Israeli investors keen on PH agriculture, ICT, water sectors 

Investors from Israel are eyeing potential business ventures in the Philippines’ (ICT) information and communications technology, agriculture and water sector, citing future opportunities as the Southeast Asian country’s economy bounces back from the pandemic.

Israel ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss said this during a business forum in Makati on Wednesday where they presented the middle eastern nation’s biggest business delegation to the country since the pandemic.

“Mobile, telecommunication and cybersecurity were traditionally one of the most active areas of cooperation between our countries in the last few decades. Israeli companies took part in the process of developing the backbone of the Philippines ICT infrastructure and still are today,” Fluss said in his speech during the event.

Fluss added that both major telecommunication companies in the Philippines, Smart Communications Inc. and Globe Telecom, were working today using Israeli technologies in the field of network optimization, 5G and cybersecurity.

The participating technology and ICT firms in this trade mission are Axonius, Radware, DriveNets, Talamoos, FirstPoint, Sequans, Roamability, and Appnext.

Investments

The Israeli official said  three important agreements on investments were signed between the two countries since the visit of former president Rodrigo Duterte to Israel in 2018.

“We have a platform for investments, which is this agreement on promotion and protection of investments. It gives investors assurances that their investment is safe and secure,” Fluss told the Inquirer at the sidelines of the event.

The Israeli official said they are looking to promote more in their upcoming trade mission later this month which would focus on farming and the agriculture sector. He added they were planning another one in November to focus on the water sector.

PH-Israel Trade

According to the Israel Embassy, the total trade volume of goods between the two countries in 2021 was worth $323 million,  about one percent less than the previous year.

The embassy added that the record year of trade between the two countries is 2019, when the total trade volume hit $343 million.

These, the embassy said, does not include the value of services exported by Israel to the Philippines, which is expected to growth as the technology needs of the country increase.