| By Administrator,
on 21-03-2009 04:33
|
Views : 1478 |
Favoured : 49 |
Published in : News, Business |
Like peas in the same pod, the Philippines and Indonesia are together in good times and bad times, on to this year's 60th anniversary of their diplomatic relations serendipitously heralded today with a comforting news that they are the only two in Southeast Asia that will not suffer from the contraction of the global financial crisis.
As Southeast Asia's biggest economy, Indonesia will perform the best while Singapore would be the weakest as the crisis penetrates the region, according to the results of a survey by Reuters which was released in Bangkok. The Reuters poll showed that Indonesia and the Philippines will be the only "economies in the region to record growth this year." The 60th year celebrations began today with an economic forum, "Policies and Collaboration between Manila and Jakarta in Response to the Global Financial Crisis," which Indonesian Ambassador Irzan Tandjung described as a prelude "to strengthening our mutually beneficial cooperation on the financial sector to overcome the impact" of the current crisis. Philippine Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran and Dr. Ceppie Kurniadi Sumadilaga, representing Dr. Anggito Abimanyu, head of the Fiscal Policy Board of Indonesia's Department of Finance, presented papers on their respective governments' coping mechanism -- mainly with economic stimulus packages. Indonesia prepared a package worth 73.3 trillion rupiahs (about US$ 6.15
billion), according to Zaenal Arifin, minister-counselor of the Indonesian embassy in Manila, reacting to information that Jakarta's export bulk will be smaller as commodities prices fall. The Philippines' own economic resiliency program is worth P330 billion, announced by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in late February. The International Labor Organization has earlier predicted that the crisis could lead up to 113 million unemployed in Asia alone, while other sources counted 200,000 Filipinos being out of the labor loop as such giants as Intel, Panasonic and Holcim closed local production; and as many as
250,000 Indonesians losing their overseas jobs and returning home without better prospects. Indonesia "is poised to expand by 4.0 per cent this year and 5.1 per cent in 2010 as exports contribute only about a third of GDP (gross domestic product), making it much less dependent on trade than its neighbors," the results showed. (PIA-Pagadian)
Last update: 21-03-2009 04:33
|
