Industry & Retail
From The Report: The Philippines 2015
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The administration of Benigno Aquino III aspires to achieve inclusive, broad-based growth, a goal which necessitates a strong manufacturing base that presents employment prospects for skilled, semi-skilled and low-skilled workers. The country’s demographic dividend, attractive workforce, projected economic growth and the continued improvement of its business environment are combining to generate investor interest. ASEAN integration offers newfound market access to a wide and emerging consumer base, and the Philippines will need to ramp up its manufacturing competitiveness to ensure it becomes a net exporter, rather than a pure importer, of value-added products moving throughout the region.

This chapter contains interviews with Hikosaburo Shibata, President and CEO, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines; and Ben Chan, Chairman and CEO, Suyen Corporation.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Reviving the Philippine industrial sector
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Growing an impressive 7.2%, the Philippines was one of Asia’s best-performing economies in 2013. As growth has given rise to increased business activity and boosted consumer spending power, the question that arises is whether this newfound domestic demand will be for goods and materials produced locally or exported from abroad. This is an issue that will become even more important in 2015 as ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) integration further opens the market to imports from regional manufacturing powerhouses. While the Philippines boasts a large domestic population, a competent and proficient workforce, and proximity to fast-growing Asian…

Interview

Hikosaburo Shibata, President and CEO, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines: Interview
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Interview:Hikosaburo Shibata The Philippines is among the fastest growing car markets in Asia. What is driving this growth, and what characterises the domestic market? HIKOSABURO SHIBATA: Sustained economic growth and subsequent higher disposable income for Filipino households has generated significant growth momentum and opportunities for expansion in car sales. In 2014 the January to October period saw total demand for car sales grow by 28%, outpacing the performance of similarly sized…

Interview

Ben Chan, Chairman and CEO, Suyen Corporation: Interview
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Interview: Ben Chan How has retail liberalisation altered the domestic landscape, and what role has franchising played in bringing foreign ideas to the market? BEN CHAN: The results of retail liberalisation have been nothing less than dramatic. The retail landscape of the Philippines is barely recognisable from the way it was just 10 years ago. Whereas many Filipinos used to travel to Hong Kong or Singapore for a global shopping, dining and leisure experience, now we have all of that in Metro Manila. The…

Analysis

The Philippines works to establish a stronger base for vehicle and components manufacturing
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In 2013, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was allocated P2.3bn ($51.8m) from the Department of Budget and Management towards its manufacturing resurgence programme. The programme will support the implementation of a number of industry road maps that have been formulated by the Board of Investments (BOI) with input from technical working groups including industry representatives. In all, 22 manufacturing road maps have been submitted to the DTI-BOI so far. One stand-out programme is the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS), which is receiving attention in light of the multiplier effect a strong domestic vehicle and…

Analysis

New growth segments emerge in the Philippine electronics industry
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Prior to the business process outsourcing (BPO) boom that took hold in the early 2000s, the semiconductor and electronics industry had served as the country’s main economic growth driver for nearly four decades. At its peak earnings in 2010, with export receipts of $31.44bn, it accounted for 61% of exports, a ratio that by 2013 had dropped to 40% ($21.8bn). “Although we still make up the largest export category, our concern is not about percentage contribution, as we are happy to see other export categories grow as well, but about the fact that overall the industry is on the cusp of a downtrend,” Dan C Lachica, the president of the…

Overview

Rising incomes bode well for the Philippine retail sector, while mall expansion moves outside the urban centres
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With a young, rapidly growing and consumption-driven market of nearly 100m, an expanding middle class and positive consumer sentiment, the Philippines’ demographic and socio-economic status makes it one of the region’s more promising retail destinations. Consultancy A.T. Kearney, in its 2014 Global Retail Development Index, ranked the Philippines 23rd out of 200 emerging economies evaluated, based partly on expectations of retail sales growing 10% per annum for the next three years. The report predicts another five to 10 years before the market approaches maturation, making the coming period the optimal time for new entrants seeking…