PH and UAE Conclude Investment Agreement, Announce Trade Talks

13 February 2022 – The Philippines and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are headed towards unprecedented economic relations as the two countries concluded negotiations for the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA) and jointly announced to start official discussions on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

At the sidelines of the Philippines’ National Day at Expo 2020 Dubai on 11 February 2022, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez and UAE Minister of State Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh recognized the signing of the start of negotiations for the CEPA and committed towards the eventual signing of the IPPA.

After the bilateral meeting, Secretary Lopez and UAE Minister for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi signed the joint statement formally announcing the intent to pursue CEPA.

This is an opportune time for UAE investors as the Philippines develops the necessary investment landscape through significant economic and regulatory reforms such as the liberalization of the Public Service Act, Retail Trade Law, Foreign Investments Act, the CREATE Act and the aggressive Build Build Build programs of the Duterte administration. These are supported by the Philippines’ efforts to improve ease of doing business by streamlining government processes, reducing processing time, and cutting bureaucratic red tape. The opportunities for FDI into several activities are broader and coupled with the IPPA, these investments will reap the benefits of all these reforms and agreements.

“The IPPA is modern, business friendly, and comprehensive, covering promotion, facilitation and protection of investments. The Agreement provides for the establishment of a Joint Committee on Investments (JCI), which will serve as a platform to more closely coordinate and collaborate in implementing a focused investment promotion that create greater impact to both our economies. I urge both sides to quickly convene so we can soon realize the objectives of the Agreement”, Secretary Lopez said.

To further maximize the opportunities for complementation in shared areas of interests and priorities, the Philippines and the UAE are also in the process of finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Economic and Technical Cooperation, which, together with the IPPA, provides the solid foundation for pursuing the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

“These initiatives are expected to boost trade and investments between two countries, leading to more diversified economic activities, development of new industries, employment generation, and higher consumer spending as we partner for shared prosperity. The Philippines may serve as a UAE’s strategic hub for the Southeast Asian region, as economic activities continue to shift to Asia. Active engagement between government and business sectors is key in ensuring that both countries will maximize benefits of the Agreements, including diversifying and expanding economic interests,” the trade chief continues.

The DTI Secretary was accompanied in the bilateral meeting by Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, Special Envoy of the President and Presidential Adviser on Foreign Affairs Robert Borje, Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Hjayceelyn Quintana, Congresswoman Julienne Baronda,

Congressman Christopher De Venecia, Congresswoman Stella Quimbo, Secretary of Agriculture William Dar, Secretary of Labor and Employment Silvestre Bello III, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar, Acting Secretary of Public Works and Highways Roger Mercado.

Philippines ready for more UAE investments

The IPPA is an important pillar for realizing investment opportunities from the UAE, especially those that will tap into their sovereign wealth funds with combined assets of over USD1.6 trillion. Four of the world’s largest funds are based in the UAE, namely the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the Investment Corporation of Dubai, Mubadala Investment Company, and ADQ.

The UAE’s SWFs will benefit from investing in key sectors in the Philippines, such as agribusiness/agriculture, energy efficiency technologies/renewable energy, IT-BPM/shared services, manufacturing, oil and gas, processed and specialty food, tourism and hospitality, and real estate development.

The Philippines welcomed Letters of Intent from GCC companies during the Philippines Country Business Briefing held on the same day. These LOIs are expected to bring in USD600 million worth of investments and generate 4,000 job opportunities in the country’s healthcare, energy, tourism and hospitality, and dairy industries.

SUN LIFE’S #LiveBrighter Campaign: Millenials For A Financially Prepared Generation

The new generation of workforce, the Millenials, wants to grow with a company that respects their individuality while being part of a noble cause. Such opportunity is possible when one becomes a Financial Advisor. This is a door that Sun Life (of Canada) Philippines, Inc. opens wider with a recruitment drive called #LiveBrighter. It aims to present the profession as a career choice for Millennials who wish to have the time and resources to pursue their passions as they advocate financial foresight and planning.

“Millennials are known to be slashers as they juggle a lot of things live travelling, blogging, and other passion projects on top of their regular 8-5 jobs. It sounds very aspirational but how can they sustain this in terms of time and resources?” said Sun life Recruitment Manager Fin Bernardo. “With that in mind, we see that the profession of a Financial Advisor is a perfect fit for their lifestyle,” added Bernardo.

After introducing the Financial Advisor in popular culture thru its engagement with Cinema One’s Single/Single, Sun Life dishes out the #LiveBrighter Sessions. This is a series of meet-ups to show how a Financial Advisor lives up to the demands and rewards of the profession. It aims to reach more Millennials and send them the message that their dream job is just here all along.

Guided by the core values of a Sun Life Financial Advisor- caring, professional, inspiring, and winning - #LiveBrighter Sessions will give a taste of the benefits one can enjoy in choosing this particular career path. More than the chance to earn unlimited income, it also provides perks such as all-expense travel and the freedom to work with an unbridled schedule.

With more Filipinos keen on getting insurance and investment products, the possibilities for new Advisors are endless. “We need more Financial Advisors to educate Filipinos on the importance of preparing for unexpected life’s events and offer them solutions that let them have Money For Life,” explained Bernardo.

Choose to #LiveBrighter now. Register to the next #LiveBrighter Forum by visiting bit.ly/LiveBrighter.

About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc. is a member of the Sun Life Financial group of companies, a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth products and services to individuals and corporate customers. Sun Life Financial and its partners have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of March 31, 2016, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets under management of $861 billion.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippines (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.


*This is Press Release

Filipino investors optimistic on pensions, but based on some risky assumptions – Manulife Survey

The majority of Filipino investors are satisfied with their government pension – but that sentiment is based on specific assumptions and a cash-dominant approach to retirement working out, according to the latest Manulife Investor Sentiment Index.*

Two-thirds of respondents said that they are confident that their government pension would be enough to meet their needs upon retirement – the highest level of all surveyed markets. In contrast, across all surveyed markets the proportion of confident investors was less than 40 percent, and as low as one-in-ten in some markets.

While such optimism seems positive, the survey shows it is based on some risky assumptions. First, investors expect their retirement income to be relatively high, at 92% of their current income – the highest estimate among all surveyed markets (Asia average 69%). Second, they expect their retirement expenses to be relatively low, at just 61 percent of their current income, at the lower end of surveyed markets (Asia average 66%). Third, nearly all (95%) said that in retirement they expect to rely on private healthcare – by contrast, in every other market only a minority expected to rely on private healthcare (Asia average 38%).

“Filipino investors have high estimates of their retirement income. Even if these turn out to be right, they may not be enough to cover their actual costs,” said Ryan Charland, CEO of Manulife Philippines. “Today, people generally expect their retirement to be active, and that means expenses will likely be much higher than what many realize. In addition, healthcare tends to cost a lot more than people expect. In Asia healthcare costs have risen about twice the rate of inflation over the past 10 years. Of course, it’s even more expensive if you go private.”

The survey highlights that Filipino investors have a high degree of reliance on their government pension, with only one in five owning an additional, private pension plan. Instead, many expect to fall back on other, less assured, largely cash-forms of income, notably savings (which they expect to make up 37% of their retirement income) and inheritance (12% of their retirement income) – in both cases the highest reliance of any surveyed markets. This cash-dominant approach to retirement is reinforced by the finding that, on receiving their pension, Philippine investors plan to deposit nearly half into the bank, the second-highest level of all markets (Asia average 35%).

“We know that Filipino investors like to hold cash and are among the most cash-heavy investors in Asia. The latest survey shows us they also plan to be Asia’s most cash-reliant investors when retired,” said Mr. Charland. “Keeping cash in the bank provides minimal returns, which may not even keep up with inflation. Their retirement optimism would have a sounder basis with a more balanced portfolio, especially given that retirement today can last 30 years or more.”

*About Manulife Investor Sentiment Index in Asia
Manulife’s Investor Sentiment Index in Asia is a quarterly, proprietary survey measuring and tracking investors’ views across eight markets in the region on their attitudes towards key asset classes and related issues. The Index is calculated as a net score (% of “Very good time” and “Good time” minus % of “Bad time” and “Very bad time”) for each asset class. The overall index is calculated as an average of the index figures of asset classes. A positive number means a positive sentiment, zero means a neutral sentiment, and a negative number means negative sentiment.
The Manulife ISI is based on 500 online interviews in each market of Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, and Singapore; in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines it is conducted face-to-face. Respondents are middle class to affluent investors, aged 25 years and above who are the primary decision maker of financial matters in the household and currently have investment products.

The Manulife ISI is a long-established research series in North America. The Manulife ISI has been measuring investor sentiment in Canada for the past 15 years, and extended this to its John Hancock operation in the U.S. in 2011. Asset classes taken into Manulife ISI Asia calculations are stocks/equities, real estate (primary residence and other investment properties), mutual funds/unit trusts, fixed income investment and cash.

About Manulife
Manulife is a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Clients look to Manulife for strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most significant financial decisions. Our international network of employees, agents and distribution partners offers financial protection and wealth management products and services to millions of clients. We also provide asset management services to institutional customers. Funds under management by Manulife and its subsidiaries were approximately C$637 billion (US$597 billion) as at June 30, 2014. We operate as John Hancock in the U.S. and as Manulife in other parts of the world.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as ‘MFC’ on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under ‘945’ on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.