By Kris M. Crismundo
MANILA, June 3 (PNA) — The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC), the largest business network in United Kingdom, wants British small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to explore trade and investment opportunities in the Philippines.
BCC Director General John Longworth told reporters in a briefing Wednesday that the business group aims to strengthen the presence of British SMEs in the Philippine market.
Longworth is visiting Manila to boost economic relation between UK and the Philippines through building linkages among British and Filipino firms.
He noted that the Philippines offers huge opportunities for British companies, particularly to SMEs with its large consumer base, fast growing economy, and competitive workforce.
“It’s a huge opportunity because the Philippines is a large country in Asia (in terms of population). It’s one of the fastest growing economies; it got English-speaking workforce and a lot of young professionals here that are skilled,” he said.
“We would like to open up that consciousness to UK business community,” he added.
The BCC Director General, however, said that the British SMEs had less awareness on the economic opportunities in the Philippines.
“There’s a lot of big UK companies here. For those companies, the Philippines is recognized. But for small- and mid-size companies, they are less conscious of the opportunities,” added Longworth.
He noted that the Philippines could also be a hub for British manufacturing companies as well as services firms in Asia.
“There’s a huge interest for back offices in the Philippines with its strong services sector particularly business process outsourcing (BPO),” said Longworth.
Aside from outsourcing services, British companies can make the Philippines as a source for components of UK’s high quality manufacturing sector as well as importing food products from the country.
Meanwhile, aside from Manila, the BCC official will be visiting other Asian countries such as Taiwan and Myanmar. (PNA)