Business in Dog year better than 2017
The CebuanoChinese business community is bullish on business prospects as the Chinese Lunar New Year starts today.
The Chinese community has welcomed the Year of the Earth Dog.
Cebuano-Chinese businessman Robert Go believes the Year of the Dog is a good year for business as he anchored his bullish outlook on the continued growth of the domestic economy.
"We have a growth of 6.7 percent gross domestic product and usually Cebu’s growth is ahead of national GDP," he told The FREEMAN yesterday.
Go, president of Philippine Retailers Association-Cebu, said the TRAIN (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) law will not affect much the business except for traders of cigarettes, sugary drinks and soda which are imposed higher excise taxes under the new tax law.
The Chinese new year will see continued growth as far as business is concerned, Go said, citing sustained economic fundamentals such as remittances from Filipino workers abroad, robust consumer spending buoyed by the BPO sector and the increased infrastructure spending by government which will support economic growth and employment.
"Year of the Dog will be better than 2017," he said.
The Cebuano-Chinese community has grown to a mix of locals and immigrants from China.
Go said Cebu has seen a growing number of immigrants from China to do business here.
"They are sprouting all over downtown Cebu, stores that are mostly owned by Chinese," he said.
He said most CebuanoChinese businessmen are engaged in construction business, housing development, medium to large scale businesses, transportation, department and supermarket stores, and shipping, among others.
"Most Cebuano- Chinese are Catholics but old people maintain the Buddhist traditions and beliefs," Go said.
The Chinese community has played a key role in the growth of Cebu, with Chinese being among the biggest traders in the Queen City of the South.
Cebu stands on the various contributions of its own Chinese community, which has been playing a significant role in the life of the city since way back.
Go shared a number of Chinese-owned businesses in Cebu still follow feng shui.
"Many practice feng shui especially those going to the temple asking for date when you open a store or business, date of start construction, directions such as south or north, bed arrangement, and placement of doors and windows. These are followed especially in construction business," he said.
"Some just eat or dine for the new year but no more traditional ceremonies," he shared.