Purisima urges German companies to invest more in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima  urged German companies to invest more in the Philippines, citing the country’s solid fiscal position and good governance program.

Addressing over 500 key German business executives of the German Asia-Pacific Business Association in Hamburg, Germany last March 7, Purisima called for increased commerce and trade between the Philippines and Germany.

“Germany has always been a strategic partner of the Philippines, being one of the country’s top 10 trading partners, the second largest tourist market in Europe, and the biggest source of loans and grants,” Purisima said.

Germany accounts for 3.3 percent of total trade from 2008 to 2012, which are mostly in electronics. It is also the country’s 12th largest tourist market, with 70,949 arrivals in 2013, up 5.86 percent from 67,023 arrivals a year earlier.

Purisima likewise noted that Overseas Development Aid from Germany amounted  to $1.2 billion from 1961 to 2011, mostly focused on poverty reduction, conflict resolution in Mindanao, and climate change.

The creation of a German house similar to those in Singapore and Vietnam would help reach out to German companies, the Finance chief said.

“There is much room for the Philippines and Germany to work together. In fact, in spite of Germany being the fourth largest world economy, it is only the Philippines’ eighth largest trading partner. The strength of the German economy lies in its middle-sized companies, and putting a German house in Manila would be of great mutual benefit to the two economies,” he said.

In encouraging Germans to spur investments in the Philippines, Purisima said: “We have created greater fiscal space to invest in infrastructure and our people, especially the most vulnerable sectors of society. Indeed, we have shown that with good governance comes good economics, and this virtuous cycle is what we aim to institutionalize.”

Purisima likewise pushed for Germany and the European Union next year to view the ASEAN integration in 2015 as an upside.

Taken collectively, ASEAN would be the third largest community with a population of about 600 million and an average age of 27, and with a GDP (gross domestic product) of $2.1 trillion, the seventh  largest in the world.

The Finance chief also expressed interest to host the 15th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business (APK) in Manila in 2016. This year’s APK will be held in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam in November.

The calls for greater investments from German firms followed a statement issued by the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, urging the lifting of the truck ban in Manila.

According to the GPCCI, the new policy that bans eight wheelers and vehicles with a gross weight of above 4,500 kilos from plying Manila’s key routes between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m., would would stunt economic growth and result in job losses.

German firms complained about the disruption of operations of manufacturers whose products are either partly or wholly dependent on raw materials that are trucked through Manila.

Majority of the German investments are in trading, air and sea freight, cargo forwarding, pharmaceuticals, automotive, engineering and manufacturing equipment as well as textiles and clothing.

Other factors affecting German firms are increased labor costs due to overtime and night differentials, warehouse congestion and work-efficiency losses.