SM supports WEF

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine conglomerate SM Investments Corp. is a partner of the 23rd World Economic Forum on East Asia (WEF-EA) to be held from May 21 to 23, 2014 in Manila.

 â€œThe Philippines continues to provide great opportunities for investments. We have been committed investors in the country for over five decades. The WEF will further highlight the opportunities that the emerging Philippines offers. We look forward to the discussions which will uncover more opportunities in the region,” SM vice chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson said.

In parallel with the WEF regional meeting, SM and BDO Unibank, Inc. are also joint gold sponsors in the 10th ASEAN Finance Ministers’ Investors Seminar (AFMIS), a key gathering hosted by the Philippine government on May 20, 2014. This year, the AFMIS aims to tackle ASEAN’s growth prospects, the ongoing initiatives of the ASEAN Finance Process to the ASEAN Economic Community, and the milestones and investment opportunities for individual economies and various country sectors. The AFMIS is held yearly since 2004 to promote ASEAN as an investment destination.

WEF noted that ASEAN is one of the fastest-growing regional economies in the world, and is one year away from launching the ASEAN Economic Community, a common market which will comprise 600 million people and have a combined GDP of nearly $2 trillion. It further noted that fresh demand in Europe and the United States, along with recently concluded trade agreements, are expected to boost production and consumption in East Asia. Almost all of the 10 ASEAN economies are expecting growth above five percent in 2014.

Headquartered in Geneva, WEF is a private-led international institution that aims to improve the state of the world through public-private cooperation in the spirit of global citizenship.

This is the first time that the Philippines will host the regional forum for East Asia. WEF cited the Philippines as “writing one of the greatest economic comeback stories in recent years”. The Philippines is poised to be the strongest performing Southeast Asian economy in 2014, with GDP growth projected to surpass 6.5 percent.

The WEF event will serve as an ideal platform for participants to deliberate the opportunities of the ASEAN Economic Community to promote greater inclusion across East Asia and to instil more resilient decision-making in the face of unpredictable economic and natural disruptions.

SM for its part is strongly committed to the Philippines, having established a foothold in the retail, property and banking businesses for over 50 years. The company continues to invest heavily in these sectors while it hones other investments to achieve sustainable growth and support the country’s development footprint.