Philippine businessmen pessimistic about economic upturn in near future: survey

The Philippine business sector is still dominated by pessimism toward the country's economic future, showed a survey released Monday.

The survey conducted by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) indicated that 54 percent of 250 respondents do not expect an economic upturn in the next six months while only 16 percent do.

The cost of power, peace and order, graft and corruption and fiscal policy were listed as the most important issues impeding the businesses in the country.

The political turmoil was cited by some 70 percent of the businessmen as the major factors affecting their business plans and operations in one way or another.

About 60 percent noted the negative impact of the coming Expanded Value Added Tax (E-VAT) law on their businesses while only 8 percent believed that the E-VAT will uplift the business climate in the country.

However, up to 74 percent of the respondents said they would still continue their businesses in the country despite the political crisis, while 2 percent expressed the wish to move their businesses to a different location.

The business sector called for stronger ability of the government to provide adequate protection for them and strictly enforce rules and regulations to improve business confidence in the country, the survey said.

Source: Xinhua