German firms bullish on Philippines operations

MANILA, Philippines — Majority of German firms in the Philippines have a positive outlook on business development in the next 12 months, according to a survey by the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI).

The Fall 2023 AHK World Business Outlook Survey conducted by the GPCCI last October showed 68 percent of the responding firms expressed optimism in business development for the next 12 months. This is up from the 61 percent that had an optimistic outlook on business development a year ago.

In terms of investments, 39 percent of the surveyed firms plan to invest more in the next 12 months, higher than the 35 percent that had intended to do the same in the previous year.

Meanwhile, 41 percent of responding firms are planning to invest the same amount in the next 12 months, while 16 percent expect lower investments, and four percent do not intend to make any investments.

Asked to judge local economic development in the next 12 months, 38 percent expressed optimistic evaluations, while 46 percent expect it to remain the same, and 16 percent said it would likely be worse.

The survey showed that half or 50 percent of the respondents are still optimistic about their business situation.

When it comes to local employment, 54 percent of the respondents said they would hire more in the next 12 months, while 40 percent will maintain the current workforce count.

In terms of risks to businesses in the next 12 months, energy prices topped the list at 38 percent, followed by demand and lack of skilled workers at 37 percent.

“We can see that while many of our respondents want to employ more, we see that the lack of skilled workers remains to be one of the identified top issues,” GPCCI director and policy and advocacy chairperson Marian Norbert Majer said.

“We ask the government to look at strategies and policies that promote skills development in our country that can both benefit local and foreign employment opportunities to Filipinos,” Majer said further.

The survey also showed that 46 percent of the respondents consider the possible free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and the Philippines as crucial for the success of their operations here.

Among the challenges currently encountered in terms of exporting goods and services cited by the respondents are the cumbersome customs procedures (39 percent), tariffs and quotas (37 percent), and technical barriers to trade (36 percent).