RP business delegation off to Germany

A Philippine business delegation will promote and highlight to the German business community the country’s competitiveness in services, software, gaming, publishing and call center services, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

The DFA said the delegation, to be headed by Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Lilia de Lima, will be in Germany from October 12 to 17 to inform the German business community in Baden-Wurttemberg, Munich and North Rhine Westphalia about business opportunities in the Philippines.   

 The delegation will promote Philippine services and microfinance and are scheduled to hold meetings with selected German players in these sectors.

A program for the delegation has been planned in coordination with the Philippine Honorary Consuls in these cities.

The Philippine service sector is an emerging industry in the country. As of the end of 2006, it employed 235,000 people, earned $3.3 billion in revenues and contributed approximately two percent to gross national product (GNP). The Philippines is now one of the top destinations for outsourcing services in the world, with a five percent market share.

 The delegation will also visit the Frankfurt Book Fair to explore the possibility of business matching with other foreign companies participating in the fair.

In North Rhine Westphalia, the focus will be on microfinance.

The group will proceed to the Wolfsburg Akademie in Mulheim an der Ruhr (near Essen) where a full day event will take place.

The morning session will focus on the possibilities offered by microfinance projects in providing employment and encouraging entrepreneurship for the less-fortunate sectors of Philippine society while the afternoon session will focus on other areas of the Philippine economy which offer opportunities for the German business sector, such as economic zones, energy and BPO/IT.

This series of events comes after a successful visit to the Philippines in April this year of the Philippine Honorary Consuls in Germany, where they were briefed on the latest developments in the Philippines and were able to meet with the key players in Philippine politics and business. — Pia Lee-Brago