Chinese New Year: Bright domestic prospects balance external economic uncertainties

LIM

Cebuano-Chinese traders see bright prospects in the Chinese New Year, particularly in the tourism sector, but external factors continue to threaten business prosperity in Cebu and the rest of the country.

For Dickson Lim, vice president of the Cebu Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (CFCCC), businesses are in a wait-and-see stance as a new president takes over the United States of America.

“With the Chinese New Year comes the new president of America. We’re still waiting on what his pronouncements will be because the rest of the world may be affected,” he said in a phone interview on Thursday.

President-elect Donald Trump is set to take over the White House on Friday, Jan. 20 (Jan. 21 in the Philippines), replacing Barack Obama who served an eight-year term.

The year of the Fire Rooster, meanwhile, will start on Jan. 28, 2017 and will end on Feb. 15, 2018.

Lim, who is in the hotel industry, said he sees robust growth in the tourism sector particularly due to the three million Chinese tourists expected to visit the Philippines this year.

“We are off to a good start for the year of the Fire Rooster. We, Chinese, believe that if your year starts good, it will be a good year all throughout,” he said.

Aside from the tourism industry, Lim said the benefits of having more visitors this year will also trickle down to the communities.

Feng shui experts predicted that for 2017, the food industry and media companies will thrive.

Others, however, warned businesses to be watchful since the last three biggest financial disasters happened in years ending with “7.”

A stock market crash happened in 1987, the Asian financial crisis took place in 1997, and the Great Recession threatened economies in 2007.

Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) past president Philip Tan said that the signs are there, but the challenges are external.

Traders in the Philippines, whether Filipino-Chinese or not, are still uncertain of the direction of US economic policies under a Trump leadership.

Even before his formal assumption, Trump already announced to bring back all outsourced jobs to America in a radical move aimed at protecting his country’s citizens.

This was seen to potentially hurt the business process outsourcing industry here, which is presently among the strongest economic drivers of the country.

“Any business in the US, on their own, will always affect us. If the administration is not as supportive to the business sector as it is now, there will be spillover effects on other countries, including ours,” said Tan.

But Tan said everything will boil down to the adaptability of domestic businesses.

“If you can easily adapt, then you can lessen the impact. If your business is not adaptable to change, then you have a big problem,” Tan added.

The business leader said that while he adheres to Chinese tradition during the New Year, including the observance of certain rituals, being with family and visiting temples, he doesn’t believe in forecasts according to the Zodiac.

He said how a person hurdles challenges will depend on his ability to survive, not on predictions.

“It will depend on the person’s ability. If you can survive, you will. But if you depend on forecasts about your Zodiac and do nothing, you won’t prosper,” he said.

Tan emphasized that prosperity in business is driven by one’s willingness to do things beyond the norm, employing innovation where it is needed and knowing when to be flexible.

Feng shui experts reminded the public that predictions should only be used as guides in making decisions because ultimately, one’s fate will always be in one’s own hands.