Initiatives, reforms needed to enhance Phl competitiveness

 Economy
Sep 292013
 
Initiatives, reforms needed to enhance Phl competitiveness

MANILA, Philippines – The National Competitiveness Council (NCC) is focusing on monitoring key initiatives and reforms meant to further strengthen areas where the Philippine rankings are lower in global competitiveness ratings. “We had improvements for three years on a row. We are very near our target. We are now on the top 40 percent of the world, our original target was to be in the top 33 percent,” said NCC private sector co-chairman Guillermo Luz. “We are on target as far as most of our competitiveness indicators are concerned.  We plan to continue that trend for the next three years,” he added. Luz said the Council will continue focusing on initiatives relating to ease of doing business. “I have been really working on bureaucratic reforms, streamlining the process and automating the process,” he said. With these reforms and initiatives, Luz said they expect improvements in the country’s competitiveness ranking in the Doing Business report which will be released by the World Bank this October. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “But we will continue to work, we won’t stop. We want to automate and then go to another big improvement in the next year’s (report),” he noted. Luz added that priority now is shifting attention to technology, education, innovation and environmental sustainability. “Those are the next three to four areas where competitiveness will shift. If we don’t invest today in those areas, we will fall again,” he said. Luz said the Council will also focus on infrastructure Read More …

Public infra spending seen to more than double

 Economy
Jul 172013
 
Public infra spending seen to more than double

MANILA, Philippines – Public infrastructure spending is seen to more than double to P834.5 billion by 2016 as the Aquino government allocates more funds to build more roads, railways, airports and bridges to support its goal of inclusive and sustainable growth. In a briefing yesterday, Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad said the government would continue to bolster infrastructure spending to further spur economic growth to as much as seven percent this year. For this year, the Aquino administration expects to spend P299.4 billion for infra-related projects, equivalent to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product or GDP. The amount excludes projects under the government’s Public-Private-Partnership program. For next year, infrastructure spending is forecast to rise by 28.4 percent to P418.2 billion or three percent of GDP.  The budget is expected to increase further to P601.5 billion and P834.5 billion by 2015 and 2016, respectively, corresponding to 4.1 percent and 5 percent of GDP. The Philippines trails behind its Asian neighbors in terms of government infrastructure spending. According to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, the Philippines needs to jack up infrastructure investments to keep pace with its Asian peers in attracting foreign direct investments. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Across Southeast Asia, public works are being given priority by governments seeking to maintain growth amid the global economic downturn. Improved infrastructure would contribute to reduced costs of doing business, increased market accessibility and enhanced competitiveness, the ADB said. Higher tax collections and improved public Read More …

World Bank: Phl should boost reforms to create more jobs

 Economy
Jul 122013
 
World Bank: Phl should boost reforms to create more jobs

Axel von Trotsenburg, World Bank Vice President for East Asia and Pacific (Jovan Cerda) MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine government has to create more jobs to reduce poverty and sustain high economic growth, the World Bank said on Friday. “Turning high growth into inclusive growth is increasingly important for the Philippines, by deepening and accelerating reforms that will create more and better jobs to reduce poverty,” Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank Vice President for East Asia and Pacific said. Van Trotsenburg said job generation supported by quality education remains a big challenge in the Philippines and other countries in the world, and the country needs to create high-paying jobs directed to the youth sector. The unemployment rate in the country jumped to 7.5 percent in April from the 6.9 percent in 2012 despite gross domestic product soaring by 6.8 percent in 2012 and a 7.8 percent in the first quarter of 2013. For this year, World Bank expects the Philippines to grow by 6.2 percent. Van Trotsenburg earlier met President Benigno Aquino III and the government’s economic team to discuss areas where the multilateral financial institution can help the country in funding projects aimed at reducing poverty and improving governance in the Philippines. He also noted the transfer of the $300-million development policy loan aimed at spurring job-creating and poverty-reducing growth in the country. “There is clear convergence with the government’s goal of inclusive growth and the World Bank Group’s twin goals to end extreme global poverty by 2030 and Read More …

Balisacan unperturbed by weak peso, stocks

 Economy
Jun 252013
 
Balisacan unperturbed by weak peso, stocks

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s top economic manager said he remains unperturbed by the weakening of the peso and the local bourse, saying these barometers are going into a ‘dip’ cycle. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan pointed out that the peso at one time weakened to beyond 53 to the US dollar, and that the present level of the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) is still well above the 1,800-mark a few years back. “I would like to think that it is just a dip,” Balisacan told reporters on the sidelines of a World Bank presentation on climate change yesterday. The PSEi fell below 5,800 yesterday, entering bear market territory, according to market analysts. Nonetheless, Balisacan said the real economy remains strong based on sound fundamentals and strong domestic market. “The weak peso is good for our competitiveness. It is not only good for exports, but for our local industries which are competing with imports,” he added. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 A stronger dollar makes imported products more expensive, allowing locally-produced goods to compete in the market. Increased local production would, in turn, create more jobs. “The weakening of the peso will not only benefit the exporters or the families of overseas Filipinos sending dollar or dollar-denominated remittance inflows, but broadly our local industries that are producers or assemblers of exports using imported parts,” said Balisacan, who is also director general of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). Meanwhile, robust investments in the Read More …

World Bank keeps PHL growth forecast, lowers global projection

 Entertainment
Jun 142013
 

MANILA, June 13 (Mabuhay) — Washington-based World Bank maintained its Philippine economic forecast, while it lowered the projection for East Asia and the Pacific and the rest of the world. The Philippine economy can still to grow at an annual rate of 6.2 percent and 6.4 percent this year and the next, respectively, the World […]

A Sonny future in entrepreneurship

 Economy
Apr 242013
 
A Sonny future in entrepreneurship

As the midterm election draws near, the call to vote for the most deserving candidates becomes stronger. We need people who can help us sustain the positive economic climate that we are having. We know that the backbone of our economy is the MSMEs, but aside from their innate entrepreneurial mindset, they will need a legislator who can push for laws that will make success easier for them to attain. I came across Sonny Angara during our Technopreneur summit last January, and I really find his track record quite impressive. As he runs for a higher position this coming elections, I asked him what is in store for the micro, small, and medium negosyantes should he get elected. Let me share with you his answers. Entrepreneurship creates jobs. Do you think this is a very good alternative to the OFW phenomenon? Yes, definitely. The main reason why our OFWs have to go to other countries is to look for jobs that they cannot find here. Thus, if we can create the needed jobs through successful business ventures, there will be no  necessity for our OFWs to seek employment abroad. Having more entrepreneurs that employ our workforce would mean lesser Filipinos having to leave the country and their families. What are your platforms to support job generation through entrepreneurship? To generate decent jobs, I have been pushing for economic and investment policies that promote growth and development of the economy since I became a legislator. To date, I have principally authored Read More …

4-M jobs/yr needed to eradicate poverty by 2016 – Balisacan

 Economy
Feb 072013
 
4-M jobs/yr needed to eradicate poverty by 2016 – Balisacan

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines needs to generate between three to four million new jobs yearly if it is to eradicate poverty by 2016, the country’s chief economic planner said. “That means new investments worth $3 billion a year,” Socioeconomic Planning  Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said in a briefing yesterday. He said the labor force is growing by one to 1.1 million a year, while roughly a million Filipinos enter the employment force every year, on top of is the existing 10 million unemployed and underemployed. “So the employment generating capacity must grow faster than the labor force,” Balisacan, who is also director general of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), said. Half of those joining the work force are aged 15 to 34 years, or equivalent to 46 percent of the employed population. To be able to generate the huge number of jobs, government must focus to the sectors with the inherent ability to create jobs. Among the favored sectors are tourism, agriculture, manufacturing outside of the electronics and semi-conductor industry, construction and infrastructure. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “We need to sharpen on our focus on sectors that generate jobs. We estimate that if we can get the sectors, mainly the private sector, to bring in $3 billion in new investments,” he said. The economic planning chief said that it is likewise a prerequisite to overcome certain constraints, especially the poor infrastructure situation, which includes power and connectivity, meaning roads, railways, air and Read More …

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