Isang halimbawa kung gaano kalupit ang liberalization: How Salim group skirted foreign ownership limits The Indonesian Anthoni Salim’s empire has grown since 1998 to be the country’s largest conglomerate—controversially based on public utility firms where foreign investors are purportedly restricted by the Constitution. Chances are, you won’t spend a day without a Salim firm getting a cut of your expenses. When you turn on light, chances are, you’ll be making money for a Salim firm, the ultimate parent company now of Meralco (see my column February 24). When you use your cell phone, you’ll likely be paying Salim-controlled mobile phone companies—Smart and Sun, which together has 2/3 of the market. If you live in the western part of greater Manila, in any of its 17 cities and towns, the water you pay for is from his Maynilad Water Services, the country’s biggest water concession. When you travel on the expressways, part of the toll you’ll pay goes to Salim, through his Manila North Tollways and Cavitex, which together make up the country’s largest tollway operator that runs 64 percent of the country’s toll roads. If you get sick (and if you can afford it, that is), you’d be probably treated in one of his six hospitals, which include the most venerable ones such as Cardinal Santos and the Makati Medical Center, and the newest, Asian Hospital in Alabang. And if you’re reading either two of the country’s biggest newspapers, Philippine Star and Philippine Daily Inquirer or even the has-been business paper BusinessWorld, or if you’re watching TV-5, Salim’s executives control those too. In fact, according to Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd. in its 2012 annual report, Salim’s holding and “command” firm, its profits from its Philippine operations now exceed those in the magnate’s home country, Indonesia, by about $200 million. What a country we have become. -naalala ko tuloy ang mga biruan noon : mula pagkasilang hanggang matsugi,gamit natiy tatak-imperyalista :D
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 06:28:13 +0000
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