Conditions ripe for sustained growth — forum

THE PHILIPPINES can tap fresh opportunities through stronger ties with Southeast Asian neighbors and sustained economic policies that support business activity at home at a time of weak demand elsewhere, according to speakers at the Business-- World- Philippine Airlines (PAL) ASEAN Regional Forum yesterday at Conrad Manila hotel in Pasay City.

Philippine businesses can ride on the country’s high growth path, with more than enough domestic funding and a favorable environment for expansion into other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“We have been very fortunate to have had consistently sound macroeconomic management under recent administrations,” said Fernando Zobel de Ayala,

president and chief operating officer of Ayala Corp., in his keynote speech at the forum.

“A disciplined fiscal and monetary policy with well-managed interest and inflation rates has created and continues to create an enabling ecosystem for business,” he added.

“Without the radical transformation of our economy, Philippine businesses wouldn’t have been in such an excellent position for regional and international expansion. We need to sustain this unique economic environment.”

Bullish business confidence, ample capital buffers and abundant money supply in the local financial system are seen to support private sector expansion.

“The financial markets both locally and around ASEAN are extremely liquid. We haven’t had this situation wherein the banking system is not just better-capitalized but is flushed with liquidity,” Hans B. Sicat, president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Stock Exchange, said in his presentation.

“I think the base is there is enough liquidity in system to help finance various projects and help companies grow.”

‘A LOT TO OFFER’

Strong brands as well as high-quality goods and services should stand Filipino companies in good stead as they face increased competition from abroad.

Jose Maria A. Miñana, Jr., group president at Jollibee Foods Corp., said “superior products” that are tailor-fit to each overseas market are needed to build a global brand.

Increased ASEAN integration is also expected to open more doors for PAL, which is banking on a regional open-skies arrangement that came into force in January last year to deepen its reach into Southeast Asia, the flag carrier’s president, Jaime J. Bautista, said during the forum.

The ASEAN is the world’s seventh-largest economy, with a market of roughly 641 million people, smaller only than those of China and India.

For Henry J. Schumacher, senior adviser at the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, “[t]here are not many growth markets around in the world anymore…”

“Today it’s ASEAN, and the Philippines is very much part of that,” Mr. Schumacher said.

“The Philippines has a lot of things to offer, the consumer market is developing and there’s much more interest.”

Speakers at the forum agreed that the government is generally on the right track to sustaining the country’s growth story.

“The message is clear: in order to maximize the benefits of trade, we must strengthen our own domestic economy, and your economic managers are aware of this reality,” Budget chief Benjamin E. Diokno said during the forum.

“As Budget secretary, I will ensure that our fiscal policy will enable us to compete with the best in the region. An expansionary fiscal policy will drive the economy for the next six years.” —