British envoy expounds on economic linkages, expanding cooperation toward 77th year of ties
LAST month the Philippine Economic Briefing took place in London, where Filipino economic and finance leaders fanned the interest of the private sector of the United Kingdom (UK), while they further strengthened its diplomatic ties with the Philippines. (Read in the Businessmirror: PHL-UK trade ties tightened through economic briefing, February 2, 2023.)
Looking forward, Ambassador Laure Beaufils provides a perspective from the British Embassy-manila on ways the briefing will further enhance the already robust ties that connect the two countries through this exclusive:
Envoys&expats: What was the importance of the Philippine Economic Briefing, and how will it impact business dealings between our governments?
BEAUFILS: The Philippine Economic Briefing was an important opportunity to reintroduce the Philippines, its economic growth pattern, the administration’s legislative and regulatory priorities, and investment opportunities to a large group of investors and privatesector representatives in the City of London. This was the first such briefing since 2018, so a particularly important opportunity for investors to hear first-hand from the new administration.
The delegation, headed by Secretary [Benjamin] Diokno, Secretary [Amenah] Pangandaman and Bangko Sentral Governor [Felipe] Medalla was also able to set out the significant reforms made to liberalize the economy over the last two years, such as the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, Foreign Investment Act, as well as the Public Service Act and most recently the lifting of restrictions on foreign ownership for renewable-energy projects. All of these are beginning to bear fruits, and are of great interest to British investors.
The very fact that this very senior delegation came to London speaks volumes about the administration’s vow to drive foreign direct investments into the Philippines. We’ve already had two great stories of British funding into the country this year: Diageo’s purchase of Don Papa Rum for €225 million, and Inchcape’s joint venture with CATS Motors. We are ambitious, and we want to see more of these.
In broad strokes, how would you describe the economic linkages of the Philippines and the UK?
We have a strong and growing economic relationship. Our trade is growing anew to prepandemic levels at £2.1 billion annually. We are optimistic that we can grow further this year with a lot of interest in key sectors such as renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure, but across many other sectors such as technology, and defense too.
We’ve got great tools to support this, including our export agency: UK Export Finance that has £4 billion available for the Philippines. UKEF offers a suite of flexible financing options, and guarantees available in both foreign currency and Filipino pesos.
And this year we are launching our new trading program: the Developing Countries Trading Scheme, which will replace the European Union’s Generalized Scheme of Preferencesplus.
The UK’S DCTS is similar to the GSP+, but it has added 150 new product lines and simplified rules of origin to make it even easier, and even cheaper, to import and export. My team at the British Embassy will work closely with those in the Department of Trade and Industry and the British Chamber to ensure that businesses in the Philippines are able to make the most of the opportunities that the scheme presents.
We’ve got other tools too: The UK government invests in Filipino companies through our development finance institutions. The Uk-funded Private Infrastructure Development Group and its subsidiary company Infraco Asia invested in a number of projects in the Philippines—including $5.7 million to off-grid smart solar for island-communities in Palawan, and $2 million in seed capital to four mini-hydro-schemes in North Luzon, adding a capacity of approximately 35 megawatts to the regional grid.
And we have a set of programs that support economic development. We have worked closely with the Philippine government on institutionalizing economic reforms; in particular, on the ease of doing business, competition policy, anticorruption and transparency, financial services, and intellectual property rights.
We have worked with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority on the design of aspects of New Clark City and just before Christmas, saw the successful launch of BSP’S Uk-supported Sustainable Central Banking Strategy.
What can we look forward to in 2023 in the 77th year of diplomatic relations between the UK and the Philippines?
We have a lot in store this year. For the first time since 2018 we are bringing back the “Great British Festival.” It will be a platform to celebrate all things British: art, culture, music, fashion, sport, food, education and more.
It will be an opportunity to work with British brands to further showcase the value and opportunity to enter or invest in the Philippine market. We will be having a full programme that will include film, music and theater to make sure that there will be activities for one and all.
The festival will be in Bonifacio Global City on March 25 and 26. It will be an exciting collaboration between the British Embassy, British Council and British Chamber of Commerce. We hope to see many of your readers there!
But there are many other things to look forward to. We hope to launch our “British Investment Partnership” initiative within the next few months.
And of course, the coronation of His Majesty, the King on May 6 will be an important milestone for us, and we look forward to celebrating that with our Filipino friends and colleagues.
We have quite a few other things in store…watch this space!