PH traders offered to set up shop in Indonesia

Philippine businesses are looking at potential investment opportunities in Amurang City, Indonesia, which has offered to donate parcels of city property to local companies interested in setting up shop there.

Miguel Varela, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said members of the group are now organizing a trade mission to Amurang City—about 685 kilometers from Davao City—to conduct feasibility studies on possible investments and to discuss Indonesia’s property offer.

Areas open for investments include construction, transportation, shipping and container port and terminal development. An Indonesian group is also looking for investment partners to build a merchant marine academy in Amurang using the land to be donated by the city. According to the country’s largest business organization, these investment opportunities were conveyed by the Philippine Consulate General in Manado, Indonesia, through Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Laura G. Del Rosario.

Data from the Bureau of Export Trade Promotion showed that last year, Indonesia was the Philippines’ ninth largest trading partner, with total bilateral trade valued at $3.6 billion. This represented a 3.16-percent share in the country’s total trade with the world, amounting to $114.23 billion.

In 2012, Philippine exports to Indonesia rose by 33.86 percent. Imports from Indonesia meanwhile showed a 12.5-percent growth to $2.77 billion in 2012, from the $2.5 billion registered the previous year.