By Leslie D. Venzon
MANILA, Oct. 31 (PNA) — Filipino global expatriates are being encouraged to invest now in the Philippines due to its steady economic growth.
“It is now the best time to invest in the Philippines,” Teresita Sy-Coson, vice chairperson of conglomerate SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), said at the 14th Global CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Conference in Singapore.
Coson said that in the last five years under President Benigno Aquino III, the Philippines has been growing at five percent gross domestic product (GDP).
“We have had a remarkable improvement in governance. Our population is young (between the ages of 21 to 35) with a huge earning capacity and a large overseas Filipino working base that consistently send remittances to their families. This in turn helps our economy,” she said.
Coson said the country has also a strong service-oriented economy particularly due to its business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.
She said the Philippines needs to be looked at with a long term view longer than a two to three-year window.
“As a domestic investor, I am very optimistic. There is a lot of liquidity for our size in the Philippines. If you look back at the country’s economic history, we have had steady growth,” she noted.
Other Filipinos who attended the Forbes Global CEO Conference were Enrique Razon (International Container Terminal Services Inc.), Manuel Villar Jr. (Starmalls Inc.) and Josephine Gotianun-Yap (Filinvest Development) and the Antonio Family of Century Properties. (PNA)