BSP: More jobs with PH high in global value chain

The Philippines ranks as the eighth biggest contributor in the global value chain, according to the World Investment Report 2013, a study conducted by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which was launched on Wednesday at the Great Eastern Hotel in Quezon City.

The global value chain is an international mechanism that gathers goods from different countries to produce a commodity of higher value.

Zeno Abenoja, director for economic research of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), said the Philippines has been exporting semiconductors and printing and computing equipment.

He said that ranking high on the global value chain might mean more jobs for Filipinos.

“Ang ating mga produkto ay ginagamit sa pagbuo ng final goods or services. Ang ibig sabihin nito mas maraming employment. Maraming employment na ma-create para ma-produce itong mga intermediate goods na sumasama sa global value chain [Our products are being used to make final good or services. This means more employment. More employment will be created to produce these intermediate goods that are part of the global value chain].”

Norio Usui, senior country economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), said that, besides ranking high in the global value chain, the Philippines has an economy that is also in a perfect position to attract more investors.

“The Philippine economy is now attracting many, many investors,” Usui said. “So we do need more effort to create more and more jobs.”

He added that more investors were looking into putting manufacturing branches in the Philippines.

“Chances are already open, given China’s increasing labor cost, and also Vietnam, and also the tight labor market situation in Thailand, and also Indonesia’s current situation, with the sensitive movement of the labor unions. So the Philippines’ attractiveness has been much, much improved,” he said.

According to Abeneja, the BSP sees inflation rates hovering between 3 to 5 percent as an another attraction for investors.

Usui said the government’s biggest challenge would be to pursue policies that would translate investments into jobs. –Katrina Domingo, http://www.solarnews.ph/news/business/2013/06/26/bsp-more-jobs-with-ph-high-in-global-value-chain