The Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Moscow (PTIC-Moscow), in collaboration with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and with the participation of the Philippine Embassy in Moscow organized and conducted the Roundtable Briefing on Investment Opportunities in New Clark City last 25 November 2020 via Zoom.
Commercial Counsellor Kristine Umali welcomed all attendees from the government departments, business organizations, private sector companies, and media outlets.
Deputy Chief of Mission and Consul General Robert O. Ferrer followed and gave his welcome remarks. “We are delighted to welcome everyone to the online roundtable briefing on investment opportunities in New Clark City, one of the latest, most exciting and ambitious development projects of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority. We would also want to thank the Department of Trade and Industry, Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Moscow, and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) for spearheading this activity, using modern communication technologies to facilitate connections between important investment stakeholders in the Philippines and Russia,” he added.
The Guest Speaker, Atty. Joanna Eileen Capones, Vice President for Investment Promotions and Marketing of the BCDA gave a presentation on New Clark City and provided an overview of the different landmark projects of the BCDA, where they converted former US military bases into new cities/developments. Atty. Capones highlighted New Clark City and shared existing projects as well as planned developments where potential foreign investors can participate or cooperate in different investment projects.
BCDA expressed readiness to work with the Russian partners in the following directions: finding locators for the industrial park, negotiating and working with the Russian partners in the private sector who can potentially help with operations and maintenance for sports facilities, joint work on solid waste management, telecommunications, mass transport system, building sports facilities, utilities development, private sector partnerships for the commercial use of land, and agro-industrial partnerships.
The briefing was followed by a Q&A session, which was moderated by PTIC-Moscow’s Commercial Counsellor Kristine Umali and PE-Moscow’s Third Secretary & Vice Consul Grace Perpetua, whereby Kurganstalmost, Orenburg Union of Industrialists & Entrepreneurs, Skolkovo Foundation, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation participated and expressed an active interest in taking the discussion offline and starting new partnerships with the Philippines. Other attendees to the roundtable were the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, Russia-ASEAN Business Council, RZHDstroy, and Russia Today.
The Make It Happen in the Philippines video was also played prior to the closing of the briefing, after which the Commercial Counsellor gave closing remarks. “We are grateful for the growing interest of the Russian companies in the Philippines as a source of world-class products and as an investment destination. Since the opening of PTIC Moscow in 2018, we have seen that more Russian companies are starting to show their interest in bilateral projects, and events like this are crucial for increasing awareness on potential areas of cooperation. We will continue to organize similar briefings and webinars to promote investment opportunities in the Philippines to Russian companies,” she added.
For more information on investment opportunities in the Philippines please follow DTI Russia on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/dti.russia) and Instagram (@dti.moscow).
