Reaching Far and Wide: BDO holds 2nd Economic Briefing at SMX
BDO Unibank successfully held a second Economic Briefing at the SMX Convention Center on March 6, 2018, to cater to more partners and potential clients from different parts of the metro. The event gathered around 100 invited guests together into an intimate business dinner to formally share BDO’s key forecasts for the year.
The economic briefing was graced by Tsuguhisa Tanaka, Senior Advisor and Head of Institutional Banking Group – BDO Japan Desk.
2017 was good. 2018 is going to be better.
While 2017 has been generally good, BDO sees better times in 2018 despite the challenges that are being anticipated. BDO Unibank’s First Vice President and Chief Market Strategist, Jonathan Ravelas, once again graced the event as the speaker for the economic briefing.
He outlined and discussed BDO’s four key forecasts for 2018: a Goldilocks global economy; a steady growth in the Philippine economy that’s driven by private consumption and government spending; rise in domestic inflation and interest rates; and a resilient currency.
According to Ravelas, the three major things to watch out for in 2018 are the central bank’s increasing of interest rates, the continued volatility in exchange rates, and progress in government infrastructure programs.
For investors, it is worth noting that great business opportunities can be found in agri-business, tourism, manufacturing, infrastructure and construction, power and energy, and IT-BPM outsourcing industries, as these are also the primary focus of the Philippine government’s development plan.
On cultural differences: Recognize. Respect. Reconcile.
CMC Business Solutions Consultant, Marie Segura, lightened up the atmosphere quite a bit with interesting and valuable insights on the cultural and behaviors of Filipinos and Japanese in the workplace, which are all still backed by data.
The data that Segura shared were grounded on Dutch social psychologist Dr. Geert Hostede’s 6 Intercultural Dimension, three of which were the focus of her discussion: time, certainty, and achievement.
In all of the three dimensions, Filipinos and Japanese score on opposite ends of the spectrum. For instance, Japanese workers are focused on long-term results while Filipinos are focused on the short term. Japanese are in need of certainty while Filipinos are tolerant of ambiguity. Moreover, whereas Japanese value achievements, Filipinos put great importance on the quality of life.
Segura shared these insights not to pinpoint which culture is wrong or which should be changed. The purpose of her talk was to foster an understanding of cultural differences and encourage people in the workplace, especially in a global business setting, to respect and find ways to work harmoniously with one another. It all begins with recognizing that no culture is wrong, “it’s just different.”
Also Read: Uptrends and better working relations: BDO Economic Briefing 2018
