Industry & Retail
From The Report: The Philippines 2017
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The often-overlooked industrial sector continues to largely impress investors, as manufacturing is currently one the best-performing segments not only in the Philippines, but in South-east Asia as a whole. Apart from its favourable location in a rapidly growing region, the Philippines has a distinct advantage thanks to its large, relatively low-cost yet highly educated labour force. Although starting from a comparatively low base, the value of the industrial sector – which includes the subsectors of manufacturing, mining and quarrying, construction, and electricity, gas and water – has expanded rapidly in recent years from $26m in 2000 to $86.7m in 2015.

This chapter contains interviews with Patrick Henry Go, President and COO, JG Summit Petrochemicals Group; and Jonathan C Ng, President, Republic Biscuit Corporation.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Gearing up: Industry bolstered by manufacturing and increasing demand
OBG
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The often overlooked industrial sector continues to largely impress investors, as manufacturing is currently one the best-performing segments not only in the Philippines, but in South-east Asia as a whole. Apart from its favourable location in a rapidly growing region, the Philippines has a distinct advantage thanks to its large, relatively low-cost yet highly educated labour force. In Numbers Although starting from a comparatively low base, the value of the industrial sector – which…

Interview

Cracking the market: Patrick Henry Go, President and COO, JG Summit Petrochemicals Group, on competitive operations
OBG
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Interview: Patrick Henry Go What prompted the company to build the country’s first and only naphtha cracker? PATRICK HENRY GO: The investment was made with the vision of industrialising the country. If one looks at different Southeast Asian nations, such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, they all have naphtha crackers and a burgeoning petrochemicals industry. This has been the foundation of their industrialisation, given that petrochemicals are base chemicals needed by practically…

Analysis

Pole position: Auto manufacturing set to take off as demand grows
OBG
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South-east Asia’s automobile manufacturing hubs have long centred on assembly plants located in Thailand and Indonesia, which have in turn supplied much of the imports to other nations within the ASEAN trade network. In the Philippines, the majority of the rapidly growing automotive market is still supplied by foreign imports, leaving domestic manufacturers in a bind. With automotive sales exploding since the beginning of the decade, this represents a significant lost opportunity for domestic…

Analysis

A rock and a hard place: Despite substantial mineral deposits, mining is on rocky ground
OBG
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The Philippines lies on top of some of the richest metallic mineral deposits anywhere on earth, as the country’s active geology has vast concentrated amount of nickel, gold, copper, silver and other precious metals. According to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, in 2016 the Philippines’ mining potential was ranked fifth largest in the world with 30% of its land area, or about 9m ha, identified as having high mineral potential. In all, the country’s mineral wealth was estimated at 14.5bn…

Interview

Catering to the masses: Jonathan C Ng, President, Republic Biscuit Corporation, on the fast-moving consumer goods industry
OBG
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Interview: Jonathan C Ng How can fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies align their products to match the changing nature of the Philippine market? JONATHAN C NG: Although the local FMCG market has been predominantly sachet-based due to low purchasing power and the consequent price sensitivity of the average Filipino consumer, there is also an emerging middle-income sector that is shifting the attention of the industry towards mass premiumisation trends. The accelerating growth of the middle-income…

Overview

No slowing down: Retail is expanding on the back of favourable economic conditions
OBG
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The favourable combination of strong sustained growth, a young and increasingly affluent middle class, and high consumer confidence are combining in the Philippines to create one of the most robust retail sectors in South-east Asia. With the Philippines’ growing population now exceeding the 100m mark, 6.6% GDP growth in 2016, lower inflation rates and a healthy consumer-driven market, the country presents significant opportunities for retail products and services for both well-established…