Great British Festival 2024 (19-20 October 2024) Manila

Great British Festival 2024

  • THE British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (BCCP) announced the return of the Great British Festival; following its great success in its return last 2023 since its hiatus in 2019 due to the pandemic–in partnership with the British Embassy Manila and the British Council
  • Celebrates UK-Philippine Friendship Day on 20 October 2024
  • A total of 38 UK Companies and over 50,000 attendees joined the event in 2023
  • GBF 2023 Activities: Radical Sportscars F1 simulators, Bike show by Triumph Motorcycles, Bathbomb making by Lush, Samples and selling of One World Butchers, Union Jack Tavern, Quorn, The Borough Pizza Pub, Face-painting and Caricature making
  • GBF 2024 aims to host a much-larger event with more British companies to join

For further information contact BCCP at info@britcham.org.ph 

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UK – Philippines Trade Data (2nd August 2024)

UK - Philippines Trade Data

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Diplomatic Reception on the Terrace of the House of Lords

 

 

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.

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PBBC 30 years Anniversary

 

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

 

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UK Export Finance

Discover what the UK offers in finance to support major projects when buying UK Goods and services.

UK export finance

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 < <

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British Business Delegation To The Philippines

The British Business Delegation To The Philippines will take place during 23 – 28 February 2020.

The PBBC are delighted to be working with the British Embassy, British Chamber of Commerce in Manila and the Makati Business Club, to offer U.K. companies this unique opportunity to do business or invest in the Philippines. Please put the dates in your diary and make contact early to secure your place on the Business Delegation.

Metro Manila

THIS EVENT IS MULTI-SECTOR AND OPEN FOR ALL

The British Business Delegation to the Philippines will include new and experienced exporters, investors, those looking to source from the market and those looking to outsource services to the Philippines. There is already strong, growing interest in tourism in the Philippines so anyone looking to increase tourism connections is also encouraged to apply. The delegation will be led by a senior and experienced PBBC Member from the UK with extensive experience of doing business in the Philippines.

Programme

The program for the delegation will include political, economic and sector briefings, business matchmaking events, site visits, business receptions and networking opportunities. One-to-one meetings can be added for a small additional fee. There will also be time for delegates to take the opportunity to explore the bustling city of Manila.

Travel & Hotel Package

The delegation will fly Philippine Air Lines (PAL) – the flag carrier of the Philippines (direct flight between London and Manila). The travel package cost will include flight, hotel accommodation for the duration of the visit and connections. 

The Philippines

The Philippines is one of the fastest growing global economies and has a rapidly expanding services industry. Economic growth has accelerated in recent years, averaging 6% GDP growth per year from 2011 to 2018 and is expected to expand at a solid pace through 2019/20 (Focus Economics). Now is the perfect time to explore the exciting business opportunities the Philippines has to offer.

More information

For more information and to sign up to the delegation please contact Melissa Dizon on 07741 654362 or by email at melissad@martellobc.co.uk www.facebook.com/britishbusinessdelegationphilippines2020

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Economic Performance Indicators – January 2019

ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE AND INDICATORS

Gross Domestic Product

• The Philippine economy remained one of the fastest growing in Asia, along with Vietnam and China. The PH Government is expecting a 6.5 percent GDP growth in 2018. The PH government will report on the 2018 GDP performance next week.

economic performance indicators
Inflation

• Inflation averaged 5.2 per cent last year, its quickest pace since the global financial crisis a decade ago.

Employment

• The annual employment rate in 2018 was estimated at 94.7 percent; annual unemployment rate was 5.3 percent.

• The total employed persons in the country in 2018 was approximately 41.2 million in 2018.

Budget (Revenues and Expenditure)

• In the first 11 months of 2018, the government’s budget balance swayed to a US $9.1 billion deficit, 96 percent higher than US $4.6 billion shortfall registered in the comparable period in 2017.

Foreign Direct Investment / Portfolio Investment

• FDI net inflows for the first ten months of 2018 reached US$8.5 billion, an increase of 1.8 percent from the US$8.4 billion net inflows in the comparable period in 2017. The government has projected overall FDI to hit $10.4 billion for the entire 2018.

Remittances

• Personal remittances from OFWs in January – November 2018 reached US$29.1 billion, 2.9 percent higher than the level posted a year ago.

• The bulk of cash remittances for the first eleven months of 2018 came from the US, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan, United Kingdom, Qatar, Canada, Germany, and Hong Kong. Cash remittances from these countries accounted for almost 79 percent of total cash remittances.

• Cash remittances from the UK to the Philippines increased by 9.2 per cent at US$1.3 billion from US$1.2 billion for the same period in 2017. UK remains the top source of overseas Filipino remittances in Europe, representing 35.6 % of the total remittances from the region.

Tourists

• International tourist arrivals in the first three quarters of 2018 reached 5.8 million travellers. Of these, 1.2 million are from South Korea and almost a million from China. On a national basis, South Korea provides 20 per cent of the tourists coming to the country.

• Arrivals of UK visitors have reached 163,000 visitors within the first three quarters of 2018 – this represents a 9.73 per cent increase from the same period in 2017.

• The UK visitors from the Philippines means the UK still ranks as the top visitor market for the Philippines in Europe.

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Oct 24

Peter Beckingham new UK Chairman

After nearly 18 years as UK Chairman of the PBBC, Nigel Rich has stepped down as Chairman and handed the reins over to Peter Beckingham as the new Chairman.

Peter Beckingham

Peter knows the Philippines well having been the British Ambassador in Manila from 2005 to 2009.

Further details about Peter can be found here.

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Sep 20

Economic performance and Indicators – September 2018

ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE AND INDICATORS – September 2018

Gross Domestic Product economic indicators

• The Philippine’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) slows down by 6 percent in the second quarter of the year. GDP grew by 6.8 percent in the first quarter of the year.

• NEDA has attributed the slowdown to policy decisions which would promote sustainable and resilient development.

• The growth in the 2nd quarter of the year was mainly driven by Manufacturing, Trade, and construction.

Trade / Exports / Imports

• The Philippines’ total external trade in goods In July 2018 reached US$15.25 billion, indicating an increase of 17.5 percent from US$12.97 billion recorded during the same month in 2017.

• From January to July, total imports payments went up by 15.7 percent to US$61.234 billion in 2018 from US$52.923 billion in 2016, whereas, total export receipts shrank by 2.8 percent at US$38.744 billion in 2018 from US$39.869 billion in 2017.

• The country’s balance of trade in goods (BoT-G) yielded a US$22.49 billion deficit in January to July 2017, 72.3 percent bigger than the US$13.055 billion trade gap in same period of 2017.

Inflation

• The headline inflation rate at the national level further accelerated by 6.4 percent in August 2018. In the previous month, inflation was posted at 5.7 percent and in August 2017, 2.6 percent.

• The indices of the following commodity groups recorded higher annual increases during the month: Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (8.5%); Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (21.6%); Furnishing, Housing Equipment (3.5%); Health and Restaurant and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (4.0%); and Recreation and Culture (2.4).

Employment

• As of July 2018, the unemployment rate was estimated at 5.4 percent. The unemployment rate in July 2017 was 5.6 percent.

• Estimates showed that 94.6 percent of the labour force population were employed in July, a slight increase from 94.4 percent last year.

Budget (Revenues and Expenditure)

• From January to June, government revenue collections vis-à-vis spending narrowed fiscal deficit to US$3.5 Billion, due to improved collections thanks to the new tax reform law (TRAIN law).

• Revenue collections reached US$26 Billion in the first half of the year.

• Government disbursements reached US$29.6 Billion or 20 percent higher than the US$24.6 Billion in the same period in 2017.

Foreign Direct Investment / Portfolio Investment

• For the first semester of the year, Foreign direct investments (FDI) grew by 165 percent to US$14.5 billion from US$5.5 billion for the same period in 2017, reflecting continued confidence of investors in the Philippine economy.

• By country, Indonesia topped all foreign investors with US$118 million, followed by Japan with US$48 million and China with US$16 million worth of investments.

Foreign Exchange Reserves

• The country’s foreign exchange reserves buffer improved to US$77 billion in August, up 1.4 percent from July’s US$76 billion.

• As of end-August, the Bangko Sentral has foreign investments of US$61.68 billion, higher than the previous month’s US$60.74 billion. Gold reserves however fell to US$7.62 billion from US$7.78 billion in July.

Remittances

• Data from Bangko Sentral showed that money sent by OFWs recovered in July this year. OFW personal remittances grew by 4.5 percent in July to US$2.7 billion. On a cumulative basis, personal remittances grew by 3 percent year-on-year to US$18.5 billion.

• More than 79 percent of total cash remittances came from the US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Singapore, Japan, UK, Qatar, Canada, Germany, and Hong Kong.

• There are currently 10 million overseas Filipinos worldwide.

• From January to July 2018, cash remittances from the UK to the Philippines increased by 9.9 percent at US$ 856,256,000 from US$ 799,049,000 for the same period in 2017. The UK remains the top source of overseas Filipino remittances in Europe, representing 35.36 % of the total remittances from the region.

Tourists

tourism

scene of beach in coron, philippines

• First semester tourist arrivals increased by 10.4 percent (or 3.7 million), compared to the 3.3 million arrivals recorded for the same period last year.

• Despite the closure of Boracay, tourism officials are confident that the year-end target of 7.5 million arrivals will be achieved.

• Arrivals from the UK have reached 89,782 within the first five months of this year. The UK still ranks as the 8th top visitor market for the Philippines.

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