More foreign investments needed to spur export sector

MANILA, Philippines — Attracting foreign investors to set up manufacturing facilities in the country is an approach that will help the country expand its export sector, according to  Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual.

In an ambush interview with reporters, Pascual said the country’s  export sector needs outside investments to expand.

“Look at Vietnam, look at Thailand. They are big exporters. The export products coming from our neighboring countries are produced by factories put up by foreign investors, “ Pascual said.

“That’s why the growth of their exports is so fast. That’s the approach that I want to emphasize,” he said, stressing the need to integrate industry, trade and investments.

Pascual said the country needs outside capital and technology to develop its industry.  “So how do we develop our Philippine-based industry? We need investors. Investment is not just finance, it’s also  technology and management, and more importantly, market,” he said.

“The foreign investment that we are trying to attract here, they already have a built-in market. They already have the technology. It’s a matter of setting up the factory here, employing our people and they have a ready market. So that’s the approach that I am trying to push. We integrate trade, industry and investment,” Pascual said.

The Trade Secretary said that geopolitical developments globally have created a notion that it is risky for big companies to just rely on a single source country for their production, creating  a move toward the diversification of supply.
“That is what the notion we are capitalizing on to attract investors that have production operations in China to have alternative production operations in the Philippines. They’re already in Taiwan or in Japan or Korea, we want them to also consider the Philippines,” Pascual said.

As another approach to grow the export sector,  Pascual also mentioned the need to build a domestic market base first before targeting the export market.

“Based on my experience, and seen elsewhere, we need to build a domestic base first to support our foray into the export market,” Pascual said.