PH CONDUCTS TRADE AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION CAMPAIGN IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE POLISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (PCC) The Philippines conducted its first-ever trade and investment promotion campaign in Poland dubbed “The Philippines–Your Business Partner In Asia” in collaboration with the Polish Chamber of Commerce at Sofitel Hotel last 14 October 2013. In her presentation entitled “Opportunities for Polish Investors in Philippine Economic Zones,” Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General and Undersecretary Ms. Lilia De Lima discussed the fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for export companies in PEZA, and the Philippines competitive advantage on business environment in comparison to other Asian countries. She underscored PEZA’s business-friendly policies such as : 100% foreign ownership of companies; guaranteed basic rights of investors (right to remit profits and pay foreign obligations, and the right to repatriate investments); and simplified investments procedures. The fiscal incentives for export companies are the following: • Income Tax Holiday (ITH) or Exemption from Corporate Income Tax for four years, extendable to a maximum of eight years; • After the ITH period, payment of the special 5% Tax on Gross Income, in lieu iof all national and local taxes; • Exemption from duties and taxes on imported capital equipment, spare parts, supplies, and raw materials; • Domestic sales allowance of up to 30% of total sales; • Zero Value-Added Tax (VAT) Rate on local purchases to include telecommunications, power, and water bills; and • Exemption from payment of local government taxes and fees. The non-fiscal incentives for export companies are: • Employment of foreign nationals; • Special visa for foreign investors and immediate family members; and • Unequalled service by PEZA. PEZA has been cited for best practices among economic zones worldwide by the Foreign investment Advisory Services (FIAS) of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank. It is also certified ISO 9001 for all its processes, at all levels, in all sites, nationwide. Director General De Lima categorically declared that “in PEZA, there is no graft and corruption;” “no red tape,only red carpet welcome;” and that is a “non-stop shop” since the Director General herself and other PEZA officials are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and they render continuous service to locator companies on this basis. At present. six (6) out of the world’s top 20 chipmakers and four (4) of the largest hard disk drive producers in the world operate in the Philippines, she added. The world’s top electronic firms in PEZA are: Cebu Mitsumi, AMKOR, Epson, Lexmark, Continental, and Sunpower. The European companies in PEZA economic zones total 337 broken down as follows: 306 EU Member companies and 31 non-EU Member companies. Philippine envoy to Poland Ambassador Patricia Ann V. Paez gave a PowerPoint presentation entitled “An Overview of ‘Asia’s Rising Tiger’ and Trade Opportunities in the Philippines.” She cited the Philippines’ comparative advantages and gave a situationer on the Philippines’ trade. She also presented a profile of Philippines-Poland trade relations; the Philippines’ key exports, and trade opportunities for Polish products in the Philippines. She said that the Philippines has experienced four consecutive quarters of economic growth of over 7% and that its GDP growth of 7.6% from January to June 2013 was the highest in Southeast Asia. The HSBC’s “The World in 2050” Report projected that the Philippines is set to become the world’s 16th largest economy in 2050, up 27 places from today. Amb. Paez stressed that the Philippines has a literacy rate of 94.6% and that its workforce is highly educated, English proficient, strongly customer service-oriented; highly trainable with fast learning curve; adaptable to universal cultures; and have commitment and loyalty. The country’s export growth has been steady with merchandise exports in 2012 at US$ 51.9 billion and service exports at $ 13.2 billion anchored on the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector with direct employment of 772,000. The Philippines’ Gross International Reserves (GIR) last year was US$ 83.8 billion. Investment flows have likewise been steady with the manufacturing sector topping the list, accounting for 27% of foreign investments. The domestic financial sector has been robust and as of end 2012, non-performing loans ratio of universal and commercial banks was at 1.87% (2.3% in 2011). She also said that the Philippines has improved its global competitiveness ranking. In the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index 2013/2014, the country was ranked 59 out of 148 countries, an improvement of six (6) points over its previous year’s rank of 65. It has also strengthened governance and anti-corruption measures. Amb. Paez cited Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index in 2012 which placed the Philippines at 105 out of 176 countries, or an improvement of 24 points over the previous year’s rank of 129. The envoy likewise drew attention to the fact that the Philippines has received investment grade status from four international credit rating agencies, namely: Fitch, Standard & Poor, Moody’s, and Japan Credit Rating Agency. Investment grade status means lower debt interest payments; more credit avenues; and more foreign investments, she added. On trade, Amb. Paez pointed out that the Philippines’ key export sectors are: IT-BPO and other services; electronics; agri-business (food and other resource-based products; motor vehicle parts; design-driven products (i.e. furniture, décor, giftwares, fashion accessories, bags, and jewelries); minerals; transport (shipbuilding); and garments/textiles. The opportunities for Polish products are: sulphates; milk and cream; uncoated paper; self-propelled bulldozers; and industrial electric furnaces. The PowerPoint presentation on trade was prepared specifically for Poland by the Department of Trade and Industry’s Team for Trade and Investment Promotion led by Undersecretary Ponciano C. Manalo, Jr. The Director of the Trade and Investment Promotion Group is Atty. Luis M. Catibayan and the Officer-in-Charge at the Office of the Assistant Director of the Market Strategy & Consulting Group of the Bureau of Export and Trade Promotion is Division Chief Ms. Lerma N. Piquero. The DOT video of “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” was also shown during the event which was attended by 27 participants. The campaign was initiated to address the dismal lack of information about the Philippines; expand Philippines-Poland trade; encourage Polish investors to invest in the Philippines, especially in the Philippines’ Special Economic Zones; and to further promote the Philippines as a tourist destination. Total trade between the two countries in 2012 was valued at only US$ 63.1 million. For the first half of this year, it was valued at $ 21.5 million. Last year, the top three Philippine exports to Poland were storage units, semiconductor devices, and parts of electric power machinery. Also last year, the top three Philippine imports from Poland in 2012 were buttermilk, curdled milk and cream; milk and cream, in powder; and nickel sulphates. To date, there are only two Polish companies in PEZA; namely, the Salamanca Holdings, Inc. and Cinnovation, Inc. After the presentation before the Polish Chamber of Commerce, DG De Lima and Amb. Paez had a lunch-meeting with Deputy Voivoide for the Silesia-Katowice region Hon. Andrzej Pilot and Director for European Information and Cross-Border Projects of Katowice Ms. Elzbieta Soltysek DG De Lima also had discussions with the Secretary General of the Polish Chamber of Commerce Mr. Marek Kloczko, Deputy Secretary General Jerzy Bujok and Foreign Relations Department Head Ms. Katarzyna Kaniewska over dinner hosted by Amb. Paez. DG De Lima was on an investment promotion “roadshow” covering several countries in Europe such as the UK, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 00:04:28 +0000
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