The Philippines counts among the top 10 countries that interest Singapore the most for investment purposes, survey data from the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) show.

This was learned on Tuesday from the Department of Finance (DoF) as it welcomed a 21-man Singaporean delegation who met with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.

During the meeting, Dominguez explained the importance of the ongoing reforms in the country’s corporate tax system, particularly on fiscal incentives.

Dominguez stressed the proposed reform do not only lower the 30 percent tax to just 20 percent but rationalize them as well through a system that is performance-based, timebound, targeted and transparent.

He said Keppel Corp., a Singapore-based multi business company that operates shipyards in the Philippines, could benefit from the reforms should the firm continue its business in the country.

According to Dominguez, the business could gain additional benefits should it decide to bring more design capabilities to the country.

“That is what we are willing to give incentives to. We are willing to give incentives to engineering companies; we are willing to give incentives to companies for large data analysis (and) robotics,” Dominguez said.

In response, SBF Chairman Teo Siong Seng bared his support for the bill and noted the untapped opportunities presented by the Philippines.

“This is welcome news. While many Singapore companies have established operations in the Philippines in industries such as manufacturing and infrastructure, there are untapped opportunities in areas such as information technology and digital solutions, which our companies with the capabilities will be able to take up,” Teo said.

“Singapore and the Philippines have always enjoyed close economic ties. As we celebrate 50 years of bilateral relations with the Philippines, we look forward to more great years ahead of getting our business communities to collaborate more closely so we can ride the ASEAN growth story together,” he added.