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Live in Jakarta and feel the change
Orly Mercado
Every time I am out of Jakarta where I now reside, I still encounter friends and acquaintances that still have an outdated perception of life in Indonesia. We have all accepted the mind-boggling changes China has gone through in just four decades. Those whose memories of Jakarta, are as recent as a decade ago, are in for a surprise.
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Posted
9/23/2009 6:18:51 PM |
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Japan and the politics of frustration
Michael Alan Hamlin
My take on the campaign promises of Japan's new prime minister in the Washington Times' Letter from Asia.
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Posted
9/23/2009 3:11:42 PM |
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Policy instability
Michael Alan Hamlin
Policy instability is one of four major factors responsible for the Philippines’ poor showing in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) most recent Global Competitiveness Report. The top three factors are corruption, inefficient bureaucracy, and inadequate infrastructure. Last week, we were treated to another example of policy instability with the Philippine Senate’s passage of a bill converting the Bataan Economic Zone (BEZ) into a special economic zone and Freeport. The House of Representatives previously approved a counterpart measure.
In the second quarter of this year, foreign direct investment (FDI) fell 73% from a year earlier. For all of 2008, FDI was down almost half at US$1.52 billion from 2007 at US$2.9 billion. That year, Thailand received more than $10 billion in FDI, and Indonesia took in almost $8 billion. And the Philippines’ poor record for attracting FDI won’t improve anytime soon, according to Dennis Arroyo, director for national planning and policy at the National Economic and Planning Authority.
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Posted
9/23/2009 12:23:14 PM |
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The hits keep on coming
Michael Alan Hamlin
Three weeks ago, I wrote that respondents to a business process outsourcing survey said negative perception of the Philippines could threaten industry growth. Two weeks ago, foreign investors recalled the NBN-ZTE corruption scandal when a controversial anti-corruption watchdog recommended filing charges against two government officials. Last week, business was alarmed when Monday was proclaimed a national non-working holiday without warning.
And the hits just kept on coming. The day following the disruptive, instant holiday, the World Economic Forum (WEF) released its annual Global Competitiveness Report. The Philippines’ performance in all 12 indicators worsened from last year, and its overall index fell to 3.9 from to 4.1. The Philippines ranked 87th out of 133 countries. While other Southeast Asian nations also saw their competitiveness rankings suffer, the Philippines brought up the rear. Regionally, only Cambodia fared worse at 110.
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Posted
9/18/2009 10:49:23 AM |
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Disruption
Michael Alan Hamlin
At 7:27 pm last Friday, I received word that Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had declared the following Monday a special non-working holiday. The holiday was declared to honor Iglesia ni Cristo executive minister Eraño Manalo, who was buried Monday. Iglesia ni Cristo is a Christian denomination founded by Mr. Manalo’s father in 1914. Political pundits say that the church’s estimated one million or so members vote as a block in national elections.
The decision to proclaim Monday was a political decision made by a deeply unpopular president, and raises a number of concerns. Although the line separating church and state is often blurry in the Philippines, the decision to honor the leader of a religious order whose membership accounts for slightly more than one percent of the population defies even faith-based logic, particularly in a country that has very serious productivity, investment, and economic development issues.
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Posted
9/9/2009 11:32:18 AM |
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A not-so-curious lack of support
Michael Alan Hamlin
In 2007, then socioeconomic planning secretary Romulo Neri testified before the Senate that then Commission on Elections chair Benjamin Abalos offered him a bribe to approve the controversial $329 million NBN-ZTE project. The project was meant to provide a national communications backbone for government. Following Mr. Neri’s testimony, Mr. Abalos resigned from government. Mr. Neri is currently president of the Social Security System.
The project was controversial on many levels, and further damaged already largely negative international perception of the Philippines among foreign investors, governments, and multilateral institutions. It stunned Chinese trade officials, who were treated to a bruising first-hand experience with how investors are frequently treated in the Philippines, especially when they work with government-even when investors are linked to “friendly” foreign governments themselves.
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Posted
9/4/2009 11:01:51 AM |
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