13 December 2017

Published also in Business Mirror

THE government of New South Wales (NSW) expressed its confidence in the Philippine  economy and wants to explore strengthened trade and investment cooperation ties between the two countries.

In a meeting with Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez on December 7, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian conveyed her government’s intention to enhance their country’s relationship with the Philippines.

A state located on the east coast of Australia, NSW imports telecommunication equipment and parts, passenger motor vehicles, medicaments, refined petroleum and computers.

“We welcome Australian investors and businesses that will help us uplift the lives of those at bottom of the pyramid and enable the Philippines to contribute in the global value chain. New South Wales has expressed strong confidence in our economy and the business-environment stability under the Duterte administration and wish to partner with us,” Lopez said.

The trade chief highlighted the growing manufacturing sector and encouraged NSW to partner with the Philippines in research and development. The trade chief also shared the Philippine government’s initiatives in streamlining and automating services to improve doing business in the country.

“We will continue to work on opening areas of investment and increase employment and business opportunities for all Filipinos,” Lopez said.

Meanwhile, Berejiklian said many Australian businesses, especially in the information and communication technology  sector, are attracted to the Philippines’s encouraging economic state and enormous potential. Apart from the impressive 6.9-percent GDP growth, the NSW premier highlighted the good traits of Filipino workers and the work culture they have.

With infrastructure-related construction as one of the priority areas for the expansion of NSW, Berejiklian also opened the discussion on a possible partnership through the sharing of expertise and technological know-how in the industry.

The Philippines has benefited from globalization, in particular from the World Trade Organization (WTO). We have been growing at the fastest rate for the past five years, and globally linked, modern sectors, such as business-process outsourcings and information technology-enabled services, semiconductors and electronics, parts manufacturing for GVCs in auto and aerospace and shipbuilding (among others) have been major contributors.