Support the Local Auto Industry

[dr. d]

what we need is a strong and rational implementation of local laws:
1. completely eliminate technical smuggling. subic, cebu(?), port irene, etc.
2. mandate that government purchase only locally assembled vehicles. (hey, i've been driving corollas, sentras, revos... it ain't fatal.) if our solons want to buy gas guzzlers, let them buy ... with their own money. and please let not the taxpayer pay for the gas they guzzle!
3. make the choices of government vehicles uniform. kung senador ka, camry lang. kung congressman ka, corona. kung mayor ka, corolla... kagawad.. bisikleta! heh heh.
3. strenghten our LTO-mandated vehicle inspection before registration. that way, we will strengthen our parts manufacturers, and also make our roads safer.

[April Boy]

what we need is a strong and rational implementation of local laws:
1. completely eliminate technical smuggling. subic, cebu(?), port irene, etc.
2. mandate that government purchase only locally assembled vehicles. (hey, i've been driving corollas, sentras, revos... it ain't fatal.) if our solons want to buy gas guzzlers, let them buy ... with their own money. and please let not the taxpayer pay for the gas they guzzle!
3. make the choices of government vehicles uniform. kung senador ka, camry lang. kung congressman ka, corona. kung mayor ka, corolla... kagawad.. bisikleta! heh heh.
3. strenghten our LTO-mandated vehicle inspection before registration. that way, we will strengthen our parts manufacturers, and also make our roads safer.

+1 to this post.

[April Boy]

The Chinese are serious in penetrating the Philippine market.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/09212010/busi9.html

[SIZE=4]3 Chinese firms eye RP car assembly[/SIZE]


BY IRMA ISIP
Malaya Business Insights
September 21, 2010


Three Chinese companies have committed to pursue vehicle assembly operations in the Philippines.


These are Jianghuai Automobile Co. Ltd. (JAC), Chongqing Astronautic Bashal Motorcycle Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (Basahn) and Great Wall Motor (GWM) Co. Ltd.
The Board of Investments (BOI) said it has approved the application of the three through their local partners as participants in the Motor Vehicle Development Program (MVDP).
JAC, a comprehensive automaker with a full line of independent brands, entered into a technical licensing agreement with JAC Automobile Philippines Inc. for the supply of knocked-down (KD) kits, KD parts and components for the assembly and/or manufacture of 1-ton to 3-ton light trucks.
In its representation with the BOI, JAC Philippines said it will start full production in January next year.
JAC Philippines has been importing completely built-up (CBU) units of trucks, buses and cars from JAC Ltd. since 2009.
Based on its plans, JAC Philippines will manufacture trucks and buses and once sales reach 1,000 units per year, JAC Ltd. will expand to the assembly of passenger cars.
Bashan, producer of all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles, has partnered with Racal Motor Assembly Corp. under a technical licensing agreement for the supply of KD kits, parts and components for the assembly of motorcycles. Full production commenced last July.
GWM, which manufactures sedans, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pick-up multipurpose vehicles, has a tie up with Statemotor Corp. which has been importing CBUs since 2009 to test the quality and performance of the vehicle models for market distribution.
The partnership has been expanded into a technical licensing agreement for the supply of KD kits, KD parts and components for the assembly of GWM’s SUVs, pick-up and MPV series.
Commercial assembly operations of Statemotor is scheduled next month.
JAC was founded in 1964 and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2001.
JAC is a comprehensive automaker with full-line independent brand vehicles in China, including light, medium and heavy-duty trucks, MPVs, SRVs, sedans, bus chassis, buses, engineering machinery, engines, gearboxes and other key components. After 40 years of development, JAC has achieved an annual production capacity of more than 500,000 units, and ranks in the top 10 of Chinese auto industry.
In 2009, JAC sold 310,000 units of all kinds of vehicles and earned revenues of $3 billion.
Bashan was established in 1997 and has an annual production capacity of 500,000 units with exports to Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Cuba, Guyana, South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, New Zealand, Singapore, India, Thailand, Iran, Oman and Pakistan, among other countries.
Bashan ranks among the top 30 exporters of Chongqing province for the past three years. The company’s facilities have a production capacity of 600,000 motorcycles and 1 million engines.
Bashan recently created a twin brand, Junesun, for special vehicles to serve more customers.
GWM is a large multinational company, the first private vehicle automaker listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
With more than 30 subsidiaries and 28,000 employees, it is capable of producing 500,000 whole vehicles per year that fall into three categories of Hover SUVs, Voleex sedans and Wingle pickups and MPVs. It is also able to produce core parts such as engines and front and rear axles on its own.

[jpdm]

what we need is a strong and rational implementation of local laws:
1. completely eliminate technical smuggling. subic, cebu(?), port irene, etc.
2. mandate that government purchase only locally assembled vehicles. (hey, i've been driving corollas, sentras, revos... it ain't fatal.) if our solons want to buy gas guzzlers, let them buy ... with their own money. and please let not the taxpayer pay for the gas they guzzle!
3. make the choices of government vehicles uniform. kung senador ka, camry lang. kung congressman ka, corona. kung mayor ka, corolla... kagawad.. bisikleta! heh heh.
3. strenghten our LTO-mandated vehicle inspection before registration. that way, we will strengthen our parts manufacturers, and also make our roads safer.

+1 to this post.

+2

For item no.1, President Noynoy and his man in the BOC Sec. Alvarez is now trying to eliminate rampant smuggling. At the same time, CAMPI members, PCCI and FPI are clamoring for a total ban in the importation of second hand vehicles.

Finally DTI thru the BOI is crafting a new MVDP now called CMVDP that will focus on auto manufacturing/assembly by giving additional incentives.

[myk384]

Agree!!!

Give tax incentives to locally assembled vehicles... because of this, expect low prices of cars (nice if BMW's and Benzes are locally assembled)

Give high taxes to imported vehicles....

[myk384]

I think, more cars can be assembled here, (if local assembled, cheaper prices, good economy, more jobs!!)

Flashback to the 90's, LIST OF LOCALLY ASSEMBLED VEHICLES PLUS THEIR ASSEMBLY PLANTS(trucks not listed, please correct me if im wrong or any additions):
BMW - 3 Series, 5 series (Paranaque City)
Daewoo - Cielo, Espero, Racer, Prince??
Daihatsu - Feroza, Hijet, Charade (Paranaque City)
Ford - Lynx, Ranger (Santa Rosa Laguna)
Fiat - Uno (Las Pinas City)
Honda - City, Civic, Accord, CR-V (Santa Rosa Laguna)
Hyundai - Excel, Elantra, H100/Grace, Sonata?? (Las Pinas Laguna)
Isuzu - Hilander, Pickup/Fuego, Trooper?? (Laguna)
Kia - Pride, Pregio, Besta, Sportage (Paranaque City)
Mazda - 323, 626, Familia, Astina, Lantis, MPV, MX5 (Paranaque City) B Pickup, E Van (Las Pinas City)
Mercedes Benz - MB100, Musso, C class, E Class (Pasig City)
Mitsubishi - Lancer, Spacewagon, Galant, Adventure, L300, Pajero, Spacegear, L200 (Cainta Rizal)
Nissan - Sentra, Cefiro, Altima, Maxima, Bluebird, Vanette, Patrol, Urvan, Eagle/Frontier, Terrano (Laguna)
Proton - Wira (Alaminos Pangasinan)
Subaru - Legacy (Paranaque City)
Suzuki - Vitara, Samurai, Esteem (Pasig City)
Toyota - Corolla, Corona, Tamaraw FX, Revo, Liteace (Bicutan then Laguna)
Volkswagen - Polo Classic (Alaminos?)
Volvo - 850, 960 (Laguna)

These vehicles can be assembled locally (in my opinion and apart from the already locally assembled):
BMW - 3 Series, 1 Series, 5 Series, X3
Chana - all of its lineup
Chery - QQ, Tiggo, Cowin
Chevrolet - Aveo, Cruze, Spark, Captiva
Chrysler/Mercedes Benz - 300C, C Class, E Class
Ford - Fiesta, Ranger, Everest
Honda - CR-V, Accord, Jazz
Hyundai - i10, Getz, Accent, Sonata, Starex, Santa Fe, Tucson (can alleviate waiting list problem)
Isuzu - Alterra
Kia - Picanto, Rio, Soul, Sportage, Sorento, Carens
Mazda - CX-7, 6, 2
Mitsubishi - ASX, Fuzion, Galant, Montero Sport, Strada
Nissan - Teana, Navara
Subaru - Impreza (maski yung mga low end variants lang), Legacy, Forester
Suzuki - Alto, Celerio, APV, Swift
Toyota - Altis, Yaris, Camry, Avanza, Fortuner, Hiace, Hilux
Volvo - C30, S40, XC60

Agree with the list???

[ghosthunter]

No i don't agree. The reasons have been mentioned time and again in other discussion threads.

Among other reasons:
-small local market for vehicles to sustain local assembly/manufacturing operations.
-Overhead costs is expensive like electricity, labor.
-national and local government red-tape
-lack of support infrastructure

[jpdm]

[SIZE=4]Isuzu Phils. offers i-Van option for businesses
[/SIZE]


Isuzu Phils. offers i-Van option for businesses | BusinessWorld Online Edition


BIDDING TO serve businesses looking for a versatile service-oriented vehicle, Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) last week launched the i-Van variant of its best-selling NHR light duty truck.
THE Isuzu i-Van.
Made in partnership with Centro Manufacturing Corp., which manufactures the vehicle’s body, the i-Van offers the businessman the capability to seat 12 to 18 full-sized adults or carry cargo of up to 1.5 tons.

Isuzu’s 2.8-liter 4JB1-TC with intercooler diesel engine, capable of delivering 91 PS of power and 20 kg-m of torque and mated to a five-speed manual transmission, powers the i-Van. The NHR, Isuzu claims, has managed to deliver fuel consumption of 12.965 kilometers per liter under normal driving conditions.

Passengers can expect individual fabric-covered seats with assist grips and pockets, a factory-installed air-conditioning system that extends up to the rear, a four-speaker AM/FM stereo system with an in-dash CD player and even fully covered floors.

The i-VAN maintains the same NHR gross vehicle weight of 3.8 tons. Its overall length of 5,025 mm and overall height of 2,092 mm keeps it class 1 on major tollways.

The body options include passenger van, cargo van, school bus and even an ambulance.

“The local landscape is indeed changing and as transport needs become more demanding, we want to be the companion that working motorists can rely on,” IPC President Ryoji Yamazaki said during the launch.

“The Isuzu NHR with i-VAN body option is our answer to the growing requirements of Filipinos when it comes to people and cargo transport,” he added.

Ito gawa sa Cavite ng Centro manufacturing, Inc.

[jpdm]

Toyota to hike local content of its cars




By Ma. Elisa P. Osorio
(The Philippine Star)
Updated January 11, 2012



MANILA, Philippines - Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMPC) plans to increase the domestic content of locally-assembled automotive vehicles.

TMPC president Michinobu Sugata said they are planning to increase the local content of their vehicles.

“We will increase to at least 40 percent, otherwise we cannot be competitive,” Sugata said.

The current domestic content of locally-assembled vehicles, he said, is 20 to 25 percent.

Sugata said they will invite more Japan-based suppliers to locate in the Philippines. This will hopefully revitalize the local auto parts industry.

The Philippine government is trying to encourage auto parts makers to increase their production.

Sugata said this is a good time for the Philippines to encourage Japanese auto parts makers to locate in the Philippines with the current exchange rate making the Philippines a viable investment destination.

Sugata said the appreciation of the yen against the peso, coupled with the calamity in Japan boosts the chance of the Philippines to attract more auto parts makers.



“To grow the manufacturing business, the most important is the parts. We need parts suppliers more and the Philippines has a very good chance of attracting them,” Sugata said.

Meanwhile, Ford Philippines yesterday announced that December 2011 was the best month for the firm after sales went up 24 percent to 973 units.

The December 2011 figures helped drive Ford’s full-year sales in the Philippines up 48 percent to an all-time high of 9,778 units, making Ford the fastest growing auto brand in the country for 2011.

Sales were boosted by the All-New Ford Fiesta, which delivered December 2011 sales of 291 units and finished its first full-year of availability in 2011 with overall retail sales that reached 3,401 units.

“The All New Ford Fiesta has reshaped what class-leading means in the small car segment, and customers clearly appreciate the incredible value this car represents and delivers,” said Randy Krieger, president, Ford Group Philippines.


source:http://www.google.com.ph/url?sa=t&rc...TukLSTOpKZz0Fw

[jpdm]

Auto sector seeks support



Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP) said the Philippines is well on its way to achieving its goal of 300,000 units in volume by 2015.

The Philippines also has the potential of major source of vehicle and component manufacturing in the Asia-Pacific region.

But Takahiro Iwase, chief regional officer for Asia-Pacific region of Toyota Motor Asia Pacific, said these can only be achieved with, among other things, government support.

TMP celebrated yesterday the production of its 500,000th vehicle at a ceremonial line-off at its plant in Santa Rosa plant.

The Toyota Group had cumulative investments of over P9 billion and exports of more than $6 billion since 1989.

Alfred Ty, vice chairman of the board of TMP, said in his speech the Toyota Group’s business operations, including its suppliers and dealers, employ over 40,000 Filipinos.

Ty said in 2011, the group exported $805 million of products, a significant proportion of the total automotive parts and components exports of the Philippines last year. Iwase said over the last decade, the Philippines and other Asia-Pacific counties have been experiencing strong economic growth, boosting demand for vehicles.

He said the integration of Asean is likely to increase growth opportunities for the local auto industry.

"Supportive government policies, skilled manpower and supporting infrastructure can help in establishing the Philippines as a major source of vehicle and component manufacturing in the Asia-Pacific region," Iwase said.

According to Iwase, these drivers imply that the long-term target of achieving 300,000 units industry volume by 2015 "does not look impossible."

But Iwase said while demand looks healthy, competition among various countries in the region is high such that "government support will be vital in ensuring success of the Philippine auto industry."

Iwase expressed optimism about the finalization of the Philippine Auto Industry Roadmap. He further appealed saying, "We seek continued strong support from the Philippine Government to provide the right policy environment to help strengthen local manufacturing and improve the Philippine auto industry’s competitiveness in the Asia Pacific region". (Irma Isip)

source: Auto sector seeks support | MALAYA Business Insight News Online

[jpdm]

Mitsubishi wants to locally assemble Montero model

By Czeriza Valencia
(The Philippine Star)
Updated May 23, 2012

BANGKOK, Thailand — Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) has sought permission from its Japan-based parent from Mitsubishi Moors Corp. (MMC) for the right to assemble the Montero Sport model in the Philippines to maximize the utilization rate of its production facility in Cainta, Rizal.

“Up to now, it is not yet fully-formed but we are applying for a volume model that we can produce in the Philippines,” said Mitsubishi Philippines vice president for marketing services Froilan Dytianquin.

The manufacturing facility of MMPC in Cainta, Rizal is capable of producing 40,000 to 60,000 units annually but is only producing around 14,000 units per year. Assembled in the plant are the Adventure, L300, and Lancer EX.

“The Adventure and L300 have been there for quite some time and we still do not have the succession models for these. The Lancer is practically a new model but unfortunately, the C segment is not so big,” Dytianquin said.

“The reason also why we are applying for this is that Thailand is saving the capacity so we are also raising our hands to consider the Philippines for the assembly of the Montero Sport. We have the capacity for it. But this will, of course, entail more feasibility study on the part of MMC,” he said.

For now, all Montero Sport models sold in the Philippines come from Thailand.

MMPC currently sells around 1,000 units of the Montero Sport every month, accounting for roughly a third of its average monthly sales.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx...bCategoryId=66

[jpdm]

NMPI Urges Special Manufacturing Support
New Almera Compact Sedan Launched



By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat
January 17, 2013, 4:29pm

Nissan Motor Philippines Inc. (NMPI), which assembles most of its motor vehicles in the country, has urged government to provide special support to manufacturing companies that maintain their domestic operations despite high cost of manufacturing and in spite of being at the mercy of cheap imports.

Company president and CEO Allen Chen told reporters as the Taiwanese-owned company has added new model -- Almera – to its product line up that would substantially beef up its local CKD (completely knocked down) assembly operation to much as 90 percent as against imported CBU (completely built-up) units share of only 10 percent.

Cheng said NMPI invested additional P10 million for some retooling of its plant for the assembly of Almera.

“The main concern is for the Board of Investments to grant special support for CKD operations and other manufacturing industries. The high electric power cost and the very cheap CBU imports because of the zero tariff of imports coming from ASEAN, these are not good for local manufacturing so the government should consider granting special support for manufacturing,” Chen said.

Chen, however, refused to specifically say what special support the government should provide to the manufacturing sector in order to help offset the high cost of manufacturing in the country.

Despite the high cost of manufacturing in the country, Chen said NMPI, which is 85 percent owned by the Taiwanese-Yulon Motors, would still like to maintain more CKD assembly in the country than CBU. It has 90:10 ratio in favor of CKD operation.

The assembly of Almera would also bring the number of CKD models to four (Almera, X-Trail, Grand Livina and Sentra 1.3) of NMPI to four. It has only two imported CBU models (Teana and Sentra 200).

The Almera would also beef up NMPI’s plant capacity utilization to about 50 percent from the current 30 percent. It is positioned to compete in the high volume B-segment, the fastest growing compact sedan car category in the country.

“Let me be honest – sustaining such vehicle operations in the Philippines is definitely a challenge, as we, similar to other local players, need to hurdle high manufacturing cost. We are among the few car manufacturers who continue to weather the challenging local automotive industry. In addition to high overhead costs, we need to contend with imported CBU vehicles, which have become more attractive over the years due to free trade agreements with other regions,” Chen said in a speech during the launch of Almera Wednesday night.

“Despite the continuous difficulties we encounter, we choose to be resilient, as we are optimistic that our industry will soon become more competitive with other ASEAN markets, especially with the government’s support,” he added.

For a long time, NMPI has not really competed in the B-segment. The introduction of Almera will fill that void and put NMPI in a more competitive mode.

“This is the right product and the right price that could meet the big demand for this segment,” said Chen.

Lee Ceasar S. Junia, NMPI vice-president for marketing, sales and after sales division, said the company is targeting total sales this year to hit 4,000 units, more than double the 1,600 units the company sold in 2012.[SIZE="4"] NMPI employs 250 Filipino at its assembly plant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, south of Manila, which operates a single shift operation.[/SIZE]

Junia expects the Almera to give existing B-segment players in the market a good competition. It is volume driven and could compete in terms of features and price point.

“We’ve no new model that really provided us the volume like Vios, City and other multi-purpose vehicle brands until we came up with Almera,” Junia said.

The 1.5 Almera has a starting price of P710,000 manual compared to Vios 1.3 with P690,000. NMPI said that Almera offers a good fuel efficiency, high affordability with C-segment space at a B-segment price.

The Almera alone is expected to contribute 250 units in sales a month and bring its total monthly CKD production to 350 from the current 80 to 100 units, Lee said. The 250 sales a month would give Almera a 15 percent share of the B-segment market, which offers a price range of P600,000 to P850,000 a unit.

The new model is being hyped as being built with “affordable dynamic sedan” in mind and elegant styling with great functionality.

Almera has successful launches in China, Thailand, Malaysia, US and India with global sales reaching already reaching more than 500,000 units.

NMPI Urges Special Manufacturing Support | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online

[ghosthunter]

Protecting a non-viable business by asking the government to support you is just asking the government to use public money to fill a bottomless hole.

[jpdm]

Gov't dangling non-tax perks to Japanese automakers, Philippine assemblers
say


By: Ben Arnold O. De Vera, InterAksyon.com
March 22, 2013 5:48 PM
InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

MANILA - The Philippine government has dangled a number of non-fiscal incentives before Japanese carmakers in a bid to revitalize the local auto manufacturing and parts industry, the Philippine Automotive Competitiveness Council Inc (PACCI) said on Friday.

NAMIS showcases the following non-fiscal support policy measures: stricter implementation of the Motor Vehicle Inspection Scheme; eliminating duplication in the Certificate of Payment Requirement for the import of completely knocked down (CKD) kits to be assembled in the Philippines; and establishing shared services such as testing facilities for parts manufacturers, among others.

Quoting the BOI official, PACCI said these non-fiscal perks “will help local car manufacturers quickly use their idle plant lines, taking the utilization from the current 36 percent to full capacity of 200,000 units in the next two years.”

"It is contemplated that the government might help in the fixed investment costs for new assembly and parts manufacturing projects. Variable production cost support is also being considered, tied to volumes and possibly the share of locally manufactured vehicles to the Asean totals," the agency said.

source: Gov't dangling non-tax perks to Japanese automakers, Philippine assemblers say - InterAksyon.com

[uls]

2013 na

the Phil. economy is booming

pero wala parin yung sinasabing Pinoy car

haha

[jpdm]

Phl remains laggard in auto, motorcycle production in Asean



By Louella D. Desiderio
(The Philippine Star) | Updated June 2, 2013

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines remains Southeast Asia’s laggard in terms of motor vehicle and motorcycle production, according to latest data from the ASEAN Automotive Federation (AAF).

Statistics show the Philippines manufactured 23,105 motor vehicles from January to April this year, down 2.4 percent from 23,679 units last year.

The number of vehicles produced by the Philippines for the period was the lowest among the five Southeast Asian countries with assembly operations.

Thailand manufactured 891,960 motor vehicles, Indonesia assembled 388,883 units, Malaysia produced 196,778 units and Vietnam had 25,744 units during the same four-month period.

By sales, Philippine motor vehicle sales for the period reached 56,586 units, 26 percent higher than the 44,912 units sold last year.

This figure, likewise, was below Thailand’s 522,929 units, Indonesia’s 398,108 units and Malaysia’s 210,153 units.

Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1


However, the country sold more motor vehicles for the period compared to Vietnam’s 28,653 units.

In terms of production of motorcycles and scooters, the Philippines saw the number of assembled units rise more than a fourth to 210,266 units as of end-April compared to 166,183 units in the same period the previous year.

Despite the year-on-year increase, the country still had lower numbers compared to most of its peers.

Indonesia, the top producer of motorcycles and scooters in the region for the period, assembled 2.649 million units while Thailand, which came in second, made 764,395 units.

The Philippines beat Malaysia though, which produced 170,548 units for the four-month period.

Philippine sales of motorcycles and scooters in the January to April period reached 216,363 units, up slightly from 215,034 units sold a year ago.

The country’s sales were again much smaller than Indonesia’s 2.631 million units and Thailand’s 718,098 units, but higher than Malaysia’s 176,231 units.

The AAF which was first established in 1976, seeks to promote automotive market integration, growth, cooperation, as well as investments in the ASEAN region.

While ASEAN is getting closer to the region’s economic integration by 2015, Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) president Rommel Gutierrez said the release of the road map for the local automotive industry would be necessary as the Philippines has trailed behind neighboring countries.

The road map is expected to provide a clear policy direction as well as identify measures to support the domestic automotive industry.

“Government support is deciding factor in future investments,” Gutierrez stressed.

Phl remains laggard in auto, motorcycle production in Asean | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com

[ghosthunter]

Phl remains laggard in auto, motorcycle production in Asean

By Louella D. Desiderio
(The Philippine Star) | Updated June 2, 2013

Phl remains laggard in auto, motorcycle production in Asean | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com

Obvious reason. We do not have the volume of sales to support a local car / motorcycle manufacturing base.

Simple fact. By economies of scale, it will be more profitable for the car & MC manufacturers to import assembled units into the country from larger manufacturing plants abroad.

[uls]

Phl remains laggard in auto, motorcycle production in Asean



By Louella D. Desiderio
(The Philippine Star) | Updated June 2, 2013




Phl remains laggard in auto, motorcycle production in Asean | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com

so all that positive thinking and cheerleading didnt help huh?

sabi ng mga auto industry cheerleaders dito masyado daw kami negative

realistic lang po

[uls]

at sa lagay na yan the Phil. economy is absolutely booming

is there be any better time for local auto manufacturing to grow??

local auto manufacturing couldnt even take advantage of that powerful 7.8% GDP tailwind

[Balikpinoy]

Pipedream! The sales volume in the Philippines is miniscule compared to other markets. You want local industries to thrive? Start with trying to get the Nancy Binay voters above poverty level and into the middle class.