Philippine rebound to be sustained?

Interesting article published in The Edge, Singapore.

The author argues that Philippine's rebound is in fact sustainable and investors should look deeper than the "legions of cynics."  The key points in the argument are as follows:

Positives accumulating -
1. Inflation is falling
2. Country risk premium is falling
3. Economy more resilient to external shocks
4. Govt stability increasing

 Investment deterrents easing-
1. Philippines is one of the highest concentrations of minerals in the world, but restrictive regulations that were deterring investments are gradually being removed
2. Major investment in infrastructure has been announced in the new budget
3. Steps being taken by administration to enhance the investment climate - campaign against corruption, increase in BPO growth.

 However, challenges remain - weak infrastructure, high utility costs, to name a few result in Philippines ranking not too highly in international rankings. However, with good policy making, these can be overcome. Please click on link below for the full article:

Manu Bhaskaran: Can the Philippines’ rebound be sustained?
Monday, 16 July 2012

© 2012 - The Edge Singapore

What are your thoughts?

Philippines: The Sustainable Path Premiere on CHANNEL NEWS ASIA!

OceanaGold Philippines mine now fully funded

OceanaGold Philippines mine now fully funded

What Good PR Is Really All About

In April, one of the world’s most famous and successful PR companies created a massive, large scale PR campaign for a huge ‘globally diversified natural resources group’ operating in India. This marketing campaign had a vice-like grip on all possible avenues of social media in India: poster advertisements, slogans, online platforms like YouTube. It had the tagline “Creating Happiness””.

However, this whole charade was reduced to a farce in no time- ultimately and unexpectedly backfiring. Its apparent false claims and sugarcoating hid important and disturbing facts. Shockingly, despite its slew of emotionally charged advertisements, The company violated laws in mining, got clearances based on false information, illegally built refineries.

Mining companies out there need to take note of the way industry is portrayed to the public. However, what is of concern now is the second step, which is part of the publicity job: not all publicity is good publicity, especially not in this industry! We all assume that public relations do not include concealing facts in a desperate bid to change mindsets- but it’s something even the best PR companies fall prey to.

What good PR is really about then: it’s about honesty, realistic targets, and is ultimately open to criticism and suggestions. Having worked with those on the ground, its what AMEA believes in as well. According to the article “How to tell your sustainability story: the messier, the better” , good pr nowadays in fact is the opposite of spewing out positive, ambitious promises and sugarcoating. It is in fact being humble, airing your dirty laundry and being honest- in fact, it’s the only way to do business nowadays.

What we think is: go slow and steady. Progress may be quicker with easy PR, but we believe in going for sustainability and social understanding step by step.

APEC Sustainable Mining: Can Investments and Sustainable Developments happen in tandem?

About a week ago, the fourth meeting of APEC Ministers responsible for Mining was held in Russia.There was consent amongst the participating countries of the increasing importance of sustainable development in mining. Other issues brought up included  increasing social responsibility, innovations and Investments. 

What is the significance of this ? Obviously, there is a need to alter our business structures in a way that directly and sincerely addresses the issue of environment and sustainability. It’s time to get serious- social responsibility is increasing in its importance and is becoming today more of a criteria than something we can choose to address.

Another thing that caught my attention is the issue of investments. Yes, we all know and recognize the value of investments. But what value does it have in the context of sustainable development?

In countries such as Indonesia and Philippines, it is imperative to pay attention to and adapt to the economic and social situations of the country. Economic disasters, social unrest, protests- all these upset the possible flow of investment into a country that might need it, ultimately curbing the potential that investments might offer to developing the country and the industry. Investments have the power to nurture and grow sustainable development, which requires no small effort nor investments. Innovations, education, and so on- these require copious amounts of money.

So besides being vigilant, how does a country create an attractive investment climate? This issue was discussed by APEC Ministers Responsible for Mining. Governments will need to make an effort to improve living standards. Resource management is crucial to the initiative as well, as well as steps to boost regulatory efficiency and mitigate the environmental impact of the industry.

Ultimately, will making an effort to reach out to the society also help? Bridging the gap between the public and industry to strengthen ties may be the step needed to attract investors, as well as continued communications between all stakeholders.   

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