Taiwan conglomerates scour PH for business

Four Taiwanese conglomerates are scouting for potential investment opportunities in the country, as well as prospective sites in Metro Manila as possible locations for their offices and facilities, a trade official said Monday.

Trade Undersecretary Ponciano C. Manalo Jr. said no less than the board chairmen of these four Taiwanese firms were in the country last week, eyeing opportunities in real estate, finance, light industry and electric vehicles.

The group also toured the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City; the Subic Freeport in Zambales; and the Clark Freeport Area in Pampanga.

Manalo declined to identify these conglomerates, pending the finalization of their plans, noting only that there is a strong interest from these companies to pursue their respective investments in the Philippines.

One of the companies had already surveyed the country previously, but decided to come back in light of the country’s robust economic performance.

The Philippines has been drawing strong interest from foreign investors, with the economy growing by 7.2 per  cent last year, and with the country being granted an investment grade rating by Moody’s, Standard and Poors, and Fitch Ratings.

The Aquino administration’s thrust for good governance and transparency, and the aggressive drive to curb corruption was also deemed a significant deciding factor for foreign investors to consider the Philippines.

Bilateral traded and investments between the Philippines and Taiwan were earlier expected to grow at a faster pace in 2014 with the opening of Taiwan’s trade promotion office in Manila last year.

In 2012, bilateral trade between Taiwan and the Philippines stood at $10.9 billion.

Peter W. J. Huang, president and CEO of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (Taitra) said in December last year that the establishment of the Taiwan Trade Center Manila Office would help enhance business and trade relations between Taiwan and the Philippines.

“I think in 2014, there will be more traffic between the two countries so we expect more visits. We are optimistic about the outcome because there is great potential in the Philippines, which has a young population and abundant natural resources,” Huang earlier said.

Huang had said that they expected trade missions from Taiwan to the Philippines to more than double in 2014 with the establishment of the trade promotion office. Every year, Taiwan sends around four delegations to the Philippines, but this year, it was expected that the number of Taiwan trade missions would increase to about eight to 10 missions.