Empowering conversations for economic development
By Angela Kiara S. Brillantes, Special Features and Content Writer
Much like businesses and the media industry, BusinessWorld is going through significant transformations as it endeavors to remain a trusted source of business news and information. A significant transformation it has undergone is expanding its role, from being simply a newspaper to a platform for discussions of business and economic matters.
From its annual Economic and Forecast fora to its regular Insights events, BusinessWorld has made its name in driving transformative discussions in the Philippine business community.
For BusinessWorld Editor-in-Chief Cathy Rose A. Garcia, media organizations like BusinessWorld are essential in providing “insights into market trends, corporate developments, and economic policies; and a platform for discussion and debate on important economic and business issues.”
BusinessWorld, in particular, has remained a source of public trust since it started in the late 1980s. As such, it naturally became a platform for business reporting, as well as for engaging discussions in uncovering what lies ahead in the Philippine business landscape.
Economic Forum
The BusinessWorld Economic Forum, one of the media company’s major fora, has become one of the most-anticipated events for the Philippine business sector as it serves as a space and platform for industry leaders, corporate executives, government officials, and other experts to discuss important economic matters.
“BusinessWorld has always been known for its editorial independence and credibility. This is why the BusinessWorld Economic Forum has become one of the most anticipated business events of the year. The forum always provides intelligent and thoughtful discussions on the major economic and business issues facing the Philippines. It also highlights new business opportunities, emerging trends and innovations. The forum also provides insights into how Philippine businesses are evolving,” Ms. Garcia said.
“We have top-level speakers and relevant topics for our fora. We aim for not only engaging discussions but transformative ones to promote sustainable growth across all industries,” Jay R. Sarmiento, vice-president for sales and marketing at BusinessWorld, said.
“We make sure that the private and public sectors are represented in all discussions as well as esteemed regulatory bodies, research agencies/consulting firms as part of the discussions,” she further stressed.
Recently, aside from looking into the country’s most pressing economic issues, this year’s Economic Forum, themed “PH Next: Growth Drivers,” explored the industries that will serve as the next drivers of economic growth in the country. The whole-day forum was held at the Grand Hyatt Manila in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig last May 22.
The forum features key speakers, including policy makers, industry leaders, and top executives, who discussed the significant role of certain sectors in sustaining and fueling economic growth.
Keynote speakers in the recent Economic Forum included Arsenio M. Balisacan, secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority, who discussed about the imperatives of sustaining the country’s economic growth; and Lance Y. Gokongwei, president and chief executive officer of JG Summit Holdings, Inc., who shared his thoughts about boosting the private sector’s role of fueling economic growth.
Among the “next growth drivers” explored through the panel discussions were physical and digital infrastructure; the digital economy, spanning financial services, e-commerce, and service applications, among others; manufacturing; and power and renewables.
Forecast 2024
Following the Economic Forum, the Forecast forum gears up the Philippine business community to navigate the year ahead with the latest economic outlooks — global, regional, and local — and the latest insights on challenges and opportunities ahead for businesses.
The most recent Forecast forum was centered on the theme “PH Rising: Keeping the Momentum,” aiming to provide valuable insights into sustaining the Philippines’ economic growth while it navigates the ever-evolving business landscape. It was likewise held at the Grand Hyatt Manila on Nov. 22, 2023.
Three economists from leading global institutions keynoted Forecast 2024. They were Pavit Ramachandran, country director for the Philippines at the Asian Development Bank, who shared the country’s economic outlook for 2024; Ndiame Diop, country director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand at World Bank, who discussed financial stability risks for 2024; and Ragnar Gudmundsson, resident representative to the Philippines at the International Monetary Fund, who presented about the necessary initiatives for post-pandemic development.
The panel discussions, meanwhile, sought to explore the prospects in industries such as property and energy, and also to assess the significant changes among consumers and the emergence of a next generation of leaders among millennials and Generation Z.
BusinessWorld Insights
Aside from these two major fora, BusinessWorld has also held several events under BusinessWorld Insights, a series of conferences tackling a wide range of topics with experts and industry executives.
Conceptualized amid the coronavirus pandemic, BusinessWorld Insights was launched in efforts to continue shaping the business discourse even in the absence of a physical venue. Since 2023, the series has been brought on-ground, making the BusinessWorld brand much more present, setting an additional venue for more in-depth discussions, and also giving way for more partnerships with leading and trusted brands.
This year has seen BusinessWorld Insights as a regular event that the business community can expect almost every month.
The first two Insights fora were held as part of PhilSTAR Media Group’s “Project KaLIKHAsan: Creative Solutions for a Sustainable Future,” where the group’s print, digital, and on-ground platforms converge to raise the cause of meaningful and concrete sustainability in industries and communities. “The Shift to Green Development,” held last Jan. 25 at Seda Manila Bay, gathered the real estate sector to discuss how it can further factor in sustainability across their developments through emerging innovations. “Achieving Balance in the Philippine Energy System,” held last April 16 at Seda BGC, brought together professionals from both the public and private ends to discuss the progress and prospects of the country’s energy system based on the energy trilemma, which consists of energy equity, environmental sustainability, and energy security.
The rest of the Insights fora were recently held at Dusit Thani Manila. One held last Feb. 27 looked into the outlook for the Philippine stock market for 2024 with local bourse and investment experts. Another one, held last June 25 with the theme “Ensuring Business Growth through Cybersecurity,” tackled the importance of cybersecurity in safeguarding the growth of businesses with officials representing the Department of Information and Communications Technology, National Privacy Commission, Globe Business, and PLDT Enterprise, among others. The most recent, held last July 31 with the theme “Building Sustainable and Inclusive Communities for the Future,” delved into the true essence of sustainable communities and the vital practices in making them real in the Philippine context with esteemed speakers such as Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Undersecretary Henry Yap, Arch. Felino A. Palafox, Jr., and Robinsons Land Chief Strategist Ramon Rivero, to name a few.
Continuing conversations toward growth
With all these, BusinessWorld has solidified its role as a key platform for conversations regarding the Philippine economy and its growth. The multimedia company’s line of conferences and fora has been set to bring greater impact in the business community, and the success of past events shows that they are on the right track.
“For all the events that BusinessWorld has mounted, it has been a continuing conversation for all industry sectors that are vital to our economic growth: from infrastructure, the ever-evolving digital transformation, sustainability, energy, MSMEs, leadership and the generational impact on the evolving workplace,” Lucien Dy Tioco, executive vice-president of BusinessWorld, shared.
“These events help BusinessWorld keep track with how much progress has been made and thus benefit us a deeper analyses of issues we need to address,” he added.
“BusinessWorld’s events have played a significant role in shaping business discourse in the Philippines by providing a venue for discussions and insights into the current economic environment,” Ms. Garcia said.
Ms. Sarmiento also mentioned that the success of BusinessWorld’s events can be seen from the awards bestowed to the company, as well as the congratulatory expressions left by the attendees, and the support it has received from holding such events.
The BusinessWorld Economic Forum had previously been recognized by award-giving bodies like the Philippine Quill Awards, The Media Specialists Association of the Philippines ICE Awards, and the Anvil Awards every year since its inception in 2016.
In particular, BusinessWorld won the Philippine Quill Awards under the Communication Skills category in 2022 for BusinessWorld Virtual Economic Forum (BW VEF) last 2020. BW VEF 2021, meanwhile, was recognized at the 21st Asian Media Awards presented by the World Association of News Publishers with a special Silver award for the Best Revenue Diversification Project/Product/Service under small/medium news media companies with annual revenue of less than US$10 million. BW VEF 2022 has also been recognized at the 58th Anvil Awards last year, bagging a silver award for Events and Exhibit — Conference/Convention.
Mr. Dy Tioco added that BusinessWorld’s events offers sectors to voice out their concerns, exchange ideas with others, and collaboratively come up with potential solutions.
“I would say our events provide avenue for all sectors to be heard, what are the critical issues that need attention, and how can we identify the pain points and push for solution. Our edge is the clout of influence we have through our thought leaders and industry experts from a global and local perspective,” Mr. Dy Tioco said.
With more Insights, Forecast, and Economic fora that the Philippine business community can look forward to, transformative discussions will remain as one of the strengths of BusinessWorld as it extends beyond the newspaper in serving as a public trust.
“These events have an important role in informing the public and enhancing understanding of key issues. These events give the business community a chance not just to listen and participate in lively discussions on business topics, but also to connect and exchange ideas,” Ms. Garcia said.
