Will justice prevail

An article by an Asian casino industry online publication raises very interesting insights about the ongoing battle for control at Okada Holdings Ltd., a company which indirectly owns Okada Manila, an ambitious casino resort and hotel complex in the Philippines.

In an interview with GGRAsia, gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada, who was earlier removed as director of Okada Holdings which he founded, believes that justice will prevail in the end even as he reached out to his son Tomohiro for the sake of the family and company.

The elder Okada said he was illegally removed as director of Okada Holdings due to illegal maneuverings of some people upon whom he bestowed his trust and confidence. Okada said these people later betrayed his trust and manipulated his children to benefit from their grand scheme.

Okada Holdings is the holding company for all Universal Entertainment Corp. (UEC) shares owned by members of Okada’s family. Okada Holdings controls 69 percent of UEC which, through Tiger Resorts Asia (TRAL), owns Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment Inc. (TRLEI), the operator of Okada Manila

Currently, Okada is in Hong Kong focusing on his legal battle to wrest control of the company that he founded.

He said that his control was fraudulently taken away from him and he is now doing everything in his power to take it back.

Okada during the interview asked Tomohiro, who he said is a victim just like them, to serve the interest of his family, rather than to the unscrupulous businessmen who have nothing to lose, but everything to gain from the situation.

He told GGRAsia that unless he is restored as head of UEC, the value of the business will be destroyed in a year, hurting not only him and his immediate family, but also the public shareholders.

He said UEC has been making a loss, and the market for pachinko in Japan is shrinking, referring to a core business segment of the group in Japan’s domestic market.

Making a big difference

Every time I buy something online, I either use cash on delivery as my mode of payment. If it’s not available, I use PayPal.

Global fintech company Paypal has 244 million active customers and 19 million merchants in more than 200 markets. And just like them, I choose PayPal because of the protection it provides. Not only does PayPal use anti-fraud technologies to make sure that the card that I have linked and the information that I have shared are secure and are not misused, it also offers buyer protection such that when something goes wrong with my transaction, I get a full refund not only if the order does not arrive but also if it is not significantly as described. And even if I just change my mind about my purchase, all I need to do is simply ship back to the seller and I get a refund of up to $20 on the return shipping cost.

These buyer protection schemes are not available if you buy from international online sellers and use your debit or credit cards directly to pay for your purchase.

The protection is not only offered to buyers by PayPal but to online sellers as well. By creating an account with PayPal, online sellers and other businesses are able to receive payment from their clients which they can withdraw from their linked bank account.

The convenience, protection and peace of mind that it offers buyers and sellers alike is one reason why a recent online survey with 502 freelancers in the Philippines revealed that around 92 percent of these freelancers have a PayPal account and use it to accept payments.

According to to the survey, when it comes to receiving payments from overseas clients, 86 percent use PayPal and 33 percent resort to bank transfers. Four out of 10 use an invoicing software for billing purposes, with 93 percent making use of PayPal’s invoice service to receive payments from abroad.

In a recent interview with PayPal head of strategic partnerships in Southeast Asia Abhinav Kumar, he said that the company has had a fantastic growth from the region.

In the Philippines, Kumar revealed that they are focusing on the freelancer segment and are very optimistic about this market, with nine of 10 freelancers expecting their business to grow. With its 1.5 million freelancers, the Philippines figures in the list of top freelance service providers in the world relative to country population at two percent.

PayPal, according to Kumar, is looking for ways and means to continue to add value to the freelancer segment. These include rolling out solutions like PayPal.Me for Business which provides greater security and protection and PayPal Business app which helps users to better manage their businesses and view their clients’ history while on the go.

PayPal has also partnered with Globe’s GCash and PLDT’s PayMaya in the Philippines.

As for buyers, PayPal also expects more Filipinos to do more shopping online. A recent survey by PayPal and Ipsos revealed that while Filipino shoppers spent P92.5 billion last year for online spend, this is expected to increase to P122 billion this year and to P185 billion in 2020. Mobile spend is projected to reach P56 billion in 2018 and P100 billion in 20202 while cross border shopping is seen rising by 32 percent this year from P41.5 billion last year.

The same report revealed that the Philippines is the third highest among seven Asia-Pacific countries in terms of making cross border purchases via a smartphone.

For its part, PayPal has a seller risk team which uses several tools to ensure that transactions are safe. Kumar said that risk management is part of their DNA and that in fact, they invest around $1 billion in risk management capabilities.

Aside from freelancers, PayPal considers small and medium merchants as its lifeblood, Kumar revealed.

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