IN THE NEWS from Asia Times
The Philippines' sound economic fundamentals, financial conservatism, and the Aquino government's efforts to shake up the bureaucracy seem to have finally caught the attention of the global investing community.
Recent upgrades from credit ratings agencies (and further upgrades expected in the near future) and positive outcomes of studies by respected multinational financial institutions have stoked investor interest and confidence in an economy that has been a consistent underperformer in the region. One study now places the Philippines as one of the most important investment destinations in the world, trailing only China and Indonesia.
The points made in the article seem to validate some observations that were made in the ADB seminar about Emerging East Asia in December of last year about the resilience of the Philippine economy amid threats of another global financial crisis. All in all, these findings suggest that economic advances in the previous year will continue well into this year and that further investments in the Philippine stock market now might be a good idea. In 2011, the PSEi had been up 3.7% for the year even as other markets around the world floundered in the midst of economic uncertainties in the US and Europe.