PEZA: Asian Firms Can Make PHL as Gateway to EU

Asian companies can make the Philippines as their gateway to European Union (EU) market through taking advantage of the benefits of EU Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+).

Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) spokesperson Elmer San Pascual said the investment promotion agency (IPA) is actively promoting the EU GSP+ benefits given to the country December last year and to other ASEAN members and Asian neighbors.

The EU GSP+ grants the Philippines zero tariff on 6,274 goods exported to EU which makes products manufactured in the country more competitive in the EU market.

“We’re telling them that the cost of doing business for products exported to EU is more competitive if they invested here in the Philippines with the benefits of EU GSP+,” said San Pascual.

Aside from the EU GSP+, the PEZA official mentioned that the country’s labor market remains an attractive factor for companies to invest here.

“We’re telling them that we are an economy with young population and peaceful labor market,” San Pascual noted.

He cited that the Philippines recorded the lowest number of strikes in the past years.

In 2014, the country only posted two labor strikes compared to China’s 1,379.

In 2013, there was only one labor strikes in the Philippines against Thailand with 11, Indonesia with 239, Vietnam with 327, and China with 656.

Meanwhile, PEZA approved 360 projects in the first seven months of 2015 amounting to PHP103 billion.

PEZA is an investment promotion agency for export enterprises. (PNA) JBP/KMC