The visit under the auspices of the Australian-funded Indonesia Infrastructure Initiative program aims to bring the Indonesian government up to par with global auditing standards, according to a statement released by PDB-FMO Development Center, the training arm of Plantersbank.

Auditors from the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works inspector general’s office (left) in Plantersbank Makati Head Office this morning. Below, Plantersbank chairman Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting (far right) sharing a light moment with Indonesia mission chief Inspector Rani W. Wirasmi, Australian consultant Bhaskhar Bhindie and Indonesian consultant Franky Setiawan.

Plantersbank, the largest Small and Medium Enterprise finance bank in the Philippines, is co-hosting this leg of the training mission with the Association of Development Finance Institutions in Asia and the Pacific, the leading organization of private and state-owned development banks in the region.

The Indonesian auditors will spend time between Manila and Cebu, where discussions with experts from the Philippine private sector, civil service and water agencies will focus on key concerns and current institutional practices in both risk assessment and management.

Plantersbank chairman Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting said the Bank is honored to contribute to the promotion of good governance practices in the region. He said the application of risk management in private and state-owned sectors is an accelerant for growth in developing economies like Indonesia and the Philippines.

Plantersbank received the Kaakibat sa Pag-Unlad ng MSME Award for 2010 for outstanding performance under the MSME Lending Program during awarding ceremonies at the close of the nationwide celebration of MSME Development month in July. The Kaakibat sa Pag-Unlad ng MSME Award is the Top Bank Excellence Award given to accredited partners of the state finance agency for small and medium enterprises.

In photo are SBCorp president Benel P. Lagua with Plantersbank SME Banking Group executives VP Neliza R. Oñate, SVP Maria Agnes J. Angeles and VP Bernadette A. Sevilla.

Plantersbank, the country’s lead bank for SMEs, has been the recipient of numerous awards from the Small Business Corporation, including the Hall of Fame Award in 2000 for active participation under the Omnibus Credit Line category.

Photo shows Ambassador Tambunting receiving the trophy from former Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban and SGV founder Washington Sycip, RVR Awards board of judges chairman and vice chairman, respectively, and PHINMA president Ramon V. del Rosario Jr.

The Asian Institute of Management Ramon V. del Rosario Sr. Center for Corporate Social Responsibility and the Manila Jaycees conferred yesterday on Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting the 1st Ramon V. del Rosario Sr. Award for Nation Building, in recognition of his ample demonstration of “passion for developing new enterprises and by his concern for nation building.”

In his acceptance speech during the prestigious Tower Club in Makati last night, Ambassador Tambunting described the award as not meant for him personally but “to honor the organization (he) represent(s)-the men and women of Plantersbank, without whose collective effort and dedication there would be nothing to cite or celebrate.”

Ambassador Tambunting said Filipinos “have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to leave aside forever the image of a ’sick man’ that has haunted our nation for generation… we have the chance to use purpose and principle as a driving force for change and progress.” Plantersbank, he said, sees the RVR Award as a summons to be engaged in the new program of national transformation.

Ambassador Tambunting underscored the Bank’s participation in the common effort to promote corporate good governance and to combat the corrosive influence of corruption in national and economic life.

The RVR Board also conferred the RVR Award on Nation Building to former Agriculture Secretary Senen C. Bacani for his “addressing pressing national concerns that require breakthrough approaches for the country to overcome problems of poverty and unemployment.”

Ramon V. del Rosario Sr., the founder of the PHINMA Group of Companies, is memorialized by this award for his contribution to nation building as a pioneer industrialist and development advocate.

Asia-Pacific SME experts chose Manila to host the proposed Regional SME Knowledge and Finance Center, according to the recently concluded 3rd Regional SME Roundtable at Planters Development Bank. The Center, the first in Asia, hopes to accelerate economic growth and development, generate employment and reduce poverty by improving access to formal finance to Small and Medium Enterprises throughout Asia and the Pacific.

The SME Knowledge and Finance Center is being spearheaded by the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP), the Geneva-based International Trade Center, International Institute for Trade and Development (ITD) of Thailand and Plantersbank.

Among those present during discussion at Plantersbank headquarters in Makati are (from left) ITC senior adviser Roger Megelas; SME Bank of Malaysia managing director Datuk Mohd. Radzif bin Mohammad Yunus; Small Industries Development Bank of India executive director Vikram Singh Rathore; and Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting, chairman and president of Plantersbank.

Planters Development Bank (Plantersbank) is the Philippines’ leading bank for Small and Medium Enterprises. *

In his lecture, Mr. Kong gave fresh insights to help SMEs integrate values into their businesses. “There is no (such thing as) ‘Business Values’… only plain and simple Values,” Mr. Kong emphasized. He explained that a company’s good governance and policies bear the stamp of the entrepreneur’s personal values, and these often spell the difference between success and failure.

Packed session hall at The Apo View Hotel in Davao, attended by SMEs from far as Saranggani.

Presented in partnership with Bayan Business, the Davao symposium is an added dimension to Plantersbank’s portfolio of innovations for enabling entrepreneurs, among them the Small Business Forum, Bizster social networking site, SME Magazine and the SME Business Park.

Now in its third year, the Plantersbank SME Speaker Series shares with local entrepreneurs winning techniques and skills of today’s top business gurus. It is part of the SME Advocacy program to promote the latest management trends and best practices among SMEs and provide venues where entrepreneurs can expand their networks and build partnerships.

The SME Speaker Series has been touring key cities nationwide since 2007. It is set to visit Cebu on August 26 and will feature productivity expert Anthony N. Pangilinan as guest speaker.

International Finance Corporation program manager Luc Vaillancourt, PDB SME Solutions Inc. treasurer Maria Bernadette T. Ratcliffe and IBM Philippines Inc. president and general manager James Vasquez preside over the official launch of the enhanced Philippine edition of the SME Toolkit in Manila.

Plantersbank affiliate PDB SME Solutions, Inc. together with the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and IBM Philippines recently launched the enhanced version of the SME Toolkit, a free small business toolkit targeted specifically for small business owners in emerging markets like the Philippines.

“The SME Toolkit website offers Filipino small and medium enterprises the necessary tools and applications in managing and running their business better,” according to Plantersbank senior vice president and PDB SME Solutions Inc. treasurer Maria Bernadette T. Ratcliffe. She added that the
SME Toolkit is intended to boost the global competitiveness of the Filipino SME sector.

Tailor-fitted to cater to Filipino entrepreneurs, the SME Toolkit (http://philippines.smetoolkit.org ) is an online collection of business tips, forms and tools on best practices in accounting and finance, business planning, human resources, legal and insurance, marketing and sales, operations and technology. It offers a wide range of how-to articles, business forms, free business software , online training, self-assessment exercises, quizzes, and various other resources intended to help established businesses, start-ups as well as those planning to set-up their own enterprise.

The World Bank’s IFC has joined local partners to launch the Toolkit globally. The Toolkit now appears in more than 17 languages through 32 websites, all boasting the new enhanced version.

IBM has dedicated over $5 million since 2006 to transform the previous site with open source technologies and interactive tools, business forms and management material. The platform now includes new social networking tools such as chat rooms and blogs to create a forum where small and medium sized business can collaborate - anywhere around the world. This could help form partnerships that might have gone undiscovered.

De La Salle Canlubang has chosen Plantersbank as partner under the Business Advisory Program for graduating students of DLSC’s BS Entrepreneurship Degree Program. In photo, DLSC’s Brother Joaquin S. Martinez and Plantersbank director Steven A. Tambunting shake hands after the signing of the memorandum for the one-year endeavor. With them is Plantersbank Branch Banking Group executive vice president Fe Miranda T. Aruta.

The partnership between DLSC and Plantersbank aims to develop and promote training and capacity-building for Micro and Small and Medium Entrepreneurs, as well as enhance professionalism of graduates and the viability and sustainability of their business projects.

Plantersbank will provide Business Planning Coaches for DLSC’s BS Entrepreneurship Degree graduating class. Business planning coaches will offer directions to students in areas like management strategy development and business planning, with particular stress on parameters used by bankers in the evaluation of prospective loan accounts.

Plantersbank and De La Salle Canlubang expressed intention to explore other areas for future cooperation like information exchange, publications, research and MSME-related endeavors.

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From left, Anneke Evers, Senior Advisor of BiD Network; BiD Challenge Philippines winners Anne Krystle Chua Mariposa and Noreen Bautista of Jacinto & Lirio.

From left, Russelle Trinidad, Sales and Marketing Head of Planters Development Bank SME Solutions; BiD Challenge Philippines winner Rolando Corboda and his wife; Rene Meily, President of PLDT-Smart Foundation.

From left, BiD Challenge Philippines winners and Women in Business Challenge Finalists Ma. Mina Lacson and Ma. Lourdes Molina; Jazz Manabat, Senior Brand Manager of Talk ‘n Text, Smart Communications Inc.

From left (front, holding the mock plane ticket), BiD Challenge Philippines winner and Women in Business Challenge Finalists Ma. Mina Lacson and Ma. Lourdes Molina; (center) Lisette van Rhijn, BiD Network Consultant for Southeast Asia.

From left, Anneke Evers, Senior Advisor of BiD Network; BiD Challenge Philippines winners Eric Cadiz and Boy Siojo.

Plantersbank’s planned offering of P2.5 billion worth of Tier 2 notes received a best issue rating of “PRS A plus” from independent credit ratings agency Philippine Ratings Service Corporation (Philratings). The bank plans to beef up its Tier 2 capital as it intends to lend more aggressively to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in 2010.

“The issuer rating assigned to Plantersbank reflects the following key consideration: well-defined strategy and established franchise in its defined market niche; strong and focused corporate leadership; sound funding profile; and positive revenue and earnings outlook,” the agency disclosed in a recent press statement.

Throughout its more than four decades of banking history, Plantersbank has consistently pursued its stated mission of providing comprehensive and financial advisory services to the SME sector, according to the agency.

“The bank’s dedicated pursuit of its chosen mandate has been a significant factor in its growth and experience, including the establishment of a solid market presence in the SME market,” it said.

“Philratings considers Plantersbank’s intimate knowledge of the SME market as a strong competitive advantage for the bank, amid competition posed by bigger, but less experienced market players.”