06 December 2017

Published also in Business Mirror

THE Top Sectoral Export Award for Electronics is conferred on Texas Instruments Philippines Inc. (TI Philippines Inc.) represented by TI Philippines Inc. Director for Finance Andrew Wheeler (third from left) and TI Philippines Inc. Director for Human Resources Kristine Mangaliag (fourth from left). They are flanked by (from left): Department of Trade and Industry’s Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) Director Senen M. Perlada; Manila Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada; DTI Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado; and PhilExport President Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr.

THE Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) on Tuesday awarded Philippine companies for their outstanding export performance during the National Exporters’ Congress (NEC) held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

Honored for Top Sectoral Award were Texas Instruments Philippines Inc. (Electronics), Pilipinas Kao Inc. (Chemicals), Taganito HPAL Nickel Corp. (Other Mineral Products), Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Group (Machinery and Transport Equipment), Shin-Etsu Magnetics Philippines Inc. (Electronic Equipment and Other Parts), House Technology Industries PTE Ltd. (Woodcraft and Furniture), Nestle Philippines Inc. (Processed Food and Beverages), Dole Philippines (Fresh Bananas), Takata Philippines Corp. (Metal Components), Pilipinas Kyohritsu Inc. (Ignition Wiring Sets), Cargill Oil Mills Philippines Inc. (Coconut Oil) and Metro Wear Inc. (Articles of Apparel and Clothing Accessories).

Three of the awardees—Texas Instruments, Pilipinas Kao and Metro Wear—were conferred the Hall of Fame Award for posting the highest export revenues for the past three years in their respective sectors.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority  in 2016 served as the basis for giving the awards to the companies.

Also recognized were three regional exporters—one each from Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao—who stood out for their remarkable international success in penetrating global markets and have shown strong commitment to national growth and economic development through competitive Philippine exports. The Most Outstanding Regional Interactive Platform for Philippine Exporters (Ripples) Plus Award was given to Peter Paul Philippines Corp., Profood International Corp. and Philbest Canning Corp.

Excellence Awards for Services Exports was also conferred to services companies recognized to have shown exemplary contribution to the industry and exhibited excellence in their respective fields. Also awarded were those that started small, but were able to excel in overseas-market penetration and have executed outstanding performance and contribution as an industry player to the sector as manifested through a selection criterion and nominated by the industry and association.

Awardees were Advanced World Solution Inc. Information-Technology-BPM, Affinity Express Philippines Inc. (Creative Services), Artworks Aviation Academy (Education Services), ExlService Philippines Inc. (Health Information Management) and Potato Corner (Franchising Services).

The triple awarding served as the highlight of the weeklong celebration of National Exporters’ Week (NEW), a yearly event held during the first week of December organized jointly by the DTI-EMB, the Export Development Council (EDC) and the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport).

This year’s celebration centered on the theme “Innovate. Collaborate. Export!” The NEC was attended by over 700 exporters and representatives from business-support organizations, government agencies and the academe participated. The event was opened in the morning with a showcase of a total of 29 Philippine government agencies and exporters as export enablers and stakeholders.

This was followed by Usapang Exports, an information session about “Boosting Philippine Exports through Innovation and Collaboration.” The session focused on the following topics: “Promoting Exports through Outbound Business Matching Missions,” “Foreign Trade Service Corp Overview of Services” and “Economic Achievements and Key Outcomes of the Philippine Asean Chairmanship 2017.”

Also discussed were “Enhanced Training Programs for Exporters” and “Start up in the Philippines, Scale up to the World.” This was followed by panel discussions in the afternoon with timely subjects on “Expanding the Global Market through Innovation” and “Addressing Industry Challenges through Collaboration.” The discussions covered topics, including accessing markets, innovation road map and bill and other support services provided by both the public and the private sectors.

Through these activities of the NEW, the DTI-EMB aims to continue to strengthen its program offerings and services by reaching out to more exporters across the country. “With this annual NEW celebration, we seek more initiatives and discussions on how we can further help the sector,” DTI-EMB Director Senen M. Perlada said.

Also part of the celebration is the ongoing NEW Bazaar, a retail-selling event of  Philippine products from the country’s direct and indirect manufacturers, which started on December 4.  About 20 exhibitors are participating by selling their products and services, ranging from fashion accessories to food products in the DTI International Building along Gil J. Puyat Avenue in Makati City.

Unlike previous years, the bazaar is running for two weeks this year or until December 15 except on weekends.  The bazaar was organized by the DTI-EMB, in cooperation with the EMB Employees’ Association.