More than 150 Taiwanese firms belonging to several industries participated in the recently concluded investment mission to Taiwan, co-organized by the Manila Economic and Cultural Officer (MECO) and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Taipei.

The Philippine Investment Forum attended by over 150 participants presented investment opportunities for science, innovation and technology driven trade and investments and served as a platform for business discussions through the B2B component of the event together with the participating industrial parks under PEZA.

Aside from the forum, PEZA and PTIC Taipei generated leads for Smart Transportation, Electric Vehicles, Smart City development, Semiconductor packaging and testing, Energy and Aquaculture from the series of one-on-one meetings held in Taipei, Kaohsiung and Pingtung.

The series of activities also allowed the opportunity to discuss with existing PEZA companies’ interventions to allow seamless operations and support to grow their business activities in the Philippines.

These companies included Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE), Sunonwealth Electric Machine Industry Co. Ltd. (Sunon Group), Kinpo Electronics Inc., Acbel Polytech Inc. and Yeng Hsing Co. Ltd.

Investment forum in Taipei

As recent economic developments, Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC), policy initiatives such as the CREATE MORE, and energy development goals in the Philippines are heard and felt in Taiwan and amount of business opportunities they bring, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Taipei, and the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) organized the Philippine Investment Forum in Taipei last 22 October 2024.

Among those who attended the PIF 2024 were MECO chairperson Cheloy Garafil, PEZA director general Tereso O. Panga, Energy Undersecretary Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara, PTIC-Taipei Trade Representative Anthony Rivera, and leading industrial park operators from the Philippines.

Steady growth path

In her welcome remarks, Garafil said, “As the economic path of the Philippines is expected to grow from 6.5 to 8 percent until 2028, we look forward to sustaining this momentum of collaboration with Taiwan and we welcome the Taiwan industries to join us in this growth path in the Philippines.”

PEZA’s Panga, for his part, said, “Taiwan has been an integral partner in the Philippines’ path toward sustained economic growth. As part of Taiwan’s New Southbound policy, our country has been positioned as a strategic gateway for Taiwan into the ASEAN region. Over the years, with both our countries signing a bilateral investment agreement, this has led to stronger cooperation in various sectors, including trade, investment, tourism, technology, agriculture and education.”

Rivera, who is also the director for Commercial Affairs, pointed out that the forum “serves as an important platform for strategic discussions not just to update the Taiwan market on the recent developments but to further support the direction of Taiwan companies to the Philippines including the development of Taiwan manufacturing in Philippine Industrial Parks and the collaboration on talent cultivation to support the growing needs of Taiwan companies for top grade technical skills and talents, essentially to generate more jobs.”