Foreign biz vows to boost PHL investments B A E. S J
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OREIGN business groups said they “look forward” to working with the Philippine government to improve the Philippines’s investment climate in light of the “new opportunities” that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) provides. “We thank the Philippine Senate for the measured and deliberate process it took in finally concurring in the ratification of the RCEP,” the seven members of the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) said on Wednesday. Twenty senators late Tuesday night voted for the Senate resolution concurring in the ratification of the mega trade deal, four votes
more than the requisite 16 votes for treaties. “We look forward to working with the Philippine government to improve the countries’ investment climate and attract more foreign investments in light of the new opportunities that RCEP provides,” the chambers noted. With RCEP being touted as the largest trade bloc in the world, the seven chambers said the Philippines’s inclusion in the trade deal “further expands the network of foreign markets accessible to Philippine exports.” Moreover, the JFC said the Senate’s green light of the treaty “reinforces the decision of many of our members to invest in the Philippines and will attract more invest-
ment from our home countries.” The seven chambers said this builds on “significant” reforms that benefit the national economy such as the (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) TRAIN 1, (Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises) CREATE, Electric Vehicles Industry Development Act (EVIDA), Philippine Creative Industries Development Act, and the amendments to the Public Services, Retail Trade Liberalization Act (RTLA), and Foreign Investments Acts (FIA). The JFC is a coalition of the American, Australian-New Zealand, Canadian, European, Japanese, Korean chambers and the Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Head-
quarters Inc. (PAMURI). The coalition said it represents over 3,000 member companies engaged in around $100 billion worth of trade and some $30 billion worth of investments in the Philippines. Meanwhile, the Makati Business Club (MBC), through its executive director Francisco Alcuaz Jr. said in a statement that it is “confident” RCEP membership “will help accelerate inclusive growth and economic recovery, and most importantly, job creation.” It added: “On top of the recent PSA, RTLA, and FIA legislation, this is a clear signal” that the country is open anew for business and jobs. “RCEP is currently the largest S “F,” A
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EXPERTS: RCEP IMPACT TO BE FELT OVER TIME ■
P. | | 7 DAYS A WEEK
Labor seeks wage hikes anew amid high inflation
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@caiordinario
ITH the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement ratified by the Philippine Senate, some economists believe the impact may not be immediately felt, if at all.
Ateneo de Manila University’s Leonardo A. Lanzona Jr. told BM that RCEP’s impact will take longer to be felt as the country needs to make institutional and technological changes. However, Lanzona said, laborintensive industries such as agriculture and manufacturing are expected to improve after RCEP if the government can support transition and other reform efforts. “RCEP will require a long-term process. What people do not realize about trade policies is that these will require both institutional and technological changes to obtain its gains. Without these changes, we will not be able to realize its maximum returns,” Lanzona told this newspaper. Lanzona said while investments in agriculture as well as industries are needed to maximize the benefits from RCEP, a more urgent requirement is to have a comprehensive plan to implement needed reforms. On the question of which industries will benefit, University of the Philippines School of Economics head of research Renato E. Reside Jr. said the fine print of the RCEP should first be examined more closely. However, Reside said the trade deal will have guaranteed longterm benefits as it will increase consumer choices. Such could even help lower food inflation in the country, he added. “I do believe this will be beneficial in the long run since this move will probably increase the range of choices for consumers and producers, which can lower S “E,” A
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ASH WEDNESDAY People from different walks of life attend holy mass in Baclaran Church on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, to have ash marked on their forehead, following Christian tradition. Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, the 40-day period that ends on Easter Sunday. NONIE REYES
ABOR groups are now demanding additional allowances, grants, and a new round of wage hikes in response to government’s alleged failure to address high inflation. Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) Vice President Luis Corral said they are now just waiting for the first quarter inflation data before filing their wage petitions nationwide next month. The data, he said, will be used to ensure their proposed pay hike “will be actionable and reasonable for both workers and employers.” The labor leader said they will demand higher minimum wage rates due to what he calls a dismal government response to inflation, which reached 8.7 percent in January, particularly for food and electricity. “Our previous position is it [wage hike] might be inflationary so let us look at non wage measures, but right now they [the government] are not addressing the non-wage issues that are confrontable and solvable in a very real way,” Corral said in a phone interview. He said they were waiting for authorities to go after smugglers and hoarders to bring down the prices of food items and for the DepartC A
PHL BANANAS STILL SAGGING ON HIGH COSTS, PESTS B J E Y. A @jearcalas
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HE Philippines’s banana exports extended its sagging trend as total volume last year plunged to a six-year low of 2.273 million metric tons (MMT) as producers grappled with production woes from high input costs to the spread of Fusarium wilt. The country’s total banana shipments in 2022 was 6.5 percent lower than the 2.432 MMT recorded volume in 2021, publicly released Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed. Because of the lower volume, the value of the country’s banana exports last year also declined by 3.66 percent to $1.096 billion from $1.138 billion in 2021, according
to PSA data. Despite the contractions in volume and value, bananas remained as the second most valuable agricultural export of the country, behind coconut oil. However, bananas fell by a notch to the 12th position in the total exports of goods by the Philippines, based on historical PSA data. PSA data showed this is the lowest annual volume and value of banana exports registered by the Philippines since 2016 when it stood at 1.733 MMT worth $730.459 million.
Alarming decline
PILIPINO Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) said the contraction in exports was
caused by lower domestic production as farmers reeled from high input costs and farms were impacted by the continuous spread of Fusarium wilt. “[The decline] is quite alarming. What is saddening is that our rank [in the global banana market] slid to number 3 from number 2,” PBGEA Executive Director Stephen A. Antig told the BM. “The only consolation we have apparently is that it is not only the Philippines that is having supply problems but also other countries,” Antig added. Antig said the industry has become “frantic” after Guatemala overtook the Philippines as the second largest banana exporter in S “B,” A
PESO EXCHANGE RATES US 55.0080 ■ JAPAN 0.4075 ■ UK 66.6642 ■ HK 7.0126 ■ SINGAPORE 41.0416 ■ AUSTRALIA 37.6915 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 14.6665 ■ EU 58.5835 ■ KOREA 0.0421 ■ CHINA 7.9872 Source: BSP (February 22, 2023)