Category: News

• The fourth edition of the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon will take place on 17 December 2022  
• ADNOC extends its partnership with Abu Dhabi Sports Council and commits to a year-round program, including weekly training sessions, preparation events and community races 
• Registrations are now open with attractive discounts available for early bird registrations 

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates : Race organizers Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), today announced that the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon will take place on 17 December 2022. ADSC is also delighted to confirm that ADNOC will continue to be the Official Title Sponsor and Energy partner of the flagship event for the next three editions.  

Building on the success of the 2021 race, which attracted over 12,000 runners alongside a highly competitive elite field, ADSC and ADNOC have committed to grow event participation locally by supporting and inspiring new and existing runners, with the long-term goal of doubling the size of the UAE’s running community by 2025.  

This new approach will focus on creating a culture of participation and inclusivity, providing the community with more running events and opportunities throughout the year.  

Speaking at the Leaders Sport Business Summit in Abu Dhabi, H.E Aref Al Awani, General Secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said: “We are pleased to announce our strategic partnership with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and looking forward to our distinguished partnership to continue supporting the success of the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon. 

“The Abu Dhabi Marathon has risen to a global level and has become one of the important sporting events inspiring platforms for awareness, education and consolidation of the importance of sport in the daily life of our people and residents. 

“Last year’s elite race saw fierce competition from an incredible field of international talent. This year, we look forward to welcoming the stars of the sport back to Abu Dhabi and reinforcing the capital’s status as a world-class sporting destination.” 

ADNOC’s Group Human Capital Director, Dr. Saif Al Nasseri said: “We are extremely proud to renew our partnership with Abu Dhabi Sports Council. As we look to build on the success of the past three races, we are committed to making the marathon accessible to a wider audience, providing support and training to runners of all abilities and encouraging our community to start their health and wellness journey with us.” 

Working in partnership, ADSC and ADNOC will deliver a series of community initiatives, including a year-round calendar of official training sessions, workshops and year-round race preparation events, providing a structured program that caters for all levels, from first time fun runners to competitive athletes.  

In addition, the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon runner and spectator experience will be further enhanced, with active community consultation helping to shape every aspect of the race weekend, to ensure it retains its status as one of the region’s leading marathons and the largest and most inclusive mass participation event in the UAE. 

Registrations for all event distances are now open for the fourth edition of the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon on Saturday 17 December 2022, with early bird discounts of up to 30% available for a limited period: https://www.adnocabudhabimarathon.com/register-now/  

Despite continued disruptions in the global economy due to COVID-related restrictions, the Philippine exports grew by 15.2% from January to November 2021 to USD 68.4B compared to the same period in 2020, based on Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) preliminary data. Philippine merchandise exports increased by 6.6% year-on-year (YOY) amounting to USD 6.3B in November 2021 from USD 5.9B in November 2020.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez pointed out that “the 2021 figure also grew by 4.91% compared to the same period in 2019, which amounted to USD 65.17B. This reflected a better export performance compared to the prep-pandemic level.”

November PSA data also showed that coconut oil recorded the highest annual increase of 95% out of the 10 major commodity groups in terms of export value. The country accounts for 60% of United States of America (USA) coconut oil imports and 73% of USA crude coconut oil imports. The rise in demand were due to changes in US trade policy, market trends, and dietary guidelines. 

In 2019, the coconut sector contributed more than USD1B in export revenues. Coconut, particularly coconut oil, is one of the top agricultural export commodities in 2019 placing the Philippines as the number one exporter of coconut oil in the world. The Philippines maintained its global leader position in the coconut product exports in 2020. Philippine exports of coconut oil and desiccated coconut accounted for 52.48% and 35.91% of the global market, respectively.

Secretary Lopez said, “Over the years, coconut food exports landscape has transformed from traditional coconut oil into a higher value product such as virgin coconut oil, coconut water, coconut milk, coconut chips, coconut cream, among others. Reportlinker expects the revenue for packaged coconut water to grow at a CAGR of over 26% for 2019-2025. This is driven by the growing preference for coconut water as healthy, natural, and convenient beverage.”

The trend on health and wellness products have generally strengthened due to the health crisis brought by the covid-19 pandemic. Most sectors that are focused on health and wellness will continue to do well, according to Euromonitor International Report.

Electronics exports in November 2021 amounted to USD 3.7B which brought the year-to-date (YTD) electronics exports to USD 42.0 B, 14.2% higher compared to the same period last year. According to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), the cumulative total of semiconductors sold through November 2021 reached USD 1.05T, which is the industry’s highest-ever annual total. Top Philippine electronics exports in November were components/devices (semiconductors), electronic data processing, other electronics, telecommunication, and consumer electronics. 

Double-digit growths were also recorded in the export of other manufactured goods, other mineral products, and cathodes and sections of cathodes, which grew by 23.6%, 24.7% and 53.6%, respectively.

Sec. Lopez cited that “To improve the country’s competitiveness in international markets, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is leading the drafting of the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) 2022-2027 with an overarching goal of transforming the country from an exporter of commodities and intermediate goods to an exporter of high value products and services. The new PEDP is envisioned take an industry development approach to boost export competitiveness i.e. by attracting export-oriented investments in innovation driven-sectors to increase product and service diversification.”

The USA is the Philippines’ top export market in November with exports valued at USD 997.85M (15.9% share in the total exports), followed by China with USD 887.48M (14.1%), Japan with USD 879.43M (14.0%), Hong Kong with USD 833.60M (13.3%), and Singapore with USD 360.68 (5.7%). Out of the top five (5) markets, Philippine exports to China and Japan decreased compared to November of last year.

To further sustain the growth in Philippine exports, the Department is participating in various international events and expos to promote Philippine companies and their products. In February, DTI and Philippine exporters will be participating in Gulfood 2022 or The Gulf Food Hotel and Equipment Exhibition and Salon Culinaire, a renowned international platform dedicated to the food and beverage processing in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

“We have seen strong growth in most of our exported commodity groups and we will be ramping up our initiatives on export marketing to ensure that the country sustains and surpasses 2021’s export rebound,” said Secretary Lopez.

As part of DTI’s initiatives to seize opportunities in key sectors and markets, the DTI will be leading a series of export promotion activities in the MENA region including, in-store promotion of Philippine food products in leading supermarkets in UAE and the Philippine participation in Gulfood.

The Department has also earlier announced the possible start of scoping discussions on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with the UAE.

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For inquiries regarding exports, you can email the DTI-Export Marketing Bureau at exports@dti.gov.ph or you may visit tradelinephilippines.dti.gov.ph.

Liter of Light, a Filipino-born global grassroots solar lighting movement, has partnered with the University of Santo Tomas (UST) for a large-scale solar art installation to raise awareness and call for urgent action on the ongoing climate crisis.

Building on the success of its award-winning “Light It Forward” campaign, Liter of Light’s latest initiative – called “Messages for the Planet” – engages young people in leading the call for change in climate policies, even in the midst of a global pandemic.

By inviting youth climate leaders and environmental luminaries from the university to design and build a large-scale installation using its hand-built solar lights, the organization is using its platform to amplify the voices calling for climate action. 

The UST installation features a large sun and the figure 1.5, to represent the critical 1.5 degree C threshold that the world must adhere to in order to avoid major climate change catastrophes, including super typhoons, which are the direct result of rising ocean temperatures. 

“This week, we are confronted once again with the fact that the Philippines is on the front lines of the climate crisis. We can – we must – act now,” said Illac Diaz, Founder and Executive Director of Liter of Light. “Typhoon Odette destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes and lives across the country in a matter of hours. Through this symbolic installation with UST, we are calling for dramatic action to halt global warming that is devastating our environment and endangering our way of life.”

The installations are part of a series of pop-up artworks that Liter of Light is building across Metro Manila to raise awareness and urgency for climate action. It recently completed large-scale solar art installations in St. Andrews, Scotland with youth environmental leaders and student representatives to the global climate change conference, COP26.

After the unveiling of this week’s installation, which includes a mass in tribute to the victims of this latest natural disaster, the lights used to create the artwork will be deployed to the communities ravaged by Typhoon Odette.

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About Liter of Light:

Working in 32 countries with over 2,700 youth ambassadors, Liter of Light is one of the largest organizations that works with youth to engage companies in Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa on building simple and repairable solar lights, mobile charging systems, and street lights. Using materials from within each community, the organization has empowered the lives of over one million people a year, while creating opportunities for green micro business, and lowering carbon emissions by 1000kg per hand-built solar lamp.

To learn more about Liter of Light, visit: www.lightitforward.ph 

Instagram: @literoflight

Facebook: www.facebook.com/aliteroflight

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmkj2sShWG4O5xGdq15gB7A/