PHL, China prepare for SME cross-border trade and investment conference
Business Mirror
February 15, 2017
OFFICIALS of the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) met recently with representatives of the Bank of China (BOC), Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and International Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ICCP), in preparation for the Philippines-China SME Cross Border Trade and Investment Conference on March 21.
The organizers, in partnership with BDO Unibank Inc., Eastwest Banking Corp. and Land Bank of the Philippines, recognize the role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country’s economic and social development, and thus, would want to provide SMEs access to the global marketplace and participate in the global value chain.
The conference aims to bridge Philippines-China trade and investments through business matching using BOC’s six-step matchmaking service and to arrive at a cooperative declaration between Philippine and Chinese enterprises.
The BOC’s six-step matchmaking service consists of (1) building the database of Chinese and Philippine SMEs; (2) pairing SMEs based on their respective needs and interests; (3) arranging video-conference meetings between paired SMEs; (4) face-to-face meetings during the conference itself; (5) field study through site visits, and (6) the provision of end-to-end financial services to facilitate cooperation from both companies.
The DTI-EMB, which Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado said could be “the champion of micro, small and medium enterprises’ [MSMEs] internationalization,” hopes to host about 500 Philippine companies that will engage in business- matching sessions with the 200 companies coming from China.
Companies from different industries—such as food processing, building materials, furniture, agriculture, fisheries, e-commerce and information technology, construction, construction equipment, textile and garments, iron and steel, tourism and real estate —are targeted to participate in the conference.
Aside from one-on-one meetings between businesses, the conference will also include plenary sessions to discuss various topics, such as Ease of Doing Business and MSME Internationalization, among others.
SMEs interested in participating in the conference may contact Rudolph Jay Velasco of DTI-EMB through e-mail at RudolphJayVelasco@dti.gov.ph or call him at 465-3300 local 217.