Saturday, October 11, 2025

Why USA will continue to be the last superpower?

Nation building via learning and being the best in business

The thesis of the post is that being a superpower is determined by the land on which is sits on.  And the land has to answer these difficult questons:    1.  Can it feed its people,   2.  Doest it have access to the major oceans for trade,   2.  Can it defend itself.   

USA seems to have answer to the three.  China has only an access to one ocean and is even threatened by Philippines, Taiwan, and Asean countries.    Russia's access to the Atlantic means it has to be friendly
Japan has access to only the Pacific;  Germany only to the Atlantic.    UK ceased to be a world power when Germany was able to invade it from the skies.   

ICTSI 's Razon certainly helps countries become major superpower.       Subics deep seaport helps PH not only in trade but in defense.   

Despite all the stories about huge debt, declining quality of life, the author suggests that USA will continue to be a major superpower.     It can feed its people,  it has access to two major oceans for trade and it can definitely defend itself with its huge arsenal.    


Thursday, October 9, 2025

Opportunities abound

Nation building via learning and being the best in business






While recuperating from an eye operation, phone calls come in for new ventures:

1.  A partner from North wants to buy a 2.5 property at P1,000 foreclosed by a bank.  He wants us to enter into a JV.   We can have about  6,000 inventories.  We can sell at 80,000 /per plot   Thats about P480,000,000 estimated sales

2.  A partner in Visayas is proposing a 1.5 hectare property which he plans to buy at 1,200 /sm but which will require about 2,000/sm development cost:   1,000 backkfilling and 1,000 infrastructures.   We can have 3,000 inventory.  We can sell this at P80,000/plot    About P240,000

3.  In Rizal we can have a 2.2 hectare project 1.4 + 0.8.   It becomes an 5 party project:   2 to ROW owners, two to lot owners and us.  We can have about 5,000 plora.  Selling price in the area is about P200,000 and we can sell billions.  Thats about a billion

4.  In another space in in Rizal an adjoining lot is selling to us at P5,000 /sm.   Our counter is JPA.  Or at P2,000 per square meter.     It is good for 5,000 inventory.      Good for  P500,000,000.  

Thats a total projected revenues:  

        P480,000,000
          240,000,000
       1,000,000,000
          500,000,000
Thats 2,200,000,000 total while resting at home recuperating post op from cataract.  I am happy that without going around, these opportunities knock at my door. It is hoped that we can close most of them.  There are still many obstacles to be overcome.  Am proposing a 1% catalyst for those who can close the projects.   

Debt (or excessive use of it) caused the downfall of empires.

Nation building via learning and being the best in business

Rome and the Ottoman empires lost their glow due to debt.   Is this similar to the US situation with $37 trillion public debt (due to deficit spending mostly due to wars and war machinery)

The Ottoan empire problem  started when they borrowed  for their war effort vs Russia.   They were screwed by terms favorable to the lenders:   high interest rate, short repayment terms etc.   Which were not matched by tax collection and revenues.  

When they defaulted the European demanded a say in tax measures and collection.    There was capitulation.    There was economic capitulation.   

Could this similar to Philippine situation where the debt of the country has been steadily rising since January of 2025 due to financing of plunder  by top govt official




Does corruption affect the investment climate in the country or buy when there is flood scandal?

Nation building via learning and being the best in business

It would seem to be such today with corruption now running into billions.  It was massive.  Other factors could be at play and one of the Cabinet Secretaries disputed the claim that corruption  caused the loss of Php 1.7 trillion loss of market value at PHP.

I would like to remember the old yarn,  " Invest in countries where there is blood on the street."   Black marketeers flourish during war or crisis times.  "  Ji Wei says Chinese.  Opportunities, and threat

We small businessmen have to live with corruption with even the lowest Barangay official demanding as much as P5/sm for a permit, or for his endorsement of a Citiy Resolution.  Without the permit, we cant go into a business.   We have to live with corrupt, dirty officials.   











Sunday, October 5, 2025

Location, population stat no longer important in Marketing and Sales?

Nation building via learning and being the best in business






Right after my hospitalization, somebody viber red me me regarding a property he earlier presented earlier before this event.

I requested that as soon as I am well, I will discuss.  But he kept badgering me and this post had to research that there is all ready an existing  business at the municipality and population is below 50,000

Well since I replied he lectured me on population and location

    1.   That with digital age it is no longer necessary to be overly concerned with location or population;
    2.   He cited that a business leader is engaged in widespread expansion and does not care about
          location nor number of residents

This post after a decade of academic experience and 4 decades of actual business experience still subscribe to the time held business principles of location and demographics.   

There are businesses that are no longer dependent of these:    financial services, computer, cloud, but establishments such as:    housing, retail, banking are site and demographic dependent.

Some notable examples:

1.  A cousin who was head of a regional bank closed down the branch in a Pacific facing town because there are no borrowers nor depositors.   They transferred to a city in Central Luzon

2.  There is a mall in far flung town of this province  (middle of nowhere) which ha no traffic, nor tenants.  Foot traffic is probably zero.   So who needs location and demographics?