One problem we encounter in the New Information Age is that the volume of information we are exposed to is filtered as never before. In the past, the knowledge that we received about a topic was relatively clean from interpretation and bias.
In return, there was much that was “secret” in that it was shielded from ordinary people. US President Franklin Roosevelt was never photographed sitting in his wheelchair. Everyone knew that he suffered from polio-like paralysis. But that fact was not paraded in public. Now a public figure can sneeze on camera and the media immediately has “experts” speculating on what that might mean. Of course, this is a silly example but the situation happens constantly on a daily basis.
The events surrounding the maritime incident with the Filipino fishing boat is an example. Even by using the term “incident” would be subject to intense conjecture if I said that in the media. The sad part is that it is not in the interest of seeking the actual truth but to show some distorted version of “investigative journalism.”
Then you put a billion people on social media with instant global communication and the line between private and public is blurred. Certainly, there is a positive aspect that if someone “publicly” talks about harming himself, intervention can prevent a tragedy. The downside is that we assume that what is said in public carries the same weight and transparency as what is said in private.
Politicians and other celebrities are skilled at manipulating public thought and opinion through the use of social media. Information can be conveniently “leaked” or “hacked” to serve a purpose and agenda. Even in a distant time, film actor Rock Hudson was “secretly” photographed snuggling with a starlet to help dispel rumors of his sexual preferences that his studio wanted hidden. But the problem now is that we have become accustomed to accepting this veil between public and private as being almost eliminated that we believe or want to believe everything.
We read or hear an interview with one of our local business taipans and we assume it is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And then the experts weigh in with their perfect analysis. Do you honestly believe that someone—Ramon Ang of San Miguel, for example—fully discusses the plans of his company in a press interview the way he speaks in private with his close associates?
It is said, “Those who can do something, do it. Those who cannot do it, talk/teach about it. Those who cannot do it or teach it, administer it.”
Most of the pundits who talk about business relay their insights based on “private” conversations with individuals such as Mr. Ang and others. And these folks are all experts on foreign investment, even though most if not all of them have never negotiated a “foreign” investment to the Philippines, or more important, got paid for doing it. But they all “know” exactly why foreign investment is low in the Philippines.
In 2019, the foreign investment model has changed dramatically. Based on my genuinely private discussions in the past few months, this is the reality. Politics is not an issue as they have a sign showing “The Number of Days since the Last Philippine Coup Attempt.” They are interested in almost anything related to “build”— private infrastructure, residential, or commercial and the expansion thereof. Foreign money is interested in companies not “projects.”
These investors want to invest in companies that will earn revenues and profits from the growing Filipino middle economic class that is driving economic growth. Philippine companies are already adjusting and making plans to receive these investments.
E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Visit my web site at www.mangunonmarkets.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis tools provided by the COL Financial Group Inc.