DTI sees more Chinese companies investing in local garments sector

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) expects more Chinese companies investing in the Philippine garments and textile industry as indicated by Chinese companies during the recently-concluded investment mission on textiles in Guangdong Province, China.

The Philippine textile delegation was led by DTI Senior Undersecretary Thomas Aquino and DTI Special Consultant on Textiles and Garments Serafin Juliano.

More than 70 Filipino textile businessmen who are members of the Federation of Philippine Textile Industries Inc. accompanied the delegation.

A cooperation memo between Philippine textile firms and Guangdong Province was signed during the mission.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) would be the enabling platform for all future business cooperation between Chinese and Philippine textile firms.

Garments and textiles is the country’s second top export product, accounting for 6.23 percent of total exports in the first quarter of 2006.

Garments and textiles exports reached $677.86 million in the first quarter of 2006, 12.75 percent higher compared to the same period in 2005, according to data from the Bureau of Export Trade Promotion. The three-day mission kicked off with the conduct of the Textiles Economic and Trade Forum.

More than 300 businessmen representing 218 Chinese companies from the Guangdong textile industry participated in the event to look for business opportunities with their Philippine counterparts.

In the forum, Aquino presented an overview of the advantages of locating in the Philippines, and the specific opportunities available for Chinese textile and garment companies.

Juliano noted that "there is currently an exciting window of opportunity for these investments from China, due to the good fit and complementation between both industries, in areas such as labor, capital and technology, resources and raw materials, cultural affinity, design capability and market access."