U.S., Philippine Private Sector Leaders Present Business
Priorities to President Estrada
CEO-Level Mission to the Philippines Planned for later this year
Washington, DC, July 27, 2000. Two leading U.S. and
Philippine private sector organizations today presented to Philippine President Joseph
Estrada a joint work plan to address priority business issues between the two countries.
The Washington, DC-based US-ASEAN Business Council (www.us-asean.org) and the Manila-based
Philippine-US Business Committee agreed to promote power sector restructuring and
privatization, streamlining of customs regulations and procedures, development of the
information technology industry, and agriculture and rural development in the Philippines.
Both the U.S. and Philippine private sector groups also supported the Philippines' full
participation in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), and the groups announced that they
would cooperate on a CEO business mission to the Philippines, to take place toward the end
of this year.
"Our frank and detailed exchange today shows that there is great opportunity to work
cooperatively to increase trade and investment between our nations." said Alan
Fohrer, President & CEO of Edison Mission Energy, and Chairman of the US-Philippine
Business Committee of the US-ASEAN Business Council. "The Philippines is making
significant strides in making its economy more competitive," he added, noting a
series of steps that the country has taken to improve its business climate over the past
year. These include the liberalization of its retail trade industry and an increase in the
limits on foreign equity in certain financial services and construction activities. Most
recently, the Philippines signed into a law a framework governing electronic commerce in
the country, and the Philippine Congress is also finalizing landmark legislation that will
deregulate and privatize the energy industry.
The joint meeting came in connection with an Official U.S. visit by Philippine President
Joseph Estrada. The President visited San Francisco and Silicon Valley earlier this week,
and after leaving Washington, DC, will hold a series of meetings in New York and Seattle.
As the Philippine economy recovers, U.S. trade with the Philippines is accelerating.
During January-May of this year, U.S. exports to the Philippines were up 18%, to US$3.4
billion, compared with the same period last year. Moreover, U.S. investment in the country
has increased 180% from 1990-99. "U.S. investment in the Philippines is more
diversified than in any other ASEAN country." Noted US-ASEAN Business Council
President Ernest Bower. "More than one-half of U.S. investment in the Philippines is
in the services sectors," he added. "It is clear that the comparative advantage
of the Philippines is its people. They are highly skilled, professional, and
English-speaking. This is the edge that the Philippines has over China and many of its
neighbors."
The two committees agreed to explore several cooperative activities in support of priority
issues, including a dialogue or "virtual roundtable" between telecommunications
policymakers in both countries; customs training and technical assistance programs under
the auspices of the US-ASEAN Center for Technology Cooperation (CTC); and an effort to
collect and review data and information on best practices from other countries'
experiences in power industry privatization and restructuring.
During the economic crisis, the downturn in the Philippine economy was less severe than
that of most of the countries in Southeast Asia. However, as recovery takes hold across
Asia, observers now fear that the country is falling behind. Merrill Lynch, for example,
forecasts GDP growth this year of 3.4%, compared with 6.2% for Malaysia, 6% for Singapore,
and 5.2% for Thailand. "American companies hope the Philippines holds with its solid
record on economic reform and transparency. If that effort falters, we could see the
Philippines missing its chance to emphasize its strengths and become one of the top
performing economies in the region," said Bower.
US-ASEAN Business Council is a private, non-profit membership organization working to
promote increased trade and investment between the U.S. and the member countries of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). For information on the US-ASEAN Business
Council or general information on the ASEAN region, please contact John Goyer at jgoyer@usasean.org or visit the Council's Web site at
www.us-asean.org.
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