TWO major British companies engaged in infrastructure and building bridges as well as manufacture of agricultural equipment are planning to set up business operations in the Philippines, according to the British envoy in Manila.

The new investment prospects were announced by the British embassy following the three-day visit of Paul Speller, head for Southeast Asia and the Pacific of the British Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO).

Speller met with top British companies in Manila Wednesday where he discussed future business relations between the UK and the Philippines.

British Ambassador to the Philippines Peter Beckingham said senior executives of JCB company and Mabey and Johnson engineering group are scheduled to visit the Philippines within the year to explore trade opportunities in the country.

“JCB, a British company that produces agricultural equipment is seeking establishment of its operations in the Philippines, while Mabey and Johnson is also looking at possible business ventures here where they intend to build a thousand bridges in the Philippines,” said Beckingham in an interview with the BusinessMirror at the Mandarin hotel in Makati.

JCB, which stands for initials of its founder Joseph Cyril Bamford, was launched in 1945 and is now one of the world’s largest manufacturers of heavy equipment. It has set up manufacturing plants in the United Kingdom, US, Brazil, Germany, India and China.

Another possible investor, Mabey Group of Companies is a major British engineering organization that specializes in bridging, steel fabrication and construction products. The company has been able to establish bridge infrastructure in some 40 locations in Europe, the US and some areas in Asia Pacific.

Speller said although British companies currently doing business in the country remain confident in the economic situation of the Philippines, these companies have raised several key issues on legal uncertainty, security, corruption and bureaucratic procedures  that remain as major stumbling blocks for investments.

“They did raise some issues such as legal uncertainty that can sometimes be a discouragement for foreign business,” said Speller. He added that British companies also noted difficulty in setting up business in the Philippines.

“It’s about the judicial process, whether or not we can rely on good court decisions, they [British companies] are just talking generally about the legal system on how much the companies can rely on certainty of court decisions . . .  it’s a factor,” Speller added.

Among the executives who met with Speller during his visit to the Philippines from February 6-8 are representatives from Pilipinas Shell, British PG, HSBC and Standard and Chartered Bank.

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THE Philippine government is set to again impose a temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen, from the United Kingdom.

DAVAO CITY—A business group in General Santos City will soon open a certification body for halal-prepared food in the region’s bid to strengthen its position to take a share in the potentially rich market in the Middle East.

TWO major British companies engaged in infrastructure and building bridges as well as manufacture of agricultural equipment are planning to set up business operations in the Philippines, according to the British envoy in Manila.