There’s no mistaking it. Asian economies, led by China, are on the up-rise. When I went to Malaysia last year, I was fascinated by the crane booms that littered the Kuala Lumpur skyline against the backdrop of the magnificent Petronas Twin Towers. I was also stunned to see that Vietnam, which was ravaged by war in the 1960s, has come a long way and is having its own share of continuous economic growth.

These are nothing though, compared with the sheer exhilaration I felt upon seeing European high street stores Topshop, Zara and H&M in a recent visit to Manila. Having Starbucks in every corner of Makati is one thing, but having these stores meant something else. The Philippines has now caught the attention of Europe.

A curious thing happened while I was being shown around by a friend. I casually remarked, “Wow, ang dami nang fly-overs!” and I swear, I blushed a little when she replied, ‘Para ka namang probinsyano!’. Well, one only needs look at new developments in Manila now, to realize that sleepy Hampstead, where I live, indeed looks provincial in comparison.

Business climate
The psychology of investing is simple. Investors put their money where it is most likely to reap the most gain.
To illustrate, prices of houses in London have been rising continuously for the past decade. For the year 2006, an average property price in Greater London increased by 4.5%. If you have bought a house in 2005 for £200,000, you would have made a profit, ignoring fees and taxes, of £9000. Not bad, but certain banks can offer more competitive interest rates.
Canny investors realize that £200,000 is worth a lot more in Asian countries like the Philippines. With £200,000, one can buy a 2-hectare property on the outskirts of Manila, build 40-houses, and sell each house for £20,000 for an amazing 300% return on investment (over a period of 3-5 years). In short, it can be said that while European assets are generally over-priced, those in Asia are relatively undervalued and therefore have higher growth potential.

The shift in investment capital towards the East makes sense from a growth as well as from a savings perspective.
To capitalize on the Philippine’s significantly cheaper and arguably more readily-available skills-pool, companies in the UK have been moving jobs to Manila in recent years. A number of UK companies have call center offices based in Manila, Angeles City or Cebu. A large utilities company servicing Northern England recently opened back-office operations in Mandaluyong City that will employ several hundred administrative staff. Phone companies are also looking at outsourcing their IT Application Support operations to Manila.

The Philippines has a strategic advantage over its neighbors due to the large availability of a skilled workforce that can speak English. However, this advantage may diminish in the next 5-7 years as other Asian countries are now mandating the teaching of business English in schools.

Historically, the Philippines as a country is not ingrained on the consciousness of most Europeans. Why, I even had Spanish business partners who thought that the Philippines was a country in Latin America inhabited by tribes people. Imagine their awe when I ushered them into the ballroom of the opulent Shangri-La Hotel.

The abundance of such paradise hide-aways like Boracay and El Nido also makes the Philippines an even more attractive business destination for the sun-loving Europeans most of whom wouldn’t probably bother to take a long, 15-hr, timezone-busting flight towards the other side of the world for business if not for the promise of some time (actually, a lot of time) under the sun with pina coladas at hand.

Political Stability
Nothing is more worrying to businessmen than uncertainty.
Due to the nature of Present Arroyo’s ascent to power, foreign investors had been jittery about the Philippines’ economic prospects and we had not enjoyed as much economic growth as our Asian neighbors as a result.

That is now changing. With the elections likely to be ‘relatively’ peaceful, it is expected that the political situation would be in a status quo for a while and therefore would be conducive for longer-term investments.

A friend of mine in the military establishment has suggested that ‘all the key generals are already in the President’s good graces’-implying that we shouldn’t be expecting another coup’d’etat soon.

Investments from Filipinos in the UK
The Filipino population in the UK is fairly new and has yet to reach the ‘maturity’ of Filipino communities in the US and Canada. With notable exceptions, Filipino communities here in the UK are generally fragmented, regionalized, or sector-based.

However, Filipinos are getting smarter. The past two years saw a dramatic rise in the number OFWs who have purchased properties in the Philippines. Even better, a lot of Filipinos are seeing the benefit of investing their hard-earned cash in the Philippines:

• Conney from Hounslow speculatively bought a swimming resort in Los Banos, Laguna in 2004. After a year in operations netting P70,000 per month, she decided to buy three (3) more swimming resorts in the area. She now has seven (7) and in a couple more years, she would go back to the Philippines to claim the title of ‘Empress of Swimming Resorts’.

• Ramon from Kent used £2000 from his savings to build a small air-con repair shop in front of his house in Bulacan. There were only two other shops in the town and when he opened his shop, it was a massive success . He has since built a 3-storey building from the income of his business.

• Rebecca from Manchester grew up living in a farm that her parents owned. After being in the UK for 7 years, she decided to set up her own piggery and poultry farm in Nueva Ecija. Her enterprise is now earning enough that she is contemplating on going back to her roots to live a life that always enjoyed.

These are merely some example of hundreds of other stories of OFWs in the UK who have succeeded in pursuing their dream businesses and showed that investing is not just for rich people.
There is no better time to bet on the Philippines than now.