NOTES

Marvin P. Bionat


9 April 2000

When two students in their twenties could transform a directory of their favorite Web sites into a company with a market value of close to $100 billion (Yahoo!), it's easy to tell that cyberspace is where today's gold rush is. Even with giant leading-edge companies such as Amazon.com still not making any profits, faith in the potential of e-commerce continues to fuel what is now turning out to be a dizzying rise in the technology market. In the Philippines, we're finally starting to see some serious "mining" on the "dot.com" front. These are exciting times for those who have positioned themselves on the Net and those who have the best ideas and business plans, because far more than in the bricks and mortar world of business, brain rules over brawn in cyberspace. Here are some highlights of the recent e-business "commotion" in the Philippines:

Is the excitement about the future of e-business in the Philippines based on reality? Here are some available data:

These are trends to be excited about and, of course, the Philippine stock market can use a boost in capitalization especially with the bleeding caused by the BW scandal. Currently, it is worth around P1.8 trillion, still less than half of Yahoo's market value. According to Jose Salcedo, a member of the Philippine House of Representatives and once a leading stock market analyst, "The market is out of synch. There are few, if any, issues that are part of what you call the new economy or the Internet, information technology, convergence, broadband, e-commerce or e-business." With traditional companies such as PLDT still laggardly dominating the Philippine stock market, there is now a push for infotech stocks to get listed to fuel a market recovery.

Why am I writing about e-business? Well, after 3 years online and with our own Internet domain, I think PhilippineUpdate.com can now aim for a much bigger audience by broadening our scope and tapping into new resources. The business prospects are excellent and our record is pretty strong (despite measly resources):

So what's the plan?   First, let me tell you what we want:

PhilippineUpdate.com: Mission/Vision

PhilippineUpdate.com: Goals

Before I jump into a business decision, I strongly encourage inputs from you, our most loyal visitors.  As I've said in the past, we're around only because I see that people keep coming back, and most are generous with their encouraging feedback.  Now it's time take stock of the situation and decide on where we want to go from here.

I specifically need comments on the following issues:

There.  I'd appreciate a note:

mbionat@philippineupdate.com

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Prior Notes