FFCCCII - Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc.

Moving Forward for Continuing Growth

The Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. has long been recognized as a partner in nation-building. Since its creation in 1954, it has channeled its efforts into uniting the Chinese-Filipino community, promoting the growth of business, and implementing social welfare projects to bring about continuing growth for the whole country.

FFCCCI I has a network of 170 member organizations all over the Philippines. These organizations play vital roles in the sectors, industries and communities where they are involved. With the growth of the Philippine economy now gaining momentum, FFCCCI I continues its tradition of service to the Filipino.

CONTINUING GROWTH IN COMPETITIVE INDUSTRIES

Great opportunities await investors in the Philippines. We would like to encourage investments in the Philippines in various fields such as agriculture, tourism, mining, energy, information and communications technology services, and other competitive industries.

Growth through Agriculture. We are supportive of efforts to modernize our agriculture and fishery sectors in order to increase productivity and global competitiveness, and ensure our food security. Majority of Filipinos live in the countryside and most of them depend on agriculture directly or indirectly for their source of living. Promoting agricultural growth would, thus, contribute significantly to improvement of rural life. The country's agriculture industry presents major investment opportunities in the following areas; rural infrastructure (e.g. irrigation facilities, farm-to-market roads, bridges, fish ports, and post harvest and storage facilities), food processing, transportation and distribution, financing and biotechnology.

Growth through Tourism. We consider the tourism industry to be a top priority because the Philippines is blessed with many of the best tourism destinations of the world, many of which have yet to be fully discovered. Our people are also very ideal for tourism as they are friendly, creative and talented, and speak English very well. Tourism is a lucrative investment in the Philippines because it has competitive advantage in terms of its proximity to North-East Asia and its world-class natural attractions.

Growth through Energy Development. We would like to see an increase in investments in energy. We support efforts to develop a viable and sustainable energy sector that would provide stable and affordable energy supply to enable local industries to meet the challenges of globalization. We support the development and gradual shift to alternative sources of energy that are indigenous to the Philippines such as geothermal, hydro, natural gas, and solar, which are cheaper and more environment-safe. We also encourage more private sector participation in energy-related projects.

Growth through ICT Services. In the field of information and communications Technology (ICT) services, the Philippines can be an active player because it has an adequate pool of executives and workers for ICT services with the right skill levels at comparative costs. There are five priority areas for ICT services that we would like investors to consider: Contact Centers, Animation and Software Development, Medical Transcription, Business Process Outsourcing, and Engineering and Design Services.