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Improving Bus quality is now a reality A freight and cargo forwarding firm under the Lina Group of Companies of Customs Commissioner Bert Lina will soon operate the first premium airport shuttle bus service, ferrying passengers to and from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia). According to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), AirFreight 2100 Inc. has been accredited as the first airport bus service provider for two routes: from Naia Terminals 1, 2 and 3 to the Roxas Boulevard area, including the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay and Entertainment City in Parañaque, and from Naia to the Makati Central Business District. “We will instruct AirFreight to submit [the] necessary documents for the issuance of the certificate of public convenience [transport franchise],” LTFRB executive director Roberto Cabrera told reporters on Monday. He said the company must deploy half of the required 44 airport shuttle buses within six months. Compared to regular buses, the airport shuttle service will be more spacious, with seating limited to just 24 passengers and enough room for their luggage. These will also be equipped with Wifi and security cameras. Cabrera said that each route would have no more than five designated off-street drop-off points to ensure speedier travel time for passengers. The buses, however, can pick up passengers only at the airport terminals. Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/712168/first-naia-shuttle-bus-service-provider-a-lina-firm#ixzz3ysWxVcT5 / 2 / Premium airport buses to be available in mid-2016 by Kris Bayos .. September 20, 2015 Premium buses that will transport passengers to and from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) would be seen on the road by mid next year. Garrie David of Airfreight 2100 (Air21) said the first 21 premium airport buses will start operation by May or June next year. To recall, Air21 bested two other bidders for the government’s accreditation to operate the first premium airport bus service in Metro Manila. Although Air21 won the exclusive accreditation from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) last August, processing of the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) is still under way. The LTFRB has given Air21 six months to operate half of the 42-unit fleet it was authorizeed to operate around the NAIA Complex. “While the orders have already been placed, the supplier requires nine to 12 months to deliver the units. These buses are not something you can buy off the shelf because of the specifications set by the government,” David explained. Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/premium-airport-buses-to-be-available-in-mid-2016/#RAvFTl4HOK9eltxG.99

Improvements in Airport connectivity Govt gives green light for railway to link NAIA to Clark www.interaksyon.com/.../govt-gives-green-light-for-railway-to-link-naia... Dec 21, 2015 - The high-speed train system is intended to link Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City Manila, and Clark International Airport in ... . . . CITY OF SAN FERNANDO - Pampanga Third District Rep. Oscar Rodriguez, who is running for re-election, disclosed on Monday that the Department of Budget and Management has approved funding for the fast railway project that would link Metro Manila with Clark Freeport and points leading to Northern Luzon. Rep. Rodriguez said that the project is included in the 2016 budget. "The plans are now final, and the railway system from Metro Manila to Malolos City in Bulacan will be expanded up to the north after the BCDA [bases Conversion and Development Authority] volunteered to construct the link from Malolos to North Luzon," Rodriguez said. The high-speed train system is intended to link Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City Manila, and Clark International Airport in Clark Freeport Zone Pampanga, The final decision was reached during a meeting with Budget Secretary Butch Abad, BCDA president Arnel Casanova and other officials, including himself, Rodriguez added. While he did not say how much the railway system would cost, Rodriguez stressed that construction would start early next year. "BCDA president Casanova said, 'we [bCDA] were able to build the SCTEx [subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway], so why can't we build the northern part of that railway system?,'" Rodriguez reported. Developments like this, he said further, augur well with the advocacy to link Clark International Airport to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the move to decongest Metro Manila. "So, inbound passengers can check in at NAIA but depart from Clark. It's going to be fast with the railway. It would also help decongest Metro Manila, which will also reduce the impact of a disaster strike," he said. The lack of infrastructure, including railway system, prompted airline companies to choose Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)) by default as the airport of choice in the country.

RAIL & other Key Infrastructure Projects Mega Manila subway map, as proposed - (added in edit in Oct.2017) : alternative map Mindanao Avenue (near Quirino Avenue, identified in the original JICA plan) Tandang Sora (identified in the original JICA plan) North Avenue (near Mindanao Avenue, identified in the original JICA plan) Quezon Avenue (near EDSA, new alignment) East Avenue (near V. Luna, new alignment) Anonas (near Kamias or Aurora Boulevard new alignment) Katipunan Avenue (near Boni Serrano, new alignment) Ortigas North (Ortigas Avenue cor. Meralco Avenue, identified in the original JICA plan) Ortigas South (Ortigas Avenue cor. Shaw Boulevard, identified in the original JICA plan) Kalayaan (cor. Lawton Avenue, identified in the original JICA plan) Bonifacio Global City (at 38th Street between Bonifacio High Street and Market Market, identified in the original JICA plan) Cayetano Avenue (near C5, identified in the original JICA plan) FTI / ARCA South (identified in the original JICA plan) NAIA (not part of the JICA plan but is being pushed by the Department of Transportation as a spur line, probably to be located near Terminal 3) ======== > image: #19: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1708082&page=19 > locations: http://www.theurbanroamer.com/mega-manila-subway-project/ Compare above with the existing LRT / MRT network Aquino airport to Entertainment City / Mall of Asia Context Entertainment CityHelp improve this article Sourced from World Heritage Encyclopedia™ licensed under Help to improve this article, make contributions at the Citational Source 27305449 Entertainment City (also known as Bagong Nayong Pilipino Entertainment City) or previously Manila Bay Tourism City is Asia's Las Vegas-like gaming and entertainment complex that is underway by PAGCOR on 8 km² of land on the reclamation area of Manila Bay, Philippines as envisioned by the Philippine Amusement & Gaming Corporation in 2002. It lies the western side of Roxas Boulevard and south of SM Corporate District (SM Mall of Asia), part of Parañaque City. Investments to the project can reach up to $15 billion, which is scaled down from the more recent $20 billion budget announcement that had been previously announced in 2007. All investments will come from private companies.[1] The project is officially named as the "Bagong Nayong Pilipino-Entertainment City", and has been called several other names by the press. The most common name being referenced is "Entertainment City". The site has been declared a PEZA approved economic zone. > http://central.gutenberg.org/articles/Entertainment_City Transportation - Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport Manila airport is also connected to the Manila Light Rail Transit System (LRT) by a two-kilometer taxi ride to Baclaran station. In the future, with the extension of the existing Yellow Line, a new station, Manila International Airport station, is set to connect the airport, albeit still indirectly, to the LRT.

excerpt: A Forbes columnist asked the question: Can Millennials Afford The American Dream? Forbes’ Kerri Zane writes: The local radio news station in Los Angeles recently reported that the rental rates in this city have reached apocalyptic levels. So it stands to reason the next best step is to purchase a home. Easier said than done, particularly for millennials. At the end of last year my 25-year-old daughter and I were discussing this issue. She and her live-in boyfriend had been exploring the notion, but with the median home price in Los Angeles exceeding $500,000.00, it is completely out of reach for them. Between juggling school loan payoffs and each working in the freelance world of entertainment, saving for a down payment and/or qualifying for a mortgage, in this day and age, is tough. === The the MORE Reason to "get out of Dodge", and move away from LA. Try a much more affordable city like Philadelphia, where in 2015 I bought a 1,300 sf home with 3BR, near the trolley line, for just $75,000. It CAN be done. But chasing the exact same dream as so many others in LA is not the way to do it

VALIDATION ! Validation ... that's what they called it when they gave me a bank ATM card, and it became fully effective this morning. It took a long time to get a bank account with a local Philippines bank. In my case, this was with BPI (the Bank of the Philippine Islands.) This bank is part of the Ayala Group, and I feel comfortable with their credit risk - the risk I am taking when I park my money in a time deposit with the bank. I have to do this so I can issue some post dated cheques to cover monthly payments due on my largest property. The others I bought with cash, paid upfront, before I got the key. There's another benefit too. I have a way of collecting rents, which will not require my tenant to walk 20 minutes to HSBC and spend 30 minutes (or more!) waiting in a queue to deposit their monthly rent. People from Hong Kong are surprised when I tell them about this issue. They assume that banking in the Philippines is like in HK, and you can give a bank standing instructions, and they will debit your bank account, and pay the landlord's bank. This is completely normal in HK, but not in the Philippines. Banks do not make it easy or cheap to transfer money from one bank to another. So the practice in the Philippines is for the tenant to provide post dated cheques, so the LL can peal off a chequ each month and deposit it in his bank account. But this will not work well for a HK-based property owner. The banks in HK will not know what to do with a Peso-denominated check. (If they can accept it, they are likely to charge a large fee to deposit it.) When I asked Avida Leasing what I coiuld do with 12 PCD's they seemed surprised that anyone would ask such a question. When I explained the problem, they asked if I had friends or family who could deposit the monthly cheques. (The assumption seems to be that the only reason an expat would buy property in the Philppines, is if they have a Filipina wife - or a woman have a Filipino husband. Or at the very least, good Filipino friends who can help them. Avida did tell me that they were "thinking" about providing this service to their clients - probably for a fee. . . . Another milestone! My bed was delivered yesterday. And this was a great thing for me. I had the best night's sleep since I have come to the Philippines. Actually, I am very happy with the bed. It fits well into a very cosy space. And it is nicely constructed - made in the Philippines out of Philippines mahogany. It fits so well, and looks nice in its space, so I busted my budget, and bought it: Paying about P 24,000 for the bed, and another P 13,000 or so for the mattress (an Ambassador, also made in the Philippines.) I now regard it as a sort of collectors item, since it comes with a very large mahogany head board, and three small drawers on each side. Using the space under a bed is rare in the Philippines, for reasons that are mysterious to me. In a small flat, the space under a bed is a very practical place for storage

Perhaps swapping a Hong Kong flat for this residence : Glin Castle, Glin, Co. Limerick might suit a large family or one with regular guests? http://www.rightmove.co.uk/overseas-property/property-53084078.html I have already done a Swap I sold my 550sf flat in HK for just over 7-figures, in USD And invested the PROFITS in three flats in Makati, Philippines, totaling : 22+59+28= 109 S x 10.73 = 1170 sf and a house in Philadelphia (1300sf), rented out, and yielding 11%+ pretax (so 550sf, became : 2,470sf, that's + 349% sf, most of which will be rented out after completion) And had enough left over to buys some gold. The remaining capital went into a HK-quoted property share with a good yield (more than rent would have acheived) and in HKD deposits

I have already done a Swap I sold my 550sf flat in HK for just over 7-figures, in USD And invested the PROFITS in three flats in Makati, Philippines, totaling : 22+59+28= 109 S x 10.73 = 1170 sf and a house in Philadelphia (1300sf), rented out, and yielding 11%+ pretax (so 550sf, became : 2,470sf, that's + 349% sf, most of which will be rented out) And had enough left over to buys some gold. The remaining capital went into a HK-quoted property share with a good yield (more than rent would have acheived) and in HKD deposits

Buy in Limerick?

Ayala to spend P 4bn on Bus terminals (integrated with rail etc) at Arca South Construction of the PHP 4 billion South Integrated System is expected to start in September, after the government signed a 35-year concession with a unit of Ayala Land on Tuesday + Purpose: to connect different modes of transport, and assist the public in making more efficient transfers + Ayala submitted the lowest annual grantor payment (P 278 million) and fulfilled all post-award requirements. And ALI has been given 18 months to construct the ITS + They will construct a terminal within the FTI compound + The mission is to connect passengers coming from the south (by bus etc.) and especially from Batangas and Laguna provinces Covers: arrival and departure bays, public info systems, ticketing and baggage facilities, and park-ride facilities An Ayala rival, Megaworld, was earlier the winning bidder for a 3.27 bn ITS facility at Paranaque City =========== \[ This will be something to watch. I am wondering if Ayala might be thinking of using the PNR rail link to move people from FTI to Pasay road (in Makati) and then from there to Ayala Ave / GB etc by (a new?) dedicated jeepney This could help to bypass some of the worst traffic - but the Pasay Rd tp Greenbelt link would remain problematic, and is not a pleasant walk. A covered walkway from Buendia to Ayala Avenue (City Gate) could be an option, but there are issues when it floods

What Will Happen To a Condominium Investment After 50 Years? philpropertyexpert.com It’s not like you will buy a condominium property and then after 50 years, your investment will be gone, just like that. When a condominium project is fully turned ... > http://philpropertyexpert.com/what-will-happen-to-a-condominium-investment-after-50-years/ (in edit, as was explained to me in an email): I live in Philippines and there is a misunderstanding here about this rule. Many people think you just lose your condo once it reached 50 years old. I have an unit in a 20-something years old building and several people here told me that I will lose it after 20-something more years years, which is not true. What usually happen is a developer makes an offer on a well located old building to build a new one instead. Sometimes they offer a new unit in the new building constructed, sometimes money only, sometimes both. If majority of the owners of the old building (more than 50 years) agreed then the others are forced to join the deal. So this is not really a concern when you buy a condo. If such offer is made to you by a developer once your building is 50 years old it will probably be an attractive offer or the majority of owners just won't accept it and your building will remain as it is. Thanks again for this article. I'm going to forward it to some of my friends and family who misunderstood this rule.

Yes. And those heavy transaction costs will deter new buyers also

(though more than 1-year old, this is an interesting factoid, and work keeping in mind and commenting upon here): RENTAL YIELDS : large flats better? / Oct 26, 2014 Philippines: yields good, though lower than in recent years Yields in Manila remain good, but somewhat lower than during the past few years (when they were excellent). Transaction taxes (known as ‘capital gains taxes', but not actually such), and (if observed) official income tax rates applicable to non-resident investors, are high. Buying prices for condominiums are at around US$2,800 to US$3,200, (/44 = P 64k - p 73k psm - old prices !) considerably up on previous years. Unusually, yields are not highest on the very smallest units, which suggests that smaller condominiums are oversupplied. The highest-yielding units are 80 square metre units (which have gross rental yields of around 7.7%). Last year we found that yields were surprisingly good on very large condominiums (250 square metres), at around 9%, but this year we were not able to assemble a database of this dimension. This may be an optimal size for investment. P 64k psm x 8% = 426 psm per mo. P 73k psm x 8% = 487 psm per mo. (too low? because their prices are too low. At 130k psm x8% = P1) . . . Compare these with : 875 psm per Colliers (and P 820 psm in mid-2014) And also, we see unfurnished flats: P928 psmpm at Columns-Legaspi, and P788 at Columns-Ayala

The attraction of SOHO's in an "Ugly" building Eton Tower has a great location, but does not look like its original render On skyscraper city, one of the posters wrote about SOHO (Small Office – Home Office) units: I realized this building is ugly compared to its renderings and glassy neighbour, but since its there anyway, would this be a good investment if given the opportunity? The location is kinda irresistible and SOHOs are kinda hard to get in good locations. Of course, the unit itself has to be very very good (i.e. high floor, good orientation with views as oppose to ones facing the tall building next door, etc) for me to take a bite on. TURNOVERS may start soon for some of the (lower floor?) flats - but first a Notice must be sent: From Eton: Please be advised that the first phase in the handover of the unit begins with the letter (NAUT) that will be sent to you informing the date when you may inspect your unit. Should you find your unit satisfactory, you may then accept this on the same date. Should you find any part of the unit’s quality unacceptable, this may be included in the punch list that our Technical Team will be rectifying. The unit may be accepted once the rectification is completed. Our Turnover Team will be assisting you as you view and inspect your unit. For now, we have already started sending invites to buyers of the SOHO units at the lower floors for VIEWING purposes only. This is not yet the actual turnover. > SSC: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1028969&page=17

There's Plenty of Optimism about 2016 Growth Shaky start, cautious optimism Business Mirror-6 hours ago Shaky doesn't necessarily mean the Philippine economy will slow ... For instance, with a new administration in place, a high growth rate in the ... Fastest in Asia-Pacific: Maybank Kim Eng sees Philippine GDP at 7% Philippine Star-16 Jan 2016 The GDP growth of the Philippines would even overtake China's projected ... at six percent, and the special deposit account rate at 2.5 percent. === ==== Pinoys optimistic too ! 40% of Filipinos participating in a poll run by SWS surveys expect their quality of life to improve in the next year. This is the highest such rating since SWS began conducting the survey in April 1984. Personal optimism, with the 40% rating, is from a poll of 1,200 individuals, and is done by subtracting pessimists from optimists, to arrive at a net optimism fugure. 45% expected an improvement, and only 5% expected things to get worse Looking back, 31% said the quality of their lives had improved over the last 12 months, and 27% said that it their lives were worse. The net figure of 5% (4%??) was statistically the same as the 4% figure in September.

Manilans learning to enjoy the taste of luxury Locals in the Philippine capital of Manila are becoming more and more open to spending on luxury goods and services. Construction of the Conrad Manila hotel, located in the center of the capital, is almost complete, as shown in this December 2015 photo. They go to expensive foreign hotels and buy high-priced fruits. The growing number of middle-class earners support the consumption boom in a way, but another significant factor may be the typical mindset of locals about spending. A large, white building being constructed near Manila Bay is the Conrad Manila, slated to open this year. The first Conrad-brand hotel in the country, under Hilton Worldwide Holdings of the U.S., has about 350 rooms in the eight-story building that overlooks the bay. Guests can enjoy sunset over Manila Bay from rooms with a view of the sea. . . . Per-capita gross domestic product in the Philippines is projected to reach $3,000 this year. With the growing number of middle-class citizens, the country is in the midst of the stage in which consumption can grow significantly. However, the current jump by consumers to luxury items may not reflect the real life of locals. == > http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Economy/Manilans-learning-to-enjoy-the-taste-of-luxury Meantime, below the surface, there are some crosscurrents. Many Filipinos are employed as OFW (Overseas Foreign Workers), and many work in the oil sector. With oil prices well down, some are losing their jobs, with little prospect of near-term re-employment

OIL Shares catch a bid ----------------------------------------% Change Volume ==== MRO Marathon Oil Corp 10.19 +15.93% 492,723 DVN Devon Energy Corp 26.44 + 9.35% 33,793 KSU Kansas City Southern... 70.24 + 8.83% 7,399 KMI Kinder Morgan Inc 14.95 + 7.71% 262,237 CHK Chesapeake Energy Co. 3.81 + 7.32% 376,243 Data as of Jan 22 > http://money.cnn.com/data/premarket/

GBP 1.95 mn to 2.5 million would still be a good profit for that original buyer. Maybe the market will deliver to him a loss, since he seems to be just "chasing the market lower" with an unrealistic offer price. I have seen many people behave like that over the years

LOWER COST CITIES ... benefiting from being close to major financial centers (Comments Received by email): Subject: Interesting article on banks moving jobs to lower cost cities. Wonder if we can see good evidence of this into Philly and Manila - W. "Morgan Stanley will be straying ever further from its Wall Street roots in the coming months as it shifts more operations to lower cost cities like Mumbai and Budapest as it aims to slash costs. The investment bank on Tuesday announced an initiative to cut up to $1 billion by 2017 by using technology and outsourcing jobs now in its New York headquarters and other higher cost cities. However, it declined to give specific details about the number of jobs it would move to lower cost centres. "We have too many employees based in high-cost centres doing work that can sensibly be done in lower cost centres," (CEO James) Gorman said on a fourth-quarter analyst call with analysts. http://www.reuters.com/article/morgan-stanley-outsourcing-idUSKCN0UX2RN "Manila already one of the top BPO cities and Iam sure they will get more. " - R. BGC has a HUGE expansion of office space underway, much of it is for BPO's, so they willl appreciate the business. And maybe if all those offices get filled then the huge increase in condos, like 20-30% in a year, will get absorbed soon enough the keep rents and prices from sliding lower. Most people including Colliers seem to think the absorbtion will happen. Philadelphia office rents might get a nice boost, since most of the high rises coming in are residential in Philly. - DrB. Yes, I know about Manila being the world's leading BPO center. That is why our company is opening an office there... What this article is talking about is not more outsourcing, it is about actually putting thousands of Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, etc... staff relocating to places like Glasgow and hopefully Philly and Manila. - W. BGC in Greater manila needs the BPO jobs to fill the huge increase in office space (I think it will happen, but wonder what will happen to the BGC > Makati traffic jams.) . Philly has a big advantage in beings so close to NYC. A 60-90 minute trip from train station to train station. I wonder how close Morgan Stanley's office is to Penn Station? - DrB (added in edit): There's one right across the street from Penn Station, but most of their offices are a couple blocks away in Midtown. https://www.google.com.hk/maps/place/Morgan+Stanley/@40.736952,-73.9995783,13.17z/data=!4m5!1m2!2m1!1smorgan+stanley!3m1!1s0x0000000000000000:0xaade6886da53e065?hl=en - W. 43rd Fl, 1 Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, NY 10119, United States morganstanleybranch.com Wow, that's certainly very convenient. And it makes Philly a very logical choice for relocation - DrB.

(Comments Received by email): Subject: Interesting article on banks moving jobs to lower cost cities. Wonder if we can see good evidence of this into Philly and Manila - W. "Morgan Stanley will be straying ever further from its Wall Street roots in the coming months as it shifts more operations to lower cost cities like Mumbai and Budapest as it aims to slash costs. The investment bank on Tuesday announced an initiative to cut up to $1 billion by 2017 by using technology and outsourcing jobs now in its New York headquarters and other higher cost cities. However, it declined to give specific details about the number of jobs it would move to lower cost centres. "We have too many employees based in high-cost centres doing work that can sensibly be done in lower cost centres," (CEO James) Gorman said on a fourth-quarter analyst call with analysts. http://www.reuters.c...g-idUSKCN0UX2RN "Manila already one of the top BPO cities and I am sure they will get more. " - R. BGC has a HUGE expansion of office space underway, much of it is for BPO's, so they willl appreciate the business. And maybe if all those offices get filled then the huge increase in condos, like 20-30% in a year, will get absorbed soon enough the keep rents and prices from sliding lower. Most people including Colliers seem to think the absorbtion will happen. Philadelphia office rents might get a nice boost, since most of the high rises coming in are residential in Philly. - DrB.

(Comments Received by email): \ A light moment inside the People Support office. AT&T, JPMorgan Chase and Expedia use Philippine call centers Subject: Interesting article on banks moving jobs to lower cost cities. Wonder if we can see good evidence of this into Philly and Manila - W. "Morgan Stanley will be straying ever further from its Wall Street roots in the coming months as it shifts more operations to lower cost cities like Mumbai and Budapest as it aims to slash costs. The investment bank on Tuesday announced an initiative to cut up to $1 billion by 2017 by using technology and outsourcing jobs now in its New York headquarters and other higher cost cities. However, it declined to give specific details about the number of jobs it would move to lower cost centres. "We have too many employees based in high-cost centres doing work that can sensibly be done in lower cost centres," (CEO James) Gorman said on a fourth-quarter analyst call with analysts. http://www.reuters.com/article/morgan-stanley-outsourcing-idUSKCN0UX2RN "Manila already one of the top BPO cities and I am sure they will get more. " - R. BGC has a HUGE expansion of office space underway, much of it is for BPO's, so they willl appreciate the business. And maybe if all those offices get filled then the huge increase in condos, like 20-30% in a year, will get absorbed soon enough the keep rents and prices from sliding lower. Most people including Colliers seem to think the absorbtion will happen. Philadelphia office rents might get a nice boost, since most of the high rises coming in are residential in Philly. - DrB.

UPDATE - I am back in Makati, completing the basic furnishing on my studio flat An early design I rejected - It looked too much like a cheap office It is still warm here. If anything, the temperature is on the warm side of comfortable - but I would describe it as temperate. The "bargain" I found in my flat at Avida SanLo may be genuine (under P 100,000 psm still looks cheap), but it arises because this place is surrounded by traffic, and to get to the "high end" area near the Greenbelt Mall, you have to endure a very short walk on some of the worst sidewalks I have ever seen on a busy street anywhere in the world. It is a true obstacle course, especially when my ankles or knees are bad. But it is manageable, and so is the walk to Greenbelt. Don Bosco school is a well regarded Boys School in the Makati area Most of the people who live here, seem to be professionals who have a larger home in the provinces. They use their flats as a base for access to jobs during the week, and/or they have a child in the Don Bosco school across the street (or the girl's school behind it.) There is also a contingent of young accountants and other people starting their careers. Many of them are renting and sharing studios, or small 1BR or 2 BR flats with friends. When they have accumulated enough savings they may buy. But they seem to prefer new flats purchased off plan. They plow their excess income into installments on flats to be completed in 3-4 years when they buy them. If there was a better developed mortgage market, more of these people might be purchasing second hand flats, and making mortgage payments instead. The good news is, that when many people move into their new flats, they may have built up a significant amount of equity in those flats (through their payments and price appreciation.) The custom of prepaying, may make the market more resilient. The Waltermart mall is next door to SanLon, and it has a cinema, with four films running simultaneously All the SanLo flats that were available for rent a month ago, have been rented out, including the furnished ones - so properties do move. This is in spite of the fact that there is a HUGE supply (even YUGE, as The Donald would say). Within 2016, there are 4,148 new condos meant to be delivered, that is adding to a supply of 19,337 at year-end - so it represents a jump of 21.5% in one year. The new CBD at Bonifacio Global City is even worse, with 6,931 new condos coming on top of 22,206 - that's +31.2%. So 2016 looks like the crunch year - I have never seen such yuge jumps in supply in a single year anywhere that I have invested - so it will be interesting to see what happens. The good news is ... the continuing bad news that Manila's traffic jams just get worse and worse (it seems) and some people need to get to work on time, so they need accommodation close to their jobs - so I expect there will be strong demand, even for the small flats. The projected annual rises drop down to 2,962 flats (+12.6%) and 4,125 (+14.2%) respectively next year. Fingers crossed that rents will not come down. Colliers expects a 2-3% drop in rents, and flat condo prices in 2016. ==== : Makati : BGC--- : 2015 : 19,337 : 22,206 : year end +Add: 04,148 : 06,931 : exp.2016 + Pct.: 21.45%: 31.21% : 2016 : 23,585 : 29,137 : year end + Add: 02,962 : 04,125 : exp.2017 + Pct.: 12.56%: 14.16% : 2017 : 26,547 : 33,262 : year end + Add: 01,072 : 02,831 : exp.2018 + Pct.: 12.56%: 14.16% : 2018 : 27,619 : 36,093 : year end ====== Per Colliers, The Knowledge, for Q3-2015 The flats in my new tower two, are slow in getting released - probably 60% or more have still not yet been turned over. So I am lucky to have mine. Possibly, I got mine because it was due for early turnover, and also because I sent some polite letters by email inquiring when handover would happen. Maybe Avida did not want to lose face among foreign buyers? - But I have no idea if they think like that in the Philippines. But Ayalaland is now seeking more buyers overseas, so it is possible. Or maybe I was just lucky to get mine in 2015, while many buyers have had to wait until 2016. Someone I know with a similar studio flat in SanLo, also on a high floor will be getting his in mid-2016. But that was by choice, since he lives in Australia, and will return to the Philippines for a long stay only in the middle of the-year. Will there be a surge of turnovers in late Q2, or Q3 for the same reason? Maybe. I am still learning about this market. So if I decide to rent my flat out for a year or more, I may want to do that in Q1 and beat the possible surge in competition. Meantime, it provides a cheap base for me to stay here. Furnishing is going well. Today the new mirrored wardrobe I am having built will be finished, and some furniture was delivered last night - so I am no longer sleeping on the floor, and I can do some useful things, like boil water for hot tea. I saw my neighbor's place last night. It is a corner flat and is about twice the size of mine. The designer did a great job - his name is Jun Sayson - readers can ask me for his phone number if they are interested. He had a look at my place and made some suggestions. But it is a bit late, since I have already purchased like 2/3rds of what I need to furnish the place. I am focused on having plenty of storage space, in case I decide to move all my stuff here from HK. And I want a small flat with great flexibility. So there's not as much room for creativity as a talented designer may like. WIFI connections are possible using the pocket WIFI set-up I have, but they are HIGHLY erratic. I paid P 1500 to get an "open" pocket Wifi device, and I have been experimenting. The Globe connection seems to be better than the Smart net work, and after 1-2 days of both, I am now on a 5-day "unlimited" use program with Globe, which costs P200 (that's about HKD 33, so not expensive). You can call it halfway decent at best. It is nowhere as fast or reliable as what I can get in a decent internet cafe. Almost half the time it doesn't work at all, or I get 3-4 pages open and then it dies. I usually wait a few minutes and then try again. Sometimes after 2-3 unsuccessful tries, I just give up. I can almost never watch a Youtube video longer than 2-3 minutes all the way through. Frankly, compared to HK, this seems like a joke. I do put up with it because I don't like dragging my computer around to go to a coffee shop and pay P100-150 for a cup of coffee, so I can surf the web for 3o minutes or an hour. But I do that sometimes. Or I walk 10 minutes to an internet cafe which is very cheap (P15 an hour), but I might arrive and find the cafe is full of school kids, playing computer games. I suppose I will get used to it, and discover the right times to get reliable service and when to go to cafes.

that's interesting there are so many ways to do the oil trade

Big News : Russian Oil to be traded in Rubles NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE NEFARIUM JAN 14 2016 Russia is now the largest producer of Oil. Why shouldn't it have a leading role in pricing it? - Rather than an oil importing nation like the US We won't see the full dramatic impact of this until oil is scarce and the dollar is weak. People could be scrambling to get hold of Rubles to buy oil, making Russia stronger

"In the Back To The Future trilogy of movies, Doc Brown creates a device t hat can physically move people through time and undo events that they are uncomfortable with and thereby create a reality that favors their positions. While very interesting to watch, it just isn't possible to do these things." - Excerpt from The Matrix, suggested by Vlad Hmm. I wonder. I reckon if you act in the past, in any way at all, you will have an impact, however small. So whomever says that, must be saying we cannot interact with the past. They may be saying: We can observe it, but we cannot change it. Dr Miller has a different concept of time travel. He claims he can interact with his future self, and thereby change his future timeline. This makes some sense to me.

Big banks brace for oil loans to implode Jan 18 4:14am: Big banks are cringing as crude oil is crumbling. More