12 NZ firms to visit Phl

MANILA, Philippines - Twelve firms from New Zealand are visiting the country next week to explore business opportunities, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said.     

In a statement yesterday, the PCCI said New Zealand’s Trade Minister Tim Groser would visit the country next week with 12 companies which   are interested in business opportunities.     

PCCI president Alfredo Yao said the companies are engaged in the following sectors: information and communications technology, logistics, transport, manufacturing, infrastructure and logistics, as well as food and beverage.     

The visiting firms include: Airways New Zealand (air traffic control and management services), BCS Group (logistics hardware and   infrastructure support), New Zealand Technology Industry Association   (capacity building), Orion Corp. (software exporter), Fonterra (dairy   products), Prime Foods New Zealand (seafood processor), Westland  Cooperative Dairy Company (dairy products), Mainfreight International (logistics solutions), Patton (refrigeration and air-conditioning), and GNS Science (earth geoscience and isotope research and consultancy).     

The PCCI is hosting a seminar and networking session for the visiting delegation.     

The group said Philippine companies interested in exploring opportunities could attend the sessions on June 5 at the PCCI’s office in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.     

The PCCI is working with its partner organizations in other parts of the world in organizing and hosting business missions here.     

The PCCI wants to encourage partnerships between local and foreign firms, as well as to have more foreign companies   making investments here to create jobs.     

Yao said earlier the PCCI is promoting the Philippines as a potential hub in the region to foreign firms and the group’s partner business councils in other countries.     

“We are looking for them to invest here and use the Philippines as hub for the ASEAN market,” he said.        

He noted that among the advantages of the Philippines over its peers in the region is the availability of a Filipino workforce who speak the English language and could easily be trained.        

The PCCI, the country’s largest business organization, has a nationwide network of 110 chapters, 137 industry sectors, 37 business councils and 1,500 direct corporate members.