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Thursday, October 31, 2024 Vol. 20 No. 21
P. | | 7 DAYS A WEEK
The future is now
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HAT’S trending next year? It’s the inevitable question among companies and organizations as they navigate the future with tactics and actions aimed for growth and expansion. As we conclude our Special Feature on “Facing Realities” and as part of BM’s commemoration of its 19th anniversary, our team delivers reports on how various industries are responding to the challenges of sustainability, the shift to renewable energy, the plight of migrant workers, the importance of R&D, how the
BLOOMING DEALS
aviation industry is taking off, and tourism as a vital economic driver. With nearly five more years to go before the envisioned 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the challenge of eradicating poverty and hunger, amidst climate change, continues to be as critical as ever. But we cannot do it alone. Creating a better world requires connections and community. In this edition, we cover how the efforts of players in various sectors continue to bring a glimmer of hope for our future social and economic survival.
As All Saints’ Day nears, vendors at Manila’s Dangwa Flower Market tend to vibrant floral arrangements in anticipation of a surge of customers. Despite high demand, vendors are keeping prices steady, with arrangements available from as low as P100 to P1,500, aiming to make blooms accessible for those honoring loved ones. NONIE REYES
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B R J S. A
@reine_alberto
HE national government’s (NG) outstanding debt reached a new record high in September, when it widened to P15.893 trillion, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr). Latest data from the Treasury showed the government’s outstanding debt as of end-September rose by 11.4 percent to P15.89 tril-
lion from P14.268 trillion in the same period a year ago. S “D,” A
Experts: Simple investment rules to hasten growth B A E. S J
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@andreasanjuan
RIMMING government regulations and processes is a “game changer” that will allow the Philippines to grow faster, according to a World Bank economist. Gonzalo Varela, the World Bank Group’s lead economist, noted that redundancies in government processes tend to discourage investments as it increases the cost of doing business. “You need 340 government processes to set up an inland solar project in the Philippines. Half of those are repeats, are duplicates; often dupli-
cates between different agencies or duplicates between local government and national government,” Varela said during the 2024 Ease of Doing Business Convention organized by the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA). “What this does is it discourages investments. It increases the cost of doing business in that sector. But it does something that is even more important, that is it reduces any incentive that any foreign player may want to have to come and invest in the Philippines because to deal with all these complexities, incumbents can be better because they know how the system works,” he added.
He said foreigners, particularly new investors that want to set up shop in the Philippines will take into consideration these complex rules in their business decisions. “And I would say I’m going to want to invest somewhere else, because I have that option, right? So, this is a key development challenge that can be a game changer for growth,” Varela said. For his part, Guillermo M. Luz, chairman of the Advisory Council of the Asian Institute of Management’s Rizalino S. Navarro Policy Center for Competitiveness (AIM-RSNPCC), said at the same forum that the Philippines has some 22,000 laws. “I bet if we cut 50 percent of it, we’d probably be
better off,” he added. Luz called on the government to review laws and do what is necessary to prevent duplication. ARTA Secretary Ernesto Perez told reporters on the sidelines of the forum that the Philippines is aiming to be in the top 20 percent of the 50 economies being evaluated by the World Bank’s Business Ready Report (B-READY) which gauges how well the regulatory framework and public services support businesses and how efficiently they work together in a country. “Well, we should always aim for the top, hindi S “G,” A
PESO EXCHANGE RATES US 58.2190 ■ JAPAN 0.3796 ■ UK 75.7487 ■ HK 7.4919 ■ SINGAPORE 43.9820 ■ AUSTRALIA 38.1742 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 15.5023 ■ EU 62.9755 ■ KOREA 0.0421 ■ CHINA 8.1766 Source: BSP (October 30, 2024)