BOI eyes $1.5-B investments from Middle East and Europe

MANILA, Philippines –  The Board of Investments (BOI) is looking at attracting $1.5 billion worth of foreign direct investments (FDI) from the Middle East and Europe this year.

Likewise, the BOI said that the Philippines can take advantage of the unrest in countries like Libya and Egypt to transfer investment interest here.

In a press conference, BOI managing head Cristino L. Panlilio who just came from Europe and the Middle East, said that their target is to get $1 billion worth of FDI from Europe and $500 million from the Middle East.

“The reception was very good and we motivated them to invest in the Philippines,” Panlilio reported.

Panlilio said that the main purpose of his trip was to reawaken the interest of European and Middle Eastern businessmen. “They (businessmen) were glad that a high government official was visiting them.” Panlilio said he has met with chief executives of multinational companies and high government officials.

However, for Panlilio, the true measure of success of his trip is the conversion of the commitments to actual investments. “The work starts now,” Panlilio said. He said he has tasked his team to continue following up the investments.

Panlilio said that 70 percent of the companies that he has met already have interest in the Philippines. The industries that expressed interest in coming in the country are food, personal care, aviation, oil exploration, tourism, mining and business process outsourcing (BPO). Panlilio said that the United Kingdom is particularly interested in the BPO industry.

At the same time, Panlilio said that he has also promoted the Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects to the local business chambers of the countries he visited. For this, he said the UK has expressed interest in investing in railroad projects because that is their expertise.

Panlilio said that he has likewise invited contingents from four countries to visit the Philippines for an investment mission this year. The countries that have committed to come are France, England, Switzerland and Spain.

Meanwhile, Panlilio said that the unrest in some countries can make Asia specifically the Philippines a viable investment destination for Middle Eastern companies. “They may shift from their neighboring countries to the South East Asian Region,” he said. –Ma. Elisa P. Osorio (The Philippine Star)