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MANILA - Former socioeconomic planning secretary Solita Monsod said the Aquino administration should submit its investment policy to the UN Conference on Trade and Development for review.
"It certainly is time that we go to UNCTAD and say could you please review our policy framework and point out to us the inconsistencies because we would like to have a coherent whole. If we can do that, for sure the kind of investment flows, not just the quantity, but the quality of investment flows to the Philippines will increase," Monsod, who served under President Benigno Aquino III's late mother Corazon "Cory" Aquino, said at the launch of the UNCTAD World Investment Report 2012,
Monsod said a review by an independent organization such as UNCTAD can clarify what the Philippines is doing wrong as well as what it's doing right.
The WIR 2012 described the Philippines as "below expectations" but with a "high potential" in terms of attracting foreign direct investments.
Other countries considered as "below expectations" were Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sri Lanka, while those with "high potential" were Bahrain, Ecuador, Kuwait, Lithuania, and New Zealand.
According to the WIR 2012, the Philippines' stock of FDI inflows as of last year reached $27.58 billion, a little over a third of Vietnam's $72.78 billion.
For last year alone, FDI flows to the Philippines reached $1.26 billion, lower than the $7.43 billion to Vietnam.
The Philippine share of greenfield investments of $257 million likewise paled in comparison to Vietnam's $1.643 billion and Thailand's $4 billion.
The Philippines' contribution to global FDI also fell behind its neighbors, with a ranking of 60th, as against Malaysia at 7th, Singapore at 13th, Thailand at 16th, Cambodia at 19th and Indonesia at 45th.
Other countries that were in the same boat as the Philippines were Algeria, Greece, India, Japan, Kenya, the Republic of Korea, Paraguay, Taiwan, Turkey, the US and Venezuela.
"I just want to bring up, as part of the reaction, because this all moves toward my final please, which is Philippines, wake up. We've got to get our act together, investment act together. There seems to be a dysfunctional investment policy, there is some kind of incoherence here," Monsod said.
The UNCTAD report said total FDI flows to the East and Southeast Asia region rose 14 percent to $336 billion, accounting for 22 percent of the global tally, and higher than the 12 percent before the 2008 global financial crisis.
East Asia cornered the bulk of inflows at $219 billion, up nine percent year-on-year, while Southeast Asia had $117 billion, or 26 percent higher than in 2010.
Worldwide, FDI flows grew 16 percent to $1.52 trillion in 2011, exceeding the 2005–2007 pre-crisis count for the first time.
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