Saturday, August 02, 2008 CV biz sector ‘optimistic, cautious’
VARIOUS industries in Central Visayas are still optimistic about the economy but most of them said they are “cautious” with where it is going.
This was the result of the second business expectation survey conducted this year by the Department of Economic Statistics (DES) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The survey is being done on a quarterly basis and determines a region’s business outlook for the succeeding quarter.
The opinion testing survey contained “yes or no questions” that were answered by a company’s finance officers, accountants or the company president, said DES deputy director Ludivinia Gador.
She added that the results of the survey will help guide BSP’s monetary board in formulating its policies.
Gador, however, confirmed that the results showed a “conservative” but positive outlook to the economic environment.
“Tight economic conditions due to the issues affecting globally were felt by majority of businesses in the country as the business expectations turned more cautious although still optimistic,” Gador said in her presentation yesterday, citing that the region’s expectations for the third quarter dropped to 25 percent.
In the same data presented, respondent firms from the Central Visayas also indicated that they expect company operations and employment to weaken this quarter.
“Executives in Region 7 also anticipated a stronger peso, higher inflation and higher borrowing rates for quarter two and quarter three of 2008,” she added.
The data also showed that the inflation rate in Central Visayas and Eastern Visayas as of June this year were higher compared to 11.4 percent inflation rate nationwide.
Central Visayas posted a 12.4 percent inflation rate and Eastern Visayas had 14.4 percent.
In an interview with Sun.Star Cebu, Gador explained that since the companies are “still confident” about the economy, expansion plans for this quarter will still push through.
Appreciation
Yesterday, the BSP regional office in Cebu hosted an appreciation lunch for its private partners who were also respondents of the survey.
Halsangz Plating Cebu Corp. and Merasenko Corp., locators from the Mactan Economic Zones, were also awarded as the
top two regional respondents for the year.
Halsangz was also awarded as the best respondent of the year in 2006.
The winners were judged based on a 100 percent response rate during the four quarters of last year. The criteria also included timeliness of submission, completeness of answers and consistency in details.
Monetary Board Member Juanita Amatong, in her keynote address, also emphasized the need to celebrate BSP’s partnership with the private sector since the relationship is considered critical during “the challenging times.”
BSP, said Amatong, makes full use of all available information from different sectors to come up with consistent economic condition indicators and sound economic policies.
“The results will also (allow the BSP) to monitor the country’s vulnerability to external shocks,” she said. (DME)
