RP suffering from 'overdose' of Malaysian investments

RP suffering from 'overdose' of Malaysian investments

MANILA (AFP): Philippine Senate President Ernesto Maceda
hailed the voiding of a Malaysian conglomerate's purchase of a
historic Manila hotel, saying that the country already had "an
overdose of Malaysian investments," the Business Daily newspaper
reported yesterday.

"I'm a little bit uncomfortable with that many Malaysian
investments here and it seems to me that after the U.S., after
the Japanese... we have an overdose of Malaysian investments,"
the Business Daily newspaper quoted Maceda as saying.

He was referring to the Philippine Supreme Court's decision on
Monday to void the sale of a 51 percent stake in the historic
Manila Hotel to Renong Overseas Corp. Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia and
its order that the hotel be awarded to a local group led by
influential publishing tycoon Emilio Yap.

The court invoked Philippine nationalism in its decision,
saying that even though Renong outbid Yap's group in 1995, the
Philippine constitution required giving preference to qualified
Filipinos over foreigners.

The decision, the latest in a series of reversals or
suspensions of winning bids won by foreign firms, was widely
assailed by business analysts who said it would further scare
foreign investors away from the Philippines.

The Philippine Star newspaper said in its Tuesday editorial
that "for a nation posturing as Asia's newest (economic) tiger,
too many negative signals are being sent to the investors ...
it's as if rules are made in this country only to be broken."

The Malaya (Freedom) newspaper said in its editorial that "the
courts should take seriously (the) suggestion that judiciary
adopt... the US practice of self-restraint when dealing with
economic or business issues."

The Manila Bulletin newspaper, owned by Yap, did not comment
editorially on the decision but gave it extensive coverage with
the victorious headline, "Supreme Court rules historic Manila
Hotel to remain Filipino."

The Philippines has long lagged behind the rest of Southeast
Asia in attracting foreign investment but has recently shown
signs of improvement due to the government's efforts to
liberalize the economy.