting a new concept to your employees in and even to yourself. Start by letting everyone understand what the business is heading to in the future, and then show applicable proof/s that the direction will lead everyone to the goal. Once that's done, start changing the mindset of everyone gradually. This might take long (but not too long), but everyone will bear the fruits of a passionate workforce.

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There are lots of ideas and concepts on doing business in the Philippines at the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City. You can talk with fellow entrepreneurs, or just observe and gain knowledge to polish your business and expand it further.


This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Now that we're almost days away to a new presidency, the hopes of putting the country into a Federal state of government (if allowed by the congress) is coming to us. Nevertheless, with all the stress in the metro and the moves of various companies to relocate their sites outside of it, you should follow the same.

There's a lot of benefits in setting up your business outside of the metro, such as:

• Ease of access. You won't have to stay in traffic for two hours just to get to your office - plus points if you already have a home nearby, or better, you have a home-office setup.
• New customers, new behaviors to observe. If you think you know how your target customers behave, you're wrong. In every place, there's set of customers with different behavior, with different needs and wants, so it depends on the environment your business is into. Closely observing these behaviors will add more to your decision-making knowledge. Say, if a client gets to you and asks help to you, you know what you will answer. 
• New opportunities. Sure, you have to keep up with your target market, but that is the challenge. You can't take a bigshot coffee chain to a place where there's a few who can buy it, but you can size it down to reach your audience further.
• You got there first. Being the first in that area is a struggle, but you can put that short-term business into long-term with sheer dedication, and perseverance. If you were able to pull that off, chances are your business will be the first thing that your audience will recommend to.

If you are setting up a business in the countryside, there's definitely risks to take; but with risks comes opportunities to look further to accomplish your goals. The government support is there, the opportunity to serve your market is there, you just have to take the first step.

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There are lots of ideas and concepts on doing business in the Philippines at the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City. You can talk with fellow entrepreneurs, or just observe and gain knowledge to polish your business and expand it further.


This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

After all the good news that we've had a couple of weeks ago, we will face the biggest bad news that we've encountered by far this year, and that is when the United Kingdom of Great Britain has decided to leave the European Union (EU) just last week.

Great Britain has been part of the Union for 43 years. As part of the EU, the country takes part in its trade agreements. The "Brexit," as they call it, has brought in panic among investors, as it gets Great Britain back to scratch, leaving its residents, immigrants, investors and all worrying about their future.

What's worse, is that it seems the promises of leaving the UK will not be upheld at all, as news reports show that the ones who were leading the campaign had a major miscommunication with each other. The issue of immigration was among the reasons why the majority of the country's older generation has voted to leave the Union. The country's prime minister, David Cameron, has declared his resignation effective October.


Meanwhile, in Asia, the Japanese Yen is being monitored closely for developments, as it is said that the Yen is a safe spot. The Philippines is not safe, and will be affected by the Brexit. At the moment, the US Dollar is at 47 pesos, compared to the exchange rate of 44.88 pesos last June 18. This has a big impact on Filipinos who are working or residing in the UK as well, according to an economic expert.

Now, there are reports that its citizens are regretting the vote, and there is now a movement to nullify it. One thing is for sure at the moment: This news should be observed closely, as it has already affected the EU, the Euro, and even other countries. The Philippines, whether we like it or now, will feel the effects of the Brexit, especially those who rely on the Great Britain Sterling (GBP, also known as the British Pound).

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There are lots of ideas and concepts on doing business in the Philippines at the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City. You can talk with fellow entrepreneurs, or just observe and gain knowledge to polish your business and expand it further.


This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

"United we stand, divided we fall." This is the common quote attributed to teamwork, and this does not just apply to sports or politics, it's the motion that makes society work its way.

Today on our Road to PBEX series, we will discuss the basics on the Cooperative, why there are so many of them in the country, and why they're set up.

The concept of cooperatives started in England in 1844 with the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, who designed its Rochdale Principles which is included in Corporate Law studies of today.

A cooperative is like a corporation, and the "stock holders" are owners of micro, small and medium enterprises with each contributing an equity stock. Each member has to contribute something; but compared to a corporation, the members have equal voting power that is not determined by the value of the investment they gave to it. To add, the owner-members operate the cooperative for their own benefit. When the cooperative gains profit, its members has its share.

Taking a cue from our first post in the Road to PBEX series, "Who is Juan in the ASEAN Economic Community?," one has his share of contributions to others, and once they gather, they are building a community of owner-members that has its chance to stand amid incoming economic challenges.

While we are talking about Cooperatives in a business sense, there are also other kinds of cooperatives for personal benefit such as credit, insurance, consumer cooperatives, so on and so forth. Multi-purpose cooperatives are also common.

Being in a cooperative has its benefits, such as loans (in case of Credit Cooperatives). They require you to pay a membership fee and follow its rules and regulations which are set with a goal of benefiting its members.

Overall, joining a cooperative can be beneficial to those who will commit to it. As with the stock market, this can be a high-risk investment, depending on which cooperative you will join. Now that we have brought you the basics on cooperatives, it is your step if you will pursue an investment.

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There are lots of ideas and concepts on doing business in the Philippines at the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City. You can talk with fellow entrepreneurs, or just observe and gain knowledge to polish your business and expand it further.


This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The "Sulong Pilipinas: Hakbang Tungo sa Kaunlaran" dialogue at the SMX Convention Center finished yesterday. The two-day dialogue-workshop was initiated by the incoming administration of president-elect Rodrigo Duterte in an effort to pull out 9 million Filipinos from poverty.

What is Duterte's 10-point agenda for inclusive growth?

The incoming administration has set a ten-point agenda for inclusive growth, which are as follows (emphases ours):

1. Continue and maintain current macroeconomic policies, including fiscal, monetary and trade policies;
2. Institute progressive tax reform and more effective tax collection, indexing taxes to inflation. A tax reform package will be submitted to Congress by September 2016; 
3. Increase competitiveness and the ease of doing business. Relax constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership, except on land ownership, in order to attract foreign direct investment;
4. Accelerate annual infrastructure spending to account for 5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) playing a key role;
5. Promote rural and value chain development toward increasing agricultural and rural enterprise productivity and rural tourism;
6. Ensure security of land tenure to encourage investments, and address bottlenecks in land management and titling agencies;
7. Invest in human capital development, including health and education systems, and match skills and training to meet the demand of businesses and the private sector;
8. Promote science, technology and the creative arts to enhance innovation and creative capacity towards self-sustaining, inclusive development;
9. Improve social protection programs, including Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program, to protect the poor against instability and economic shocks; and
10. Strengthen implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law to enable couples to make informed choices on financial and family planning.

In these past weeks, we've talked about the efforts and strategies in improving the ease of doing business in the country, such as Project Repeal of the National Competitiveness Council, the importance of amending the country's tax system and the Negosyo Centers, and so we ask...

What's the importance of the 10-point agenda in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) industry?

• The 10-point agenda gives the feeling of being welcomed to set up shop,
• Increases the morale of budding businessmen as the agenda gives them optimism to pursue their own business plans, and
• Gives assurance that the government will back them up, and help them succeed.

We have seen news that provides inspiration and positivism these past few weeks, and we are one with everyone in the MSME industry in wishing and looking forward to the positive changes that are in store for us.

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There are lots of ideas and concepts on doing business in the Philippines at the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City. You can talk with fellow entrepreneurs, or just observe and gain knowledge to polish your business and expand it further.


This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

"700 MHz" is the buzzword for the past two weeks after San Miguel Corporation sold its telecommunication assets to Globe Telecom, Inc. and PLDT, Inc., with the Philippine government having a part of its resources. This news went on as the latter two companies makes full use of the spectrum by building and opening cell sites that operates under the said bandwidth.

"700 MHz" refers to the bandwidth spectrum that has better coverage inside and outside buildings, making it a great cellular resource that the two telcos are clamoring for. This spectrum is mostly used for the 4th Generation (4G) and Long-term Evolution (LTE) services.

The good news don't stop at 700 MHz, as the two telcos have agreed to share their internet protocols (IP) to each other (IP Peering), and we will experience less latency (we refer to this as "lag") and thus making internet connections faster.

Prior to the surprising announcements, PLDT has inked a deal with the Philippine Open Internet Exchange (PHOpenIX) to connect the telco's fiber optics lines to the internet exchange last year.

We are reminded once again why we need a better telecommunication infrastructure, especially for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). We need better telco infrastructure to improve the delivery of products and services and to connect more people and businesses to other businesses. This should be a fact, now that we have been labeled as the second-lowest in Asia when it comes to download speed, not to mention one of the costliest in the region.

We are glad that we are seeing a positive outlook for our country's telco infrastructure amid doubts and uncertainty that the two telcos are closing in on making a duopoly, and we are certainly looking forward to the telcos' continuing efforts to provide the resources that people - and MSMEs for this matter - deserve.

If the quality of telco service improves, then it will definitely improve the ease of doing business in the country, thus giving us the chance of a stronger economy. Let's keep watching the happenings in the telco industry to ensure that we are off in the right track.

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There are lots of ideas and concepts on doing business in the Philippines at the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City. You can talk with fellow entrepreneurs, or just observe and gain knowledge to polish your business and expand it further.


This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Let's face it - doing business in the Philippines legally is a pain in the neck. There's a lot of steps in registering a business in the country, and with many processes at hand (leading to Red Tape), entrepreneurs will go into three different routes:

1. Move on with the process as is, albeit tedious and resource-wasting,
2. Ask a fixer to speed up the process (which is definitely illegal), or
3. Just not register the business legally at all, even if this means facing more fines in the future.

Luckily, putting your business in the government registry will not be a hassle soon, as there's Project Repeal: The Philippine Red Tape Challenge. This is spearheaded by the recently-formed National Competitiveness Council, and they held their first "Repeal Day" last June 13.

What's the mission of Project Repeal?

Project Repeal's is an initiative to scrap unnecessary regulations that holds up the ease of doing business in the country. This was inspired by the reform initiatives of the United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea and Vietnam.

Which are the agencies that support Project Repeal?

1. National Competitiveness Council
2. Department of Finance
3. Securities and Exchange Commission
4. Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board
5. Department of Trade and Industry
6. Department of Budget and Management
7. Department of Tourism

What is Project Repeal doing now?

Finance secretary Cesar Purisima said during the Repeal Day at the AIM Conference Center that there is an initial 17,388 declarations that were collected for review by the project's Technical Working Committee (TWC) from different government agencies, according to a Malaya Business Insight report.

How huge is this effort, basically?

The same report states that 3,771 out of 4,023 department orders published since 1958 "need to be either repealed or delisted." Overall, majority of the 17,388 issuances identified are declarations from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

What are the benefits of repealing unnecessary laws?

The UK scrapped around 2,400 regulations related to home-building to save about 100 million UK pounds. South Korea simplified 21.7 percent of its collection of regulations as they remove 48.8 percent of it, and they have allowed business to save costs worth 4.4 percent of their gross domestic product.

We are certainly looking forward that Project Repeal will be doing their task of easing up the business registration process in the country. If their task is fully accomplished, more businesses will open in different places all over the country, which will lead to more jobs, more consumers and more activity in the economy.

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There are lots of ideas and concepts on doing business in the Philippines at the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City. You can talk with fellow entrepreneurs, or just observe and gain knowledge to polish your business and expand it further.


This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

There's this saying that "Nothing is certain but death and taxes." Speaking of taxes, it is the one of the most grueling things that businesses worry about. Yes, we have to pay our taxes - it's our obligation after all - but with all the processes businessmen need to do, they often come out worried or frustrated.

There has been a need to amend and simplify the country's current tax system further, especially for Micro, Small and Medium enterprises, in order to raise the country's economic status further. Easing up the tax payment process means that valuable resources - time, money and manpower - are spent well. The extra time that businesses will save from the amends will then be used for future projects and activities that are valuable to them.

To be fair, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has done measures to modernize the tax system, by doing the processing via the eBIR Forms that can be done at the companies' offices; but there is a lot to do to definitely improve it. Digitizing the process is one step, simplifying it is another.

There are individuals and organizations that are helping MSMEs to make full use of the current tax system, but that's not enough. There are high hopes that the next administration will be doing its best in answering to the needs of the MSME industry, and every business in the country are hoping for the same change.

There are lots of ideas and concepts on doing business in the Philippines at the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City. You can talk with fellow entrepreneurs, or just observe and gain knowledge to polish your business and expand it further.


This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Every business is supported by its customers, and the hunt for the next customer is a challenge for promising businessmen in order to thrive and survive. Luckily, there are expositions and trade fairs that opens their windows to them.

Getting even a small space inside will bring you big opportunities as you will be able to observe how your business or brand fare well with your fellows. There are two things you need to consider: Exposure, and Experience.

Event managers such as Ex-Link Events come up with new concepts for events to gather a specific market. Almost every month, there's a different event for each specific audience, and once the audience comes to an event and gets to your booth, that's Exposure.

Now, as the business, you want to turn that Exposure into good use, so you will think of a concept that will provide a great Experience to those who can see your booth. If your plan is efficient and the exposure is fully utilized, then the audience won't be spectators anymore - they are now your customers, and your leads.

Now that you have learned these two Es that you need to consider, you are on your way to book a booth for an event.

While you are thinking about your eye-catching concept, you might want to consider booking for the 7th Philippine Business and Entrepreneurs' Expo this August at the SM Megatrade Hall. The PBEX's attendees will be looking forward to owning their own business, and if you are seeking to spread out, this is your chance!


If you want to know more about doing business in the Philippines, come to the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City.

This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

John Gokongwei, Jr. Henry Sy, Sr. Andrew Tan. Lucio Tan. Tony Tancaktiong. Manuel V. Pangilinan. Manuel Villar. All of these people are businessmen, and they have endured years of challenges and obtained years of experience in their fields.

You, as a budding businessman, are inspired by these people and their successes. Imagine yourself in the starting points of your work as a businessman, and think about the things that are happening around you. To help you, here's a quick quiz that will ask you questions about your business behaviors.

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If you want to know more about doing business in the Philippines, come to the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City.

This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

This is the third part on our Road to PBEX 2016 series. Our Google+ Page will be showing all posts from this series of features.

Do you remember the time when you are trying to register your business and you've had a hard time processing papers just to make your business official? Fortunately, those days were gone, as Republic Act 10644 is signed in 2014.

What does this Act mean? The development of Negosyo Centers in the country. What makes Negosyo Centers interesting? Will it be able to help budding micro, small and medium enterprises to do business in the country easier? On this segment, we will point out five (5) things you need to know in a Negosyo Center.

Who made the Negosyo Centers possible?

The RA 10644 or "AN ACT PROMOTING JOB GENERATION AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES" (also referred to as the "Go Negosyo Act of 2013") has Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV as its sponsor, and it was filed by various house committes to the First Regular Session of the 16th Philippine Congress in December 2013.

It was then co-sponsored by majority of the Philippine Senate the following year, and was then signed by President Aquino III in July 2014. The process took around seven (7) months from the Senate to the President's table.

What are the models of the Negosyo Centers?

According to the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (which also refers itself to "Go Negosyo," its brand), the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has set four types of Negosyo Centers with different features:

• Model A: A facility ideal for provinces, cities, and first-class municipalities with 3 to 5 business counselors plus support staff. Facility includes a reception area (receiving counter, PBR kiosk, computers, lounge, and library), consultation and meeting room, working area, and a training room
• Model B: A facility ideal for second-class municipalities with 2 to 3 business counselors plus support staff. Facility includes a reception area, consultation and meeting room, and working area.
• Model C: A facility ideal for third- to fourth-class municipalities with 2 business counselors plus support staff. Facility includes reception area and 3 desks.
• Model D: A facility ideal for fifth to sixth class municipalities with 1 desk officer LGUs and the private sector are encouraged to assign personnel to support the Negosyo Centers. They are also allowed to host the facility should they have available space that is accessible to more entrepreneurs.

Does it help in making business in the Philippines better?

Where are they located?

The DTI website has a directory of Negosyo Centers around the country - in Metro Manila, there are Negosyo Centers in Manila, Mandaluyong Parañaque, Makati and Pasay cities. The DTI has just opened 155 centers all over the country, and they are planning to add 144 more, according to the Manila Bulletin. If you know an existing DTI Business Assistance Center, it must have been converted into a Negosyo Center as well.

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If you want to know more about doing business in the Philippines, come to the 7th Philippine Business & Entrepreneurs' Expo this August 26 to 28 at the SM Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City.

This event is organized by business event organizer Ex-Link Management & Marketing Services Corporation. For inquiries and partnerships, call telephone numbers 633-01-53, 643-3887 or email info@exlinkevents.com. Ex-Link Events is also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.