Chinese investors still being wooed despite WPS row
‘We know it is cause for concern, but we are essentially for investment promotion, so we do not preoccupy ourselves with that.’
Photograph Courtesy of PEZA
Daily Tribune‘We know it is cause for concern, but we are essentially for investment promotion, so we do not preoccupy ourselves with that.’
Photograph Courtesy of PEZA
Philippine Economic Zone Authority director-general Tereso Panga said the country's investment promotion agencies are not preoccupied with the continued ruckus involving Chinese and Philippine maritime troupes in the West Philippine Sea.
Still, he admitted that it can cause concerns regarding the entry of Chinese investors into the country. "We know it is cause for concern, but we are essentially for investment promotion, so we do not preoccupy ourselves with that," Panga told reporters.
"Our thinking is we should continue reaching out to them and getting Chinese delegations because this is the only way we can mitigate the impact," he added.
Top Chinese companies
Panga said the Chinese business delegations visiting the country are even industry leaders from reputably top companies in China.
"We earlier had a big investor, which is even in a partnership between China and the United States. It involved a big-ticket investment whose principals already applied with us to develop their economic zone here," he said.
Panga said it seems that despite the tension in the disputed West Philippine Sea, investments from China are not affected.
"Although these are mostly private companies, if you take on China and you have these national companies operating in the Philippines, of course, they will surely protect their nationality and offshore operations in the Philippines. That is how we look at it and we do not allow ourselves to be affected and unless war breaks out already, we will continue," he said.
Invitations
The PEZA chief further disclosed that they continue to receive invitations to Xiamen, Dongguan, Shanghai, and Hunan to explore possible investment opportunities amid the dispute in the WPS.
As of May 2023, PEZA is home to 164 Chinese locator companies with P25.822 billion in investments and 16,221 workers.
These companies gained $90.341 million in exports from January to March this year.