Philippines, Singapore ink 10 business deals

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday witnessed the signing of 10 business agreements between Philippine and Singaporean firms on the sidelines of the 32nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit.

The business deals, which have an estimated investment value of $185.7 million, are expected to generate 1,920 jobs.

In a speech, Duterte assured Singaporean entrepreneurs of ease of doing business in the Philippines.

“I assure you I will establish a line that’s very simple to follow and if we have any misgivings, just call me especially if it’s about corruption,” Duterte said.

“I will give you time to talk to me at any instance or whatever be the time,” he added.

Among ASEAN states, Singapore is the Philippines’ biggest source of foreign direct investments in 2017, data from the central bank show.

At the regional summit in Singapore, ASEAN leaders are expected to discuss free trade, among others.

Below is the list of agreements signed by Filipino and Singaporean business leaders:

• Memorandum of Understanding between Filinvest Development Corp. and Keppel Corp. on exploration of opportunities in development projects in Filinvest City, edge computing data centers in Metro Manila and urban solutions for Clark City
• Memorandum of Understanding between Everhydro Corp. and OceanPixel Pte Ltd on collaboration to develop marine renewal energy projects in Zamboanga
• Letter of Intent between Cebu Air, Inc. and SIA Engineering Company Ltd. to enter into discussion on potential growth opportunities.
• Letter of Intent between Lepack Packaging Pte Ltd. and Department of Trade and Industry to explore opportunities in the Philippines particularly on plastic packaging and film manufacturing
• Letter of Intent between the ASEAN Business Advisory Council and DTI to conduct a feasibility study to identify a site that will be suitable to implement the SGConnect legacy project
• Memorandum of Understanding between Filinvest Development Corp. and Hitachi Asia Ltd on exploration of collaborative opportunities on social innovation business, energy management, information and communications technology and water solutions, among others
• Memorandum of Understanding between ICS-ICT Corporation and Robin Village International Pte Ltd. on cooperation on prefab projects for areas needing fast deployment
• Memorandum of Understanding between Ascent Solutions Pte Ltd. and Ascent Solutions Philippines Inc. on creation of investment framework for development of a blockchain technology platform for a National ID system, transport management system and trade financing
• Letter of Intent between Jollibee Worldwide Pte Ltd and Golden Beeworks Pte Ltd. to enter into an agreement to develop 25 Jollibee outlets in Singapore for a period of five years
• Memorandum of Understanding between the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Singapore Manufacturing Federation on promotion of cooperation on trade, economic, scientific and other business relations between concerned organizations and firms of both parties