Philippines to Showcase India’s BrahMos in Balikatan War Games Simulation

The Philippines will showcase its newly acquired BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system during the Balikatan 2026 war games with the United States and allied forces. The system will be used in a simulation firing mode, marking its first integration into Balikatan drills.

The Philippines acquired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system, considered the Philippines' most powerful weapon in its arsenal, through a landmark $375 million defense deal with India in 2022, becoming the first Southeast Asian nation to field this weapon. Deliveries began in April 2024, with three batteries supplied by India, and the system is now integrated into the Philippine Marine Corps’ Coastal Defense Regiment.

First held on 1991, Balikatan is the Philippines’ largest annual military exercise with the United States, designed to strengthen defense cooperation, improve joint readiness, and enhance interoperability among allied forces. The 2026 edition is the biggest yet, with over 17,000 troops from seven nations actively participating.

"Balikatan” is a Filipino word meaning shoulder-to-shoulder.

Timeline Snapshot: Philippines’ BrahMos Acquisition

Year	Event
2022	Contract signed ($375M, 3 batteries)
Apr 2024	First batch delivered
Apr 2025	Second batch delivered
Sep 2025	Final batch delivered
2026	BrahMos featured in Balikatan war games (simulation firing)

Key Details on BrahMos in Balikatan 2026

• Simulation Firing Only: Systems activated as in real combat, but no live missile launch
• Location: Northern Luzon, Philippines
• Delivery Timeline: First batteries delivered in April 2024
• Capabilities: Speed Mach 2.8–3.0 (~3,400 km/h); Warhead 200–300 kg; Land-based mobile batteries
• Strategic Role: Strengthens coastal defense and A2/AD in South China Sea

Balikatan 2026 Overview

• Scale: Largest iteration with 17,000 troops from multiple nations
• Scope: Maritime strike drills, air/missile defense, live-fire, humanitarian assistance
• Other Systems Featured: US Typhon MRC, NMESIS
• Geopolitical Context: Exercises near Taiwan and Scarborough Shoal; China warns of confrontation

Strategic Significance

• Philippines: First Southeast Asian country to deploy BrahMos; boosts deterrence
• India: $375M export deal enhances defense industry credibility and Indo-Pacific role
• Regional Impact: Adds pressure in South China Sea disputes; improves allied interoperability

Quick Comparison: BrahMos vs Other Systems in Balikatan

System	Origin	Speed/Range	Role in Balikatan
BrahMos	India-Russia JV	Mach 2.8–3.0, ~290–400 km	Simulated maritime strike, coastal defense
Typhon MRC	USA	Tomahawk & SM-6, ~1,000 nm	Long-range precision strike
NMESIS	USA	Naval Strike Missile, ~185 km	Ship interdiction, coastal defense

The Philippines’ BrahMos acquisition is both a military modernization milestone and a geopolitical signal—India’s export success has reshaped Southeast Asia’s defense landscape, giving Manila a credible deterrent in the South China Sea.

HGS Unveils Smart Experience Hub in Manila, Adds 1,000+ Jobs

Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) (listed on BSE & NSE), a leading provider of digital experience, business process management (BPM), and digital media services, today announced the opening of a new intelligent experience hub in Manila, Philippines. The new facility strengthens the company’s capability to deliver technology-enabled solutions for clients while providing a modern workplace for employees.

Underscoring HGS’ long-term commitment to the region, HGS will create more than 1,000 new jobs over the next 24 months in the areas of business services and digital transformation.

Located in Manila’s prime business district, the new hub consolidates HGS’ teams from across the city in a single, purpose-built environment. Designed to support evolving, technology-driven business needs and new delivery models, the hub features collaborative spaces that empower teams and enable greater value for clients.

“The Philippines has been an integral part of HGS’ growth story for over two decades, and this new intelligent experience hub marks yet another important milestone in our commitment to this region,” said Giridhar GV, CEO – APAC and Global CHRO, HGS. “The center embodies the fusion of human expertise with AI and empathy-driven innovation to deliver seamless, personalized solutions from one of the world’s most dynamic talent ecosystems. It’s not just a technology investment but a strategic move toward orchestrating meaningful, intelligent experiences that resonate with our clients and their customers.”

Earlier this year, HGS had signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the Philippines government to scale its local operations significantly.

The new center has an initial capacity of 1,500 seats and can accommodate up to 3,000 employees in two shifts, supporting clients with high-quality service delivery. With this addition, HGS now operates two facilities in Manila and four across the Philippines.

American Data Center Firm Equinix Enters the Philippines, to Expand to Chennai, Jakarta Later This Year

Equinix, a US-based data center firm, has announced its entry into the Philippines with acquisition of three data centers in the country from Total Information Management (TIM).

This strategic move aims to expand Equinix's presence in the high-growth Southeast Asia region. The acquisition provides capacity for Equinix to address the digital needs of local and overseas businesses in the Philippines.

Notably, Southeast Asia's digital economy is on the rise, with the Philippines expected to reach $35 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20%. Equinix's expansion aligns with this trend, enabling businesses to thrive and embrace digital transformation.

Equinix currently operates 56 data centers in 14 key metros across the Asia-Pacific region. These include Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore. Notably, they've recently opened data centers in Johor (JH1) and Kuala Lumpur (KL1) in Malaysia.

As part of Equinix's ambitious investment plans in the Asia-Pacific region, the company will expand in new markets including Jakarta, Indonesia (JK1) and Chennai, India (CN1) later this year.

Equinix is the world's digital infrastructure company, headquartered in Redwood City, California. It specialize in Internet connection and data centers. Equinix is a leader in the global colocation data center market, with 260 data centers across 33 countries on five continents. The company's mission is to connect places, partners, and possibilities, empowering businesses to accelerate their advantage by accessing the right ecosystems and infrastructure.

Equinix claims to have invested more than $25 billion in its data center platform.[65] The firm calls its data centers International Business Exchanges (IBXs).

Philippines' Bank of Commerce Selects Infosys Finacle Suite for its Core Banking

Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY), and Bank of Commerce (BankCom), an affiliate of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) group and one of the fast-growing universal banks in the Philippines, today announced the bank’s decision to select Infosys Finacle Suite for its core banking transformation.

The Infosys Finacle Suite of offerings, which includes Finacle Core Banking, Finacle Liquidity Management and Finacle Customer Data Hub solutions, will replace BankCom’s legacy platform and help the bank engage, innovate, and operate better to keep pace with evolving market expectations.

The key highlights of the digital transformation include:

• Finacle’s componentized core banking solution will allow BankCom to replace the existing legacy core systems in a risk-mitigated manner to digitally transform its business.
• The Finacle Core Banking solution will provide the bank with a comprehensive set of capabilities, including flexible product factories that will enable BankCom to unlock innovations with simple configurations to introduce differentiated products and services.
• The Finacle Liquidity Management solution will enable BankCom customers to identify, manage, and optimize liquidity across borders, currencies, and banks, on the go and on a device of their choice.

The Finacle Customer Data Hub solution will help unify customer data management across the organization. It will empower BankCom users to have a real-time view of customer relationships across platforms and channel applications. The solution will deliver a strong digital foundation to create and deliver personalized services and experiences.

Michelangelo R. Aguilar, President and CEO, Bank of Commerce
said, “We are pleased to have chosen Infosys Finacle due to its established presence in the Philippines, robust solutions suite, and record of reliable delivery in the market. The modernization of our core banking system is an integral part of BankCom’s digital transformation journey as a universal bank in delivering a truly digital banking experience to our clients. It will enable us to operate better, innovate, and keep pace with industry best practices, regulatory requirements, and evolving expectations of the markets we serve, notably the San Miguel Group and SMC ecosystem.”

Venkatramana Gosavi, Senior Vice President & Global Head of Sales, Infosys Finacle, said, "We are delighted to collaborate with Bank of Commerce in their digital core banking transformation journey. With Finacle's proven suite of solutions, we are confident that the bank will be able to achieve a client-focused banking platform, aligned with the bank’s strategic business and technology requirements. This partnership marks yet another milestone in our presence in the Philippines over the last two decades and underlines our commitment to helping Philippine banks stay ahead in the digital age.”

GCash overtakes popular brands in local app rankings

MANILA, Philippines , Nov. 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Being the top finance app in the Philippines currently, GCash has also emerged as one of the top digital brands in the Philippines overtaking other popular apps.

Data rankings from App Annie , a reputable global app ranking authority, showed that GCash was among the top apps in terms of active users from January to September 2020 in both Android and iOS, and have registered a whopping 130 percent app active user growth in September compared to the beginning of the year.

GCash also noted that monthly downloads in the recent months have peaked to up to 270 percent as compared to early 2020.

This new data from App Annie reinforces GCash's stronghold as the No. 1 digital finance app in the country. With this, GCash, a proud Filipino digital brand, proved that it can fare well against top global brands and is now embedded in the everyday digital lifestyle of Filipinos.

"We at GCash are proud of this milestone, as we want to empower more people with different digital financial services that they can take advantage of," GCash President and CEO Martha Sazon said.

"But above all, we saw how Filipinos are in need of services that can enable them to function and do their normal day-to-day activities even when they are staying at home. Other than having the power to conveniently shop at home, people also want to conduct their other errands online -- and GCash is here to support those needs," she added.

GCash has over 26 million users at present.

More and more now Filipinos use GCash as a partner in their daily lives, especially in the new normal. GCash offers a multitude of digital financial services to Filipinos, helping them with the payment of their bills, savings, sending money, and borrowing money, among others.

GCash closing in on top global digital brands is a reflection to the growing popularity of digital finance amid the pandemic.

Overtaking major global brands locally, GCash is strongly poised to be even more embedded in the Filipino society and way of living as a means to adapt in the new normal lifestyle.

"As we go deeper into the stay-at-home lifestyle and economy, more and more Filipinos will focus on aligning their budgets and managing their finances, and get the best tools that can help them with that," Sazon said.

"GCash is providing democratized access to financial technology or fintech by making it easier for them to navigate the challenges of financial volatility in these trying times," she added.

Aside from contactless payments and money transfers, GCash users can also pay their bills, buy load, save money, borrow money, invest, and get insured among many other financial services.

Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), which operates GCash, is part of the portfolio companies of 917Ventures, the largest corporate incubator in the Philippines wholly-owned by Globe Telecom Inc.

GCash is available for download on the App Store and Google Play. For more information, kindly visit https://www.gcash.com/ .

For more information, please contact:
Winsley Bangit
Chief Customer Officer
GCash – (Mynt - Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc.)
8th Floor, W. Global Center, 9th Avenue corner 30th Street
Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig, Philippines
Landline: +63 2 7967848
Email: corpcomm@mynt.xyz

For the latest updates, visit GCash's social media pages:
https://www.facebook.com/gcashofficial
https://www.instagram.com/gcashofficial
https://twitter.com/gcashofficial

About Mynt

Mynt is a partnership between Globe Telecom, the Ayala Corporation, and Ant Financial, that provides innovative and first-in-world fintech solutions to consumers, merchants, and organizations. Its vision is to enable financial access for consumers and merchants by disrupting traditional channels through digital financial technology services. It operates two fintech companies: GCash, a micropayment service that transforms the mobile phone into a virtual wallet for secure, fast, and convenient money transfer, and Fuse, a tech-based lending company that enables Filipinos to get microloans to business loans without the traditional requirements set by banks and other lending institutions. For more information, visit mynt.xyz.