Originally posted on: Business Times
Written by: Narendra Aggarwal
Published on: 10 June 2022
Repost: BUSINESS ties between Singapore and the Philippines are set to get a big boost with the setting up of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (PhilChamSG).
The newly set up chamber was registered with the Registry of Societies (ROS) in Singapore on Apr 29 this year. Leading Filipino banker Cristy Mendoza Vicentina - who is a familiar face in the local banking circles here - is the founding president of the new chamber.
The idea of setting up a Philippine chamber of commerce in Singapore had been in the works for some time but was disrupted due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic which, among other things, put a hold on networking events.
“The establishment of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce in Singapore aims to provide an additional avenue to promote stronger economic and people to people relations among its members and the larger community of people doing business between the Philippines and Singapore, among others,” she tells The Business Times (BT) in an interview on the occasion of the Philippine Independence Day on Jun 12.
“Both individuals and corporations in Singapore that are doing business with the Philippines and vice versa can join the chamber. We are also looking forward to welcoming small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into the chamber,” Vicentina adds.
The Ambassador of the Philippines to Singapore, Joseph del Mar Yap, has welcomed the establishment of the new business chamber, as it will greatly help in boosting bilateral business ties.
“The establishment of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce in Singapore will definitely be a boon in bilateral business relations. Philippine businesses in Singapore or those interested in setting up operations in Singapore will be able to use PhilChamSG as a platform to assist them in their business development,” he tells BT.
“On the other hand, Singapore companies with operations in the Philippines or those interested in entering the Philippine market will also be able to tap into the resources of PhilChamSG to assist them in their development plans,” he adds.
PhilChamSG chief Vicentina thinks that with the new administration taking over in the Philippines soon, bilateral ties with Singapore will continue to grow, particularly in business and trade.
“With the new administration in the Philippines, we expect that the relationship between Singapore and (the) Philippines will remain strong and vibrant, and that Singapore will remain as one of the Philippines’ largest export markets.”
Ambassador Yap says that in 2021, Singapore ranked as the Philippines’ 6th major trading partner (out of 223), 5th export market (out of 205), and 6th import supplier (out of 210).
Philippine exports to Singapore increased by 11.2 per cent from US$3.8 billion in 2020 to US$4.2 billion in 2021. The Philippine envoy says that this may be generally attributed to the export of copper ores and concentrates, amounting to US$75.8 million from zero value in 2020, and the increase in outward shipment of the following products: a) semiconductor devices manufactured from materials on consignment basis (which went up by 17.5 per cent); b) digital monolithic integrated circuits (up 9.7 per cent); c) other fixed capacitors, not elsewhere specified (up 86.1 per cent); and d) storage units (up 18.3 per cent).
Likewise, Philippine imports from Singapore expanded by 23.6 per cent from US$5.6 billion in 2020 to US$7 billion in 2021. This could be attributed to the increase in the inward shipment of the following products: a) light petroleum oils and preparations thereof (which went up by 119.1 per cent); b) transmission apparatus incorporating reception apparatus (up 74.7 per cent); c) petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than light, not elsewhere specified (up 31.4 per cent); d) other preparations not elsewhere specified or included (up 24.6 per cent); and e) digital monolithic integrated circuits (up 12.2 per cent).
Looking ahead, Vicentina says that there are many promising areas of mutual cooperation between the Philippines and Singapore in the coming months.
“As we continue to reopen borders both for Singapore and (the) Philippines, we look forward to a more robust tourism; scientific and technological cooperation and health cooperation, in addition to the usual vibrant economic activities between the 2 countries...
“We also look forward to cheering for more friendly sports activities again,” she adds.
As a newly-formed body, the chamber has got down to the business of planning its activities. For a start, it supported an initiative for relief operations for victims of a major typhoon in Cebu in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the chamber’s committee members have started participating in the activities of other business chambers in Singapore to build up relations with them for future mutual cooperation.
For instance, key officers of PhilChamSG attended the recently concluded Canada-Asean Business Council event on May 25, 2022, at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore.
“The chamber is currently in the process of organising a talk on ‘Doing Business in The Philippines’ and a separate social responsibility project under its education committee...
“The chamber is also in the process of building relationships with other chambers to support each other’s initiatives,” the chamber chief tells BT.
In addition, the chamber is also working on building its membership base.
Vicentina is currently the general manager of the Philippine National Bank in Singapore. Having been in Singapore for 16 years now, she has been promoting good relations between the Philippines and Singapore all these years.
“As a bank manager, we are able to provide financial services for Singaporeans who wish to invest in the Philippines - be it direct investment, or property investment or business investment and vice versa,” she tells BT.
As (a) part of the vibrant Filipino community in Singapore, we continuously help promote tourism of both countries by inviting our Filipino friends to visit Singapore, and our Singaporean friends to visit the Philippines...
“We have supported a number of initiatives also to promote healthy living in Singapore through our BNG Healthy Run projects and other integration projects through food, sports and music events,” she adds.
The founding officers of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce in Singapore are:
In addition to the above, the chamber has the following committee heads: Margarita Locsin Chan (membership), Maria Cristina Di Cicco (education and events) and Patricia Gabrielle Garcia (marketing).
The majority of the chamber’s founding officers and committee heads are Singaporeans.