Dominguez, Jack Ma discuss ways to power MSMEs

FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Jack Ma recently discussed ways on how to empower micro, small and medium enterprises ( MSMEs) in the Philippines through affordable electronic commerce innovations pioneered by this Chinese magnate in his multibillion- dollar Internetbased selling platform Alibaba.

Dominguez said he, along with several DOF and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ( BSP) officials, will meet with Ma again in China next year to hold more extensive discussions on how to ensure an “enabling” financial regulatory environment for e- commerce growth in the Philippines, with MSMEs as the primary beneficiaries.

“We are planning to visit him. He invited us to have further discussions in China. We will visit him probably in January with Central Bank ( officials). We'll review the regulatory environment here so that we don’t have regulations that choke the growth of e- commerce,” Dominguez said.

The BSP, along with industry stakeholders, jointly launched the National Retail Payment System in December 2015 to create a safe, efficient and reliable electronic retail payment system in the country.

In March this year, the BSP came up with two electronic fund transfer payment schemes-- the Instapay, which caters to MSMEs, and PESO Net, which supports the bulk payment transactions of large companies.

“We must look at our ( financial) regulations and ensure that it will not stymie the growth of our MSMEs,” Dominguez said.

Ma told Dominguez during their meeting that he wants to help develop the digital market in the Philippines to create a cashless society and connect the country’s e- commerce markets to other markets in Europe, China and other countries across the globe.

Ma said he wants to assist developing coun- tries like the Philippines in building their digital technologies so that even small enterprises can benefit from globalization.

He also informed Dominguez that he intends to invest in the Philippines in the next five years, most likely in the country’s service industry.

“The Philippines has the best service and has the heart to become key players in the industry,” Ma said.