[maui_hawaii]

Researchers at the New York Federal Reserve Bank estimate that only 20 percent of China’s total imports reach China’s domestic markets, while the other 80 percent consist of capital goods and industrial inputs used for the country’s exporting zones.7

China 'imported' approximately $216 billion worth of goods in Y2000

20% of that is $43.2 billion, Iceland on the other hand imported approximately $47.5 billion....

Whats more.... the Phillippines imported $43.1 billion, which puts the Phillippine market on par with the Chinese market...

As with the US and other developed economies, 80% of the demand is made up of individual consumers. Not so in China.

If even a portion of the money going to China gets shifted to the Phillippines a marvelous thing will happen... capitalization. Which is a good thing. The actual size of the consumer market will grow at a rate far greater than China can ever hope to post...

With only 10 or 20% of the investments going to China, the Phillippines would import twice or three times as much as they do now...

[maui_hawaii]

China is big. Too big. Especially to effectively do what they are trying to do. They absorb money and turns into a massive leakage.

[AIG]

The thing is that, given its limited population size, the Phillippines will never have as large a market as China. The issue here is potential market size. Even if you diverted all investment from China to the Phillippines, you'd probably over-invest because the Phillippines market simply can't generate enough demand to absorb that investment over the long term.

[maui_hawaii]

The problem is, is that our corporations are stupid with a capital S. They are strategizing on a Q1 vs Q2 method, instead of a long term plan of 10 or 20 years.

[AIG]

As we speak, foreign firms are moving their factories out of the Phillippines and setting them up in China. Apparently, they don't find the Phillippines very attractive. The Japanese complain that the Phillippines educational system doesn't produce enough high-quality workers, among other things.