QBREES9

The executive sous-chef of a seven-star luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi packed his bags to take up a similar job back home in the Philippines.
He is one of a small group of like-minded Filipinos returning to jobs back home, a sign of confidence in an economy that for decades has seen millions leave in search of better prospects overseas.
Ragonjan now helps run a 300-man kitchen that caters to guests and high-rollers flocking to Manila's newest and most luxurious casino resort, one of 400 overseas Filipinos who came home to work at the hotel.
"The Philippines is booming at the moment, so I thought it was the right time to go back," Ragonjan, 41, said on a break from his 10-hour shift at the Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila Bay, developed at a cost of $1.2 billion.
The Philippines economy is leaving behind its reputation as a regional laggard. Last week, it reported annual GDP growth of 7.8 percent in the first three months of the year, outstripping China to make it Asia's fastest-growing economy.
Earlier this year, the government secured an investment grade credit rating, reducing its borrowing costs, while the stock market has reached a series of record highs this year.
Returnees like Ragonjan are just a trickle compared to those still leaving the country, but the hope is that the more the country can draw the diaspora back to the Philippines the more that the entrepreneurial spirit that prompted them to leave in the first place can add fuel to the economy.







http://news.yahoo.com/philippines-bo...home-014045511.

www.sportsshooter.com/johnjcoleman

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SloMotion

That's good to hear. When I lived there in the '80s, they were #1 in exporting workers to foreign countries and one of the biggest sectors of the national economy was those same workers sending money home.

It's a huge business with contracting agencies/corporations, recruiters, et... Glad they can start working a little closer to home now, .

QBREES9

You lived there. Wow SloMotion my wife is from the Phillipines. I visted 3 years ago. It's HOT over there. I really enjoyed it.

SloMotion

Yeah, I used to live near Capas, Tarlac and then north of Iba, in Zambales province (Luzon) for pretty much most of the '80s. Beautiful country & it was hot, . Where'd you visit?

QBREES9

Manilla and Pasag. I think is how you spell it. Traffic unreal. It took two hours to go any where. It was very cool. It felt weird when people were looking at me. At times and most of the time I was the only white person around.

I was there's for two weeks, you really need three, and then a week off when you get home.

SloMotion

Pasig or Pasay, but I get your drift ... Metro Manila, . I used to be at the US Embassy quite a bit and visited Manila often. Big city ... very easy to get lost in a crowd, that's for sure.

QBREES9

But you stand out as well.