French firm eyes P1.5 billion shipyard project in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — A French company plans to invest P1.5 billion for a shipyard project in the country, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

In a statement yesterday, the DTI said the planned investment was disclosed by OCEA chief executive officer Roland Joassard during the 9th Philippines-France Joint Economic Committee (JEC) video conference attended by Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and French Minister for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness Franck Riester earlier this month.

OCEA is a shipbuilding company based in northwest France.

The project is expected to create 500 to 600 direct and indirect jobs, the DTI said.

The JEC covered discussions on bilateral cooperation in agriculture; civil aviation, aeronautics and space; creative industries; electronics; energy and green technology; infrastructure and transportation, and the maritime and shipbuilding sectors.

During the meeting, Riester announced a plan to visit the Philippines before the end of this year.

He also presented three letters of intent confirming financial support for upcoming projects with the Department of Transportation, financial aid for a training boat contract for the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy and a possible maritime expert proposal.

Meanwhile, Lopez turned over to Reister a letter from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority for the next-phase study of the Clark Fresh Food Hub, and another letter addressed to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines conveying strong interest to renew technical training programs.

In the same meeting, French space agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiale extended an invitation for the newly created Philippine Space Agency to join the Space Climate Observatory Initiative which is composed of space agencies and international organizations working together for an “accurate assessment and monitoring of the consequences of climate change from observations and numerical models.”

The Film Development Council of the Philippines also proposed continued projects in film and animation in partnership with French creative groups.

As the Philippines and France are preparing for a future bilateral meeting on agriculture, the two countries also identified projects on dairy development, geographical indications, and control and eradication of African swine fever, as well as areas for market access.

The two countries also discussed energy projects as both countries intend to work together on alternative energy ventures.

Lopez tackled the benefits of the European Union’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus or GSP+ which has enabled greater market access for Philippine goods to the trade bloc.

As a beneficiary country of the EU GSP+, the Philippines enjoys duty-free entry for 6,274 products to the bloc.

Lopez also emphasized the importance of having a free trade agreement between the Philippines and the EU.

Talks for the FTA between the Philippines and the EU have been stalled with the last round being held in February 2017.

The JEC with France is the longest running high-level economic dialogue between the Philippines and a European country.