27 August 2014 – A visiting business delegation from the Philippines, composed of heads, owners and representatives of various Philippine enterprises, was welcomed at the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa on August 20, where a business forum took place at the Embassy Salon.
The mission was put together by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Manila, and was led by Executive Director Cora Dela Cruz, with the business forum facilitated by Canada Philippines Business Council (CPBC) President Paul Tesseyman. Welcoming the delegation were the Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission Norman Garibay, Philippine Consul General Eric Tamayo, and Minister Flerida Mayo.
Ottawa Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer Ian Faris led a distinguished roster of speakers. Joining him from the Chamber was Mr. Kenny Leon, as well as Trade Facilitation Office Canada (TFO Canada) Project Manager for Asia Zaki Munshi, Asia of Export Development Canada (EDC) Regional Manager Marti Falcone, and Greater China Market from Invest Ottawa Senior Business Development Manager Sophie Chen.
Comprising the Philippine business mission were enterprises whose interests range from education and training, real estate, agri-food manufacturing and agri-business, packaging and labelling. The companies include ABI College, ABI Land Corporation, Agro-Industrial Cable Transport Inc., KCD Builders Corp., KCD Technical Institute, P.H. Espina Realty, Pinoy Care Visa Center Inc., RAON Enterprises and RNF Summit Industries Corp.
The Embassy briefed the delegates, highlighting the potential of 24/7 operations for Canadian companies through extended BPO and IT-enabled services in the Philippines, and opportunities in power generation and infrastructure development. Attention was drawn to the credit upgrades obtained by the Philippines that give boost to the country’s credit worthiness.
In his remarks, Mr. Faris assured the visiting delegation that their association stands ready to facilitate linkages and expressions of interest of the visiting delegation with the members of their association.
For his part, Mr. Munshi encouraged the heads of the enterprises present to take advantage of the services offered by TFOC in exporting products to Canada and for Philippine enterprises to tap into its network of over 1,500 business establishments, most of whom are keen on sourcing various products from overseas.
Ms. Falcone drew attention to the Customer Finance Guarantee Programs of the EDC. She indicated that the Philippines is indeed a true emerging market offering growing opportunities for Canadian exporters and investors. She reckoned that priority sectors presenting strong opportunity for Canadian companies include food processing, cleantech, pulp & paper, ICT and mining.
Ms. Chen highlighted the value proposition of Ottawa as a compelling destination and source for enterprises partnerships.
Philippines-Canada trade remained steady in 2013, with total trade standing at CAD 2.1 billion. Philippine merchandise exports to Canada increased to CAD 1.14 billion, while imports from Canada reached about CAD 600 million. Over 50% of Philippine exports were electrical machinery and equipment, while the bulk of imports from Canada were meat and edible meat offal. END