Beautiful Cebu

Cebu is not the same colonial province time has forgotten decades ago. It is not a periphery to the center but rather, a destination with its own unique charm. Discover for yourself. See new destinations in the Cebu mainland. Read on...

Friday, January 13, 2012

ECONOMY | It's More Prosperous in the Philippines ... soon.

LONDON Jan 11 (Reuters) - The Philippines and Peru will be among emerging economies that become much more prominent in the next few decades, helped by demographics and rising education standards, with the Philippines set to leapfrog 27 places to become the 16th largest economy by 2050, HSBC predicts.

The bank expects China to overtake the United States as the world's biggest economy by 2050, and says strong growth rates in other developing countries will help drive the global economy.

"Plenty of places in the world look set to deliver very strong rates of growth. But they are not in the developed world, which faces both structural and cyclical headwinds. They are in the emerging world," the bank said in its report 'The World in 2050'.

It based its forecasts on fundamentals such as current income per capita, rule of law, democracy, education levels and demographic change.

HSBC projects the Philippines economy is poised to grow by an average of 7 percent annually over the next 40 years, while Peru should average annual growth of 5.5 percent over the same period.

The sheer pace of population growth in countries such as Nigeria and Pakistan means that these economies will swell in size to be included among the 100 biggest economies even if their incomes on a per-capita basis remain low.

HSBC said lower scores for rule of law in Latin America constrained its per-capita inccome projections for the region though it noted that Brazil was making headway in this aspect.

"The losers are the small population, ageing economies of Europe," added the bank, which says the demographics in much of Europe underscores concerns about the debt problems faced by many of the continent's governments.

PHOTO OP | A Picture Paints a Thousand Words

Philippine President Benigno Simeon Aquino III with US President Barack Obama. http://ph.news.yahoo.com/pnoy-obama-washington-meet-may-june-us-ambassador-072206010.html

POLITICS | A new political equation

J.D. VELEZ | Blogger

A new political equation is taking shape in Cebu's political landscape. Behind the scene maneuvering is realigning political alliances along administration and opposition party lines.

A chapter in the island's political history is coming to a close. But what is the shape of things to come? Politicians are predictable. And the future is apparent as day. But anything can happen between now and 2013. 

Nationally, the Aquino administration is flexing its muscle and is not afraid of any repercussions except for adverse public opinion. Those hoping for a coup are in for a big disappointment for nothing would be coming. And should one be launched, it will not succeed.

The Philippine Right is in for a rough sailing ahead. Not even Bongbong can pull a miracle with all his wealth. Only Jinggoy, Mar and Binay look promising as successor in 2016. But it's too far away.

The Left helped catapult GMA to power but she drifted to the Right for political survival. Now, the Right, is running out of options and could dangerously opt for the extreme.

But so far, GMA has taken the right course to survive politically. Her academic paper on the economy, whether done for political mileage, is good for the opposition's own soul searching. In the end, everything will hopefully be fine for the Philippines.

PROFILE | Cebu City, Queen City of the South

Cebu's port is home to most of the Philippines' shipping companies. It's not surprising as Cebu City has been, historically, the center of commerce, education, entertainment and information of Southern Philippines. It is also the administrative, ecclesiastical and cultural capital of the region.

THE ISLAND | SanFran is Disaster Resilient : UN

In May 2011, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) recognized San Francisco's disaster preparedness and awarded it the Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction for its “indigenous solutions to disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation through its Purok system.”

ECONOMY | It's More Prosperous in the Philippines ... soon.

The Philippines and Peru will be among emerging economies that become much more prominent in the next few decades, helped by demographics and rising education standards, with the Philippines set to leapfrog 27 places to become the 16th largest economy by 2050, HSBC predicts.

POLITICS | Tomas as Jullus Caesar

For many people, Tomas and Joy Young's loss didn't add up. For them, last election's results were erratic, wild, inconsistent.

HISTORY | Demystifying Jose Rizal

The question is, could Rizal walk the talk? Even in his writing, he debated with himself between peaceful reform and bloody uprising. If Spain didn't throw him in prison and executed him, would he have become a hero?