Philippine Finance

Dealbreaker posted a pretty funny excerpt from (of all things) a bond prospectus issued by the Republic of the Philippines.

The country’s bond prospectus includes a list of risks, and the following were found under “Recent Political Developments”:

Election Protest of Legarda
Arrests in Connection with Coup Attempts
Impeachment Complaints Filed Against President Arroyo
Communists and Affiliated Groups
Abu Sayyaf and Moro Islamic Liberation Front
Government Expropriation of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3
Proposed Amendments to the Constitution

So what, maybe they’ve got a few “risks”?

It reminded me of this exchange between a panelist and an editor during a 1986 stock-picking roundtable for Barron’s, as documented by Peter Lynch:

Ed Goodnow (a panelist touting Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.): I understand the service is not so good out in the provinces. One of the problems is that it’s hard to get the guys to go up the poles to fix the lines because they sometimes get picked off by snipers. But other than that, they’ve got a very solid operation.
Barron’s Editor Alan Abelson: Do you call that a “long shot”?