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Saturday, October 01, 2005
Investments of overseas Pinoys to boost economy
If foreign investors will continue to shy away from the Philippines, the government can ask Filipinos who live and work in different parts of the world to give back a portion of their income to the country in the form of investment.
According to Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Robert Go, this is what China is doing to further increase investments in the fastest growing economy in the world.
Follow
“They have been inviting Chinese, who are now living in other countries, to visit China and explore business potentials in their motherland. This, despite the fact that it (China) is now the favorite destination of foreign direct investors. We should follow this marketing approach and invite balikbayans to invest in the Philippines,” he told a press conference on Thursday.
Go was among the 100 businessmen of Chinese lineage who toured China recently on an invitation from the Chinese Government. There were nine delegates from the Philippines, three of them, including Go, are from Cebu.
“I admire the way the government officials talk about their provinces.
They are like salesmen of their own provinces. Our government officials should follow this example,” he said.
Give back
During the third Global Filipino Networking Convention last January, Loida Nicolas-Lewis of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations spearheaded the creation of the Confederation of Global Filipinos, which aims to bring together the more than eight million Filipinos who live abroad and encourage them to “give something back to their motherland.”
One of the proposals discussed during the convention is for each balikbayan to deposit at least $1,000 in any of the banks in the Philippines.
Lewis, who lived in the US after marrying an American, has invested in a school, hotel and mall in her hometown, Sorsogon. The first Asian woman to pass the United States bar without a US degree, she is the chairperson and chief executive officer of TLC Beatrice Foods (Philippines), which operates fresh meat processing plants in Calamba, Laguna; Naga City, Bicol and Cagayan de Oro.
Can’t compete
Meanwhile, Go said the Philippines has no other choice but to stop looking at China as a competitor.
“We can’t compete with China. So, we have to start looking at that country as our partner,” he said.
Go said a shift in economic power from the West to the East is not impossible with China’s aim to overtake the US eco-nomy and become the biggest economy in 2020.
He said with the 100 percent growth in gross domestic product of some progressive provinces in China like Shenzen, Guangzou, Shanghai and Chungqing, China can achieve its goal. (JBN)
(October 1, 2005 issue)
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