‘The strength of the Philippines is really in its people’
17 June 2017 – The Philippines is currently refocusing its energies towards deeper regional integration, partly due to recent geopolitical changes. This shift in policy has already resulted in ODA worth over $19 billion from China and Japan alone. Also FDI grew by over 40% in 2016 – China even just recently pledged another investment of $1.7bn, much of which will be used to invest in infrastructure. In fact, by 2020, 7.1% of GDP is expected to be allocated for related projects. How does this contribute to the competitiveness of Philippine export goods on a regional level and what role do PPPs play in this context? What will be the benefits in terms of the ease of doing business for risk-adverse countries such as Japan that might shy away from thick red tape and unclear policies?