Exporters’ confidence level is improving

Philippine exporters' confidence level is rising and the outlook for increased international trading has turned more optimistic this quarter. According to the Business Expectations Survey of the Central Bank of the Philippines, international commodity trading businesses were more optimistic in the fourth quarter. The survey noted that exporters showed the “biggest improvement in sentiment” because of the improved investor confidence and introduction of new products in the market.

The optimistic outlook were attributed to: the increase in orders and start of new projects leading to higher volume of production; the expected increase in consumer demand during the Christmas and palay harvest seasons; expansion of businesses and new product lines; and the favourable macroeconomic conditions in the country, particularly low inflation and interest rates, higher foreign investment inflows and the steady stream of overseas Filipinos’ remittances. Other factors that are contributing to the optimistic sentiments are the introduction of new and enhanced business strategies; the possible further credit rating upgrade for the Philippines; and the continued confidence in the administration, writes Lee Chipongian for Manila Bulletin.

Best countries to do business: Philippine beats China, India

The Philippines placed 87th best place to do business in the world in the 2012 Forbes “Best Countries for Business” list, as it retains its spot in the rankings of 130 countries worldwide. The Philippines beat China and India, which ranked 96th and 97th respectively. Other Asian countries ranked ahead of the Philippines such as Malaysia (31st), Thailand (67th) and Indonesia (76th). Among the 11 factors that the list considered, the Philippines performed better in the following: monetary freedom, innovation, investor protection, market performance, property rights and technology, reports Rappler News.

Foreigners upgrade outlook on Philippine

More international institutions have upgraded their economic outlook on the Philippines due to stronger-than-expected economic momentum as manifested by the 7.1 per cent third quarter economic growth. According to ING Philippines economist Joey Cuyegkeng, estimates that overall full-year growth rate at 6.3 per cent from its initial 5.9 per cent estimate. London-based think tank Capital Economics also expected the Philippine economy to expand by 6.3 per cent this year, upgrading its outlook from the previous forecast of five per cent, writes Doris Dumlao for Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Philippine is top choice for ‘offshoring’

The Philippines topped India and China in the top three global shoring locations for corporations based on the number of jobs created in shared service centers, call centers and technical support centers from 2008 - 2011, in a new report by global real estate adviser Jones Lang LaSalle.

The Philippines attracted 115 projects during that period, creating more than 72,000 jobs; India attracted 105 projects with 64,370 jobs and China, 56 projects with 25,455 jobs, said the JLL report “Onshore, Nearshore, Offshore: Still Unsure?” released last week.The other top locations and the number of jobs created were: 4. United Kingdom (22,304); 5. United States (18,594); 6. Brazil (13,964); 7. Poland (13,476); 8. Mexico (11,515); 9. Romania (11,438), and 10. Costa Rica (8,878), reports The Philippine Star.

The Securities and Exchange Commission to dialogue anew on foreign ownership rule

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is holding another public dialogue on foreign ownership of companies early next year, before the initial draft of the foreign ownership rule is released in June. The first public dialogue was held last November 9, 2012 regarding the rule on foreign ownership, and the agency received various comments and reaction from different business sectors and the Philippine Stock Exchange, writes Madelaine B. Miraflor for The Manila Times Online.