Middle East trade missions to attract petrodollars

MANILA, Philippines - The government is expecting a boost in the inflow of investments from the Middle East this year as a number of trade missions are coming in from Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, a ranking trade official said.

In an interview, Trade Undersecretary Elmer C. Hernandez said they have already received several visitors from the Middle East. “We have to take advantage of the petro money,” he pointed out.

Hernandez said that the visits were a result of the Trade Department’s aggressive promotion last year. He said the Middle Eastern companies expressed interest in investing in oil refinery, hotels and resorts and manufacturing.

In fact, Hernandez said a Saudi firm was intently looking at putting up an air conditioning manufacturing facility here and then export the products to the Middle East.

He added that Honorary Counsel to Syria Wasim Naana had told him there are trade opportunities between the two countries, as Syria needs textile specifically rayon, air conditioner, white marble, fruits and elastomers.

Last year, the government reported a 30-percent drop in foreign investments as the global financial crisis tightened the capital flow. In a previous interview, Trade Secretary Peter B. Favila said they are confident they can recover the plunge in investments by attracting more projects in renewable energy.

In fact, Favila said that they are currently courting a billion-dollar investment which, due to a confidentiality agreement, details of which cannot be revealed yet.

Earlier, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said they are looking at a 15-percent growth in investments this year while the Board of Investments (BOI) is targeting to grow investments by 10 percent.

While Favila said he has yet to receive the final reports of the two agencies, he said they will look at increasing the targets on reports this year will be a good year for investments.

When asked how the government plans to recover the 30-percent decrease in foreign investments, Favila said there is little he can do because foreign investors are asking for economic amendments in the constitution, particularly the ownership issue. Also, he said foreigners are concerned with the high cost of power.

On the matters of incentives, Favila said they are looking at revisiting their position on the matter because other countries are not focused on incentives yet are receiving foreign investments. “Maybe we have to revisit that,” he said.