Press Release: the new Arangkada website – another milestone
July 20, 2011 at 02:59
Press Release
JFC Launches Arangkada Website
www.arangkadaphilippines.com
Six months after the release of “Arangkada Philippines 2010: A Business Perspective”, the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFC) launched the official Arangkada Philippines website on July 20, 2011 at the Intercontinental Manila, Makati City.
Arangkada is the JFC-sponsored publication containing 471 recommendations sourced from private sector focus group discussions (FGDs) with special concentration on the “Seven Big Winners”―the industries that, given strong government and private sector support, will lead the economy to increased competitiveness, higher productivity, and faster, more inclusive growth. Published in December 2010 by the JFC, Arangkada catalogues proposals of foreign and domestic investors and business associations who are developing the Philippine economy and are prepared to invest in the country’s future.
Throughout Arangkada recommendations reiterate the same theme: move twice as fast! In order for the Philippines to become competitive with regional neighbors and to attract the investment it seeks, the business climate environment must be constantly improved, which requires genuine private and public sector cooperation. To date, Arangkada has stimulated increased dialogue between the business community and government, as shown by the support it has received from both sectors. For example, the Department of Foreign Affairs recently organized a briefing on Arangkada for newly-appointed Philippine ambassadors who have been tasked to increase foreign investment in the Seven Big Winner Sectors. The Open Skies Policy is another good example of an important policy reform.
The new website www.arangkadaphilippines.com is another milestone for Arangkada. “We have always said that Arangkada is a living document,“ says Henry Schumacher, of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP). “It does not end with the book. This website is an important tool that monitors how those published recommendations are being received and how our partners in government respond. As the JFC is committed to supporting the government in making changes needed for Philippine growth to accelerate, the website also allows for us to assess how we in the private sector can help in making that happen.”
The website provides local and global investors information about progressive change as it happens, as well as a fair and balanced look at the business and investment climate of the Philippines. “It’s a continuous, virtual FGD between foreign and domestic investors, the JFC and the public sector,” says John Forbes of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), principal author of the Arangkada document. “The information can be updated and the discussion remains relevant.” Global readers can also access the Arangkada website through www.investphilippines.info.
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The Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) is composed of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines(AmCham), the Australian-New Zealand Chamber of the Philippines (ANZCHAM), the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (CanCham), the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines Inc., (JCCIPI), the Korean Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (KCCP) and the Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters (PAMURI).
To download this statement in PDF, click here.
