By Caesar Vallejos, EBC Correspondent
Against the backdrop of controversial issues including human rights abuses and drug-related killings, the Philippines’ position as a competitive destination for businesses from the European Union (EU) will take the spotlight at the EU-Philippines Business Summit on October 17, 2017, at the Solaire Resort Hotel, Paranaque City.
Reacting to the recent national headlines in the country, EU Ambassador Franz Jessen said, “mistakes happen in any system in many countries. The important part is how these mistakes are being addressed, and if they are being addressed in a correct way.”
“No country, no region is perfect. We will have issues in any place over time. The important thing is how these issues are being tackled and addressed by the court system, legal system and by the political system,” the Ambassador added.
EU: Largest provider of PH foreign direct investments
At the recently concluded press conference of the EU-Philippines Business Summit, there seemed to be less if no impact at all of the controversies faced by the Duterte administration as the EU-Philippines Business Network (EPBN) and the European Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECCP), organizers of the summit, bolstered the increased access of the Philippines to EU’s vast market.
Its report indicated that during the first half of 2017, 29% of all newly approved investments in the Philippines equivalent to P12 billion was sourced from EU.
Guenter Taus, President of the ECCP said the EU is the largest provider of the foreign direct investments in the country.
He also said that EU was the second largest market for Filipino exporters, with goods including agri-food exports that amount to US$4.6 billion in the first half of 2017 alone.
EU is also providing a trade privilege unique to the Philippines whereby more than 75% of the country’s agri-food export products come into the EU market duty-free.
Biggest problem
“Our main advocacy at this time is to open the Philippine economy to foreign investments, to level the playing field and to make the general services and goods more affordable for the general Philippine public,” Taus said.
Aside from infrastructure issues and tax reforms, the EU is also working on providing incentives to foreign companies coming into the country.
“Since I run an engineering company here, our biggest problem is to find the right talent and it will be one of the major obstacles and one of the major hindrances in the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program of the government because you do not have enough qualified labor,” Taus mentioned.
“It’s about time now for the government to look into the possibility of bringing tradesmen back because we badly need them here,” the ECCP president said referring to the skilled labor force employed in other parts of the world.
This was seconded by Ambassador Jessen saying that “the Philippine economy must be moved in a direction where workers stay in the Philippines and do not work aboard.”
“We are very adamant to work with the BPO industry because there seems to be a sluggish period wherein the President doesn’t seem to approve a lot of the new companies coming in,” the EU Ambassador said.
He emphasized the fear that the country will lose its competitive edge against other ASEAN countries if this will not be addressed.
“If we manage to move ahead with the EU- ASEAN and EU-Philippine FTAs, then we will secure the legal foundation in order to make sure that the investments and trade growth continues to develop in a positive manner,” he explained.
The Philippine potential
The ECCP president said that the Philippines has “all the ingredients here to do more than what we can think of. If we look at the electronics sector, the Philippines is probably the most advanced country in terms of the skilled labor force for the electronics industry in the early years. But it has been stagnant,” he narrated.
Aside from agriculture, Taus also identified that the biggest potential the Philippines has is its tourism industry but it is hardly tapped.
“The Philippines has all the ingredients we need – nice mountains outdoors, beautiful beaches down south, and one of the best underwater worlds, if we do not continue to damage it and start preserving it. Literally, every Filipino speaks English and everybody smiles in this country, something you don’t have anywhere else and has very hospitable people,” he commented.
Comparing it to the USD60 billion tourism industry in Thailand, Taus asked, “why can’t we do that in the Philippines? It’s because we have no infrastructure, not enough airports and not enough roads. For me, tourism (in the Philippines) is the sunshine industry number one,” he said.
He also recognized the Filipino’s artistic skills in the use of indigenous materials. “If you look at the craftsmanship and artistic skills of Filipinos, there is a huge potential that lies there and it is really underdeveloped,” he noted.
Deepening EU-PH economic ties
The EU-Philippines Business Summit will tackle investment strategies that identify opportunities and challenges for the EU-business community and focus on the creation of a more competitive business environment.
With the theme “The EU and the Philippines: Partners for Progress and Prosperity”, the summit will also highlight the ASEAN integration and showcase industries that have high potential for investments.
-CRV