THE Philippines is the most attractive investment destination in the world, according to the biggest delegation from European Union (EU) businesses.
They gave the vote of confidence in a meeting on Tuesday with House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez. At the meeting, six representatives from visiting EU-Association of Southeast Asian Nation
(EU-Asean) Business Council (EU-ABC) expressed their interest to expand EU business and trade relations with the Philippines.
Romualdez welcomed the EU-ABC’s effort as he also informed them of the initiatives of Congress, in line with the policies of the Marcos Jr. administration to “make the Philippines a more inviting host for business investments and economic activities.”
“We’re here to see how can help. We would like to support, we would like to assist. We’d like to be aware of the challenges so we could address them together,” he said.
For his part, Noel Clehane, global head of Regulatory & Public Policy for BDO and Board Member of EU-ABC, informed the Speaker that they have been engaging with EU lawmakers to push for a free trade agreement with the Philippines, among others.
“We have been highlighting to them that this region [Asean], particularly the Philippines, is the most attractive in the world for European businesses,” he said.
Moreover, Clehane said their excitement about business prospects in the Philippines is borne by an annual survey that they have been doing for the past eight years.
As a result, he said EU lawmakers are now “becoming more alert” to exploring expanded trade relations with the Philippines.
Jens Ruebbert (managing director & regional head Asia/Pacific for Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg and vice chairman of the EU-ABC), also noted the strong growth and solid economic fundamentals of the Philippines. The Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) posted a growth of 7.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, resulting in a 7.6-percent full-year growth in 2022, and has grown by 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2023.
“That’s extremely well recognized in the business world,” Ruebbert said. He also noted that inflation is on the downtrend, the peso is stable as opposed to currencies in other countries, while the interest rate environment is “an equation of what’s going on in the world.”
“Probably the highest hike in the region has helped you to sustain and get things under control. So big congratulations for the economic situation, which is I think the basis for motivating European Union and other foreign companies to further invest and further extend trade with the Philippines,” he added.
Image credits: Michael Edwards | Dreamstime.com