PHILIPPINE TRADE & INVESTMENT CENTER IN SILICON VALLEY

COMMERCIAL SECTION OF THE PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL IN SAN FRANCISCO REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE OF THE PHILIPPINE DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY
FOR THE US PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND WESTERN CANADA

PRESS RELEASE

contact: Michael Alfred V. Ignacio Trade Commissioner siliconvalley@philippinetrade.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Latitude Longitude Emerging Markets Conference, Eye on the Philippines and the 1st Philippine Business & Tech Expo held on June 14, 2013 in San Francisco, USA
San Francisco, June 14, 2013 /wireservice/ - The Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Silicon Valley, representative ofce of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry in Northwest United States and Western Canada and the commercial section of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, in close partnership with its co-organizer, the Science and Technology Advisory Council in Silicon Valley (STAC SV), recently held a Business Conference entitled Latitude Longitude Emerging Markets Conference: Eye on the Philippines last June 14, 2013 at the Philippine Center in San Francisco. This event is part of a series of events in June 2013 in the San Francisco Bay area, commemorating Philippine Independence Day, entitled Kalayaan 2013. The conference theme is A Closer Look at the Philippines, a country considered as Asias Best Kept Secret. Latitude Longitude also provides a global perspective with guests hailing from other emerging countries such as Brazil and Spain. The whole day conference, held at the newly renovated ground oor auditorium of the Philippine Center in San Francisco, was presented in 2 major parts, the Tech Session and the Global Session and further divided into seven break-out panel sessions. The panel sessions took up the highly positive state of Philippine business today, amidst the recent signicant investment grade upgrades from global credit rating agencies and nancial institutions, in addition to its recent 6.8% 1st Quarter economic performance, the highest in Asia for the period. The Conference in San Francisco is the rst in a series of Latitude Longitude conferences and will create a powerful environment to leverage the expertise of entrepreneurs and advisors for the benet of businesses here and abroad said Christina Rodriguez-Laskowski, president of the STAC Silicon Valley. Dado Banatao, Filipino Venture Capitalist and Silicon Valley pioneer, whose innovations make up about 30% of every computer in the world today, was the events keynote speaker, While Growth is not an end by itself, it makes it possible to achieve other important objectives of individuals and societies. It can spare an entire population from poverty and drudgery. Nothing else ever has. It also creates resources to support education, health care, infrastructure building and overall quality of life Mr. Banatao said, setting the tone for the conference theme of emerging growth and innovation for the Philippines, We take the view that economic growth is a necessity, if not sufcient, condition for broader development, enlarging the ability of individuals to be productive and creative. Dado further added that It is not only possible now but more importantly easier to enter the global market because the world economy is now more open and integrated. Stressing the importance of Technology and Innovation, he further stressed that The second resource of the global economy to sustain high growth is technology. They range from Engineering, Production and Services Technology. Technology transfer may be used but only if there is a level of expertise locally to sustain and potentially surpass state-of-the-art, otherwise it is not sustainable and is yet another form of capital loss.

Hailing governments efforts, Dado said, In the last four years, the commitment by the government to produce the necessary expertise in science and engineering is unparalleled in recent history. The rst panel discussion on Demystifying the Philippines discussed how the Philippines played a leading position in Asian economies, only to be surpassed by its neighbors in the 1980s and 1990s. Fast forward, the country has regained its luster at a pace never seen before, and is viewed by some as Asias best kept secret. Panelists included Prof. Richard Dasher, PhD, Director of the US-Asia Technology Management Center at Stanford University, Dennis Fernandez, STAC Silicon Valley Chairman and prominent IP lawyer from Silicon Valley, and Consul General Paynor. Consul General Paynor said that, To fully appreciate the current state of the Philippine economy, Congen Paynor discussed the important contributions of administrations since that of President Corazon Aquino. But the good governance agenda of the President Benigno Aquino's Administration has been a major driver of the current positive developments in our economy. The next panel discussed New Markets, New Industries and New Entrants and the panelists, composed of Regina Jacinto-Barrientos, managing partner of Philippine Law rm, Puyat Jacinto Santos, Mr. Shawn Dehpanah, CEO & President of Smartprobe, Inc., an electronics company recently established in the Philippines and Trade Commissioner Michael Alfred V. Ignacio of the Philippine Trade & Investment Center in Silicon Valley, co-organizer of the conference. The Philippines has now shifted its position among global economies as a leading emerging market, since Goldman Sachs rst included it among its N-11 global economies that will compose the worlds largest emerging markets in the next 20-30 years. The almost 40 quarters of consistent economic growth beating China in the rst quarter of 2013 in terms of economic performance and the countrys relatively young, 100-million strong population has also signicantly created a strong domestic market that is also attractive to other global economies. We are now at a unique position that we as a country should take advantage of said Trade Commissioner Ignacio. Another panel tackled Global Competitiveness and Innovation and how as new industries emerge and existing industries evolve, maintaining competitiveness and sustainable growth are essential strategic issues to be addressed. Speakers included Judy Miner, President of Foothill College in Los Altos, Ms. Jane Leu, Founder & CEO of Smarter Good, which established operations in the Philippines doing Grant-writing services to US and Global foundations and non-prots, Mr. Bong Gutierrez, Ayala Land Country Manager for the USA and Mr. Calen Legaspi, CEO of Orange & Bronze, a cutting edge Philippine IT Company offering innovative software and solutions services in the US. Foothill College is concluding a pioneering project facilitated by the Philippine Consulate and the Philippine Trade ofce, to help train and modernize teaching methods of high school teachers in the 3rd District of Pangasinan, in partnership with the ofce of congresswoman Rachel Arenas, in line with the move to shift our educational system to K-12. Others panels were also highly noteworthy. The session entitled, Local Global, Global Local, discussed how local companies are capturing global audiences. GET Global a conglomerate composed of US and Philippine groups is hoping to innovate Philippine transportation in a game changing manner, by bringing in state of the art electric vehicles to be an alternative to the current Philippine Jeepney. Other sessions were: 1) Rise of the Start-Ups, showcased the high level of innovation embodied by Philippine Start Ups and Tech Entrepreneurs and how they are capturing the attention of the US market, and Global investors, 2) The App Track, discussed how the Philippines is cultivating an entire generation of app companies that share what the appetite is for apps and whether global app companies are real businesses that can grow and succeed. The second portion of the Conference included panels on 1) Global Collaboration and Collaborative Services, which showcased Philippine companies offering Business Support, Creatives & IT Delivery services to the world. This panel discussed the need to move towards providing services high up the value chain, as opposed to the traditional business processes and voice based services, 2) Silicon Valley Immersion, Imitated and not Duplicated, discussed the globally acclaimed Silicon Valley business model and ecosystem that has catapulted the area into one of the worlds largest economies, the role of innovation, research & development and venture capital. 3) Emerging and Evolving Markets, was a panel which brought in start ups and success stories from

other markets, trying to thrive in Silicon Valley and discussed best practices on how companies from leading emerging markets can succeed in this globally pioneering tech and capital environment. About Philippine Trade & Investment Center, Silicon Valley. The Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Silicon Valley is the Commercial Section of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco and the representative ofce of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry in the US Pacic Northwest and Western Canada. PTIC Silicon Valley covers the US Pacic Northwest, which includes the following: Alaska, Northern Nevada/Reno, Colorado, Northern California, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Washington, Oregon, and Wyoming. The mandates of PTIC - Silicon Valley include trade promotion, investment promotion, trade policy negotiations, and protection of Philippine business interests. For more information visit http://www.investphilippines.org/siliconvalley www.facebook.com/pticsv and www.twitter.com/PhilippineBizSF About STAC Silicon Valley. The Science & Technology Advisory Council-Silicon Valley is a 501c3 non-prot organization that serves as an advisor to the Philippine Government in the areas of Science & Technology to promote entrepreneurship, support R&D investments by DOST and foster innovation. The organizations members operate the ON3 Acceleration Program and are building a platform that will help support viable global businesses. STAC Silicon Valley is a partner of The Global Entrepreneurship Program, a U.S. State Departmentled effort to advance entrepreneurship in emerging markets and developing countries. For more information about STAC SV: www.excelr8.org. For more information about GEP: http://www.state.gov/e/eb/cba/ entrepreneurship/gep/index.htm About Philippine Consulate General. The Consulate General in San Francisco covers Northern California, Northern Nevada, Washington State, Oregon, Montana, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Alaska. From the very basic consular service of passport renewal to Philippine nationals in Northern California, the service of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco has expanded over the years. It now includes services like the efcient implementation of the Overseas Absentee Voting Act and the Philippine Citizenship Reacquisition and Retention Act of 2003, otherwise known as the Dual Citizenship Law. For more information visit: http:// www.philippinessanfrancisco.org About Alquemie Partners. Alquemie Partners is a boutique consulting rm based in the San Francisco Bay Area with a focus on helping early-stage companies build and expand their base in the Silicon Valley. Alquemie Partners has extensive experience working with growth clients through various stages of a company's life from concept all the way to the exit in the form of a merger, acquisition or an initial public offering (IPO). For more information visit http://www.alquemiepartners.com ####

Keynote Speaker Dado Banatao, Filipino Venture Capitalist and Silicon Valley pioneer, whose innovations make up about 30% of every computer in the world today, was the events keynote speaker, delivers his speech on The need for entrepreneurship and innovation to enable rapid and sustainable economic growth in the country.

Philippine Consul General in San Francisco, Marciano A. Paynor, Jr. delivering his opening remarks at the start of the conference.

Trade Commissioner Michael Alfred V. Ignacio, co-organizer of the Latitude Longitude Emerging Market Conference focus on the Philippines expresses gratitude and appreciation to the important speakers and attendees from the San Francisco Bay Area

The rst panel: Demystifying the Philippines. from left to right: Christina RodriguezLaskowski, STAC Silicon Valley President, Consul General Marciano A. Paynor, Jr., Prof. Richard Dasher, PhD, Stanford University and STAC Chair and IP lawyer, Dennis Fernandez.