The Philippines continues to lag behind its ASEAN neighbors in terms of attracting foreign direct investments.
Of all the Asian (not just ASEAN) countries, the Philippines is the most westernized. Foreign investors will not totally feel away from home in the Philippines.
Admittedly, the perceived presence of terrorism and threat of communist and islamic fundamentalist rebels make the Philippines unattractive for foreign investors.
But consider the following:
1. Our country is now beefing up security against terrorists nationwide. The recently-passed Anti-Terrorism Law is proof that the country is serious in solving the problem of terrorism.
2. The islamic fundamentalist rebels are found strictly in a remote island in the southernmost part of the Philippines.
3. Likewise, Communist rebels are concentrated only in very few remote places
4. Investments in business process outsourcing (BPO) have been increasing yearly for the last 5 years. The BPO industry is expected to be a US$10 billion industry by 2010.
The safety concerns of the prospective foreign investor will be met by:
1. Locating the business inside one of many economic zones (ecozones), nationwide, like Subic Bay and Clark Air Field, or
2. Locating the business in key cities, outside Manila.
Aside from BPO, one promising area of foreign investment here is mining. One consultant compared assessed the potential of mining in the Philippines – if call centers were retail stores, mining companies are shopping malls.
