By Riza Lozada Diversified giants Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) and LT Group Inc. (LTG) have joined forces to develop a 35-hectare town project with integrated and mixed-used facilities in Pasig City and Quezon City.

The Philippines got another ratings upgrade from South Korean-based NICE Investors Service, which hiked by a notch its investment grade rating for the country. 

Fried-chicken store chain operator Max’s Group Inc. (MGI) is banking on its pizza unit Yellow Cab to make inroads in China as the Chinese palate for Western food grows particularly for the pizza market, which is currently estimated to be worth $2 billion a year.

State pension fund Social Security System (SSS) refuted allegations of inefficiency saying that in terms of collection performance, it has 88 percent efficiency against allegations of a low 38 percent efficiency. 

By Jerry Maglunog Banks have zeroed in on yuan buying to boost their foreign- exchange earnings in time for the scheduled inclusion of the currency in the basket of reserves of members of the International Monetary Fund called special drawing rights (SDR).

Security Bank Corp. (SBC) said it expects to raise P37 billion in new capital from a partnership deal with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. (BTMU) in which the Japanese bank will take a 20 percent stake in the local bank.

Two accomplished doctors who have since taken to photography and the artistic canvass are holding a joint exhibit of their works with all the proceeds to be donated to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Foundation. 

Guided by its vision to transform lives through affordable high quality education, Ayala-led APEC Schools announced that it is offering 3,500 seats for free to public school Grade 10 graduates entering senior high school. 

Aiming to help prepare the public for disasters, Cebuana Lhuillier will hold a disaster resilience forum on January 27 at the Makati Shangri-La. The event, called “2016 Ready: Disaster Resilience Forum – The Role of Microinsurance in Building Disaster-Resilient Communities,” was organized in observance of January as Microinsurance Month. 

The I AM S.A.M. (Shakers and Movers) Foundation Inc., in partnership with the Global Education Motivators (GEM)- USA, will be hosting the 2016 United Nations Student Leadership Conference on Development (UNSLCD) with the theme “Urban Development and the Sustainable Development Goals” on February 15, 2016 from 5:00 PM to 3:00 AM of February 16 at the University of Makati, Makati City.