We are now a week away from the official launch of the ‘Make it Happen in the Philippines campaign’. To make sure you don’t forget, save the date in your calendars.
Makati city skyline. Makati city is one of the most developed business district of metro Manila and the entire Philippines.
Campaign Launch Event Join us on 24 November 2020
The international campaign launch event will include a number of high profile speakers and partners, such as officials of the Philippine government and members of the international and Philippine business community.
We will be joined by key government officials, including President Rodrigo Duterte who will deliver a keynote speech to members of the local & international business community and media You will find out about business opportunities in the country and our attractive business environment. You will also hear how the Filipino workforce’s resilience and determination have contributed to the expansion and success of foreign companies in the Philippines despite the pandemic.
Celebrate with us virtually by joining the interactive online event on 24 November 2020 via Zoom, simultaneously live-streamed on Facebook and LinkedIn: 3:00 PM (Philippines/China)4:00 PM (Japan/ Korea) 7:00 AM (UK) 8:00 AM (Europe) 11:00 PM (US – West Coast)
We are pleased to present The Michael Page Philippines Salary Benchmark 2020 Report
Philippines progresses with game-changing reforms
“Digital transformation continues to be a hot topic, and those bringing a solid track record in this area should garner more advantage”
Carla Lastimosa , Director , Michael Page Philippines
One of Michael Page’s newest focus markets in Asia-Pacific, the Philippines presents significant opportunities for our partners This is in view of its recent return to stability and growth as well as the possibility of an even stronger decade ahead
With a 10-year average GDP growth of 5.5%, and the World Bank forecasting growth of 61% and 62% in 2020 and 2021 respectively, we believe our growing range of focus markets will continue to show promise, in spite of mixed predictions on the global front
Fortunately for the Philippines, lower inflation rates and a host of business incentives have seen more global businesses enter the market particularly those in the Technology, Manufacturing and FMCG areas We foresee continued strong opportunities for returning talent who have relevant international experience to enhance the domestic workforce
As with all markets, digital transformation continues to be a hot topic, and those bringing a solid track record in this area should garner more advantage; as will those with proven technology experience. This is especially evident in a market where Finance and Sales disciplines express interest in hiring ex-tech company professionals with experience in the mobile and e-commerce spheres Hiring managers in the Philippines will continue to seek experts in Finance, HR and Marketing, particularly those with data analytics and trend-spotting abilities These hires are typically able to identify market opportunities with enough
confidence to excel at stakeholder management
In addition, we firmly believe that business leaders with a convincing growth story combined with sound organisational development strategies will see more success in employee retention
We look forward to helping you expand your business horizons even further in the year ahead
Peter Beckingham, Chairman of the PBBC, and Chris Nelson, Executive Director British Chamber of Commerce Philippines, write to the Philippines Ambassador to the UK concerning the contribution of Philippines medical staff working in the UK helping fight the Covi-19 pandemic.
Letter to Philippines Ambassador to UK
TO: HIs Excellency Ambassador A Lagdameo,
Philippine Ambassador to The United Kingdom
16th June 2020
Dear Ambassador
We want, on behalf of the British Chamber of Commerce Philippines and the U.K. arm of the Philippine British Business Council, to express our organisations’ admiration for the work of Philippine nurses and carers in the British healthcare system since the start of the virus. We know that thousands of Filipinos have worked tirelessly through the epidemic supporting hospitals and care homes, and that tragically some thirty have already lost their lives as a result.
Please could you pass on our deepest condolences to the relatives and friends of those Filipinos who have passed away, and our thanks for the work of so many Philippine workers whose hard work, commitment and bravery has helped to ensure that our health system continues to function.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Beckingham, Chair, Philippines British Business Council, London, UK.
Chris Nelson, Executive Director British Chamber of Commerce Philippines, Manila, Philippines.
Cc : Richard Graham, MP, Prime Minister’s Trade Representative to the Philippines;
Clark is a new and bustling metropolis, and is the fastest growing investment destination in the Philippines today. it is strategically located from key trading points and financial centres, a vital factor that can ensure prompt delivery of services and goods to major destinations in Asia and the world over.
It has a total land area of 31,400 hectares and is located in a region with one of the highest population and best literacy rates.
Clark has its own international airport and is master-planned to suit a work-live-play environment in one contained community.
It is considered as a major gateway to the Philippines with about 4 hours travel time to key cities in Asia and with regional flights that have onward connections to the world.
Get a flavour of Clark by watching this video
Clark has its own Freeport and nearby Special Economic Zone where there are enormous business opportunities in manufacturing, electronics, information technology, business process outsourcing, among the many profitable industries.
Clark is a new and bustling metropolis, and is the fastest growing investment destination in the Philippines today. it is strategically located from key trading points and financial centres, a vital factor that can ensure prompt delivery of services and goods to major destinations in Asia and the world over.
It has a total land area of 31,400 hectares and is located in a region with one of the highest population and best literacy rates.
Clark has its own international airport and is master-planned to suit a work-live-play environment in one contained community.
It is considered as a major gateway to the Philippines with about 4 hours travel time to key cities in Asia and with regional flights that have onward connections to the world.
Get a flavour of Clark by watching this video
Clark has its own Freeport and nearby Special Economic Zone where there are enormous business opportunities in manufacturing, electronics, information technology, business process outsourcing, among the many profitable industries.
A country of notorious traffic jams may soon start to unclog.
So says The Economist in January 2020.
Should you get up at 4am to get to work on
time, or risk
waiting until five?
That is the .question confronting many commuters in Manila, the capital
of the Philippines, which has some of the world’s worst traffic jams. Geography
is one reason. The 2m people trying to get in and out of the metropolis each
day must squeeze into a narrow strip between the sea on one side and a lake and
hills on the other; But poor urban planning and a dearth of infrastructure
investment in recent decades have compounded the problem. Filipinos spend 16
days a year stuck in jams, according to the Boston consulting Group. The World
Economic Forum ranks the Philippines 96th of141 countries tor the quality of
its infrastructure. Nearby Indonesia, another nation of thousands of islands,
is 72nd.
On January 17th the public-works minister announced that by
the time President Rodrigo Duterte leaves office in 2022, he wants to have cut
the number of cars that pass along the city’s main artery each day bv a third.
Such bold declarations have been characteristic of Mr Duterte’s approach to
infrastructure. When he became president in 2.016 he considered demanding
emergency powers from Congress to help him deal with the traffic. In the end,
he settled instead on a long-term scheme to spend 9trn pesos ($177bill) on new-
infrastructure called ”Build, Build, Build”. The focus on construction
represents a “very bold shift in government priority”, believes Vince
Dizon, a presidential adviser.
As the jams in Manila suggest, not much has shifted yet. Such
change is corning, “Build, Build, Build” involves 100 big projects.
Construction is under. way on almost half of them. In 2018 the government
introduced a law to cut red tape in permitting, partly to
speed up infrastructure investments. Some planning committees are meeting three
times as often as they used to. Twenty projects were approved in the final
three months of last year, says Mr Dizon. Impractical schemes promoted by the
president, such as a plan to link all the main islands of the Philippines by
bridge, have been quietiy set aside.
One of the biggest projects still in the works is New Clark
City, which is eventually supposed to house um people and lots of government
offices, in an effort to ease traffic in nearby Manila. The city was planned
under Mr Duterte’s predecessor, but embraced by him in an unusual display of
political continuity. The first phase was completed in November. Mr Duterte has
also presided over the opening of a new airport in the province of Bohol, and
of the Philippines’ largest passenger-ferry terminal on his home island of
Mindanao.
Spending on infrastructure has roughly doubled since the
president took office.
The plan is for it to reach 7% of GDP up from 2.6% in 2015
(see chart on next page). The austere policies of past presidents have left Mr
Duterte scope to borrow. Public debt is around 41% of GDP. He has introduced a
series of sensible tax reforms, which are expected to help boost government
revenue, and diversified the Philippines’ sources of funding. Japan has
provided some $12bn in recent years. The Asian Development Bank(ADB) is so enthusiastic
about Mr Duterte’s infrastructure plans that last year it lent the Philippines
more than any other country bar India. China has also promised $9bn for
infra” structure, although it has signed formal agreements to provide only
$9oom.
Public-private partnerships are also being used. More than a
quarter of big projects under “Build, Build, Build” will involve
private investors. Ensuring that the terms of concessionary agreements are fair, however, has been an
obsession of Mr Duterte’s administration. The president’s ongoing spat with two
water companies in Manila over their contractual rights is a case in point.
Shares in one of the firms, Manila Water, dropped to a 14-year low at the height
of the furore last month. That may worry companies that are thinking about
joining the infrastructure push.
The government says that by the middle of 2022 roughly half
of the 100 “Build, Build, Build” projects should have been completed.
Kelly Bird of the ADB says even finishing 30 would make the programme
“hugely successful”; Filipinos are well aware. of Mr Duterte’s
efforts. A survey by Pulse Asia, a pollster, for December found that 69% of
respondents thought his government was doing a “better” job of developing
infrastructure than its predecessor.
Obstacles will mount as Mr Duterte nears the end of his time
in office, however, and his political power begins to ebb. And once he steps
down there is no certainty that his successor will complete his plans. New
presidents in the Philippines often kill projects initiated by their predecessors.
In 2011 Benigno Aquino, the president of the day, cancelled 66 of.72 car-ferry
ports planned by the previous president, Gloria Arroyo, alleging corruption.
With luck, though, Mr Duterte’s successor will see the benefit in inheriting
dozens. of partially constructed projects and a host of shovel-ready ones. A
bulging pipeline of sensible projects could
The
Philippines’ GDP posted a year-on-year growth of 6.4 per cent in the fourth
quarter of last year, resulting in 5.9 per cent full-year growth for 2019. The
main drivers for growth in the fourth quarter were the trade and repair of
motor vehicles, motorcycles, and personal and household goods as well as
manufacturing and construction. Among the major economic sectors, services
posted the fastest growth at 7.9 per cent.
With
the country’s projected population reaching 108.7 million in the fourth quarter
of 2019, per capita GDP grew by 4.8 per cent.
The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of the
PH merchandise for the total trade to the UK from 2017 to 2019 is at 4.8 per
cent. PH exports to the UK increased by 2.43 per cent from 2017 to 2018, due to
the increase in the shipment of (1) tunas, skipjack and bonito, (2) other pulps
of fibres, and (3) other electrical apparatus. Similarly, PH imports from the
UK rose by 31.35 per cent due mainly to the increase in the importation of (1) parts
of aeroplanes or helicopters, (2) transistors, and (3) spark-ignition
reciprocating or rotary internal combustion piston engines for aircraft.
In 2018, the UK was the Philippines’ 22nd trading
partner (out of 222), 18th export market (out of 213) and 22nd import source
(out of 198).
Tourist
arrivals from January to November 2019 totalled 7.48 million with a growth rate
of 15.58 per cent. The UK remains the largest source of tourists from Europe and
the 8th largest market globally with 187,164 visitors arriving from
Britain last year.
The World Bank released its “Doing Business 2020” report, wherein the Philippines made a significant improvement from rank 124 out of 190 economies, to rank 95 with a score of 62.8 in this year’s report. This was the most significant improvement among ASEAN countries.
The report highlights the following reforms undertaken by the Philippines that has made it easier to do business in the country, including:
The Philippines made starting a business easier by abolishing the minimum capital requirement for domestic companies;
The Philippines made dealing with construction permits easier by improving coordination and streamlining the process for obtaining an occupancy certificate; and
The
Philippines strengthened minority investor protections by requiring greater
disclosure of transactions with interested parties and enhancing director
liability for transactions with interested parties.
The Philippines Inflation Rates
Opportunities in The Philippines for UK Companies
Economic information Courtesy of the Philippines Embassy, London
Graphic Courtesy of the British Chamber of Commerce, Manila
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