Talking to a professional who worked in the Philippines for many...

Talking to a professional who worked in the Philippines for many years has made the the situation with PIL a litle clearer.

People who, as a matter of habit, use the outcomes of a meeting or conference not as guidelines for action, but as excuses for more meetngs and more conferences, throw the concept of timelines out the window.

A bureaucracy that spawns a multitude of desks each expecting something in return for participation, is not the dynamo that you take for granted in a place like Singapore for instance.

Little wonder then that an unaware foreigner venturing into a mine field like this simply runs into hiatus. Not the place for highly remunerated foreigners talking the big talk with no leverage on the local situation.

What I just get around is the fact that there are so many "sophistical investors" all displaying the same lack of credularity, investing at levels consistently higher than the market, with the same unrealistic concept of what the investment is about, boosting the egos at the top.

When you think about it, dreams of having millions of hardworking souls with limited financial education suddenly bursting through the barriers waving the flag of PIL on the way to greater richness are just that - dreams. Achieving the general aim will surely be a long drawn out process of selling a concept into a slowly accepting market with many competitors. Frugal but dedicated management may make the grade and that is just what PIL doesn't have

A take-over would provide relief for all.

Mr, Market is a very perceptive animal that can spawn some sharp traders on the fringes - that in my book is about as much as we can expect.