05 March 2014- PEZA Director General (DG) Lilia de Lima keynoted two (2) investment fora organized by the Philippine Embassy in Beijing, in collaboration with the East Asia Business Council (EABC) and with the China-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) Chinese Secretariat, on February 20 and 21, respectively. 

During the two fora, DG de Lima provided the Chinese audience a detailed presentation entitled “Opportunities for Chinese Investors in Philippine Economic Zones”, which included an overview of the Philippines’ economic zones, investment incentives, and various business and investment opportunities in the country. 

EABC is a recently established unit under the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), a federation of enterprises and organizations representing various economic and trade sectors in China, with the aim of promoting foreign trade and investment, and developing economic relations between China and other countries.  

CABC, on the other hand, is an organization which consists of CCPIT, the ASEAN Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), enterprises, and chambers of commerce of ASEAN member countries, with the main goal of promoting dialogue and cooperation between Chinese and ASEAN and implementing the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA).

Business journalists from China Central Television (CCTV), China Radio International (CRI), Xinhua News Agency, China Business News, and China Trade News conducted exclusive interviews with the PEZA Director General. 

At the interviews, DG de Lima underscored that now is an opportune time for Chinese enterprises to invest in the Philippines.  She also cited the economic complementarities between Philippine enterprises and Chinese enterprises going overseas.

Philippine Ambassador to China Erlinda Basilio, together with the Embassy’s economic team, accompanied DG de Lima during her visits to Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC) and Haidian Zhongguancun Science Park (China’s Silicon Valley). END