PH to share turnaround story as host of WEF

The Philippines will share with the world its turnaround story when it rolls out the red carpet for over 600 corporate and civic leaders, policy-makers and social entrepreneurs who will participate in the World Economic Forum East Asia on May 21-23. INQUIRER PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

First of two parts

MANILA, Philippines—The East Asia summit of the World Economic Forum (WEF) usually takes place in a country that’s shaping the story of the region for that particular year.

Last year’s host Burma (Myanmar), for instance, had just come out of decades of economic and political isolation and being Southeast Asia’s last frontier, business groups—including outbound-looking Philippine conglomerates—are scrambling to gain a foothold.

When Indonesia hosted the summit in 2011, it was the hottest emerging market as the commodity boom benefited the world’s largest coal exporter. At the time Thailand hosted the same summit in 2012, it was grappling with slowing exports, but intensified public spending allowed it to defy the global slowdown.

Having personally participated in all these past three summits, I’m glad to see our country hosting this year’s East Asia summit in the next three days especially at the crucial juncture that the unification of Southeast Asian markets is almost upon us. It also comes at a time that the Philippines, a laggard for a long time, has become the region’s outperformer.

Now, it’s the Philippines’ turn to share with the world its turnaround story as the country rolls out the red carpet for over 600 corporate and civic leaders, policy-makers, social entrepreneurs who will tackle the opportunities and challenges faced by the region with the creation of Asean Economic Community by 2015.

It’s the same story that President Aquino and his economic team had pitched to investors many times before—in Davos, Switzerland, last year during the President’s WEF debut at the annual meetings, in Naypyitaw, Burma, during the last East Asia summit or in sovereign road shows. It’s about this “sick man of Asia” making progress in curbing corruption as a means to drastically reduce poverty, thereby opening opportunities for consumers and businesses and promoting inclusive growth.

In the words of Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, it’s an opportunity to look more closely at what some deem as the next “Asian miracle” which is but a logical approach to cleaning up a very dirty kitchen inherited from the previous regime, and operating better because it now has a relatively cleaner kitchen.

Ahead of the WEF East Asia summit, the Philippine sovereign—which already enjoys an investment grade from all three major credit rating agencies—got a further upgrade from Standard & Poor’s, which now rates the government at one notch above the minimum investment grade. And with a growth rate of 7.2 percent in 2013, the Philippines was the fastest-growing economy in Southeast Asia, and the second-fastest in the whole of Asia, next only to China.

But it’s one thing for foreigners to hear about a good story and another thing to hit the ground to see for yourself. Some corporate leaders visiting the country for the first time, apart from picking the brains of fellow delegates, can better feel the pulse of the local Main Street: by talking to the taxi driver, the cashier at a local mall or the waitress. Some of them will probably stay for a few days after the summit for rest and recreation. When they see the countryside and talk to rural folks, they can be the better judge of whether the Philippines’ changing fortunes are gaining traction and, more importantly, being shared by more people.

Who’s coming

The theme of the 23rd World Economic Forum on East Asia, which opens Wednesday and  runs until Friday, is “Leveraging Growth for Equitable Progress,” reflecting the challenges faced by a fast-growing region, which is simultaneously grappling with persistent disparities in competitiveness and development.

Delegates will come from 30 countries, including leaders from 25 industry sectors—such as financial services, healthcare, agriculture, connectivity, social “intrapreneurship” and civic engagement. There will be at least two other heads of state or government joining Aquino: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia and  Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung of Vietnam. Together, these three represent leadership in the three most populous and fastest-growing nations in the region, said Sushant Palakurthi Rao, WEF senior director and head of Southeast Asia.

The program is built on three pillars: achieving equitable progress, advancing models for sustainable growth, and realizing regional connectivity.

“We are especially pleased to be holding the meeting in the Philippines for the first time. This is the right moment to shine the spotlight on a country which has turned itself around remarkably after years of unfulfilled promise,” WEF’s Rao said.

“All indications suggest the Philippines will be the second-fastest growing Asian economy in 2014, second only to China, and on target to be the world’s 14th largest economy by 2050. The resilience of the people and economy in the face of the devastating impact of Super Typhoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) has been truly impressive,” he said.

While the East Asia summit will formally open Wednes, most of the public events will take place on Thursday and Friday.

From the local perspective, one keenly awaited session will be Thursday’s “Philippines: The Next Asian Miracle,” which will have as part of its panel Manuel V. Pangilinan, one of the most influential business leaders in the country and Karim Raslan, a Malaysian business consultant, a writer and group chief executive of the KRA Group. He was also the founding chair of WEF’s global advisory council (GAC) in Southeast Asia.

I’ve known Raslan for many years, having been enlisted by him to be part of the same GAC in Southeast Asia and I distinctly remember him telling me—long before it happened—that he could feel a turnaround happening for the Philippines. This session, to be moderated by Young Global Leader (YGL) Karen Davila, will also have as panelists Cherrie Atilano, cofounder and president of Gawad Kalinga Enchanted Farm Agricool, YGL Kevin Lu of international business school Insead and Marife Zamora, chair of Convergys Philippines Services Corp.

Over the years, the Philippines has been uplifted by overseas remittances and business process outsourcing and I’m hoping to see a vibrant discussion on other growth sectors that the country can tap.

Sessions on education, entrepreneurship and employment as well as equitable employment are likewise keenly awaited, given the region’s demographic profile which is heavily skewed toward the young.

Tessie Sy-Coson, vice chair of leading conglomerate SM Investments Corp., will be part of the panel on the education-enterprise employment nexus on Thursday, which will discuss strategies on generating employment and driving economic growth in the region. Likewise a panelist in this session is one of the country’s most prominent social entrepreneurs, Mark Ruiz, president and cofounder of Hapinoy/Microventures.

The forum is all about tackling global, regional and industry agendas that will change the game and as Rao often says, also about creating trusts, collaborations and partnerships via multistakeholder platforms. A lot of the interesting conversations will take place outside of the sessions, during coffee breaks, side events, networking lunches and evening receptions.

It will be three hottest days this summer.

(To be continued)

(Editor’s Note: The author is part of WEF’s Young Global Leader Class of 2014.)

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