Philippines to remain key consumer market for P&G

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines will continue to be a key market for consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (P&G), with investments for expansion to continue over the long term.

P&G Philippines president and general manager Siddik Tetik said the company’s business in the country continued to grow amid stiff competition in the market, and was poised to grow even more when its ongoing expansion program goes into full swing.

“The Philippines is one of the most important markets for P&G. It’s sizable and profitable. We have huge shares in the segments we’re in, and the market has been steadily growing over the past several years,” he told the Inquirer.

“Our investments in the country will be an ongoing effort. If we see opportunities in the market and in the region, we will invest. The Philippines is one of the markets we will continue to invest in,” he added.

P&G Philippines has earmarked P2.5 billion to expand its Cabuyao plant, to boost its capacity to produce popular diaper brand Pampers by 30-40 percent and double its market share at the end of the three-year ramp-up period.

In an earlier interview, P&G Philippines plant manager Fanny Wu said the plant expansion would boost the capacity of the company’s baby care line by 10 million cases.

The first new line should be ready for production by next year, with a utilization rate of 70-80 percent, she further said.

While very bullish on the Philippine market, Tetik said the government should exert some more effort to convince existing investors to expand their operations here and to attract new businesses to come to the country.

“There’s huge potential in the Philippines. The new administration has shown that it is willing to improve business conditions here, to make the Philippines more attractive to external investors. The government is really trying to do its best, but there are, of course, difficulties and challenges,” he said.

“Of course, the faster the government moves [in terms of rolling out key infrastructure projects], the better. It will give us more confidence to invest here and will make the Philippines more competitive,” Tetik added.

Tetik said the government should move quickly, as other countries were working double time to attract foreign direct investments. Some of the challenges that the country had to overcome included its weaker incentives scheme, inadequate infrastructure and its uncompetitive cost structure.