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Thursday, August 25, 2005
PCCI leader tells traders: Economy far from collapse
By Aurelia l. Castro
Sun.Star Correspondent
To say that the country’s economy is on the brink of collapse is a gross exaggeration, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) president Donald Dee said yesterday.
“The numbers, as of the first half of the year, say that it (economy) continues to grow. The government’s growth forecast for the whole of this year has been adjusted to a range between four and five percent. Assuming a low-end growth of just four percent is reached, that will be far from the brink,” Dee said.
Dee made a presentation on the general economic outlook of the country during the Mandaue Business Forum at the Casino Español.
He noted that a collapse means a recession or shrinking of the economy. The four percent growth despite all the noise in the political arena is far from it, he said.
While foreign direct investments had been scarce, he said local entrepreneurs and businessmen in the country continue to strive and are determined to go on with their respective businesses.
Dee described Philippine export as the country’s “saving grace” in the past 10 years with revenues that grew more than four-fold, from $9 billion to $38 billion in that period.
Despite a 15 percent decline due to a global trade slump in 2001, Dee said the country’s export industry was able to fully recover and posted a growth on sales from $1.5 billion in 2001 to $39.5 billion last year.
Remittances
He also counted the contribution of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in changing the country’s economic landscape in rural areas.
He said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has estimated that OFW remittances may hit $12 billion this year, that is, more or less P688 billion directly reaching Filipino families.
If the money is used or invested properly, the economic effect is unimaginable, he said.
“I believe that local governments and the local chambers are capable of creating a favorable climate for business and investment in their home turfs.
They can hammer our investment packages and sell those packages to investors elsewhere in the country and abroad. The strategy will disperse industries, jobs, and wealth across the archipelago,” he said.
Dee encouraged local chamber leaders to reduce red tape in their territories and help advocate fast processing of business permits.
While Dee recognizd the rise of oil prices as a serious problem, he also challenged businessmen and representatives from different sectors to look at the country’s “redeeming sides”.
He said in Metro Manila and other urban cities, call centers and other business process outsourcing operations are the in-thing. Call centers are said to have put up about 60,000 seats employing close to 100,000 young men and women as of end of June this year, he added.
“The political climate may look hazy. But the economic climate in our country is not that bad,” he said.
(August 25, 2005 issue)
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