by admin | Apr 18, 2017 | DTI Updates, Headlines, National News
As funds for the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) expected to be released anytime soon, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and its micro-financing arm Small Business Corporation (SB Corp) have ironed out the guidelines of its implementation that will help micro entrepreneurs throughout the country.
Being the administration’s program to provide an affordable micro-financing for the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the P3 funding program provides micro enterprises an alternative source of financing that is easy to access and made available at a reasonable cost.
“We’re very much excited because this is our vision in the agency—to help underprivileged by giving better chances to elevate from poverty. Through this micro-financing program, those from the bottom of the pyramid will get to climb the ladder by expanding their businesses,” DTI – Regional Operations Group (DTI-ROG) Supervising Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya said.
DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez is set to introduce the national conduits and local Micro-financing Institutions (MFIs) for the P3 program.
The Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) is a P1 billion financing program intended to give MSMEs better access to finance and to reduce their cost of borrowing. The fund will also give priority to the country’s 30 poorest provinces.
Following President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to replace the “5-6” money lending system, the P3 is also seen to help stabilize supply and cost of commodities in public markets, encourage small entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, and offer employment and generate income for Filipinos.
The P1 billion fund of the P3 program from the Office of the President will be coursed through the SB Corp., which will accredit partner institutions such as non-bank MFIs, cooperatives and associations to serve as conduit for the P3 funds. With borrowers identified through these, collection of repayments will be efficient.
“We’re very grateful that this Program has become a reality. MSMEs now have an option to avail of cheaper funds to expand their business,” Maglaya explained.
The P3 Program was launched in Tacloban in Leyte on January 25, San Jose, Occidental Mindoro on January 27, and Alabel, Sarangani last January 30.
The primary beneficiaries of the P3 Program are microenterprises and entrepreneurs that do not have easy access to credit. These include market vendors, agri-businessmen and members of cooperatives, and industry associations.
P3 will also make it easy for borrowers since it will only require minimal documentation requirement; easy to access with only one (1) day processing of application; low cost interest at 2.5% per month; and easy payment with collection on a weekly or daily basis, as necessary.
Loan amounts to end-borrowers will range between P5,000 and P100,000, with no collateral requirement.
by admin | Apr 18, 2017 | DTI Updates, Headlines, National News
Philippine exports posted an increase of 11% with total sales of $4.782 billion for the month of February 2017, marking its third month of positive growth according to a report released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
For February 2017, eight out of ten top major Philippine exported goods rose with electronic products comprising 51.6% of the total exports revenue amounting to $2.470 billion compared to $2.131 billion registered in the same period last year. Other products that increased include cathodes and sections of cathodes, of refined copper (946.9%); other mineral products (107.5%); coconut oil (66.5%); electronic equipment and parts (64.9%); metal components (29.4%); other manufactures (20.1%); electronic products (15.9%); and chemicals (9.6%).
United States (US) topped other Philippine export destinations for the said month, accounting for 15.6% to total exports with receipts valued at $745.22 million. It is followed by Japan with 15.25% share with revenues amounting to $728.35 million.
The increase in February 2017 exports lifted the cumulative value of merchandise exports by 17.36% for the first two months of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016, based on preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Continued export growth can be attributed to the significant increase of Philippine electronic products by 13.24% in the first two months of 2017. This stemmed from the positive performance of the six out of nine subsectors of the industry which contributed 96.74% share in the cumulative total value of the industry.
Department of Trade and Industry’s Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) noted that the increasing efforts of the Philippines in strengthening ties with its ASEAN neighbors including China is expected to sustain the growth of the sector in the coming months.
“Enhancing trade promotion efforts to huge consumer markets is seen as a viable strategy in sustaining the performance of Philippine exports in the coming months,” said DTI-EMB Director Senen M. Perlada.
As the Philippines serves host for this year’s ASEAN Summit, the country is pushing for the conclusion of the ASEAN-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations. RCEP is the free trade agreement being advocated by the ASEAN 10-member states with its six (6) dialogue partners including China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and India.
“RCEP is the chance to balance the country’s trade deficit, especially with China,” emphasized Perlada.
Among selected trade-oriented economies in Asia, the Philippines placed 9th in terms of exports growth, a decline after it placed third last month. Vietnam topped the list for February 2017 with 29.6% recorded exports growth, a significant increase after dropping to among the worst performers for January 2017.
“We see a trend of recovery among economies in the first two months of 2017. For us in the Philippines, the numbers are healthy. While we ranked 9th for this month, on a year-to-date (YTD) analysis among selected trade-oriented economies, we placed third in terms of export growth. This is a signal of a robust export sector,” explained Perlada.
by admin | Apr 17, 2017 | ASEAN agenda, DTI Updates, Headlines
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through its Design Center of the Philippines (Design Center) will be holding the ASEAN Creative Cities Forum and Exhibition (ACCFE) slated on 24-27 April 2017 at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.
Through ACCFE, the country aims to promote the lucrative economic potentials of its creative industries, creative clusters, and creative cities as a viable strategy for sustainable and inclusive development in the region.
“This is also a key initiative to usher the membership of at least one Philippine city in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network by 2018 and further support the development of the 2017 Creative Industries Roadmap,” highlighted DTI Trade and Investments Promotion Group Undersecretary and ASEAN 2017 Committee on Business and Investment Promotion (CBIP) Chairperson Nora K. Terrado.
The event also aims to establish DTI and its Design Center of the Philippines as key players in the development of the Philippine Creative Industries particularly in the area of design.
“The Philippines is teeming with rich talent in various creative fields, including sectors that are under Design Center’s mandate—product design, fashion, graphic design. It’s about time we recognize this, and harness this pool of creativity towards a movement that will be beneficial to all creative stakeholders,” shares Rhea O. Matute, Executive Director of the Design Center.
Creative economy is an emerging concept that deals with creativity, culture, economics and technology. Vital to this emerging type of economy are goods and services that use creativity and intellectual property as primary inputs.
“To have one Philippine city included in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network would mean that every Filipino’s creative assets transformed into products or services contribute to the country’s development,” added Matute.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) recently highlighted the role of creative industries in bringing in economic growth through trade and intellectual property rights activities. Various creative services in the Philippines, such as the animation industry which is gaining traction in the international community, are currently being promoted extensively in the global market.
The ASEAN Creative Cities Forum and Exhibition will feature initiatives of 10 ASEAN member states through various activities that highlight the role of culture and creativity in driving sustainable and inclusive development in the region. Key influencers, advocates, and champions in the field are expected to hold discussions.
At present, there are only four cities from ASEAN member countries that are part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. These include Bandung in Indonesia for Design; Pekalongan in Indonesia for Crafts and Folk Art; Phuket in Thailand for Gastronomy; and Singapore for Design.
by admin | Apr 17, 2017 | DTI Updates, Headlines, Malakanyang Updates, National News
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DOHA, QATAR—Dutertenomics, the new way to sum-up Philippine (PH) President Rodrigo Duterte’s key socio-economic agenda, which aims to widen the gains of economic development, to address inequality and to uplift the quality of life of all Filipinos, was used to describe the various initiatives undertaken in the official Middle East visits of President Duterte.
PH Cabinet members reported, in a press briefing, several gains in securing the safety and welfare of the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in these countries, several memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and agreements in the field of education, health, vocational and skills training, economic investment and technical cooperation with the three countries that the official delegation visited, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Bahrain and Qatar from 10 to 16 April.
Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez said that the chief executive’s visits to these Middle East countries significantly strengthened the relationship between President Duterte and each of the leaders in the three nations, resulting in stronger commitment to build-up on PH bilateral trade and investments with KSA, Bahrain and Qatar.
All these initiatives form part the ‘Dutertenomics’ that will create more job and income opportunities, and improve the lives of many Filipinos. These opportunities will be dispersed throughout the country, uplifting the lives of the people in the provinces and addressing inequality in the country.
More trade and investments
President Duterte led the discussion on how trade can be more balanced by encouraging these Middle East countries to buy more of PH products to improve the trade balance. Said countries are the main sources of oil and oil products that PH has to import.
Aside from commitments to expand imports from PH, several initiatives to facilitate investments were signed.
Foremost among which is the Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (IPPA) with Qatar, which should facilitate the flow of bigger sized Qatar investments into PH. This agreement, the negotiations of which started nine years ago, will now make PH an eligible recipient of investment funds from the Qatar Sovereign Fund. Initial estimate of investment allocation is USD 1 billion.
The IPPA will basically provide internationally-recognized investors their rights and safeguards.
“Qatar investors will be treated fairly, will not be disadvantaged and will facilitate identification of opportunities and entry of investments,” Sec. Lopez said.
There are more investment MOUs and Letters of Intent (LOIs) signed that will bring in investments into PH.
Saudi Arabia
PH through PEZA, led by the DTI Secretary as Chairman, together with Director General Charito Plaza, was able to close USD 469 million-worth of business to business (B2B) LOIs, creating 16,000 new jobs in the areas of pharma generics, property development, medical tourism, ports warehouses, agri-industrial economic zones and Halal food processing industry zones, and tourism.
Bahrain
PH company AMA Group Holdings Corporation and Bahrain company Nader & Ebrahim Sons of Hassan Company W.L.L. (represented by Ebrahim Hassan Mubarak Alameer) signed an MOU, wherein parties agreed to acquire, by lease from land owners, an area of 10,000 hectares with additional investment of USD 250 million over three to five years. This will create 3,500 new jobs. When operation is full, employment will go up to 40,000, producing a total volume of 560,000 MT of various fruits and agriculture products, with export value of USD 280 million annually.
Qatar
Thirteen projects were signed amounting to USD 206 million, generating close to 6,000 workers. These projects will be in the areas of retirement village/hotel/ tourism economic zone in Romblon, Davao or Cebu; information technology (IT) and economic zone management services; hospitals and medical tourism; poultry and Halal food processing; digital marketing; manufacture of coco peat/coco fiber in South Cotabato; manufacture and export facility of nanostructured carbon; and agro-industrial economic zone in Palawan.
More prospects ahead
PH also told investors that the PH is the 2017 chair of the ASEAN regional meetings. At the top of its agenda is steering the ASEAN to full economic integration, which means that by capitalizing on PH’s location, not only will investors be able to access PH market of 105 million, but Phil will be their gateway to the bigger ASEAN market of 620 million people.
President Duterte also encouraged these Middle East countries to explore cooperation on several prime industry sectors in PH that investors can take part in, including agribusiness & agriculture; energy efficiency technologies & renewable energy; infrastructure/public-private partnership (PPP) projects; IT-business process management shared services; oil & gas; and tourism.
by admin | Apr 12, 2017 | DTI Updates, Headlines, National News
The Department of Trade and Industry- Bureau of Philippine Standards (DTI-BPS) adopted as Philippine National Standard (PNS) the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 37001:2016 Anti-bribery management systems – Requirements with guidance for use.
This PNS is applicable only to bribery and specifies requirements and provides guidance for establishing, implementing, maintaining, reviewing and improving an antibribery management system This document addresses bribery in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors; bribery by the organization; bribery by the organization’s personnel acting on the organization’s behalf or for its benefit; bribery of the organization’s business associates acting on the organization’s behalf or for its benefit; bribery of the organization; bribery of the organization’s personnel in relation to the organization’s activities; bribery of the organization’s business associates in relation to the organization’s activities; and, direct and indirect bribery.
The standard sets out requirements and provides guidance for a management system designed to help an organization to prevent, detect, and respond to bribery and comply with anti-bribery laws and voluntary commitments applicable to its activities.
The DTI-BPS is the National Standards Body of the Philippines. It is the Philippines’ member to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
A copy of the standard may be availed for a minimal fee from the Standards Data Centre at 751.4736/507.7307 and bps@dti.gov.ph.
For more information on the services of the DTI, log-on to http://www.dti.gov.ph
by admin | Apr 10, 2017 | ASEAN agenda, DTI Updates
TOKYO—Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary and 2017 ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) chair Ramon Lopez reported that the Philippines successfully advanced ASEAN’s objective to engage Japan on innovation, the inclusivity of the region’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) during the AEM Roadshow to Japan from 6 to 8 April 2017.
The ASEAN Delegation with ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh held a substantive discussion with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Minister Hiroshige Seko of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and key local government officials to discuss measures to enhance ASEAN-Japan economic relations.
The Delegation also met with the Parliamentary Association for the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and some economic organizations such as the ASEAN–Japan Business Council and the ASEAN Business Advisory Council.
MSME development
“We learned how Japanese start-ups make an impact on the economy through their innovative and creative ideas,” said Sec. Lopez, whose thrust at the domestic front is to empower MSMEs through an innovation-led, productivity-oriented framework.
The Delegation traveled to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Wakayama and gathered insights on how Japan managed to gain its stature as a global leader for innovation. Specific sites visited were Hitachi Ltd., Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Panasonic Konosuke Matsushita Museum and Shima Seiki Manufacturing Ltd.
The Delegation also met Osaka Governor Ichirō Matsui and Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura. The Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City governments have been long partners with Philippine government agencies in promoting investments of their small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Philippines. Osaka City has become Manila’s Business Partner City since October 1989. On the other hand, Osaka Prefecture is the first prefecture to sign an investment promotion Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) in January 2016.
In September 2017, Osaka City will organize a business matching event between Japanese and the Filipino SMEs in automotive and aerospace parts manufacturing and electronics contract manufacturing.
Sec. Lopez also shared that parallel endeavors from ASEAN and Japanese business communities to create lasting partnerships with MSMEs were observed during the business matching event held on 7 April, on the sidelines of the 2017 AEM Roadshow.
Also on the sidelines, the ASEAN-Japan Trade and Industry Ministers reaffirmed commitment to strengthen economic and industrial cooperation, in line with the ASEAN-Japan Strategic Economic Cooperation Roadmap.
“Included in the cooperation is to connect ASEAN SMEs with the global value chain, where SMEs will be supported thru capacity building, networking and business matching and enabling of new industries and start-ups,” Sec. Lopez said.
Innovation, regional economic partnership
During an informal AEM–METI consultations, the Delegation discussed ASEAN-Japan economic relations, in particular the ongoing RCEP negotiations. Sec. Lopez reiterated that with RCEP, the current ASEAN market of 600 million could expand to more than 3 billion, thus representing a huge integrated market base. ASEAN is committed to work with Japan and other RCEP participating countries to come up with a modern, comprehensive, high quality, and mutually beneficial agreement.
Meanwhile, ASEAN-Japan Trade and Industry Ministers agreed to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, creating new industries, as well as social agenda on mobility, energy and healthcare thru cutting-edge technology. Business collaborations started with the launch of ASEAN-Japan Innovation network, according to the trade chief.
The Ministers welcomed the proposal of Philippines to organize regular ASEAN-Japan Trade Fair to promote the best of products in the region and the respective branding as well.
On RCEP, the Ministers also considered the possibility of having phased agreement or a building-block approach, completing areas on trade in goods and services, rules of origin, trade facilitation and intellectual property rights.
“RCEP aims to be inclusive and innovation-led since it will include provisions that will support MSME development, e-commerce, human resource and capacity building, education, trade, finance, business matching, technical cooperation and market promotion and safety nets. A special study is being conducted to find ways to reduce non-tariff measures and remaining trade barriers,” he added.
PH’s ASEAN chairmanship
With the Philippines taking chairmanship of ASEAN 2017, the theme is focused on “Partnering for Change, Engaging the World.” The Economic Ministers are promoting “inclusive, innovation-led growth” for shared prosperity in the region in relation to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).
The three strategic measures to achieve this theme include increasing trade and investment, integrating MSMEs in the global value chains and developing an innovation-driven economy.
On behalf of ASEAN Economic Ministers, Sec. Lopez thanked the Japanese Government for the successful implementation of the Roadshow.
He also looked forward to welcoming Minister Seko in Manila in September for the AEM-METI Consultations and Prime Minister Abe in November for the ASEAN-Japan Summit.
