Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: The Philippines: Asia’s Next Big Thing?

http://www.thefinancialist.com/the-philippines-asias-next-big-thing/
 
 
The Philippines: Asia’s Next Big Thing?
 
In the Philippines, developers are putting up luxury condo towers 
bearing names such as Starck and Trump. Japanese firms, including Canon, 
are building new plants. Work crews are preparing to improve run-down 
airports and pour concrete for new highways.
 
Construction is the most visible sign of growth in the Philippines, a 
group of islands in Southeast Asia that was long shunned by foreign 
investors concerned about political instability, crime and corruption. 
Now it looks set to succeed Indonesia as the next hot destination for 
investment.
 
The headlines have been eye-catching: The Philippines’ 2012 GDP growth 
was more than 6 percent, while inflation was around 3 percent. The 
country’s stock market soared 33 percent last year, and its currency 
rose about 7 percent against the U.S. dollar. The country’s leaders and 
many foreign banks are confident that 2013 will bring an 
investment-grade credit rating.
 
“I think people had sort of forgotten about the Philippines … they fell 
off the radar because governance problems and political instability 
masked their assets,” such as untapped mining resources and a youthful 
population, Credit Suisse economist Santitarn Sathirathai said.
 
“Now (the Philippines) are back on the map, and I think that the impact 
of investor visibility could be significant,” he said.
 
Progress has come on several fronts. The government has signed a 
preliminary peace agreement with Muslim rebels, which could end a long 
insurgency and improve the investment climate.
 
While previous President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has battled several 
corruption charges, current leader Benigno Aquino III has vowed to crack 
down on such abuses, encouraging investor confidence.
 
The Philippines, which has many English speakers and a focus on services 
such as business process outsourcing, has a new opportunity to compete 
with China for manufacturing jobs amid rising Chinese labor costs.
 
Last year, as a territorial dispute between Japan and China sparked 
anti-Japanese protests in China, Japanese investment rose more than 10 
percent via the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, which promotes 
investment in export-producing industries. Many Japanese companies are 
expanding their Philippines presence – Canon Business Machines Inc., for 
example, is at work on a plant to build laser printers.
 
Meanwhile, the government is pushing public-private partnerships to 
improve or expand expressways, airports and schools, while real estate 
developers are targeting a growing middle class and wealthy Filipinos 
eyeing prestige properties. Developer Century Properties Group is at 
work on several such projects, including the Trump Tower Manila and a 
residence conceived with Philippe Starck’s residential design company.
 
Yet the Philippines, coming from so far behind many of its neighbors, 
faces big challenges ahead.
 
Though the government is working on infrastructure, there are still 
deterrents for business people, such as worn-out airports and poor 
telecommunications, says J. Alfonso de Dios, a Filipino who has 
companies both in China and his home country.
 
De Dios, whose TVCXpress Manila sends digitized TV commercials and 
program content to local TV stations via exclusive broadband lines 
within the Philippines, says the country’s Internet infrastructure is 
not designed with wide bandwidths to accommodate large files. He says 
that it would actually be much cheaper to send the video packages his 
company produces from his Philippines office to a neighboring country 
with stronger bandwidth, and then back to his clients in the Philippines.
 
Tourism is another area where the country could stand to ramp up 
infrastructure. While the Philippines boasts thousands of islands and 
some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, less than 2 percent of GDP 
revenue comes from tourism, compared to 7 or 8 percent in Thailand or 
Malaysia, Credit Suisse’s Sathirathai said.
 
The country is pushing a new tourism campaign with the slogan, “It’s 
More Fun in the Philippines,” and a big casino complex is set to open in 
Manila Bay. Bill Barnett, the managing director of tourism consultancy 
and research company C9 Hotelworks, questions whether casinos are 
enough, and says it might be wise to diversify with theme parks or other 
attractions for middle-class, multi-generational Asian families.
 
The Philippines – which, like Japan, is in the midst of a territorial 
dispute with China – also needs to lure tourists from China, who prefer 
Thailand and Indonesia, Barnett said. The country is betting big on 
gaming, and if the Chinese don’t come, who will?
 
“The attitude toward the Chinese needs to be, ‘Let’s kiss and make up – 
and by the way, please come visit,’” he said.
-- 
Namib
.....
αἱ ψυχαὶ ὀσμῶνται καθ᾽ Ἅιδην (Eraclito)

 The Philippines: Asia’s Next Big Thing?
 
se Noynoy avesse a disposizione i plotoni di esecuzione per liberarsi
della corruzione, potrei anche crederci.
 
Ha avuto qualche successo (ha inqlato il giudice Corona, costretto in
clinica l'ex Arroyo e approvato dopo 17 anni la legge sulla
pianificazione familiare).
 
Ma le cose vanno troppo lentamente.

 Ha avuto qualche successo (ha inqlato il giudice Corona,
 
chissà perchè i dhimmi profughi hanno così in odio i giudici....

 chissà perchè parlo di cose di cui non mi intendo
 
c'e' un'autorevole ipotesi a riguardo.