A report says that the Philippines has what it takes to become Southeast Asia’s production hub once the regional integration kicks in by the end of the year.
The report titled “Moving across Borders: The Philippines and the ASEAN Economic Community” released yesterday, December 8 by Auditing firm KPMG R.G. Manabat & Co., discussed the country’s prospects on the looming integration of the 10-member ASEAN.
On the positive side, the country’s young demographics could work on its favor as it lures back factories that will leave China and go to ASEAN for opportunities.
The report said, Filipinos are among the youngest in the ASEAN, pointing out that productivity is highly determined by the presence of a large working force to man factories.
It said that “the English proficiency of Filipino workers is another advantage.
On the other hand, while the country has the second highest labor cost in ASEAN, next to Malaysia, KPMG said this is hardly a problem if coupled with high productivity.
Cheap credit is also a factor, with the report taking note of the Philippines’ credit upgrades in recent years. “