Repost: The planned Philippine Chamber of Commerce in Singapore will help promote trade, investment, finance, and industry relations.
Originally posted on: Business TimesÂ
Written by: Narendra Aggarwal
Published on: 11 June 2021
Repost: BUSINESS relations between the Philippines and Singapore are set to get a big boost with the setting up of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce in Singapore in the coming months.
The idea of establishing the chamber had been in the works for some time but was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We started brainstorming and meeting in person for the project in 2019, before the pandemic, through the help of our Ambassador Joseph del Mar Yap. However, as we all know, a lot of our activities were put on hold in 2020. By the first quarter of 2021, when the technology to support meeting virtually became more widely available, we started to re-group through the initiative of Margarita Locsin, and everyone in the team is really helpful to get back to our initial objective of registering the chamber," says Cristy M Vicentina, region head for Asia and Oceania, Philippine National Bank and general manager for PNB Singapore.
Adds Margarita Locsin: "The initiative was Ambassador Joseph Yap's. Then Consul Tony Reyes started the initial discussions and legwork, along with key members of the Filipino community here. Sadly, Covid put a spanner in the works. After the Covid curbs were relaxed this year, a lunch meeting with (Filipina businesswoman) Tina Di Cicco, Consul Lala Gandarosa and Mary Manlangit of PTIC (Philippine Trade and Investment Center) got the ball rolling again. We called on the former members, asked who were still interested and off we went." Ms Locsin is the current chair of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Philippine-Singapore Business Council, which organised a recent Singapore investment forum, from which the chamber initiative was re-ignited.
The plan is to register the new chamber with the Registrar of Societies. Currently, there is a working committee that meets almost every week to keep track of deliverables to ensure the submission for registration is in time for the target date of the third quarter of 2021. The main objective of the proposed chamber will be to promote trade, investment, finance and industry relations between Singapore and the Philippines.
"The chamber aims to unite persons and companies with a common interest in the Philippines and to strengthen ties with the local business community. We also aim to empower, educate and build bridges to help businesses grow and thrive, especially in this difficult environment. This is a time to derive strength from a common purpose," says Ms Locsin.
"To start with, we are looking to hold a Philippine Business Forum, albeit virtually, to help provide a venue where prospective investors who wish to expand to the Philippines may have easy access for information, and vice versa," adds Ms Vicentina.
"We will also start holding talks and work on business missions. As most things are online now, I believe organising events and collaborations will actually be easier," says Ms Locsin. Notes Ms Vicentina: "We think that as soon as the situation opens up, people-to-people exchange will still be a strong growth area between the two countries."
Trade and investments, inbound and outbound, are key to furthering relations, believes Ms Locsin. "Both markets can leverage on each other's strengths. But more important, I believe, is the development of the community within and its contribution to Singapore society and economy."
The Philippine presence in Singapore is quite significant. "There are Filipinos who have become Singaporean and PRs who set up businesses, or are part of businesses here. There are also Singaporeans and other nationalities who have businesses related to the Philippines, and there are certainly Singaporean companies with Philippine operations, and they have been there for decades," Ms Locsin highlights.
The range of Filipino activities here is wide-ranging - from mini-marts and service providers in Lucky Plaza to restaurateurs and retailers across Singapore, importers and exporters of products between the two countries, as well as tech, design and financial services-related businesses. "I must also mention the wide range of companies and institutions that have Filipinos in their management teams, and also, Singaporeans in management positions in Philippine businesses," Ms Locsin adds.
There are an estimated 200,000 Filipinos living and working in Singapore. About 60 per cent of them are professionals and the rest are domestic workers. Professionals cover a wide range of industries from the services and hospitality sector to engineering, architecture, medical front liners, and other trades.
Ms Vicentina highlights that one of the key business sectors established in the Philippines is the manufacturing industry. For instance, Hi-P International Ltd is operating a plant in Luzon, one of the major islands of the Philippines.