Government officials will brief British investors on business opportunities in the country’s infrastructure, energy and tourism sectors and explore ways to expand economic cooperation between the Philippines and the United Kingdom.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III will lead the Philippine delegation in its trip to London from September 24 to 26 to brief British investors, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).
The finance chief earlier thanked British Ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Pruce and the UK-Asean Business Council for assisting in organizing the events in London.
Aside from the Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB) that will showcase investment prospects in the country, the top-level delegation will also take part in a Business Roundtable in London organized by the Philippine Trade and Investment Center to discuss with leaders of British business organizations and other groups the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program, as well as the role in global trade, and opportunities in, the Philippines’s industry, manufacturing and services sectors.
The DOF said the London-bound delegation will update the British business community during the PEB on the progress of the Duterte administration’s economic reform agenda, particularly on its Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, as well as the performance of the Philippine economy, which is among the best performers in Asia.
Guinigundo and the other Cabinet officials will also brief investors on the reforms in the Philippines’s budget system and monetary and fiscal sector, along with the latest investment opportunities under the Duterte administration’s BBB program, including the flagship New Clark City project that is envisioned to be the country’s next big metropolis and agro-industrial hub.
The other members of the Philippine delegation to London are: Secretaries Ernesto M. Pernia of the National Economic and Development Authority, Benjamin E. Diokno of the Department of Budget and Management, Ramon M. Lopez of the Department of Trade and Industry, Arthur P. Tugade of the Department of Transportation, Mark A. Villar of the Department of Public Works and Highways, and Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat of the Department of Tourism; Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo; Vivencio B. Dizon, president-CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority; House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Pilar Juliana S. Cayetano and Valenzuela First District Rep. Weslie T. Gatchalian.
The delegation will also tour the first store in London of Philippine fast-food giant Jollibee, which is along Earl’s Court Road, Jollibee’s first London branch is slated to open in October.
The DOF, citing data from the BSP, pointed out that net foreign direct investments from the UK were recorded at $36.37 million in the first half of 2018, representing a 624-percent increase, from the $5.02 million during the same period in the previous year.
Total bilateral trade between the Philippines and the UK was $987.4 million in 2017. Philippine exports to the UK amounted to $480.6 million, while imports from that country reached $506.8 million in 2017.
In 2017 the UK was the eighth-largest source of foreign tourist arrivals in the Philippines with over 180,000 British nationals visiting the country.