Over 400 gather at Philippines Business Forum. Community address pressing issues of technology and compliance versus their ambitions of internationalising Philippines.
Philippines is the fourth largest marketplace in ASEAN with over 98 million people and the economy is expected to grow at 6%, led by strong growth in domestic consumption and purchasing parity. 2016 marks a significant milestone for Swift members as the country embarks on increasing competitiveness by improving capacity, upgrading infrastructures, and bolstering economic growth – aligned with international standards. A paper explaining the drivers of adopting ISO 20022, and how the Philippines ambitions to renew its market infrastructures, and can position itself as a regional marketplace with global access and better prepare itself for ASEAN integration with the right infrastructures.
In the opening keynote from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Deputy Governor Nestor A Espenilla Jr shared their policy on country’s development of the National Retail Payment System (NRPS) as part of its ongoing plans to modernise the country’s payment infrastructure and to keep up with global payment trends. “We need cooperation and collaboration amongst the private sectors, to sustain our gains, and boost the overall competitiveness of the Philippines”, he encouraged the fraternity.
Following the policy update was segued into a panel around ASEAN payment systems trends and financial inclusion. Rogier Van Den Brink, Lead Economist and Program Leader, The World Bank, addressed the audience on the macro-economic developments and emphasised the importance of inclusive growth. Cesar Virtusio, Managing Director, Bankers Association of the Philippines discussed their upcoming plans and stressed that Standards need to be harmonised before true economic integration can be achieved. This panel identified many opportunities to foster overall economic integration, which included cross-border flows in trade settlement, money remittance, retail payment systems, capital market settlement, and standardisation.
The emergence of a millennial generation of consumers has created the dilemma of how businesses can most effectively cater to their ever-evolving needs.
Senior securities representatives in the Philippine market were determined to accelerate the growth of their capital markets and in the panel, they analysed the securities landscape globally and regionally, seeking lessons to implement locally in the Philippines. The esteem panel was represented by Hans Sicat, President and Chief Executive Officer, Philippines Stock Exchange; Teresita Herbosa, Chairperson, Securities and Exchange Commission, Republic of the Philippines; Roel Refran, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President, Philippines Stock Exchange, and Theresa B Ravalo, President and Chief Operating Officer, Philippine Depository & Trust Corporation, Philippines Securities Settlement Corporation.
Related links:
Photo gallery | Presentations on Slideshare
