AT least 18 Philippine firms in the information technology (IT) and creative fields will make their pitch to foreign investors in China’s trade fair for services exports.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is heading the country’s participation in the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) 2020 from September 3 to September 7. Unlike before, joining the CIFTIS will be done online to ensure the health and safety of exhibitors and guests.
The digital Philippine pavilion will promote the country’s competitive advantages and offerings through photos and videos of services offered by local IT and business process management, software development, animation, game development, film, digital creative original intellectual property, construction and engineering firms.
Philippine exhibitors include 18 firms, five private-sector groups and three state agencies. Most of the delegates work on IT-enabled services, such as software development, business-process outsourcing and customer relationship management, while some engage in the creative trades of animation, game development and film production and visual effects.
On the other hand, a couple of exhibitors do construction and engineering outsourcing; online learning and training; and higher education services.
Senen M. Perlada, director at the DTI’s Export Marketing Bureau, said the Philippines is taking part in the CIFTIS mainly to sell its IT services to Chinese investors. Likewise, he explained the trade expo may help the country position itself as an outsourcing destination.
Perlada argued that “the Philippines has an excellent track record in supporting global operations of companies all over the world,” attributing this to the “strong customer service orientation of its work force.”
The DTI is partnering with the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Beijing in leading the country’s participation in CIFTIS. The delegation will attend online business matching meetings and conferences organized by the China-Asean Business Council, China Association for Trade in Services and Beijing Association of Services Sourcing.
The exhibitors will be accompanied by industry groups—the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines, Philippine Software Industry Association, Animation Council of the Philippines Inc., Game Developers Association of the Philippines and Cybercraft Philippine Association.
The DTI, for its part, is heading the government team. It will be joined by its attached agency Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines-Philippine Overseas Construction Board, as well as the Film Development Council of the Philippines and Commission on Higher Education.
The CIFTIS was initially scheduled to run from May 28 to June 1 in Beijing, but organizers had to postpone and reorganize it due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In previous sessions, CIFTIS gathered more than 11,000 exhibitors from at least 122 countries and regions worldwide. Signed contracts from the CIFTIS now amount to $601.51 billion since its inception in 2012, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce.