US businessmen still bullish on RP

Despite rising political concerns, American businessmen are still bullish on the economy, investing close to $2 billion in the power and energy sector alone.

American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) Trade and Investment Committee chairman Robert Blume said the US has steadily kept its position as the country’s largest foreign investor and number one trading partner.

The top two American investors, Blume said, are Mirant Corp. and Chevron Texaco which invested $1 billion each in the power and energy sector.

"After politically important but economically devastating 1980’s, solid growth in the 1990’s characterized by the dawning of the information age and globalization allowed for a more fluid economy and better market access.

He cited the additional investment of American cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris which opened a manufacturing plant in the First Philippine Industrial park in Batangas which will supply South East Asia with tobacco products.

Blume noted that there are three emerging trends today with respect to American investments in the country.

These are the migration of manufacturing to other countries but keeping marketing intact; maturation of large information technology manufacturing sector and the emergence of a fast-growing IT-enabled sector.

Blume said that companies which set up shop during the 1950s are relocating all or some of their manufacturing to mega factories in other countries but leaving the marketing process behind.

"This trend is motivated by the emerging global economy under a regime of lower tariff rates," he said.

Another trend, Blume said, is the maturation of the sizeable IT and electronic device manufacturing industry which accounts for an estimated 70 percent of the country’s exports and over 300,000 direct employment.

The third trend is the fast-growing IT enabled service industry which translate to the emergence of call centers, medical and legal transcription centers, accounts receivable collection centers and debt collection centers.