Overseas Pinoys can keep local business going

Instead of cursing the lack of buying power in the country, local businessmen can focus on the potential of overseas Pinoys, specially in America. Overseas Pinoys have consumer buying power that could be harnessed to boost the economy specially now that local purchasing power leaves much to be desired.

Overseas Pinoys could, for instance, spark a resurgence in our moribund real estate market. This is the strategy now used by Rockwell Land in pre-selling their latest project, a more affordable condominium dubbed Manansala. In a series of selling presentations in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, the Rockwell guys were pleasantly surprised to get more than a warm reception. They sold condominiums.

Even mass media directed at the Pinoy market abroad are starting to flourish. ABS-CBN’s international operations are now contributing significantly to the bottom line just when local sales faltered with the local economy last year. The same thing is happening to Pinoy newspapers abroad. Philippine News publisher Danny Gozo proudly underscored the role played by the Pinoy newspaper in America in driving business for Manila-based firms.

Using Rockwell as an example, Danny revealed that Rockwell made good use of the paper by buying advertising space to generate interest in their sales presentations. With this new focus of Manila-based businesses on the Fil-Am market, newspapers like Philippine News are starting to be more viable. Even the design of Philippine News is a marked improvement over the usual tabloids given for free in the Oriental stores.

Tapping the Fil-Ams makes sense. They have disposable income, a yearning to have roots back home and often enough, relatives who need their continued support. In the past, tapping that market consisted of door-to-door balikbayan box delivery service, money transfers and the importation of Pinoy foodstuffs. Not anymore.

The dismal business climate at home forced many of the country’s leading companies to check out the overseas Pinoy market. The scam artists discovered the market first. This is why we have all these pyramid scams, housing and education plans that do nothing more than separate the hard working Pinoys from their money. I keep on getting e-mails from OFWs victimized by these scams.

Luckily, the big guys have started to move in. Philam Plans is one of the pioneers, selling their products to Pinay domestics in Hong Kong and elsewhere. Moving up the scale to higher end products, I heard that Megaworld is also selling its real estate projects to Pinoys abroad, like Rockwell. I hear that even AMA Computer College has put up branches abroad to cater to Pinoys.

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala observed last week that our huge overseas work force has become a competitive advantage for the Philippines amid the graying of the populations of developed countries. About seven million Filipinos work abroad, sending home about $8 billion last year. Ayala estimated that "their earnings are nearly as much as the entire agriculture sector and about half the country’s manufacturing output."

This reminds me of Jessica Zafra’s outrageous dream of dominating the world with our army of maids and other workers abroad establishing the beachhead. As JAZA puts it, "we are now seen as a trailblazer in effectively deploying our workers – both skilled and semi-skilled – in virtually every part of the world. And we have now surpassed Mexico as the chief source of migrant labor in the world."

So, to all you Pinoy businessmen wondering what to do during our current economic slump, take a cue from PhilAm, Rockwell and Megaworld. Sell to the Pinoy consumers overseas. They are the ones with buying power. If you want to get some ideas, the University of Asia and the Pacific has organized a seminar on how to exploit the overseas Pinoy market, set for the end of this month. Give Bernie Villegas a call. He just may be right about this one.

Money laundering

It is amusing that some of our egotistical legislators are now bravely saying that no one can force them to rush amendments to our money laundering law to meet the requirements and deadline of an international watchdog body. That’s the trouble with many of our politicians. They think that just because they can lord it over here, the rest of the world revolves around them.

Let us see what happens after the international task force on money laundering imposes sanctions against us! All hell would break loose. In a world where business depends on instantaneous transfers of money to accounts anywhere, we would be isolated as stringent verifications would be required of us. Our international trade transactions would be tied up in red tape, causing business losses to our already hard-pressed entrepreneurs. Even the remittances of our OFWs would be mercilessly delayed, with life and death consequences for their families here.

What’s the big problem with the amendments, anyway? To begin with, our legislators should have really set a lower threshold level and lifting secrecy on suspected accounts should have been made easier. They are probably just protecting their interests, if you know what I mean.

It is obvious the law passed by Congress is not good enough and the international task force is right to reject it. They can denounce the task force for interference in the sovereign right of our Congress to enact the legislation it wants but the task force is within its rights to do what it should to accomplish its assigned task. At the end of the day, we are sanctioned not because the task force was interfering in our affairs but because our stupid legislators asked for it.

The prospects for the local economy is bad enough without factoring the impact of sanctions the money laundering task force may impose on us. Our Congress must act quickly to avert any problems. Actually, it is more embarrassing if Congress rushes the desired legislation after the sanctions have been imposed on us. I’d hate to see us groveling at their feet to get us off their blacklist.

Prescription

Dr. Ernie E sent in this one for today.

This woman comes into a pharmacy and asks for a vial of Cyanide.

The pharmacist, trying to keep a professional posture, asked what she wanted it for.

She answered, "I want to kill my husband."

"I’m sorry Ma’am," the pharmacist replied, "but you will have to understand that under no circumstances can I sell you any Cyanide."

The woman reaches into her purse and produces a photo of her husband.

The pharmacist blushes and replies, "I am sorry Ma’am, I didn’t realize you had a prescription."

(Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected])