Day: April 13, 2015

East West Bank reports 32% growth in Assets in 2014

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East West Bank, the country’s fastest growing universal bank, reported a 32-percent expansion in assets to P188.26 billion last year from P142.30 billion in 2013.

The bank’s strategic expansion program resulted in a 29-percent jump in loans to P121.42 billion from a year ago and a 33-percent hike in deposits to P147.69 billion.

“The expansion was successful in strengthening our core banking business and it shows. This will support and ensure the sustainability of our business going forward,” EastWest senior vice president and CFO Renato K. de Borja Jr. said.

EastWest’s net interest income surged by 19 percent to P10.03 billion last year from P8.39 billion in 2013, with interest income growing by 18 percent to P11.67 billion from a year ago and interest expenses growing by only 12 percent to P1.64 billion from P1.46 billion in 2013.

Despite the flat growth in profit, return on assets was still at 1.3 percent and return on equity was at 10.2 percent.

EastWest reported a less than one-percent growth in net revenues for 2014 to P2.07 billion from P2.05 billion in 2013, with total operating income growing by 13 percent to P14.89 billion and total operating expenses growing by 12 percent to P12.25 billion.

“This is a welcome surprise considering the huge investments we have put in the expansion of our branch network and the upgrading of our core banking system. More importantly, it shows strength in our core banking business that will balance out the effects of market fluctuations in a volatile environment,” Mr. de Borja said.

Last year, the bank’s trading and securities gain dropped by 50 percent to P499.53 million from P1.01 billion in 2013 but foreign exchange gains surged by 60 percent to P193.52 billion from P121.24 billion.

“We have exceeded the 350 branch-network target we set during our IPO. Now is the time to consolidate, optimize our investments and reap its returns,” Mr. de Borja added.

The Gotianun-led bank opened 58 new branch stores last year, bringing its network to 405 and making it the fifth largest bank in terms of branches.

China Linked to Decade-long Spying in SEA Countries

Ronnie Bulaong Leave a comment

FireEye, a California-based network security firm, has reasons to believe that the Chinese government is behind an on-going cyber espionage in India and other Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines that dates as far back as 2004.

In the company’s recently-published report, FireEye Labs Team in Singapore uncovered a set of malware that were developed with a dedicated set of tools built by a group identified in the report as APT 30 which stands for Advanced Persistent Threat.

FireEye was keen to point out that the tool that APT30 is using is constantly updated which allow them to be virtually undetected for at least a decade. This leads the security firm to believe that either APT30 maintains this alleged tool themselves or they are working closely with other developers that provides maintenance and updates for it.

Based on the targets that FireEye identified, which are mostly in the Southeast Asian region, the security firm suspects that the malware is primarily being used by APT 30 in “acquiring sensitive information from a variety of targets” for political gain.

APT 30 takes a special interest in political developments in South East Asia and India, and is particularly active at the time of ASEAN summits, regional issue, and territorial disputes between China, India and Southeast Asia countries.”

– FireEye

In line with this, FireEye uncovered that the group has setup an elaborate hack during the 2013 ASEAN conference which involved putting up fake ASEAN domains which, according to their analysis, are filled with malware designed to steal sensitive information from the victim.

Along with political targets, FireEye also uncovered that APT 30 is also spying on private companies and journalists across Southeast Asia, particular those “who do not provide favorable coverage”.

In an interview with TechCrunch, FireEYE CTO for APAC Bryce Boland stated that although their research doesn’t provide an exact proof that will link the Chinese government to the decade-long cyber espionage, “all signs point to China”.

Sources: 1 & 2
Via: TechCrunch

The post China Linked to Decade-long Spying in SEA Countries appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Qatar Airways reveals exclusive Giorgio Armani amenity kits and Missoni sleeper suits on board

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Award-winning Qatar Airways has become the first international carrier to carry products by two of the world’s most renowned Italian brands; Giorgio Armani Fragrances & Beauty and Missoni.

The latest luxury touches offered to Qatar Airways’ premium passengers; exclusive amenity kits from iconic Italian brands Giorgio Armani Fragrances & Beauty and sleeper suits from Missoni, reiterate the airline’s commitment to delivering five-star indulgence in the sky.

Every element of the new Giorgio Armani Fragrances & Beauty amenity kit has been given a signature touch. The exclusively designed kits supplied by Harmony, offer an unprecedented level of sophisticated luxury and comfort, ensuring passengers are kept refreshed and relaxed throughout their journey.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are delighted to collaborate with these renowned luxury brands to provide our First Class and Business Class passengers with refined luxury and comfort on board with exclusive amenity kits. These brands are distinguished by their sophistication, superior quality, luxury and eminence – attributes that also define Qatar Airways’ signature service for our passengers.”

Featured are Giorgio Armani Fragrances & Beauty products from the mythic ‘Acqua di Gio’ and ‘Armani pour Homme’ together with Armani men skincare products, and the new feminine Giorgio Armani fragrance ‘Si’ range and ‘Crema Nera Extrema supreme reviving cream’, as well as eyeshades, socks, earplugs, a nourishing lip balm by Rituals Cosmetics and a hair brush for female passengers.

First Class passengers on overnight flights will also enjoy stylish and luxurious sleeper suits designed by Italian fashion house Missoni paired with Missoni slippers. The exclusive Missoni sleeping kit has been created to guarantee comfort and relaxation.

In addition to the new range of amenity kits and sleeper suits, a collection of Rituals skincare products are also offered in Qatar Airways’ First and Business Class restrooms. The range includes items such as hand wash, fragrance and lotions.

Renowned for its signature five-star hospitality, Qatar Airways offers passengers an exceptional inflight experience. Awarded Best Business Class for two consecutive years by industry audit Skytrax, the airline provides a premium travel experience for passengers combined with supreme luxury and exceptional service.

 

ASUS ROG GR8 Gaming PC Review

Louie Diangson Leave a comment

First unveiled in Computex 2014, the ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) GR8 gaming PC boasts gaming desktop performance in a console-size package with a sleek and attractive design that will appeal to most PC gamers. It sports an Intel Core i7 processor, 1TB hard drive, 8GB RAM, and comes with a free M801 mechanical keyboard and ROG Gladius optical mouse. Is the ROG GR8 worth getting? Find out by reading our full review.

Design and Construction

When the ROG GR8 was first unveiled in Computex 2014, along with its bigger brother, the ROG G20, people were excited primarily because of its bad-ass design. While most PCs go for squarish builds, the new ROG gaming desktops were different and eye-catching.

If I were to describe it I would say it’s alien-like. We’re a fan of the Command and Conquer franchise and this one reminds us of the NOD Obelisk. It’s more angular than squarish and applies Mayan-inspired detailing on the red parts of the chassis.

Speaking of the chassis, the GR8 boasts a sleek and compact 2.5L chassis. It’s significantly smaller compared to your standard PC and won’t take up much desk space. Those who are not familiar might even mistake it for a game console instead of a PC. You can position it in two ways – vertically which is designed to be, and horizontally which looks weird.

On the front we have the power button, the Miracast Receiver button, headphone jack, microphone jack, and two USB 2.0 ports. At the back we have the HDD status indicator, audio jacks, S/PDIF optical out, HDMI, Display Port, Gigabit Ethernet, four USB 3.0 ports, 19V DC-IN, and Side Cover Lock / K-Lock.

Located at the top is the air vent while down at the bottom is another air vent and couple of long strips of rubber for its base. Found on the left side are four rubber nubs when you want to prop it horizontally, while on the right side is the removable panel which gives you access to the HDD and RAM compartment.

The GR8 is mostly made of plastic but features a metallic look with matte finish. As mentioned earlier, one of its best features is its size. It’s relatively light too at 1.284 Kg which makes it easy to transport and carried around in a backpack.

Keyboard and Mouse

The ROG GR8 comes with an optional M801 mechanical keyboard. It is compact in size (at the sacrifice of not having a numeric pad) and comes with a non-glossy finish that resists fingerprints and smudges.

It also has an MX-Grade Red mechanical switch, red backlit illumination with six backlighting modes for low-light gaming environments, and gold-plated USB 2.0 connection. Other features include anti-ghosting technology, N-Key rollover, and a Game / PC mode switching which lets you disable the Window key while playing games.

When used in gaming, the M801 feels very sturdy like it is designed to withstand those moments when you’re in a keyboard rage. It is clicky as well so you will certainly hear and feel your key presses. Performance-wise, it’s very responsive and we liked how we don’t have to press the keys all the way in for it register. It would have been better though if it came with a wrist-rest to make it more comfortable to use.

Now for the mouse, the GR8 also comes with an optional ROG Gladius wired optical gaming mouse. It’s attractive, ergonomic and features a smooth metallic finish and Mayan-patterned side grips, and red illumination. It has Omron switches with easy-swap switch sockets, two-level DPI switch with DPI indicator, Alps scroll wheel encoder, two slide-to-press programmable buttons, and detachable micro-USB cable with secure design.

So far, the Gladius has proven itself very capable when it comes to gaming with the help of its 6400dpi optical sensor. Like the M801 keyboard, it feels durable and responsive. The clicks feel a bit soft though for our liking but doesn’t present as a major issue but more of preference. The DPI switch is very handy but it would have been better if ASUS went for 4 levels instead of just two.

Software and Storage

Running the software side for the ROG GR8 is Microsoft’s Windows 8.1 64-bit which will surely be upgraded to Windows 10 when it arrives. Pre-installed applications are present but mostly are those made by ASUS like the ASUS WebStorage, ASUS AI Suite 3, ASUS MultiFrame, ASUS Secure Delete, ASUS HomeCloud Server, ROG Sonic Radar II, and ROG Game First III. These apps can be uninstalled and doesn’t consume much storage space.

Speaking of storage, the GR8 comes with an internal 2.5-inch hard drive with 1TB capacity. If that is not enough, the GR8 comes with an extra hard drive tray that supports 2.5-inch high-performance SSDs or HDDs. Just remove the side panel, unscrew the tray, and install your drive.

Performance and Benchmark

The ROG GR8 is powered by an Intel Core i7 4510U Processor clocked at 2.0GHz, 8GB RAM, and a NVIDIA GeForce GTX750Ti 2GB GPU. Performance is good and can handle the following games well:

* Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Extra Settings, 1920 x 1080) – AVG: 45.55fps
* Far Cry 4 (Ultra Settings, 1920 x 1080) – AVG: 26.78fps
* Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (Extra High Settings, 1920 x 1080) – AVG: 33.98fps
* Dying Light (High Settings, 1920 x 1080) – AVG: 35.45fps

As for benchmark performance, take a look at the results below:

3DMark
* Fire Strike 1.1 – 3,426
* Sky Diver 1.0 – 9,540
* Cloud Gate 1.1 – 8,965
* Ice Storm 1.2 – 37,341
* 3DMark Vantage – P13,574

Conclusion

The ASUS ROG GR8 is a powerful gaming machine in a portable yet good-looking package. It’s good for those who want a gaming rig that is quiet, doesn’t take up much space and can be easily moved around. It’s ideal in small offices, bedroom, and the living room. In addition, it comes with a free M801 mechanical keyboard and ROG Gladius gaming mouse so all the user needs to provide is a monitor.

On the downside, it’s not for those who prefer to tinker with the internals of their machine. Surely you can add and replace hard drives and RAM but the GPU and CPU are intact while the rest of the parts are not easily accessible. At Php55,990 SRP, PC builders may also find its price hefty for the reason that they can build a more powerful rig with that budget.

If you are, however, in the market of for a pre-built gaming system that can comfortably run popular games at 30fps in 1080p settings and has little or no plans of upgrading internal PC components, then the Asus GR8 should definitely be on your list.

ASUS ROG GR8 specs:
2.0GHz Intel Core i7 4510U Processor
NVIDIA GeForce GTX750Ti 2GB
Intel HD Graphics 4400
8GB RAM (up to 16GB) Dual Channel, DDR3L at 1600MHz
2 x SO-DIMM
2.5″ 1TB SATA 6Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM)
2.5″ x 1 extension bay for additional HDD/SSD
802.11a/b/g/n/ac , Built-in Miracast receiver
Intel Ethernet, 10/100/1000/Gigabits Mbps
ROG SupremeFX Audio
High Definition 5.1 Channel Audio
Sonic SoundStage/Sonic SenseAmp/Sonic Studio/Sonic Radar II
DTS Connect
2 x USB 2.0
1 x Headphone
1 x Microphone
1 x RJ45 LAN
1 x HDMI
4 x USB 3.0
1 x Kensington Lock
1 x DC-in
1 x Optical S/PDIF out
1 x Display
3 x Audio Jack(s) (Line in/Mic in/Speaker out)
120 W Power adaptor
Windows 8.1 64-bit OS
6 x 24.5 x 23.8 cm
1.284 kg
Price: Php55,990

What we liked about it:
* Attractive design
* Compact form factor
* Decent performance
* Gaming keyboard and mouse included

What we didn’t like:
* Limited upgradability
* Pricey compared to custom-built PCs

The post ASUS ROG GR8 Gaming PC Review appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.

Megaworld’s GERI profit up 151% in 2014

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Just a year after its majority acquisition by Megaworld, Global-Estate Resorts Inc. (GERI), the Philippines’ leading tourism estate developer, posted a 151% growth in its net income last year from P341 million in 2013 to P857 million (inclusive of P377 million non-recurring gain) in 2014. Without non-recurring gain, its net income rose to P480 million, a 41% increase year-on-year and almost double growth than in 2012 when its net income was P264 million.

Total revenues of GERI in 2014 almost doubled last year – from P1.71 billion in 2013 to P3.36 billion in 2014, or around 97% growth year-on-year.

This remarkable growth was attributed to real estate sales that accounted to around P2.04-billion, up 139% from P856 million in 2013, due to robust sales of residential projects in Southwoods City and Alabang West.

Last year, the company has launched five (5) projects: Pahara at Southwoods and Holland Park Tower 1 in Southwoods City; Alabang West Village; The Vineyard Residences – Shiraz Tower in Twin Lakes; and Sta. Barbara Heights Phase III in Iloilo.

“GERI has again set the bar by achieving another banner year. This year will be another exciting year for GERI and we expect continuing growth in the company’s revenues as we launch more projects in the coming years,” says Lailani Villanueva, chief finance officer, Global-Estate Resorts, Inc.

At present, GERI has five (5) major developments across the country covering more than 2,200 of Boracay Newcoast in Boracay Island (150 hectares); Twin Lakes in Laurel, Batangas near Tagaytay (1,300 hectares); Southwoods City on the boundaries of Carmona, Cavite, and Biñan, Laguna (561 hectares); Sta. Barbara Heights in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo (170 hectares); and Alabang West (62 hectares).

In May last year, Megaworld announced the purchase of the 49.20% stake of Alliance Global Group, Inc. (AGI) in GERI for P10.43 billion. Today, Megaworld owns 80% of GERI and it has taken an aggressive role in transforming GERI’s vast land bank into integrated urban townships, the concept that Megaworld pioneered in the Philippines.