Bizmen cite ease of doing business in their decisions

Carpo also said that investors are not just looking at opening businesses in major cities but other areas that are starting to rise. (File Photo: DerekBBB/Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0)

MANILA — Transparency in government processes would make a big difference in attracting more foreign investments to the Philippines, officials of some business entities said during the Business 2020 Beyond the Metro forum in Taguig City on Friday.

Investors are closely looking at the ease of doing business ratings of every country to gauge opportunities and possible successes, said Amanda Carpo, legal counsel and co-founder of private office and co-working space provider KMC Solutions, which hosted the forum.

Carpo said the improvement of the Philippines’ ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report to 95 out of 190 countries is good news.

She said investors look for ease in getting permits and in registration so they would be able to start operations in the country.

“The Ease of Doing Business will tell you, in a way, how economically successful a country is,” Carpo said.

She also noted that investors want to predict the success of their operations in a certain area, and they can only do that “in an environment that is transparent” or where they can easily get information on the requirements to set up a business, the time table for getting the permits, and the setbacks they might face.

Carpo also said that investors are not just looking at opening businesses in major cities but other areas that are starting to rise.

The growth of businesses in secondary- and tertiary-ranked areas is exponential because once a company starts a business, it will have a ripple effect on the economy, she said, encouraging more businesses to consider operations in these areas. “Businesses should look outside Metro Manila. The opportunity is there,” Carpo added.

Derek Gallmore, founder of outsourcing company Outsource Accelerator, meanwhile said businessmen study where infrastructures are built and how this could help them in their operations.

Gallmore said aside from physical infrastructure, investors also look at government processes in gauging opportunities in a certain location.  “It’s about the transparency, the knowledge of outsiders to trust this,” he said.

Gallmore said for those involved in business process outsourcing (BPO), they need to determine that when they signed up for areas like Clark, “it is what it says in the label; it is what people are saying.”

Paul Harris, chief executive and technology officer at the Cebu City-headquartered ClinkIT Solutions, said doing business in the provinces is advantageous in terms of having skilled individuals who are more contented since they do not have to go to Manila to look for high-paying jobs.

He said the attrition rate in their company is lower than those that are located in Metro Manila because people need not go to Manila and be away from their families just to work.

“We even have some people go back to Cebu to live with their families,” he added.