For further information contact BCCP at info@britcham.org.ph
Gabriella Quimson Vice Chairman Philippine British Business Council(PBBC) and His Excellency Ambassador Locsin arriving the House of Lords.
Joseph Miro Chairman of Philippine British Business Council(PBBC) was also present at a Diplomatic Reception on the Terrace of the House of Lords to hear a speech given by the Rt Hon Lord Howell of Guilford.
PBBC Members from left to right: Former British Ambassador to the Philippines Paul Dimond, David H. Bill, Rowena Romulo, Dr. Gabriella Tuason Quimson, Chairman Joseph Miro, Melissa Dizon, representatives from the UK’s Department for Business and Trade Priya Soni and John Williams, and Alistair M. Fulton, taken at the Philippine Embassy in London during their May 2024 meeting.
As the Philippine-British Business Council (PBBC) moves towards our 30th anniversary, under our new London Chairman Joseph Miro the background for the further development of bilateral trade and direct investment opportunities for both countries has never been stronger. The value of UK exports to the Philippines in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2023 was £1.3 billion (+16%), with imports of £1.7 billion (+22%). Services contributed about 40% of the former. UK outward direct investment to the Philippines in 2021 reached £449 million. In recent years, cases of inward direct investment have also grown.
In 2024, we have welcomed among others as members of the PBBC London Dr Gabriella Tuason Quimson and Mr Stephen Philips. Dr Quimson is a governance and anti-corruption specialist. Her father was Philippine Ambassador to the Court of St James’s in the 1980s. She has long experience in the UK and holds both Filipino and British citizenships, dividing her time between the two countries. Mr Philips was appointed Senior Adviser at BDO Unibank in January 2024, in a long career focused on cross-border trade, investment and finance in Asia. Before his appointment as Chief Executive of the China-Britain Business Council in 2006, he had been International Trade Director of UK Trade and Investment in the British Government.
As a business-led apolitical body, the PBBC works closely with both Governments’ trade and investment Departments, with much non-financial support from the Philippine Embassy in London and the British Embassy and the British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines in Manila. Individual PBBC members (all volunteers) have cumulative experience of trading conditions and contacts of well over 100 years. Unlike other surviving Business Councils, the PBBC itself has long adopted the policy of focus on those sectors offering the more obvious opportunities. These have included IT, agribusiness, energy and retail and we are currently aligning our focus with sectors identified by both Governments.
We offer a free service of advice in the UK to bona fide companies new to the market and are happy to hear from British firms interested in the Philippine market, whether diversifying from other ASEAN markets or completely new to the region, whether they wish to export products or services, find joint partners in the Philippines or invest there directly for longer-term market share. We are equally happy to hear from Philippine companies seeking partners in the UK or looking for direct investment opportunities.
All contacts should be directed to info@philippinebritish.com
Philippine-British Business Council
London
3 June 2024
Discover what the UK offers in finance to support major projects when buying UK Goods and services.
Clink on the link below to see a presentation of the UK Export Finance Scheme
> > UK export Finance – Competitive finance when you buy from the UK < <
Nov 30
A delegation of British waste management firms have been taken by UKTI to visit the Philippines to look at opportunities to help reduce the country’s waste.
Arup, Revonergy and Stericycle are all experts in waste management with a presence already in Asia.
The Philippines Government has been looking at new ways to deal with the huge quantities of waste produced in the country.
Over 150 local Philippines companies, industry asociations and NGOs attended a seminar on waste management.
Nov 23
PHILIPPINES TARGETS UK AND EUROPEAN INVESTMENT IN RESURGENT TOURISM INDUSTRY
Philippine Tourism Investment Forum 
The forum, hosted by Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) LLP at its offices in the City – with a vintage Routemaster bus bearing the Philippine brand as a backdrop – coincided with the 31 tourism and travel trade fair held at London Excel. Jointly organised by the Philippine Department of Tourism, the Philippine Trade and Investment Centre (PTIC) in London and hotel consultancy Hotel in a Box, the event provided an opportunity to showcase the favourable investment climate and opportunities offered by the Philippines’ burgeoning tourism industry.The forum’s theme was Resort Developments and most prestigious hotel and resort companies and property developers in the country — including Amanresorts, Ayala Hotels, Boulevard Holdings, Elizalde Land, Eskaya Beach Resort and Spa, Fairmont Raffles Hotels, Shangri- La Group, and Travellers International Hotel Group — elaborated on the message by taking part in discussions on the advantages of investment in Philippine urban mixed used and integrated and destination resort developments. They were joined at the forum by representatives of international travel and investment leaders including IMG, Royal Bank of Scotland, Club Med, Orient Express, and Six Senses resorts, members of the Philippine British Business Council (PBBC), among many others.
(9th November, London) – An exotic, tropical island nation in Southeast Asia blessed with a skilled, English-speaking population and an abundance of natural beauty, history and an abiding sense of hospitality, the Philippines is a genuine magnet for tourism investment.
Today, with a fresh Government keener than ever to raise the Philippines’ profile among discerning world travellers, recognition of the country as a vital tourism investment hotspot is certainly within reach. And help is at hand, in the form of generous tax incentives and a more responsive regulatory system designed to attract investors from across Britain and Europe..
These include a responsive new administration that welcomes and encourages tourism investments; a resilient economy that has enjoyed 41 successive quarters of GDP growth; a new civil aviation policy regime that will lead to greater air access; a coherent expenditure program to upgrade transportation systems and infrastructure; an abundance of skilled managerial talent and technical manpower; rich natural and cultural endowments and attractions, English as the medium of communication, and, not least, the country’s location in the fastest growing region in the world.
Secretary Lim further underscored the importance of tourism to the Philippine economy by highlighting the country’s new landmark Tourism Act. Introduced in 2009, the new legislation creates a fiscally empowered Philippine Tourism Promotions Board as well as a Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (or TIEZA) to generate new investment in the tourism sector by granting fiscal and other incentives.
Among the key value propositions to tourism investors offered by TIEZA are duty free importation of capital equipment, a six year income tax holiday extendable by up to another six years for substantial expansions or upgrades, and a special social responsibility tax credit.
Secretary Lim said, ‘This year, the Department has already endorsed tourism development projects that will result in 2,000 additional rooms, generate investments amounting to 350 Million US Dollars, and create jobs for 3,300 Filipinos. And we see bigger developments looming in the horizon, with industry giants like Fairmont Raffles, Hyatt, Ascott and Shangri-la committed to developing new properties in the Philippines within the next three to five years.’.
Other speakers at the forum included former UK Ambassador to the Philippines Paul Dimond (member of the Philippine British Business Council (PBBC)), who shared his personal insights and experience of doing business in the country, PTIC-London Commercial Attaché and Director Michael Alfred V. Ignacio, who presented a business and investment environment introduction on the Philippines. Fairmont Raffles Director Global Sales-Europe, Susannah Donne, provided a case study on Raffles Makati, and HSBC Director and Head of London Infrastructure Team-Project Finance Trevor Sturmy, described the Philippines’ banking environment. Katrina Panlilio-Craig, Managing Director of Hotel in a Box and one of the key organizers of the event, spoke on Philippine market trends.
A panel discussion on Urban Hospitality Developments was moderated by Andrew Sangster of Hotel Analyst, with Ayala Hotels Chief Operating Officer Michael Alexis Legaspi, Travellers International Hotel Group President Kingson Sian and Executive Vice President Steve Reilly sitting as panel members.
Another panel on Integrated and Destination Resort Developments was moderated by Ian Graham of Hotel Solutions Partnership, with Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts Vice President Austin Frost, Elizalde Land Vice President Federico Joaquin Elizalde and TA Advisory Services Director Mila Abad as panellists.
Philippine Chargé d’ Affaires Reynaldo Catapang concluded the forum by noting the UK government’s recent focus on strengthening relations with emerging economies in Asia such as the Philippines.
Reynaldo Catapang said, ‘We very much welcome the plans of the UK government to promote opportunities in our part of the world and we are pleased that UK Trade & Industry has recognized the Philippines as one of the top ten economies for global investment.’
After the forum, guests took part in one-to-one business matching meetings between Philippine developers and potential UK investors.
For more information, contact:
Michael Ignacio
Philippine Trade and Investment Centre-London
info@investphilippines.org.uk
www.investphilippines.org.uk
Rosario Afuang
Philippine Department of Tourism-London
infotourism@wowphilippines.co.uk
www.wowphilippines.co.uk
Emmanuel Guzman
Philippine Embassy in London
embassy@philemb.co.uk
http://philembassy-uk.org
in London.st World Travel Mart, the world’s largestPromoting Investments in Philippine Tourism and. A high-level Philippine delegation comprising the largest
in London.st World Travel Mart, the world’s largestPromoting Investments in Philippine Tourism and. A high-level Philippine delegation comprising the largest
Nov 13
The Philippines wins “Best Offshoring Destination of the Year Award”for the third time.
The Philippines has won this award in 2007, 2009 and 2010 at the National Outsourcing Association Awards Ceremony in London. Competition was from other well-known offshoring destinations, but the Philippines impressed the judges for a third impressive win.
Nov 12
Welcome to the website of the Philippine British Business Council
(PBBC)
The Council is a Business – led Government supported body to promote and encourage trade between The Philippines and Britain in both directions.
The Council was founded in 1995 and has the support of both Governments.
This new-look site will allow us to publish information more frequently on news and events affecting the PBBC and business between the Philippines and UK.
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