Industry & Retail

Growing an impressive 7.2%, the Philippines was one of Asia’s best-performing economies in 2013. As growth has given rise to increased business activity and boosted consumer spending power, the question that arises is whether this new-found domestic demand will be for goods and materials produced locally or imported from abroad. This is an issue that will become even more important in 2015 as ASEAN Economic Community integration further opens the market to imports from regional manufacturing powerhouses. At the same time, integration offers new-found market access to a wide and emerging consumer base, and the Philippines will need to ramp up its manufacturing competitiveness to ensure it becomes a net exporter, rather than a pure importer, of value-added products moving throughout the region. This chapter contains interviews with Edgar “Injap” Sia II, Chairman and CEO, DoubleDragon Properties; and Winstron Co, President, Emperador Distillers.