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By Katrice R. Jalbuena, Reporter
A group of 20 Spanish companies will join a
mission to the Philippines in late May to look for possible
investment opportunities in energy, biofuels, infrastructure,
tourism, environment, and engineering.
Spanish diplomats, led by Madrid’s ambassador
to Manila, Luis Arias, made the announcement during a roundtable
interview with The Manila Times on Tuesday.
The areas of possible investments represent a
first step. Spain has expertise in aquaculture, for example, that it
can also bring here. There are many other possible areas of
cooperation.
Spain recently launched a program called Plan
Asia, which aims “to recuperate” from the Spanish absence in
Asia, Arias told The Times.
“Our priority is the Philippines,” the envoy
said, adding that Spain cannot look at Asia without considering its
“special relations” with this country.
The Philippines was a colony of Spain for almost
350 years, until it was ceded to the United States in 1898.
“We are always looking for opportunities to
build upon these ties and strengthen cooperation between our two
countries that have already been so historically connected in the
past,” Arias said.
But he admitted that much work needed to be
done. Trade, he said, has improved, but remains “very poor.” In
2007, Spain exported 120-million euros worth of goods to the
Philippines, while importing 234-million worth of products.
In modern times, Spain has concentrated on
Europe for trade and investment opportunities, according to Arias.
The European Union accounts for about two-thirds of its trade.
Spain, like most of the world, has done what it
did centuries ago. It is again turning its gaze toward the East,
especially because, the Spanish ambassador said, “Asia is a
dynamic region.”
Investment mission to Manila
The Spanish investors are expected to stay in
Manila from May 21 to May 22, with activities and meetings planned
at World Renaissance Hotel in Makati City, said Javier Alvarez, the
Spanish Embassy’s economic and commercial counselor.
“The idea is to find business opportunities
and find Filipino partners (with whom) to collaborate,” Alvarez
added. He said the embassy is working with the Philippine Board of
Investments to identify suitable business partners for the visiting
investors.
“We will be showing them around and
introducing them to possible investment opportunities in the
Philippines as well as Filipino companies that they might be able to
partner with.”
Alavarez declined to identify the Spanish
companies, but said the list will be disclosed once it is final. He
said about 20 firms have confirmed, but there may be more that will
join the mission.
“There may be some from other industries
(besides those mentioned), as well,” he said.
An investment mission like this “has not taken
place here in many years,” Alvarez noted.
Ambassador Arias said the investment mission may
have been the result of President Gloria Arroyo’s visit to Spain
in December 2007. He added that there may have been Spanish
businessmen who were considering investing in Asia, but that state
visit likely clinched the decision to fly to Manila.
President Arroyo’s trip was only the second
state visit of a Philippine President to Spain, Arias said. The
first one happened in 1961, when President Diosdado Macapagal, Mrs.
Arroyo’s late father, was the country’s leader.
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