London’s Lord Mayor in town to firm up trade ties with PH

MANILA, Philippines—A ranking government official from the United Kingdom is in the country for a two-day visit, as part of the UK’s effort to sustain economic ties with the Philippines.

According to the British Embassy in Manila, the Right Honourable, the Lord Mayor of the City of London Alderman Alan Yarrow is arriving today to “strengthen UK-Philippine partnerships and promote British capabilities in the areas of public-private partnerships (PPP), and financial and professional services, as well as to promote inward investment into the UK for companies looking to expand into Europe.”

The Lord Mayor is the ambassador of UK-based financial and professional services industry. His Manila visit is part of a tour of Southeast Asia, which includes Myanmar and Thailand. He is expected to bring a business delegation.

During his stay, the Lord Mayor will be meeting with key government officials including the heads of Congress, Department of Finance, the Bangko Sentral ng Philippines and PPP Center, as well as senior executives from top UK and Philippine companies.

He is also set to address the trading community and meet with board members of the Philippine Stock Exchange.

More UK-based companies have begun to take stock of the potential trade and investment opportunities in the Philippines, which has been considered to be an ideal hub or launchpad for companies that hope to expand throughout the Asean.

Iain Mansfield, director of the UK Trade and Investment Manila, told the Inquirer that about eight UK business delegations, involving firms engaged in financial services, energy, pharmaceuticals, as well as retail and luxury, are expected to arrive in 2015.

The first of these delegations was a medical and healthcare trade mission that arrived last month. The second one will be the visit of the Lord Mayor of London.

Mansfield noted that the expected establishment of the Asean Economic Community by the end of the year will offer great opportunities for UK businesses, and will make it easier for those already established in Southeast Asia to come to the Philippines, or for those with investments in the Philippines to reach wider markets across the region.

“As the Philippines continues to increase its openness to overseas trade and investment, these opportunities will only increase. We are working with a number of different UK firms, in different sectors, that are considering investments in the Philippines, and we hope to be able to announce some of these over the course of 2015,” Mansfield further said.