L to R: Ambassador Patricia Ann Paez; president and CEO of the Pietrucha Group Mr. Jerzy Pietrucha; director of the department of Asia and the Pacific in Poland’s foreign ministry Ambassador Pawel Mislewski; director of Bank Indonesia Mr. Donny Hutabarat; Vietnam’s Ambassador H.E. Mr. Vu Dang Dung; director of the Foreign Markets Proejct of the PTWP SA Group and seminar’s moderator Mr.Olaf Osica; and Thailand’s Ambassador H.E. Mrs. Sansanee Sahussarangsi

Amb. Sahusssarangsi and Amb. Paez

L to R:Amb. Paez, Ms. Vandana Shelar of MS Global and Amb. Sahussarangsi

L to R: The president of the European Business Club Poland Mr. Janusz Cieslak and Amb. Paez

WARSAW____The Philippine Embassy in Warsaw, Poland presented the business opportunities in the Philippines for European Union (EU) enterprises during the seminar on ASEAN Economic Opporunities held at the sidelines of the recently-concluded European Economic Congress (EEC) in the city of Katowice.

Philippine envoy to Poland Ambassador Patricia Ann V. Paez informed the audience about the indices of the Philippine economy’s dynamism, the fiscal as well as non-fiscal incentives being offered in the Philippines’ 379 special economic zones and about the Philippines-EU Business Network (EPBN) and how it can help EU enterprises which wish to do business in the Philippines.

Using information and data provided by the EPBN, Amb. Paez enumerated the sectors which offer ample opportunities for EU businesses, namely, the construction, health care, energy, environment and water, and agri-food sectors.

Among the incentives being offered in the special economic zones by the Phlippine Econommic Zone Authority (PEZA) are the following: no corporate income tex or tax holiday from four (4) to six (6) years; at the end of the tex holiday, the payment of only 5% on grosss income; tax exemption for imported equipment, supplies, and raw materials; and zero VAT (value-added tax) on electricity, water and other utilities, as well as on local taxes. Noted for world-class efficiency, finished products brought to the port are cleared by customs on the same day, are shipped to the any Asian country on the same day; and arrive in the Asian country also on the same day.

Amb. Paez also informed the audience about the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in December 2015 which allows for the free flow of goods across the ten member countries of ASEAN, duty or tariff-free, among others. She said that the Philippines is a very good platform for EU enterprises to penetrate the markets of the nine other ASEAN members. She said that ASEAN has a combined consumer base of at least 620 million.

The lady envoy also cited the services being offered by the EPBN such as: advocacy and market accesss; business intelligence and local expertise; organization of fact-finding trade missions; promotion of strong business-to-government relations; and commercial representation.

The Seminar on Economic Opportunities in ASEAN was a project of the ASEAN Committee in Warsaw (ACW) composed of ASEAN envoys with resident-embassies in Warsaw, namely, the ambassadors of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The present chair of the ACW, under a six-month rotating system, is the ambassador of Thailand. (END)