German businesses in the Philippines identified the lack of skilled workers and supply chain disruptions as some of the risks regarding their local business prospects for 2023, according to a survey conducted by the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI).
While 74 percent of participating firms foresee optimism in business development for the next 12 months, 44 percent of the respondents said they are wary of the lack of skilled workers and 39 percent are concerned about the supply chain disruptions such as logistics issues and missing intermediate goods.
The 74 percent respondents who are expecting a better business outlook in the next 12 months has gone up from the 55 percent that expressed optimism in 2022.
As to the respondents’ assessment of the current situation of their companies, 62 percent said they are in a better business situation with a “significantly improving trend,” compared to Spring 2021 with 21 percent respondents.
Meanwhile, the survey showed that investments and employment posed a higher uptick with 46 percent of the respondents that said they plan to invest higher in the country in the next 12 months and 50 percent said they will hire more people locally.
In addition, the GPCCI said when compared to Asean neighbors and the Asia-Pacific, the Philippines generally exhibited a “better/higher” results in almost all areas of the AHK World Business Outlook Spring 2023 Survey.
Respondents also cited potential geopolitical challenges in the Philippines for German businesses in the next five years.
“With regard to potential geopolitical challenges for their respective companies in the next five years, inflation/monetary policy environment (47 percent) was identified as the most pressing concern, followed by an increase in political influence on supply chains (42 percent), and cybersecurity issues (37 percent),” the GPCCI noted. ‘
For his part, GPCCI Executive Director Christopher Zimmer said the chamber’s recent survey shows a “bullish” business interest of German businesses in the Philippines. Zimmer also expressed optimism that the Philippines will benefit from upcoming business delegations.
“We are excited about more developments soon as we promote the Philippines to more German businesses in our lined-up activities this year such as Trade Secretary Pascual’s visit in Germany this July, upcoming business delegations, and our flagship event Mabuhay Germany.”
The AHK World Business Outlook Spring 2023 Survey in the Philippines was initiated by GPCCI that is participated by 112 companies related to German-Philippines business relations.
The results from the Spring 2023 AHK World Business Outlook Survey came from the survey conducted by GPCCI in April 2023.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza