Opportunities await Filipino firms in partnership with Korean investors
KOREAN investors in the Philippines have opened and are ready to open new partnerships with Filipino companies and absorb thousands of professionals and skilled workers here and in Korea.
This was the core message delivered by Korean Chamber of Commerce Philippines president Jae J. Jang in pitching for the building of an East Asian Economic Community (EAEC) during an international forum on the role of business in the economic integration of East Asia in a Makati City hotel recently.
The new investment opportunities, Jang said, are in heavy industries, tourism, food and beverages, English teaching centers, retirement villages and in skilled manpower.
He mentioned the fact that Korea was the top foreign direct investor in the Philippines last year following the setting up of ship-building and ship repair facilities by one of its giant ship building corporations, Hanjin Shipbuilding Co. at the Subic Freeport.
The Subic shipyard needs a total of 20,000 skilled workers by Hanjin but it has only hired only 10,000 due to the dearth of qualified applicants. The company is likewise trying to get local raw material suppliers and sub-contractors on some aspects of its operations.
“Investors want to partner with local small and medium companies,” he explained.
The Subic project is the second ship building facility built by the Koreans in the Philippines. An earlier facility was built by Keppel in Batangas.
The Korean chamber of commerce head said the Philippines is the top choice of Korean shipbuilding companies because of its many deep harbors that are perfectly suited to ship building. Korea is the world’s biggest ship builder.
The second biggest joint venture opportunity is in tourism. Korean companies and individuals are searching for partners to set up hotels, travel and tour services, and other tourist oriented businesses here.
There are no Korean speaking tour guides yet to help a growing number of Koreans visiting the Philippines a year.
He presented statistical data which showed that last year, Koreans outnumbered all other nationalities coming to the Philippines totaling 550,000 visitors, relegating American tourists at number two and Japanese at third place.
Potential investors in tourism, he revealed, are not limited to big corporations but now include individuals with personal cash who want to serve the growing needs of an expanding number of Koreans coming to the Philippines.
They need Filipino partners, especially because foreigners cannot buy land here, he explained. He noted that there are Filipino-owned Thai, Chinese, Japanese and American restaurants here but none that offer Korean cuisine.
There are also needs for retirement villages in the Philippines for an aging Korean population and learning centers for English. He said tens of thousands of young Korean students come to the Philippines every six months only to learn how to speak English.
He further said in addition to about 70,000 Filipinos already working in Korea, the Korean government is looking for Filipino teachers to teach English Korean elementary and high school students there. The hiring rate, he said, is US$1,000 a month.
East Asian business and government leaders have been busy here in the past couple of weeks putting together the foundations of an envisioned East Asian Economic Community (EAEC) approximating that of Europe. (P. Belena/Philexport News and Features)
This was the core message delivered by Korean Chamber of Commerce Philippines president Jae J. Jang in pitching for the building of an East Asian Economic Community (EAEC) during an international forum on the role of business in the economic integration of East Asia in a Makati City hotel recently.
The new investment opportunities, Jang said, are in heavy industries, tourism, food and beverages, English teaching centers, retirement villages and in skilled manpower.
He mentioned the fact that Korea was the top foreign direct investor in the Philippines last year following the setting up of ship-building and ship repair facilities by one of its giant ship building corporations, Hanjin Shipbuilding Co. at the Subic Freeport.
The Subic shipyard needs a total of 20,000 skilled workers by Hanjin but it has only hired only 10,000 due to the dearth of qualified applicants. The company is likewise trying to get local raw material suppliers and sub-contractors on some aspects of its operations.
“Investors want to partner with local small and medium companies,” he explained.
The Subic project is the second ship building facility built by the Koreans in the Philippines. An earlier facility was built by Keppel in Batangas.
The Korean chamber of commerce head said the Philippines is the top choice of Korean shipbuilding companies because of its many deep harbors that are perfectly suited to ship building. Korea is the world’s biggest ship builder.
The second biggest joint venture opportunity is in tourism. Korean companies and individuals are searching for partners to set up hotels, travel and tour services, and other tourist oriented businesses here.
There are no Korean speaking tour guides yet to help a growing number of Koreans visiting the Philippines a year.
He presented statistical data which showed that last year, Koreans outnumbered all other nationalities coming to the Philippines totaling 550,000 visitors, relegating American tourists at number two and Japanese at third place.
Potential investors in tourism, he revealed, are not limited to big corporations but now include individuals with personal cash who want to serve the growing needs of an expanding number of Koreans coming to the Philippines.
They need Filipino partners, especially because foreigners cannot buy land here, he explained. He noted that there are Filipino-owned Thai, Chinese, Japanese and American restaurants here but none that offer Korean cuisine.
There are also needs for retirement villages in the Philippines for an aging Korean population and learning centers for English. He said tens of thousands of young Korean students come to the Philippines every six months only to learn how to speak English.
He further said in addition to about 70,000 Filipinos already working in Korea, the Korean government is looking for Filipino teachers to teach English Korean elementary and high school students there. The hiring rate, he said, is US$1,000 a month.
East Asian business and government leaders have been busy here in the past couple of weeks putting together the foundations of an envisioned East Asian Economic Community (EAEC) approximating that of Europe. (P. Belena/Philexport News and Features)
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