NEDA: Services agenda draws interest from APEC economies

CEBU, Philippines - The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said discussions on services sector at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Third Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM3) in Cebu City continue to draw interest from Apec member economies.

The services agenda will further be discussed during the Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting (SRMM) in Cebu City on September 7-8.

NEDA Deputy Director General Emmanuel Esguerra said the country's conference hosting also highlights the big contribution of services sector in Apec region's growth.

"Services -- which cover activities such as telecommunications, e-commerce, transportation, finance and banking, engineering, construction, legal, healthcare and education services -- are seen as a major contributor to productivity growth. The sector's job generation potential is also deemed important," the NEDA noted in a statement  yesterday.

Esguerra said services sector is particularly vital for the Philippines because it is its competitive advantage. Last year services accounted for 56.7% of the country's economy and 53.6% of total employment.

The NEDA said Apec economies are supporting the Apec Services Cooperation Framework (ASCF) which the Philippines has proposed.

"The interest in the framework is very high and we are working hard to ensure that the support and enthusiasm of economies and other stakeholders will continue and pave the way for its adoption," the NEDA statement quoted Esguerra as saying.

Collaboration among Apec economies and the private sector is one of ASCF's important features.

Public-private talks on services had previously been done during the SOM1 and SOM2, NEDA said.

The talks covered issues about services regulations in various markets such as electricity, finance, telecommunications and others.

Discussions on the inclusion of services and small and medium enterprises (SME) in global value chains are also being done at the margins of SOM3 in Cebu City starting last August 22 to September 6.

Esguerra said a development agenda for the services sector and regulatory cooperation in services trade will be discussed at the SRMM, led by NEDA, next month to enable technology-transfer among industries. (FREEMAN)