Duterte outbursts start scaring US companies, industry says

MANILA (Nov 14): Signs of investor discontent with Rodrigo Duterte’s outbursts against the US are multiplying with American companies starting to hold off investing in the Philippines, the nation’s electronics and semiconductor industry said.

“The concern is that we have lost momentum," Dan Lachica, head of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Inc., said in an interview Friday. “Investments have been held and orders have been canceled. Hopefully, it doesn’t get to the point that they shut down.”

After initially causing declines in the stock and currency markets, Duterte’s repeated attacks against the US since September may be finally taking their toll on direct investment. The concerns of SEIPI, the largest organization of foreign and local electronics companies, mirror those raised by the American Chamber of Commerce, which has warned the president is creating unease.

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