Government acts to make Phl investor-friendly

MANILA, Philippines –  With consumption, government spending and exports already making significant contribution to growth, the government said it is adopting more measures to spur investment in a bid to move the country to a higher, broad-based and sustainable growth path.

Finance Secretary Caesar Purisima noted that the government will be taking aim at increasing the level of investments in the country to expand its growth potential.

“The focus now is on the investment component of the growth equation,” said Purisima during the recently held Philippine Economic Briefing.

To boost investor confidence, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) president Francis Chua pointed to the urgency of making the regulatory system less burdensome, further streamlining business procedures, and making labor laws attuned to the developments in the global economy.

Chua also raised the need for a consistent application of policies, rules and laws at the local government level.

Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo noted that the DTI is pushing for a Magna Carta for investors to better safeguard the interest of the same mainly by setting clear-cut guidelines that will preclude inconsistent application of rules and policies at the local government level and resolve disagreements between national and local government, adding that they are also considering the establishment of economic zones for domestic-oriented firms.

According to Socio-economic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga, the government will enter into partnership with the private sector to boost investment on human capital, particularly in sectors that have strong spread effects such as business process outsourcing, tourism and agro-industry.

Paderanga likewise mentioned that the government will be establishing more investment infrastructure to facilitate greater investments for these priority sectors.

The country’s competitiveness ranking has been chronically low, making it among the least attractive investment destinations.

Without denying the palpable need to make the country more investor-friendly, economic managers argued that the country is not as bad an investment destination as its competitiveness rankings suggests, citing that the methodology used in competitiveness surveys only looks at one city, which is Manila for the Philippines, excluding export processing zones. –Philexport News and Features (The Philippine Star)