Commentary
Jan 19, 2012
The Philippines may not be a very competitive place, but boy is it friendly. In the Heritage Foundation’s 2012 Index of Economic Freedom, the Philippines improved its standing slightly, ranking 107 out of 179 countries. That rank puts the Philippines solidly in the category of “mostly unfree,” five places behind Cambodia and eight rungs ahead of Indonesia. Vietnam, the current darling of investment analysts, sits at 136.
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Jan 12, 2012
The Philippines became the only Southeast Asian country last week to primarily crowdsource a nation branding campaign. The long-awaited campaign is intended to increase visibility internationally for the Philippines as an attractive tourist destination, and boost tourist arrivals. The “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” tagline is meant to communicate “what the Philippines (truly) is” according to Tourism secretary Ramon R. Jimenez, Jr.
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Jan 05, 2012
If forecasts are accurate, the Philippines was the poorest performing developing economy in Asia last year. Despite encouraging signs of an economic turnaround in some western markets in 2012, the expected slow pace of that turnaround, continued economic malaise in Europe, and a broken Japanese economy suggest that the Philippines and Asia are in for another tough year. There will be less demand for exports, and tourists won’t be able to afford to travel long distances.
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Jan 01, 2012
We just left behind a year much–perhaps more accurately, most–of the world would prefer to forget. It was characterized by financial turmoil; war and the threat of nuclear holocaust; repression of basic human rights in what is supposed to be an enlightened, modern age; and a series of natural disasters that left tens of thousands dead, hundreds of thousands more homeless and stripped of their livelihoods, and local economies crippled.
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Dec 15, 2011
The year 2011 is winding down and the economy is expanding at a slower-than-expected rate, but a multinational provider of commercial aviation training services is gearing up for what it sees as increased demand for airline pilots both within the Philippines and throughout Asia. That demand is being driven by fierce competition among Philippine budget airlines, and demand for professional Filipino pilots by their regional competitors.
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Dec 13, 2011
An article in The New York Times November 25 reporting that the Philippines was, “A New Capital of Call Centers,” caused quite a stir recently. Not because of its timeliness. The first reports by Everest Group and IBM that the Philippines had surpassed India as the world’s largest provider of call center services appeared a full year earlier. But the Times report—because it is the paper of record in the United States—resonated far more profoundly with legitimacy.
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Nov 28, 2011
Mike Walsh, the CEO of consumer innovation research agency Tomorrow and author of Futuretainment, shared an interesting anecdote on consumer-driven innovation at the Globe Business Enterprise Innovation Forum last week. Somewhere in the remote interior of mainland China, his story went, a poor agriculture-based village purchased a communal Haier washing machine, and was quite pleased with its performance.
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Nov 17, 2011
The efforts of Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez to unite stakeholders in the tourism industry paid off last week with the election of a new set of trustees and officers of the Tourism Congress. The Congress is a private-sector led advisory body to the Department of Tourism (DOT) established by the Tourism Act of 2009. Stakeholders have been at odds over rights to representation in the body.
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Nov 11, 2011
A survey commissioned by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and Outsource2Philippines (O2P) revealed that while the IT-BPO industry outlook remains positive—even robust—greater brand visibility both within the Philippines and internationally is necessary to meet high-end growth targets. The IT-BPO Road Map 2011-2016 projects 20% or higher annual growth under the right conditions.
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Oct 28, 2011
IT-BPO industry executives and the consultant that led the development of the Philippines IT-BPO Road Map 2011-2016 say the Philippines’ IT-BPO industry got a major boost with President Benigno Aquino’s approval of a P500-million fund for the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). The funding will provide short-term training for “near-hire” applicants who require remedial training.
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