Philippines broadening bilateral ties with Denmark

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is seeking to broaden bilateral ties with Denmark as it continues to strengthen its position as one of the top investment destinations in Asia among European countries.

Denmark reopened its embassy in the Philippines last year after 12 years of  closure. A business delegation arrived in the country this week looking to explore business opportunities in trade and investment.

Danish Ambassador Jan Top Christensen said the Philippines is a promising market for Denmark given its sustainable economy and recent government reforms.

Christensen said among the industries which Danish firms are seeing as attractive opportunities locally are the fishing technology, seafood processing and healthcare.

He said there is also an interest among Danish companies to put up manufacturing facilities in the country.

“Since our investment grade got upgraded, they (European companies) are the ones calling. We don’t have to promote the Philippines. Denmark reopened their embassy and last November, Sweden announced they will open also their embassy here,” Philippine Ambassador to Oslo Bayani Mercado said.

“Since President Aquino took over, our reputation for corruption improved. Indonesia and Vietnam are now the ones being noticed for corruption,” Mercado added.

Denmark is currently the 37th biggest trading partner of the Philippines.

It is the country’s 48th largest export market and 32nd biggest import source.

Officials from both Denmark and the Philippine government said they would work to improve the bilateral trade of the two countries.’’

Senen Perlada, Department of Trade and Industry director for export marketing bureau, said there is a big potential for Danish companies to set up trading headquarters or locate manufacturing  plant in the Philippines to supply needed equipment for the commercial fishing sector, cold chain services and facilities, food processing equipment and technology, and other allied services in the food industry.

He said there is a major opportunity for Philippine export products to enter the Denmark market due to the implementation of the European Union Generalized System of Preference Plus in which import tariffs of more than 6,000 export products are eliminated or significantly reduced

“With Denmark, there are a lot of opportunities to explore. We just need to open the lines of communication and experience how it is. With its embassy here closed for over a decade, it reopened so we have to take advantage of that,” Perlada said.

To date, the country’s top imports to Denmark are pharmaceutical products, ships, boats, and optical and medical apparatus.

The Philippines’ top exports to Denmark, on the other hand, include carrageenan, seaweeds as well as electrical and electronic equipment.