BUREAUCRACY and issues with energy remain the top challenges in attracting technology investment from China, according to the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FFCCCII).
“In the Philippines, investors need to go through individual departments, and by the time they finish, it has already taken years,” FFCCCII President Cecilio K. Pedro said at a forum on Wednesday.
He said in other countries, the equivalent process typically has one point of contact.
“They do everything to accommodate investors to make it simple; they simplify rules so that they can come in and invest,” he added.
He said that the Philippines needs to attract manufacturing companies from China.
“We need companies like Apple to come in, but… they went to Vietnam… So there must be something good in Vietnam that we don’t have,” he added.
During the Manila Forum for Philippines-China Relations, Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said that he hopes the Philippines can replicate the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area concept in the cities and provinces around Manila Bay.
“Led by the ambitious goal of Chinese modernization, a more vibrant Greater Bay Area is to be expected. It is the closest neighbor to the Philippines, with only about 1,000 kilometers or a two-hour flight from Manila Bay,” Mr. Huang said.
“Manila Bay, we hope, will be the Manila Greater Bay Area in the future. We warmly welcome our friends from the Philippines to the Greater Bay Area, to explore and experience it for yourselves,” he added.
The Greater Bay Area is built around economic centers in the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong Province, including the former European colonies Hong Kong and Macau as well as the manufacturing powerhouse of Shenzhen.
According to Mr. Pedro, the ambassador “sees the potential” in linking Bataan and Cavite more closely with greater Manila and Bulacan.”
He said a Greater Bay Area-style integrated economic region in the Philippines has the potential to attract more investment.
The Greater Bay Area in China has a $1.98-trillion gross domestic product, making it among the fastest-growing regions in China.
Evariste M. Cagatan, executive director for the Board of Invesments’ Investment Promotions Services arm, described a Greater Bay Area in the Philippines as feasible even with the Luzon Economic Corridor in the pipeline.
“The areas that were mentioned, which can be potentially part of that — Manila, Bulacan, Bataan, and Cavite — are also the high-growth areas of the country. So, I think this is possible,” Ms. Cagatan said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
