Jt foreign chambers pleased with Phl reform program

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has made progress in undertaking recommendations of the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) to move the country to achieve faster economic expansion, but much still needs to be done  to attract more foreign direct investments (FDI) for sustained and inclusive economic growth.

Speaking at the Arangkada Philippines Forum yesterday, American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham) president Rhicke Jennings said that while results of the assessment of the government’s actions on the recommendations made by the JFC have been seen to support the country’s positive economic performance through FDIs, current efforts need to be accelerated for sustained economic growth.

He noted that based on the second year anniversary assessment of government actions, 64.59  percent of the recommendations made by the JFC have started or made progress in 2012 compared to 51.44 percent in 2011.

In contrast, recommendations which were not acted on by the government were at 35.41 percent last year, lower than the 48.56 percent in 2011

The recommendations made by the JFC are listed in the Arangkada Philippines report which was launched in 2010.

The recommendations, which span several sectors including agribusiness, business processout sourcing, infrastructure and business costs, among others, are intended to help the country to move twice as fast to attain economic growth.

“The results are encouraging and should support increased FDIs,” Jennings said.

He added though that the steps that have been taken by the government are still not sufficient.

“There can be no relaxation of our effort.The realization of the country’s potential is still a distant goal,” he said.

To ensure that economic expansion would be sustained, he said there needs to be a shift in the driver of economic growth from consumption to actual FDIs.

Investments, he said, would be made if the infrastructure gap in the country is addressed.

He noted that the country’s infrastructure spending, which is equivalent to two percent of the gross domestic product, is half of the amount necessary.

He also said the pace of reform should not just continue, but should accelerate for sustained economic growth.