‘Concerns on continuity’ worry investors

Published by rudy Date posted on June 4, 2015

The Philippines has achieved so much in the last few years that the risk of “back-sliding” is a greater concern for international investors heading toward the 2016 presidential elections, a Singapore-based Filipino senior banker at ING Bank said.

Manuel Salak, ING managing director in charge of commercial banking clients and corporate finance at ING Bank NV, said investor appetite on the Philippines was still strong given its stellar performance in recent years but noted that “concerns on continuity” were emerging.

In some other Asian countries, he noted that the economic backdrop had gone too ugly in the last few years that there was no way to go but become better.

“The Philippines is risking it a little bit because from an upside point of view we can still do that but we have achieved so much that the real scare is the downside—if we backslide,” Salak said in an interview at the sidelines of an economic forum jointly organized by ING Bank and the Economic Journalists of the Philippines (Ejap).

In the case of India, Salak said this nation “can’t do any worse” while the news flow out of Indonesia had been bad in the last two to three years. Both countries suffered from large current-account deficits and in the case of Indonesia, a key commodity producer, its woes were aggravated by the slump in commodity prices.

“For us, it’s a different scenario. We’ve done very well. We’ve achieved investment grade. The stock market is at all-time high. Really the question is preservation or small progression,” Salak said.

In the last few years, the Philippines grew faster than its trend growth rate although in the first quarter of 2015, the 5.2-percent expansion—mostly attributed to the government’s underspending—disappointed financial markets.

Salak said it was important that the local private sector would keep up investing to expand their businesses. Typically, he said foreign investors would take their cue from local investors. “The first sign for international investors is if they see that the the locals are investing, still loving their country and putting more commitment,” he said.

Having said that, however, he said the flip-side was that corporate Philippines would have to go out and seek expansion opportunities in the region to take advantage of the creation of a single market under the regional bloc of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Read more: http://business.inquirer.net/193046/concerns-on-continuity-worry-investors#ixzz3c4QClhvW
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

April 2025

World Day for Safety and Health at Work
“Safety and health at work every day!”

Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations against serious violations of Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government
(NUG) of Myanmar.
Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideos

Time to support & empower survivors. Time to spark a global conversation. Time for #GenerationEquality to #orangetheworld!

Monthly Observances:

March – Women’s Role in History Month
April – Month of Planet Earth

Weekly Observances:
Last Week of March: Protection and Gender Fair Treatment of the Girl Child Week
Last Week of April – World Immunization Week

Daily Observances:
Mar 25 – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transallantic Slave Trade
Mar 27– Earth Hour
Apr 21 – Civil Service Day
Apr 22 – World Earth Day
Apr 28 – World Day for Safety and Health at Work

Trade Union Solidarity Campaigns

No to Trafficking

Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

Categories