Skip to main content

HOW A BUSINESS SCANDAL IN FAR AWAY AND LITTLE TOWN MANILA CAN POSSIBLY ROCK GERMAN POLITICS

A quick comparison of Germany and the Philippines shows that its land and population sizes are quite identical. Germany has a land area of 357 thousand sq km and a population of 82.4 Million while the Philippines has 300 thousand sq km and 87.8 million respectively.

However, a continued look will show that most of the other characteristics will paint a picture of David and Goliath. Most glaring is Germany's GDP (adjusted based on Purchasing Power Parity) of US$2.85 Trillion compared to the Philippines' $443.1 Billion. In terms of equality, Germany's percentage of population below poverty line is a low 11% compared to the Philippines' 40 percent.

Though the picture paints a thin and weak Philippines compared to a muscular European country, something is brewing in that part of Asia which threatens to scandalize German politics.

It all started with a noble project on 1996 to Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) a new Manila airport terminal. The bidding was won by PairCargo and its partner Fraport AG of Germany which immediately started building the new terminal. However, before the project can be completed, the project became the subject of lawsuits and arbitration between the Philippine government and Frapport AG. Much has been written about the case but a new twist recently came when a German stockholder of Frapport AG recently came into the Philippines and is said to have brought documents that may weaken the German firms position.
"The documents entrusted to Wengert included minutes of a Fraport board meeting with incriminating evidence showing that the board new and approved certain acts that violated several Philippines laws, including the foreign ownership limits, anti-graft, the build-operate-transfer law, among others."
While this may be nothing like an ENRON scandal, one explosive twist is the involvement of some of Germany's potential future leaders who sit at the Frapport board. Newspapers in the Philippines have reported that the stockholder has already been sued several times in order to prevent him from disclosing the potentially damaging documents. Such cases simply fueled more curiosity over the case.

Comments

Anonymous said…
got that right

philippines change the rules in the middle of the game

:(
Hi Tutubi!

I had my sympathies for Frapport until I heard about that deliberate attempt to use illegal means to do business in the Philippines.

If the allegations are proven to be true, they should pay for playing around with German and Philippine laws.
Anonymous said…
I agree with both of you. Those at fault must do something to rectify the damages caused.

Popular posts from this blog

US PRESIDENTIAL CONVOYS

A columnist for a Philippine newspaper talks about the costs and massive preparations required by the US Secret Service whenever President Bush and other (US Presidents) travel outside of Washington DC. I remember watching a CNN report that showed how big a US presidential convoy is, compared to the two vehicle transport being used by Prime Minister Tony Blair of the UK.

DOHA Round Updates & Preferential Tariffs in Practice

T he DOHA round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations intends to promote the opening of markets and promoting free trade. This April, the latest meeting failed to reach a conclusion. Director-General Pascal Lamy of the World Trade Organization delivered a speech before the US Chamber of Commerce on April 23, 2007. Here are excerpts from his speech. "T oday we know that the Doha Development Round will not be concluded until and unless all these participants are ready to walk the extra mile and table additional contributions to the collective success of this multilateral enterprise. It is clear that the contributions will be linked to the degree of development and wealth of each participant, with the world poorest countries making the smallest contribution. It is also clear that no one will be asked to move first: countries will have to move in concert, like a big orchestra playing to the same tune. For the moment, a group of major actors — the EU, US, Brazil, India — d

Competitive Advantage of the Philippines II

Despite being a newcomer in the global BPO industry, the Philippines have steadily increased its foothold as a top outsourcing destination. Rest of Asia ready to grab BPO jobs from India, RP--study INQ7.net, Agence France-Presse Last updated 08:44pm (Mla time) 11/05/2006 THE PHILIPPINES and India have to boost their overall competitiveness, as Asian countries gear up to get their share of the global offshore outsourcing pie, a recent global study showed. These top two outsourcing destinations will eventually compete with China, and other Asia Pacific countries that have similarly positioned themselves as outsourcing destinations, the latest Offshore City Competitiveness Report of market research firm neoIT showed. The study noted that companies have "moved beyond India" and the Philippines into not so well-known cities in the world since companies want to create a "global footprint." China and Eastern European countries are starting