UPS RELOCATES CEBU CENTER TO LARGER FACILITY IN LAPU-LAPU CITY

CEBU, Philippines, March 29, 2023 – UPS (NYSE: UPS) has relocated its Cebu Center in Mandaue City to a larger facility at the Ground Air-Logistics Corporation (GALCO) building and cargo area in Lapu-Lapu City.

This move will allow UPS to better serve a growing demand for faster and more reliable international shipping services from businesses looking to pursue cross-border growth opportunities.

Located within the Mactan-Cebu International Airport perimeter, the new Cebu Center location provides UPS direct access to the airport’s cargo terminal, as well as a larger staging area allowing for speedier shipment processing.

This means UPS’s customers in the Lapu-Lapu City vicinity can now enjoy more flexibility and a widened time window of up to one hour to consolidate their export shipments to meet same-day departure. Customers with UPS Worldwide Express Saver® shipments from major cities worldwide can also receive their packages up to one hour earlier.

UPS will continue to operate five weekly flights to connect businesses in Cebu to over 220 countries and territories via the company’s comprehensive global transportation
network.

“With a strong manufacturing sector and as one of the fastest growing e-commerce markets in Asia, we see plenty of opportunities for businesses in the Philippines to participate
in regional as well as global trade and UPS is here to support their cross-border growth,” said Russell Reed, managing director of UPS Philippines and Thailand.

“Moving the UPS Cebu Center nearer to the airport and to our customers allows us to better serve small and large businesses located in the wider Visayas center of commerce,
who now have faster, more reliable and more flexible access to their clients both regionally and internationally. As a global trade enabler, we’re always looking for ways to make supply chains more efficient and resilient, so as to enable our customers to achieve their growth ambitions.”

The UPS Cebu Center in Lapu-Lapu City handles UPS’s international time-definite shipments and is open every Monday to Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. It also serves as a convenient access point for customers to drop off and pick up their packages during operating hours.

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About UPS

UPS is one of the world’s largest companies, with 2022 revenue of $100.3 billion, and provides a broad range of integrated logistics solutions for customers in more than 220 countries
and territories. Focused on its purpose statement, “Moving our world forward by delivering what matters,” the company’s more than 500,000 employees embrace a strategy that is simply stated and powerfully executed: Customer First. People Led. Innovation Driven.
UPS is committed to reducing its impact on the environment and supporting the communities we serve around the world. UPS also takes an unwavering stance in support of diversity, equity and inclusion. More information can be found at www.ups.com, about.ups.com and www.investors.ups.com.

McDonald’s Opens its Doors again to Provide Safe Space for Students’ After-School Studying

Manila, Philippines – March 30, 2023 – McDonald's recognizes the importance of education and the challenges students face in finding a safe and conducive learning environment for after-school work. With this in mind, McDonald's continues to provide a solution that caters to their needs.

In 2020, over 200 McDonald’s Party Areas were turned into McDonald’s Classroom that catered to teachers’ need for a safe, work-friendly place to conduct their online classes. Coming from the success and impact of the McDonald’s Classroom in the past years, McDonald’s elevates the program to better utilize its party areas and maximize the use of it during the night time. Starting March 28, 2023, 60 participating McDonald’s stores near key universities open their doors to students nationwide to the McDonald's Night Classroom that shall cater to their late night study sessions from 8 PM to 6 AM daily.

The McDonald's Night Classroom is equipped with solo study and wide table setups and free WiFi access in select stores for uninterrupted study and work sessions. Aside from a space to work and study, participants can also enjoy big deals and discounts on their McDonald’s favorites with exclusive offers from the McDonald’s App starting April 1. With the Night Classroom, students can now have a convenient and comfortable location to complete their academic tasks, allowing them to maximize their productivity.

“McDonald’s has always been a safe and trusted space to create feel-good moments for all— whether you’re a family celebrating a birthday, an employee getting their coffee fix before work, or a student looking for a place to pull an all-nighter. Students have already been treating McDonald’s as their go-to place for meetings or study sessions, so the McDonald’s Night Classroom is our special way of supporting them with their schoolwork,” said Oliver Rabatan, McDonald's Philippines Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.

Ready to pull an all-nighter the McDonald’s way? Visit the nearest McDonald’s Night Classroom now. For the complete list of participating stores, visit http://bit.ly/McDoNightClassroom2023. Follow McDonald’s Philippines on Facebook and Instagram to stay on the loop with McDonald’s updates.

Regional Insurtech Igloo supports MSMEs through Complete Business Protection with NegosyoCare

MANILA, PHILIPPINES– Across Southeast Asia, some 71 million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are driving the region’s economic recovery. These organizations also comprise almost all businesses across the region. While they form the backbone of the region’s economy, MSMEs are often the ones who are vulnerable to adverse macroeconomic conditions and unexpected events such as fire, accidents, and damages.

With this in mind, regional insurtech Igloo, in partnership with GCash and Malayan, launched NegosyoCare, an insurance product specifically designed to protect MSMEs. Igloo believes that insurance products catered to MSMEs can support inclusive and sustainable economic growth and employment for the country and Filipinos.

“99.5% percent of all businesses in the Philippines are considered MSMEs. These sari-sari stores, carinderias, and water refilling stations, while small, greatly contribute to their communities and are essential to the growth of the economy. These businesses that make up nearly 40% of the GDP typically run on limited cash flow and limited financing and are most at risk from unforeseen events that disrupt operations," said Mario Berta, Igloo’s Country Manager for the Philippines. 

“We are delighted to have been able to work with Malayan on NegosyoCare to support MSMEs by offering them an affordable yet comprehensive insurance product that will enable them to continue to grow and thrive without having to worry if their businesses are protected when something unexpected happens,” he added.

Available via GCash’s GInsure marketplace, NegosyoCare premiums begin at P160 for one month coverage and up to P525 for one year coverage. 

NegosyoCare provides coverage for accidental deaths, total permanent disability due to accident, and disablement or dismemberment due to accident for up to P50,000. Benefits also include medical reimbursement for accidents for up to P5,000, fire cash assistance for P10,000 and coverage for burglary and housebreaking for P10,000.

Importance of microinsurance for MSMEs

The Philippines is one of the countries where insurance penetration remains very low at 2% due to the relatively low financial literacy rate and insurance premiums regarded as being expensive.

A recent report by the Philippine Insurance Commission showed that microinsurance premiums–both production and contributions–grew by 15.5% in the fourth quarter of 2022. The growth was attributed to “the increasing awareness of the public of the importance of having affordable insurance products.”

“Offering microinsurance options is important because it provides MSMEs an affordable way to protect themselves and their businesses. The Philippines may score low on insurance penetration but they are scoring higher in microinsurance penetration–showing that if they have products that will cater to their needs and will not overburden them financially, they will consider it,” Mario explained. “It’s not only important to have affordable insurance products, people should also be able to easily access them. This is why our partnership with GCash is important: MSMEs will be able to protect their businesses for as low as P160 a month.” 

NegosyoCare is another addition to the growing line of Igloo products currently available in the GCash Insure marketplace. In 2021, the Igloo and GCash partnership launched the first Online Shopping Insurance in the market followed by Mobile Insurance products, Pet Insurance in 2022 and the GCash Travel Master with COVID-19 in January 2023.

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About Igloo:

Igloo is the first full-stack insurtech firm to emerge from Singapore. It has offices in Singapore, Indonesia,  Thailand,  The  Philippines,  Vietnam  and  Malaysia  and  tech  centres in China and India.  With a mission of making insurance accessible for all, the firm leverages big data, real-time risk assessment, and end-to-end automated claims management to create B2B2C insurance solutions for platform companies and insurance companies. Igloo’s insurance solutions enable companies  to  eliminate  their  exposure  to operational  risk,  create  new  revenue  streams,  and optimise  and  enhance  existing  products  and  services.  Igloo  has  partnered  with  over  55  well-known   brand   names   across   the   markets   in   various   verticals,   including   insurance, telecommunications, e-commerce, hospitality, health tech and financial services.

For more information, please visit https://www.iglooinsure.com/.