OFW were warned about Global Intergold Investment

Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) community was warned by the Philippine Embassy based in Doha, Qatar to be wary of scams, particularly of activities that offer quick return of investments.

 A memorandum circular released by Ambassador Wilfredo Santos made an example of Global Intergold, pointing out that according to Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines, said company does not exist in their files, not as a registered corporation of partnership, rendering it illegal in court as well as shady.

 The entity is said to be from the discredited Emgoldex Philippines. In the advisory, SEC reported that the are news the Emgoldex Philippines is still active, with its perpetuators using the name of Global Intergold to continue their scamming and illegal investment taking activities online.

 As stated, Global Intergold has not registered as corporation or partnership, hence said company is not authorized to solicit from the public because there was no license or permit to solicit from the Commissions Office as required under Section 8.1 of the Securities Regulation Code.

Global Intergold

The ambassador stressed to the Filipino community the importance of proceeding with caution when it comes to business.

 Oftentimes, the offers that are good to be true are truly too good to be true, especially because it is difficult to determine whether the opportunity is a legitimate networking-based operations or a pyramid scheme scam.

 The following are a direct quote from the memo, reiterating the warning to Filipinos worldwide.

 “The selling agents of Global Intergold are not authorised to offer sale, sell, and solicit investments from the public since no selling agents of Global Intergold, as of now, have secured licence from the SEC to act as certified investment solicitor, investment adviser, broker or dealer in securities, or salespersons of broker or dealer in securities.”

 “In view thereof, the public is hereby advised to exercise self-restraint from investing their money into such high yield, high risk investment scheme and to take the necessary precautions in dealing with the above-named entity.”

 “The public is further advised that those who participate including those who offer investment either personal or thru social media (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, etc.) in this investment-taking activity of Global Intergold are at risk of being prosecuted for criminal violation of the Securities Regulation Code.”

 Philippine Business Council-Qatar (PBC-Q) chairman Greg Loayon reminds that it is not only the OFWs who are victimized or scammed.

 The list also includes the other members of the expatriate communities lured by the offer of easy money, including some Qataris.

In order to be certain of the credibility of investing companies, Loayon says that it is important tocheck the appropriate registration and license of the company to operate in Qatar.

 Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) offices can check for the company licenses and permits while Qatar Central Bank (QCB), Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA), or the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) can be tapped for investment licenses.

 Foreign firms offering investment and insurance plans are required to register in the country before being permitted to operate, otherwise they will be deemed illegal.

 The chairman of the United Filipino Organisations in Qatar (UFOQ), Ed Anami has been recently informed of the circular and is in the act or distributing information to members through the UFOQ Facebook account.

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OFW Business: Sari-Sari Store

One of the common businesses that we OFW is eager to have is Sari-sari store because it is easy to start. Yes it is easy to start but many business like this is bound to bankrupt because of mismanagement. We never learned how the Chinese managed their business and become rich. It need discipline, attention and focus.

Here I will share to you on how to run a business like this and good luck.

The number one reason why most owners put up sari-sari stores is because they want some nice profit while providing the daily needs of the family. Yet most of this fail and become bankrupt in less than a year. Here are some tips to make you sari-sari store successful. You should consider the store as if it’s not yours. Buy what you want to take in the store with your own money. Consuming your own goods will make you lose your initial capital, no matter big it is. The problem is not that you take from your stocks but that you don’t pay for it. In simpler terms, you have to make yourself pay your credit even if it is your store because you are spending away your capital.

10%
You should only take 10% of your profit for each day. Make a plan on how to do this because this is very important on how to manage your gains. The common misconception of most store owners would be taking away a definite amount each day. This is in fact effective, if you’re talking about a business that don’t have “poor days” or those days where you have very low sales. The problem would be cutting on you capital. Some stores use a computerized program to compute their gains for the day. You could also solve this manually by using calculator and taking 10% off your daily sales. This is used to prevent you from taking too much from the profit.

 Do not overprice
Your customers would probably be your neighbors and the both of you would probably be going to only one supplier. They actually know how much your product really costs. Much more so that we have technology with advertisements always saying the product SRP. You have to think of how much your prices should be. Enough to make a profit as well as affordable that your customers will still buy. Be reasonable with your price. Keep in mind also those products which use electricity. The only time you could probably overprice will be if you are in a remote area. It is because they have no other choice and because of the transportation expenses.

Stock up on the basics 
Start by basics first and observe what your customers wants to buy the most and which they don’t so you have an idea of how many you will buy for your store. Some of these are cigarettes, bottled drinks and beverages, toiletries, canned goods, noodles, cooking aids, sachet products and snacks. 

Always open 
People will always want to buy on one store only and if you let them down, they would have to go to another store. If you are always out of stock or always closed, by and by people will not buy from you because you have lost credibility as a store.

 Quality 
Don’t ever try selling expired products, you will lose your customers that way. Always clean your store, and protect it from rats and insects. Wipe off dust regularly.

 Repack 
If you have already established your store you can start repacking large amounts of items into smaller amounts. Most of these are sugar, salt and other cooking aids. Just make sure you do it in a clean and sanitary manner so that people would still buy from you.

 Learn the seasons. 
On hot months, invest on cool drinks and beverages and expand your selection. On cold months, invest in canned goods and noodles. Also stock up on insect repellants and emergency rations like flashlights and matches. Toiletries are always in demand and so is cooking aids.

 Don’t allow credits 
Unless of course it is you or your immediate family and closest friends or those people whom you trust to pay for it on time as a whole. Some people would say they will pay but will not pay on time. This also makes stocking up harder because you could lose your capital.

 Stack 
Put your old stock in front or up top so that it will be the first to go when somebody buys it.. this is a standard in every market.

 Be kind to your customers 
It is mostly the patronage of customers that make your business grow so be sure not to lose them. If possible do not let them wait or else they will have to find another store. Follow the techniques because they are tested and proven. Keep on growing your business using discipline, attention and focus.

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Most OFW in United States of America are overqualified—Transfast survey

Many Filipinos are working in United States in Medical sectors. In fact most of them applied for American Citizenship because as they say America is the land of opportunity. But beyond that what we call greener pasture is hard work and less relaxation and leisure time. Most of the expatriates are paid less compared to American themselves. What they experience is work and work to accumulate money for their future and when they are unable to work, its the government time to serve them with retirement benefits.

If I will ask you about this, "Is it worth to spend all your time working and just enjoy your hard earn money when you will be old?"

There are surveys that most of these professionals are over-qualified but they work there because these expatriates have less opportunities in their home land.

A majority of Filipinos in the U.S. are overqualified for their jobs and find their U.S. workplace to be more stressful than workplaces in the Philippines, according to a recent survey. Yet, they overwhelmingly agree that the U.S. is still the land of opportunity.

The finding is based on a survey of 400 Filipino who send money home from the U.S. conducted by international money transfer firm Transfast.

 More than 80 percent of respondents say they have more skills than required by their jobs in the U.S. and 72 percent describe their U.S. workplace as more stressful than the ones they’d experienced in the Philippines.

Filipino Workers

  Earn more than expected

 Most earn what they expected in the U.S. (61 percent), with 21 percent earning less and 18 percent earning more than expected.

 About 72 percent say they work longer hours than expected to earn that income, with 54 percent saying they work more than 40 hours a week. Only 28 percent say they work less than expected.

Still, the vast majority — 93 percent — agrees there are more opportunities offered by their job in the U.S. compared with jobs in the Philippines.

  Money senders

 All survey respondents send money to the Philippines using a computer and/or mobile phone app, with the majority sending money to family. Some participants also reported sending money to “themselves” (7.5 percent), likely for investment opportunities such as real estate or to save for retirement.

“People who come here for work are playing vital economic roles by contributing to the U.S. economy and also adding to the GDP of their home country when they send money back to family and friends,” says Samish Kumar, Transfast’s CEO.

 Kumar adds: “To Transfast, the survey results show that our mission of always providing great value for your money plays a role in helping our customers succeed, because when you’re working longer hours in a more stressful environment, every dollar saved matters. The World Bank’s Remittance Prices Worldwide database currently ranks Transfast #1 for lowest-cost service for sending $200 remittances from the U.S. to the Philippines.”

Land of opportunity

 Survey respondent Joanna Loresto, 47, of San Rafael, California, says, “What I have achieved here in the U.S., is a lot. I just left my job and I’m so fortunate I could go wherever I want to, and employers will hire me. Owning a home, buying any car I want — I’m proud of it. I can give my son the best education. I have three siblings in Philippines and a lot of cousins, and I’m thankful that I can be the one helping out.” “Yes, the U.S. is the land of opportunity,” says respondent Ruben Espiritu, 56, of Garner, North Carolina. “There are a lot of jobs here. The economy in the Philippines is getting better, though.” When Transfast conducted the same survey in the U.S. among immigrants from all nationalities, there were many similarities with Filipino immigrants.

  Work till they drop

 However, when it came to how much was earned, striking differences emerged: Of the immigrants from all nations, only 37 percent were earning what they expected (as opposed to Filipino immigrants, 61 percent of whom were earning what they expected).

 When asked where they intended to retire, Filipinos again stood out against the general population of U.S. immigrants.

Many more Filipinos in the U.S. still intend to return home, with 53 percent saying they plan to retire in their home country, as opposed to only 18 percent of immigrants of all nationalities. Of the remainder, 31 percent of Filipinos plan to retire in the U.S., and eight percent answered, “I plan to work until I drop.”

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