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THE
government remains confident that the country can still
achieve First World status since the major ingredients
to secure growth are already in place, according to the
National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and Neda Director
General Romulo Neri said the recent investments of
multinational companies and the numerous infrastructure
projects being undertaken by the government are already
in place, and must only need to be replicated.
“We can
become a First World country, but we need to replicate
the growth achieved by India and China. But with all
these things happening, what remains is multiplying all
of these,” Neri told an open forum in a press conference
at the Neda on Wednesday.
Neri
said investments by big multinational companies like
Texas Instruments, shipbuilder Hanjin Shipping and
logistics firm Cosco, are just some of the biggest
projects in the country to date which could help
encourage more foreign direct investments (FDIs) to come
into the Philippines.
The
country could replicate the Subic free port in places
such as Cebu, Davao and Ilocos; develop the mining
sector; and continue to grow the business process
outsourcing (BPOs) sector and increase oversease
Filipino workers (OFWs) remittance levels, said the
socioeconomic planning chief.
The
projects were identified in the Comprehensive and
Integrated Infrastructure Program (CIIP), a list of
infrastructure projects to meet the goals and objectives
set forth in the 2004-10 Medium-Term Philippine
Development Plan.
The
government is looking at P2.02 trillion worth of funding
from the national government, private sector, local
government units, government financial institutions, and
government-owned and -controlled corporations to
bankroll infrastructure projects from 2006 to 2010 and
beyond.
It is
also banking on the growth potential of sectors such as
the BPOs, real-estate and tourism-related industries to
propel growth.
The Neda
said these industries rely on the projected increase in
demand in OFWs in the world and workers in the BPO
industry.
The Neda
said dollars earned from BPO companies in the country
may even exceed OFW remittances in the long term.
This is
possible, said Neri, given that OFW remittances only
grow by around 15 percent a year, while the BPO sector
grows at 30 percent to 34 percent a year.
“Eventually, earnings from the BPOs could outpace OFW
remittances but not any time soon,” Neri said.
Neda
National Planning and Policy Staff Director Dennis
Arroyo said the growth in the BPO sector may well be
considered “a new wave of OFW remittances” but the only
difference is that the workers stay here.
Neri
added that the growth trend in the Philippines is
expected to come from the BPOs, information technology,
telecommunications and similar fields.
Arroyo
said cyberspace alone can be a gold mine for the
Philippines. Anything that can be uploaded can be done
or designed here in the country and sent to other parts
of the world electronically.
“The
potential is huge. The only problem is the
qualifications, whether we have a skilled work force or
not,” Neri stressed.
Based on
Neda forecasts, the BPO industry will employ as many as
920,764 Filipinos by 2010. Most of these workers will be
employed in BPOs that have call or contact centers, back
offices that offer value-added services to clients, and
offer medical- transcription services.
However,
Neda did not discount the fact that there will also be a
high demand for OFWs, particularly in the medium term.
Neda data showed that high demand abroad will come from
health care and social services, merchant marine and
construction.
For
hotels and restaurants abroad, the Neda projects that as
many as 212,511 OFWs will be needed for this sector
alone.
The Neda
explained that the real- estate industry is experiencing
a new wave of growth as OFWs and BPO employees begin
looking for new homes, BPO companies look for office
spaces, and retail companies look for places to build
more malls.
The
tourism industry is also expected to reel in dollars as
tourist arrivals from January to May 2007 are up by 7
percent and the construction of airports, particularly
in the Central Philippines super-region, will usher in
more tourists to the country. |
