German traders now eyeing to invest in Phl

CEBU, Philippines - The Philippines is now slowly gaining the attention of the German investment community following the country’s remarkable economic and political performance.

German embassy commercial attache to the Philippines Christof Wegner said in an interview that his office is now getting requests from German exporters and importers, specifically from Berlin, to visit the Philippines to explore investment opportunities here.

Wegner was in Cebu Wednesday to grace the launching of the Promotion of Green Economic Development (ProGED). ProGED is a joint project of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Philippine government through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Wegner said that the trade relations between the two countries have greatly improved, as the Philippines is now one of the most interesting investment site for exploration among German capitalists.

He added that, just recently high ranking businessmen in Berlin have expressed interest to conduct a trade mission in the Philippines.

"Trade is picking up. German importers are identifying the Philippines as one of the top choice country for trading within the ASEAN," he said in an interview.

Germany's area of interest in the Philippines include among others, big-ticket investments in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), in fact one of the suppliers of Mercedez Benz is now outsourcing its accounting works in Cebu.

German investments to the Philippines started to beef up in 2011, and "this is something that is going on."

Wegner added that the interest of the German investors in the Philippines is reinforced by the recent positive economic performance of the country.   

"Your country's economic team is doing an excellent job, and this is attracting a lot of attention," he said stressing that President Benigno Aquino III"s strong advocacy to curb corruption made strong positive impact to the German investing community.

He added that while German investors are very careful in screening their plans and choices towards expanding in Asia or in ASEAN member countries, the Philippines on the other hand is getting the strongest interest. (FREEMAN)