Philippines seen as priority market for Italian businesses

MANILA, Philippines — Italian businesses are looking at the Philippines as a priority market for expansion in Southeast Asia.

In a statement yesterday, the Board of Investments (BOI) said this was conveyed by Associazione Italia-ASEAN president Enrico Letta during the recent Italy-Philippines: Discovering the Opportunities webinar.

Letta said Italy intends to expand its businesses in the ASEAN region and the Philippines is the priority area.

The webinar was co-organized by the Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines and Associazione Italia-ASEAN with the aim of fostering stronger relations and to explore opportunities between the two countries.

During the webinar, BOI officer-in-charge director Lanie Dormiendo said the Philippine government appreciates the Italian community’s vote of confidence in the country which is working on improving the business climate to encourage more investments.

“With our REBUILD Strategy and 3Ps (Policies, Projects and Programs, Promotion) of industry development supported by the country’s strengths, there is a wide scope of business opportunities for Italian investors, complementing Italy’s expertise to support Philippines’ infrastructure projects and other industries such as garments,” she said.

She said the Make It Happen in the Philippines marketing campaign launched in November last year also shows the ability of the country to weather the challenges.

She said there are opportunities for Italian investors focusing on garments and textiles particularly in the use of natural fibers such as abaca and pineapple, which are available in the Philippines.

In the same event, Philippine Ambassador to Italy Domingo Nolasco said Italian firms could also consider opportunities in other sectors in the Philippines such as infrastructure, aerospace, renewable energy, and machineries.

Investments of Italian businessmen in the country include Fendi’s P111 million for selling leather goods, accessories and clothing, Stefano Ricci S.p.A’s P251 million in the retail of high-end or luxury goods and accessories, Novabala JV Corp.’s P486 million project as a new services provider of design and construction of Novaliches-Balara Aqueduct 4 and La Mesa Reservation in Quezon City, and the P71 million project of Italpinas Development Corp. as a new developer of low-cost housing in Cagayan de Oro City.

Last year, Italian investments approved by investment promotion agencies in the Philippines reached P114.7 million.

Preliminary data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the Philippines imported $584.3 million worth of goods from Italy last year.