Makati Shangri-La Hotel, Makati City
12 September 2012
President Benigno S. Aquino III graced the IBM Think Forum held at Makati Shangri-La Hotel where he cited about the collective indications of the economic growth of the country. One of these is the Global Competitiveness Report for 2012-2013 of the World Economic Forum. It is indicated in the report that the Philippines has jumped another ten spots, ranking 65 out of 144 economies compared to the 85th rank we had in 2010. In total, it is a twenty-place jump in rankings since President Aquino took office. The President also emphasized that it is the first time we have broken into the top 50 percent of countries since 1994, the year the Philippines was first included in the report.
Moreover, President Aquino explained that in the second quarter of 2012, the Philippine economy grew by 5.9 percent, not to mention the 44 record highs of the Philippine Stock Exchange Index. “And the fact that the Philippines is now only one level below investment grade according to two of the three major ratings agencies, show that we are well on our way to filling up the half-full glass,” he said.
After the program, IBM executives paid a courtesy call to the President. They were Samuel Palmisano, Chairman of the Board of the IBM Corporation, Mariels Almeda Winhoffer, President and Country Manager of IBM Philippines, and Stephen Braim, Vice President for Government Programs of IBM Growth Markets Unit.
* * *