US businessmen bullish but worry about corruption in govt

American businessmen in the Philippines are optimistic of prospects in the country but most remain wary of prevalent corruption in the government, a poll among US companies in Southeast Asia showed.

According to the Asean Business Outlook Survey 2010, 86 percent of respondents from the Philippines expected the country’s economy to expand this year.

Almost three-fourths of US firms in the country also expected their profit to rise in 2010, compared with last year when only less than half of American companies in the Philippines projected higher profits.

Seventy-six percent said that their profit in 2011 could be even better.

About half of US businesses here said that they would hire more workers.

The Philippine-based American investors said that they were satisfied with availability of low-cost labor (according to 76 percent of respondents), sentiment toward the US (70 percent), availability of trained personnel (70 percent), office lease costs (63 percent) and housing costs (53 percent) in the country.

But the American businessmen in the Philippines cited corruption (84 percent of respondents), lack of infrastructure (46 percent) and tax structure (42 percent) as top concerns they were worried about.

During a previous interview, Robert Sears, the executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham), said that an influx of US investments could pour into the Philippines because of renewed confidence brought about by the Aquino administration.

Sears, though, warned that restrictions in the professional and retail sectors might deter investors.

President Benigno Aquino 3rd will visit the United States from September 20 to 26 mainly to strengthen Philippine trade and investment relations with the economic giant.

The Department of Trade and Industry had said that Americans would be attracted to invest in the public-private partnership infrastructure projects that will be rolled out by the Aquino government.

Asean Business Outlook 2010 polled 328 executives of American firms in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

It left out three other members of Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)—Brunei Darussalam, Laos and Myanmar. –Ben Arnold O. De Vera, Reporter, Manila Times