19 September 2013 – Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, accompanied by a 25-member delegation from the Philippines-France Business Council, capped a successful business mission in France from September 11 to 12.

In partnership with the French Embassy in Manila, the Makati Business Club, and the Mouvement des Entreprises Françaises (MEDEF), which is the equivalent of Makati Business Club, the Philippine Embassy in Paris organized a business forum attended by over 40 French companies interested in either expanding current operations or investing in the Philippines.

During the business forum, Secretary Purisima was joined by Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo as well as Public-Private Partnership Executive Director Cosette Canilao and other government officials, showing a strong economic team to the French businessmen.

They were joined by National Competitiveness Council Co-Chair Guillermo Luz, Philippines-France Business Council Chairman Anthony Huang, Bank of the Philippine Islands Director Aurelio Montinola, Ayala Corporation Managing Director Eric Francia, and other Filipino businessmen.

After the business forum, over a dozen French businessmen met individually with Secretary Purisima and Executive Director Canilao to further discuss investment opportunities in the PSA Peugeot Citroen and Lafarge – two big French companies with investments in the country – hosting a lunch and dinner, respectively. During the lunch, which was held at the Peugeot showroom in Paris, Secretary Purisima was given the honor of unveiling the new Peugeot 308.

During the dinner hosted by Lafarge on a boat on the Seine River, the special guest was French Foreign Trade Minister Nicole Bricq who was part of French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault’s delegation when he visited the Philippines in October 2012.

During his visit in Paris, Secretary Purisima likewise met with the Director-General of the French Development Agency (AFD) as well as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). AFD was established in the Philippines in 2010 and has provided technical assistance to the country. While the Philippines is not a member of the OECD, it actively participates in several OECD bodies.

Bordeaux

The second part of the business mission took place in Bordeaux where the delegation was met by Dassault Aviation and Alstom.

Dassault Aviation is in the business of making corporate and combat jets and would like to tap into the Philippine market for corporate jets. Its subsidiary – Dassault Systems – which works on 3D design software is also keen on tapping the country’s BPO industry. 

Alstom, on the other hand, has had a long history of working in the Philippines in both the energy and transportation sectors. It was involved in the construction of power plants in Bataan and Pangasinan in the 90’s and recently signed a contract to deliver equipment for another power plant in Iloilo.

During the Bordeaux leg of the mission, the delegation was likewise received by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and Industry which represents over 50,000 companies based in Bordeaux, some of which already have operations in the Philippines. END