Sun.Star Economic Forum

SUN.STAR Economic Forum  on Small Medium Enterprises was officially opened Wednesday by Sun.Star Publishing Inc. President Jesus B. Garcia.

This year’s economic forum focuses on small medium enterprises (SMEs) with the theme—“Small and Medium Enterprises: Jobs, Economic Growth”

The Philippine economy which has been fuelled by the remittance of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) has been criticized for being artificial, becuase once the jobs abroad run dry the flow of the money to the country ends.

But Garcia said this is where the SMEs come in with the development of new enterprises for the growth of the economy.

Economist Cayetano Paderanga Jr., who heads the board of the Institute for Development and Econometric Analysis and the Foundation for Integrative and Development Studies, will provide an overview of the state of the economy
and of how the country will surmount the effects of the global economic crisis.

To speak more on how SMEs can become more competitive and take advantage of the anticipated economic recovery, Sun.Star has invited Siegfried Herzog of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty and Dr. Rafaelita Aldaba of the Asia Regional Integration Center.

Herzog will provide a picture of German SMEs. Aldaba, on the other hand, will provide inputs on how Philippine SMEs can become globally competitive.