Sydney, Australia—The Philippine delegation underscored the nation’s growing agricultural and information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) capabilities at the Australia-ASEAN Business Forum (AABF), which was held from August 29 to 30.

Joined by the Department of Trade and Industry’s Philippine Trade and Investment Center-Sydney (PTIC-Sydney), the delegation positioned the Philippines as one of Asia’s most promising economies, ready to seize emerging opportunities in these key sectors.

During the forum, the delegation presented investment opportunities in the country’s world-class and environment-friendly economic zones. These align with the strategic goals outlined in the Philippine Development Plan and the Philippine Export Development Plan.

Her Excellency Ma. Hellen De La Vega, Philippine Ambassador to Australia and Chairperson of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Committee in Canberra, recognized the Philippines as an ideal platform for integrating global supply chains. She leveraged the country’s strategic location, stable macroeconomic fundamentals, fiscal prudence, and structural reforms as key advantages for businesses.

Building on this momentum, Ambassador De La Vega emphasized the vast opportunities for growth, collaboration and innovation, and improving investment climate in the region.

“ASEAN is a prime destination for investment. ASEAN countries have implemented measures including liberalizing policies. For instance, the Philippines has allowed full foreign investment in renewables,” Ambassador De La Vega noted.

IT-BPM industry

Jack Madrid, President and CEO of the IT-BPM Association of the Philippines, emphasized the country’s advantage rooted in its talented and capable workforce.

“We have the demographic advantage. We are the youngest country in Asia—the average age is 25.3 with over 700,000 university graduates per annum,”  Madrid said.

“The only challenge and also the opportunity is to integrate the curriculum that is needed for the emerging work types of the future so that we can strengthen that line from education to employment” he added.

As a key pillar of the Philippine economy, the IT-BPM industry demonstrated significant growth in 2023. It generated over USD 35 billion in revenues and expanded its workforce to 1.7 million direct jobs, an 8% increase from the previous year.

This industry provides a wide range of services, including contact centers, business process services, global shared services, IT and software, health information management, and animation and game development.

It has consistently delivered its services across the value stream, backed by the country’s skilled talent pool that continuously evolves to meet the dynamic landscape and shifting market demands.

“I am optimistic that despite the rapid acceleration of technology, we would be able to face the challenges of the future because the Filipino workforce has proven over the past few decades to be able to learn and unlearn and relearn new skills at a very fast pace across specific domains like banking, financial services and health,” Madrid said.

Agricultural innovation

Meanwhile, Jennifer Joy Subang, Chief Operations Officer of SF Group of Companies, underscored the significance of innovation and technology in boosting production yield, producing quality food at competitive costs, and achieving global competitiveness.

SF Group of Companies is a Davao-based agriculture company at the forefront of revolutionizing the Philippine agriculture industry through digitalization, optimization, and modernization. Its dedication to innovation is reshaping the future of agribusiness, particularly in Mindanao, known as the food basket of the Philippines.

Australia-Philippines business ties

Strategic partnerships with government and private sector organizations such as the Australia-Philippines Business Council (APBC) and the Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce (ANZCHAM) are also expected to be explored during the ASEAN Showcase of the AABF.

Mr. Rafael Toda, President of APBC, shared updates on the agreements signed with various stakeholders during the visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Melbourne earlier this year. These include upcoming agreements on mining, renewable energy, and agriculture.

Moreover, Benjamin Romualdez, President of ANZCHAM Philippines, emphasized his organisation’s mission to advance the sustainable economic prosperity between Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. ANZCHAM recently led a business delegation to Australia, visiting Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney. The 15-member delegation conducted local briefings and CEO lunches. This delegation was composed of representatives from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, IT-BPAP, Cloudstaff, Trends and Concepts, Outsourcey, WorkQC+, Blackbook AI, Genfinity, Offshure, and Virtua Solutions Outsourcing. ♦

Date of release: 12 September 2024

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