4
PRA NEWS UPDATES
PHILIPPINE RETAILING
RLC CEO Frederick Go
named Enterprise
Asia’s Entrepreneur
of the Year
Photo from: www.esquiremag.ph
Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC) president and CEO Frederick
Go was named Enterprise Asia’s Entrepreneur of the Year during
the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards (APEA) 2019. RLC is one of the country’s leading property development firms,
and was also recognized in the Corporate Excellence category at
the awards.
He’s one of the two Filipino CEOs to receive the prestigious prize
by Enterprise Asia, the region’s leading non-government
organization in the business field. Go came to RLC in 1992 when it only had five properties in its
roster, and then became an integral part of expanding RLC’s
diverse portfolio for almost 30 years.
Esquire.ph, 11/26/2019
PRA
continues
monitoring
of the RTLA
amendments
As the pulse and voice of the
retail industry in the country, the Philippine
Retailers Association (PRA) is continuously
attending government hearings and
meetings regarding the amendments on the
Retail Trade Liberalization Act (RTLA) or
Republic Act 8762.
Under the 18th Congress, both the House
and Senate filed bills that aim to lower the
required minimum capital for foreign retail
trade investors to US$200,000 from
US$2,500,000. The bills likewise reduce the
required locally manufactured products
carried by foreign retailer from 30% to 10%
of the aggregate cost of their stock
inventory.
On September 24, the House of
Representatives passed House Bill No. 9057,
despite opposition from industry groups led
by the PRA.
Aside from the above-mentioned
provisions, the amendments, include:
• Scrapping the minimum investment
requirement of $830,000 per store and
removing the $250,000 paid-up capital per
store for enterprises engaged in high-end
or luxury products; and
• Removing other requirements like the
$200-million minimum net worth of
enterprises with paid-up capital of $2.5-7.5
million and $50 million for those selling
high-end or luxury products, as well as the
five-year track record in retailing, among
others.
While the further liberalization of the retail
industry is inevitable, the PRA maintains its
stand to protect the local micro, medium,
and small enterprises (MSMEs) from the
influx of foreign traders and businesses
once the requirements were further
relaxed, and sought the government’s
consideration for an equal playing field for
all players in the industry.
“If it comes into fruition, however, the
proposed amendments will instead upset a
careful balance first struck 19 years ago
between government, the economy,
foreign investors, consumers, and especially
Filipino entrepreneurs,” the PRA said in its
position paper.
“In other words, these bills intend to strip
the protection extended by law to micro-,
small-, and medium-sized (MSME) retail
enterprises against foreign competition, of
which many are unprepared against.”
As of mid-November, the Senate TWG on
the amendments have collated suggestions
and propositions from various industry
groups to create a substitute bill.
Additional Source: Businessworld Online, 9/25/2019