Marcos Jr Administration to Strengthen ties with China, SEA Countries

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. graced the 19th edition of the China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) through a pre-recorded video message during its opening ceremony. With a strong invitation to welcome new opportunities to the country, the president highlighted that the Philippines is “very much open for business.”

CAEXPO is an annual international event held since 2004 with the aim of promoting the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA). It is considered a platform for cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, tourism, and diplomatic relations between ASEAN and China. This year’s edition was held at the Nanning International Convention & Exhibition Center (NICEC) in China from September 16-19, 2022 with the theme “Sharing new opportunities of the New Land-Sea Trade Corridor, Jointly Building the China-ASEAN Community with a Shared Future.”

In his speech, the president extended an invitation to China to continue being its economic partner. "As we move forward and move toward stronger ties with China, we hope you can join the Philippines as it embarks on a mission to apply science, technology, and innovation to make our products and services more competitive in the global market and to pave the way for our country's industrial transformation."

Further, he underscored the importance of building dynamic industry ecosystems as a foundation for “generating quality jobs, creating new products and services, improving environmental sustainability, and ensuring shared prosperity for all."

Encouraging the CAEXPO attendees to visit the Philippine pavilion, the president also promoted the country as a viable opportunity for investments across different sectors. He highlighted several industry clusters such as Industrial, Manufacturing, Transport (IMT); Technology, Media, and Telecommunication (TMT); and Health and Life Sciences.

The event is expected to strengthen the relationship of the Philippines with ASEAN neighbors and China, the country’s top trading partner. In 2021, the Philippines and China’s total bilateral trade was USD38 Billion, which was 25% higher than 2020.

A Philippine delegation of 21 food and lifestyle MSMEs took part in the exhibition component of the hybrid event. Showcasing under FOODPhilippines, the banner that positions the country as an exporter of healthy, organic, natural, and specialty food products and services. The participating brands and manufacturers highlighted the importance of local natural commodities. From the Philippines’ top premium export products, coconut products, coffee products, banana chips, and banana powder were showcased in the event. Emerging food products such as turmeric, calamansi juice concentrate with bignay, and ube powder were also displayed.

CAEXPO’s Philippine organizing committee consists of CITEM, Philippine Board of Investments (BOI), the DTI regional offices, and the DTI Philippine Trade and Investment Centers in Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.

PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT PITCHES TO CHINESE INVESTORS IN CAEXPO 2022

Nanning, CHINA – 16 September 2022 – Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. encouraged business people gathered in this southern China city to help the Philippines “leapfrog into new and emerging industries that will modernize our manufacturing base by pouring in resources and investments in industry clusters” during the opening ceremony of the 19th China ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO).

The Philippine President joined national leaders from ASEAN Members States, who addressed via video messages, and on-site attendees who gathered in the annual trade and investment event’s permanent host city of Nanning.

Highlighting the growth momentum being experienced in the Philippines with its strong 7.4% GDP performance in the second quarter of 2022, and the strong relations between both countries as China continues to be the Philippines’ largest total trading partner, President Marcos encouraged Chinese investors that now is the time to invest in the Philippines particularly in key industry clusters industrial, manufacturing and transport (IMT); technology, media and telecoms (TMT); and in health and life sciences.

In 2021, total trade between the Philippines and China totaled USD38 B, 25% higher than its 2020 level. It is also the top source of imports for the Philippines, and the 7th largest source of foreign direct investments in 2021.

The Philippines, through the assistance of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Philippine Trade and Investment Centers (PTIC) in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong; the Philippine Embassy in Beijing; the Philippine Consulate General’s Office in

Guangzhou; and the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), shall be featured in the Country Pavilion; the Commodity Pavilion; the RCEP Pavilion; and the investment-related events happening on September 16-19.

A total of 22 online and onsite Philippine food and non-food entities are participating in the exhibition with business meetings pre-arranged with the CAEXPO Secretariat.

The Board of Investments (BOI), together with investment promotion agencies such as Clark, Subic, the Based Conversion Development Authority (BCDA), Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), are also leading the country’s investment fora participations at the CAEXPO, together with the PTICs in China, who partnered with China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), China’s Ministry of Agriculture, the Foreign Affairs Offices (FAO), National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China International Contractors Association (CHINCA), China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC); and some of China’s top business groups from Henan, Guangxi, Chongqing, and companies like Douyin, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in China.

The 2022 CAEXPO is running this year on the theme “Sharing RCEP New Opportunities: Building a Version 3.0 China-ASEAN FTA," as parties expand their horizon to proactively include other bilateral FTA partners of the ASEAN Member-States, specifically those involved in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement which was collectively signed in November 2020 by fifteen countries from the Asia Pacific region.

The RCEP is considered to be the largest trading bloc in the world today being representative of about 1/3 of the total global population and GDP.

PH Expects Over 22,000 Jobs from USD14.36B Investment Deals in Indo, Singapore State Visits

MANILA—The USD14.36 billion (PHP804.78 billion) in investments secured from the state visits to Indonesia and Singapore is estimated to generate more than 22,000 jobs in the Philippines, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual said Thursday.

The trade chief also presided over two roundtable meetings with select business associations and chambers of the two countries. In these meetings, the Philippines enumerated the potential trade and investment opportunities in the country.

Secretary Pascual, together with the country's economic officials, accompanied Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on his state visit to Indonesia and Singapore from September 4 to 7, 2022.

The President said the Philippine delegation managed to seal a total of 10 Letters of Intent (LOI) and 12 Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with 22 Indonesian and Singapore investors in the sectors of renewable energy, data centers, e-commerce, broadband technology, start-ups, government housing, and agriculture.

Describing his back-to-back visits to Indonesia and Singapore as worthwhile, the President said, “These investments, if we put it all together, value USD14.36 billion or PHP804.78 billion. This will support our country's economic recovery efforts and create more jobs for Filipinos here in our country.”

On behalf of the country, Secretary Pascual signed the MOU for Cooperation in the Development and Promotion of the Creative Economy with Indonesia. Among others, the MOU is positioned to generate and develop more jobs in the Philippines’ creative sector.

In his speech at the Philippine Economic Briefing in Singapore yesterday, September 7,Secretary Pascual highlighted the new administration’s vision of an economy driven by science, technology, and innovation (STI).

“We will build a dynamic industry ecosystem that would generate quality and higher-paying jobs, advance environmental sustainability, and ensure shared prosperity for all,” the trade chief told bankers and businessmen in Singapore.

Likewise, Secretary Pascual underscored the DTI’s strategic economic priorities driven by industrialization and digitalization. He cited measures that will further boost the Philippines’ foreign direct investments (FDIs): the Corporate Recovery and Tax Benefits for Enterprises (CREATE Law), the potential ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the earnest negotiation efforts of DTI’s foreign-based trade service officers.

“The Philippines is open for business. Recent policy reforms, particularly on foreign investment ownership and other restrictions, as well as on incentives, have made the Philippines more conducive for foreign businesses. Together, we will make it happen in the Philippines,” Secretary Pascual underscored.

The state visits updated the international business and financial communities in Indonesia and Singapore on the Philippines' economic performance, investment opportunities, and the administration's socio-economic agenda.