Norway firm to put up paint facility in PH

A paint manufacturer from Norway is now firming up plans to put up a manufacturing facility in the Philippines, barely a month after the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) conducted an investment mission in Europe.

Peza director general Lilia de Lima said that, following her visit to Europe in October, the Norwegian company began negotiating for a site in the Calabarzon region where it could put up its proposed plant.

A technical team has completed its assessment in the Philippines, and the firm is reportedly set to submit its application before the Peza within the month, de Lima said on the sidelines of the 2013 Korea Business Night held last Tuesday.

De Lima said she would be taking up the matter when the Peza board sits down on Nov. 19.

The Norway firm is only one of 10 companies that have expressed interest in what the Philippines has to offer. The companies, which come from Hungary, Denmark, Poland and the Czech Republic, are engaged in IT, electronics and manufacturing. They are also reportedly organizing investment missions to the Philippines scheduled in the first quarter of 2014, de Lima said.

According to the Peza chief, the country’s high GDP growth and the attainment of investment grade ratings from the three top international credit agencies have contributed much to the Philippines’ investment climate. As of August 2013, total investments approved by the Board of Investments and Peza rose year on year by 26 percent to P398.3 billion, buoyed largely by the construction and business process outsourcing sectors.

The economy’s robust performance is expected to continue through 2016 when the term of President Aquino ends. The government expects foreign and local investments to grow by as much as 20 percent a year.

The growth in investment commitments can be partly attributed to external factors, such as rising labor costs in other countries like China.