Industry & Retail
From The Report: Philippines 2019
View in Online Reader

Industrial expansion has played a leading role in the Philippines’ economic progress, with industry’s value added doubling between the 1980s and early 2000s. From a manufacturing standpoint, a number of inherent advantages make the country an enticing production base and consumer market, including its strategic location, large population, and burgeoning middle class. However, congested transport networks and the relatively high cost of power have restricted progress. Favourable macroeconomic conditions – lower inflation and increased purchasing power – have bolstered consumer confidence in the Philippines. Likewise, enhanced business strategies and new product lines have played a key role in expanding the retail sector in recent years, as has the continued development of e-commerce and smartphone penetration. This chapter also contains interviews with Satoru Suzuki, President, Toyota Motor Philippines; Gerard Brimo, Chairman and CEO, Nickel Asia Corporation, and Chairman, Chamber of Mines; and John Murphy, CFO and Former President for Asia Pacific, Coca-Cola Company.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Gears in motion: Manufacturing is to benefit from infrastructure development and the diversification of production bases
OBG
plus

Industrial expansion has played a leading role in the country’s economic progress, with value added from industry more than doubling between the late 1980s and the early 2000s. While Philippine industry is positioned further down the value chain than many of its ASEAN peers, the sector has nevertheless long served as a pillar of the national economy. From a manufacturing standpoint, a number of inherent advantages make the country an enticing production base and consumer market, including its strategic…

Interview

State of play: Satoru Suzuki, President, Toyota Motor Philippines, on the needs of domestic automobile producers
OBG
plus

Interview:Satoru Suzuki What measures could be taken to boost automobile production in the Philippines? SATORU SUZUKI: The Philippines cannot currently compete with other ASEAN members when it comes to local production costs. However, the potential for growth in the domestic market, combined with the positive economic performance of the economy, presents an opportunity for automobile companies to install production centres in the country. This is a strategy that goes beyond production competitiveness;…

Analysis

Competitive advantage: Opportunities arise amid the US-China trade dispute
OBG
plus

Rolling back decades of globalisation, the growing international trend of protectionism has disrupted cross-border trade flows. Perhaps the most significant manifestation of this is the trade war between the US and China, which has altered global supply chains, and forced governments and private firms to make difficult geopolitical and investment decisions since the dispute began in 2018. Although the trade war will undoubtedly weaken global growth in the short term and potentially slow the pace…

Interview

Potential to source: Gerard Brimo, Chairman and CEO, Nickel Asia Corporation; and Chairman, Chamber of Mines, on the need for policy reform and the potential for downstream development
OBG
plus

Interview:Gerard Brimo What is needed to encourage growth in the mining sector with a focus on value-added activities? GERARD BRIMO: The growth of the industry is being hindered by policy problems; until these are resolved there is limited value in a discussion of increasing downstream activities. The main policy problems are the moratorium on new mining permits and the ban on open-pit mining. The former has been in place since 2012 and the latter was brought into effect in 2017, despite…

Overview

In business: Consumer sentiment and retail activity are on the rise following a period of high inflation in 2018
OBG
plus

Favourable macroeconomic conditions – namely lower inflation and increased purchasing power – have bolstered consumer confidence in the Philippines. Likewise, enhanced business strategies and new product lines have played a key role in expanding the retail sector in recent years, as has the continued development of e-commerce and rising smartphone penetration. Home to a diversified retail sector, President Rodrigo Duterte believes the Philippines can become the world’s 25th-largest economy…

Interview

Better outcomes: John Murphy, CFO and Former President for Asia Pacific, Coca- Cola Company, on leveraging technology to develop consumer- centred strategies
OBG
plus

Interview:John Murphy What are the main trends in the regional sector? JOHN MURPHY: There is no better time to be in the beverage industry in South-east Asia. With over 600m consumers living in the region’s emerging economies and a growing middle class, there are many reasons to be optimistic about consumer spending. Furthermore, in the Philippines – as in many neighbouring countries – a relatively large proportion of disposable income is spent on food and beverages. As these economies…

Analysis

Connect the dots: Infrastructure development in Luzon supports e-commerce
OBG
plus

A string of new warehousing and industrial parks, in addition to new expressways and rail links, are set to boost the growth of the e-commerce industry on the most populous island of Luzon. Online retailers are eager to take advantage of the opportunities arising from improved connectivity within and between islands. Flagship public infrastructure projects, such as the Luzon Spine Expressway Network and the North-South Commuter Railway Extension, are set to improve connectivity between Manila and…