RECENT economic reforms have raised confidence in the Philippines prospects, though ease of doing business remains the main challenge in attracting investors, business leaders said.
“I’m actually very cautiously optimistic. The government has I think made really good strides in enacting the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code for one, and the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) law,” according to Cosette V. Canilao, president and chief executive officer (CEO) at Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc.
In an appearance at the BusinessWorld Forecast 2025 forum on Tuesday in Taguig, Ms. Canilao said: “We need to be able to leverage (the reforms). A lot of businesses, and manufacturers in China will be looking for other countries to locate to. We should take advantage of that.”
Ms. Canilao pointed to the “huge infrastructure gap,” calling it an investment opportunity for companies.
“Transparency and consistency in enforcing those contracts is a deciding factor in how we invest, and what we as a country need to work on,” according to Ms. Canilao, the former head of the government’s PPP Center.
US President-elect Donald J. Trump said he will impose 60% tariffs on US imports of Chinese goods, as well as up to 20% tariffs for all other imports.
George S. Uy-Tioco, Jr., chief financial officer at GT Capital Holdings, Inc., said the private sector is “quite positive about the trajectory that we’re on.”
“We anticipate headwinds in the years to come, especially as geopolitics begin to play a very important role and it’s a risk that I think we need to manage,” Mr. Uy-Tioco said.
Alberto de Larrazabal, chief finance officer, senior managing director, and finance group head at Ayala Corp., also cited ease of doing business and competitiveness as among the many factors proving to be challenging in attracting foreign investment.
“When we think about ourselves as an investment destination, I think we have to think about how competitive everybody else is in trying to attract foreign investments,” he said.
He also noted that the PPP framework is expected to jumpstart the economy by attracting foreign investments and technology transfer.
“The one thing that I think is important is the speed by which we execute,” he said, noting this is the “most important signal” to send to the foreign investor community.
Maria Carmela Laarni G. Felicidario, CEO of Global Dominion Financing, Inc., added: “In the financing industry, the challenge for us is to really invite more investors to fund our working capital requirements which we will need to lend to our SMEs.”
“We need to work together with our stakeholders, with our partners, and with the government in fostering inclusive growth,” Erwin G. Pato, executive vice-president treasury, finance and planning at SM Investments Corp. said. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante