China bank to bring 95 clients to ph

Bank of China (BOC) will bring 95 client-companies to Cebu this week to join an investors’ seminar that will highlight opportunities in the Asean region, including the benefits of setting up shop here in the Philippines.

BOC country head Deng Jun told reporters in a media roundtable that most of these companies—25 of which are coming from Hong Kong while the rest will fly from Mainland China—had no business interests here in the Philippines.

The 12th Asean Finance Ministers’ Investors Seminar on April 6, will brief participants on the latest developments in the region as well as its outlook.

Deng said that this would be an opportunity for the BOC participants, most of whom are large corporations, to know the Philippine market. The firms are mostly from traditional industries such as infrastructure and manufacturing, while around 30 percent of are from financing. These would be a mix of state-owned firms and private companies, he added.

“Their big concern is that they are not familiar with the market. In the past five or six years, quite a few investors came here. So it would take time for them to understand the market here especially for regulations and laws,” he said when asked for the concerns of Chinese investors.

This is the first time that BOC is participating in the seminar upon the invitation of the Department of Finance. The invitation comes amid improving bilateral ties between China and the Philippines.

BOC’s top official here in the country said that they extended the invitation to 150 companies, but the others could not make it, with some citing logistical concerns in booking flights. Nevertheless, the 95 companies would send a combined 140 representatives later this week.

He also said that another concern for these companies would be finding “qualified partners” here in the Philippines. However, the country’s growth spurt, which is among the fastest in the Asean region, would help these firms consider doing business here.

The participation of large client firms from BOC comes weeks after the world’s fourth largest bank brought in 320 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from China for a matchmaking process with 350 Philippine SMEs.