‘With level playing field,
RP can draw $8-B FDI’

By Estrella Torres
Reporter

THE Philippines can attract an annual $8 billion in foreign direct investments (FDI) if business rules are firmly and fairly implemented and the government invests in its human resources to produce an increasing number of people needed by outsourcing companies, said the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).
           
ECCP executive vice president Henry Schumacher said foreign investors—and not only those from Europe— are still hurting from the government’s mishandling of the investments of German airport giant Fraport AG in the construction of the terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).
           
He said the government expropriated Terminal 3 in 2003 under three commitments made to the ECCP: that the airport would be opened soon; investors will be paid fairly; and the government will honor the arbitration proceedings in Washington D.C. and Singapore.
           
“But after three years, none of its [Philippine government] commitments have been fulfilled, including the full payment to the investors,” Schumacher told diplomatic reporters. He said the government’s $3 billion in annual FDI target could even reach $8 billion ‘provided that rules in business are not changed at random’.
           
Schumacher should begin to find its uniqueness in attracting foreign investments and stop ‘merely following’ the successes of its neighbors.