‘Now is perfect time to invest in Phl’

MANILA, Philippines - Mall and banking conglomerate SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) is encouraging foreign investors to put their money in the Philippines, saying now is the perfect time to invest in the country.

“We have been under-looked at and under-valued in the last five years, yet we have been growing at five percent GDP. With our current President, we have had a remarkable improvement in governance,” SMIC vice chair Teresita Sy-Coson told the 14th Global CEO Conference in Singapore.

Coson said the Philippines has a young population, between the ages of 21 to 35, with a huge earning capacity and a large overseas Filipino working base that consistently remit earnings to their families and in turn help the country’s economy.

“The Philippines is unique and it needs to be looked at with a long term view, longer than a two- to three-year window,” Coson said.

“As a domestic investor, I am very optimistic. There is a lot of liquidity for our size in the Philippines. If you look back at the country’s economic history, we have had steady growth,” she added.

SMIC is the holding firm for the businesses of tycoon Henry Sy. The SM Group’s businesses include real estate, retail and banking. The Sy family is also expanding in other areas such as energy and infrastructure.

Other Filipinos who were invited to join and carry the Philippine flag in the annual Forbes Global CEO Conference were port and gaming mogul Enrique Razon of the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), former senator Manuel Villar Jr., chairman of the Villar Group; Filinvest Development Corp. president and CEO Josephine Gotianun-Yap, and the Antonio Family of Century Properties.

It is the 14th year of the Global CEO Conference, an event where movers and shakers from more than 31 countries meet, discuss, brainstorm and network.