MANILA – The Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and Industries Philippines (MCCI) and the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) sealed a deal Thursday to boost cooperation among the relevant government agencies and Malaysian businesses in the country.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was formally signed between the MCCI and ARTA held at the Malaysian Embassy in Manila, which seeks to support the Marcos administrations’ efforts to enforce the Ease of Doing Business Law.
According to MCCI Chairman Edward Ling, although the Philippines is facing challenges on red tape, issues on taxation, and the bureaucracy, he is still optimistic about the investment prospects of the country, especially for Malaysian investors.
“The Philippines is one of the attractive nations to invest in right now. The favourable growth rate, the talented, social media-savvy youth and of course the ease of doing business coming into law with ARTA coming into lead to improving the red tape,” Ling said in a media interview.
Ling also believes that the current administration is “moving in the right direction” and commended the government’s efforts to address the different issues faced by the business community in the country.
“It is not easy, but it is doable. The government is moving at the right direction,” Ling said.
MCCI President How Han Hui also shared his optimism after the administration gave assurances to address the concerns raised by foreign businessmen, and hopes that the signing of the MOU will become a platform to address such concerns.
“We designed the MOU with these (challenges) in mind so we will become a platform to address these issues especially to our members,” How said. “We just hope to play a role and a platform to attract more investments and have a business community together to solve the challenges.”
Currently, the MCCI has a membership of 70 but Ling is hoping to expand this to 300 members.
“I want to let our members feel that there is reason for them to be members. Our membership will grow and the country and economy will grow, and investment will come in,” he said.
Established in 2017, MCCI is the first Southeast Asian country to create a business chamber in the Philippines. Among Malaysia’s notable investments in the Philippines are hotels, real estate, food and beverage, energy and manufacturing.
Malaysia is currently ranked as the Philippines’ 10th major trading partner, 11th export market and, and 9th import supplier.
