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More work is needed to enable the richly endowed
Philippines to reap the rewards from the global boom in metals
prices, a senior official said Wednesday.
“Left in the ground, our vast
mineral wealth cannot generate the capital wealth needed for the
development of our country,” Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes
told a public forum attended by top executives of mining firms
operating in the country.
He said the government
acknowledges the country’s “poor ranking” in the latest annual
survey of mining companies by Canada’s Fraser Institute.
The Philippines, which has
recently relaxed restrictions on foreign investment in the sector,
was ranked as the fifth worst among 65 jurisdictions in terms of
“policy potential.”
In terms of mineral potential,
the Philippines was ranked 19th.
The survey polls more than 3,000
mining firms across the world on the attractiveness of mining
policies in different countries.
Reyes said the survey was based
on “perceptions” and that “the current interest by some of the
biggest mining companies in the world” in the country’s mineral
resources “appears to contradict the survey.”
“Nevertheless the survey is
significant because it gives us an idea of what we are doing right
and what we are doing wrong and it identifies areas that we should
focus on.
“The implementation of reforms
is never easy nor is there a straight path to it. There will always
be those who will agree there will always be those who will not
agree. Balancing these perspectives and interests is the
challenge.”
Reyes said Manila is taking steps
to improve the regulatory environment to address investor concerns,
adding that it expects mine output to grow to “around $6 billion
by 2010” should priority projects materialize.
He said mining firms have sunk
$694 million in investments in the industry over the past two and a
half years, with another $348 million expected this year.
Philippine mine exports grew to
$1.28 billion last year and are expected at $1.39 billion in 2007,
he added.
-AFP
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