BOI, Bank of China ink deal to attract Chinese investors to PH

MANILA -- The Board of Investments (BOI) and the Bank of China (BOC) sealed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to promote the Philippines as an investment destination for Chinese investors.

The MOU was signed by Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo and BOC Manila Branch Country Head Deng Jun.

Under the agreement, BOI and BOC will cooperate in promoting the country as an investment hub for Chinese investors through seminars, missions, and business matching activities.

BOI and BOC also aim to collaborate on economic linkages between Chinese investors and Philippine-based corporations by exchanging industry information and information on doing business.

The two parties also plan to form a special working group that would identify future areas of cooperation that would attract more Chinese investors.

“We are delighted to offer various investment opportunities that can be registered with the BOI through the ‎2017-2019 Investment Priorities Plan for Chinese companies. The BOI can help investors starting with their due diligence up to the company’s full operation,” Rodolfo said in statement Friday.

“We hope that through this collaboration, the Philippines and China economic relations will continue to prosper and bring in more Chinese investors to do business in the country,” he added.

Jun, for his part, said the MOU targets to promote the use of Chinese currency here for Chinese investors to lower trade cost between China and the Philippines.

“As more Chinese investors are showing genuine interest to do business here, the BOC’s mission is to be the bridge between the Chinese market and the Philippine market and promote the use of RMB (renminbi) as an alternative settlement currency to lower the cost of trade between these two countries,” Jun said.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that approved foreign investments by the country’s seven major investment promotion agencies (IPAs) from China had the largest growth in 2017.

Chinese investment pledges in the major IPAs last year jumped to PHP2.33 billion or 53.6 percent from PHP1.52 billion in 2016.
The BOI noted that the visit of President Rodrigo Duterte to China in 2016 boosted the diplomatic and economic relations between Manila and Beijing. (PNA)