Moody's upgrades Philippines to "Investment Grade"

I did wonder how long it would be before you mentioned that industry ...

You mean there isn't any uncertainty in the UK? Really? And not everyone is as risk-averse as you, with your check lists, log rules and slide tables.

Both those are pretty much common currency; not a task he could entrust to Binay.

"Quite that bad" - what is that supposed to mean?

There you go. Making stuff up again. Complete fiction..

As bad as is painted by this thread, the pork barrel thread and the Pinoy press. And ref the likes of Miriam above post 21. One would have to be crazy to invest money in the Philippines, despite the upgrade.

Please yourself if you want to invest money in the Philippines. But why the need if you dont have to.....

Just to be quite clear, "investment grade" is a bond rating; it has nothing at all to do with the stock market. Bonds that are not investment grade are "junk bonds".

Many institutions, be they charities, local governments, insurance companies and indeed banks are not permitted to invest money in bonds that are not "investment grade".

So all that the "investment grade" rating means is that institutions which could not hold Philippine Government debt can now do so.

In effect, this should reduce the cost of borrowing for the Philippines Government.

That is all that it means.

Frankly, given the present levels of the Philippine stock market, this is not the time to be buying in it, imho.

Oh I hardly think so. You, on the other hand, appear to suffer from short-term memory loss. For it is you who quite regularly informs this readership of "another box ticked" on your list of reasons not to make the Philippines your eventual home.

So you know better than financial analysts employed by Moody's, Standard and Poores and the World Bank?

Well, exactly.

Another good thread on raising awareness levels relating to issues / difficulties / problems with the Philippines.

And from the NY Times:

"The country continues to face considerable challenges, however. Surging growth has yet to translate to wealth for the country’s millions of poor. The economy remains heavily reliant on money sent home from Filipinos working overseas. And the country’s service-sector-heavy economy lacks a manufacturing base of the kind that has lifted millions of people out of poverty in other Asian countries.

At the same time, scandals have persisted over extrajudicial killings by the police, sexual harassment by diplomats, and extortion and bribery within government agencies."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/04/b...philippines-investment-grade-rating.html?_r=0

Well you can wipe that self-satisfied smirk off your face for a start!

Your contribution rather suggests to me that you are not interested in knowing about positive achievements or reading 'good news' stories, all you appear to be interested in is highlighting negativity about the country and its peoples.

Take the New York Times article that you quoted from. Most of that article highlights the positives, including the facts that the Philippines has high growth, low inflation and improved fiscal management. But you choose to ignore all that and merely draw everyone's attention to the article's final two paragraphs which give a more negative picture. And the parts you quote are not entirely correct: the ship building industry is growing with new yards opening on Cebu and Luzon and the construction industry which is at an all time high. The fact that more and more Filipinos are buying houses, many on mortgage, is a measure of their increased confidence in the economy, their employment status and long term future. Manufacturing and exports, especially in the various EPZs, is flourishing.

And, in the original article, the phrase "scandals have persisted over extrajudicial ...." contains a link to another - but somewhat unrelated - New York Times article dealing with the first Pork Barrel demonstration in Manila in August - "Filipinos Hold Mass Protest Over Official Corruption". That in itself is a good news story because not since EDSA has the the citizenry expressed so much displeasure with the executive branch of its government.

That the three major credit reporting agencies have give the Philippines "investment grade" is international recognition of the great strides the present government - and Aquino in particular - have taken to improve things here.

A decision to invest in this country's economy is, of course, a personal one. I, like my father before me (and his father before him), am the trustee of a family trust (alas, I am not a beneficiary). Last year I asked the trust's stock brokers to consider diversification away from European and American stocks which were under-performing. They sent me a list of recommendations which included two Philippine companies, JG Summit and San Miguel (which had not yet invested heavily in PAL) - JG Summit you may not have heard of but that empire includes Cebu Pacific. The trust now has holdings in both companies and both stocks have risen in value; we may sell come 2015 however depending on who looks favourite to be the Palace's next tenant.

And please remember, the readership of this Forum isn't merely cynical Brits, there are Filipinos here too and I am pretty sure they do not appreciate your dissing a good news story. Not forgetting of course that you are married to a Filipino.

Im a bit suprised Mark that you havn,t warned everyone including yourself to shy away from political comment on the Phils for fear of prosecution if one were to visit.

Im also amused that you would invest in Cebu Pacific given your views on Air Safety and Europe but heh ho profit,s thats the thing lol

The model of "investment" for most of us is to attempt to find ways for our extended families to put rice on the table for themselves rather than simply providing it.

Its evident to me that a country that,s citizens want out at any cost is not addressing its peoples needs at the basic level and I guess for some expats thats what makes it attractive as a retirement destination.

Political comment is fine provided that it is truthful and not libellous or offensive. Those of us who are not Philippine citizens must not engage in political campaigning - in the loosest sense - nor take part in any form of demonstration.

JG Summit is a very well-run company - as is San Miguel. What has Europe, or my views on that corrupt organisation, got to do with it?

Firstly Philippine citizens do not "want out at any cost" and as the economic situation improves, fewer will elect to become OFWs and work abroad in order to support their families. It may even be harder in future for old reprobates such as yourself (and myself) to find a bride unless they're prepared to move to this country.

There are many reasons why the Philippines is an attractive destination for one's retirement; the (past) failure of its government to address its citizens' needs is not one of them.

Not my experience old chap

Do share, inquiring minds want to know. I would agree that living other than in your country of birth is educational but given the institutional racism and desperation among ordinary people and the fact that no mainstream tour operator will consider the Phils as a tourist package for holidays, its a difficult sell.

Markham, though, is full of contradictions. He will knock holes in the Philippines to the cows come home but will swivel round on his seat should someone else highlight outstanding issues for concern for those taking a long and hard look at the pros and cons for moving to the Philippines.

I recall a good thread on tourism in the Philippines where some held a very pessimistic view on its potential.

Take a look at this thread that you initiated, Sir Markham. Do you forget what you write? Do you suffer from amnesia?


http://www.british-filipino.com/sho...-off-its-laggard-label-quot&highlight=Tourism

Institutional racism? I hardly think so; Filipinos are the most welcoming of nations towards those who visit but they are sometimes abused by their visitors - including some Koreans and arrogant Caucasians.

With the best will in the world, the Philippines is most unlikely to be a mass tourism destination for the European package tour market in the same way Spain, Italy and Greece are; it's simply too far. Malaysia has been trying to capture a part of that market for several years and the government partnered with AirAsiaX to provide low-cost travel between the UK and Malaysia - it also offered single and multi-centre travel and hotel packages. In order to keep costs down, the seat pitch was, IIRC, 31" which for many people meant a rather uncomfortable 12 hour trip between Stanstead and Kuala Lumpur; that service was discontinued last year. If you check the news releases on the BI web site, you'll see that tourism is flourishing here and increasing but the majority come from China and other Asian countries; tourism from Australia is also increasing.

Not at all! I am trying to provide a fair and balanced view; that necessarily means providing the positive as well as the negative aspects. Importantly, I and others who have great affinity for this country and its peoples, do attempt to place things in the correct context which is really only possible if you either live here or have done so.

I admit that it had slipped my mind, yes. It seems it had slipped yours too since you happened upon it whilst searching this site for posts about tourism. That thread - and the article upon which it was based - is some three months' old and things have changed here in the interim - for the better. Those changes give me a greater confidence in this country's future and I hope her electorate recognize the positive achievements made by this President and vote accordingly in 2015.

Meanwhile at a press conference in Bali, Moody’s Senior Analyst Christian de Guzman explained why the Philippines' sovereign rating was increased last week. He said:

He also revealed:

More from the Manila Bulletin here.

More good news for the Philippines, this time from the World Bank in an Associated Press report from Mumbai:

Just to underscore the good news, this recently-published article reports that foreign equity investment has increased by 126% to Php93.4 billion for the first six months of this year compared to the same period in 2012:

You could hardly do otherwise than to admit it slipped your mind. Along with a long list of similarly slanted posts. But it is a case of what suits you at the time. You merely swivel round on your stance to suit, like a public schoolboy in a debating competition for 12 year olds. I don't know what business you dable in over there but I wouldn't trust your advice one iota. Whats more, my searching for anything bears no relevance to your convenient memory lapse.

So if you criticise the Philippines, and you do it often, it is fair and balanced view eh! LOL. You are definitely having a laugh.

Get away with ya. That one again eh. You have been there just a few years only. What's that compared to a lifetime?

Well, lets pour our life's savings into the Philippines then!