Corruption still worries American firms in PH

American companies in the country are keen on expanding in the Philippines but still view corruption as a major concern, a recent survey showed.

Results of the Asean Business Outlook Survey showed that 83 percent (58 percent to expand and 25 percent to expand significantly) of the respondents indicated that their companies were planning to increase their operations in the Philippines.

“The top three reasons for expansion in the Philippines are availability of trained personnel/efficient manpower, increasing market share and diversification of customer base,” the report said.

The poll, conducted from June 15 to July 3 this year, also found that the availability of low-cost labor, skilled labors and sentiment toward the United States were identified as strengths by American businesses in the country.

Philippine-specific results showed that satisfaction with the Philippines’ sentiment toward the United States reached a new high in 2012 at 83 percent.

Results of the survey showed that 78 percent of the respondents were satisfied with the availability of trained personnel while 73 percent were satisfied with the availability of low cost labor in the country.

However, 73 percent of the respondents said corruption was a leading concern, followed by ease of moving products through Customs (43 percent), laws and regulations (43 percent) and infrastructure (40 percent).

The survey also said that the percentage of expatriate employee satisfaction in the Philippines was at an all-time high in 2012.
“This may partially be attributed to the fact that space constraints in international schools for expatriate workers have become less of an issue in recent years,” the report said.

The survey was conducted by the United States Chamber of Commerce and the American Chambers of Commerce in Asean and polled 365 senior-level executives from American companies in the Asean region.

In the Philippines, a list of 238 American companies were provided by the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines and the response rate was about 17 percent, or 40 companies, at the end of the data collection period. –Ana G. Roa, Philippine Daily Inquirer