GOVPH

PHILIPPINES-KOREA INVESTMENT FORUM HELD IN SEOUL

DTI Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo, Ambassador Thresa Dizon-De Vega, Aboitiz InfraCapital CEO Cosette Canilao, PEZA Acting DDF Aleem Siddiqui Guiapal, DTI, BOI, DOE, Aboitiz officials at the Investment Mission

16 November 2022, SEOUL – A Philippines-Korea Investment Forum with close to one hundred participating Korean companies was held on 19 October 2022 at the Hotel President, Seoul, Republic of Korea. The forum was organized by the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Seoul led by Commercial Counselor Jose Ma “Jojie” Dinsay in cooperation with the Department of Trade and Industry led by Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) represented by Deputy Director General for Finance and Administration OIC, Mr. Aleem Siddiqui Guiapal and Aboitiz InfraCapital. The Department of Energy was likewise represented by Assistant Secretary Mario Marasigan.

Philippine Ambassador to Korea Theresa Dizon-De Vega welcomed the forum participants and invited them to learn more about the investment opportunities in the Philippines. Undersecretary Rodolfo, Mr. Guiapal, BOI Executive Director Corazon Halili-Dichosa, Aboitiz Lima Land President Rafael de Mesa, and Aboitiz InfraCapital CEO Cosette Canilao presented various aspects of the business and investment climate in the Philippines.

Currently, there are about 251 South Korean locators in the Philippines’ economic zones engaged in activities such as the manufacturing of radio, television and communication equipment and apparatus; fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment; rubber and plastic products; real estate activities; and wearing apparel. The investment forum aims to generate awareness among the participating companies and to further establish the Philippines as the preferred investment destination in the region. It also presented the various incentives the Philippine government is offering to foreign investors in economic zones and industrial estates.

Prior to the forum, the Philippine delegation visited the Embassy to discuss their activities in Seoul. END

PH AMBASSADOR ENCOURAGES HIGH-LEVEL INVESTMENTS TO THE PHILIPPINES AT 2022 KEF BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE

17 November 2022, SEOUL – Philippine Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Theresa Dizon-De Vega participated in the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) Business Roundtable with ASEAN Ambassadors at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul on 17 October 2022. The meeting discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation between ROK and ASEAN member states.

KEF Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik highlighted that a number of Korean companies doing business in ASEAN have active investments in high-technology development and service industries.

Ambassador Dizon-De Vega briefed the members of the KEF on the 8-point socio-economic agenda of the Marcos administration, reforms in the Philippine government to promote ease of doing business, and expressed the hope to have more Korean businesses and investors who will seek partnerships with the Philippines. Ambassador Dizon-De Vega likewise spoke of the potential for more economic engagement with the conclusion of negotiations for a Philippines Korea Free Trade Agreement.

Ambassador Dizon-De Vega likewise conveyed that there are more opportunities for the Philippines to host the different manufacturing companies of Korea, especially sectors where Korea is a major global player and where operations expansion to an ideal investment destination such as the Philippines can make these companies more competitive through international expansion.

KEF is the leading organization representing Korean enterprises. Since its establishment in 1970s up to present, KEF has expanded and continues to play a significant role to promote business investment through reform of regulations on new industries as well as in increasing policy advocacy in business activities, regulatory reform, corporate governance, taxation and other fields for Korean enterprises. END

PH-ROK HOLDS 1ST BILATERAL MEETING AT THE SIDELINES OF THE 40TH AND 41ST ASEAN SUMMIT AND RELATED MEETINGS

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and President Yoon Suk Yeol and their respective delegations hold a bilateral meeting during the 2022 ASEAN Summit

SEOUL, 14 November 2022 —Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. met with Republic of Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol on the sidelines of the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits and Related Summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 12 November 2022.

As a testament to the 73-year strong partnership between both countries, both sides had a warm, productive discussion, taking stock of the gains of PH-ROK relations and its way forward.

The two Presidents agreed to strengthen and elevate relations between PH and ROK in the areas of security, infrastructure, energy, and people-to-people ties.

“I do believe that it is time that we start to work to elevate our bilateral relations to a strategic partnership,” President Marcos told ROK President Yoon. “Our newly launched bilateral platforms on science and technology, fisheries, and maritime cooperation, all contribute to the deepening of this engagement,” the Philippine President added.

The Philippine President likewise expressed gratitude to ROK for its solidarity initiative centering on maritime security that entails infusion of significant funding in various regional cooperative projects, such as ROK’s BIMP-EAGA Fund.

The Philippines and Korea held an inaugural Maritime Cooperation Dialogue last September 2022 in Busan. END