DFA Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano Welcomes Australian Investments to the Philippines
Secretary Cayetano (seated, 4th from left) and Secretary Lopez (seated 5th from left) are joined by Directors and Staff of the Australia-Philippine Business Council and other Philippine officials.
23 March 2018 SYDNEY — Philippine top diplomat and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano met with Australian and Filipino business leaders on March 16 in Sydney during a reception hosted by the Australia Philippines Business Council (APBC). Secretary Cayetano was joined by DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez and Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo. The reception was attended by more than a hundred Australian and Filipino business leaders, including the APBC Board of Directors, and Filipino community leaders.
Secretary Cayetano was in Sydney to attend the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit hosted by Australia from March 17-18 as the Special Representative of Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
Mr. Eduard Alcordo, APBC President, thanked the Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary for gracing the reception and to meet the business leaders who have existing and potential investments in the Philippines.
For his part, Secretary Cayetano welcomed the opportunity to interact with Australian and Filipino businessmen who “helped us, grew with us,” as he shared the continuing impressive growth story of the Philippines. He highlighted the growing two-way investments between the Philippines and Australia, and the massive opportunities arising from the continued growth of the Philippines and the massive infrastructure spending in the country.
Secretary Cayetano also called on APBC and the business leaders to look into untapped areas for investments, including the micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises especially in agriculture and fisheries, and tourism industries, who are at the heart of business activity in both countries. He called on the business leaders to capitalize on complementarities arising from the strong and historical partnership between the countries, the shared values, and their respective strengths.
The business reception was preceded by a meet and greet with prominent Australian CEOs, including from Macquarie Bank, TMIP Holdings Pty Ltd, ANZ Philippines and Austal. This was followed by the signing of three Letters of Intent (LOI) which was witnessed by Secretary Cayetano and Secretary Lopez.
The LOIs include plans to invest in a biomass power plant in the Cagayan Economic Zone (CEZA), establish a company to assemble and export global positioning system hardware for export, and putting up a hotel and residential building in Mactan, Cebu.
DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, in his closing remarks, underscored that the Philippines has been attracting all types of investments from different countries. “It is heart-warming to know that we are also attracting investments from Australia. DTI is always ready to assist and make things easier for foreign businesses set up in the country,” the DTI Chief was quoted. END
For more information, visit www.sydneypcg.dfa.gov.ph/ https://www.facebook.com/PHinSydney
Secretary Cayetano and Secretary Lopez (standing, center) witness the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) by the technology company Fleet Logic, declaring the company’s plan to assemble Global Positioning System (GPS) devices in the Philippines for export.