MANILA, Philippines - The government needs to have stable policies if it wants to continue to attract investments to achieve economic growth, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said.
In a statement, PCCI president Miguel Varela said investors are attracted to pour in long-term capital in a country where they can assume a level playing field and a fair return.
“Because corporate strategists are operating in real time everyday in conditions that shape either opportunity or stagnation, clarity in ground rules is critical in formulating operating plans,†he said.
At the 30th Philippine Business Conference (PBC) scheduled on Oct. 21 at the Manila Hotel, participants will discuss how the business community can push government to work on creating an environment that will encourage more investments and businesses to be created.
Varela said in a telephone interview that based on the discussions at the PBC, the PCCI would make recommendations to the government on how to continue to get investments and make the country’s economic growth sustainable.
He said that while there has been a lot of positive developments in the country since President Aquino was elected, such as the strong pace of economic growth and investment grade rating upgrades from debt raters Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, it is necessary for the government to work to sustain these gains.
The Philippine economy grew by 7.5 percent in the second quarter, driven by the services sector, as well as manufacturing and construction. This brought the first semester growth to 7.6 percent.
“All the efforts that we are seeing now to fight corruption, all these must be continuous,†Varela said.
He said the government must also continue to actively promote the Philippines as an investment destination and work on improving the country’s competitiveness by addressing gaps in infrastructure as well as reducing the time and cost of doing business.
“Improving our competitiveness is important for this is what will keep us moving forward to continue to attract investments,†he said.
He also said providing support for the country’s various industries would be crucial if we want to make the country more competitive.
Local firms, he noted could better compete with firms from overseas if they know how to take advantage of the free trade agreements the country has entered into.
So far, the country has signed free trade agreements with Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
As a member of the ASEAN, it has also entered into free trade agreements with China, Korea, India, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.