In the Philippines, whether in large cities or small rural towns, you can see pawnshop signs on almost every street. Customers come and go in a constant stream, entering with items and leaving empty-handed—a seemingly unusual business. While it may seem unusual, this is a place that ordinary Filipinos visit frequently, as these are pawnshops. Pawnshops are common in Asia, especially in Southeast Asian countries, but their popularity to this extent is a unique phenomenon in the Philippines.
Mobile phones and jewelry are the most commonly pawned items.
The pawnshop business is booming because there is a demand from the general public. Filipinos generally do not have the habit of saving money; their monthly salaries are often spent entirely. When faced with urgent needs, such as a family member being hospitalized or paying children's tuition, they find themselves short of funds and have to take household items to a pawnshop for "mortgage financing." Last year, a police officer in the southern Philippines even pawned his service weapon to raise tuition for his children. The incident was exposed, leading to administrative charges and dismissal for the officer, while the pawnshop that accepted the police weapon faced the revocation of its business license.
According to incomplete statistics, there are nearly 10,000 pawnshops in the Philippines. Cebuana Lhuillier is the largest pawnshop chain in the country, with over 400 branches distributed in almost every town. Although there is no direct data, according to observations, there are more pawnshops than banks in many towns. For ordinary Filipinos, the function of a bank is limited to receiving their salaries.
Pawnshops are generally located in busy downtown areas with high foot traffic. In some small and medium-sized cities, it is common to see pawnshops lined up one after another. The items accepted by pawnshops are mainly jewelry and mobile phones, while laptops, watches, and digital cameras are also frequently pawned items. Because these items are easy for the shop owner to resell if they are not redeemed.
Interest rates are quite high.
Richard, an employee at a pawnshop in downtown Manila, told reporters that pawnshops generally only pay customers 20% to 40% of the market value of the pawned items. The mobile phone the reporter brought along has a current market value of about 12,000 pesos (approximately 2,000 RMB), but Richard said it could only be exchanged for 2,000 pesos (approximately 330 RMB) because the phone had been used for more than a year and depreciation costs had to be deducted. After evaluating the price of the item, the pawnshop gives the customer a note detailing the condition of the pawned item, such as the mobile phone model, the weight and length of jewelry, as well as the amount exchanged and the interest. Pawnshops charge customers 3% to 5% interest per month. Some pawnshops deduct the first month's interest in advance. When a customer wants to redeem an item, they must pay off the amount exchanged plus the interest. If the customer fails to redeem the item within 6 months, the item becomes the property of the pawnshop. Due to the high interest rates, many customers are unable to redeem their items, which is where pawnshops make the most profit. A pawnshop near Manila's Chinatown simply set up a counter inside the shop to sell unredeemed second-hand jewelry. Many Filipinos buy cheap mobile phones from pawnshops.
Fujian entrepreneurs in the Philippines invest in the construction of "Shishi Philippines Plaza"
The Shishi City Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese in Fujian revealed on the 17th that the "Shishi Philippines Plaza," invested and constructed by the Federation of Shishi Associations in the Philippines, has recently been successfully topped out.
As a new project invested and constructed by the Federation of Shishi Associations in the Philippines in their hometown, the "Shishi Philippines Plaza," located in the Zengken area on the north side of Shishi South Ring Road, includes buildings No. 1 and No. 2, with a planned height of 25 stories and 80 meters, and a total construction area of more than 35,800 square meters.
Invited to return to their hometown to attend the 60th-anniversary celebration of the Shishi City Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, a delegation of more than 40 overseas Chinese from the Philippines, led by advisors Cai Youtie, Dong Lunyi, and Lu Zuyin, honorary head Lin Yuyan, and head and chairman Cai Wenzhong, witnessed the topping-out ceremony of the "Shishi Philippines Plaza."
"Once the building is completed, all overseas Chinese in the Philippines will have a common home in Shishi." The overseas Chinese in the Philippines expressed that the fellow members of the Federation have the confidence and determination to build the "Shishi Philippines Plaza" into the most fashionable, advanced, and high-quality landmark building in Shishi, enhancing the urban spatial landscape of Shishi through this architecture.
