25 August 2021 – Early this afternoon, Philippine Ambassador to Singapore H.E. Joseph del Mar Yap called on Singapore’s new Minister for Trade and Industry (MTI), H.E. Gan Kim Yong via videoconference.
During the call, Ambassador Yap briefed Minister Gan on the state of the Philippine economy, the business and investment promotion activities jointly undertaken by the Philippine Embassy in Singapore with several Singaporean entities as well as the COVID-19 situation in the Philippines. Ambassador Yap also informed Minister Gan that the Philippines recently implemented the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE) Law designed to harmonize the taxation and incentives system for businesses in the Philippines which will stand to benefit foreign investors.
Minister Gan welcomed this development and concurred with the view of Ambassador Yap that predictable, transparent and easy to fulfill rules are key to attracting more foreign investments. The Minister also said that MTI is keen to work with the Philippine Embassy in finding more opportunities in the Philippines for Singaporean businesses.
The two officials also exchanged views on how both the Philippines and Singapore can further enhance cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, food security, start-ups, smart cities, technology, green power and supporting MSMEs, among others. They also expressed hope for the faster recovery of PH and SG as well as the other countries in the region.
PH and SG economies have posted a positive economic growth in the second quarter of 2021, expanding by 11.8% and 14.3%, respectively. Among the sectors that have contributed the most to this positive growth is the manufacturing sector, where PH and SG share a complementary linkage. In 2019, Singapore was the single largest source of foreign investments in the Philippines.
END
