Stories by: Alma J. Buelva

Online banking in the Philippines may have hit a hump following reports that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has suspended applications for e-banking. The reports, unconfirmed as this issue went to press, were discussed during a meeting of the Information Technology and E-Commerce Council (ITECC) late last month. The consensus at that meeting was that any move in this direction would go against the spirit of the E-Commerce Act.

Paperless trading among countries in the Asia-Pacific region is slated to happen in 2005 for developed nations and 2010 for developing ones. The question is, can the Philippines make meet the 2010 deadline?

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is bent on transforming itself into a 300-billion-peso (US$6.56 billion) technology conglomerate with three principal lines of business: fixed-line, wireless, and e-commerce.

Attracting high-tech investors is fast becoming the top priority amid government efforts to make the Philippines a haven for IT ventures.

A recent report by market researcher Gartner Group Inc. projects the value of worldwide business-to-business e-commerce to leap to US$7.3 trillion in the year 2004, or about 7 percent of total global sales transactions, up from $145,000 million in 1999.

The Philippine government has finally separated information technology (IT) from the electronics sector in its investments and trade classification, paving the way for greater economic activity in this growth industry.

Novell, the fifth largest software company in the world, wants to be the internet directory leader by applying both technologies in all its products.

After resuscitating Novell and putting it back in the black in his first year at the helm, Eric Schmidt, chairman and CEO of the revitalised company, is laying the groundwork for long-term profitability and growth.