PhilWeb.com: Another BW in the Making?

[Mikoid]

They entered the Philippine stock market via a backdoor listing, opening at 10 centavos. Now they're worth 42 cents, after a flurry of full-page newspaper ads with vague promises.

However, they don't have a site (entering philweb.com into your browser takes you to a down site), but have built up a lot of hype thanks to a flurry of full-page newspaper ads. People are starting to wonder about this stock, this company, and the waves it has promised to make.

Any ideas or comments? Speak your mind!

[batang uliran]

The comparison is true to the extent that PhilWeb is a company banking on hype to inflate the value of their shares.

[cianoy]

I don't really go for specs, but I think PhilWeb may have a bit more going for it than BW. If you have Softbank and AIG as backers, this issue may surprise us yet.

I might buy it, but I can't responsibly recommend it to anyone.

[DAILO]

I agree... it is mirroring the gaming stocks of last year... and look at BW now.

[This message has been edited by DAILO (edited 03-18-2000).]

[CaRaMBa]

I heard that they don't own the domain www.philweb.com . The site that Mikoid referred to belongs to a foreign company, at least that's what I heard.

[mparaz]

The actual URL of PhilWeb is www.philwebinc.com

They have free e-mail at
mail.philwebinc.com

[gem]

yes, the site is www.philwebinc.com

lets check for the indicators, may be a good invst...may be not

[DAILO]

There is no substance in WEB. Yesterday Jardine offloaded 70M at .50 and it was followed by Goldstar, Citisec at .49, and Wise at .48... be cautious

[nix]

Be wary of PhilWeb though. Any company that calls themselves Philweb.com Inc. and does not own Philweb.com is a little iffy in my book. Also, they have some issues with Softbank and AIG that have not been ironed out yet -- As in it wasn't really Softbank who invested and there was nothing signed with AIG. Nuff said.

[cianoy]

I think I'm willing to give PhilWeb a chance as against BW, WIN, or even V now. I attended their briefing and think their plans seem plausible enough. Remember, it was Ongpin who steered Belle through its best times. Never mind that Belle is back in the doldrums now. I'm planning to sell my Web shares in a year or two anyway.

[mparaz]

is the plan... to buy all the ISPs, cable companies, and whatnot with their fantastic buying power?

[Cala]

i'm not exactly knowledgeable with stocks, or why it's such a big deal that philweb is publicly listed and all that...

what's grabbing my attention is all their major affiliations that seem to be coming one after another. the last i heard was with yahoo. that should be an indication of something good right?

[Zen]

Uh, sorry to ruffle everyone's feathers but I've been checking this topic every so often for people's reactions to Philweb and it's kinda hard to ignore some of the comments. My brother works for the said company and I have to refute the rumors that they didn't sign with AIG nor is Softbank sueing them. A minor clarification though: if my memory serves me right, the person who holds majority of Softbank's shares is the one who's investing in Philweb. Also, they don't plan to buy everything and establish a monopoly but they are quite aware of the competition. I think what they want to do is buy a couple of good industry leaders so as to get instant market share which will complement what they have. Nobody can deny the fact that they ARE establishing admirable partnerships with international players that's making people believe they're a good buy in the stock market.

[batang uliran]

Zen:

What do they have? No product and all PR? Doesn't even own the rights to philweb.com? Started amid a shroud of controversy with allegations that many PhilWeb employees were unethically recruited from companies like PhilCom? The more credible firms put up a worthy product first and then list not the other way around. It's sad that many people have bought into this story and that's why we are a country susceptible to stock price manipulation.

[Mikoid]

One thing's for sure, they have lots of money to make strategic acquisitions within the industry ... and that's enough to make some of the local players worry.

One concern of mine is that they are promoting themselves and seeking investment without having a product or core business. I know that investing in a tech stock means that you have to throw a lots of the traditional valuations out the window, but it's always good to place your money in something tangible.

I'm not sure what value there is in an Internet-type "holdings company", which is what I feel these folks might become. The entire point of the 'Net is to make things more efficient for markets, and a holdings company just adds another layer of hype and costs to a consumer market with razor-thin margins.

I ran a search for Philweb.com on Network Solutions, the domain name registrar, and this is what I found:

Registrant:
Pilipinas Web (PHILWEB-DOM)
83 L Street
Chula Vista, CA 91911-1439

Domain Name: PHILWEB.COM

Administrative Contact:
Villaluz, Filomeno (FV62) philvil3@ELECTRICITI.COM
Pilipinas Web
83 L Street
Chula Vista, CA 91911-1439

619-585-7137
Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
Staff, Domain Registration (DRS16) domain@ELECTRICITI.COM
Electriciti, Inc.
2171 India St. Suite C
San Diego, CA 92101

(619) 881-2200
Billing Contact:
Villaluz, Filomeno (FV62) philvil3@ELECTRICITI.COM
Pilipinas Web
83 L Street
Chula Vista, CA 91911-1439

619-585-7137

Record last updated on 14-Jan-2000.
Record created on 06-Mar-1996.
Database last updated on 4-Apr-2000 13:53:35 EDT.

Domain servers in listed order:

NS.ELECTRICITI.COM 63.212.168.18
NS1.ELECTRICITI.COM 63.212.168.21
NS2.ELECTRICITI.COM 209.85.250.10

[Zen]

First thing, Philweb is more into the SERVICES part of the industry. I think they are still establishing contacts at the moment, but just recently they've started the 1st data center in the Phils. with Compaq. I even heard they're also planning a Philweb Institute. They have a lot of FUTURE projects that they are STILL working on to establish MORE admirable alliances to come up with QUALITY service. In a month or two, they'll be launching more of their finished projects.

Mikoid, yun na nga. Naunahan sila sa domain, kaya tough luck. But they still have philwebinc.com which suits the Philippine company as well.

[AlexPopov]

I think PhilWeb is hyping itself too much right now. But I think this is analogous to PCCW of Richard Li. It has a huge market cap but no product yet. I do think that they have a product in the making but these things take time. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt. FYI, Philweb's stock price is now down to 0.32 as of April 5. I still think it will correct a little more since the Nasdaq is in a correction mode also. But I don't mind buying this stock as long as there are signs that the correction is over.

[mparaz]

Philweb seems to be doing a good job marketing their Speedweb satellite service. and I hear they're buying an *operational* ISP.

they could buy a telco too, why not?

[RuckuS]

I went to the office of PhilWeb, and its a weird mix of eggheads, agents and some old people in barongs with lots of jewelry. They seem to be disorganized and is in every indication a start-up. They got in through the back door by buying out South Seas shipping, therefore taking over the SS seat in the stockmarket.I dont know why some companies like AIG and Softbank would invest in a company that hasn't even shown any credibility. Perhaps they're hoping that these bums become the next Microsoft or Sun Microsystems. I seriously doubt it though. They told me that they only intend to target the Philippine market, and since PI is already saturated by a lot of IT firms, how do they plan to compete with the exisiting companies here like AC, SVIC, Unisys or JM&C? The ability to develop e-commerce sites is no indication that they can surpass or compete with the established superpowers in the IT industry. These are just a bunch of smalltime hicks who were lucky enough to con some major investors. Its a cut-throat world out there and I dont think they'll survive it.

[mparaz]

Philippine Star now has a new columnist for the IT section - from PhilWeb.Com!