The company’s AM Swiss Microtec started its operation in Cebu in 2016 and its other group operations are located in Lugano, Switzerland, Zhongshan, China, and Hong Kong.
“The Philippines has been an important experience,” he said, acknowledging “attractive incentives” the company received from the government.
Starting with three Filipino workers in its inception, 170 Filipino employees are now working for the company, whom the CEO praised for having a “professional and friendly” attitude. Aside from being “highly skilled,” Filipinos are also “responsible people” with “high human values,” he added.
“In Asia, Philippine culture is the closest to the European culture,” he said, referring to the precise handling skills in Cebu especially being the guitar/ukulele capital of the country and citing also the country’s high rate of literacy and a younger workforce.
Fascinated by the warm welcome he and his company received, Audemars experienced the hospitality of the Filipinos from the get-go, leading to an easily-built connection with their employees.
Meanwhile, Audemars further bared that he was looking forward to finding new sites or even expanding in the Philippines depending on the COVID situation in the country. Audemars is a multi-national group of companies specialized in micro technology producing a micro version of magnets, coils, and other components.
Building on the momentum of a vibrant economic partnership, the Philippines presented investment opportunities to Swiss companies in the first virtual business forum for the Ticino region, an Italian-speaking region in southern Switzerland, to introduce and create awareness of the Philippines to Ticino-based companies.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Board of Investments (BOI) expressed their commitment to help in the upward trajectory of both countries’ relations by creating more business opportunities happen.
BOI Executive Director Bobby Fondevilla emphasized the strong relations of both countries, which had been further shored up through a Joint Economic Commission – established in 2013 – as well as the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the Philippines and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), wherein Switzerland is a member state.
In 2020, Switzerland ranked as the fourth biggest European trading partner of the Philippines, fourth export market, and ninth top import supplier in Europe.
“The Philippines and Switzerland enjoy long-standing and good relations characterized by a robust political dialogue and dynamic trade relationships,” the Executive Director said in his opening remarks.
Before the pandemic, the utilization rate of the FTA has reached 14 percent already, the BOI official reported, indicating better opportunities for stronger relations between both countries and wider use of the said Agreement.
Last year, bilateral trade between the two countries reached a whopping amount of USD771.29 million, which according to the Executive Director was “a very good indicator of a vibrant trade relationship” despite the persisting global pandemic.
According to the Executive Director, big Swiss companies have been figuring prominently in the Philippine business for many years such as the Holcim Philippines, Glencore Switzerland, SGS Philippines, and Nestle Philippines.
On greenlighted investments from Switzerland, total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stock peaked at USD1.7 billion in 2019. Among the top destinations for Swiss investments in Real Estate comprising 47 percent of the total USD 10.55 million followed by professional, scientific, and technical activities contributing (25 percent of USD 5.69 million), and administrative and support service activities (21 percent of USD 4.72 million).
The Philippines, much like the rest of the world, are still battered by the pandemic. However, the BOI sees “very encouraging results” in health and the economy due to the downward trend of COVID cases, and projected cresting economic trend with the easing of health restrictions coupled with the accelerated vaccination rollout across the country.
Executive Director Fondevilla showcased the good sides of investing in the Philippines as a prime destination for investments. According to National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the country’s economy continued to recover, growing by 7.1 percent in the 3rd Quarter this year despite stricter community restrictions.
While on the production side, industry and services have been recovering and agriculture remains resilient. With the near doubling of private investments growth at 94.9 percent, the total investment grew by 75.5 percent, which was an indicator of improvements in business confidence “as the economy learns to live with the virus,” he said.
Executive Director Fondevilla pointed out that “fundamentally and structurally,” the Philippines has still a strong and resilient economy despite the setbacks brought by the pandemic.
“Primarily, this is because of our country’s key advantage – The Filipino people. We are a country of 110 million people, with a median age of fewer than 25 years old, highly skilled and educated,” he explained.
Another key advantage of the Philippines the BOI official highlighted was the access to markets, as the country has now access not only to the fast-growing domestic market but also to Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, China with the ASEAN and ASEAN-related FTAs—including the newly-signed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Executive Director Fondevilla also presented the bilateral FTA with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, which provides the PH duty-free market access to all industrial and fisheries products to the member states.
Additionally, the Philippines is the only country in the ASEAN enjoying the EU-GSP+ or the European Union-General Scheme of Preferences Plus, he stressed. Executive Director Fondevilla also highlighted the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE) Law that provides incentives that are relevant and responsive to the needs of investors, such as a longer time for enjoying income tax holidays (ITH) and additional deductions for key cost items.
Executive Director Fondevilla, furthermore, assured that the DTI-BOI and their Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Bern would continue to be steadfast in their commitment to improving the country’s investment climate.
“We are also in continuous pursuit of making the Philippines the top investment destination in Asia,” said the Executive Director.
The webinar, promoted by the Philippine Embassy in Bern in collaboration with the Philippine DTI and the BOI, is a virtual session that aimed to convey to industrial and non-industrial companies operating in Ticino business opportunities that the Philippines can offer, particularly at establishing manufacturing facilities, especially in the pharmaceutical, ICT, electronics and semiconductor sectors.
The event was attended by H.E. Denis Y. Lepatan, Ambassador of the Philippines to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Signora Margherita Maffeis-Natale, Consul of the Philippines in Ticino, Switzerland, Mr. Stefano Modenini, Director of the Ticino Industries Association, and Company Members of the AITI Colleagues in the Philippine government. (BOI)
