Big Byte Index: Philippines’ monthly internet cost 37th cheapest in the world

The Philippines ranked 37th out of 168 countries in World Data Lab’s Big Byte Index 2024, after scoring 16.6 out of 100. This means the country’s internet price at $4.8 a month is lower than the United States’ $28.8. The Philippines had the fourth-cheapest internet price compared with its peers in the East and Southeast Asian region.

The Philippines ranked 56th out of 169 countries in terms of the “internet poor” as a share of the population, according to the 2024 Internet Poverty Index by Austria-based data enterprise World Data Lab. This translated to over 18.33 million Filipinos or 15.9% of the total population who cannot afford a 1-GB-per-month internet package, the third highest in the region.

Source: Business World

Mobile financial apps gain traction

Financial technology (fintech) adoption through mobile applications is likely to reach 80 percent or about 65 million users by the end of this year, an analysis from consumer credit service Digido showed.

Approximately 79.5 percent of Filipinos ages 15 and older — about 66.4 million people — are expected to use fintech through mobile apps.

The growth is expected to be driven mainly by digital commerce, contributing 34 percent, followed by digital wallets at 27.2 percent and digital banking at 8.6 percent.

"The positive numbers seen in digital lending, digital wallets and digital commerce can be attributed to growing trust in these segments and its natural synergies with one another," Digido Business Development Manager Rose Arreco said.

"As strong demand for fintech in the Philippines continues, so too Filipinos' expectations on convenience, interoperability and improved user experience across these applications," Arreco added.

Digido reported that 76.2 percent of Filipino adults (63.1 million users) adopted fintech services through mobile apps from September 2018 to June 2024, with fintech app downloads totaling 617 million.

Digital commerce led with 31.4 percent of downloads, followed by digital wallets at 21.7 percent, and digital lending at 20.3 percent. The remaining downloads were for digital payments and transfers (11.6 percent), digital personal finance apps (8 percent), and digital banking (7 percent).

In the first half of 2024, Digido found that digital lending saw the highest growth with 25.4 million downloads, followed by digital commerce at 13.5 million, and digital wallets at 12.2 million.

Digital payments and transfers, digital banking, and digital personal finance apps had 7.8 million, 6.2 million, and 4 million downloads, respectively.

Digido noted that, on average, downloads grow at about 10.26 percent every six months.

In the first half of 2024, digital banking saw the highest growth at 22.34 percent, followed by digital payments and transfers at 17.72 percent, and digital lending at 16.81 percent.

"We believe that the Philippines remains on course towards widespread digitalization, with its 'fintech-ization' far from weakening," Arreco said.

"Collaboration within and outside of the industry remains paramount for this growth to be realized at a faster rate," she added.

Source: Manila Times

Technology’s role in the future of property management

Property management as an industry thrives in developing economies like the Philippines with robust real estate markets, stable legal frameworks and regulatory oversight, and an environment ripe for turning assets into thriving investments.

Metro Manila’s decentralization and the rise of emerging cities in the provinces are spurring the industry to life. As the urbanization of provinces accelerates and real estate markets expand to those outside the capital, the demand for professional property management also rises.

Property managers — whose tasks encompass a gamut of services from the oversight and administration of daily property operations to maintaining property quality through consistent upkeep and repairs — are necessary to ensure the efficient utilization and maintenance of real estate assets, especially for property investors.

The property management industry brings structure and expertise to managing residential, commercial, and mixed-use properties, ensuring they meet modern standards of safety, sustainability, and tenant satisfaction. In a developing economy, where resources need to be maximized, effective property management can even considerably enhance the appeal and functionality of real estate, attracting investments and contributing to economic stability and growth.

It is an especially remarkable period for the industry, as the country’s onward march towards economic growth and urban development coincides with transformative breakthroughs in technology. Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI), for instance, are at the forefront, offering unprecedented capabilities to predict and manage various aspects of property management.

Advanced property management software today utilizes big data to monitor property performance, finances, and tenant behaviors, enabling managers to identify key performance indicators and address weak areas. Meanwhile, sustainability is another critical trend reshaping the industry, as property managers increasingly focus on reducing the carbon footprint of their assets by optimizing energy consumption, improving waste management, and incorporating renewable energy resources.

In fact, many local governments across the nation are utilizing technology to improve their cities. In April, the Baguio City government said it is implementing a technology-enabled initiative titled “Project MINERVA (Monitoring of Indicators for Efficient Redevelopment and Value Assessment)” to address urban decay and promote smart city development.

“With the project’s ultimate goal of driving predictions and monitoring models for air quality, water quality, urban mobility, and tourism management, we’re able to use technology to advance our goal of becoming a truly smart city by 2027,” Baguio City Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong said.

Other cities are also turning towards the smart city route. There are the emerging hot spots, like Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, and Iloilo. Early this year, smart city developer Iveda launched a $5-million venture to execute several contracts over the next 12 months to bring smart technologies to these cities. The initiative will build on their existing work in the country and roll out AI-enabled technologies to modernize key infrastructure, such as airports, roads and sidewalks, leveraging AI tools to enhance public safety and city management.

There are also others like the City of Victorias in Negros Occidental, for another example, which announced a digital road map for the implementation of a smart city master plan merging technology and government in partnership with data science and artificial intelligence company Aboitiz Data Innovation (ADI).

Technology is revolutionizing the real estate sector as a whole; and property managers, by embracing these technological trends, can stay competitive in an industry that is poised for growth and meet the ever-evolving needs of urban living

Source: Business World