Philippine Economic Zone Authority Director General Charito B Plaza
Export-oriented companies in Qatar investing in the Philippines’ economic zones will benefit from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority’s (PEZA) one-stop shop and non-stop shop programme which is recognised by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation for its ease of doing business and best practices among economic zones worldwide, PEZA Director General Charito B.
Plaza has said yesterday. Delivering her keynote speech at the first virtual ‘Conference in Qatar on Philippine Investment Opportunities under the New Normal’, Plaza invited investors from Qatar to take advantage of the strategic business opportunities available in the Philippine ecozones, including businesses in the fields of eco, medical & wellness tourism, halal food processing, Islamic finance, IT-BPOs, and agro-industrial exports, which Plaza said remain 100 percent COVID-free with competitive incentives such as tax holidays and zero customs duties.
Plaza also invited Qatari businessmen to invest in island-city developments with up to 75-year leaseholds, as well as in education & technology ecozones similar to that of the Qatar Foundation. She also updated prospective investors on the expanded benefits and advantages on investing in the Philippines either as an ecozone developer or locator.
To date, PEZA is the Philippines’ largest one-stop-shop government agency accounting for 64 percent of the country’s exports, which contributes to 16.28 percent of the Philippine’s GDP. About 3 trillion Philippine peso worth of investments, and $815bn worth of exports have also been recorded by PEZA from 1995 to 2019, added Plaza. Speaking during her presentation earlier, Philippine Commercial Attaché Charmaine Yalong discussed the current trade and investment relations between Qatar and the Philippines.
She emphasised the promising potential in Philippine-Qatar Trade & Investments relations, reiterating that Qatar ranks as the 38th market for Philippine exports valued at $55.19m in 2019. Meanwhile, Philippine imports from Qatar amounted to $147.99m during the same year. The conference also highlighted the growing demand for halal products in the Philippines, and the government’s plan to establish halal hubs in the country.
Bureau of Muslim Economic Affairs Director Saleha Sacar added that there are over 7 million Muslim Filipinos out of the more than 109 million Filipinos, and reiterated that there’s a growing demand for halal products among both Muslim and nonMuslim Filipinos. Sacar also spoke about the promotion of Islamic finance in the country.
Also speaking during the event, Philippine Business Council Qatar (PBC-Q) President Greg Loayon stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic has put companies on an even playing field, and urged companies to embrace the new normal where technology plays a bigger role in the business sector.
During the event, Doha-based PEZA Investment Promotions Partner for the Middle East Joseph Timothy Rivera, announced the next business mission to the Philippines which will be held either in November or April next year, depending on how the current pandemic situation develops. Such business delegations provide organised immersions to various Philippine business and government institutions and actual visits to potential ecozone sites by prospect investors.
The conference, which was attended by Qatari and Filipino entrepreneurs based in Qatar, representatives from various international business councils, major companies in Qatar and other business groups from neighbouring GCC countries, was organised by the PEZA, in coordination with the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, the Philippine Trade & Investment Center for the Middle East, and the Philippine Business Council Qatar.
