Group to lure British investors to PH

The British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (BCCP) will join a roadshow in the United Kingdom next month wherein it will compete with other British chambers from Southeast Asia to attract the interest of more than a hundred companies.

The roadshow, named Britain in Southeast Asia, will be launched from April 8 to 16 as the uncertainty over the fate of Brexit looms heavy on UK businesses.

BCCP chair Chris Nelson told reporters on Friday that Brexit “has made people look at other opportunities,” which the Philippines hopefully could leverage to its advantage.

“I anticipate during those seven days that we’re going meet between 100 and 120 companies,” he said.

Since other British chambers in the region will also want those companies to either set up shop or expand in their respective countries, Nelson said the upcoming roadshow would be “both a support and a competition.”

On the part of the Philippines, Nelson said that he would stress on the strengths of the country, including the fact that many Filipinos speak English and that it is a good market for retail businesses.

But even if other countries will be picked, Nelson said that the Philippines might still soon benefit.

“The likelihood that they’ll want to do business with one or [another] Southeast Asian country is much higher based on experience, than a company who is not doing any business in Asia,” he said.

Nelson has been part of the roadshow for five years now. Out of 10 British firms that would be interested in the Philippines, he estimated based on experience that only two would be certain to push through with their business here.

At the same time, he said it was also possible for interested firms to only act on their interests some time after the roadshow.