More European firms are expected to take an interest in the Philippines with the establishment of the European Union­Philippines Business Network (EPBN), officials said.

Michael K. Raeuber, president of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, said at the launch of the EPBN yesterday in Makati City that the objective of the newly formed organization was to "identify business opportunities in the Philippines... and to guide European companies that want to enter the Philippine market."

Mr. Raeuber, however, said there was a "need to create a level playing field" for European and Filipino firms to make the country more attractive as a trade and investment destination.

Helena Koenig, head of the South and Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand unit of the Directorate General for Trade at the European Commission, added that the Philippine regulatory environment was hampering the entry of European investments.

She said that while the Philippines got a "fair" amount of EU investments at €7.6 billion in 2012, the amount was a small portion of total European investment outside the EU.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte, Jr. said Congressional bills reforming investor­ unfriendly laws are in the pipeline, including possible amendments to the Constitution.

For his part, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and National Economic and Development Authority Director General Arsenio M. Balisacan said the EPBN will help government in achieving inclusive growth.

"Through the EPBN, subsectors such as agribusiness, manufacturing, tourism, information technology and business process management, logistics, and construction will be promoted in view of their potential to contribute to employment generation as well as rapid and sustained growth," Mr. Balisacan said.

"Focusing MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprises) linkage between Philippine and European firms in these areas will certainly help the government achieve its goals of inclusive growth and poverty reduction," he added.

Trade in goods between the EU and the Philippines reached €10.8 billion last year, in favor of the former.

Source: Business World, 05 June 2014