By Gabriela Baron
“The Philippines is open for business.”
This was the pronouncement of Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual during the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Bangkok, Thailand as he invited businesses to invest in the country.
In a meeting with Thai business leaders on Saturday, Nov. 19, Pascual touted key economic reforms made to improve the country’s business climate.
“Friends, the Philippines is open for business. I would like to reiterate that. We have undertaken a number of reforms to make the Philippines even more attractive for investors and businesses,” Pascual said.
To ease foreign ownership restrictions and entice investors for the country’s recovery and growth, the Trade chief said the government amended the Public Service Act, the Foreign Investment Act, and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act.
“We’ve also enacted the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act or CREATE, which reduces corporate income tax and provides tier-specific incentives for foreign investors,” Pascual pointed out.
Pascual said CREATE Law gives the President the ability to design support packages for highly desirable projects.
The Trade chief also cited policies that seek to expand and diversify trade and investment and ensure competitiveness in the business sector.
“Partners, one of our goals is to develop globally competitive and innovative industries that support inclusive and sustainable growth. For this, we’re also integrating trade, investment promotion and industry development policies,” said the Trade secretary.
In the meeting, Thai industries expressed interest in investing in the Philippines in areas of infrastructure, transportation, tourism, and food security.
Kriengkrai Thiennukul, Federation of Thai Industries chairman, said through stronger partnerships between the Philippines and Thailand, the two countries can help each other in bolstering economic growth.
