Russian firms eye business ventures in Phl
Russian business companies are eager to invest in the Philippines, according to the country’s diplomat in Moscow, Ambassador Carlos Soretta.
Soretta said Alexander Efremov, CEO of Russian construction firm TOMSKOBLSTROY, relayed to him that members of the Russian business community are keen and interested in holding business ventures in the Philippines.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Russian firm is looking forward to concluding talks to be able to join infrastructure projects in the Philippines.
During their meeting, Sor- reta discussed with Efremov his company’s possible participation in infrastructure projects in the Philippines, including airports in Palawan and Luzon.
TOMSKOBLSTROY is a general contractor of industrial and civil construction works. The company is based in the Siberian city of Tomsk and has completed various residential apartment buildings and industrial projects.
Efremov said their company is currently engaged in advanced talks with Philippine partners and looks forward to concluding discussions soon.
“We have been watching carefully the developments in the Philippines. The governance under President Rodrigo Duterte is very encouraging to businessmen and investors,” Efremov said.
Sorreta affirmed the embassy’s full support to Philippine-Russia economic cooperation, including involvement of Philippine and Russian companies in large-scale projects.
In a related development, Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua said there will be a big increase of investments in the areas of infrastructure development, industrial capacity cooperation and agriculture in the Philippines as a founding member of AIIB, and the $ 40- billion Silk Road Fund set up by the Chinese Government.
“Specifically speaking, we need to enhance bilateral trade,” Zhao said at the China national day reception on Tuesday night.
He said China Leea is ready to import more from the Philippines, particularly agricultural and fishery products that can directly benefit the farmers.
To strengthen people- to-people contacts, and to benefit SMEs, Zhao said China will work with the Philippines to increase the number of Chinese tourists to the Philippines.
Standard and Poor’s, a US- based financial services firm that rates the abilities of companies and governments to pay their obligation, said the predictability in policymaking – one of the considerations in making investment decisions – diminished under the Duterte administration.
S& P Global Ratings’ expressed its concern over diminishing predictability of government economic policies.
The President shrugged off S&P’s concern, saying the Philippines is formulating “a new foreign policy.”
European business leaders said a rift with the European Union (EU) will have negative consequences for the Philippine economy.
Duterte used the F-word at the EU and gave a dirty finger in remarks at a gathering of local officials in Davao City after the European Parliament criticized him for the extra judicial killings in the country.
The President said last week that he is not worried about turning off European and American investors with his foul mouth as he can always turn to China and Russia for investments.