NZ envoy bullish on PH, cites attractiveness to Kiwi traders

New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines Reuben Levermore. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—New Zealand’s ambassador to the Philippines is upbeat about the growing economic ties between Manila and Wellington, noting this country’s rising profile in the international business community and potential as a viable location for up-and-coming Kiwi firms.

Ambassador Reuben Levermore said the Philippines’ expanding economy, reforming business climate and English-proficient work force were attracting more Kiwi businesses to the country, increasing the investment potential for the two sides over what has largely been a trade relationship.

“I think the fact that the Philippine economy is doing very well at the moment and is commanding attention internationally, then you’ve got a government with an agenda that really appeals to business in terms of anticorruption…these are good things in the Philippines’ favor,” said Levermore during a visit to the Inquirer last week.

New Zealand and the Philippines, as long-time trade partners, have “very good relations, but it would be great to do more,” the envoy told this paper’s editors and reporters.

Trade relationship

He revealed that New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser is expected to come to the Philippines with a business delegation within a month to meet with their Filipino counterparts.

“I guess the thing is, if you look at the data, it’s basically a trade relationship more than it is an investment relationship. For New Zealand, the Philippines is an important export market—it was our 15th-largest last year across the world—and we have a free trade agreement with Asean, which the Philippines is a part of,” he said.

Total bilateral trade between the two countries was at $698.5 million in 2012 with Kiwi exports to the Philippines at $588.5 million, according to the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Office.

Levermore said the bulk of New Zealand products sold in the Philippines consisted of dairy products (milk, cream, butter, cheese) and included other food products and wood.

The Philippines, Levermore said, could pursue investments from New Zealand, citing the country’s strengths as an emerging business destination.

BPO industry

He mentioned New Zealand’s information technology (IT) sector as an area the Philippines could tap for its bustling business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, as well as the Kiwi energy sector, as the Philippines is pursuing energy infrastructure projects.

“I think it’s a good time to be trying to bring businesses up here, and my experience is people have to see it. And many business people have come up from places like New Zealand—once they come here and they go to Makati and they see a first-world business environment—they find it very easy to get on with Filipinos,” the ambassador said.

“And you know, we’re not the best linguists in the world, so when you speak in English, that’s really an advantage. That’s a strategic advantage for the Philippines,” he added.

Levermore said the Philippines should capitalize on the positive experience that Kiwi firms already doing business in the country would be bringing back to New Zealand.

“The more companies that do that, that actually establish companies here, the more there’s going to be a ripple effect. And they’re going to be telling others of their experience, and next the investment opportunities will come. The more companies that come and invest here and they have a good experience, they go and send the word back to New Zealand,” he said.

Optimistic

Levermore also cited the growing Filipino community in New Zealand as a reason to do more business for the Philippines. There were an estimated 40,000 Filipinos living in New Zealand as of December last year, one percent of the country’s total population of four million.

“I’m quite optimistic. For countries like ours, we’ve got these growing Philippine communities as well, and they’re helping to lift the profile of the Philippines in our home country,” he said.

Filipinos in New Zealand work mostly as nurses, engineers, accountants and dairy farm employees.