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Exports increased 1.5 percent in 2019 to hit an all-time high of $70.32 billion, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the country achieved the feat despite the external headwinds from the global trade policy uncertainties, geopolitical tensions and country-specific challenges. “The relatively strong export performance of the Philippines transpired amid DTI’s strong efforts in attracting investments, spurring MSME development and promoting the ease of doing business,” said Lopez. Read more: Manila Standard  Taipei, Feb. 4 (CNA) From Saturday, Taiwanese wishing to visit the Philippines will be asked to provide a recent travel history when applying for a visa following the extension of a travel ban on foreign travelers who have been to China or its special administrative regions within the last three weeks, according to the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO).
All foreign travelers - - regardless of nationality -- who have visited China, Hong Kong or Macau with the last 21 days will be barred from entering the Philippines, MECO said. On Sunday, Filipino authorities banned all travelers from China, Hong Kong, and Macau, one day after a Chinese national from Wuhan -- ground zero of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak -- died in the Philippines, becoming the first fatality outside China. Read more: Focus Taiwan  THE European Union (EU) removed the Philippines from its “priority” counterfeit watchlist, even if it noted that intellectual property (IP) protection in the country has not improved.
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said in a statement that this is the first time the Philippines has been delisted from a priority category. The country had been downgraded to “Priority 3” — or the countries of least concern — in 2015. In its report released on Jan. 8, the European Commission said it will closely monitor the situation in the Philippines and countries like Israel, Morocco, South Africa, Switzerland and United Arab Emirates where IP enforcement is a concern. “The Philippines was removed from the priority list and included in the group of countries, which need to be closely monitored. This is due to the very few complaints received from stakeholders and the increase in the relative importance of other countries for EU right holders,” the Commission said. Read more: BusinessWorld  The Philippines garment and textiles industry roadmap, launched recently at an industry forum, foresees the country becoming one of the top ten global players with annual exports growth of 45 per cent if it implements some recommendations, including elimination of the popular ‘ukay-ukay’ (used imported clothing) and the utilisation of natural fibres.
The plan covering 2020-2029 was divided into three milestones: short-term (2020-2022), medium term (2023-2025) and long-term (2026-2029). Under the short term milestones, the Philippines should already be among the top 20 garment exporters with annual growth of 12.3 per cent in garment exports and 3-5 per cent increase in textile exports. This should be made possible with the increase in the utilisation of natural and synthetic textile fibre by 5-10 per cent, according to media reports in the Philippines. Under this milestone, the government was urged to address smuggling and proliferation of ukay-ukay. Incentives to the industry was also pushed in the short term for the innovative product processing that promotes sustainability and green environment. Reduction of the 12 per cent value added tax was also pushed. Read more: Fibre2Fashion.com  Department of Trade and Industry and Bureau of Investments chairman Ramon Lopez told members of media that total investments approved by the agency reached P1.14 trillion in 2019, the third consecutive record year for investment approvals.
Read more: The PH Chronicles  Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) Taiwanese startup airline StarLux Airlines Co. Ltd. will start direct flights between Taipei and Cebu, the Philippines on April 6, the airline said Wednesday.
The carrier will offer one flight per day using an Airbus A321neo aircraft, with ticket sales to begin on Jan. 20. The plan was unveiled after StarLux announced it is scheduled to start commercial services Jan. 23, offering flights to Macau, Danang in Vietnam and Penang in Malaysia. StarLux said it will focus on Southeast Asian destinations in its initial operations, paving the way for a move into the transit market between the region and North America, which StarLux plans to enter in 2022. The airline said it picked Cebu as a destination because it is popular with Taiwanese, European and American tourists as well as business travelers. Cebu is the second largest city in the Philippines. With its rich historical landscapes and natural wonders, travelers have a choice of historical and natural attractions to visit, according to StarLux. Source: Focus Taiwan The Philippine economy is likely to outperform its regional and global peers in the next two years on the back of resilient private consumption, monetary policy easing and strong rebound in capital inflow, investment experts from British banking giant HSBC said.
This year, HSBC expects the Philippines to grow its gross domestic product (GDP) by 6.4 percent and further to 6.5 percent next year, beating the projected average growth of Asian emerging markets of 5.1 percent this year and 5.3 percent next year. Read more: The Philippine Daily Inquirer Here’s one great reason to toast the decade that’s about to end: It’s the most prosperous the Philippine economy has ever been. Growth in gross domestic product (GDP), noted the economist Arsenio Balisacan, averaged 6.3 percent in the 2010s, the fastest since the 1960s. Without adjusting for inflation, the economy is now more than twice as big, at about P19 trillion, compared with P9 trillion in 2010.
Read more: ANC The PHILIPPINES is poised to be among the 20 economies that will dominate Global Economic Growth.
Read more: Bloomberg  Philippines welcomes 8-Millionth tourist Yachiyo Imamoto from Yokohama, Japan.
Foreign tourist arrivals in the Philippines have registered milestone figures this year, reaching a record 6-million-plus mark in the first nine months of the year, registering a 14%+ improvement over the 2018 numbers. The Philippines has been praised for its beauty and charms by many visiting tourists, among the more recent is Canadian Devon Sawa – the human form of Casper The Friendly Ghost – who spent the holidays in the Philippine islands. Read more: GoodNews Pilipinas |
ABOUT PTIC TAIPEI
The Philippine Trade & Investment Center in Taipei is the Commercial Affairs Section of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office and the representative office of the Philippine Department of Trade & Industry in Taiwan Archives
January 2020
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