Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines Press Release



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Arangkada Philippines Second Anniversary Forum:

Realize the Potential!

The Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFC) will be holding the Second Anniversary Forum of Arangkada Philippines with the theme Realize the Potential! on February 26, 2013 at the Rizal Ballroom, Makati Shangri-la Hotel.

The JFC has chosen such theme in reference to President Benigno S. C. Aquino III’s comment on the country’s untapped potential, which is steadily becoming realized as the Philippines exceeds economic expectations of both local and foreign observers.

In January, the JFC organized its First Anniversary Forum with the theme Moving Twice as Fast, a statement well underway with a gross domestic product growth of 6.5% in the first nine months of the year.

Some two-dozen expert speakers from the public and private sectors will discuss issues critical to stronger economic growth, higher investment, and job creation for the Philippines to Realize the Potential!

Results of the Second Anniversary Assessment will also be unveiled at the Forum to update attendees on the country’s progress in accomplishing the 471 recommendations listed in the original ArangkadaPhilippines: A Business Perspective report published in December 2010.

The Arangkada recommendations are based on the insights of nearly 300 Filipino and foreign investors who have participated in nine focus group discussions held for the drafting of the original report. Such reforms are intended to infuse $75 billion in new foreign investment, create 10 million jobs, and generate over a trillion pesos in revenue for the economy within this decade by enabling strong growth of the Big Winner Sectors:

• Agribusiness
• Creative industries
• Information technology
• Infrastructure
• Manufacturing and logistics



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• Mining
• Tourism, medical travel, and retirement

The First Anniversary Assessment conducted in late 2011 involved more than 40 private sector experts who collectively evaluated all 471 recommendations. These experts included senior consultants, former public officials, business executives, and academics. Each recommendation is rated using a six-star system:

1 star

—No Longer Relevant

• 2 stars

—Backward / Regression

•  stars

—Not Ongoing

• 4 stars

—Started

• 5 stars

—Substantial Progress

• 6 stars

—Completed

 Ratings in the First Assessment showed that the Philippines scored three and a half stars and above for 55% of the recommendations, and three stars and below for the remaining 45%.

Online registration for the upcoming forum will open this on December 17 on ararangkadaphilippines.com/forum through Event Brite.

The full-day forum will be streamed live on the Arangkada Philippines Project’s (TAPP) official website (www.arangkadaphilippines.com) and forum website (arangkadaphilippines.com/forum). Live Tweets and status updates will also be available on the official Arangkada social media accounts: @ArangkadaPH for Twitter and fb.com/arangkadaphilippines for Facebook.

Digital copies of the first assessment and the 2010 report are available on the TAPP website.

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Since launching in July 2011, the Arangkada Philippines website has received 102,098 hits from 32,641 unique visitors from 140 destinations, which includes — apart from the Philippines — the United States, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Malaysia, Canada, United Kingdom, India, and South Korea.

NOTES

The JFC is composed of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines, Korean Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, and Philippine Association of Multinational Regional Headquarters.

Email your forum inquiries to forum@arangkadaphilippines.com