SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) vice chair Teresita Sy-Coson has urged foreign investors to take a look at the Philippines, telling a conference of global expatriates that now was the best time to invest here.
Speaking at the 14th Global CEO Conference in Singapore, Sy-Coson said that over the last five years under President Aquino, the Philippines grew an average 5 percent as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP).
“We have had a remarkable improvement in governance. Our population is young (between the ages of 21 and 35) with a huge earning capacity and a large overseas Filipino working base that consistently send remittances to their families. This, in turn, helps our economy,” she said.
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“The Philippines is unique and it needs to be looked at with a long-term view longer than a 2- to 3-year window. Given that we are a strong service-oriented economy, the BPO industry is a natural fit,” she said.
She added that “as a domestic investor, I am very optimistic. There is a lot of liquidity for our size in the Philippines. If you look back at the country’s economic history, we have had steady growth.”
Moderator Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes Magazine, led the panel discussion on “Profit for Tomorrow’s Growth” and dissected the various innovative and opportunistic investments and wealth strategies while also asking about the effects of technology and geopolitical tensions in Asia.
Other Filipinos who attended the Forbes Global CEO Conference were Enrique Razon of International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), Manuel Villar Jr. of Starmalls Inc. and Josephine Gotianun-Yap of Filinvest Development Corp. and the Antonio family of Century Properties.
This was the 14th year of the Global CEO Conference where movers and shakers from more than 31 countries came to meet, discuss, brainstorm and network. This year’s theme, “The Next Horizon”, qualified and put into context “progression” from the eyes of these CEOs who were directly responsible for and whose very decisions cause abundant and progressive opportunities and disruptive risks, which were sometimes necessary as a corrective measure to shape the future.