BCDA, Turkey business group forge partnership to enhance business cooperation in trade and investments

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and one of the biggest business and industrialist organizations  in Turkey  have agreed to work together to foster mutual cooperation that will  pave the way for direct and mutually beneficial trade and investment opportunities between each other.

BCDA President and CEO Arnel Paciano D. Casanova said he recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Hittite Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (HITITSIAD) Chairman Teyfik Akpinar towards the establishment of effective platforms for cooperation  and expand channels of exchanges for joint business ventures in both the Philippines and Turkey or even in a third country.

“Our aim is to learn from each other. For instance, we will identify the best practices that we can adopt to ensure a long-term investment relationship with each other,” Casanova said.

He said the forged agreement will also promote inbound and outbound trade missions between BCDA and HITITSIAD.

“The inbound and outbound missions will not only  strengthen appreciation of actual business and industry conditions but  enable the speedy facilitation of potential investment agreements between HITITSIAD and  the BCDA administered zone,” Casanova said.

Casanova said the more than 150-member firms of HITITSIAD are potential investors and locators in the BCDA-administered economic zones and the country in general.  The BCDA administered freeports and special economic zones are the Clark Freeport Zone, Poro Point Freeport Zone, John Hay Special Economic Zone, and Bataan Technology Park which is located at the Morong Special Economic Zone.

He said the  inbound and outbound trade missions that will take place between the Philippines and Turkey  will pave the way for business matching  that will  eventually result in   HITITISIAD member firms to  locate and do business in the Philippines.

“Of course, we are not limiting the HITITSIAD firms to BCDA administered freeports or special economic zones.  If their business is more appropriate to be located in other freeports in the country, by all means we will endorse them to the appropriate freeport,” Casanova said.

He said what is important is to attract investments that will create jobs for the Filipinos towards inclusive growth for the country.

Casanova  noted that since last year, the BCDA has strengthened its business relations with Turkey through various inbound and outbound missions in cooperation  with the Turkey Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (TCCP). The MOU signing with HITITSIAD was through the TCCP led by its president Irfan Karabulut.   “We laud the TCCP for the investment opportunities they are opening up for the country,” Casanova said. 

PHOTO: Toward a more vibrant PHL-TURKEY investment environment

Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and CEO Arnel Paciano D. Casanova (second from left) and  Hittite Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (HITITSIAD) Chairman Teyfik Akpinar  shake  hands after signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to foster mutual cooperation that will  pave the way for direct and mutually beneficial trade and investment opportunities between the BCDA and HITITSIAD. Looking on are Clark Development Corporation (CDC) President and CEO Arthur Tugade, Jr.  (left) and Turkey Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (TCCP) President Irfan Karabulut (right).  The MOU also promotes inbound and outbound trade missions between BCDA and HITITSIAD that  are expected to  not only strengthen the appreciation of actual business and industry conditions but  enable the speedy facilitation of potential investment agreements between BCDA administered freeports and special economic zones. The BCDA administered freeports and special economic zones are the Clark Freeport Zone, Poro Point Freeport Zone, John Hay Special Economic Zone, and Bataan Technology Park which is located at the Morong Special Economic Zone.

PHOTO: BCDA, DLSU ink lease contract for DLSU Graduate School in BGC

Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) President and CEO Arnel Paciano D. Casanova (fourth from left) and  De La Salle University President  Br. Ricardo P. Laguda, FSC  seal the deal with a handshake  after signing the contract that leases a 1,395-square-meter lot in the institutional area of the Bonifacio Global City  (BGC)  to DLSU. The DLSU will establish a graduate school in the BGC that will offer courses in MBA and Law. Photo shows (from left): DLSU Associate Vice President for Facilities Management Engr. Ronaldo Gallardo; BCDA VP for Finance and  Chairperson of the Asset Disposition Committee Atty. Nena D. Radoc; DLSU   Consultant on Finance - Office of the President  Nilo L. Pacheco, Jr.;  BCDA President and CEO Casanova; DLSU President Laguda; DLSU Chairman of the Board Jose T. Pardo; BCDA EVP Aileen An. R. Zosa; and DLSU Board of Trustee Carlos S. Rufino. Earlier, BCDA President and CEO Arnel Casanova said the presence of De La Salle, one of the country’s prestigious universities,  will play a major role in affirming the  BGC as not just as a premier business, commercial and residential area but a premier institutional area as well. De La Salle University joins the University of the Philippines which also is a lessee-locator in the institutional area of BGC.

PHL, CHINA ink MOU to improve Investment Promotion Cooperation

The Philippine Investment Promotions Plan Steering Committee (PIPP-SC) and the China-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) signed a Memoradum of Understanding (MOU) during the recently held 10th CHINA-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, China to improve investment promotion cooperation.

PIPP-SC Chairman Arnel Paciano D. Casanova who is also the President and CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said the PIPP-SC and the CABC agreed to undertake steps to create a transparent, liberal and facilitative investment regime and to deepen bilateral economic development between each other.

“The signing of the MOU is based on the principle of equality, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation for both countries,” Casanova said. The MOU was signed by President Casanova and CABC Executive Secretary General Xu Ning Ning.

Casanova said the MOU re-affirms the existing strong investment promotion cooperation between the Republic of the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China stipulated in the ASEAN-China Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation (ACFACEC).

According to Casanova the PIPP-SC and the CABC have agreed to position the Philippines in global supply chains by engaging CABC member associations in the areas of manufacturing, agro-industrial business and tourism infrastructure development.

The CABC is one of the five main cooperation and dialogue organizations between China and ASEAN. CABC consists of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), ASEAN Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), the national business leaders, well-known enterprisers and experts members of ASEAN.

Casanova said PIPP-SC and CABC have also agreed to develop industrial linkages as a necessary step in investment promotion cooperation through special economic zones (SEZs) as part of a long-term process of strategic engagement between the host governments.
He said mutual investments shall be promoted through facilitating exchanges and mutual understanding among investment promotion agencies (IPAs) and CABC-member industry associations.

He added that that “inbound and outbound missions among the PIPP-SC and CABC will also be promoted to further strengthen appreciation of actual business and industry conditions to enable speedy facilitation of potential investment agreements.”

Casanova said the MOU also calls for the PIPP-SC and the CABC to facilitate the establishment of effective platforms for cooperation and expand channels of exchanges to enable, support and complement the offshore strategies of Chinese enterprises to the Philippines.

In addition, the MOU is expected to generate beneficial contacts to promote the interchange of educational experience, information and industrial strategic alliances.

“We shall achieve this by facilitating the participation of institutions of higher education, research and development institutions, and science and technology companies in the form of technical working groups (TWGs) in investment facilitation events, forums and exhibitions and conduct joint research & development efforts,” Casanova said.

He added that both the PIPP-SC and the CABC will facilitate the elimination of obstacles which may affect the deepening of bilateral investment cooperation through industrial linkages by identifying the barriers and finding out ways of managing or overcoming such barriers.

The PIPP-SC is a group composed of heads of member IPAs providing strategic directions in the implementation of the Philippine Investment Promotions Plan that aims to position the Philippines as among the prime investment destination in Asia and the world. It is tasked to formulate and implement common country branding and synchronized strategies in investment promotions for the Republic of the Philippines. It is composed of eighteen member organizations which are as follows: Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB); Aurora Pacific Economic Zone Authority (APECO);Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA); Bataan Technology Park, Inc. (BTPI); Board of Investments (BOI); Clark Development Corporation (CDC);Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA); John Hay Management Corporation (JHMC);Mindanao Development Authority (MINDA);Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA);Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA); Phividec Industrial Authority (PIA); Poro Point Management Corporation (PPMC); Regional Board of Investments- Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (RBOI-ARMM); Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA); Tourism Infrastructure Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA); Tourism Promotions Board Philippines (TPB); and Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority (ZCSEZA).

Cities are the wave of the future—and they won’t be Manila

Cities are the wave of the future—and they won’t be Manila

Why the key to PH’s sustained growth may lie outside the metro

The whole world is in the midst of a historic shift. According to a report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), for the first time ever in 2008, more than half of the world’s population was living in towns and cities. This number has continued to swell, and the UNFPA estimates that close to 5 billion people will be living in urban areas by 2030.

The case for why cities will play a monumental role in 21^st century global development—from social, economic, and cultural standpoints—has been well discussed and documented. This has led to increased scrutiny of the world’s cities to see if they can handle the influx. 

 

For instance, GMA News TV’s “Ang Pinaka” aired a feature a few months back on the most livable cities in the Philippines, tapping experts such as urban planner Felino Palafox as panelists. To come up with their top ten cities, the panel took into consideration ten criteria, including traffic management, safety, accessibility of transportation, environmental efforts, and having well-planned communities.

  

Starting off that list at no. 10 was the city of Manila. And while our capital city is certainly one of the country’s cultural, political and business epicenters (other “most livable” lists have ranked Manila even higher), it is arguably lacking in several of the “Ang Pinaka” list’s criteria. Traffic, pollution and flooding are perennial problems, and these are major factors to consider in city livability.

Even Palafox said that "Manila needs urban-renewal or urban acupuncture. It's really deteriorated. The flooding is still there, the garbage. There's no coordination." 

But Manila is not a solitary case. Metro Manila, in general, is suffering from the effects of heavy urbanization. As the most populous metropolitan area in the Philippines (and 11^th most populous in the world), its carrying capacity is about to be reached—as shown by ever-worsening traffic, flooding and informal settler problems.

Granted, Metro Manila is one of the country’s biggest growth drivers, making it a highly desirable location for dwellers and workers. It is responsible for 36% of the country’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP). But as the area becomes increasingly saturated, it becomes clear that for the country to thrive and sustain its remarkable growth in the decades to come, we must look to cities outside the metro.

Aside from latching on to already-established cities like Cebu and Davao, this means organically developing rural areas into urban centers over time, or building new “cities” from scratch and accelerating their growth, similar to what has been done with Bonifacio Global City.

And there is a huge potential to do this. While Metro Manila contributes 36% to the GRDP, its land area, which at 639 sq km, represents just a little more than 0.2% of the country’s total land area. Even the Greater Manila Area, which covers the area surrounding Metro Manila and accounts for 62% of our GRDP, covers less than 2% of the country’s total land area. 

Almost all economic activity and wealth are concentrated in megacities like Metro Manila with no spillover of benefits to neighboring regions. Yet it is clear that the staggering area of non-metropolitan land in the country is just out there, waiting to be tapped and developed!

It is definitely hard not to get excited about the prospect of seeing new metropolises around the archipelago in the future, cities that are comparable in size and function as Manila, but cleaner, more modern, better planned and more efficiently utilized. It will be a game-changer for the country.

But if want to be able to meet the demand for more cities, we need to act fast. Because the UN predicts that by 2030 the country’s population will reach 130 million. The Greater Manila Area will be accommodating 40 million people. Metro Central Luzon’s population will double to 10.25 million, while the whole of Region 3 will hit 20 million. Similar rises are expected for other regions.

This will be in 2030—which is just 17 years from now.

Without a doubt, the world is fast urbanizing and globalizing, and so are we. We need to build new cities, new livelihoods, and new modes of transport—and we need to do it outside Metro Manila.