NANNING, China—Chinese businessmen are interested in investing in the Philippines, especially if relations between Manila and Beijing will improve under the Duterte administration, according to the head of a regional business council.
Xu Ningning, executive president of the China-Asean Business Council, made this pronouncement in his speech before the Philippine delegation here on September 13.
“We can see that there really is a good future for us. Economically and politically, we can all improve together. If we improve [political relations], we believe there are more mutual benefits for our entrepreneurs,” Xu said.
He said Chinese businessmen are keen on investing in the Philippines, particularly in infrastructure, where they see “appealing” opportunities.
“[But] first, we need to trust each other, particularly in the area of economic cooperation. I believe that the chambers of commerce of the two countries could find a way to establish a production chain in the Philippines,” Xu said.
Citing his experience during his visit to Manila leading a delegation of 30 Chinese businessmen last month, Xu said he saw the “huge” investment potential of the country’s infrastructure sector.
“I was really worried [about the heavy traffic] and I was thinking, the China-Philippines cooperation will definitely help [your country] upgrade its infrastructure,” Xu said.
“If you cooperate with America or Japan, they cannot do it. It can be done by cooperating with us. China has cooperated with other Asean countries and infrastructure has improved, for example in Lao PDR and Cambodia,” he added.
Chinese businessmen, Xu said, are taking a second look at the Philippines because of President Duterte’s political will and his socioeconomic agenda.
“We realize that the new Philippine President wants to ensure good bilateral and economic relationship [with China]. That is why I brought more than 30 delegates to the Philippines,” he said.
Xu said the Philippine delegation presented its business and investment proposals, particularly in agribusiness, to some Chinese officials and businessmen during its annual promotion conference, dubbed as “Invest Philippines.”
The country’s government officials and businessmen made a pitch for parts manufacturing, light industries manufacturing, components manufacturing, manufacturing of building materials, processing of high-value-added food and fisheries products and tourism.
Felicitas R. Agoncillo-Reyes, assistant secretary for investment promotions group of the Board of Investments, earlier said the Philippine delegation aims to secure more agricultural investments from China and Asean, given the “ailing” status of the country’s agriculture sector.
The Philippine delegation to the 13th China-Asean Expo (Caexpo), led by Sen. Cynthia A. Villar, was composed of seven congressmen, three governors and one mayor.
According to Reyes, China is one of the country’s major trading partners. China is the fourth-largest buyer of locally made products and is the No. 1 source of imported goods for the Philippines.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that investments from China declined by nearly half to P190.1 million in the first quarter, from P337.8 million recorded a year ago. China accounted for only 0.7 percent of total approved investments in the January-to-March period.
Last year investments from China reached P1.45 billion, according to PSA data.
Data from the PSA also showed that China ranked fourth in the top 10 market destinations for local products in July.
China accounted for 11.1 percent of total export receipts during the period. Purchases made by China in July went down by 6.5 percent to $520.93 million, from $557 million a year ago.