UK confident Philippines will emerge from reforms with improved business environment

By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Senior Reporter

BRITISH FIRMS see the Philippine market as a major opportunity when it emerges from a round of reforms designed to make improve the business environment, the British Embassy Manila said.

“There is strong growth and a growing population, so the economic fundamentals are really sound,” Iain Frenkiel, director for trade and investment at the embassy, told BusinessWorld.

“We’re also seeing a range of reforms from a government that is clearly business-minded and has been really clear with the private sector and the international community on how they’re looking to attract investment and create favorable conditions for businesses,” he added.

These developments, he said, provide a range of opportunities for companies from the UK to grow.

He said that the embassy is optimistic about the year ahead as the Philippines chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“We see a range of opportunities for UK companies, and we are looking to take those forward through our Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) and through our discussions at the ASEAN level,” he said.

He said the JETCO was designed around annual meetings, with the next session planned for late this year, “Perhaps aligning around one of the ASEAN events when we might hope to have ministers meeting anyway.”

Trade Undersecretary Allan B. Gepty said that for this year, the aim is to have new or revised work plans for the four sub-working groups on agriculture, infrastructure, energy, and economic development.

“We can look into the implementation of proposed capacity-building initiatives for agriculture and energy,” he said via Viber.

“For infrastructure, once the government-to-government agreement is signed, the UK can identify and pursue infrastructure projects,” he added.

He said that the two parties are expected to discuss maximizing utilization of the UK’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme.

“We also hope to include new areas for discussion such as economic security, digital trade, and supply chain resilience,” he said.

“The UK also strongly supports the Philippines’ application for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP); thus, the same can also be highlighted,” he added.