VisMin businesses are upbeat for a reason but also mindful of the work to be done

When we say that the Philippines is a country of huge potential, it is not just we in Metro Manila who are saying that. Business leaders and heads of business chambers in Visayas and Mindanao share the same sentiment. 

I am able to say this because I personally witnessed their enthusiasm about our prospects. Earlier this month, the Stratbase team conducted two roundtable business discussions in Cebu and Cagayan de Oro City.

The business leaders agreed that there were three things that made up the Philippines’ core competencies: the richness of our natural resources, the youth and dynamism of our population, and our strategic location. 

But the business leaders knew we should not be complacent with these strengths and competencies. Much remains to be done and plenty of challenges on different fronts and levels.

The bigger story is that we could achieve so much more as an economy and as a nation, but many things hinder us from these aims. The local investors cited the challenges they currently face, first in their respective spheres and collectively as we aspire to be an investment hub in Southeast Asia. 

Foremost among these challenges is the bureaucracy itself. Despite efforts and initial gains, bureaucratic bottlenecks are common, more pronounced in some areas than others. And the people are very much aware of this.

The latest Stratbase-commissioned survey conducted by Pulse Asia shows that nearly 60% of Filipinos believe that the most significant factor hindering foreign investments in the Philippines are the complicated rules and regulations which hamper the flow of doing business in the country.

Cost of production is another important consideration in determining the capacity of the Philippines to attract investors. The cost of production in the country is always higher than those in the neighboring countries, the cost of electricity is also something we need to improve on. 

A third major hurdle is the lack of infrastructure. While infrastructure growth has been the priority of the government in recent years, the traffic situation in our key investment areas need to be improved as more people are able to afford vehicles.

Another aspect of infrastructure that