BY BERNIE CAHILES-MAGKILAT
German investments in the country reached P42.865 billion with more than 21,000 direct jobs created, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) reported.
PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga reported following after his meeting with German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (GPCCI) President Stefan Schmitz as they discussed strengthened collaboration in promoting the Philippines as a smart investment destination for German investors. GPCCI officials made a courtesy visit at the PEZA Head Office last Tuesday, 22 August 2023, to present the results of their recent survey and discuss various issues and concerns.
Panga reported that PEZA currently hosts 40 registered German locator companies/projects which contribute P42.865 B investments (1.57% of the total PEZA investments), $412.664 million exports, and 21,005 direct jobs.
GPCCI also raised some issues and concerns affecting German investors including the amendment of the CREATE and PEZA Laws.
Panga explained that President Marcos has already issued a compelling statement, directing concerned government offices to look into the CREATE Law, with the objective of amending it and provide relief to PEZA locators, which are unable to fully enjoy their incentives.
These are the investors we have attracted to invest in the Philippines because of that promise of benefits and incentives as contained in the create and in our registration agreements with PEZA, he said.
“I think that should be the starting point before we can echo the call of the President to global investors that the Philippines is the smart investment destination in the region and that the best time to invest in the Philippines is now. We need to honor our commitments,” he explained.
Panga also mentioned that PEZA will ask the Congress to amend the 28-year-old PEZA Law to be able to cope with the demands of agile locators and remain competitive worldwide amid the fast-changing market trends.
During the meeting, the GPCCI also presented to PEZA the results of their bi-annual AHK World Business Outlook survey conducted among the GPCCI members.
According to GPCCI, the results of the Spring 2023 survey revealed that the Philippines generally exhibited a better/higher result in the areas of economy, investments, employment, overall situation, and expectations.
It is worth mentioning that in terms of investments, the survey revealed that 46 percent of the participating GPCCI members are likely to invest higher in the country within the next 12 months.
"Given the recent advancements in the EU-Philippines free trade agreement and the positive outcome of a successful economic briefing in Germany back in July, we are confident that many German businesses will increasingly consider investing in the Philippines," said Schmitz.
“I think this is a good opportunity for PEZA to look at and see that this is an upbeat for investments for the country [from German investors],” noted Yves Aguilos, the Head of the Government Affairs and Data Protection Officer of GPCCI.
In response to this, Panga said the Philippines is projected to have the highest GDP growth rate, making the Philippines one of the best performing economies in ASEAN. “We need to take advantage of that. We don’t want to pass up on these opportunities. We can only realize these FDI leads if we’re able to improve some more our ease and cost of doing business,” he said.
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