PHILIPPINE Economic Zone Authority Director General Tereso Panga lures Thai business owners to invest in the Philippines, bragging about the country’s strong investment fundamentals and highlighting the country’s competitive fiscal incentives regime under the CREATE MORE Law, which further enhances the ease and attractiveness of doing business in the Philippines, during a luncheon in Bangkok, graced 32 C-level executives representing a wide range of industries, namely garments manufacturing, ceramics manufacturing, renewables, agro-processing, IT-BPM, and construction. PHOTOGRAPH courtesy of PEZA
BUSINESS

Thai sweetener maker pouring $30M in Phl

‘The company is currently looking to establish a plantation and processing facility in the country and is in the process of selecting a 1,000-hectare site within ASEAN for its proposed expansion.’

Raffy Ayeng

A Thai manufacturer of natural, zero-calorie sweetener, stevia, is considering the Philippines for pouring multi-million-dollar investments, according to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

The PEZA delegation, headed by its director general Tereso Panga, recently engaged Thai business leaders in Bangkok, pitching the Philippines as a competitive and reliable base for regional expansion amid strengthening Philippines–Thailand economic ties.

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The investment briefing on 10 March took place during a luncheon organized by the Asian Consulting Group (ACG), attended by 32 C-level executives representing a wide range of industries, including garments manufacturing, ceramics manufacturing, renewables, agro-processing, IT-BPM, and construction.

On the sidelines of the luncheon, PEZA, with the assistance of the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC)-Bangkok, also met with a stevia processing company that is exploring investment opportunities in the Philippines.

“The company is currently looking to establish a plantation and processing facility in the country and is in the process of selecting a 1,000-hectare site within ASEAN for its proposed expansion. The potential investment amount is $30 million,” the PEZA statement said; however, it did not identify the company.

The occasion featured key stakeholders in the Philippines–Thailand trade and investment relations.

During his presentation, PEZA director general Panga underscored the Philippines’ strong investment fundamentals and highlighted the country’s competitive fiscal incentives regime under the CREATE MORE Law, which further enhances the ease and attractiveness of doing business in the Philippines.

He emphasized that these reforms strengthen the country’s value proposition for foreign investors seeking a strategic, cost-competitive, and policy-supportive location in Southeast Asia.

Arunee Piriyatanakankul, representative of the Thai World Group of Companies, also shared the group’s positive experience investing in the Philippines and urged fellow Thai executives to register their projects with PEZA.

Thai World Group is the parent company of PhilCo Food Processing Inc., a new PEZA-registered locator engaged in coconut processing, including ultra-high temperature coconut milk and frozen coconut meat.