The rising prices of fuel and electricity in the Philippines are major roadblocks to foreign investors who may want to do business in the country.
This was pointed out by Dr. Jamil Paolo Francisco during his presentation at the 4th International Symposium on Asian Development Studies held recently at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) in Quezon City. The study is co0-authored by Dr. Tristan Canara and Jose Fernando Morales.
Based on the overall outcome of their study titled “Firm Creation and the Ease and Cost of Doing Business”, Francisco noted that the “lower cost of doing business is a stringer driver of business creation than the ease of doing business.”
“For instance, in the Philippines, high prices of electricity and fuels are a huge barrier [to foreign investments], not to mention our current situation of a higher-than-expected inflation rate,” Francisco said adding that ‘’when [business] creation is difficult at the local level, it discourages entrepreneurship, [which is] a critical component of inclusive development in developing countries.
