RP-based Americans upbeat on economy, says AmCham

Almost all American businessmen in the Philippines expect the economy to expand this year 2010, according to a recent survey of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham). AmCham said that while 86 percent of the respondents believed in an economic grow, none predicted a contraction. The optimism is sustained by respondents' belief that their businesses will have a better bottom line this year, with 72 percent of looking at increased profits, the business confidence survey showed. In 2009, only 42 percent of American business men in the country believed that their profits would go up, the chamber said in a statement. The ninth Asean Business Outlook survey seeks to understand prospects for business growth and perceptions about doing business in Asean. About 328 senior executives from US companies in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam were surveyed using a web-based instrument. For 2011, 76 percent of those surveyed said they expect higher profit, and 51 percent expected the number of their workforce to increase. “Results from the 2010 survey highlight more strengths than concerns in the Philippines, a fact that further demonstrates the increasingly positive outlook held by the respondents about their location of business," AmCham said. The chamber added that “Respondents are also mainly satisfied with the availability of low cost labor (76 percent), sentiment towards the US (70 percent), availability of trained personnel (70 percent), office lease costs (63 percent), and housing costs (53 percent)." There are only three major concerns bugging the American firms here, the survey showed: corruption, which remains the premier source of worry with an 84-percent dissatisfaction rate; infrastructure at 46 percent; and tax structure, 42 percent. American firms' dissatisfaction with “stable government and political system" went down to 37 percent in 2010 from 47 percent in 2009. In the overall survey, “Most respondents (84 percent) cited economic recovery as a reason for Asean’s increased importance, followed by limited growth opportunities in other regions (51 percent) and improvement in infrastructure (44 percent). "Business expansion is also expected in Asia, with most respondents (80 percent) saying their companies plan to expand in Asia within the next two years while 60 percent expect an increase in workforce," AmCham said. —JE/VS, GMANews.TV