BOI eyes China as mart for medium, high-end garments

MANILA, Philippines - The Board of Investments (BOI) is now looking at developing China as a possible destination for the Philippines’ medium and high end garments.

“We are trying to develop other markets for our garments and we are looking at crafting a Chinese version of the Save Act in order to push for a mutually beneficial relationship between China and the Philippines,” BOI executive director Lucita P. Reyes said in an interview.

Reyes, together with other BOI officials, will be hosting a Chinese garments delegation on Tuesday to explore the possibility of exporting our garments to China.

“We want to use Chinese textile and produce the garments here but it all depends on the tariff of China,” Reyes said. She said that they are now in the process of encouragingsmall companies to invest in textile in order to boost the industry.

“The Chinese are interested in branded products and that could be our niche because we cannot compete with them in terms of mass production but we can sell high end products to them,” Reyes said.

Meanwhile, the Philippines is now reassessing its chances on the passage of the Save the Industries Act during this congress because the US House of Representatives is now lead by the Republican Party.

“We are making an assessment of the chances that it will be passed during the 112th Congress,” Reyes said. “We are reviewing the cost implications.”

With regards to the cost of lobbying the passage of the bill before the US Congress and the Senate, Reyes said that they have to evaluate whether it is still viable. Reyes refused to say how much they have already spent on the Save Act. Representatives of the BOI has been travelling to Washington for the past two years in order to gain support for the bill.

Should the Philippine government decide pursue the bill, Reyes said that it should be done within the first quarter of this year. “We are leaning towards going for it because it will revive the ailing garments industry.”