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HONG
KONG—President Arroyo is here on a three-day working
visit where she hopes to woo more investors to better
cushion the country against the perils of a decelerating
global economy.
The
President said in a statement on arrival Sunday that her
trip was to primarily address about 1,500 regional
investors and fund managers at the 11th Credit Suisse
Asian Investment Conference (AIC). “My undertaking
underscores the interest the outside world has in the
growing stability and economic fortunes of the
Philippines.”
This
year’s AIC will focus on “the outlook for China
property, the resurgent Philippine economy,
Vietnam’s
much-anticipated privatization pipeline and ‘green’
industries, such as water and solar energy and biofuels.”
Mrs.
Arroyo said, “Our Hong Kong trip is another action we
are taking to continue to bolster our economy through
more investments and to confer with vital business and
government leaders on cooperative steps we can take to
cushion ourselves in Asia against these global issues.”
The
state of the Philippine economy, at its strongest in
over 30 years according to her, makes it “imperative”
for Philippine officials to “stay focused on continuing
to strengthen our economy through aggressive outreach to
investors and to enhance our cooperation with
governments in the region like Hong Kong.”
Giving a
glimpse of what she may say at the AIC on Monday, the
President said that through her economic program, the
Philippines has diversified its economy, built up its
foreign reserves, “stimulated a surge of foreign
investment and made heavy government investments in
human and physical infrastructure,” all done “while
having the strongest balance sheet in a generation,
including being on the verge of a balanced budget.”
She
added, “One central component of our economic plan has
been steady and consistent investment by my government
in strengthening our regional political and economic
engagement. Taken together, all of these efforts—our
economic plan at home and our foreign engagement
abroad—have helped prepare us for the global economic
forces that are affecting the Philippines today.”
The
President’s address at the 2008 AIC will be centered on
“emerging opportunities for investors and the measures
being taken by the Philippines to attract more inward
investment.”
The
other main speakers at the AIC are Jesse Wang Jianxi,
executive vice president and chief risk officer, China
Investment Corp.; and Steve Hanke, professor of Applied
Economics at
John
Hopkins University.
Kai
Nargolwala, chief executive officer of Credit Suisse,
Asia-Pacific, said in a press statement the three
speakers “represent the majority of industries and
markets that are the focus of the investing community
today.”
Event
organizers expect 1,500 investors and “almost 300 of the
leading companies in the Asia-Pacific” to participate in
the conference to be held at the Island Shangri-La Hotel
and the Conrad International Hotel.
On
Monday afternoon, the President is scheduled to have
high tea and a roundtable forum with fund managers in
the region, followed by a private dinner hosted by Hui
Mao of the Shi Mao Group.
Before
she flies back to
Manila
on Tuesday, the President will meet with Gordon Wu of
Hopewell Holdings and officials of the Philippine-Hong
Kong Chamber of Commerce. |
