16 October 2013 - The Philippine Embassy in Oslo, in cooperation with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), held an investment seminar called, ” The Philippines: Your Business Partner in Asia - Opportunities for Norwegian Investors in Philippine Economic Zones” at the Embassy premises last October 07.
The seminar was attended by senior business executives from various Norwegian companies including SN Power, Jotun A/S, Unified Messaging Systems (UMS), the Ulstein Group and Soma Nordic A/S. Also present were officials from the Norwegian Shipowners Association and representatives from the Norwegian Foreign Ministry and Innovation Norway.
Philipppine Ambassador to Norway Bayani S. Mercado delivered the opening remarks and introduced the featured guest speaker for the seminar, Dr. Lilia B. de Lima, Undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry and PEZA Director General. The Ambassador spoke about how the policies and efforts of the government in the past three years, particularly in combating corruption, have borne fruit with the country posting stable and resilient growth. He urged participants to make the Philippines their investment destination and business partner in Asia.
In her presentation, Dr. de Lima provided participants with an updated economic briefing on the Philippines focusing on the latest economic growth figures for the Philippines, the recent investment ratings upgrades received by the country, the anti-corruption and good governance efforts undertaken by the Aquino administration and the new investment and business opportunities now available for foreign investors. She also presented an overview of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, the benefits and incentives in investing within Philippine economic zones and the services PEZA provides for investor companies. Dr. de Lima’s presentation was followed by a Q & A session where she addressed a range of business and investment-related questions.
Two Norwegians – Mr. Bjarne Pedersen of Poseidon and Mr. Stein Eriksen, Project Director of the Norwegian Shipowners Association and former head of the Norwegian (Maritime) Training Center in Manila - also gave testimonials during the seminar on their experiences in doing business in the Philippines. END