Swiss firms interested in investing in PH

At least 12 Swiss firms in the food, services, banking and pharmaceutical sectors have expressed increased interest in investing in the Philippines following a successful business mission led by Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo recently.

Domingo was able to meet with prospective Swiss investors on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where the Philippine trade chief was able to participate in four sessions either in a panel, as a discussant or discussion leader, talking mostly about Asean matters and disaster resiliency measures.

“But I was also able to have one-on-one meetings with companies and meet up with the Swiss Business Council and 12 Swiss companies. The interest level has increased as this administration took over. The Philippines has been on the spotlight given our strong GDP growth, and so a lot of people are aware. I also invited the Swiss companies to a mission [here in the Philippines],” the trade chief said in a phone interview.

“There is a variety of sectors, including one company that offers air balloon services,” Domingo said.

The only lament by the Swiss firms, he added, was the lack of direct flights from Zurich to Manila.

Based on the discussions in Davos, Domingo noted that the global consensus was that people were “cautiously optimistic” of a recovery in Europe while the United States seemed to be on track for a solid recovery. There were also reservations on the impact of the US Federal Reserve’s tapering on Asia, he said.

“For the Philippines, however, the prognosis is that we expect continued strong growth over the next few years and maybe even beyond given the inflow of investors in the services and manufacturing sectors. Those new [manufacturing] plants and offices that are being put up should continue to provide strong growth of the country’s gross domestic product,” Domingo said.

“And there are more investments in the pipeline: More manufacturing plants and new business process outsourcing (BPO) centers are going to be constructed. Our only weakness is in the electronics sector. The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. is re-evaluating strategic directions. They might need to shift to high value-added electronic products,” Domingo added.

For 2014, the Department of Trade and Industry, through the Board of Investments, expects a 10-percent growth in investment registrations to more than P440 billion, while the country’s foreign direct investments (FDIs) are projected to grow by as much as 20 percent to $4.8 billion on the back of foreign investors’ increased interest in the Philippines.