21 March 2016 - A 10-member high-level French business delegation headed by Philippine Ambassador to France Ma. Theresa Lazaro successfully ended its three-day mission to the Philippines on March 18.

The delegation came from top French companies such as Air Liquide, Axa, Engie, LafargeHolcim, Sanofi and Sodexo. 

The delegation was welcomed by Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary for International Economic Relations Laura Del Rosario and was briefed on the IT-Business Process Management (IT-BPM) and Global In-house Center (GIC) industry by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Nora Terrado, PEZA Group Manager Elmer San Pascual, IBPAP President and CEO Jose Mari Mercado and SGV partners Cirilo Noel, J. Carlitos Cruz and Lucil Vicerra. Former DFA Secretary Delia Albert, in her capacity as SGV consultant, was also present to welcome the delegation.

“The Philippines is so strong in IT-BPM and Shared Services, but I think we have focused too much on American and English-speaking companies to the detriment of French companies which are confronted with the same need of increased organizational efficiency. This is the first time the Philippine Embassy in Paris is organizing this type of business mission and I personally accompanied them to show the Philippine Government's commitment to promote this key sector of the Philippine economy,” Ambassador Lazaro said.

During their three-day mission, the delegation visited various French companies in Manila which already do Shared Services, such as Atos, Teleperformance and Schneider Electric. These companies shared why they chose to settle in the Philippines, citing the country’s unbeatable talent pool.

At the close of the mission, the delegation was very impressed with the Government’s efforts to assist the industry and as a result, there may be important announcements from some of the French companies to move their regional services to the Philippines in the very near future. END