As the realization of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) gets closer, the outlook for the Philippines remains highly favorable. Indeed, our economy is consistently on the rise, buoyed by such positive predictions from institutions like the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Moody’s Analytics that the country will continue to lead Asian economic growth.
Such optimism is very much welcome as we approach the Asean integration. Enjoying growing confidence among investors, Philippine business will surely find itself productive members of the AEC.
Enabling Philippine businesses in light of the Asean integration is one of the primary forces behind the partnership of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) and the Asean Business Advisory Council (BAC) Philippines. With the main advocacy of creating awareness and preparing the country for the AEC, the collaboration has resulted with the MAP AEC Exchange last 2013, which featured forums on various issues such as increased competition and regional tariff rates, among others, that may result from economic integration and free trade (visit map.org.ph to get the full details).
2014 has MAP stepping up its Asean Integration program to encourage participation and collaboration with MAP’s AEC Engage. These series of forums will tackle the 5 Rules of Engagement that will guide all businesses in strengthening locally and expanding regionally: know the RULES, know the RISKS, know the REGION, know the RESOURCES, and know the REWARDS.
MAP is also a proud partner for the Asean BAC Philippines’s flagship program for 2014—the Asean Business Awards Philippines. As the local leg of the regional Awards created by the Asean BAC, the Asean Business Awards Philippines will recognize outstanding national enterprises, and highlight their best practices that enable them to address the challenges and opportunities of the AEC. More importantly, the aim is to establish the winners as role models of Asean competitiveness, with success stories that will inspire and rally Filipino businesses to become key players in the broader market and strengthen over-all competitiveness of the Philippines in the AEC.
The Asean Business Awards Philippines was formally launched on April 29 with the ceremonial signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Asean BAC Philippines and the Awards’ co-convenors. Leading the ceremony in launching the awards program were Asean BAC Philippines members Teresita Sy-Coson, vice chair for SM Investments Corp.; and Jay Yuvallos, president of Interior Basic Export Corp., joined by representatives from
1. MAP
2. Asian Institute of Management (AIM)
3. Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex)
4. Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and
5. Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport).
Also present at the awards were Secretary Cesar Purisima of the Department of Finance (DOF), Assistant Secretary Ceferino Rodolfo of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and Assistant Secretary Luis Cruz of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). These government agencies, along with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), serve as the Asean Business Awards Philippines’ lead convenors.
The Asean Business Awards seeks to recognize both Large Businesses and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The categories are also divided into these two groups:
1. Innovation, Corporate Excellence, and Asean Strategy for Large Businesses; and
2. Innovation, Young Entrepreneur and Women Leadership for SMEs.
Strategic partner KPMG will audit all nominations, while a select panel of 10 judges—comprised of the country’s top business leaders, economists and academics—will select the six awards recipients, one for each category.
The six winners will be announced during the Asean Business Awards Philippines Gala Night on Sept. 9, 2014. They will then represent the country in the regional Asean Business Awards to be held in Myanmar this coming November, wherein one winner per category will be selected from all the country representatives.
Interested companies and SMEs may visit the Asean BAC Philippines website at www.aseanbac.ph to know more about the Awards’ guidelines and mechanics, or send an inquiry to the Asean Business Awards Philippines Secretariat via abasecretariat@aseanbac.ph.
This is truly an excellent opportunity for Philippine businesses to promote their achievements and establish themselves as among the best in Asean. More than this, they will be able to generate even more confidence in the country, and help usher in a new generation of Filipino business leaders ready to be part of the greater Asean community.
(The author is the Governor-in-Charge of the MAP Asean Integration Committee and the MAP CEO Conference Committee. He is the Chair and CEO of EON The Stakeholder Relations Firm, regarded as the pioneering stakeholder relations firm that puts TRUST at the heart of its collaborations and dialogues with different stakeholders of its clients. Feedback at <mapsecretariat@gmail.com > and <junie@eon.com.ph>. For previous articles, please visit map.org.ph)