DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/13 January) – The Philippines’ strategic location will make it a gateway to the 620 million population of the ASEAN region and five other important trading partners, Trade and Industry secretary Ramon Lopez said in his presentation Friday where he pitched for the country as a potential investment destination for Japanese companies in Asia.
Speaking before key Japanese officials and senior business executives at the Philippines-Japan Business Forum at the Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao, Lopez said the country was entering an economic “sweet spot,” meaning its labor force has more young workers.[]
Aside from being at the center of the 10-member ASEAN, he said the Philippines is also strategically closer to advanced economies like China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India, and Japan.
The Philippines has existing free trade agreements with these countries, he said.
Lopez said investors would enjoy an immense market size if they choose to invest in the Philippines.
“If you sum up the population of all those countries in ASEAN, plus six other countries, it is already one-half of the world’s population, and it covers 1/3 of the world’s economy,” he said.
The official said he believes that the young Filipino population will propel the country’s economy which will benefit in turn the foreign investors.
“If you imagine, many of these young population are empowered, educated, and with purchasing power, in effect, you will have a wider base for consumers and since they are young, it will take many years for us to enjoy and even grow further this consumer base that we have,” he said.
“On human capital, we have a rich pool of talented Filipinos graduates,” he said.
Citing the 7.1-percent gross domestic product as of third quarter of 2016, Lopez also banked on the country’s strong economic fundamentals to draw more foreign direct investments.
“It is the faster growing economy. There is a revival of manufacturing, growing by 8 percent , higher than the service sector, which continues to grow by 6.1 percent. All the positive indicators – inflation has been stable, improving our ranking in the competitiveness index, business confidence and consumer confidence on the rise, and many other positive macroeconomic indicators – have been there,” he said.
The Philippine economic team was upbeat that the business forum will bring in more Japanese investments particularly in Mindanao.[]