3 December 2014 – IE Singapore, the Singaporean agency tasked to advance overseas growth of Singapore-based companies and promote international trade, held its inaugural iAdvisory seminar on the Philippines entitled “The Philippines: Asia’s Next Bright Spot,” on November 12.
The seminar’s main objective is to showcase the myriad investment opportunities that the Philippines offers to Singaporean businesses. It provided in-depth analysis of the investment climate in the Philippines and how Singaporean investors can leverage on these opportunities.
Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Antonio A. Morales delivered the opening address while Commercial Counsellor Glenn Penaranda delivered a PowerPoint presentation on the competitive advantages of the Philippines as an investment destination.
In his address, Ambassador Morales thanked IE Singapore for organizing the seminar and noted that “the huge turnout (about 100 participants) was an indication of the confidence that the Singapore business community attaches to the great strides that the Philippines has accomplished during the last few years.” The Ambassador also highlighted that “”Singapore has always been a trailblazer in many respects such that it is always a barometer of what the region and the whole world should watch out for” and expressed hope that “the business seminar might set the tone of the discussions and that the same will be replicated elsewhere in the region.”
Ms. Lui Hui Min of IE Singapore delivered a presentation on why the Singapore business community should take a serious look at the Philippines as an investment destination, location for expansion or even a market for Singaporean business. She then discussed the areas that are most promising, especially in the infrastructure and consumer sectors. She ended her discussion with a list of recommendations for Singaporean businesses when making tenders for Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects in the Philippines.
In summary, the succeeding speakers discussed the following: 1) competitive advantages of the Philippines; 2) its investment outlook; 3) the array of incentives that are available to investors; 4) the legal aspects of doing business; 5) the impact of free trade agreements to which the Philippines is a party on the prospects of doing business in the Philippines.
Executive Director Cosette Canilao of the Philippine Public Private Partnership (PPP) Center delivered a presentation on the government’s on-the-pipeline infrastructure projects that Singaporean businesses may wish to offer a tender.
A speaker from Frontier Strategy Group, Mr. Adam Jarzyk, presented an overview of the major consumer markets in the Philippines and shared several strategies on how best to navigate this huge consumer market.
A representative from SM Retail delivered a presentation on the SM Group of companies and discussed the business trends in the retail industry as well as the changing tastes and heightened sophistication of Filipino consumers.
A speaker from a German restaurant chain Broitzeit also gave the audience a glimpse of the huge potential of the Filipino consumer market.
During the seminar, IE Singapore also launched an inaugural brochure on the Philippines entitled “The Philippines: A New Awakening.” END