THE Trade Secretary met with officials of large South Korean manufacturing companies last week, with the latter considering investment and expansion plans here in the Philippines in light of the country’s fast-growing economy.
Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez told reporters yesterday that he met with over 200 company officials last week in an investor conference in South Korea.
“We just recently concluded the investors’ conference followed by the investors’ roadshow in Korea to further boost confidence from major companies in Korea, such as Samsung, Hyundai, Kepco. We highlighted trade and industry policy directions and the socioeconomic agenda of President Duterte, including the boost in infrastructure development and tax reform initiatives,” he said in a text message.
“In cooperation with ASEAN Korea Center, the conference gathered over 200 participants coming from major Korean companies, who expressed interest in investing or expanding their operations in the Philippines.”
The number of participants surpassed expectations of only 80 individuals, he said. The participants are engaged in manufacturing, focused on auto parts, electronics, agribusiness and food processing.
Apart from the conference, Mr. Lopez also said that he met with representatives from large South Korean companies in a business roundtable where similar interests to invest and expand were expressed.
“The meeting was attended by around 30 CEOs and high level officials of major Korean companies. They mentioned interest to expand existing operations in the Philippines and/or are looking for more projects.”
The top officials represent segments like energy, infrastructure, retail and fast-moving consumer goods, tourism and real estate development, finance and insurance, food/agribusiness, among others.
He also said that he met with his counterpart in South Korea, discussing points on market access for Philippine agriculture products like duck meat as well as fruits and vegetables. Moreover, they also talked about cooperation in Philippine manufacturing development, including that of electric vehicles.
The interest in setting and expanding shop here in the country comes at a time when South Korean investments in the Philippines fell by nearly half in the first eight months of the year, preliminary data from the central bank showed.
Investments from South Korea fell 41.87% in the first 8 months of 2016 from the same period a year earlier, declining from $8.11 million in the Jan.-Aug. period in 2015 to $4.71 million.
Exports to South Korea also fell 20.2% to $1.46 billion in the first nine months of the year from $1.83 billion in the same period in the year earlier, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.
On the other hand, imports rose 15.9% to $3.88 billion in the nine months to September.
The economy grew at one of the fastest rates in Asia, expanding 7.1%, surpassing that of China, with 6.7%. The Philippine growth story for the third quarter is second only to that of India, which grew 7.3%.
Moreover, the government is also in the process of strengthening the manufacturing industry, which has so far grown at an average of 7.3% in the July-September period since 2013, disrupting the long-term third quarter trend. From 1999 to 2012, growth in the period was only 3.2%.
10 December 2016
By Roy Stephen C. Canivel
