29 December 2014 – Adding to a succession of Nordic interest in investment prospects in the Philippines, Team Finland – the network comprising the Finnish Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Finpro and the Finland-ASEAN Trade Association – held a business seminar on December 03 highlighting the Philippines and Myanmar as attractive investment destinations for Finnish businesses.
The average annual growth rate of the Philippines of 6.3% since 2010, a string of investment rating upgrades by sovereign rating agencies and its steady population growth marked by a robust consumption of a growing middle class are seen to offer possibilities for Finnish expertise in clean energy and energy efficient technologies and industrial and construction technologies. Finnish ICT solutions in healthcare, education and business administration such as accounting, finance and HR could complement particularly the Philippines’ large business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.
Speaking at the seminar, Philippine Ambassador to the Nordic region Bayani S. Mercado confirmed the increasing presence of Nordic companies in the Philippines, highlighting the recent entry by Swedish fashion brand H&M and the opening of offices by Swedish commercial truck and bus manufacturer Scania and Norway’s paint and coating manufacturer Jotun, Denmark’s Sonion hearing aids and Lindberg Eyewear in the Philippines. He noted that strong anti-corruption efforts by the current Administration have succeeded in winning the trust and confidence of the international business community.
Testimonials from Nokia, which has been present in the Philippines for more than 20 years, and Wärtsilä, a Finnish power sources manufacturer and service-provider in marine energy services, sharing their experiences in the Philippines with other Finnish business was another highlight of the event.
The Helsinki business seminar is a prelude to a visit by a Finnish business delegation to Manila in February 2015 which will be led by Finnish Minister for Economic Affairs Jan Vappavuori.
Recently, Denmark also announced a visit to the Philippines by a business delegation to be led by its Trade and Development minister in January 2015. END