US firms scout for business opportunities in PH

Seven US-based companies, led by the chair of the US-Asean Business Council, will be in the Philippines next month to look for potential trade and investment opportunities.

Council chair Evan Greenberg, who is also president and CEO of US-based Ace Ltd., will lead the 2nd Annual CEO Mission to the Asean.

The group will be visiting the Philippines and Vietnam, following a successful mission last year to Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

To underscore the US government’s support for high-level private sector dialogues with Asean business and government officials, US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will travel with the delegation, the US-Asean Business Council said in a statement.

“The participation of Secretary Pritzker shows the depth of US government commitment to the economic aspect of the rebalance toward Asia, and will further enable joint public-private sector efforts to build meaningful partnerships with Asean,” the council added.

The US-Asean Business Council pointed out that Vietnam and the Philippines were deemed as two of Asean’s fastest-growing countries.

“The (US business) delegation will meet with the leaders of the government and the Asean private sector to exchange views and discuss impediments to and opportunities for increasing trade and investment between the US and Asean nations,” the council explained.

US businesses are highly committed to the region, with more than $190 billion invested in the 10 member-states of the Asean.

The council noted that US investments in Asia were concentrated in Asean, greater than China, India, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and New Zealand combined.

Sustained, high-level engagement from the private sector is essential to maintaining and expanding economic ties, it added.