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It’s a
seller’s market here for genetically modified yellow
corn seeds. Right now, there’s a gap of 800,000 metric
tons that multinational producers such as Monsanto,
Pioneer, Syngenta cannot immediately fill. Part of the
problem is that it takes a year- and-a-half to make the
order.
As
everybody knows, only 10,000 hectares were planted to
these genetically modified seeds in 2003. That has since
significantly increased to 300,000 hectares as demand
for cheaper feeds continues to increase.
Did you
know 1:
Ortigas & Co. Ltd. Partnership has tapped an
American-Dutch company based in Shanghai, China, to come
up with a master plan for the rehabilitation of
Greenhills Commercial Center (GCC). Given the growing
needs of the affluent communities that it serves, GCC is
pretty much underutilized in terms of space (read: most
of the buildings in the property is only two stories
high).
Did you
know 2:
National Book Store founder Socorro Ramos considers a
locally published book that sells at least 1,500 copies
a bestseller. Surprisingly, many how-to books on
personal finance and investment do very well.
Now as
for foreign books, the author who crops up most on the
reservation lists of National and sister-company
Powerbooks, as well as of Fully Booked, is Stepanie
Meyer, who has a romance series (read: the fourth book
will be released in August) involving a vampire and a
human that is, well, more acceptable to parents of
teenagers than Anne Rice.
Did you
know 3:
Fifty-five percent of Filipinas are considered
abdominally obese (read: a waist of more than 31
inches). Thirty-six percent of all Filipinos smoke,
while 11 percent have been diagnosed with a combination
of both hypertension and diabetes.
These
figures may go up or down when the 2008 survey of 10,000
Filipinos nationwide is completed.
The last
time a survey on what causes death among Filipinos was
made was in 2003.
****
This
early, The Philippine-American Life and General
Insurance Co. president and chief executive officer Jose
Cuisia Jr. has already committed to work more closely
with former finance secretary Jesus Estanislao when he
retires (read: parent-company American International
Group requires mandatory retirement at 65) next year.
Joey Cuisia will be helping out Jess Estanislao with his
corporate-governance advocacy at the Institute for
Solidarity in
Asia, which is currently headed by former San Miguel Corp.
president Francisco Eizmendi. As everybody knows, all
these guys are active members of Catholic organization
Opus Dei.
Cuisia
intends to be equally active with Tony Meloto’s Gawad
Kalinga. He’s even thinking of putting up an agri-based
business that will help the poor, certainly something
from the left field for the former Central Bank
governor.
Good
governance and corporate social responsibility is now a
required three-unit subject for all schools offering
business courses. The Commission on Higher Education
has, however, given these schools a three-year grace
period starting school year 2007-08 to comply with this
requirement. |
