how could you build a decent industry if the electricity cost would make up to half of monthly expenses? that would really scare the investors.

another thing, i think we need more innovative ideas to pour into the market. why not make ponkan flavor of toothpaste? toothbrush with teleserye characters? soaps with long lasting fragrance? lotion made up of katas ng niyog? carabao milk in PET bottles that can be distributed in every 24 convenience stores? if we do not have someone to step-up, how could we change our situation? there should be zillions of ideas out there.

im just a very concerned student.

how could you build a decent industry if the electricity cost would make up to half of monthly expenses? that would really scare the investors.

another thing, i think we need more innovative ideas to pour into the market. why not make ponkan flavor of toothpaste? toothbrush with teleserye characters? soaps with long lasting fragrance? lotion made up of katas ng niyog? carabao milk in PET bottles that can be distributed in every 24 convenience stores? if we do not have someone to step-up, how could we change our situation? there should be zillions of ideas out there.

im just a very concerned student.

That is so jologs. :lol:

because food and other commodities are cheaper in THailand and Vietnam.
vietnam is a socialist country so there is a more even distribution of weath.
though the salaries are about the same , their money will stretch farther .
We get killed on our electricity rate. Just paying for electricity alone will consume your entire budget in the Phils. Thai and Vietnam are also food exporters now , it doesn't help that we're multiplying like rabbits pushing up demand for everything doesn't help abate price increases

Its because we multiply like rabbits that's why our government is putting all their hopes on the OFW/OCW dollar remittances rather than try to develop the industrial sector of the country, any sector that is manufacturing based. This short sightedness started over 2 decades ago. I agree that we shouldn't wait for the government to provide the incentives to encourage the development of the manufacturing sectors, but it would help if our government doesn't do anything stupid to create a DISINCENTIVE for companies to set up their manufacturing here.

Its all of us to blame, "Colonial mentality" Foreign is always better, this is a wrong mentality. We should appreciate Filipino made products and manufacturers should improve there quality.

Its because we multiply like rabbits that's why our government is putting all their hopes on the OFC/OCW dollar remittances rather than try to develop the industrial sector of the country, any sector that is manufacturing based. This short sightedness started over 2 decades ago. I agree that we shouldn't wait for the government to provide the incentives to encourage the development of the manufacturing sectors, but it would help if our government doesn't do anything stupid to create a DISINCENTIVE for companies to set up their manufacturing here.

Well said sir!

I definitely agree!:cheers:

Its all of us to blame, "Colonial mentality" Foreign is always better, this is a wrong mentality. We should appreciate Filipino made products and manufacturers should improve there quality.

Agree!:cheers:

The Philippines can be consider newly industrialized country and still be called poor because industrialization doesn't mean that our country is rich, it only mean that we are already reach the first step to get there but still but far way to finally made it through. The thing is the majority of Filipinos is still untouch by capital market,there are some changes in our economy but so far only the wealthy are benefiting from it. As result of this, the gap between the rich and the poor is becoming wider. We can only say that the Philippines has finally made it through if the gap between rich and the poor become closer, an increase to the middle class population and the quality of living for the 50% poor has improved for all then we can say that the Philippines is indeed an industrialized country.

bat ba newly industrialised country, manila lang naman ang industrialised eh, everywhere else hindi masyado

I actually agree. To be fair, I think our colonial mentality now is decreasing. A lot of pinoys/pinays actually prefer Philippine made products now. Dati, ni t-shirt wala kang mabibiling pinoy made or at least pinoy brand. Now, we have bench, F&H, Bayo etc. I do see and hope that Pinoy colonial mentality goes away as the younger generation (kids of the 70s, 80s, 90s) take over as captains of industry.

Its all of us to blame, "Colonial mentality" Foreign is always better, this is a wrong mentality. We should appreciate Filipino made products and manufacturers should improve there quality.

bat ba newly industrialised country, manila lang naman ang industrialised eh, everywhere else hindi masyado

There are alot of industrial areas in the country namely NCR, CALABARZON, Iligan-Philvidec area, Subic-Clark, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, Iloilo I think...

Not really. Cebu, Davao, and most big cities in the Philippines are getting their share of industrialization. Even sleepy towns in the Calabarzon are alot different now than they used to be growing up as a kid. For better or worst.

bat ba newly industrialised country, manila lang naman ang industrialised eh, everywhere else hindi masyado

Most industrial factories in the Philippines are engage in assembly or into final production...

Most of them are import dependent...

almost no local content added..

plus, workers are poorly paid and less benefits....

No wonder,only the owners of factories earn...

backward and forward industries must be established...

inputs from the agricultural sector must be bought by the industrial sector...

this will unlock the potential of both sector...

local income will be distributed...

Oh Imperial Manila! :nuts:

We should wait the SLEx rehab and expansion to be finished and to be extended to the southern tip of Luzon so the crucial parts of the southern Luzon may experience rapid urbanization and industrialization like Laguna in mid-70s was transformed from rural into industrialized area shortly after SLEx Alabang-Calamba stretch was constructed, but that pace of industrialization and urbanization should not replace the farmlands completely. Not to mention C-6 Expressway construction that may give Rizal province a boost. Also NLEx extension and NLEE (NELE) should be built in order to give development those crucial economic zones in the north.

Manila is too congested already, it should be decongested like Malaysia did decongest their main economic centers by building crucial infrastructures in their countryside such as expressways, airports, seaports, etc. That's why our government is trying to decongest the capital by improving existing infrastructures and to build new ones in order to give development in our countryside.

I think investors should stop investing in Metro Manila always and they should invest in designated parts of the countryside, like Metro Cebu, Subic, Clark, Metro Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, General Santos, Bacolod, Iloilo, Naga, Dingalan, Tarlac, Laoag, Tuguegarao, San Fernando, and the Bataan province.

Also, we should patronize our own products so that our country will truly rise as an industrialized country

The key to industrialization are substantial investments in serious research and development projects. People keeps failing to realize that knowledge or even the creation of knowledge is the firm foundation of wealth creation. If you go back to the dawn of Industrialization in 18th century Europe and America all the way to Age of Information, the wealth of industrial nations comes from investments on accumulation of knowledge through invention and innovation that create new industries and opportunities.

The key to industrialization are substantial investments in serious research and development projects. People keeps failing to realize that knowledge or even the creation of knowledge is the firm foundation of wealth creation. If you go back to the dawn of Industrialization in 18th century Europe and America all the way to Age of Information, the wealth of industrial nations comes from investments on accumulation of knowledge through invention and innovation that create new industries and opportunities.

I agree with these, proper innovation and direct invest to the people is also needed.

@jrevalde
Not only manila is highly industrial but also some part of the country what JPDM mention above is true! :)

I suppose one of the major factors to blame is the efficiency of elementary and secondary schools in inculcating among students the importance of nationalism and the benefits of pursuing education. Even if government officials are corrupt, the country would still have a high chance to progress if the population has the determination to let the country's economy to improve in a macro perspective.

Anyway, what else could we do? It would make a miracle if there would be a country in the world that is corruption-free. A study says that obliterating the entire human populace is the last resort to eradicate corruption 100%.

The Philippines is known around the world as an agricultural nation, though the current state is otherwise. I would truly agree with you that our agricultural sector is already crippled due to lack of government concentration, mishaps in budget, and the lack of support for our farmers. We should have already been the one of the largest rice producers and exporters in the world today but the past regimes' shift to industrialization tolled us to import what is perennial in us (e.g. rice, sugar).

Still we have hope.

We should not always rely on numbers such as to the industrialization and the rate of poverty in our country. What we should take in mind are ways on how to at least prevent or even alter the bad traits we have as a country ot only for our good rep but also for our betterment.

Most industrial factories in the Philippines are engage in assembly or into final production...

Most of them are import dependent...

almost no local content added..

plus, workers are poorly paid and less benefits....

No wonder,only the owners of factories earn...

backward and forward industries must be established...

inputs from the agricultural sector must be bought by the industrial sector...

this will unlock the potential of both sector...

local income will be distributed...

Having an industrialized economy means we have industries that are into honest to goodness manufacturing of goods, where added value means local inputs aside from Pinoy labor. Right now, a lot of our raw materials are still imported. If instead of being imported, these raw materials are made locally, it generates more employment. With more employment, means more available money by different people, thus, more money to spend. More money to spend, more goods sold.

For example, if an assembled product requires 10 pinoys to assemble, but the raw material is imported, then only 10 pinoys are given employment. Plus the employees of whoever is the importer, which may be 10 pinoys in that import/export company. But if that product, requiring 10 different kinds of raw material, whereby each raw material uses 10 pinoys, then we have 100 pinoys that have work.

Sure, the employers get rich in the process. Such is a fact of life. But in so doing, we develop the middle income and low income group, rather than being underemployed or worse, UNEMPLOYED.

Right now, the Philippines is mainly an importing country: Agriculture? Rice is imported. Electronics are either imported or are locally assembled using mostly imported parts. Our cars follow the same trend. We relied on clothes before, and now furniture. But furniture seems to be following the trend of our clothing sector. Our upstream industry couldn't take off, highlighted by that petrochemical scam whereby the investor decided to plunk his money and set up their facility elsewhere. After the T3 fiasco, foreign companies will think hard when approached by our government to redevelop our airports.
We offered tax credits under the BOI IPP program. What we got was a tax credit scam (though this was really more done by companies who saw loopholes in the system).

Our country has the capability to be industrialized. But our government just can't keep their klepto hands from the cookie jar. Therefore, it is safer to import rather than manufacture. Because if suddenly our fickle government changes its stance (again), a trader can easily pack up their operation with minimal losses, while a manufacturer can't, having spent capex on equipment already in place.

bat ba newly industrialised country, manila lang naman ang industrialised eh, everywhere else hindi masyado

:lol: :lol: :lol: :rofl: wtf?!? :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

this is the funniest post ever :rofl:

bat ba newly industrialised country, manila lang naman ang industrialised eh, everywhere else hindi masyado

Cebu is already very industrialised. Baguio, Angeles City and Tarlac is the same way ,I think Davao and Bacolod is also following these pattern. Although I don't believe that the Philippines is already industrialized, the point that just because Manila is the most industrialized region in the Philippines means that it can't carry over to the whole country as being an "industrialised country"

I actually agree. To be fair, I think our colonial mentality now is decreasing. A lot of pinoys/pinays actually prefer Philippine made products now. Dati, ni t-shirt wala kang mabibiling pinoy made or at least pinoy brand. Now, we have bench, F&H, Bayo etc. I do see and hope that Pinoy colonial mentality goes away as the younger generation (kids of the 70s, 80s, 90s) take over as captains of industry.

This is what Ive been hoping for many many years now.

But you are right things are getting better. Filipino youths are slowly eliminating this paralyzing national illness.

Unless we take away this scourge called colonial mentality we can never graduate from being a poor country...

Most countries in Asia have realized how important loving one's country through economic nationalism...

But we are not...

Thats why our national capacity to develop economically almost grounded to the halt... We are moving slowly because every time a Philippine president comes up with a nationalistic policy of promoting Pinoy first...there is always vested interests that will destroy it....

Magsaysay's nationalistic inclination (killed by the CIA)Garcia's Filipino First (destroyed by Macapagal and the US. Macapagal started the decontrol and started the debt problem of the Philippines.), Marcos' 11 industrial project, Cory's nationalistic inclination....all destroyed...

Now, our industrial and agricultural sector is almost dead too. because of over-liberalization of the economy...with no protection from foreign (unfair) competition...

I will not anymore mention who started this globalization-privatization, deregulation and liberalization....

i like the first two, but I hate the last one....

Having an industrialized economy means we have industries that are into honest to goodness manufacturing of goods, where added value means local inputs aside from Pinoy labor. Right now, a lot of our raw materials are still imported. If instead of being imported, these raw materials are made locally, it generates more employment. With more employment, means more available money by different people, thus, more money to spend. More money to spend, more goods sold.

For example, if an assembled product requires 10 pinoys to assemble, but the raw material is imported, then only 10 pinoys are given employment. Plus the employees of whoever is the importer, which may be 10 pinoys in that import/export company. But if that product, requiring 10 different kinds of raw material, whereby each raw material uses 10 pinoys, then we have 100 pinoys that have work.

Sure, the employers get rich in the process. Such is a fact of life. But in so doing, we develop the middle income and low income group, rather than being underemployed or worse, UNEMPLOYED.

Right now, the Philippines is mainly an importing country: Agriculture? Rice is imported. Electronics are either imported or are locally assembled using mostly imported parts. Our cars follow the same trend. We relied on clothes before, and now furniture. But furniture seems to be following the trend of our clothing sector. Our upstream industry couldn't take off, highlighted by that petrochemical scam whereby the investor decided to plunk his money and set up their facility elsewhere. After the T3 fiasco, foreign companies will think hard when approached by our government to redevelop our airports.
We offered tax credits under the BOI IPP program. What we got was a tax credit scam (though this was really more done by companies who saw loopholes in the system).

Our country has the capability to be industrialized. But our government just can't keep their klepto hands from the cookie jar. Therefore, it is safer to import rather than manufacture. Because if suddenly our fickle government changes its stance (again), a trader can easily pack up their operation with minimal losses, while a manufacturer can't, having spent capex on equipment already in place.




^^This is very true!why? Even the green peas found in the Ding dong snack is from the USA:lol: It's insane!

Foreign firms eye $ 500-M investments
spacer


By EDU LOPEZ

At least 10 foreign garment manufacturers are planning to relocate their production out of China and invest $ 500 million in the Philippines.

Philexport garments sector trustee George Siy said: "Many of those who put up factories in China are beginning to move out due to its high labor cost. Export rebates were also abolished and they lack workers now. So we need to take advantage of this period to try to attract some of them to come here instead of our neighboring countries."

Although the Philippines has relatively high labor cost, Siy said that the workers’ proficiency in the English language is the country’s competitive advantage in attracting foreign investors.

He cited the need for the country to also implement policies meant to lure more manufacturers to set up their production facilities here and help the industry regains growth sales.

Siy said some of the incentives granted to companies that expired have to be renewed and that efforts must also be geared towards reducing electricity cost; improving infrastructure, logistics and processing of goods; and lowering traffic and other logistics costs.

He stressed the importance of negotiating trade benefits with other countries because although not all of them, most of the country’s competitors have been negotiating and some of them have already gotten some of those benefits. "We have to push through negotiations to get these trade agreements in place."

"Investments especially of these major regional players into the country are crucial for the garments industry to achieve growth despite the global economic slowdown."

"If they invest, definitely, there will be industry growth because major players bring clients with them. (Unlike) if you are a small player and you move to one country, you have to market again," said Siy. He indicated that industry players are already experiencing reduced sales volume as a result of the financial crisis in the United States.

"We expect that effects the global crisis would be felt probably in the next few months because the orders were already booked earlier. But there were some reductions in the orders. And in the next few months, it might show itself more."

The garments industry, along with the country’s largest export electronics, is targeted to post zero growth this year. But overall export sector is projected to grow in 2008 by three to five percent which already factored in the impact of the US crisis.

Business Mirror

RP further down ladder of prosperity

Top News

Written by Dennis D. Estopace / Reporter

Monday, 03 November 2008 00:21

THE Philippines has a long way to go to become prosperous—defined as a holistic combination of material wealth and life satisfaction—being 52nd in rank among 104 countries surveyed, or down from 36th of the 50 countries in last year’s survey.

The results of the Legatum Institute’s Prosperity Index study also showed the Philippines has “exceptional weakness” in growth of invested capital and commercialization of innovation—two of eight components of economic competitiveness the index uses.

It is, however, strong on one point—low dependence on commodity exports—but it was not enough to lift it higher in ranking.

Legatum said they didn’t only measure prosperity “by actual levels of material wealth or life satisfaction,” but also “on the conditions that foster prosperity.” The latter pertain to “the factors that promote economic competitiveness and improved liveability in a given country. We refer to these factors as drivers of prosperity, and to those that impede prosperity, as restrainers. The index endeavors to rank countries according to the strength of these drivers and restrainers, not according to simple measures of income and life satisfaction.”

Legatum executive William Inboden said in a statement, “True prosperity consists of more than money. It also includes happiness, health and liberty. [I]n addition to economic success, a society’s prosperity is based on strong families and communities, political and religious liberty, education and opportunity, and a healthy environment.”

No. 1 this year is Australia, which leads countries in the strongly represented Asia-Pacific region that includes Singapore, Hong Kong and New Zealand ranking 4th, 8th and 9th, respectively.

Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand outranked the Philippines as the 13th, 21st, 26th, 29th and 35th prosperous countries in Asia, respectively.

Yemen is at the bottom of the barrel and above which ranked several African nations, including Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In the other components, the Philippines scored “average” or within the world score of zero. These include government effectiveness (-3), levels of education (-3), low costs of starting a business (-2) and low dependence on foreign aid (4).

Still, China is even lower than the Philippines (overall at 54) with Sri Lanka (69), India (70), Indonesia (71) and Vietnam (80), among other Asian nations.

Legatum said it gave scores for each factor “based on statistical analysis, using 40 years of historical data on economic growth in more than 50 countries, and life satisfaction survey data for more than 100 countries. The index combines 22 key indicators and 44 subindicators in order to rank more than 100 countries, based on the degree to which the actions of their people and governments drive or restrain the creation of holistic national prosperity.”

The Philippines, for example, is included among the “poor and satisfied” countries because it can create an environment for well-being, having a moderate climate. Likewise, the Philippines also gained a high –-“exceptionally strong”-– score in building social support via religious freedom (7) and religious belief (11).

“These factors tend to alleviate some notable deficiencies in income, health, and, in some cases, political freedom,” said the Legatum report.

Group executive Alan McCormick noted that while “governments alone cannot mandate prosperity. . .they can foster an environment that encourages prosperity through implementation of wise policies.”
NONIE REYES

I find it disturbing to find this kind of news...we are heralded as a newly industrializing country but still poor?

This is something the government should look into very carefully...

based on the article, it says "THE Philippines has a long way to go to BECOME PROSPEROUS" which obviously means the capability (not the quality) to become a developed nation.

we are still considered as a developing nation and i think those lapses based on the study is natural for us which is a nation yet to be lifted from the scars of economic woes during the martial law era and the debts our past governments have incurred.

pero im still looking forward to that we would get at par with our fellow southeast asian nations in the long run at naniniwala akong it's not that hard to achieve dahil alam kong magaling ang pilipino. hahaha

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newly_industrialized_country

Just would like to share some info:

The category of newly industrialized country (NIC) is a socioeconomic classification applied to several countries around the world by political scientists and economists.

NICs are countries whose economies have not yet reached first world status but have, in a macroeconomic sense, outpaced their developing counterparts. Another characterization of NICs is that of nations undergoing rapid economic growth (usually export-oriented). Incipient or ongoing industrialization is an important indicator of a NIC. In many NICs, social upheaval can occur as primarily rural, agricultural populations migrate to the cities, where the growth of manufacturing concerns and factories can draw many thousands of laborers.

NICs usually share some other common features, including:

* Increased social freedoms and civil rights.
* Strong political leaders.
* A switch from agricultural to industrial economies, especially in the manufacturing sector.
* An increasingly open-market economy, allowing free trade with other nations in the world.
* Large national corporations operating in several continents.
* Strong capital investment from foreign countries.
* Political leadership in their area of influence.



List of countries consistently considered NICs in each continent by different authors/experts:

AFRICA:
South Africa

SOUTH AMERICA:
Mexico
Brazil

ASIA:
China
India
Malaysia
Thailand
Philippines
EURASIA
Turkey

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newly_industrialized_country

Just would like to share some info:

The category of newly industrialized country (NIC) is a socioeconomic classification applied to several countries around the world by political scientists and economists.

NICs are countries whose economies have not yet reached first world status but have, in a macroeconomic sense, outpaced their developing counterparts. Another characterization of NICs is that of nations undergoing rapid economic growth (usually export-oriented). Incipient or ongoing industrialization is an important indicator of a NIC. In many NICs, social upheaval can occur as primarily rural, agricultural populations migrate to the cities, where the growth of manufacturing concerns and factories can draw many thousands of laborers.

NICs usually share some other common features, including:

* Increased social freedoms and civil rights.
* Strong political leaders.
* A switch from agricultural to industrial economies, especially in the manufacturing sector.
* An increasingly open-market economy, allowing free trade with other nations in the world.
* Large national corporations operating in several continents.
* Strong capital investment from foreign countries.
* Political leadership in their area of influence.



List of countries consistently considered NICs in each continent by different authors/experts:

AFRICA:
South Africa

SOUTH AMERICA:
Mexico
Brazil

ASIA:
China
India
Malaysia
Thailand
Philippines
EURASIA
Turkey
there are some inconsistencies. Its either increased social freedoms and rights are not considered as a measure for their nichood or some countries aren't really NICs such as Malaysia and China.

^^ Yes indeed.. But China, notorious for their human rights violations, scored higher in many other aspects such as manufacturing, low labor costs, infrastructure..

Nevertheless, i hope this post will shed light that being an NIC doesn't limit to the economy per se..

Nevertheless, i hope this post will shed light that being an NIC doesn't limit to the economy per se..

^^ well based on the name itself -- the Newly Industrialized Countries roster (NIC's), it's merely based on the industrialization which obviously specifies (but not really exclusive) on manufacturing, business, and other economic-related sectors in a macro point of view

the one on human rights violation or religious freedom or human development rate would rather be highlighted by a different listing :)

NIC or no. The Philippines rank 5th among countries whose significant percentage of its population experiences extreme hunger - Gallup International 2008.

I am curious...

What are average Filipino family household grocery items from supermarkets, and how many of those are made locally?

Here in Malaysia, i can see lots of our household grocery are manufactured in Malaysia, including Nestle Milo, which is argubly the most popular drink here...

^^You had me checking the pantry with that question.

Yep, a lot of items in the grocery are manufactured locally, and that includes Milo.

NIC or no. The Philippines rank 5th among countries whose significant percentage of its population experiences extreme hunger - Gallup International 2008.

very bad news:ohno:

there are some inconsistencies. Its either increased social freedoms and rights are not considered as a measure for their nichood or some countries aren't really NICs such as Malaysia and China.

India has many billionaires but still the country has too many poor families because of their religion and culture. They believe that the untouchables will not improve their lives anymore and they said that they [the untouchables] will stay in that status forever unlike in the Philippines which the poor people here may have the possibilities to have a miracle for the better life and/or to change their way of living.

very bad news:ohno:

Is that even news? :lol:

NIC or no. The Philippines rank 5th among countries whose significant percentage of its population experiences extreme hunger - Gallup International 2008.

I don't believe in this survey.. How come other countries which are obviously poorer than the Philippines are not included in the list?

I am curious...

What are average Filipino family household grocery items from supermarkets, and how many of those are made locally?

Here in Malaysia, i can see lots of our household grocery are manufactured in Malaysia, including Nestle Milo, which is argubly the most popular drink here...

After the melamine scare, most of the food and beverage products sold at supermarkets are locally produced. Nestle has a huge manufacturing plant here. However, for items such as toothpase and shampoo, these are made in Thailand, India or China.

^^ well based on the name itself -- the Newly Industrialized Countries roster (NIC's), it's merely based on the industrialization which obviously specifies (but not really exclusive) on manufacturing, business, and other economic-related sectors in a macro point of view

the one on human rights violation or religious freedom or human development rate would rather be highlighted by a different listing :)

Categorically and fundamentally speaking, it's a SOCIOECONOMIC classification.. The thing speaks for itself, "Res Ipsa Loquitor".. :)

I don't believe in this survey.. How come other countries which are obviously poorer than the Philippines are not included in the list?

Me either.. I don't know how they were able to come up with such datum, or what methodology they used.. If it's merely based from perception of people outside the country, than it's entirely biased.. I really doubt it..

^^Even some of our basic needs are made in India and China.

^^ Mexico is in North America!

I don't believe in this survey.. How come other countries which are obviously poorer than the Philippines are not included in the list?

Me either.. I don't know how they were able to come up with such datum, or what methodology they used.. If it's merely based from perception of people outside the country, than it's entirely biased.. I really doubt it..


i don't want to believe it either...but, try having a walk in any of the streets of metromanila, it won't take you long to see the obvious.

SM's "BONUS" brand products are sourced from local manufacturers, if i'm not mistaken. That's why I support this brand: it's affordable and let's me buy locally made products :)

After the melamine scare, most of the food and beverage products sold at supermarkets are locally produced. Nestle has a huge manufacturing plant here. However, for items such as toothpase and shampoo, these are made in Thailand, India or China.

Not even a single toothpaste or shampoo is manufactured in your own country? If it is, i think it is wasted because with your country's relatively large population, it is very, very feasible to produce it inside your own country...imagine if basic stuffs produced in your own country, think of multiplying effect on jobs...

Here in Malaysia, Johnson and Johnson shampoo, produced in Malaysia...Japan's Lion soap products, also manufactured in Malaysia...Procter and Gamble's Pringles....manufactured in Malaysia too...just to mention a few...

Products from Thailand are notably, Red Bull and some shampoo like Rejoice (i just mentioned a few)....from Philippines, it is hard to see, but i think cereals made by Nestle, are imported from your country....

After the melamine scare, most of the food and beverage products sold at supermarkets are locally produced. Nestle has a huge manufacturing plant here. However, for items such as toothpase and shampoo, these are made in Thailand, India or China.

Hello... we have Lamoiyan Corporation, the company that manufactures Hapee toothpaste...

^^"Hapee" is a local brand name of toothpaste manufactured here in the Philippines:)

sabay pa:lol:

Not even a single toothpaste or shampoo is manufactured in your own country? If it is, i think it is wasted because with your country's relatively large population, it is very, very feasible to produce it inside your own country...imagine if basic stuffs produced in your own country, think of multiplying effect on jobs...

Here in Malaysia, Johnson and Johnson shampoo, produced in Malaysia...Japan's Lion soap products, also manufactured in Malaysia...Procter and Gamble's Pringles....manufactured in Malaysia too...just to mention a few...

Products from Thailand are notably, Red Bull and some shampoo like Rejoice (i just mentioned a few)....from Philippines, it is hard to see, but i think cereals made by Nestle, are imported from your country....



We also have ACS Manufacturing Corporation rare engaged in the manufacture of household care and personal care consumer products, as well as concrete admixtures. Their brands include: Pride laundry detergent, Unique toothpaste, Starwax floorwax, and Prokrete concrete admixture.

We also have ACS Manufacturing Corporation rare engaged in the manufacture of household care and personal care consumer products, as well as concrete admixtures. Their brands include: Pride laundry detergent, Unique toothpaste, Starwax floorwax, and Prokrete concrete admixture.

Another product that i saw in Malaysia from your country, is probably the Blueskies biscuits...

SM's "BONUS" brand products are sourced from local manufacturers, if i'm not mistaken. That's why I support this brand: it's affordable and let's me buy locally made products :)


Bonus brands are actually of the same quality as other shelf brands, contrary to those who would say that it's of substandard quality because of its cheap price.

Before SM signs a contract with some local supplier of "branded" goods, SM would usually ask them to supply the same product content at cheaper price, and later repack it to Bonus brands. Call it SM's corporate goodwill.

Many suppliers made complainsts about this allegedly unfair competition, that SM is competing with its own suppliers.

Another product that i saw in Malaysia from your country, is probably the Blueskies biscuits...

:) Robina and San Miguel Corporation are some of the biggest food and beverages manufacturer in the Philippines and even in SEA.

^^ Century Tuna are everywhere too.

Another product that i saw in Malaysia from your country, is probably the Blueskies biscuits...

I think Jack and Jill products are being sold in Malaysia, although manufactured there, they are owned by Filipinos - Universal Robina. I think they have a joint venture with Malaysian businessmen. There's also a big manufacturing plant - Splash Manufacturing that produces shampoo, facial products, etc.

By the way, is Roti Boy a Malaysian brand? I've seen similar bread here in the Philippines, coffee bun - being sold in Kopi Roti, a Singaporean coffee shop.

I think Jack and Jill products are being sold in Malaysia, although manufactured there, they are owned by Filipinos - Universal Robina. I think they have a joint venture with Malaysian businessmen. There's also a big manufacturing plant - Splash Manufacturing that produces shampoo, facial products, etc.

By the way, is Roti Boy a Malaysian brand? I've seen similar bread here in the Philippines, coffee bun - being sold in Kopi Roti, a Singaporean coffee shop.

Rotiboy has its origins from a man from Penang......its current base is in Rawang, Selangor...

So far, Rotiboy has outlets in South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and Taiwan, aside from its base in Malaysia...

Another product that i saw in Malaysia from your country, is probably the Blueskies biscuits...

We have a lot of locally made products that you just don't know, why? because our main export countries are US, Korea, Japan, China.

Jollibee foods here in the Philippines are the mogul of fastfood chain here, they are eating those other fastfood chain like crazy.:nuts: and also cited that Jollibee foods are now trying to eat more fastfood/restaurant chain in taiwan or thailand.

This article shows the capability of Pinoys to manufacture industrial products even without the help of our government...


Couple revs up in motorcycle arena

By Margie Quimpo-Espino
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:52:00 11/08/2008



MANILA, Philippines—A Chinese-Filipino couple, however, has taken the trading business a notch higher and is working to get a chunk of the market with its Filipino-developed motorcycle brand.

Eric and Leviruth Lee of MCX Motor Phils. Inc. have been producing Filipino motorcycle models the past two years, starting with three last year and four this year.

It was because of this clamor that we decided to go into [full-time] manufacturing.”

He invested in research and development in the Philippines, and decided to go downstream by putting up a small plant in China to ensure better quality of raw materials and parts. “We are now also manufacturing some critical parts with our specification designed for the local market.”

The goal is to eventually bring the MCX brand overseas, to Indonesia or Vietnam.

But for now they are focusing on improving the models they have created. To improve operations and production efficiency, MCX hired a German consultant.

Eric says he believes they have competent top people already. However they need middle level managers. He says a lot of workers do not want to be promoted and accept bigger responsibility. But definitely, Filipinos are good workers.

By Tony Lopez (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/nov/13/yehey/opinion/20081113opi4.html)

I was a reactor the other day to the Jaime V. Ongpin Memorial Lecture of poverty expert Dr. Arsenio Balicasan at the Ateneo at Rockwell. Here is the first part of my reaction:

The statistics and the analyses on poverty incidence in the Philippines are distressing. They will make you grab the nearest paltik and shoot the politician next to you.

My contention, however, is that the Philippines is not that poor. The Pinoy is not that poor. And yes, we need the politicians. Just look at how that priest in Pampanga is running the local government.

Why do I say the Philippines is not that poor? Let me cite some data:

1. The Philippines is a large country and a large economy. The population is 92 million, the 12th largest in the world. Only China, India, the US, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russian Federation, Nigeria, Japan and Mexico are bigger.

We are the same size as Vietnam. We are bigger than Germany 82.7 million, Thailand 65.3 million, France 60.9 million, the UK 60 million, Italy 58.2 million, Korea 48 million, Spain 43.6 million and Argentina 39.5 million.

The Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) in purchasing power parity is worth $327 billion, according to the World Bank 2008 World Development Report and $319 billion, according to the IMF World Economic Outlook October 2008. That makes it the 36th largest economy in the world, out of 200 countries. The Philippines is the ninth largest economy in Asia.

We are bigger than Hong Kong, Norway, Chile, Portugal, Singapore, Vietnam, Ireland, UAE, Kuwait, and New Zealand. Switzerland, home to the largest hoard of hidden wealth in the world, is just slightly bigger.

In the whole of Asia, only eight other countries are bigger than the Philippines in GDP PPP – China, Japan, India, Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia,

2. As a domestic market, the World Economic Forum classifies the Philippines as the 33rd largest market in the world. Domestic market here means GDP plus value of imports of goods and services minus exports. RP is bigger than Austria, Malaysia, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Portugal, Vietnam, Chile, Hungary and yes, Singapore.

In October this year, the IMF classified the Philippines as a newly industrialized country with estimated its nominal GDP per capita at $1,908.

Per capita, the Gross National Income, per World Bank 2007 data, is $1,620, 50 percent more than Vietnam’s $790. Even in per capita PPP terms, we are richer than the Vietnamese—$3,730 vs. $2,550, a difference of $1,180 or 46 percent. Of course, we could have been far richer if we had grown as fast as Vietnam.

In the eight years from 2000 to 2007, the Philippine average GDP growth was 5.14 percent. That of Vietnam was 7.63 percent, 48 percent faster. But who is happier—the Filipino or the Vietnamese?

3. The Philippines has ten million expatriate workers, the so-called overseas Filipino workers (OFW). There are 16 million families in the Philippines. That means 63 percent of total households in the country have an OFW. Two of every three families.

This year, the 10 million overseas Filipino workers will remit $18 billion. That’s an average remittance of $1,800 per worker. Divide that by 5.5—the average of Filipino family size and you get $327.27 additional per capita income. Add that to the domestic $1,620 per capita income and you get a per capita income figure closer to $2,000. In other words, one can conclude that 10 million households—two of every three—are middle class.

Compare that to the ten million households in America who are technically bankrupt because their homes have less value than the loans borrowed with which to buy them.

4. The Philippines is unique as a poor country. Filipinos spend more for e-loading and texting than for their milk, coffee, patis and even Jollibee. Is that the behavior of poverty-stricken people?

The Filipino farmer is productive only half of the time. He has plenty of spare time. He uses that to drink gin or beer with his barkada, make bets at the cockpit, and make love. He breathes fresh air, eats his wife’s cooking and listens to the latest two-bit political commentator on the radio. His wife, meanwhile, watches the latest telenovela.

Is he happy? Yes. Is he poor? Yes.

biznewsasia@gmail.com

^^3-in-1 coffee....complete and instant

By Tony Lopez (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/nov/13/yehey/opinion/20081113opi4.html)

I was a reactor the other day to the Jaime V. Ongpin Memorial Lecture of poverty expert Dr. Arsenio Balicasan at the Ateneo at Rockwell. Here is the first part of my reaction:

The statistics and the analyses on poverty incidence in the Philippines are distressing. They will make you grab the nearest paltik and shoot the politician next to you.

My contention, however, is that the Philippines is not that poor. The Pinoy is not that poor. And yes, we need the politicians. Just look at how that priest in Pampanga is running the local government.

Why do I say the Philippines is not that poor? Let me cite some data:

1. The Philippines is a large country and a large economy. The population is 92 million, the 12th largest in the world. Only China, India, the US, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russian Federation, Nigeria, Japan and Mexico are bigger.

We are the same size as Vietnam. We are bigger than Germany 82.7 million, Thailand 65.3 million, France 60.9 million, the UK 60 million, Italy 58.2 million, Korea 48 million, Spain 43.6 million and Argentina 39.5 million.

The Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) in purchasing power parity is worth $327 billion, according to the World Bank 2008 World Development Report and $319 billion, according to the IMF World Economic Outlook October 2008. That makes it the 36th largest economy in the world, out of 200 countries. The Philippines is the ninth largest economy in Asia.

We are bigger than Hong Kong, Norway, Chile, Portugal, Singapore, Vietnam, Ireland, UAE, Kuwait, and New Zealand. Switzerland, home to the largest hoard of hidden wealth in the world, is just slightly bigger.

In the whole of Asia, only eight other countries are bigger than the Philippines in GDP PPP – China, Japan, India, Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia,

2. As a domestic market, the World Economic Forum classifies the Philippines as the 33rd largest market in the world. Domestic market here means GDP plus value of imports of goods and services minus exports. RP is bigger than Austria, Malaysia, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Portugal, Vietnam, Chile, Hungary and yes, Singapore.

In October this year, the IMF classified the Philippines as a newly industrialized country with estimated its nominal GDP per capita at $1,908.

Per capita, the Gross National Income, per World Bank 2007 data, is $1,620, 50 percent more than Vietnam’s $790. Even in per capita PPP terms, we are richer than the Vietnamese—$3,730 vs. $2,550, a difference of $1,180 or 46 percent. Of course, we could have been far richer if we had grown as fast as Vietnam.

In the eight years from 2000 to 2007, the Philippine average GDP growth was 5.14 percent. That of Vietnam was 7.63 percent, 48 percent faster. But who is happier—the Filipino or the Vietnamese?

3. The Philippines has ten million expatriate workers, the so-called overseas Filipino workers (OFW). There are 16 million families in the Philippines. That means 63 percent of total households in the country have an OFW. Two of every three families.

This year, the 10 million overseas Filipino workers will remit $18 billion. That’s an average remittance of $1,800 per worker. Divide that by 5.5—the average of Filipino family size and you get $327.27 additional per capita income. Add that to the domestic $1,620 per capita income and you get a per capita income figure closer to $2,000. In other words, one can conclude that 10 million households—two of every three—are middle class.

Compare that to the ten million households in America who are technically bankrupt because their homes have less value than the loans borrowed with which to buy them.

4. The Philippines is unique as a poor country. Filipinos spend more for e-loading and texting than for their milk, coffee, patis and even Jollibee. Is that the behavior of poverty-stricken people?

The Filipino farmer is productive only half of the time. He has plenty of spare time. He uses that to drink gin or beer with his barkada, make bets at the cockpit, and make love. He breathes fresh air, eats his wife’s cooking and listens to the latest two-bit political commentator on the radio. His wife, meanwhile, watches the latest telenovela.

Is he happy? Yes. Is he poor? Yes.

biznewsasia@gmail.com

I enjoyed reading this article by Tony Lopez.... quiet true. He did not mention the natural resources: that the Philippines has over US$1 Trillion....waiting to be extracted.

By Tony Lopez (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/nov/13/yehey/opinion/20081113opi4.html)

...The Philippines is unique as a poor country. Filipinos spend more for e-loading and texting than for their milk, coffee, patis and even Jollibee. Is that the behavior of poverty-stricken people?....[/email]

Thats the problem, the poor behave as if they are rich.

Rich for 1 day during payday, poor for the next 29 days.

The Filipino farmer is productive only half of the time. He has plenty of spare time. He uses that to drink gin or beer with his barkada, make bets at the cockpit, and make love. He breathes fresh air, eats his wife’s cooking and listens to the latest two-bit political commentator on the radio. His wife, meanwhile, watches the latest telenovela.


These are the reasons why Pinoys are perpetually poor


Is he happy? Yes. Is he poor? Yes.

[email]biznewsasia@gmail.com

Unfortunately, puro saya na lang.

How do you understand this part: 92 M population, 10M OFW. Does that mean the 10M is part of the 92M population already or that's 92M population that is in the Philippines, so if you add the 10M OFW, that means we are already 102M?

^ yes.

By Tony Lopez (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/nov/13/yehey/opinion/20081113opi4.html)

I was a reactor the other day to the Jaime V. Ongpin Memorial Lecture of poverty expert Dr. Arsenio Balicasan at the Ateneo at Rockwell. Here is the first part of my reaction:

The statistics and the analyses on poverty incidence in the Philippines are distressing. They will make you grab the nearest paltik and shoot the politician next to you.

My contention, however, is that the Philippines is not that poor. The Pinoy is not that poor. And yes, we need the politicians. Just look at how that priest in Pampanga is running the local government.

Why do I say the Philippines is not that poor? Let me cite some data:

1. The Philippines is a large country and a large economy. The population is 92 million, the 12th largest in the world. Only China, India, the US, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russian Federation, Nigeria, Japan and Mexico are bigger.

We are the same size as Vietnam. We are bigger than Germany 82.7 million, Thailand 65.3 million, France 60.9 million, the UK 60 million, Italy 58.2 million, Korea 48 million, Spain 43.6 million and Argentina 39.5 million.

The Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) in purchasing power parity is worth $327 billion, according to the World Bank 2008 World Development Report and $319 billion, according to the IMF World Economic Outlook October 2008. That makes it the 36th largest economy in the world, out of 200 countries. The Philippines is the ninth largest economy in Asia.

We are bigger than Hong Kong, Norway, Chile, Portugal, Singapore, Vietnam, Ireland, UAE, Kuwait, and New Zealand. Switzerland, home to the largest hoard of hidden wealth in the world, is just slightly bigger.

In the whole of Asia, only eight other countries are bigger than the Philippines in GDP PPP – China, Japan, India, Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia,

2. As a domestic market, the World Economic Forum classifies the Philippines as the 33rd largest market in the world. Domestic market here means GDP plus value of imports of goods and services minus exports. RP is bigger than Austria, Malaysia, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Portugal, Vietnam, Chile, Hungary and yes, Singapore.

In October this year, the IMF classified the Philippines as a newly industrialized country with estimated its nominal GDP per capita at $1,908.

Per capita, the Gross National Income, per World Bank 2007 data, is $1,620, 50 percent more than Vietnam’s $790. Even in per capita PPP terms, we are richer than the Vietnamese—$3,730 vs. $2,550, a difference of $1,180 or 46 percent. Of course, we could have been far richer if we had grown as fast as Vietnam.

In the eight years from 2000 to 2007, the Philippine average GDP growth was 5.14 percent. That of Vietnam was 7.63 percent, 48 percent faster. But who is happier—the Filipino or the Vietnamese?

3. The Philippines has ten million expatriate workers, the so-called overseas Filipino workers (OFW). There are 16 million families in the Philippines. That means 63 percent of total households in the country have an OFW. Two of every three families.

This year, the 10 million overseas Filipino workers will remit $18 billion. That’s an average remittance of $1,800 per worker. Divide that by 5.5—the average of Filipino family size and you get $327.27 additional per capita income. Add that to the domestic $1,620 per capita income and you get a per capita income figure closer to $2,000. In other words, one can conclude that 10 million households—two of every three—are middle class.

Compare that to the ten million households in America who are technically bankrupt because their homes have less value than the loans borrowed with which to buy them.

4. The Philippines is unique as a poor country. Filipinos spend more for e-loading and texting than for their milk, coffee, patis and even Jollibee. Is that the behavior of poverty-stricken people?

The Filipino farmer is productive only half of the time. He has plenty of spare time. He uses that to drink gin or beer with his barkada, make bets at the cockpit, and make love. He breathes fresh air, eats his wife’s cooking and listens to the latest two-bit political commentator on the radio. His wife, meanwhile, watches the latest telenovela.

Is he happy? Yes. Is he poor? Yes.

biznewsasia@gmail.com

Ahhh... This article is more than just a massage to me... Exposing the Philippines to a great heights.. Wow!!! It rocks man.. It really rocks. This is the reality... No... This is 100% reality... damn....

Thanks sir... Thanks a lot. :cheers:

How do you understand this part: 92 M population, 10M OFW. Does that mean the 10M is part of the 92M population already or that's 92M population that is in the Philippines, so if you add the 10M OFW, that means we are already 102M?

The 10M is part of the 92M population of the PHilippines.

yes it true in other word's 90M Population - 10M OFW (Not Included the Filipino who are not duly registered w/ DOLE & DFA estimated 2-3M TNT) = 80~77M who are living in the Philippine and 30% is Less than 20 year's old of age.

By Tony Lopez (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/nov/13/yehey/opinion/20081113opi4.html)

Why do I say the Philippines is not that poor? Let me cite some data:

1...........In the whole of Asia, only eight other countries are bigger than the Philippines in GDP PPP – China, Japan, India, Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia........
Is he happy? Yes. Is he poor? Yes.

biznewsasia@gmail.com

susme...hardly a convincing proposition...for me this statement is a tough sell, we were second to Japan at some time...look at how much ground we lost to our Asian neighbors!

^^ Let go of that. We were second because all the countries in Asia just got out of the war which means we were not much better of than they were.

^^ Century Tuna are everywhere too.


Century Tuna (Hot and Spicy) with egg tapos may malamig na orange juice...Paborito kong almusal...Hehehhehe

No matter how are we behind to other asian neighbors, the most important now is that we are moving forward not backward. In the race like in the marathon or athletics, those run first faster in the start are the one who lost at the finish line. Like what is happening right now, the crisis are on it's way, but why Philippines was claimed are the most calm country in Asia despite this crisis uprising. It is because, Filipinos are use to it in any kind of survival life in this world. This is what Filipinos are advantageous to other races not only in Asia but around the world. No matter what will happen to the world, I think Filipinos can survive. Like here in Malaysia, local people here most especially those in middle class are already panic, coz if this crisis will really soars high, in local word here they are "mati" already or dead in english. We are much much lucky that any country at this moment of time, why we have to be negative thinker, we must be proud, coz despite as what other claimed we are poor, but we are one of the most happy being in this planet. Who will lost at the end, are we or others? Masarap lang pakinggan na nasa first world country ka, oo nga dollar nga yung kinikita mo, pero dollar din yung ginagastos mo, how can you become rich there, and dollar nga, sa atin, accountant ka, pagdating mo duon, nagkukudkod ka ng inodoro, this is reality.....

I'm a Filipino, and I always tell myself that I am not a mediocre and will never be. I don't want to survive, I want to live.

^:okay: we all want to live to the fullest:D

^^ Let go of that. We were second because all the countries in Asia just got out of the war which means we were not much better of than they were.

Totally agree!

^^ Let go of that. We were second because all the countries in Asia just got out of the war which means we were not much better of than they were.

Totally not agree....

How can we not be better off then when in the 60’s our learning institutions were once the envy of Southeast Asia, a time when our neighbors sent their sons and daughters to our shores for the much revered Philippine education. An enjoyable exchange rate of P2 = US$1 or P1 = HK$2, a time when Filipinos held a grand Peso during their shopping spree.

well, either way, it's the people's fault that our country screwed up. let's stop complaining about that the past and just try to make a better future.

^^ Seriously, it true. Its the uneducated Filipinos fault who does not learn from the past and not being practical. Most of the older generations that I know who grew up during/after World War II were poor and really did rise up above all the adversities that had happened in the Philippines. By the way, most of them are probable dead now like my grandfathers (RIP) circle of friends (all of them are dead now too).

The poor in the Philippines act like they are part of the middle class or some "class" with all those materialistic things that are not necessary but just plain luxury. Have you ever compared the Filipinos sons/daughters of the 1930's/1940's generations compared to the recent ones? You would definitely see the difference!

In 2008, there are 20 members of the G-20. These include the finance ministers and central bank governors of 19 countries:[3]

Argentina
Australia
Brazil
Canada
People's Republic of China
France
Germany
India
Indonesia
Italy
Japan
Mexico
Russia
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
South Korea
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
The 20th member is the European Union, which is represented by the rotating Council presidency and the European Central Bank.

Why wasn't the Republic of the Philippines included in this G20?

Why should it be?

Why not? I can dream, can't I? :lol::cheers:

I enjoyed reading this article by Tony Lopez.... quiet true. He did not mention the natural resources: that the Philippines has over US$1 Trillion....waiting to be extracted.

By Tony Lopez (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/nov/13/yehey/opinion/20081113opi4.html)

I was a reactor the other day to the Jaime V. Ongpin Memorial Lecture of poverty expert Dr. Arsenio Balicasan at the Ateneo at Rockwell. Here is the first part of my reaction:

The statistics and the analyses on poverty incidence in the Philippines are distressing. They will make you grab the nearest paltik and shoot the politician next to you.

My contention, however, is that the Philippines is not that poor. The Pinoy is not that poor. And yes, we need the politicians. Just look at how that priest in Pampanga is running the local government.

Why do I say the Philippines is not that poor? Let me cite some data:

1. The Philippines is a large country and a large economy. The population is 92 million, the 12th largest in the world. Only China, India, the US, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russian Federation, Nigeria, Japan and Mexico are bigger.

We are the same size as Vietnam. We are bigger than Germany 82.7 million, Thailand 65.3 million, France 60.9 million, the UK 60 million, Italy 58.2 million, Korea 48 million, Spain 43.6 million and Argentina 39.5 million.

The Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) in purchasing power parity is worth $327 billion, according to the World Bank 2008 World Development Report and $319 billion, according to the IMF World Economic Outlook October 2008. That makes it the 36th largest economy in the world, out of 200 countries. The Philippines is the ninth largest economy in Asia.

We are bigger than Hong Kong, Norway, Chile, Portugal, Singapore, Vietnam, Ireland, UAE, Kuwait, and New Zealand. Switzerland, home to the largest hoard of hidden wealth in the world, is just slightly bigger.

In the whole of Asia, only eight other countries are bigger than the Philippines in GDP PPP – China, Japan, India, Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia,

2. As a domestic market, the World Economic Forum classifies the Philippines as the 33rd largest market in the world. Domestic market here means GDP plus value of imports of goods and services minus exports. RP is bigger than Austria, Malaysia, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Portugal, Vietnam, Chile, Hungary and yes, Singapore.

In October this year, the IMF classified the Philippines as a newly industrialized country with estimated its nominal GDP per capita at $1,908.

Per capita, the Gross National Income, per World Bank 2007 data, is $1,620, 50 percent more than Vietnam’s $790. Even in per capita PPP terms, we are richer than the Vietnamese—$3,730 vs. $2,550, a difference of $1,180 or 46 percent. Of course, we could have been far richer if we had grown as fast as Vietnam.

In the eight years from 2000 to 2007, the Philippine average GDP growth was 5.14 percent. That of Vietnam was 7.63 percent, 48 percent faster. But who is happier—the Filipino or the Vietnamese?

3. The Philippines has ten million expatriate workers, the so-called overseas Filipino workers (OFW). There are 16 million families in the Philippines. That means 63 percent of total households in the country have an OFW. Two of every three families.

This year, the 10 million overseas Filipino workers will remit $18 billion. That’s an average remittance of $1,800 per worker. Divide that by 5.5—the average of Filipino family size and you get $327.27 additional per capita income. Add that to the domestic $1,620 per capita income and you get a per capita income figure closer to \$2,000. In other words, one can conclude that 10 million households—two of every three—are middle class.

Compare that to the ten million households in America who are technically bankrupt because their homes have less value than the loans borrowed with which to buy them.

4. The Philippines is unique as a poor country. Filipinos spend more for e-loading and texting than for their milk, coffee, patis and even Jollibee. Is that the behavior of poverty-stricken people?

The Filipino farmer is productive only half of the time. He has plenty of spare time. He uses that to drink gin or beer with his barkada, make bets at the cockpit, and make love. He breathes fresh air, eats his wife’s cooking and listens to the latest two-bit political commentator on the radio. His wife, meanwhile, watches the latest telenovela.

Is he happy? Yes. Is he poor? Yes.

biznewsasia@gmail.com

how did this Dr. Balicasan came up with the conclusion that with a $2,000 gross per capita income of 10 million filipino household make them a middle class? is there such a thing as middle class of the poor and middle class of the rich? i just dont get the statistical correlation between gross per capita income and being middle class.

Why not? I can dream, can't I? :lol::cheers:

Yeah but why?

The Philippines may be a NIC, but it's by far not a leading developing country. It sucks actually. But it's improving slightly.

Totally not agree....

How can we not be better off then when in the 60’s our learning institutions were once the envy of Southeast Asia, a time when our neighbors sent their sons and daughters to our shores for the much revered Philippine education. An enjoyable exchange rate of P2 = US$1 or P1 = HK$2, a time when Filipinos held a grand Peso during their shopping spree.

ahh the perks of being a US neocolony.. our economic failure now can only be attributed to the fact that from the day we were given independence by the Americans until the 1970s and 1980s, our national economy was not allowed to grow. Instead, we were controlled by the US, and our whole economy was tied to it and made dependent on it. It wasnt our fault though, it was the law and part of the Independence package that we got in 1946. Remember Pres. Carlos Garcia's Filipino First Policy? the difference between 1950s-60s when we were "Asia's 2nd biggest economy" and now: ownership. America owned Asia's 2nd biggest economy then through Bell Trade Act and the Laurel-Langley Agreement, Filipinos own it now.. the Filipinization of industries and the transformation from a neocolonial to a National Economy became a long and arduous process though whose fruits we are only enjoying now. When we chose nationalism over being a mere "economic satellite of the US", we have indeed suffered. it's only picking up now..

^^ Well said!

^^ Yes indeed.
I trust that that's true.

ahh the perks of being a US neocolony.. our economic failure now can only be attributed to the fact that from the day we were given independence by the Americans until the 1970s and 1980s, our national economy was not allowed to grow. Instead, we were controlled by the US, and our whole economy was tied to it and made dependent on it. It wasnt our fault though, it was the law and part of the Independence package that we got in 1946. Remember Pres. Carlos Garcia's Filipino First Policy? the difference between 1950s-60s when we were "Asia's 2nd biggest economy" and now: ownership. America owned Asia's 2nd biggest economy then through Bell Trade Act and the Laurel-Langley Agreement, Filipinos own it now.. the Filipinization of industries and the transformation from a neocolonial to a National Economy became a long and arduous process though whose fruits we are only enjoying now. When we chose nationalism over being a mere "economic satellite of the US", we have indeed suffered. it's only picking up now..


Then, no matter how small our economy is, it is still something to be proud of...Kasi, sariling atin na talaga ito... :)

So, let's start from what we have now...Sana, tuloy tuloy na yong pag-unlad natin... :)

Another product that i saw in Malaysia from your country, is probably the Blueskies biscuits...

went in KL last September
saw some Philippine product being sold in Kuala Lumpur

The 10M is part of the 92M population of the PHilippines.

Official population count reveals...

88.57 million Filipinos in 2007

Final results of the latest Census of Population (POPCEN 2007) conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) placed the Philippine population at 88,574,614 persons as of August 1, 2007. Said results down to barangay level were made official with the signing by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of Proclamation No. 1489 on April 16, 2008.

The total population of the Philippines in 2000 (based on the 2000 Census of Population and Housing) was 76.50 million while it was recorded at 68.62 million in 1995 (based on the 1995 Mid-Decade Census).
Census Year Census Reference Date Philippine Population (in millions)
2007 August 1, 2007 88.57
2000 May 1, 2000 76.50
1995 September 1, 1995 68.62

Lowest population growth rate recorded since the 1960s

The 2007 and 2000 census figures translated into an average annual population growth rate of 2.04 percent for the period 2000 to 2007. As shown below, it was the lowest annual population growth rate recorded for the Philippines since the 1960s
Reference Period Average Annual Population Growth Rate for the Philippines
(in percent)
2000-2007 2.04
1990-2000 2.34
1980-1990 2.35
1970-1980 2.75
1960-1970 3.01

The projected average annual population growth rate for the period 2005 to 2010 was 1.95 percent. This projection was based on the 2000 Census of Population and Housing.

Calabarzon, NCR, and Central Luzon comprise more than one-third of total population

By region, Calabarzon (Region IV-A) had the largest population with 11.74 million, followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) with 11.55 million, and Central Luzon (Region III) with 9.72 million. The combined population of these three regions comprised more than one-third (37.3 percent) of the Philippine population.

Twelve regions have growth rates lower than the national figure

Twelve of the country's 17 administrative regions have growth rates lower than the national figure. The other five regions had higher growth rates, namely, NCR (2.11%), Region III (2.36%), Region IV-A (3.21%), Region XII (2.41%), and ARMM (5.46%).

Cavite's 2.86 million population tops other provinces

Among provinces, Cavite had the largest population with 2.86 million. Bulacan was second with 2.83 million, and Pangasinan came in third, with 2.65 million.

Five other provinces surpassed the two million mark: Laguna (2.47 million persons); Cebu, excluding its three highly urbanized cities - Cebu City, Lapu-lapu City, and Mandaue City (2.44 million persons); Negros Occidental, excluding Bacolod City (2.37 million persons); Rizal (2.28 million persons); and Batangas (2.25 million persons)

On the other hand, three provinces reportedly had less than 100 thousand population, namely, Batanes (16 thousand persons); Camiguin (81 thousand persons); and Siquijor (88 thousand persons).

Four highly urbanized cities (HUCs) record more than one million population

Of the 32 highly urbanized cities (HUCs), only four had qualified for the Millionaires� Club. Three of such HUCs were in the NCR: Quezon City (2.68 million), Manila (1.66 million), and Caloocan City (1.38 million). The other HUC which qualified for the Millionaires� Club was Davao City with a population of 1.36 million.

About 40,000 fieldworkers were deployed by the NSO during the nationwide census taking last year. The population counts proclaimed by the President as official for all purposes were based on census questionnaires from the different barangays all over the country. These questionnaires were processed in Regional Data Processing Centers adopting a new technology which involved digital imaging and intelligent character recognition. The Census was conducted pursuant to Batas Pambansa Blg. 72 and Commonwealth Act 591.

Final counts by barangay are available at the NSO website - . Regional volumes in print and electronic copies (CD-ROM) can be obtained at the Databank and Information Services Division of the NSO.

how did this Dr. Balicasan came up with the conclusion that with a $2,000 gross per capita income of 10 million filipino household make them a middle class? is there such a thing as middle class of the poor and middle class of the rich? i just dont get the statistical correlation between gross per capita income and being middle class.


May sarili akong interpretasyon sa middle class. Ito yung mag-asawa na nag-anak lamang ng dalawa at madami na ang tatlo.
Kapag iisa lang kasi ang anak ng middle class family, makakatulong ito sa pagkontrol ng populasyon.
Sana mali ako. :)

Kaya ang C, D, E or even F brackets -- dito ang mas magiging target market. Ibig sabihin nito apat hanggang lima o minsan pa nga ay anim ang anak ng mag-asawa. Hindi pa kasama dito ang mga nagiging anak sa labas ni Tatay.

Kapag nasa abroad o OFW ang mga magulang ibang usapan na ito.

how did this Dr. Balicasan came up with the conclusion that with a $2,000 gross per capita income of 10 million filipino household make them a middle class? is there such a thing as middle class of the poor and middle class of the rich? i just dont get the statistical correlation between gross per capita income and being middle class.It is not only Dr. Balisacan who set that standard. The $2000 per capita income was devised by international organizations such as the UN, WB and the IMF to define and compare economic classes across countries. As of late, the Philippines, having a real GDP per capita of close to $2,000 is considered low-middle income country.

Poverty threshold, on the other hand, is measured by using the $1 and $2 a day definition. So it means that one is considered extremely poor if people earn about $320 to $720 a year. Of course, this definition of economic class is merely based on wealth not on other factors, and this is only used for easy comparison among countries for better targeting of these institutions' programs.

^^ in that case we belong in the "upper class" of poor section..

^^Not necessarily poor. We're still a developing country. Thailand and Malaysia are still considered developing too. Although Malaysia has gone up to upper-middle income country. I think in SEA, only Singapore and Brunei would be considered developed based on GDP per capita. When you say poor, you'll lump the Philippines with the likes of Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

look at this site: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,contentMDK:20420458~menuPK:64133156~pagePK:64133150~piPK:64133175~theSitePK:239419,00.html

it says
Income group: Economies are divided according to 2007 GNI per capita, calculated using the World Bank Atlas method. The groups are: low income, $935 or less; lower middle income, $936 - $3,705; upper middle income, $3,706 - $11,455; and high income, $11,456 or more.

The problem with this classification is that the income ranges are very large it tends to lump countries in certain groups that doesn't seem to reflect their way of life. And another is that it is too simplistic because it bases the standard of life merely on income.

^^ dahil sa nagkalat ang mga Pinoy sa iba't-ibang lupalop ng daigdig, pwede na tayong magkaroon ng sariling interpretasyon ng GDP, per capita income, upper class, lower class at quality of life?

^^huh? Did not understand that. What are you trying to say?

^ i think what he meant to say was that there are around 10 million overseas filipino workers that also form part of our middle class.. are their income already included in the statistics?

^ i think what he meant to say was that there are around 10 million overseas filipino workers that also form part of our middle class.. are their income already included in the statistics?Ahhh... eh parang ang layo pa rin? :lol:

Anyway, I believe that if it's GDP we are talking about, it would not include income coming from abroad. Hence, the GDP per capita would only include income created inside the country divided by the population inside the country too. But, once the remittances are used to buy goods inside the country or are used in investments such as real estate, etc, then that would form part of the national economy as private consumption. That's my understanding of things. Economists, please check my macroeconomics. :lol:

If he's asking for "interpretations" of statistics, then that would be quite confusing. Yeah, statistics do include interpretations BUT you have to find the definition of concepts first before doing an interpretation of that info. So in this case, the question he was asking is irrelevant already because the IMF, WB, UN and other institutions for that matter are clear about the definition of terms. GDP is GDP, middle class is middle class so on and so forth.

ahh the perks of being a US neocolony.. our economic failure now can only be attributed to the fact that from the day we were given independence by the Americans until the 1970s and 1980s, our national economy was not allowed to grow. Instead, we were controlled by the US, and our whole economy was tied to it and made dependent on it. It wasnt our fault though, it was the law and part of the Independence package that we got in 1946. Remember Pres. Carlos Garcia's Filipino First Policy? the difference between 1950s-60s when we were "Asia's 2nd biggest economy" and now: ownership. America owned Asia's 2nd biggest economy then through Bell Trade Act and the Laurel-Langley Agreement, Filipinos own it now.. the Filipinization of industries and the transformation from a neocolonial to a National Economy became a long and arduous process though whose fruits we are only enjoying now. When we chose nationalism over being a mere "economic satellite of the US", we have indeed suffered. it's only picking up now..



Thank you manileño for reminding us of the shackles that was the Bell Trade and Laurel Langley agreement. Indeed they bind our country from progress most notably the provisions that allowed equal access to our natural resources for exploitation.....
A stern reminder that we Filipinos must carefully define for ourselves what is good for our country.

Nationalism per se should not be a culprit for our stagnation. If fact it should be a prime mover of development much like that of Japan, coupled with industrial prudence gave birth to the first generation of Asian industrialization. A policy of ‘country first’ where they begin to export innovative products after exhausting local demand.

In the 70's the Philippines has positioned itself to join the 3rd generation of Asian industrialization. It strongly diversified from primary to light manufacturing goods.
In the early 80's, advancement in agriculture also paved the way for the Philippines to become a rice exporter.

Though I recognize the past hindrances you've mentioned, a significant portion of the blunder is also of our own doing thereafter.

Equally paralyzing government actions have contributed to our predicament....and why we had an aborted take-off in our economy at a critical time.

*Incessant borrowing and a monumental national debt build-up during 1975-83 for purported projects that either had dismal returns or did not ever materialize.

*Intentional overstatement of our foreign exchange reserves and an unprecedented (in Asia) debt moratorium when our foreign reserves were near exhaustion made a mockery of our fiscal well being in the international community.

*Severe crony capitalism associated with a particular past regime curbed much needed investments.
It then led to capital flight and erosion of substantial tax base.

Imagine all this occurring at our take-off stage, sigh! This is no longer nationalism.

Then we have some of the unrelenting:
*Inability to recognize a sustainable population growth rate which has since placed severe strain on the land and resources.

*Continued corruption and patron politics undermining consistency of policy where the government sometimes behaves as the handmaiden of the few.

*Pervasive oligarchic structure that limits credible influence and exacerbates divisive regionalistic attitudes....i.e. our penchant for association to the Pogis of Tawi-Tawi, Guapos of Aparri, Machos of Babuyan etc...etc...

IMHO, now is not the time to relax, not just yet. That is why I'm at odds with Tony Lopez' statement :

By Tony Lopez (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/nov/13/yehey/opinion/20081113opi4.html)
Why do I say the Philippines is not that poor? Let me cite some data:
1...........In the whole of Asia, only eight other countries are bigger than the Philippines in GDP PPP – China, Japan, India, Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia........
Is he happy? Yes. Is he poor? Yes.

biznewsasia@gmail.com

This is misplaced pride. I consider this statement an inducement for complacency.
Heck even some of the countries he mentioned are downright unacceptable to me.
How can the xxxxx, yyyyy, zzzzz and gggg be more than the Filipino?

Pinapadala lang nila dati mga magagaling nila sa atin para mag-aral ah......



.

Lack of Nationalism is just one of the major factors why our country is suffering from identity, moral, and financial crisis.

Ahhh... eh parang ang layo pa rin? :lol:

Anyway, I believe that if it's GDP we are talking about, it would not include income coming from abroad. Hence, the GDP per capita would only include income created inside the country divided by the population inside the country too. But, once the remittances are used to buy goods inside the country or are used in investments such as real estate, etc, then that would form part of the national economy as private consumption. That's my understanding of things. Economists, please check my macroeconomics. :lol:

If he's asking for "interpretations" of statistics, then that would be quite confusing. Yeah, statistics do include interpretations BUT you have to find the definition of concepts first before doing an interpretation of that info. So in this case, the question he was asking is irrelevant already because the IMF, WB, UN and other institutions for that matter are clear about the definition of terms. GDP is GDP, middle class is middle class so on and so forth.

Yes, you're correct on the definition of GDP. If we include the income from abroad, then it is the Gross National Product or GNP.

GNP: "An economic statistic that includes GDP, plus any income earned by residents from overseas investments, minus income earned within the domestic economy by overseas residents".

Our GNP is technically higher than GDP but still within the classification of lower middle income.

http://countrystat.bas.gov.ph/index.asp?cont=Recents

"Economic Performance of the Philippines: "In 2007, the Philippines recorded a 7.96 percent growth in Gross National Product (GNP). Its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded by 7.19 percent. The Gross Value Added (GVA) in agriculture and fishery increased by 5.01 percent during the year. The sector accounted for about 18.26 percent of the GDP"



However, this year would be lower and the forecast for next year is also not good due to global financial crisis but still no recession.

New company eyes RP's booming wellness sector
Updated November 20, 2008 12:00 AM

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Hans Christian Hansen, director of SBU dermatology and member of the executive committee of Inovail with Dr. Marcus Klein, chief scientific officer and vice president for oncology of Invida Pharmaceutical Holdings, Pte. Ltd., the holding company of Inovail.

Inovail Holdings Pte. Ltd. has expressed keen interest in establishing a strong marketing presence in the Philip-pine wellness market, specifically in the feminine hygiene sector.

Hans Christian Hansen, director of SBU dermatology and member of the executive committee of Inovail, said the recent launching of Seforel feminine wash proved a perfect opportunity to be competitive because the product was developed locally by a Filipino team, inspired by the latest European technology — from formulation to packaging.

“With Filipinos developing the product, we expect Seforel to be popular among sophisticated Filipinas,” said Hansen.

Hansen added the Philippines is a major market in the Asia Pacific region because more and more Filipinas are now aware of the advantages of using quality wellness products. “We believe this is a significant potential market for us. Inovail estimates the total Philippine market — just feminine hygiene market — is worth $50 million,” he said.

Backed by a high quality development, Hansen said Inovail expects Seforel to be among the major brands of feminine wash in the country. “We expect it to be in the top three brands in this category,” he said.

Dr. Marcus Klein, chief scientific officer and vice president for oncology of Invida Pharmaceutical Holdings, Pte. Ltd., the holding company of Inovail, said the company is enthusiastic about working with their Filipino counterparts. Apart from quality work standards, Filipinos recognize the value of best practices in Europe. “Filipinos are always excited about receiving new ideas that proved important to the development of Seforel,” said Klein.

Klein added that the firm’s acquisition of American company Valeant Pharmaceuticals International enabled Inovail to have a stronger position in the local market. Among its valued products are Midol, Feosol, Disflatyl, Dermatix, Solcoseryl and Kinerase.

With corporate headquarters in Singapore, Invida, which focuses on commercialization services, has three major shareholders namely, Temasek Holdings, the investment arm of the Singapore government; Quintiles Transnational, the world’s leading provider of contract clinical services to the pharmaceutical industry; and the Zuellig Group, the largest pharmaceutical distribution and supply chain management network in the Asia Pacific region. Zuellig owns manufacturing sites in Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines.

The country is seen by Inovail as a major market player citing increased awareness and concern over wellness and hygiene issues. It also believes aesthetic dermatology and complementary oncology products have high potentials thus, it is expected to be launched within the year.

Our country cannot fully develop if we keep exporting our people and then using the remittances to import almost every industrial/consumer goods that we need. If our country wants to industrialize it needs a viable Steel and Aluminum industry. These two metals are the essentials in the production of automobiles and almost every type of machinery used in industry. As an example I just heard that there are two shipbuilders willing to locate in our country one from Singapore the other from Australia but our steel output is too low. The old technology of using coal to purify iron in making steel is no longer feasible. What our country needs is the Midrex or HYL DRI (Direct Reduced Iron) Process to produce steel using natural gas which we have plenty of. The Steel Plant should be situated in Batangas where the natural gas pipeline has a berthing/landing for distribution to Manila. I wonder if our government even has these things in our future development goals.

INTERVIEW-China's MCC eyes $1.5 bln Philippine steel plant
Wed Oct 15, 2008 5:36pm IST

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* MCC considers building $1.5 bn steel plant-minister

* MCC also looking at copper, gold mining sites-minister

By Manolo Serapio Jr.

MANILA (Reuters) - China Metallurgical Construction Group Corp (MCC) is considering investing at least $1.5 billion in an integrated steel plant in the southern Philippines, and is also looking at potential mining sites, a government official said on Wednesday.

Philippine Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza said he met officials of MCC, a state-backed Chinese firm that specialises in developing mines and metals smelters, earlier this week in the capital Manila to discuss the steel project.

"They're willing to invest $1.5 billion, and even more if they need to, for the integrated steel plant," Atienza told Reuters in a telephone interview.

He said MCC is looking at Zamboanga del Sur province on the southern island of Mindanao as a potential site for the facility.

On Tuesday, Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd (5713.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said it was considering building a $1.7 billion nickel processing plant in Surigao del Norte province, also on Mindanao.

Apart from processing iron ore, MCC is also interested in mining for copper and gold in the Phillipines, said Atienza, adding MCC officials were returning to Manila on Oct 20 for further discussions.

MCC operates mines in Papua New Guinea, Pakistan and Argentina, among others. In July Russian steelmaker Evraz Group (HK1q.L: Quote, Profile, Research) joined forces with MCC to develop the Cape Lambert iron ore project in Western Australia.

"We're inviting the big players so they could go into building processing plants rather than go into just mere extraction of minerals," Atienza said.

The Philippines, which sits on top of an estimated $1 trillion worth of unexplored copper, gold and nickel deposits is trying to attract foreign investors into its mining sector, one of the world's largest and most profitable in the 1970s.

But the global financial crisis has made it difficult for many companies to raise funds.

Manila had to push back its target of drawing $10 billion in mining investments by one year to 2012, from $1.7 billion so far since 2004 when the Supreme Court cleared a law allowing foreign firms to own 100 percent of local mining projects.

Lack of Nationalism is just one of the major factors why our country is suffering from identity, moral, and financial crisis.


I agree, ito pa rin ang key to national development.

Yung kay Tony Lopez, anu lang yung skin deep.

Alam nya na matindi kahirapan sa Pinas at malaki problema.

Because of our lack of nationalism.

pero again, if we work together, we can be unbeatable as a nation..

At least the Philippines will be in the top 20! :cheers:

I think many countries are moving into the right direction.
http://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00038/hamish-mcrae-chart-1_38006a.jpg

"Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World"



Global Trends 2025, a new report written by the US National Intelligence Council (NIC) ahead of President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration, envisages a future world marked by diminished US power, dwindling resources, and more people.

The NIC, an independent government body, emphasises that its report is not about "crystal-ball gazing" but offers a range of potential futures, including the following key trends.


US DOMINANCE

The US will remain the single most important actor in 2025 but will be less dominant.

It will retain its considerable military advantages, but scientific and technological advances; the use of "irregular warfare tactics" by others; the proliferation of long-range precision weapons; and the growing use of cyber warfare attacks "increasingly will constrict US freedom of action".

The US will still have a role to play as a "much-needed regional balancer" in the Middle East and Asia, despite the recent rise in anti-Americanism.

It will also be expected to play a significant role in using its military power to counter global terrorism, and will be seen as key to finding solutions to climate change.

US policy is likely to be strongly determined by internal developments in a number of key states, particularly China and Russia.


WEST v EAST

The current trend of global wealth and economic power shifting roughly from West to East, described as "without precedent in modern history", will continue.

Brazil, Russia, China and India are picked as countries which might benefit, boosted by rising oil and commodity price rises that have generated windfall profits for the Gulf states and Russia, as well as a shift in manufacturing and some service industries to Asia.

No other countries are projected to rise to the level of China, India, or Russia, and none is likely to match their individual global clout.

China is poised to have more impact on the world over the next two decades than any other country. If current trends persist, by 2025 China will have the world's second largest economy and its military will play an increasingly important role.

TERRORISM

Terrorism is unlikely to disappear by 2025, but its appeal could diminish if economic growth continues and youth unemployment is mitigated in the Middle East.

Terrorist groups in 2025 are likely to be a combination of descendants of long-established groups and newly emergent collections of "the angry and disenfranchised that become self-radicalised".

One of the greatest concerns continues to be that terrorists will use biological agents, or less likely, a nuclear device, to cause mass casualties.

However, al-Qaeda could decay "sooner than people think" due to the group's growing unpopularity in the Muslim world.

"The prospect that al-Qaeda will be among the small number of groups able to transcend the generational timeline is not high, given its harsh ideology, unachievable strategic objectives and inability to become a mass movement."

NUCLEAR WEAPONS

The risk of nuclear weapon use over the next 20 years, although remaining very low, is likely to be greater than it is in today.

Ongoing low-intensity clashes between India and Pakistan could lead to broader conflict. The possibility of regime change or collapse in a nuclear weapon state such as North Korea raises questions regarding the ability of weak states to control and secure their nuclear arsenals.

It is not inevitable that Iran will acquire nuclear weapons, but "other countries' worries" about a nuclear-armed Iran could lead them to develop new security arrangements, including getting nuclear weapons themselves.

"Episodes of low-intensity conflict taking place under a nuclear umbrella could lead to an unintended escalation and broader conflict if clear red lines between those states involved are not well established."

"If nuclear weapons are used in the next 15-20 years, the international system will be shocked as it experiences immediate humanitarian, economic, and political-military repercussions."

Significant geopolitical changes could happen as a result, with some states seeking security alliances with existing nuclear powers and others pushing for global nuclear disarmament.

FOOD AND WATER

The World Bank estimates that demand for food will rise by 50% by 2030, as a result of growing world population, rising affluence, and the shift to Western dietary preferences by a larger middle class.

The number of countries which lack access to stable water supplies will rise from 21, with a combined population of 600 million, to 36 countries by 2025 - affecting 1.4 billion people.

With water becoming more scarce in Asia and the Middle East, co-operation on managing changing water resources is likely to become more difficult within and between states.

If world leaders decide that access to energy resources is essential for domestic stability, then, in the worst case, conflict between countries could break out.

AFRICA

Sub-Saharan Africa will remain the region most vulnerable to economic disruption, population stresses, civil conflict, and political instability.

The region will be a major supplier of the commodities needed to meet increased global demand, but local populations are unlikely to benefit economically. Instead, corrupt or ill-equipped governments could reap the profits.

GLOBAL PANDEMIC

The emergence of a novel, highly transmissible, and virulent human respiratory illness for which there are no adequate countermeasures could initiate a global pandemic.

If such a disease emerges, internal and cross-border tension will become more likely as nations struggle to control the movement of populations fleeing infection or wanting access to resources.

Experts consider highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) strains, such as H5N1, as having the potential to develop, but other pathogens, such as the Sars coronavirus or other influenza strains, could also emerge.

The most likely starting point for a pandemic would be somewhere with a lot of people and close association with animals - such as many parts of China and South-East Asia.

In the worst case, "tens to hundreds of millions of Americans within the US Homeland would become ill and deaths would mount into the tens of millions".

Globally, approximately a third of world's population would become ill and hundreds of millions die.

TECHNOLOGY

The transition from old fuels to new will be slow, as will the development of new technologies which present viable alternatives to fossil fuels or help eliminate food and water problems.

All current technologies are inadequate and new ones will probably not be commercially viable and widespread by 2025.


http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/6844/capitulo7cy6.jpg


more in:
http://www.dni.gov/nic/NIC_2025_project.html

Nigeria bigger than us?! :eek:

that's awesome!

yeah European countries eat dust. :lol: about time
anyway that all depends on the future govts that will run these countries. If corrupt countries continue their corrupt govts, I doubt they will achieve those levels.

Large economy becuase of the large population. I hope the standard of living will improve too.

Hindi lang sa food, shelter and clothing.
Sana marunong din silang magbasa ng economic research.

Animo, where did you got that news from?? :)

Wow! Never stop contributing for our fatherland Philippines!

By 2010 many projects will rise and be finished and we can already see the start of our elevation.

Animo, where did you got that news from?? :)

Animo: I am also interested, source please....

Wow! Never stop contributing for our fatherland Philippines!

By 2010 many projects will rise and be finished and we can already see the start of our elevation.

In 2007, we are no. 16 in the world in terms of skyscrapers/buildings >90M. More buildings are in the pipeline, competition is tough with other countries but the Philippines keeps on moving. :)
:cheers:Originally posted by logorithm from Malaysia forum:
Kuala Lumpur is listed at #13 this year in the list of World's Best Skylines (http://homepages.ipact.nl/~egram/skylines.html), down from #9 in 2006.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd282/logorithm/architecture/Top100Cities01.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd282/logorithm/architecture/Top100Cities02.jpg
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd282/logorithm/architecture/Top100Cities03.jpg

^^ not a reliable list coz many towers in metro manila are not part of the data.

^^ not a reliable list coz many towers in metro manila are not part of the data.

So, it means that our ranking would have been higher? Who's in-charge of collating the data for Philippines? But I'm sure for year 2008, more buildings would be counted.

Animo, where did you got that news from?? :)

It's from the Skybar News section in this website.

This is Goldman Sachs' projection of the 20 largest economies in 2050 by standard (as opposed to ppp).

* although note this was before the current economic crisis.

GDPs in trillions of US Dollars.

1. China $70.710
2. USA $38.514
3. India $37.688
4. Brazil $11.366
5. Mexico $9.340
6. Russia $8.580
7. Indonesia $7.010
8. Japan $6.677
9. UK $5.133
10. Germany $5.024
11. Nigeria $4.640
12. France $4.592
13. South Korea $4.083
14. Turkey $3.943
15. Vietnam $3.607
16. Canada $3.149
17. Philippines $3.010
18. Italy $2.950
19. Iran $2.663
20. Egypt $2.602

per capita its a toss up between the Americans, South Koreans and Brits.

^^ not a reliable list coz many towers in metro manila are not part of the data.

I agree. That is one poor list. They only judge according to the height of the buildings, not the formations, the amount, the design, style...etc...poor list...a piece of shit I might add.:)

After 1 month of vacation all I can think of when i see those projections that we have to really really work hard to get to that point and pray a lot.
I don't know who made that projections and how reliable are but he must be a very very optimistic person.

With our very small islands , not really rich in resources , a really small industry sector , lack of infrastructures and a rampant corruption . Can somebody explain me how can we possibly going that far in 40 years ?

So are we really planning to send everybody to work abroad , because it might work ?

And why I don't see South Africa ? Or Kazakhstan ?

^^Yes. It is really a very optimistic projection. It assumes that the Philippines would grow 7.4% annually in 40 years.

:lol:

... not really rich in resources ..

^^ mind you, we are very much rich in natural and in human resources.

I was talking about only natural resources and yes we are rich in natural resources maybe if we compared ourselves to Singapore but we cannot really compare ourself with South Africa , Mexico , Brazil , Kazakhstan , Russia and so on.

We don't really export too much oil these days are we? Gas ? I don't think is even enough for us ?
The minerals like Gold , Nickel ecc, yes we have that but is owned by foreigners. And if you listen to certain gossips they don't really declare everything don't they ?

Agriculture ? Our islands are too small , we have have very limited land.
Industrial sectors? we have but not really that much to impress anyone.

Don't get me wrong I would love to see the Philippines that rich and powerful after only after 40 years but I was wondering how a person can predict that a country like ours can go so far and why Nigeria is there without Angola or most importantly South Africa ?

^^Yes. It is really a very optimistic projection. It assumes that the Philippines would grow 7.4% annually in 40 years.

Yeah, but why not? China has been growing at an average of 8.85% in 40 years from 1967-2007 and that's including three years of recession. We can do it too as long as our government's corruption problem is eradicated. :D

yes it's possible. thats forty years from now. It only took 20 years for Korea and Malaysia to drastically improve their economies. We are a young population country. If all these young people are educated and become very productive we will be a force to reckon with. Japan and Britain are small countries with limited land and natural resources but look at their current economic might.

^^ I agree. Never underestimate the power of human resources. Education is really that important.

We have a lot of advantages to other countries like japan, United kingdom, Singapore, Italy. This are very small countries like us but manage to become a rich nation... The only thing they have that we don't is "nationalism" this what makes these countries rich.. sad but true. Imagine if we are like this countries people what would be our place now?

I was talking about only natural resources and yes we are rich in natural resources maybe if we compared ourselves to Singapore but we cannot really compare ourself with South Africa , Mexico , Brazil , Kazakhstan , Russia and so on.

We don't really export too much oil these days are we? Gas ? I don't think is even enough for us ?
The minerals like Gold , Nickel ecc, yes we have that but is owned by foreigners. And if you listen to certain gossips they don't really declare everything don't they ?

^^ what is the point? i only said we are rich in natural resources and i never attributed the fact to the means of its collections. that is beyond the scope of my comment.

but why are those foreigners getting more of our resources? because we let them, since they pay cash.


Agriculture ? Our islands are too small , we have have very limited land.
Industrial sectors? we have but not really that much to impress anyone.


^^ our islands having inadequate size leading to poor agricultural yield must not be a factor, since we have adequate field for agriculture. it's just poorly utilized.. our industrial sector is also booming due to companies that outsource. what is not booming though is our home-grown industrial/manufacturing companies - since many of us do not buy local products. who here actually bought a neo laptop twice? it could quite be a measly number...


Don't get me wrong I would love to see the Philippines that rich and powerful after only after 40 years but I was wondering how a person can predict that a country like ours can go so far and why Nigeria is there without Angola or most importantly South Africa ?

^^ it is right that you ponder on such things. since i do not believe in that presumption too. no one can really predict any country's future, unless we have all the data, which is impossible. these predictions, even with stats, are only opinions of possibilities to come.

Really with you guys so optimistic , what I can say I'm glad to join.
Afterall we are in the same boat.

I buy filipino products like food , clothes and probably some other stuffs.
But only when I am in the Philippines , but not in abroad beside some gastronomic product sold in some chinese shop there is not really else to buy made in the Philippines?
I think all those Filipino manufactures don't really promote themselves a lot outside the country ?

And you know sometimes I don't really blaming the Filipino if in the philippines they don't buy the local products but they go for their foreign counterpart.
Its in our culture(not mine) to prefer imported made goods , to prefer something different than us , to think that foreigners are always better.

I was so negatively impress how the media promote white filipino people , foreigners , half Filipino . When we have beautiful dark native men and women, who are too scared of the sun and put funny things on their faces to be more white.

Don't get me wrong I would love to see the Philippines that rich and powerful after only after 40 years but I was wondering how a person can predict that a country like ours can go so far and why Nigeria is there without Angola or most importantly South Africa?

Of course I know that you know that it's not a one-member organization who predicted these. It's a credible organization. But still these are predictions; things can still go out of hand and the top 20 economies in the list can entirely change.

Economic forecasts always have a base year. Probably they based that prediction on the 2007 GDP growth that we earned. It was a historical jump, since, if I'm not mistaken, it was the biggest GDP growth that we had after a few administrations. And we know that it's just a 7.3% growth, but our economy is really not that small. I forgot where it was posted here, but there were comparisons on how big our economy was and it shows that it's really not that lagging worldwide.

If anyone would be kind enough, can the comparison that I was referring to be posted again here? Thanks. :)

We have a lot of advantages to other countries like japan, United kingdom, Singapore, Italy. This are very small countries like us but manage to become a rich nation... The only thing they have that we don't is "nationalism" this what makes these countries rich.. sad but true. Imagine if we are like this countries people what would be our place now?

We are not larger than Japan in any way. Japan's population and land area are more than twice as large as ours or even more. Their mineral resources are, IMO, more vast than ours and, to add, are properly used. Probably, better management of the resources that we have will propel our economy and who knows, maybe that forecast from Goldman Sachs would come true.:D

Of course I know that you know that it's not a one-member organization who predicted these. It's a credible organization. But still these are predictions; things can still go out of hand and the top 20 economies in the list can entirely change.

Economic forecasts always have a base year. Probably they based that prediction on the 2007 GDP growth that we earned. It was a historical jump, since, if I'm not mistaken, it was the biggest GDP growth that we had after a few administrations. And we know that it's just a 7.3% growth, but our economy is really not that small. I forgot where it was posted here, but there were comparisons on how big our economy was and it shows that it's really not that lagging worldwide.

If anyone would be kind enough, can the comparison that I was referring to be posted again here? Thanks. :)Yes. The base year was 2007. And at that time we had a 7.3% real GDP growth. Actually, what Goldman and Sachs have considered in their report is not only about economic growth but also the potential of these countries to influence the world economy because of their large populations. It would be easy for the Philippines and other populous countries to make their economy strong and rich if and only if they would make production in their respective countries more efficient and competitive using science and technology, etc. Case in point, Japan.

Our economy is the 46th largest economy in the world in terms of Nominal GDP, according to IMF. And the 37th largest economy in the world based on GDP (PPP), according to IMF.

We are not larger than Japan in any way. Japan's population and land area are more than twice as large as ours or even more. Their mineral resources are, IMO, more vast than ours and, to add, are properly used. Probably, better management of the resources that we have will propel our economy and who knows, maybe that forecast from Goldman Sachs would come true.:DNo, no. Japan's territory is only bigger then ours by just 77,000sqkm. Our land area is 300,000sqkm and theirs is 377,000sqkm. The Philippines' land area is as big as Italy's.

Japan's population is 127M compared to the Philippines' 90M. ;)

^^ Oh. Sorry for being a bit exaggerated. :D But they are still bigger. :lol:

Just to add to marieantonette's first post, the Philippines' population is a 'young' one. A big chunk of our populace is composed of the younger ones. If we just enhance our educational system and make sure that most of the younger generations would be going to school, it will be a plus since most of them would surely graduate from school and be a part of our workforce or the earning cluster. That would drastically change our economy 40 years from now if much of today's young people become a part of the working and earning class.

^^ that's actually good you know, a chance to start anew, the pre-war generation I think forged a strong nation, the next one ruined it, now it's up to the younger gen to repair it...

Really with you guys so optimistic , what I can say I'm glad to join.
Afterall we are in the same boat.

I buy filipino products like food , clothes and probably some other stuffs.
But only when I am in the Philippines , but not in abroad beside some gastronomic product sold in some chinese shop there is not really else to buy made in the Philippines?
I think all those Filipino manufactures don't really promote themselves a lot outside the country ?

And you know sometimes I don't really blaming the Filipino if in the philippines they don't buy the local products but they go for their foreign counterpart.
Its in our culture(not mine) to prefer imported made goods , to prefer something different than us , to think that foreigners are always better.

I was so negatively impress how the media promote white filipino people , foreigners , half Filipino . When we have beautiful dark native men and women, who are too scared of the sun and put funny things on their faces to be more white.

These are the reasons why we are poor and our economy weak.

We have to learn to love our own.

Fortunately, like you- Pinoys are slowly beginning to love our country's products....

But as you said..we still have to eliminate our lack of a strong national identity...and we should stop mimicking the white men.

^^ I would have to agree about how we lack national identity. National identity is big! Look at Thailand for example, or Korea. It's a driving force.

^^ I would have to agree about how we lack national identity. National identity is big! Look at Thailand for example, or Korea. It's a driving force.

Definitely a very strong driving force!

A whirlwind that can easily catapult the Philippines among the developed nations of the world (OECD membership)

So, it means that our ranking would have been higher? Who's in-charge of collating the data for Philippines? But I'm sure for year 2008, more buildings would be counted.

on this list of 2008 World's Best Skyline, metro manila was a bit displaced from the 14th spot in 2007 to 16th in 2008. every year the list will change as more high rise buildings and skyscrappers are finishedhe throughout the world.

down south, the 2nd philippine city that made into this list is cebu up from #402 last year to #351 this year. and i think thats where most of our cities are heading to up up and away!

on this list of 2008 World's Best Skyline, metro manila was a bit displaced from the 14th spot in 2007 to 16th in 2008. every year the list will change as more high rise buildings and skyscrappers are finishedhe throughout the world.

down south, the 2nd philippine city that made into this list is cebu up from #402 last year to #351 this year. and i think thats where most of our cities are heading to up up and away!

Either that or its not updated. PBCOM is still listed as the tallest building in this city when you have much taller buildings under construction or planned.

^^ So even the planned and U/Cs are already included in the survey?

^^ So even the planned and U/Cs are already included in the survey?

Not yet. Gramercy Residences isn't on the list and its gonna be taller than PBCOM

^^ What I meant is, should the Goldmann & Sachs should've also included the planned and U/Cs? Or should they really not?

Just to add to marieantonette's first post, the Philippines' population is a 'young' one. A big chunk of our populace is composed of the younger ones. If we just enhance our educational system and make sure that most of the younger generations would be going to school, it will be a plus since most of them would surely graduate from school and be a part of our workforce or the earning cluster. That would drastically change our economy 40 years from now if much of today's young people become a part of the working and earning class.

I agree to this. Protect the education of our younger fellows. Then make a good program that will benefit our Senior Citizens, wherein they don't need to work just to earn money. 40 years is quite long, maybe 10-20 years?

If gov’t can lower ecozone land rental
Taiwan footwear makers to relocate here


Taiwanese footwear manufacturers have agreed to relocate in the Philippines for as long as government can lower to per square meter monthly land rental in an economic zone, ending a lengthy negotiation with government officials where Taiwanese firms included cheaper labor and power costs as conditions to relocating their multi-million business into the country from China.

Lin Chao Chieh, chairman of the Taiwan Footwear Manufacturers Association (TFMA), relayed this to reporters recently.

At present, land cost in the country’s various economic zones ranges from $ 2.60 to $ 6 per square meter per month.

"We hope the government can lower the monthly land cost to per square meter, which is the same rate as China. The high power and labor costs seemed acceptable but land cost is more important, so, we hope government can lower the rental fees," Chieh said.

The shoemakers, however, stressed that they do not want to develop a raw land into an economic zone anymore but would rather locate in an existing ecozone.

Taiwanese shoemakers have already given up bargaining for cheaper labor and power upon knowing that government cannot do anything about the labor rate which is mandated by law. The government is also trying to address the high cost of power.

When asked for comment, Dita Angara-Mathay, commercial affairs director of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, said the Taiwanese condition for preferential land rate could be favorably granted given their huge investment in a labor-intensive industry.

TFMA, which is composed of over 200 footwear manufacturers with factories in mainland China, is supplying to big shoe stores in the U.S. such as Wall-Mart and Payless.

So far, TFMA, which represents and advice members on where to invest, has admitted that China is still their choice for investment location because it remains to be competitive as a manufacturing hub. In addition, there is no language barrier in China.

But TFMA members are starting to pullout their manufacturing operations in China because the current labor cost there at $ 100 per month is steadily going up and the local currency has been appreciating against the U.S. dollar.

Some have, in fact, relocated already to Vietnam and Indonesia where monthly salary rate is also at 0 per month. Cambodia has an even lower rate of $ 28 per month.

Comparatively, workers in the shoe factories in Marikina, the country’s shoe capital, is earning per day or a minimum daily wage of P240 as mandated by law.

But Marikina shoemakers are proven to be more productive and have better skills at shoe designing.

The TFMA members are also looking at other factors like social security and political stability in countries where they are going to relocate.

During the negotiation stage, the TFMA noted the need for a supply chain where the Philippines does not have.

The MECO and the Board of Investments have been vigorously pursuing the TFMA investments because of its huge export potential and job generation opportunities.

The local government of Marikina City has also negotiated with the TFMA to revive the city’s fledgling shoe industry.

Taiwan’s shoe manufacturing industry is now one of the world’s biggest shoe suppliers with major markets -- U.S., Europe and Japan.

TFMA has projected that the specialty shoes, high-end quality and more value added shoes would be the mainstream in shoe production in the coming years.

Taiwanese authorities are also very supportive of its shoe manufacturing industry.

In 1990, the TFMA and Taiwanese agencies Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs jointly established the Footwear & Recreation Technology Research Institute.

The institute located in Taichung Industrial Park, offers TFMA members a wide range of services including product design, quality control, technical and management consulting, training and information.

its good to know that ecozones are sprouting all over the country a sign of growth and deveopment in the country side. aside from the development of IT Parks or BPO centers, the government must also put a development plan as agri-tech and aqua-tech centers in each province so we become self sufficient and self reliant when it comes to basic food supplies like fresh milk, eggs, rice or corn, cooking oil, sugar, flour, vegetables, fruits, and meat.

the agritech or aquatech centers will provide livelihood for most of our rural folks who are not computer savy and they will compliment the IT Parks and BPO in the highly urbanized cities. in so doing, there is not going to be a mass exodus of blue collar workers or professionals from the towns to the cities. our towns end up delipidated and or much worst become ghost towns during weekdays because everybody is heading to work in the city.

i think we have enough land resources to tap and develop.

its good to know that ecozones are sprouting all over the country a sign of growth and deveopment in the country side. aside from the development of IT Parks or BPO centers, the government must also put a development plan as agri-tech and aqua-tech centers in each province so we become self sufficient and self reliant when it comes to basic food supplies like fresh milk, eggs, rice or corn, cooking oil, sugar, flour, vegetables, fruits, and meat.

the agritech or aquatech centers will provide livelihood for most of our rural folks who are not computer savy and they will compliment the IT Parks and BPO in the highly urbanized cities. in so doing, there is not going to be a mass exodus of blue collar workers or professionals from the towns to the cities. our towns end up delipidated and or much worst become ghost towns during weekdays because everybody is heading to work in the city.

i think we have enough land resources to tap and develop.

I agree! :banana:

^^ We should also modernize our Agriculture so that our nation would not be hungry.

^^ We should also modernize our Agriculture so that our nation would not be hungry.

the tech in agri-tech and aqua-tech is of course the latest technology in agriculture, farming , aquaculture, and fishing thus increasing our output and be self sufficient. putting agritech n aquatech zones or parks in towns where there are no jobs can prevent the brain drain of rural areas.

i think gensan is being built as a fishport and more of this type of investment must be established in other provinces.

^^ Is Philippines already considered to be industrialized?

the tech in agri-tech and aqua-tech is of course the latest technology in agriculture, farming , aquaculture, and fishing thus increasing our output and be self sufficient. putting agritech n aquatech zones or parks in towns where there are no jobs can prevent the brain of rural areas.

i think gensan is being built as a fishport and more of this type of investment must be established in other provinces.

Philippines should be self-sufficient in both agriculture and industries para hindi na tayo umasa sa ibang bansa kapag naging industrialized na tayo.

^^ i've read in the Good News Thread that San Miguel and Kuok are investing $1 billion in commercial agriculture. That would really help us towards becoming independent in that particular industry ;)

yeah the govt. must concentrate on increasing food yield so food costs can lower.
Most of the budget of ordinary pinoy is enough for food costs leaving practically nothing for other essentials like housing, healthcare,education. Salaries are almost the same as other SE asian countries or even higher, but their food costs are cheaper so their people are not as hard up compare to us.

Yeah by just merely looking on the google earth there are so much space here which is not being productive at all nasasayang ang space.

^^improve farm to market infrastructures, and transportation.

"aanhin pa ang damo kung hindi makakarating sa kabayo."


:horse:

Another way of measuring a nation's wealth is to use some principles in accounting.

Net Worth = Total Assets minus Liabilities

If we applied them to a nation's economic fundamentals.

Net Wealth = GDP minus External Debt

Net Wealth per Capita = GDP Per Capita minus External Debt per Capita

Below is a current assesment of one of the biggies in the field of Real Estate Industry in UK and the whole world as well. It has also the potential to be on of the biggest economies of the World!:banana:


^^A gem of an investment in the "Pearl of the Orient Seas" - The Philippines ^^

Written by Experience International
Tuesday, 06 January 2009

Philippines offers great investment opportunitiesFor those purchasers keen to be ahead of the game, The Philippines is the latest market to burst onto the international property scene.

This Southeast Asian island country offers the attractive blend of a tropical climate, low cost of living, thriving economy and good accessibility and is proving to be a destination more popular than ever with a near 4% rise in tourist arrivals reported for Jan - Oct 2008 compared to the previous year (Central Bank of the Philippines).

Named after the 16th century King Philip II of Spain, The Philippines comprises over 7,000 separate islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a population of 90 million and although around 180 languages are spoken across the islands, the two official languages are Filipino and English. Philippine culture is a mix of pre-Hispanic Austronesian (Malayo Polynesian) civilisations, Hispanic and American culture, and to a lesser extent Chinese, Arab, and Indian cultures.

Following a period of marshal law from 1972, the People Power Revolution of 1986 led the country back to the thriving democracy it is today. Turbulence in the late 1980's gave way to stability and economic growth in the 1990's. The Philippines is regarded as a newly industrialised country and now receives substantial contributions from manufacturing and mining sectors as well as remittances from overseas Filipinos. Tourism is hugely important as is, increasingly, outsourcing from international businesses. The Philippines has the potential to become one of the largest economies of the world in the 21st century according to Goldman Sachs' 'Next Eleven' paper.
The Philippines also represents an exciting alternative to traditional property investments in the West, particularly given recent economic developments. According to a recent World Bank report, thanks to various fiscal and other reforms during the last several years The Philippines is in a good position to weather current difficulties. The report cited continued strong performance in private investments and construction, in addition to better than expected crop harvest yields. There was also higher manufacturing output and continued remittance from the 8 million Filipinos who work overseas.

Such economic resilience is likely to lure increasing international investment into the property market. Demand from Europe, the United States and Russia for city centre and resort properties has been brought about thanks to cheaper prices and the requirement from investors to shift their money into strong emerging markets. Savvier investors are looking for investments with the potential for high monthly rental yields and developments such as the Blue Coral Resort and Spa on Mactan Island, which is to be run as a managed resort hotel, increasingly seem a sound investment. Philippine hotel rates are on a par with the US or Europe, whilst entry level purchasing prices for freehold property are much lower. A deposit on a new fully furnished, five star apartment or villa for example can be as low as £2000.

Mactan Island, subject to much developer interest, is located in part of the central Philippine province of Cebu in the Bohol Strait. This beautiful coral island is surrounded by azure water with extensive mangrove forests and offers some of Asia's best diving facilities and lush golf-courses. There are modern shopping centres, fine-dining restaurants and lively entertainment centres.

Thanks to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and its proximity to Cebu, the area's tourism industry has boomed significantly with the local economy feeling the positive effects. Recently, a further £4 million of investment in the airport has been announced, together with the planned addition of another terminal due to the increasing volume of passenger traffic.


SOURCE: http://www.propertywire.com/news/company-news/investment-pearl-orient-seas-200901062352.html

^^this is really good news, in a world full of economic woes:banana::banana::banana:




666
:horse:

^^ confidence boosting article from a foreigner:)

Don't Forget to Say.... Mabuhay!! Philippine's

If the Pinoys wants it, the country can do it.

Its so easy actually for the country to duplicate the industrial capability of other countries especially our Asian neighbors.

The only problem is that we are too preoccupied with politics.

Di lang yun mahilig kasi tayu sa Imported ehh! ke china,U.S ,Uk at japan brand!

Di lang yun mahilig kasi tayu sa Imported ehh! ke china,U.S ,Uk at japan brand!

Indeed.

We dont trust and patronize our own.

As if going Pinoy is baduy and buying imported is "sosyal" :hammer:even if those imported goods are way below the quality of similar local brand (like those Chinese, Indian, Hongkong, Thailand and some Asian brands:bash:)..that's how pathetic some pinoys are..:puke:

We love to mimic and copy everything imported either in the field economics, politics or culture.

Anyway, the good news is there are more and more Pinoys slowly veering away from this harmful mentality...

I have alot of faith in the Pinoys and the country's capability to be one of the best...

ah yeah! parang may nabasa na ako nito na ang pinas is one of the NIC (newly industrialized country) na raw together with Mexico, So.Africa, Turkey, Brazil, China, Thailand, Malaysia, and India.

another article here http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/01/weodata/groups.htm#oem

^^ but why is the title of the thread ends with a question mark?

^^ Because there are doubters out there. ;)

^^ Doubters schmouters! :mad: :rant: :bleep:

Below is a current assesment of one of the biggies in the field of Real Estate Industry in UK and the whole world as well. It has also the potential to be on of the biggest economies of the World!:banana:


^^A gem of an investment in the "Pearl of the Orient Seas" - The Philippines ^^

Written by Experience International
Tuesday, 06 January 2009

Philippines offers great investment opportunitiesFor those purchasers keen to be ahead of the game, The Philippines is the latest market to burst onto the international property scene.

This Southeast Asian island country offers the attractive blend of a tropical climate, low cost of living, thriving economy and good accessibility and is proving to be a destination more popular than ever with a near 4% rise in tourist arrivals reported for Jan - Oct 2008 compared to the previous year (Central Bank of the Philippines).

Named after the 16th century King Philip II of Spain, The Philippines comprises over 7,000 separate islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a population of 90 million and although around 180 languages are spoken across the islands, the two official languages are Filipino and English. Philippine culture is a mix of pre-Hispanic Austronesian (Malayo Polynesian) civilisations, Hispanic and American culture, and to a lesser extent Chinese, Arab, and Indian cultures.

Following a period of marshal law from 1972, the People Power Revolution of 1986 led the country back to the thriving democracy it is today. Turbulence in the late 1980's gave way to stability and economic growth in the 1990's. The Philippines is regarded as a newly industrialised country and now receives substantial contributions from manufacturing and mining sectors as well as remittances from overseas Filipinos. Tourism is hugely important as is, increasingly, outsourcing from international businesses. The Philippines has the potential to become one of the largest economies of the world in the 21st century according to Goldman Sachs' 'Next Eleven' paper.
The Philippines also represents an exciting alternative to traditional property investments in the West, particularly given recent economic developments. According to a recent World Bank report, thanks to various fiscal and other reforms during the last several years The Philippines is in a good position to weather current difficulties. The report cited continued strong performance in private investments and construction, in addition to better than expected crop harvest yields. There was also higher manufacturing output and continued remittance from the 8 million Filipinos who work overseas.

Such economic resilience is likely to lure increasing international investment into the property market. Demand from Europe, the United States and Russia for city centre and resort properties has been brought about thanks to cheaper prices and the requirement from investors to shift their money into strong emerging markets. Savvier investors are looking for investments with the potential for high monthly rental yields and developments such as the Blue Coral Resort and Spa on Mactan Island, which is to be run as a managed resort hotel, increasingly seem a sound investment. Philippine hotel rates are on a par with the US or Europe, whilst entry level purchasing prices for freehold property are much lower. A deposit on a new fully furnished, five star apartment or villa for example can be as low as £2000.

Mactan Island, subject to much developer interest, is located in part of the central Philippine province of Cebu in the Bohol Strait. This beautiful coral island is surrounded by azure water with extensive mangrove forests and offers some of Asia's best diving facilities and lush golf-courses. There are modern shopping centres, fine-dining restaurants and lively entertainment centres.

Thanks to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and its proximity to Cebu, the area's tourism industry has boomed significantly with the local economy feeling the positive effects. Recently, a further £4 million of investment in the airport has been announced, together with the planned addition of another terminal due to the increasing volume of passenger traffic.


SOURCE: http://www.propertywire.com/news/company-news/investment-pearl-orient-seas-200901062352.html

I like the title, sooooooooooo much! :lol:

Being classified as a Newly Industialised Country isn't a permanent title, right???
And it's not the end of the road, is it?
What is the next classification if we continue to progress?



:horse:

Being classified as a Newly Industialised Country isn't a permanent title, right???
And it's not the end of the road, is it?
What is the next classification if we continue to progress?



:horse:

Next Stage is the Developed or Industrialised Country then I don't know if you will be automatically included on OECD.

hindi ba ganito ang level...

developing country ---> developed country ---> NIC?

just an opinion lang ha... andun na tayo and for sure lahat ng ito pagdating ng 2010 e mawawala kung opposition ang mauupo sa pagka presidente.. kaya naman kung gusto natin magtuloy tuloy ang success ng pinas e sa tingin ko dapat from administration pa rin ang dapat maupo sa 2010 not from opposition...

Modern terms synonymous with the term developed country or advanced country include industrialized country, more developed country (MDC), more economically developed country (MEDC), Global North country, first world country, and post-industrial country.




:horse:

hindi ba ganito ang level...

developing country ---> developed country ---> NIC?

just an opinion lang ha... andun na tayo and for sure lahat ng ito pagdating ng 2010 e mawawala kung opposition ang mauupo sa pagka presidente.. kaya naman kung gusto natin magtuloy tuloy ang success ng pinas e sa tingin ko dapat from administration pa rin ang dapat maupo sa 2010 not from opposition...

Developing Country is what we called Third World Country.
NIC is a new term to denote a country that is still developing but in a different pace than the rest of the Third World. NIC was also given the name before as the New Dragon Economy or New Tiger Economy. The last stage is Developed or Industrialized Country which is a First World Country.

when was this made official? never heard of this before...

or is this the same with GMA's claim na second-world (a.k.a. soviet bloc :lol:) country na tayo?

can someone give us some links about Philippines being a NIC?

Hopefully its help.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newly_industrialized_country

i do not know if this is accountable source of information?

where were you guys? matagal nang declared ng IMF at World Bank na Philippines is a NIC :sleepy:

^^ NIC na ang Philippines and it was the vision of Pres. Ramos. if I'm not mistaken, we attained the status in year 2000

... and gone are the days that the world financial institutions use the term 1st, 2nd or 3rd world. :)

Global property site rates RP gem of an investment


Property Wire, a premiere global property news service rated the Philippines a top investment destination in an article entitled “A gem of an investment in the Pearl of the Orient Seas” - The Philippines.”

Here is the full article written by Experience International.

For those purchasers keen to be ahead of the game, The Philippines is the latest market to burst onto the international property scene.

This Southeast Asian island country offers the attractive blend of a tropical climate, low cost of living, thriving economy and good accessibility and is proving to be a destination more popular than ever with a near 4% rise in tourist arrivals reported for Jan - Oct 2008 compared to the previous year (Central Bank of the Philippines).

Named after the 16th century King Philip II of Spain, The Philippines comprises over 7,000 separate islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a population of 90 million and although around 180 languages are spoken across the islands, the two official languages are Filipino and English. Philippine culture is a mix of pre-Hispanic Austronesian (Malayo Polynesian) civilisations, Hispanic and American culture, and to a lesser extent Chinese, Arab, and Indian cultures.

Following a period of marshal law from 1972, the People Power Revolution of 1986 led the country back to the thriving democracy it is today. Turbulence in the late 1980’s gave way to stability and economic growth in the 1990’s. The Philippines is regarded as a newly industrialised country and now receives substantial contributions from manufacturing and mining sectors as well as remittances from overseas Filipinos. Tourism is hugely important as is, increasingly, outsourcing from international businesses. The Philippines has the potential to become one of the largest economies of the world in the 21st century according to Goldman Sachs’ ‘Next Eleven’ paper.

The Philippines also represents an exciting alternative to traditional property investments in the West, particularly given recent economic developments. According to a recent World Bank report, thanks to various fiscal and other reforms during the last several years The Philippines is in a good position to weather current difficulties. The report cited continued strong performance in private investments and construction, in addition to better than expected crop harvest yields. There was also higher manufacturing output and continued remittance from the 8 million Filipinos who work overseas.


Such economic resilience is likely to lure increasing international investment into the property market. Demand from Europe, the United States and Russia for city centre and resort properties has been brought about thanks to cheaper prices and the requirement from investors to shift their money into strong emerging markets. Savvier investors are looking for investments with the potential for high monthly rental yields and developments such as the Blue Coral Resort and Spa on Mactan Island, which is to be run as a managed resort hotel, increasingly seem a sound investment. Philippine hotel rates are on a par with the US or Europe, whilst entry level purchasing prices for freehold property are much lower. A deposit on a new fully furnished, five star apartment or villa for example can be as low as £2000.

Mactan Island, subject to much developer interest, is located in part of the central Philippine province of Cebu in the Bohol Strait. This beautiful coral island is surrounded by azure water with extensive mangrove forests and offers some of Asia’s best diving facilities and lush golf-courses. There are modern shopping centres, fine-dining restaurants and lively entertainment centres.

Thanks to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and its proximity to Cebu, the area’s tourism industry has boomed significantly with the local economy feeling the positive effects. Recently, a further £4 million of investment in the airport has been announced, together with the planned addition of another terminal due to the increasing volume of passenger traffic.

I really sad about this new's for almost 20 years of its Operation in the Philippines and one of the Largest foreign Company. let us pray that Intel may change their mind and retain its logistic hub.

Intel to close down Philippine plant

INQUIRER.net
First Posted 18:43:00 01/21/2009

MANILA, Philippines — Intel Corp., one of the biggest foreign operations in the Philippines, has told employees that it will close down its over 20-year-old testing and assembly plant outside Manila, INQUIRER.net sources in the company said.

The announcement was made via email around 10 a.m. Wednesday, the sources said. It gave no date for the closure. Officials of the US-based chipmaker and its local public relations agency told INQUIRER.net they were not ready to give an official statement at the time of this writing.

The plant in General Trias town, in Cavite province, has about 1,800 workers, down from about 3,000 in November.

The sources said the announcement was half-expected after Intel announced in November a first batch of layoffs and the remaining employees were informed of succeeding layoff “phases." The employees were told that they could get their severance packages in three months’ time.

Since then, Intel's local office has also done job fairs and education seminars, such as on starting small businesses.

Intel is said to be shutting down at least three more plants in other countries in view of weakened demand amid the global economic downturn.

Intel first set up a Philippine plant in Makati City in 1974, before moving to Cavite. Last year it announced a joint venture, Numonyx, with Switzerland-based STMicroelectronics in which the Cavite plant would manufacture flash memory chips.

Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific, Intel is widely believed to be consolidating its investments in China and Vietnam.

when was this made official? never heard of this before...

or is this the same with GMA's claim na second-world (a.k.a. soviet bloc :lol:) country na tayo?

...plano pa yan ni president ramos noon nung umuupo pa siya sa malakanyang...
...last step na sana sila para gawin tayong 2nd world country...
...pero pumutok yung giyera sa mindanao kaya naihinto ito...

Intel to close down four more sites

By Erwin Oliva
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 09:14:00 01/22/2009

MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) Intel Corporation confirms plans to close the assembly test facility operations in the Philippines, the company said.

The company said this is part of a plan to “restructure some of its manufacturing operations and align its manufacturing capacity to current market conditions.”

“The company will consolidate and streamline some older capacity without impacting the deployment of new, leading-edge 45-nanometer and 32-nanometer manufacturing capacity,” it said in a statement.

The company said it will close two existing assembly test facilities in Penang, Malaysia and one in Cavite, Philippines, and will halt production at Fab 20, an older 200 mm wafer fabrication facility in Hillsboro, Oregon.
Also, wafer production operations will end at the D2 facility in Santa Clara, California, it said.

Intel said these actions would affect between 5,000 and 6,000 employees worldwide.

“However, not all employees will leave Intel; some may be offered positions at other facilities. The actions will take place between now and the end of 2009,” it said.

Wow even my town, Hillsboro is affected!! I'm not surprised they closed down in Cavite.

ang dami talaga nawalan ng trabaho sa Intel Philippines :ohno:

it's really unfortunate that a lot of people lost their job..in this time pa naman na mahirap mkahanap ng panibagong trabaho...

Though the Philippines may not be a developed country yet, we are now on the launch pad preparing for takeoff thanks to the administration’s effective economic programs. The countdown for our launch will happen next year when most of the ongoing infrastructure projects nationwide are finished and put to good use. Depending on the next leadership, tuloy-tuloy na ang countdown at ‘di na maa-abort ang takeoff natin.

^^ Potchot69, OT: So, who is the King City of the Philippines? :) :)

^^ Potchot69, OT: So, who is the King City of the Philippines? :) :)

I thought Manila is The King and Cebu is the Queen?? and Davao is the Prince? :lol: let me right if i wrong :bash:

^^
...makati is the princess...

Hi all, my name's carlos, im from Laredo in northern Mexico its cold here (3C), im sure its nice and warm there. Here where i live, its very boring, but its right on the border with the US so i go shopping with my friends to the US side sometimes but thats about it. So last year we decided to visit the Phillipines, we went to Manila, and its actually a very non expensive city, compared to most of Mexican cities. I really fell in love with Manila, and i found it so interesting that the Phillipino language has a lot of Spanish words (like tenedor=fork, just like in spanish). Also i found it very surprising that most people there are Roman Catholic, and have some Spanish names. I was expecting a typical budhist asian country. While i was there, i found that Manila is a very modern city, has many pretty skyscrapers, but i felt that "developing world" type of feeling more present there than i would in a large Mexican city like Monterrey, which is only 2 and a have hours from my city. For instance, not so much because of the poverty factor, but just by analyzing how the people there are, it just seems that even in modern day phillipine cities, religion is very important to people, here in Mexico large city people are not religious. By experience, i can say that developing world societies tend to be more religious and church going (except for the US). Another thing was the organization of the public transport system, i found it very confusing and disorganized, and outdated. Other than that i think that country is liveable, well i havnt lived there and i have really no idea about jobs and wages, but i see a good future in that country, congradulations guys!!!!

Hi all, my name's carlos, im from Laredo in northern Mexico its cold here (3C), im sure its nice and warm there. Here where i live, its very boring, but its right on the border with the US so i go shopping with my friends to the US side sometimes but thats about it. So last year we decided to visit the Phillipines, we went to Manila, and its actually a very non expensive city, compared to most of Mexican cities. I really fell in love with Manila, and i found it so interesting that the Phillipino language has a lot of Spanish words (like tenedor=fork, just like in spanish). Also i found it very surprising that most people there are Roman Catholic, and have some Spanish names. I was expecting a typical budhist asian country. While i was there, i found that Manila is a very modern city, has many pretty skyscrapers, but i felt that "developing world" type of feeling more present there than i would in a large Mexican city like Monterrey, which is only 2 and a have hours from my city. For instance, not so much because of the poverty factor, but just by analyzing how the people there are, it just seems that even in modern day phillipine cities, religion is very important to people, here in Mexico large city people are not religious. By experience, i can say that developing world societies tend to be more religious and church going (except for the US). Another thing was the organization of the public transport system, i found it very confusing and disorganized, and outdated. Other than that i think that country is liveable, well i havnt lived there and i have really no idea about jobs and wages, but i see a good future in that country, congradulations guys!!!!

Thanks Carlos for appreciating my Country, yup its a developing country hoping you will visit my country again someday! :D

^^
...Our country...:D...

^^
you're always welcome to the Philippines Carlos :)

Hi all, my name's carlos, im from Laredo in northern Mexico its cold here (3C), im sure its nice and warm there. Here where i live, its very boring, but its right on the border with the US so i go shopping with my friends to the US side sometimes but thats about it. So last year we decided to visit the Phillipines, we went to Manila, and its actually a very non expensive city, compared to most of Mexican cities. I really fell in love with Manila, and i found it so interesting that the Phillipino language has a lot of Spanish words (like tenedor=fork, just like in spanish). Also i found it very surprising that most people there are Roman Catholic, and have some Spanish names. I was expecting a typical budhist asian country. While i was there, i found that Manila is a very modern city, has many pretty skyscrapers, but i felt that "developing world" type of feeling more present there than i would in a large Mexican city like Monterrey, which is only 2 and a have hours from my city. For instance, not so much because of the poverty factor, but just by analyzing how the people there are, it just seems that even in modern day phillipine cities, religion is very important to people, here in Mexico large city people are not religious. By experience, i can say that developing world societies tend to be more religious and church going (except for the US). Another thing was the organization of the public transport system, i found it very confusing and disorganized, and outdated. Other than that i think that country is liveable, well i havnt lived there and i have really no idea about jobs and wages, but i see a good future in that country, congradulations guys!!!!

true, the poorer the nation,
the more religious it is
(except for, as you said, the USA).
The poor loves God as much
as God loves them -
he's got no choice anyway,
they're the ones with
the strongest faith :D

cheers! i'm glad you
enjoyed your stay
here :)

well beside the LRTs or MRTs we don't really have a public transportation , most or all the jeepneys or buses are private owned and yeah I totally agree that its confusing and most of the time annoying and we should really make a big effort to make it more modern.
Something essential to attract tourists and make the metro more liveable .
Maybe teaching filipino how to drive and respect the pedestrians like me its a good start.

Well is very hard to compare the Philippines to Mexico since you guys got a gdp 5 or 6 times bigger , more land and resources but maybe someday in the future we can aspire a better future and a better life but we have to work very hard because for what I saw the last time I was there we just started walking and some country like you , Brazil, India and Russia I guess you are already running !.

Thanks Carlos for appreciating my Country, yup its a developing country hoping you will visit my country again someday! :D

any time:cheers:, i like to look at phillipine forums because i love the Manila skyline, its impressing

^^ Out of curiosity, how long was your stay in the Philippines?

Hi all, my name's carlos, im from Laredo in northern Mexico its cold here (3C), im sure its nice and warm there. Here where i live, its very boring, but its right on the border with the US so i go shopping with my friends to the US side sometimes but thats about it. So last year we decided to visit the Phillipines, we went to Manila, and its actually a very non expensive city, compared to most of Mexican cities. I really fell in love with Manila, and i found it so interesting that the Phillipino language has a lot of Spanish words (like tenedor=fork, just like in spanish). Also i found it very surprising that most people there are Roman Catholic, and have some Spanish names. I was expecting a typical budhist asian country. While i was there, i found that Manila is a very modern city, has many pretty skyscrapers, but i felt that "developing world" type of feeling more present there than i would in a large Mexican city like Monterrey, which is only 2 and a have hours from my city. For instance, not so much because of the poverty factor, but just by analyzing how the people there are, it just seems that even in modern day phillipine cities, religion is very important to people, here in Mexico large city people are not religious. By experience, i can say that developing world societies tend to be more religious and church going (except for the US). Another thing was the organization of the public transport system, i found it very confusing and disorganized, and outdated. Other than that i think that country is liveable, well i havnt lived there and i have really no idea about jobs and wages, but i see a good future in that country, congradulations guys!!!!


muchas gracias por tus analisis y comentarios Carlos y por compartirlos con todos.. es verdad que por aqui en filipinas todavia hay una atmosfera un poco retrogada o sea, lo del developing world.. pero hay que tener en cuenta que los filipinos (aunque catolicos) son tambien asiaticos y por eso forman parte de una sociedad muy diferente a la vuestra, que es religiosa y tradicional. los japoneses y malasios por ejemplo a pesar de ser modernos y 1st world practican todavia sus ritos en sus templos y mosques igual que nosotros en nuestras iglesias.. i don't know if that's gonna change pero si miras los filipinos del extranjero (aun los mas ascensados) y las iglesias en cada ciudad extranjera mas poblada por pinoyes como las en EE.UU y europa, filipinos are still the majority churchgoers and their practice and faith remain strong even in modern societies and overseas communities.. tal vez asi es ser filipino y espero que no sea algo malo. saludos :cheers:

Indeed, the transport system in the philippines is definitely disorganized but with alot of potential to be efficient.

The transport system in the country is slowly being modernized but i hope the government (they should put BF in DOTC) will implement a no nonsense reforms and improvement to make it more efficient and world class.

We can start by reviving the replacement of all those dilapidated jeepneys and buses plying the streets of Manila and other urban areas.

Transport terminals should be modernized and organized.

More mass transport system should be put up or modernized again.

Good thing the present administration is rehabilitating the PNR and the train system in the country.

^^ Out of curiosity, how long was your stay in the Philippines?

it was for about 2 weeks, we thought we would only be able to afford one week, but since our budget was still intact and we really loved it we stayed another week, but just in manila

muchas gracias por tus analisis y comentarios Carlos y por compartirlos con todos.. es verdad que por aqui en filipinas todavia hay una atmosfera un poco retrogada o sea, lo del developing world.. pero hay que tener en cuenta que los filipinos (aunque catolicos) son tambien asiaticos y por eso forman parte de una sociedad muy diferente a la vuestra, que es religiosa y tradicional. los japoneses y malasios por ejemplo a pesar de ser modernos y 1st world practican todavia sus ritos en sus templos y mosques igual que nosotros en nuestras iglesias.. i don't know if that's gonna change pero si miras los filipinos del extranjero (aun los mas ascensados) y las iglesias en cada ciudad extranjera mas poblada por pinoyes como las en EE.UU y europa, filipinos are still the majority churchgoers and their practice and faith remain strong even in modern societies and overseas communities.. tal vez asi es ser filipino y espero que no sea algo malo. saludos :cheers:


Hola, que tal!!! si tienes razon la gente en las filipinas son muy "church going", aqui en mexico eso depende de que parte del pais uno este, por ejemplo en el sur y sud-este si, pero en el centro del pais y norte (mas que nada en las grandes urbes) la gente no es muy "church going" aunque la mayoria se declaran del culto catolico, tambien hay muchos que son ateos, agnosticos, y otras religiones especialmente el judaismo.

Indeed, the transport system in the philippines is definitely disorganized but with alot of potential to be efficient.

The transport system in the country is slowly being modernized but i hope the government (they should put BF in DOTC) will implement a no nonsense reforms and improvement to make it more efficient and world class.

We can start by reviving the replacement of all those dilapidated jeepneys and buses plying the streets of Manila and other urban areas.

Transport terminals should be modernized and organized.

More mass transport system should be put up or modernized again.

Good thing the present administration is rehabilitating the PNR and the train system in the country.


the good thing is that the phillipines has an extensive public transport system, here in mexico only large metropolitan areas do, but other than that people rather use their own cars.

it was for about 2 weeks, we thought we would only be able to afford one week, but since our budget was still intact and we really loved it we stayed another week, but just in manila

Glad that you enjoyed your trip to Manila. Maybe the next time you visit the Philippines, you can venture out of the capital and explore the more than 7,000 islands that makes up our nation. :colgate:

Glad that you enjoyed your trip to Manila. Maybe the next time you visit the Philippines, you can venture out of the capital and explore the more than 7,000 islands that makes up our nation. :colgate:

you know, we really wanted to do that but we didn't know how to go to the other islands and what we wore going to find, where to stay, etc...

^^ Next time, ask us forumers! :colgate: We can give you tips on where to stay, where to go, and what to see when you get there. We can even set up meets with the forumers in any of the major cities outside Metro Manila. Check us out at the Samahan (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=398) section (our version of the Skybar) here on SSC-Philippines. :okay:

^^ Next time, ask us forumers! :colgate: We can give you tips on where to stay, where to go, and what to see when you get there. We can even set up meets with the forumers in any of the major cities outside Metro Manila. Check us out at the Samahan (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=398) section (our version of the Skybar) here on SSC-Philippines. :okay:

thanks!!!:cheers: ill do that next time, if i go again ill let u guys now and we can chat or something

Hola, que tal!!! si tienes razon la gente en las filipinas son muy "church going", aqui en mexico eso depende de que parte del pais uno este, por ejemplo en el sur y sud-este si, pero en el centro del pais y norte (mas que nada en las grandes urbes) la gente no es muy "church going" aunque la mayoria se declaran del culto catolico, tambien hay muchos que son ateos, agnosticos, y otras religiones especialmente el judaismo.


sip "somos" muy churchgoing y la gente creen que es parte de ser sociable, ir a la misa para ellos tambien es ir "a ver y ser visto". pero bueno la proxima vez que visites aqui, que nos avises no? y claro que nos veremos ya sabes donde (en la iglesia un domingo). :D

It's really nice to read the Spanish language.... :)

Hi all, my name's carlos, im from Laredo in northern Mexico its cold here (3C), im sure its nice and warm there.

Yes, it's cold here in the US too! :D

Here where i live, its very boring, but its right on the border with the US so i go shopping with my friends to the US side sometimes but thats about it.

That's nice. Isn't the traffic going back to Mexico horrible though?

So last year we decided to visit the Phillipines, we went to Manila, and its actually a very non expensive city, compared to most of Mexican cities.

That's true. :D

I really fell in love with Manila, and i found it so interesting that the Phillipino language has a lot of Spanish words (like tenedor=fork, just like in spanish).

Well, cuchara, plato, mesa, silla are also in tagalog. To greet someone in tagalog is "Kumusta" which sounds a lot like "Como esta", verdad? :D

Also i found it very surprising that most people there are Roman Catholic, and have some Spanish names.

Yeah, we're the largest Catholic country in Asia.

I was expecting a typical budhist asian country.

No way! Somos los latinos de Asia!

While i was there, i found that Manila is a very modern city, has many pretty skyscrapers, but i felt that "developing world" type of feeling more present there than i would in a large Mexican city like Monterrey, which is only 2 and a have hours from my city.

Yes, when I visit Manila, I could sense the poor.. It's very "Asian" and "poor" at the same time.. If you compare it to a western city like New York, aesthetics aren't very important to city planners.

For instance, not so much because of the poverty factor, but just by analyzing how the people there are, it just seems that even in modern day phillipine cities, religion is very important to people, here in Mexico large city people are not religious.

Well, not everyone is religious. The larger the city is in the Philippines, the higher chance of you meeting an atheist.

By experience, i can say that developing world societies tend to be more religious and church going (except for the US).

There are alot of religious people here in the US...

Another thing was the organization of the public transport system, i found it very confusing and disorganized, and outdated.

What exactly did you ride? The most up to date transport system in Manila is the calesa, I mean LRT-3.

Other than that i think that country is liveable, well i havnt lived there and i have really no idea about jobs and wages, but i see a good future in that country, congradulations guys!!!!

Wages are pretty good for educated people... but depends on what job really.

sip "somos" muy churchgoing y la gente creen que es parte de ser sociable, ir a la misa para ellos tambien es ir "a ver y ser visto". pero bueno la proxima vez que visites aqui, que nos avises no? y claro que nos veremos ya sabes donde (en la iglesia un domingo). :D

jajajjajaja:lol: van a la iglesaia , como decimos aqui en mexico , nadamas a "vivorear" o "chismear":lol:, eso lo se por que cuando era mas joven iba mucho con mi abuela y solamente ella iba para ver que traian puesto las otras personas :lol:

Yes, it's cold here in the US too! :D



That's nice. Isn't the traffic going back to Mexico horrible though?



That's true. :D



Well, cuchara, plato, mesa, silla are also in tagalog. To greet someone in tagalog is "Kumusta" which sounds a lot like "Como esta", verdad? :D



Yeah, we're the largest Catholic country in Asia.



No way! Somos los latinos de Asia!



Yes, when I visit Manila, I could sense the poor.. It's very "Asian" and "poor" at the same time.. If you compare it to a western city like New York, aesthetics aren't very important to city planners.



Well, not everyone is religious. The larger the city is in the Philippines, the higher chance of you meeting an atheist.



There are alot of religious people here in the US...



What exactly did you ride? The most up to date transport system in Manila is the calesa, I mean LRT-3.



Wages are pretty good for educated people... but depends on what job really.

hi there! well, when my friends and i do decide to go to the US side to go and "hang out" :nuts: we usually walk across the bridge. There are side walks for pedestrians on the same bridge that cars cross, its like just another street and its very common here, and yes the traffic is horrible both going into the US and going into Mexico, people here dont like to walk, so most have the international SENTRI in their cars, which is to cross into Mexico or the US through a fast lane without getting questioned, pedestrians can use it too, i have my sentri card, and its not very difficult to get when you live on the border either side. When we went to Manila we rode taxis and we walked, we were scared of getting lost by using public transport, it looked chaotic, and to be honest im not used to using public transport even here in mexico. In my city, which has a pop. of about 200,000, public transport is almost non existent, so whenever we go to a large city like Monterrey, we always feel "intimidated". Also the only words i learned in tagalog that are not like spanish are some bad words:ohno::lol:

It's really nice to read the Spanish language.... :)

thanks, id be nice to read some tagalog too:cheers:

^^
you're always welcome to the Philippines Carlos :)

thank you:cheers:

^^
...When will you mvisit here again??

This article shows the industrial capability of the country.
The government should protect local bus manufacturers from unfair foreign competition.

Local bus manufacturers hope to weather crisis with govt pegging valuation of bus imports from China

Economy
Written by Max V. Leon / Reporter
Tuesday, 10 February 2009 22:15

BUS manufacturers in the country are confident of ending the year without resorting to personnel layoffs as long as the government will put the importation of buses from China in check through their proper valuation.

Jose Alvarez, president of the Sta. Rosa Motor Works Inc. and Columbian Motors Corp., said local bus manufacturers are hoping that the Bureau of Customs (BOC) will at least keep the $80,000 valuation that it set late last year for imported buses from China.

This, he said, made the pricing of local bus makers competitive because before this, buses from China are being valued at only $20,000 to $40,000 per unit.

If they would have their way, Alvarez said the $80,000 should even be raised to $100,000 because the lowest price of locally assembled buses is P4.5 million.

“We will have no retrenchment of workers if they would at least maintain the $80,000,” he told the BusinessMirror.

Last year, the local bus manufacturers sold 1,200 units, he said. On the other, around 500 units of buses from China were sold.

With the current valuation, Alvarez said they expect to compete better with the Chinese buses, even if they see a slowdown in the market.

He said there are five major bus manufacturers in the country, including Hino, Isuzu, Mitsubishi and Almazora.

Alvarez said the industry is relatively labor intensive because it takes about 2,000 man-hours to manufacture a unit of bus.

The industry, he said, pays their workers an average of P500 per day.

Alvarez narrated that the increase in the valuation of the imported buses from China was made after they sought the help of President Arroyo, who quickly acted and ordered the BOC to make the necessary adjustments.

Toshiba to shift some SSD assembly to RP

Solid-state drive assembly to start in Apr-June

Filed Under: Stock Activity, Company Information, Semiconductors & active components

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TOKYO, Japan -- Toshiba Corp. said Tuesday it planned to start production of solid-state drives (SSD) overseas to cut costs and increase output, beginning assembly in the Philippines by the middle of the year.

Toshiba, the world's number two maker of NAND flash memory after Samsung Electronics Co., is betting on strong growth for NAND-based SSD memory devices, seen as a promising alternative to some hard-disk drives because they are more shock-resistant and consume less energy.

Also expecting usage of SSDs at data centers and other places that now rely heavily on hard disks, Toshiba has said it planned to boost SSD output by 15-fold over the next two years and aims to take half of the global market for the devices.

Research firm iSuppli forecast the world SSD market to jump to $12.3 billion in 2012 from $84 million last year.

The Nikkei business daily reported Toshiba aimed to generate 100 billion yen ($1.0 billion) in SSD sales in the year starting April next year, more than 10 times the current figure.

Toshiba spokeswoman Hiroko Mochida said the sale figure is not what the company announced.

She said Toshiba plans to shift some SSD assembly to the Philippines from a domestic plant, starting in the April-June quarter.

The Philippine plant will initially make 64- to 512-gigabyte SSDs for use in notebook computers and other devices, using a 43-nanometer line width.

Toshiba shares fell 1.3 percent to 224 yen, against a 0.3-percent slide in the benchmark Nikkei average.

Some positive news even the Export Industry expected to post all time low export.

I don´t think this was posted in here before.



http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4509

Foreign Policy: The 2008 Global Cities Index

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/9858/081021169citiesmaphs1.jpg

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/9826/081020081020gcirankingtms3.jpg

Es la "sucesora" de la lista realizada por el Grupo de Estudios sobre Globalización y Ciudades Mundiales (GaWC) de la University of Loughborough. Ésta es la antigua lista de 2004 (clasificando por puntuación):

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/citylist.html

A. ALPHA WORLD CITIES (full service world cities)

12: London, New York, Paris, Tokyo
10: Chicago, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Milan, Singapore

B. BETA WORLD CITIES (major world cities)

9: San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto, Zurich
8: Brussels, Madrid, Mexico City, Sao Paulo
7: Moscow, Seoul

C. GAMMA WORLD CITIES (minor world cities)

6: Amsterdam, Boston, Caracas, Dallas, Düsseldorf, Geneva, Houston, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Osaka, Prague, Santiago, Taipei, Washington
5: Bangkok, Beijing, Montreal, Rome, Stockholm, Warsaw
4: Atlanta, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Miami, Minneapolis, Munich, Shanghai

D. EVIDENCE OF WORLD CITY FORMATION

Di Relatively strong evidence
3: Athens, Auckland, Dublin, Helsinki, Luxembourg, Lyon, Mumbai, New Delhi, Philadelphia, Rio de Janeiro, Tel Aviv, Vienna

Dii Some evidence
2: Abu Dhabi, Almaty, Birmingham, Bogota, Bratislava, Brisbane, Bucharest, Cairo, Cleveland, Cologne, Detroit, Dubai, Ho Chi Minh City, Kiev, Lima, Lisbon, Manchester, Montevideo, Oslo, Riyadh, Rotterdam, Seattle, Stuttgart, The Hague, Vancouver

Diii Minimal evidence
1: Adelaide, Antwerp, Arhus, Baltimore, Bangalore, Bologna, Brasilia, Calgary, Cape Town, Colombo, Columbus, Dresden, Edinburgh, Genoa, Glasgow, Gothenburg, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Kansas City, Leeds, Lille, Marseille, Richmond, St Petersburg, Tashkent, Tehran, Tijuana, Turin, Utrecht, Wellington

By CHERNOBYL DIONES, Junior Researcher (http://www.bworldonline.com/BW032309/content.php?id=060)

IDEA

THE INDUSTRIALIZATION process of the 20th century marked the emergence of the middle class in the Philippines.

Before this period, the Philippines was a purely agrarian society under the Spanish colony. It only had a two-class structure comprising the wealthy landlords and small peasants, a setup characterized by extreme inequality in the distribution of wealth.

And it was not until the American colonial period that the Philippines experienced socioeconomic development. Farmers or peasants were given the opportunity to find new ways of earning a living; their children went to school and became teachers, doctors, civil servants, and other professionals. Hence, a sizable number of citizens emerged as members of the middle class.

The emergence of this middle-income class in a society provides many advantages and opportunities for growth and development. In a study conducted by William Easterly, it was concluded that countries with a big middle class have higher incomes and growth because they have more capital and infrastructure accumulation, they have better national economic policies, and they enjoy better democracy, more political stability, and more urbanization. Furthermore, a growing middle class often results in reduced income inequalities since the middle class sits between the rich elite and the rural poor.

Attempts at definition

But how do we know who or what constitutes the middle class?

In the United States, the term middle class is used to describe the income category of those people who are neither rich nor poor. The middle class consists of people who have steady jobs or formal employment that allow them to have roughly a third of their income left for discretionary spending after providing for their basic needs. This gives them the opportunity to not just buy consumer goods like cars, televisions or the latest gadgets, but also to improve their health care and to provide for their children’s education. The middle-class people, however, vary in background, profession, and income. Also, the income needed to provide for a person’s basic needs varies from place to place.

In the Philippines, Virola et al. (2007) made an attempt to define the middle class in terms of income and in terms of socio-economic characteristics in a paper entitled “Trends and Characteristics of the Middle-Income Class in the Philippines: Is it Expanding or Shrinking?”

Based on the paper, the middle-income class in the country are those families who have a total income of P251,283 to P2,045,280 in 2007. In terms of socioeconomic characteristics, middle-income families are those whose housing units are made of strong roofing materials, who own a house and lot, who own a refrigerator, and who own a radio.

These four variables appeared to be the most common characteristics of families classified as middle class in 1997, 2000, and 2003. Moreover, the Filipino middle class does not seem to favor discretionary spending. Their top expenditure items primarily include food, house rent, transportation and communication, fuel, light and water, and education. On the other hand, a small portion of the middle class’ income is spent on nondurable furnishings, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, recreation, and house maintenance and minor repairs.

Aside from describing an income category; the middle-class is also used to describe a set of attitudes. The Economist reported that people in the middle class are considered more open-minded, or more influenced by abstract values than traditional customs.

They are also more likely to invest in their children’s education because they are more concerned about the future of their children. Ideologically, they are more supportive of free markets and democracy. These attitudes of the middle class help transform countries and economies, thus providing advantages and opportunities for growth and development. This is supported by the fact that the middle class is more willing to invest in new technologies and new products than the rich, who typically have to protect their existing assets. The middle class is also better able than the poor to put up new businesses that could generate a number of jobs. Furthermore, the middle class is more likely to invest in human capital such as education and health, which are vital for the economic development of a country.

Global trends

The global middle class has been growing over the years. The Economist reported that over half of the world’s population now belongs to the middle class—a result of the explosive growth in the middle class of the emerging countries, especially in China and India.

Economic forces affect this tremendous growth. The poor started to rise to the middle class when the poor countries get the maximum benefit from their cheap labor through international trade, before they price themselves out of world markets for cheap goods and before they compete with rich countries in making goods that are of high value. A period of fast urbanization has also contributed to the growth of the middle class. It is a period when subsistence farmers abandon their rural farms to work in factories in the city, resulting in tremendous increase in their economic productivity.

Although the middle income class has expanded in emerging countries, the Filipino middle class has been found to be shrinking. The study by Virola et al. in 2007 revealed that there was at least a two-percentage point decrease in the population share of the middle class between 2000 and 2003. Disturbingly, this decrease in the share of the middle-income class resulted in an expanding low income class. The 2003 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) reported that less than 1 in 100 families belongs to the high income class; about 20 are middle-income, and 80 are low-income. This means that in a span of six years, from 1997 to 2003, for every 100 middle income families, 3 families have been lost to the low income class.

Under threat

During these times of recession, the middle class everywhere is under a great threat. Its members are more affected by the current global economic downturn than the rich or poor. The middle class may include workers in export industries, whose jobs are unsafe; borrowers and businessmen, who are hurt by the credit crunch; and even investors, who own assets whose values continue to fall. No one is certain about the fate of today’s middle class. If the downturn lasts for a year or two, the attitudes of such people might survive the retrenchment. A prolonged recession, however, might cause the middle class to slip back to poverty.

For the past years, policymakers around the globe have associated economic success to the rich, trickle-down economics, and the poor, inclusive growth. In particular, the development programs of the Philippines aim to reduce poverty and are focused mainly on being ‘pro-poor’ and ‘anti-poverty’. But the role of the middle class as the motor of economic growth is undeniable. Thus, it is a challenge for development planners to address the needs of and to recognize the expansion of the middle class in today’s society, most especially in the Philippines.

References:

“ Two billion more bourgeois.” The Economist 12 Feb 2009

“ Burgeoning bourgeoisie.” The Economist 12 Feb 2009

“ Virola, Romulo A., Mildred Addawe and Ma. Ivy T. Querubin. “Trends and Characteristics of the Middle �Income Class in the Philippines: Is it Expanding or Shrinking?” 10th National Convention on Statistics (NCS). 1-2 Oct 2007

The Institute for Development and Econometric Analysis, Inc. (IDEA) is an economic think-tank based in the University of the Philippines - Diliman. For inquiries on IDEA, please contact Eduard Robleza at edjrobleza@idea.org.ph.

The Filipino is middle class (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/april/14/yehey/opinion/20090414opi4.html)

The World Bank believes having a daily income of $2 to $10 is middle class. With this definition, then the entire Filipino nation is middle class.

The Filipino annual per capita income, in terms the Gross National Product (GNP), is $2,060.60. Divide this amount by 365, per capita income is $5.64 per day, more than twice the WB’s minimum $2 daily income to be considered middle class—people who are neither poor nor rich but somewhere in between.

Filipinos thus join more than half of the world which is now middle class.

The rise of the Filipino middle class is redefining wealth patterns in the Philippines. It explains why the Philippine economy is growing at 3 percent to 4 percent while two-thirds of the world has recession. Billionaires and millionaires are rising to the fore for catching early the rising middle class tide. The old rich are missing opportunities for failing to detect the emergence of the middle class and are thus losing significant portions of their wealth.

The middle class will also redefine governance. They have global standards and little or no patience with the old ways of doing things—cloudy, corrupt, inefficient. And the Catholic Church will probably lose its influence on policy making.

Pew Research says compared with poorer people in emerging countries, members of the middle class assign more importance to democratic institutions and individual liberties, consider religion less central to their lives, hold more liberal social values, and express more concern about the environment.

More middle-income than lower-income earners consider honest multiparty elections, a fair judicial system, a free press, free speech, and freedom of religion very important.

Good governance generally results in more robust economic growth because a good government will invest more in basic services, infrastructure and human capital which in turn propel further growth and a better quality of life for all.

At the same time, a less influential Catholic Church could mean government will be able to curb rapid population growth (currently about 2 percent, or 1.8 million additional mouths to feed each year.)

The Economist magazine says “an essential characteristic [of the middle class] is the possession of a reasonable amount of discretionary income.”

The savings rate of Filipinos has increased dramatically from 2.4 percent of GNP to 28 percent today. With GNP or the value of economic production plus income from abroad, at P8.9 trillion, 29 percent translates into P2.49 trillion—1.8 times the P1.4-trillion national government budget and government spending is a third of the economy.

Diana Farrell, a member of America’s National Economic Council, says being middle class begins where people have a third of their income left for discretionary spending after providing for basic food and shelter. This allows them not just to buy things like fridges or cars but to improve their health care or plan for their children’s education.

In the Philippines, to date, there is also no official government definition of middle class, according to Dennis Arroyo, the deputy at NEDA. He says the surge in OFW deployment and remittances created the Filipino middle class. The surge began in 2004.

Economist Arroyo says people who have worked abroad are getting used to global standards. They may be more impatient with the pace of development than those who have not gone overseas. For example, they are less likely to tolerate the normal levels of traffic here.

Dr. Romulo Virola of the National Statistical Coordination Board attempted to provide definitions for middle income in terms of income and in terms of socioeconomic characteristics.

Based on income, the middle-income class could be defined as those families with incomes ranging from P251,283 to P2,045,280 in 2007 (or P148,307 to P1,207,122 in 1997; P178,468 to P1,449,295 in 2000; and P203,109 to P1,651,632 in 2003).

Based on socioeconomic characteristics, middle-income families are those with all of these: a house and lot, a housing unit made of strong roof materials, a ref, and a radio.

Based on NSCB’s 5th to 7th deciles, the middle class account for 22 percent of all families. So one can say that the middle class account for a fourth to a fifth of all families.

So out of 16 million Filipino families, there are somewhere between 3.2 million and four million middle class families. With each family having 5.5 members, 3.2 million to four million translate into 17.6 million to 22 million Filipinos.

The middle income class does not seem to favor a lifestyle of conspicuous consumption. Its top expenditure items are (1) food. (2) house rent, (3) transportation and communication, (4) fuel, light and water, and (5) education, while the lowest shares of expenditures go to (1) nondurable furnishings; (2) alcoholic beverages; (3) tobacco; (4) recreation; and (5) house maintenance and minor repairs.

Good News yan ahh di big sabihin Middle Income Economy dapat tayu?

-------------------------------------------------------------------
RP electronics industry starting to recover


MANILA, Philippines—After a bad first quarter, the electronics industry seems to be showing signs of recovery, although at a very slow pace, according to an industry executive.

Arthur Young, chair of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries of the Philippines Inc. (Seipi), said there were indications that the market has hit its lowest and that things should get better for the rest of the year.

“There are no final first-quarter numbers yet, but it looks like from March onwards, we are seeing month-to-month improvements,” he said. “It’s still far from where we used to be, but at least it looks like the market has bottomed out and things are improving, although slowly, but improving nevertheless.”

Despite this, he said Seipi was keeping its 2009 forecast of a decline of 20-30 percent in semiconductor exports.

“On the decline, it’s still too early to say if there will be any changes to that range,” he said.

In an earlier interview, Seipi president Ernesto Santiago said this year would be the first time the industry would experience a double-digit decline.

“We don’t know yet how to handle it. It’s the first time we’re encountering a double-digit drop,” he said. “But we must continue to do the right thing to prepare for our future success. All is not doom and gloom.”

Young had earlier said the electronics industry was not expected to really bounce back until 2011, but minimal growth should already be felt by next year.

He said 2010 would be “a growth year” for the industry as exports start to recover from the 2009 slump.

“We expect high single-digit growth in 2010, but we won’t see good strong recovery until 2011. By then, the credit issue should have been fixed, so we expect double-digit growth that year,” he said.

This year, he said the industry would be suffering from “zero visibility,” with none of the players knowing how sales would turn out for the rest of the year.

He said the first quarter would be the worst for the industry.

The Filipino is middle class (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/april/14/yehey/opinion/20090414opi4.html)

The World Bank believes having a daily income of $2 to $10 is middle class.:bash: With this definition, then the entire Filipino nation is middle class.

The Filipino annual per capita income, in terms the Gross National Product (GNP), is $2,060.60. Divide this amount by 365, per capita income is $5.64 per day, more than twice the WB’s minimum $2 daily income to be considered middle class—people who are neither poor nor rich but somewhere in between.

Filipinos thus join more than half of the world which is now middle class.

The rise of the Filipino middle class is redefining wealth patterns in the Philippines. It explains why the Philippine economy is growing at 3 percent to 4 percent while two-thirds of the world has recession. Billionaires and millionaires are rising to the fore for catching early the rising middle class tide. The old rich are missing opportunities for failing to detect the emergence of the middle class and are thus losing significant portions of their wealth.

The middle class will also redefine governance. They have global standards and little or no patience with the old ways of doing things—cloudy, corrupt, inefficient. And the Catholic Church will probably lose its influence on policy making.

Pew Research says compared with poorer people in emerging countries, members of the middle class assign more importance to democratic institutions and individual liberties, consider religion less central to their lives, hold more liberal social values, and express more concern about the environment.

More middle-income than lower-income earners consider honest multiparty elections, a fair judicial system, a free press, free speech, and freedom of religion very important.

Good governance generally results in more robust economic growth because a good government will invest more in basic services, infrastructure and human capital which in turn propel further growth and a better quality of life for all.

At the same time, a less influential Catholic Church could mean government will be able to curb rapid population growth (currently about 2 percent, or 1.8 million additional mouths to feed each year.)

The Economist magazine says “an essential characteristic [of the middle class] is the possession of a reasonable amount of discretionary income.”

The savings rate of Filipinos has increased dramatically from 2.4 percent of GNP to 28 percent today. With GNP or the value of economic production plus income from abroad, at P8.9 trillion, 29 percent translates into P2.49 trillion—1.8 times the P1.4-trillion national government budget and government spending is a third of the economy.

Diana Farrell, a member of America’s National Economic Council, says being middle class begins where people have a third of their income left for discretionary spending after providing for basic food and shelter. This allows them not just to buy things like fridges or cars but to improve their health care or plan for their children’s education.

In the Philippines, to date, there is also no official government definition of middle class, according to Dennis Arroyo, the deputy at NEDA. He says the surge in OFW deployment and remittances created the Filipino middle class. The surge began in 2004.

Economist Arroyo says people who have worked abroad are getting used to global standards. They may be more impatient with the pace of development than those who have not gone overseas. For example, they are less likely to tolerate the normal levels of traffic here.

Dr. Romulo Virola of the National Statistical Coordination Board attempted to provide definitions for middle income in terms of income and in terms of socioeconomic characteristics.

Based on income, the middle-income class could be defined as those families with incomes ranging from P251,283 to P2,045,280 in 2007 (or P148,307 to P1,207,122 in 1997; P178,468 to P1,449,295 in 2000; and P203,109 to P1,651,632 in 2003).

Based on socioeconomic characteristics, middle-income families are those with all of these: a house and lot, a housing unit made of strong roof materials, a ref, and a radio.

Based on NSCB’s 5th to 7th deciles, the middle class account for 22 percent of all families. So one can say that the middle class account for a fourth to a fifth of all families.

So out of 16 million Filipino families, there are somewhere between 3.2 million and four million middle class families. With each family having 5.5 members, 3.2 million to four million translate into 17.6 million to 22 million Filipinos.

The middle income class does not seem to favor a lifestyle of conspicuous consumption. Its top expenditure items are (1) food. (2) house rent, (3) transportation and communication, (4) fuel, light and water, and (5) education, while the lowest shares of expenditures go to (1) nondurable furnishings; (2) alcoholic beverages; (3) tobacco; (4) recreation; and (5) house maintenance and minor repairs.

I really do not know what's in the mind of these WB experts calling people with $2 dollar a day middle class.:bash::bash:

Can you really live in a day with 90 pesos in your pocket?With body and soul intact?:nuts::ohno:

I really do not know what's in the mind of these WB experts calling people with $2 dollar a day middle class.:bash::bash:

Can you really live in a day with 90 pesos in your pocket?With body and soul intact?:nuts::ohno:

the world bank is out of touch with reality obviously.

By CHERNOBYL DIONES, Junior Researcher (http://www.bworldonline.com/BW032309/content.php?id=060)

IDEA

THE INDUSTRIALIZATION process of the 20th century marked the emergence of the middle class in the Philippines.

Before this period, the Philippines was a purely agrarian society under the Spanish colony. It only had a two-class structure comprising the wealthy landlords and small peasants, a setup characterized by extreme inequality in the distribution of wealth.

And it was not until the American colonial period that the Philippines experienced socioeconomic development. Farmers or peasants were given the opportunity to find new ways of earning a living; their children went to school and became teachers, doctors, civil servants, and other professionals. Hence, a sizable number of citizens emerged as members of the middle class.

The emergence of this middle-income class in a society provides many advantages and opportunities for growth and development. In a study conducted by William Easterly, it was concluded that countries with a big middle class have higher incomes and growth because they have more capital and infrastructure accumulation, they have better national economic policies, and they enjoy better democracy, more political stability, and more urbanization. Furthermore, a growing middle class often results in reduced income inequalities since the middle class sits between the rich elite and the rural poor.

Attempts at definition

But how do we know who or what constitutes the middle class?

In the United States, the term middle class is used to describe the income category of those people who are neither rich nor poor. The middle class consists of people who have steady jobs or formal employment that allow them to have roughly a third of their income left for discretionary spending after providing for their basic needs. This gives them the opportunity to not just buy consumer goods like cars, televisions or the latest gadgets, but also to improve their health care and to provide for their children’s education. The middle-class people, however, vary in background, profession, and income. Also, the income needed to provide for a person’s basic needs varies from place to place.

In the Philippines, Virola et al. (2007) made an attempt to define the middle class in terms of income and in terms of socio-economic characteristics in a paper entitled “Trends and Characteristics of the Middle-Income Class in the Philippines: Is it Expanding or Shrinking?”

Based on the paper, the middle-income class in the country are those families who have a total income of P251,283 to P2,045,280 in 2007. In terms of socioeconomic characteristics, middle-income families are those whose housing units are made of strong roofing materials, who own a house and lot, who own a refrigerator, and who own a radio.

These four variables appeared to be the most common characteristics of families classified as middle class in 1997, 2000, and 2003. Moreover, the Filipino middle class does not seem to favor discretionary spending. Their top expenditure items primarily include food, house rent, transportation and communication, fuel, light and water, and education. On the other hand, a small portion of the middle class’ income is spent on nondurable furnishings, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, recreation, and house maintenance and minor repairs.

Aside from describing an income category; the middle-class is also used to describe a set of attitudes. The Economist reported that people in the middle class are considered more open-minded, or more influenced by abstract values than traditional customs.

They are also more likely to invest in their children’s education because they are more concerned about the future of their children. Ideologically, they are more supportive of free markets and democracy. These attitudes of the middle class help transform countries and economies, thus providing advantages and opportunities for growth and development. This is supported by the fact that the middle class is more willing to invest in new technologies and new products than the rich, who typically have to protect their existing assets. The middle class is also better able than the poor to put up new businesses that could generate a number of jobs. Furthermore, the middle class is more likely to invest in human capital such as education and health, which are vital for the economic development of a country.

Global trends

The global middle class has been growing over the years. The Economist reported that over half of the world’s population now belongs to the middle class—a result of the explosive growth in the middle class of the emerging countries, especially in China and India.

Economic forces affect this tremendous growth. The poor started to rise to the middle class when the poor countries get the maximum benefit from their cheap labor through international trade, before they price themselves out of world markets for cheap goods and before they compete with rich countries in making goods that are of high value. A period of fast urbanization has also contributed to the growth of the middle class. It is a period when subsistence farmers abandon their rural farms to work in factories in the city, resulting in tremendous increase in their economic productivity.

Although the middle income class has expanded in emerging countries, the Filipino middle class has been found to be shrinking. The study by Virola et al. in 2007 revealed that there was at least a two-percentage point decrease in the population share of the middle class between 2000 and 2003. Disturbingly, this decrease in the share of the middle-income class resulted in an expanding low income class. The 2003 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) reported that less than 1 in 100 families belongs to the high income class; about 20 are middle-income, and 80 are low-income. This means that in a span of six years, from 1997 to 2003, for every 100 middle income families, 3 families have been lost to the low income class.

Under threat

During these times of recession, the middle class everywhere is under a great threat. Its members are more affected by the current global economic downturn than the rich or poor. The middle class may include workers in export industries, whose jobs are unsafe; borrowers and businessmen, who are hurt by the credit crunch; and even investors, who own assets whose values continue to fall. No one is certain about the fate of today’s middle class. If the downturn lasts for a year or two, the attitudes of such people might survive the retrenchment. A prolonged recession, however, might cause the middle class to slip back to poverty.

For the past years, policymakers around the globe have associated economic success to the rich, trickle-down economics, and the poor, inclusive growth. In particular, the development programs of the Philippines aim to reduce poverty and are focused mainly on being ‘pro-poor’ and ‘anti-poverty’. But the role of the middle class as the motor of economic growth is undeniable. Thus, it is a challenge for development planners to address the needs of and to recognize the expansion of the middle class in today’s society, most especially in the Philippines.

References:

“ Two billion more bourgeois.” The Economist 12 Feb 2009

“ Burgeoning bourgeoisie.” The Economist 12 Feb 2009

“ Virola, Romulo A., Mildred Addawe and Ma. Ivy T. Querubin. “Trends and Characteristics of the Middle �Income Class in the Philippines: Is it Expanding or Shrinking?” 10th National Convention on Statistics (NCS). 1-2 Oct 2007

The Institute for Development and Econometric Analysis, Inc. (IDEA) is an economic think-tank based in the University of the Philippines - Diliman. For inquiries on IDEA, please contact Eduard Robleza at edjrobleza@idea.org.ph.

the world bank is out of touch with reality obviously.

No, it's not out of touch...let's just accept that the middle class is growing rapidly....

No, it's not out of touch...let's just accept that the middle class is growing rapidly....

huh? SIGE HA, SABI MO YAN HA.

No, it's not out of touch...let's just accept that the middle class is growing rapidly....

Unfortunately, there are studies and the NSCB report in 2006 show that the middle class are vanishing instead of increasing.

This is attributed to the rising cost of living in the country.

Indeed, i may agree that the World Bank seems to pick numbers from nowhere.

3 square meals in a day will cost you 120 pesos per person (40 pesos per meal. busog kaya Pinoy sa 40 pesos?) This amount does not include other expenses such as utilities, transport etc.

The World Bank should check the numbers in the Philippines first.

Medyo mahaba, but I think this is a good read, simple analysis for everyone.

============================================================

Tsuper ang sikreto ng Pagasenso ng Pilipinas
by: Denverking D. Gomeceria

Tsuper pala ang sikreto o susi ng pagasenso ng Pinas ang sabi ko sa aking
sarili habang pababa sa jeep na aking nasakyan. Natawa ako pag naaalala ko
ang sinabi ng tsuper na kausap ko lang kanina. " Para makaahon tayo sa
hirap dapat nating itaas lahat ng bilihin. Itaas ang jeepney fare sa P25
kada tao. Tangalan ng tax ang mga mayayaman. Triplehen naman ang tax ng
mga mahihirap" ang suhestion ng mamang drayber ng dyip na nasakyan ko.
Mahaba ang aming napagkuwentuhan ng mamang drayber. May mga drayber kasi
na sa kwento nila dinadaan ang pagkainip nila sa trapik dito sa metro
manila. Maaring nagtataka na kayo kung paano nangyari yun. Hayaan nyong
ilahad ko rin sa inyo ang kwento ng mamang tsuper.

Nagmamadali ako papasok ng opisina ng maipit kami sa trapik. "Haaaay naku"
sabi ko sa aking sarili. "Walang pinagbago ang pinas". Natawa ang drayber
ng sinasakyan kong dyip. Sa unahan kasi ako sumakay kaya narinig nya ang
aking nasambit. Mukhang nagmamadali kayo sir ah, tanong ng drayber.
Sanayan lang po yan dagdag pa nya. Oo nga eh, kaya lang eh nakakaasar
kasing isipin na ganito na lang ba tayo palagi sagot ko. Wala ka na ngang
pera....trapik pa! Hirap na hirap talaga ang bansa natin ngayon. Lalong
natawa ang drayber sa tinuran ko. "Sir" sabi nya, matanong ko nga kayo.
Sure, sagot ko naman. Naniniwala ba kayong walang pera ang pinas?
Hhhhhhmmmm napaisip ako bigla sa tanong ng tsuper. Tingin ko wala! Kasi
hirap ng buhay ngayon eh sagot ko sa kanya. Wag kayo sanang magagalit sir,
mukhang mali ata po kayo duon ang magalang na tugon nya. Nagulat ako dahil
mukhang may alam yung mamang tsuper na di ko alam. Bakit mo naman nasabi
yan manong?

Kasi ganito po yun sir...may pera ang pinas kaya nga lang ay nakaipit sa
itaas ang paliwanag ng mamang tsuper. Nakaipit po yung pera sa bangko ng
mga mayayamang negosyante. At para pong dumadaan sa embudo ang pera pababa
sa ating mahihirap ang dagdag pa nya. Unti unti lang po ang baba, sapat
lang na tayo ay makakain at wag magpatayan. Kung mapapansin nyo po ay tila
napakahirap na buhay natin dito sa ibaba. Napakahirap kitain ng pera kasi
nga ay kaunti lang ang perang umiikot dito sa atin sa ibaba. Samantalang
P42 lang ang dolyares ngayon at kung may katotohanan ang report ng
gobyerno natin na umaangat ang ekonomiya....eh nasaan ang pera, tanong pa
nung drayber. Kung totoong kumikita ang pinas pero hirap tayo at walang
pera dito sa ibaba....ibig lang sabihin noon ay nasa itaas o sa mayayamang
negosyante ang pera, pagtatapos ng drayber.

Magaling! sabi ko sa mamang tsuper. Ang galing nyo manong ah, dagdag ko
pa. Matanong ulit kita sabi nya sa akin. Paano naman natin mababaliktad
ang kahirapan natin ngayon? Mukhang pahirap ng pahirap ang tanong nyo
manong ah. Madali lang yan sagot nya. O sige nga po manong...paano? Ganito
yun iho, kung ako ang masusunod para makaahon tayo sa hirap dapat nating
itaas ang jipney fare sa P25 kada tao. Tangalan ng tax ang mga mayayaman.
Triplehen naman ang tax ng mga mahihirap.Manong Gyera po yung hinihingi
nyo! Wala na nga ho tayong pambili eh...tapos imbes na pababain nyo
eh...itataas nyo pa. Isa pa ho, pag itinaas nyo ang pamasahe eh tataas ang
bilihin. Lalo lang hong magiging kawawa ng mahihirap nyan sabi ko sa
drayber. Isipin nyo mataas na ang bilihin tapos triple pa ang tax nila
samantalang yung mayayaman naman eh aalisan nyo ng tax..manong naman!

Ganito kasi yun iho. Kaming mga drayber ang sukatan at madalas na
idinadahilan ng mga mayayaman. Kami rin ang tagapasan lagi ng problema.
Kada gustong pagagainin ng gobyerno ang buhay natin dito sa ibaba. Lagi na
lang yung karampot naming kita ang kanilang pilit na pinabababa. Kasi nga
naman pag mababa pamasahe eh makakatipid daw yung mga mahihirap dahil
bababa din ang presyo ng bilihin. At kung mababa ang bilihin at
pamasahe...eh di syempre mababa din ang pasuweldo.Para nga naman daw di
bumagsak ang negosyo ng mga mayayaman at makahatak pa ng foreign
investors. Pero kung gagamitan mo ng simpleng math...eh magkano lang
talaga ang matitipid ng isang simpleng empleyado na gaya mo. Sa totoo lang
ay malaki na P1.000.00 kada buwan ang matitipid mo at P12,000.00 sa isang
taon.

Aba manong malaki na pong tulong yung P12,000.00 sa mahihirap, ang sabi ko
sa tsuper.

Sige nga iho, ano sa tingin mo ang magagawa sa iyo ng P12,000.00? Sapat na
ba iyon para makabili ka ng bahay? Sapat na ba iyon para mapagaral mo ang
iyong mga anak sa magandang paaralan? Maari siguro na makabili ka ng
second hand na telebisyon at maliliit na kagamitan sa bahay pero di yun
sapat para mapaunlad mo kahit konti ang buhay ng iyong pamilya.

Natigilan ako dahil may katwiran ang mamang tsuper. Bilang isang padre de
pamilya na may tatlong anak...ano nga naman ang magagawa sa akin ng
P1,000. kada buwan at P12,000.00 kada taon. Kung tutuusin eh sobra sobra
pa nga yung kwenta nung drayber. Eh kung ganun manong ano naman ang
iginanda nung suhestyon mo?

Sa pagpapababa ng presyo, hindi ang mahihirap ang tunay na nakikinabang.
Mas malaki ang natitipid ng mayayaman lalo na nung malalaking korporasyon.
Kasi ay bumababa ang kanilang operational expenses. Bababa ang kanilang
puhunan dahil mababa ang kanilang pasahod presyo ng na materyales.
Milyones ang kanilang natitipid. Ibig sabihin lang nun ay mas malaki ang
kanilang kikitain.Lalo na ang foreign investors, dahil ini-export nila
yung kanilang produkto, syempre pa dollars ang kanilang singil sa
international market. Kaya naman sa pagpapababa ng presyo sila ang tunay
na nakikinabang at hindi yung maliliit na gaya natin, lalo na kaming mga
tsuper.

Hhhhhmmmm....may katwiran nga po kayo manong! Tama nga po kayo! Kung hindi
pagpapababa ng pamasahe ang sagot...eh ano po?

Hindi mo kailangan ibaba ang pamasahe para matulungan ang mga mahihirap na
gaya natin iho. Kung ako ang masusunod, kung itataas natin sa P25 ang
pamasahe, wala ng dahilan ang mayayaman para di magtaas ng pasahod. At
kung ako ang masusunod ay gagawin kong P1,500.00 ang minimum salary ng
bawat mangagawa.
Hehehe! Natawa ako sa tinuran ng drayber sa akin. Matutuwa po misis ko
nyan manong hehehe! Imaginine mo ang laki ng take home pay ko. Pero kung
ganun po ang gagawin nyo eh magrereklamo naman po yung mayayamang
businessman. Sa laki ng gusto nyong pasahod eh wala na silang kikitain at
baka magsara pa yung kumpanya nila. Matatakot din po yung foreign investor
dito sa atin dahil ang taas ng labor cost.

Hindi ka nakikinig iho,sagot naman ng tsuper. Kaya nga aalisan ko na ng
tax ang mayayamang negosyante. Ihalimbawa na natin yung nakasuhan ng
P25billion na tax evation. Di ba kung ano ano pang red tape at bayad sa
mamahaling abogado ang ginawa nun? Sigurado umubos din sya ng milyon para
lang di magbayad? Kung tatangalan ko sya ng tax....hindi na nya kailangan
umubos ng milyon sa red tape at magbayad sa abogado. Kanya na yung
P25billion. Sa tingin mo masama pa ba yun? Sa ganung paraan din ay
mababawasan ang mga buwaya sa bir.

Tungkol naman sa foreign investors...nakakalungkot isipin na labor lang
ang kayang isipin ng ating gubyerno na panghatak sa kanila. Nakakalungkot
din na isipin na ibinebenta tayo ng ating sariling gubyerno bilang murang
alipin. Bakit di nila ipagmalaki ang kalidad o ang mataas na antas ng
ating mangagawa? Mahusay ang mga pinoy magtrabaho at pulido pa. Dun pa
lang lamang na tayo. Kaya nga mas gusto tayo ng mga arabo di ba? Di paulit
ulit yung gawa kaya nakakatipid sila at naibebenta pa nila ng mahal dahil
pulido nga ang pagkakagawa. Isa pa dapat din nating pakinabangan yung kung
tawagin ng kano na strategic location ng bansa natin. Di ba kaya nga pilit
pa rin na mga kano na magkaroon ng military activities o military base
dito sa atin? Kung sa military ay importante yun ganun din sa negosyo.
Puede tayong maging daungan at koneksyon ng mga barko at eroplano na
naghahatid ng produkto. Mumura din ang presyo ng importation dahil bukod
sa magigng daungan tayo ay meron pa tayong tinatawag na Globalization.
Mura na rin nilang nakukuha ang kanilang raw materials na kailangan nila
dahil sa bisa ng Globalization. Di ba yun nga ang purpose nun?

Haaay naku mukhang napagisipan nyo na ng husto yan manong drayber ah? Pero
may isa ho ata kayo nakaligtaan. Kung aalisan nyo ng tax ang mga
negosyante...paano naman po tatayo ang gubyerno natin nyan? Paano na ang
infrustructures natin nyan? Paano na yung operation expenses ng gobyerno
natin? Dito mahihirapan na sya sa isip-isip ko.

Napakamot ng ulo ang mamang drayber. Haaay naku iho di ka talaga
nakikinig. Kaya nga ti-triplehen ko ang tax nang mahihirap o empleyado eh.
Sige mathematics ulit tayo. Sa ngayon ay meron tayong 87milyon na
pilipino. 10% lang nyan ang mayayamang negosyante, 20% ang middle class at
70% ang mahihirap. Sa mathematics ibig sabihin nun ay may 8.7 milyon lang
ang mayayaman. Baka nga sobra pa yang bilang na iyan, dagdag ba ng tsuper.
Yung natitirang 78milyon ay malamang na karamihan ay empleyado. Sabihin na
lang natin na 50million ang nagtatrabaho para di tayo mahirapan sa
mathematics.
Kung dati ay nakakakuha ka ng tigpipiso, magiging triple yun, ngayon ay
makakakuha ka na ng P3.00. Ibig sabihin nito kung dati nakakakolekta ang
BIR ng P50million...magiging P150million na yun. Eh hindi lang naman 3piso
ang ibinabawas sa tax ng isang empleyado. Mababa ang P500 sa mga iyan eh
kung tatlong P500 yan! Sige nga iho imathematics mo nga. Mas magiging
epektibo ang koleksyon ng BIR dahil di na nila kailangan pang maghabol. Sa
ayaw at sa gusto ng empleyado ay babawasan sila ng tax kada buwan.
Magdadagdagan pa ang galamay ng BIR sa pamamagitan ng mga employer at
mababawasan ng malaki ang corruption sa ating bansa.

Hanep manong ang galing nyo po ah!

Isa pa iho, mas marami na ngayong ang magtutulungan na paangatin ang bansa
natin. Imbes na 10% lang ng population ang magdadala...yung 90% na ngayon
ang papasan ng ekonomiya natin.

Oo nga po manong....kaya lang parang ganun pa rin iyon. Mataas nga ang
sahod pero mataas din ang bilihin. Eh di wala rin po! Kayod marino ka pa
rin nun dahil sa taas ng bilihin.

Maaring ganun pa nga rin yun iho. Pero matanong kita ulit. Maari ngang
mahihirapan ka pa rin. Pero alin naman ang mas pipiliin mo...yung
nahihirapan ka na ang pagkain mo ay tuyo....o yung nahihrapan ka na ang
pagkain mo ay fried chicken?

Manong naman! tinatanong pa ba yun! Syempre dun ako sa chicken.

Ano ang mas gusto mo iho....yung nahihirapan ka na nakahiga sa banig....o
yung nahihirapan ka na nakahiga ka sa malambot na kama ?

Manong trick question po ba yan. Syempre naman dun ako sa kama !

Eto pa ang isang tanong iho. Sa tingin mo ba may katotohanan yung naisip
ko? Nangyayari ba yun.

Naku manong drayber kayo na po siguro ang sumagot nyan. Medyo mahina po
ako sa math eh!

Natawa na lang yung drayber sa aking isinagot sa kanya. Di mo naman
kailangan ng math dun eh iho! Ihalimbawa na natin ang mga bansang gaya ng
Singapore , Japan , Hongkong , Canada , Australia , Amerika at England . Lahat
ng bingangit ko ay may mataas na pasahod sa empleado. Lahat yun mga
bansang iyon ay may buying power ang mga taong nasa ibaba. Lahat yun ay
may kapasidad ang mamayan na bumili. Lahat ng mga iyon ay dinadayo ng
foriegn investor dahil malakas ang kanilang kalakalan. Lahat ng iyon may
maunlad na local na ekonomiya. Kasi iho basic lang naman yung ginawa
nating solusyon. Naalala mo ba yung embudo na sinasabi ko sa iyo kanina.
Sa pamamagitan ng pagpapataas ng sahod ay lumuwag yung butas sa embudo at
bumuhos yung pera sa ibaba. At dahil nga may buying power ang isang
simpleng empleado na gaya mo ay mamimili ka rin. Halimbawa na... dahil may
pera ka na ay kaya mo nang yayain si esmi mo na kumain naman sa
restaurant. Kaya mo na rin ibili ng sapatos ang anak mo. Kaya mo na rin
bumili ng bahay at higit sa lahat ay kaya mo nang mapagaral ang iyong anak
sa maayos na paaralan. Kada bibili ka yung pera mo ay aakyat ulit pataas
dun sa mga negosyante. Ang nangyari ay umikot lang yung pera sa paraan na
matitikman din nating mahihirap yung pinagmamalaki ng gobyerno na pagunlad
ng ekonomiya at nung P42 per dollar. Imbes na sila lang sa itaas ang
nakikinabang....hehehe medyo maaambunan na tayo.

Kaya lang po manong eh....sa kanilang bansa siguro pwede yun! Dito po sa
pinas malabong mangyari yun!

Iho akala ko ba ay empleado ka? Hindi mo ba alam na taon taon ay
nangyayari yung sinasabi ko sa iyo. Mayroong buwan sa isang taon na kung
saan yung embudo sa taas ay lumuluwag. Taon taon yan...hindi nga lang
triple ng sweldo pero doble naman. Kung sumasahod ka ng P10,000.00 kada
buwan, may time sa isang taon na sasahod ka pa ulit ng panibagong
P10,000.00. Kung ima-mathematics ulit natin eh tumatangap ka ng
P20,000.00.

Hah talaga ho manong?

OO naman iho. Nung panahon kasi ni makoy iho ay may ginawang batas na
tunay na pangmahirap. Yan ang tinatawag nating...thirteenth month pay! Sa
bisa ng batas na iyan, walang choice ang mga mayayamang negosyante na
magbayad ng doble sa kanilang empleado kada disyembre. Hindi ba iho, kada
December puno ang mga pamilihan? Kami kada disyembre malakas ang pasada.
Ganun din sa taxi at tricycle. Yung mga kumpanya malakas din ang sales
gaya softdrink, appliances, sanmiguel beer at iba pa. Pag bumaba ang pera
masaya ang lahat hehehe!

Ang galing nyo po talaga manong! Hanga po ako sa inyo, Hanneeeep po
talaga!

Ang masakit nga lang nito iho....kung ako na simpleng drayber eh naiisip
ko yun. Eh di lalo na yung mga mayayaman at politiko na nag-aral sa
magagandang eskwelahan. Mas matatalino sila eh diba. Nasilip nila ang
isang butas sa ating batas na hindi ako sigurado kung pangmahirap na batas
o pang mayaman!

Ano po iyon manong?

Ang ginagamit nilang pansakal sa embudo na sinasabi ko para mapigilan ang
pagbuhos ng pera sa ibaba ay yung tinatawag nating minimum wage law. Sa
ganang akin ay hindi pangmahirap na batas yan. Sige nga kung talagang para
sa atin yan....ikaw na simpleng empleyado na may tatlong anak....sa tingin
mo ba ay kasya yung minimum na inaprubahan ng gubyerno na P350.00? Kahit
siguro si Einstein ay mahihirapan sa mathematics na ginawa nila hahahaha!
O sige nga subukan natin. Teka ha hmmmm....ok ganito....sa umaga bili ka
ng bigas na mumurahin. Yung tig P25.00 tapos saing mo kalahati. Bili ka ng
tuyo na tig P15. Sa tanghali isaing nyo yung kalahati ng bigas tapos bili
ka ng itlog at 2 lucky me na aabot ng P20. Damihan mo na lang ang sabaw
para magkasya hehehe. Sa gabi naman ay bili ka ulit ng kalahatin kilong
bigas(P12.50) at 1 latang sardinas igisa mo sa bawang sibuyas at
sangkaterbang tubig ulit hehehe, mga P20 ulit yan. Sa pagkain nyo ubos ka
na agad ng P92.50. Syempre empleado ka papasok ka. Pagpalagay na nating
P100. ang gastos mo. Magkano na yun P192.50. Eh kung may pinadede kang
baby. at may pinagaaral ka na panganay. Kuryente, tubig at upa pa sa
bahay. Project pa ng anak mo sa skul at tuition. Hindi rin naman pued na
puro ka tuyo, itlog, lucky me at sardinas araw araw. Anong klaseng math
kaya ang ginawa nila at nagkasya yung P350.00 hahaha. Kaya kung ako sa iyo
iho sa sususnod na eleksyon ay wag ka ng pumili ng matatalino at
eknomista. Kasi medyo nakakalito yung aritmetik nila eh heheheh!

Ang mga halakhak na iyon ng mamang tsuper ang mga huling katagang lumabas
sa kanya na aking naalala. Habang ako ay naglalakad patungo sa opisina ay
naisip ko ang mga bagay bagay. Maaring marami ring butas ang suhestyon ni
manong drayber. Pero maari rin namang sya ay tama. Ilang dekada na ba
natin silang pinarurusahan. Ilan dekada na ba nating pinipilit ibaba ang
pamasahe para bumaba ang lahat ng bilihin. Ilang dekada na ba na ipinapasa
ng mayayaman ang pahirap sa mga gaya ni manong drayber. Maaari nga
sigurong kapos sa pinagaralang ang drayber ng dyip na nasakyan ko...pero
isa lang ang nasisiguro...ang kanyang sinabi ay mula sa kaibuturan ng
kanyang puso!

=======================================================

I really do not know what's in the mind of these WB experts calling people with $2 dollar a day middle class.:bash::bash:

Can you really live in a day with 90 pesos in your pocket?With body and soul intact?:nuts::ohno:

Totoo po yun may nakikita nga ako at naririnig less than 100 pesos lang per day lagi na lang sila nag Nonoodles or Tuyo :bash:

Totoo po yun may nakikita nga ako at naririnig less than 100 pesos lang per day lagi na lang sila nag Nonoodles or Tuyo :bash:

Heck, I can live for a hundred pesos a day or even 3/4th of that!





As long as you are not in Metro Manila. :lol: Hehehe...



Or better yet, go hide to the forests and forage for yourself. :D

Heck, I can live for a hundred pesos a day or even 3/4th of that!





As long as you are not in Metro Manila. :lol: Hehehe...



Or better yet, go hide to the forests and forage for yourself. :D

agree. yung mga classmates ko na nag rent ng apartment tig 60-70 pesos lang gastos nila sa pagkain sa isang araw. hinde ko namang napapansing pumapayat o sakitin sila :lol:

Totoo po yun may nakikita nga ako at naririnig less than 100 pesos lang per day lagi na lang sila nag Nonoodles or Tuyo :bash:

Sa palagay mo middle class tawag nila sa sarili nila. Wala pang tirahan, tubig, koryente at pampaligo yan ha. Ala pa pamasahe yan.


kaya namimitas ng data ang World bank nyan.

Heck, I can live for a hundred pesos a day or even 3/4th of that!

As long as you are not in Metro Manila. :lol: Hehehe...

Or better yet, go hide to the forests and forage for yourself. :D

sige nga gawin mo yan. :cheers:

agree. yung mga classmates ko na nag rent ng apartment tig 60-70 pesos lang gastos nila sa pagkain sa isang araw. hinde ko namang napapansing pumapayat o sakitin sila :lol:

hmmm...pagkain paano pamasahe at renta ng bahay?

panligo at damit nila?

Unfortunately, there are studies and the NSCB report in 2006 show that the middle class are vanishing instead of increasing.

This is attributed to the rising cost of living in the country.

Indeed, i may agree that the World Bank seems to pick numbers from nowhere.

3 square meals in a day will cost you 120 pesos per person (40 pesos per meal. busog kaya Pinoy sa 40 pesos?) This amount does not include other expenses such as utilities, transport etc.

The World Bank should check the numbers in the Philippines first.

120 pesos
is not enough
kung sa restaurant
ka kumakain araw-araw.

that's P3600/month.
nag grogrocery ako
every week and i don't
think i've ever spent more
than 3000 pesos a month
on food items alone.

now kung 120 pesos budget nyo
for each member sa pamilya at lima
kayo, that's P18,000/month!

do you think ganyan kalaki
budget ng mga pinoys for food?

hmmm...pagkain paano pamasahe at renta ng bahay?

panligo at damit nila?

yung pagkain lang po tinutukoy ko sa 70pesos. :)


3 square meals in a day will cost you 120 pesos per person (40 pesos per meal. busog kaya Pinoy sa 40 pesos?) This amount does not include other expenses such as utilities, transport etc.

basahin mo nlng post ni anakngpasig :lol:

middle class na po talaga ang mga pinoy. :D

175php na ang tuyo! my gawd!!!! :hilarious

http://images.jfchezt.multiply.com/image/3/photos/129/500x500/31/1-971237293l.jpg?et=r2FVw4CBvMwtS0ebs0fDmQ&nmid=172381255

siguro kung ma reredistribute ng konte yung wealth.
anyway in order for the country to progress the masa has to be the middle class and not the very poor. As it is, the connotation of masa is the very poor. elevate the status of the masa and we can say we are improving as a country.

120 pesos
is not enough
kung sa restaurant
ka kumakain araw-araw.

that's P3600/month.
nag grogrocery ako
every week and i don't
think i've ever spent more
than 3000 pesos a month
on food items alone.

now kung 120 pesos budget nyo
for each member sa pamilya at lima
kayo, that's P18,000/month!

do you think ganyan kalaki
budget ng mga pinoys for food?

I guess the question is, kung alam na ng marami na mahirap ang buhay sa pinas, then why add another mouth to feed. My take, we just deserve what kind of life we are having. Cynical but that's the truth.

siguro kung ma reredistribute ng konte yung wealth.
anyway in order for the country to progress the masa has to be the middle class and not the very poor. As it is, the connotation of masa is the very poor. elevate the status of the masa and we can say we are improving as a country.

^^ That is an insightful socio-political-economic commentary, Marites -- the concept of the "masa" or "mass" of society. Who compose the "mass" of society?

When the so-called "masa" is/are elevated to the ranks of the contemporary working class/ middle-class, then we can consider the Philippines an industrialized country. "Elevated" is the operational word here, because we wouldn't want the working class to degenerate into the proletarian "mass" in the Marxist concept in the sense that the bourgeoisie are considered the middle class and the proletariat becomes the oppressed in society.

One government think tank admitted that we are indeed suffering from Dutch Disease.

The only remaining industries here (with good returns) are malls, tiangges and ukay ykay that provides minimal macro economic impact on growth.

Philippine star

The ubiquitous Pinoy

DEMAND AND SUPPLY
By Boo Chanco Updated April 17, 2009 12:00 AM

Dutch disease, which describes the deterioration of the manufacturing sector in the Netherlands due to strong reliance on natural gas production, is an economic theory that explains that de-industrialization of a nation because of its dependency on other revenue sources, specifically, foreign exchange inflows.

Exporting labor was supposed to be a stop gap measure resorted to by the Marcos government while the economy was supposedly being developed and still unable to absorb the flow of people into the labor force.

But the stop gap measure has been there for decades now and government is showing no signs that it is ready to depend on other means to sustain the economy.

In fact, the economy has deteriorated in the meantime while population growth exerts an increasing pressure on jobs creation.

What can you do to help our country become industialized?
1. Pay taxes.
2. Vote wisely.
3. And the most important way.... give proper education to your children, and if you can't, always use CONDOM..

What can you do to help our country become industialized?
1. Pay tax
2. Vote properly
3. And the most important way.... give proper education to your children, if you can't just use CONDOM..

:lol::lol::lol::nuts::cheers:

^^ those three are what exactly this current administration wants...

... ah, i can't lie that well.

Sa palagay mo middle class tawag nila sa sarili nila. Wala pang tirahan, tubig, koryente at pampaligo yan ha. Ala pa pamasahe yan.


kaya namimitas ng data ang World bank nyan.

Obviously mang sququat sila at manunungkit ng damit sa ibang sampayan :D saka libre daw ang tubig sa Pozo.

Obviously mang sququat sila at manunungkit ng damit sa ibang sampayan :D saka libre daw ang tubig sa Pozo.

nanay..:nuts::lol::cheers:

yan ang mddle class sa WB:bash:

An insight on how WB determines poverty level across the developing and middle income countries.

Updated November 3, 2008

August 26, 2008—New poverty estimates published by the World Bank reveal that 1.4 billion people in the developing world (one in four) were living on less than US$1.25 a day in 2005, down from 1.9 billion (one in two) in 1981.

The new numbers show that poverty has been more widespread across the developing world over the past 25 years than previously estimated, but also that there has been strong—if regionally uneven—progress toward reducing overall poverty.

Looking at the new estimates from the perspective of the Millennium Development Goals, a set of internationally agreed development targets, the developing world is still on track to halve extreme poverty from its 1990 levels by 2015. This is the first of eight critical goals.

“However, the sobering news—that poverty is more pervasive than we thought—means that we must redouble our efforts, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa,” said Justin Lin, Chief Economist of the World Bank and Senior Vice President, Development Economics.

Updated poverty estimates are published by the Bank every few years, based on the most recent global cost-of-living data as well as on country surveys of what households consume.


Improved cost-of-living data for developing countries

“Our latest revision of poverty numbers is the largest revision yet because of important new data revealing that the cost of living in the developing world is higher than we thought,” said Martin Ravallion, director of the World Bank’s Development Research Group.

Ravallion refers to new information published earlier this year on the comparative prices of goods and services (such as food, housing, transport and so on) across many countries, expressed as internationally comparable exchange rates known as purchasing power parities (PPPs).

The latest PPPs—for 2005—were made available by a global statistical initiative called the International Comparison Program (ICP). The improvements in the design, implementation and analysis of the ICP price surveys for 2005 mean that the new PPPs are more reliable than older data from 1993 and 1985, which underestimated the cost of living in developing countries.


More accurate estimates of poverty

In the light of these new data, the Bank’s estimates of the extent of poverty in the developing world have also been revised upward across the entire period of research (1981 to 2005).

“The new estimates are a major advance in global poverty measurement because they are based on far better price data for assuring that poverty lines are comparable across countries,” said Shaohua Chen, senior statistician in the Development Research Group.

An earlier estimate of poverty—of 985 million living below the former international poverty line of $1 a day in 2004, down from 1.5 billion in 1981—was based on 1993 cost-of-living data which was the best available at the time.

The new poverty numbers, which show that 400 million more people lived below the poverty line in 2005 than earlier thought, are benchmarked to the revised international poverty line of $1.25 a day in 2005 prices. This line is a good standard for assessing extreme poverty because it is the average of the national poverty lines for the world’s poorest 10 to 20 countries.

“The new international poverty line is not intended to replace national poverty lines,” said Ravallion. When measuring poverty and discussing appropriate policies in a specific country one should naturally use a poverty line considered appropriate to that country, which need not accord with our international line.”

A forthcoming supplement to World Development Indicators will report poverty estimates using both the national poverty lines for each country as well as the new international poverty line that helps assess poverty comparably across all regions and countries.

Complete country-level data are available on PovcalNet, an interactive research tool that can be used to replicate Bank poverty estimates and test alternative assumptions, such as the poverty line or country groupings.

Overall progress at the global level

Ravallion’s paper on the new numbers, co-authored with Shaohua Chen, is titled “The developing world is poorer than we thought, but no less successful in the fight against poverty.” (Read the paper, or the shorter, bulleted brief.)

The authors find that, though the estimate of the number of poor has increased, the rate of poverty reduction in the developing world is still as strong as when poverty was viewed from the lens of the 1993 price data.

Poverty has been declining at the rate of about one percentage point a year, from 52 percent of the developing world’s population in 1981 to 25 percent in 2005. This is no small achievement, given that the number of poor fell by 500 million in this period.

“Yet even at this rate, about a billion people will still live on less than $1.25 a day in 2015,” said Ravallion. “And many of those who escaped 1.25-a-day poverty across 1981-2005 would still be poor by the standards of rich or even middle-income countries.”

Also, lags in survey data availability mean that the new estimates do not yet reflect the potentially large impact on poor people of rising food and fuel prices since 2005.

An uneven picture across developing regions

Poverty in East Asia—the world’s poorest region in 1981—has fallen from nearly 80 percent of the population living on less than $1.25 a day in 1981 to under 20 percent in 2005 (about 316 million), largely owing to dramatic progress in poverty reduction in China.

$1.25 a day poverty in South Asia has also fallen, from 60 percent to 40 percent over 1981-2005, but this has not been enough to bring down the region’s total number of poor, which stood at about 600 million in 2005.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the $1.25 a day poverty rate has shown no sustained decline over the whole period since 1981, starting and ending at 50 percent. In absolute terms, the number of poor people has nearly doubled, from 200 million in 1981 to 390 million in 2005. However, there have been signs of recent progress; the poverty rate fell from 58% in 1996 to 50% in 2005.

In middle-income countries, the median poverty line for the developing world—$2 a day in 2005 prices—is more relevant. By this standard, the poverty rate has fallen since 1981 in Latin America and the Middle East & North Africa, but not enough to reduce the total number of poor.

The $2 a day poverty rate has risen in Eastern Europe and Central Asia since 1981, though with signs of progress since the late 1990s.

A constant effort to improve data

“Data are never perfect, though they are getting better over time,” said Shaida Badiee, Director of the Bank’s Development Data Group. “The World Bank works constantly with partners in developing countries to improve data quality and access to data.”

An example of statistical improvement is the addition of price surveys for China to the 2005 round of the ICP. Many developing economies did not participate in earlier ICP rounds, but the 2005 ICP covered 146 countries including China.

The quality of the price data being collected has also improved over time, with product listings being specified in much greater detail. For example, in the 2005 ICP surveys, six different kinds of rice were classified by eight price-determining characteristics to ensure comparability between countries. In total, more than 1,000 products were included in the price surveys.

Ravallion notes that the scope and availability of household surveys of income and consumption have also improved vastly. “The latest poverty estimates draw on 675 household surveys for 116 developing countries, representing 96 percent of the developing world,” he said. “Yet 20 years ago we could only do these calculations properly for 22 countries. That is great progress in our knowledge about poverty in the world.”
http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/0,,contentMDK:21882162~pagePK:64165401~piPK:64165026~theSitePK:469382,00.html

Just an insight on how the our minimum wage earners fare with their counterparts in some cities in Asia including Australia:

Metro Manila, P382/day or P9,932/month = US$207
Jakarta, Rp1,020,000 per month or US$95
Kuala Lumpur, range from 700 to 1,570 Ringgit or US$198 to $421/mo. They have pending proposal to set it at US$375/month.
Hanoi, VND650,000 = US$36.70/month or could go as high as US$49/month
Bangkok, Baht 6,090/month = US$188/month
Shenzhen Yuan 850/month = US$134/month
Taiwan = US$500/month
Korea = US$604/month
Singapore = US$1,589/month
Australia = US$2,159/month

http://www.hanoitimes.com.vn/newsdetail.asp?NewsId=10739&CatId=51
http://www.indonesiamatters.com/1509/minimum-wage/
www.nsw.com.my
http://www.nwpc.dole.gov.ph/pages/statistics/Asean%20Wages%202009.pdf

Actually manila rate pa lang ayn ehh yung Provincial Rate nagvavaries rin mina nga almost $150 /Month kaya need talaga natin ibaba yung kuryente.

Actually manila rate pa lang ayn ehh yung Provincial Rate nagvavaries rin mina nga almost $150 /Month kaya need talaga natin ibaba yung kuryente.

Kahit 100 Us dollars lang suweldo pinoy basta koryente, tubig at pagkain mura sa Pinas.

Yung mga non-essential ang dapat skyhigh rulad ng cellphone at text (to minimize stupid forwarded messages and eyeball:nuts::nuts:)electronic gadgets, entertainment (moviehouses, bars, casinos etc).

^ Non-Essentials like Entertainment should never be priced high, it what keeps civilized life from being dull and monotonuous. A dull life reduces work efficiency after all... It's really up to the person not to abuse the abundance of such entertainement that it consumes too much finances for neccessities

Kahit 100 Us dollars lang suweldo pinoy basta koryente, tubig at pagkain mura sa Pinas.

Yung mga non-essential ang dapat skyhigh rulad ng cellphone at text (to minimize stupid forwarded messages and eyeball:nuts::nuts:)electronic gadgets, entertainment (moviehouses, bars, casinos etc).

Making paying all the bills of the majority of the filipino is not enough to make grow the country and create more wealth, you need to make people spend and with such low salary its almost impossible and not counting the other people that can't even pay their own bills.

And metro manila it doesn't reflect the whole country , I was so surprised to learn that a domestic helper in the province got only 2000 pesos a month with 1 day off a week.


Great184 I totally agree with you about entertainment and I like that cinema in the Philippines is really affordable , unfortunately electronics is too much expensive I was so disappointed to find out that more or less the prices are the same as in Europe sometime even more expensive.

Ipods cost less here

Making paying all the bills of the majority of the filipino is not enough to make grow the country and create more wealth, you need to make people spend and with such low salary its almost impossible and not counting the other people that can't even pay their own bills.

And metro manila it doesn't reflect the whole country , I was so surprised to learn that a domestic helper in the province got only 2000 pesos a month with 1 day off a week.

Can you clarify sir your post?

regarding the 2000 pesos a month for the domestics in the country. I think its enough because that is their net pay.

No taxes, no deduction.

Domestics in the country have free board and lodging. Plus freebies from their employers.

If we monetized the free board and lodging

2,000 pesos a month=for the rent

120 pesos(3 meals. minimum. does not include trips to restaurants and fastfood with the employer)x 30 days =3600

plus free electricity and water 500 pesos

Thats 8,000pesos.

An ordinary employee with a salary of say 8000 pesos will have to pay for all including transport cost.

And metro manila it doesn't reflect the whole country , I was so surprised to learn that a domestic helper in the province got only 2000 pesos a month with 1 day off a week.


Great184 I totally agree with you about entertainment and I like that cinema in the Philippines is really affordable , unfortunately electronics is too much expensive I was so disappointed to find out that more or less the prices are the same as in Europe sometime even more expensive.

Ipods cost less here

That's the sad truth. The rule of thumb should be that the earnings of the average person was low, the price of goods should be low as well. Somehow our purchasing power has declined through the years since the salary adjustments have not kept pace with inflation.

To solve the perennial problem of wage hike in the philippines, the government should have the political will to enact and impose a law that will penalized land owners that do not cultivate or use their land.

Idle lands especially arable lands should all be planted with food.

Commercial crops should not be given anymore incentives.

Food production must be given emphasis.

To cut production costs, transport cost should be lowered i.e. the revival of the railway I admit is a great project coming from the PGMA administration;
more irrigation system, post harvest facilities and inexpensive organic fertilizers.

Last resort will be subsidies (though will distort the market equilibrium)

agree. yung mga classmates ko na nag rent ng apartment tig 60-70 pesos lang gastos nila sa pagkain sa isang araw. hinde ko namang napapansing pumapayat o sakitin sila :lol:

Important thing is you will never get sick. :)

Guys, domestic helpers are not covered by the minimum wage law.

And metro manila it doesn't reflect the whole country , I was so surprised to learn that a domestic helper in the province got only 2000 pesos a month with 1 day off a week.



Some rich employers pay their maids P5,000/month to P8,000/month with free travel to accompany their alaga....there is no law governing the maids but the employer is required to have them covered by SSS and/or Philhealth.

The minimum wage differs, i.e., in Caraga region, Northern Mindanao, it's US139/month.

Can you clarify sir your post?

regarding the 2000 pesos a month for the domestics in the country. I think its enough because that is their net pay.

No taxes, no deduction.

Domestics in the country have free board and lodging. Plus freebies from their employers.

If we monetized the free board and lodging

2,000 pesos a month=for the rent

120 pesos(3 meals. minimum. does not include trips to restaurants and fastfood with the employer)x 30 days =3600

plus free electricity and water 500 pesos

Thats 8,000pesos.

An ordinary employee with a salary of say 8000 pesos will have to pay for all including transport cost.
I know what you mean and its true but since they are living with their employees they are theorically available 24 hours a day so they should take more.
Some rich employers pay their maids P5,000/month to P8,000/month with free travel to accompany their alaga....there is no law governing the maids but the employer is required to have them covered by SSS and/or Philhealth.

The minimum wage differs, i.e., in Caraga region, Northern Mindanao, it's US139/month.

And this is good , but this is not the law as you wrote "some" .

Philippines at 76% penetration rate, considered as high in the region

*The Asia Pacific region contains five of the world’s ten largest mobile markets – China and India, which are the number one and two respectively and Indonesia, Japan and Pakistan, the sixth, eighth and tenth largest. These five occupy the top five places in the regional list, which is completed through the addition of the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea and Bangladesh.

A year ago, China was more than twice the size of India, with a total of 529.3m connections, compared with India’s 233.6m. This gap of nearly 300m has narrowed somewhat over the last year, despite China adding an average of more than 7m customers a month to reach a total of 615.7m. India benefitted from much increased competitive pressure and the continuing roll-out of coverage into rural areas and, as a result, it added an average of nearly 9.5m customers each month, to end with a total of 346.8m. Since the end of the year this pace has increased again: the first two months of 2009 alone saw a staggering 29m new connections, with the total likely to be close to 45m for the quarter.

During 2008, Indonesia overtook Japan to become the region’s third largest market with a total of 140.2m connections. Japan’s grip on fourth place is loosening, with Pakistan the main challenger – even though that market saw a slight reduction in numbers in Q4 as unregistered customers were culled. Japan added just over 5m connections to reach 105.8m, while Pakistan ended with 89.9m. The Philippines retains sixth place, with 68.1m customers, but it is likely to drop behind Vietnam in 2009. The market here is being liberalised (if that is the right word for a process which awards ever more licences to entities that are all, ultimately, state-controlled) and demand is rising rapidly. The market as a whole added over 30m new connections for a total of 67.2m, to become the region’s seventh largest, ahead of Thailand, which had begun the year in seventh place and added nearly 9m connections over the year to close with 61.9m. Ninth and tenth places go to South Korea (down from eighth, with 45.6m) and Bangladesh (unchanged, with 45.2m).

Posted to the site on 21st April 2009