Martial Beck, vice president of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), yesterday said the group is in talks with German and French boat and yacht builders to consider the country as a hub for manufacturing these seafaring vessels for export to the rest of Asean.

Beck said the Philippines is a good location and has the workforce to support a boat building industry.

The Philippines is the world’s fourth largest shipbuilder with the likes of major shipbuilding companies Hanjin of Korea and Tsuneishi of Japan as investors.

Angelo Olondriz, president of boat builder Headsail Inc., said the country is missing out on the potential of the leisure boating industry due to high taxes and the absence of standards to guide boat builders.

Olondriz cited there are 25 boat builders in the Philippines, which combined have an annual production of about $10 million. The Philippines being an archipelago also has a lot of backyard boat builders that produce fishing boats.

The Philippines’ boat-to-cruise industry is still in its infancy but the potential is huge when compared to Thailand, which has turned this sector into a 1-billion baht ($37 million) industry in less than 10 years.

Taxes on imported boats could go as high as 150 percent. Thailand eliminated taxes on the industry from a high of 240 percent that spurred its growth.

Source: Malaya Business Insight