US chamber advises Philippines to woo businesses looking to relocate from China
The Philippines is being seen as potential relocation site by a number of US businesses currently operating in China and looking to mitigate the worst effects of the ongoing US-China trade war. According to John Goyer, Southeast Asia executive director of the US Chamber of Commerce, US investors are increasingly aware of the Philippine government’s success in improving the country’s business and investment environment.
At present, Goyer said, the US is one of the country’s major investors, with a substantial presence in its services, business process outsourcing industry, agri-business and high-tech manufacturing sectors. In light of the fact that the Sino-US trade dispute was driving many US factory owners to consider relocating from China, he advised the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries to look at how best to attract any such investments. Striking a similar note, Jose Victor Chan-Gonzaga, economic affairs minister at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, said business and investor confidence in the Philippines remains high among US investors, largely on account of the quality of the economic managers put in place by Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine president, and his team.
