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News Top Stories GCC states to invest in Philippines
News Top Stories GCC states to invest in Philippines
| GCC states to invest in Philippines |
| Wednesday, 30 January 2008 23:32 | ||||||
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Vivian Yuchengco, a director at the Philippine Stock Exchange, said the commitment was aired during the investors' meeting with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, although talks are still to be firmed up for more concrete details. SWFs are entities that manage the national savings, mostly derived from high oil-export receipts in the case of GCC countries, for the purposes of investment. These may be in the form of foreign currency deposits, gold or special drawing rights from the International Monetary Fund, which oversees the global financial system. Arroyo visited Dubai on Sunday and made a pitch for the Philippines as a strategic business location for UAE investors. She cited her country's strong currency, a literacy rate of 94.6 per cent, low labour costs, skilled workers, low inflation rate of 2.8 per cent, over seven per cent economic growth and proximity to the Asian markets. Mining and energy are two of the key sectors that present tremendous investment potential in the Philippines, the world's fifth most mineralised country boasting nine million hectares of mineral deposits, according to Celeste Ilagan, executive-director for Investments Promotion Group at the Philippines' Board of Investments. She also said the country is facing a serious power shortage by 2010 if the current capacity is not increased. Arroyo reiterated her government's projected gross domestic product growth forecast of 6.3-7 per cent for this year, despite the US economic slowdown that has affected global markets. "We are performing above target, so there is no need to revise," she said in Dubai, which she left for Manila yesterday after a two-day official visit. The Arroyo administration's 2007 growth target for the economy as measured by GDP, or the sum of products and services produced in an economy in a given period, was 6.1-6.7 per cent and 8-8.3 per cent as measured by gross national product (GNP), or GDP plus income from abroad. The Philippines National Economic and Development Authority said the economy grew by 6.9-7.3 for last year, the highest in at least 17 years, bolstered by increased government spending, investments in the services sector and strong remittances from overseas Filipinos. Final data will be released next week. Ma. Victoria Anonuevo, senior vice-president of property developer Ayala Land Corporation, said her company would be a better partner for any of the UAE developers wanting to invest in the Philippines, which needs more funds for housing facilities and the hospitality sector. Felino Palafox, a Filipino architect and one of the seven designers hired to transform Dubai into a modern industrialised city in the 1970s, pitched for possible partnerships between his international company and UAE firms engaged in design and engineering for various real-estate projects. Arroyo also asked Dubai Chamber members to consider investing in the country's garment, footwear, beauty accessories, automotive parts and furniture industries, saying that the Philippines offers one of the best values for investments in Asia. She stressed that "Invest, invest, invest" are the three words that would make the Philippines sustain its strong economic growth. Obaid Al Tayer, chairman of Dubai Chamber, said the 450,000 Filipino workers in the UAE played a major part in the construction and growth of the country, particularly the transformation of Dubai into a global city. He urged Dubai and the Philippines to open the doors for dialogues aimed at increasing bilateral trade.
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