Australia cues another trade mission to PH

Australia has scheduled another trade mission to the Philippines, for March next year, with firms from the technology sector of the world’ sixth-largest country expected to visit to explore investment opportunities.

Luisa Rust, the senior trade and investment commissioner at the Australian Embassy, in Manila said the next mission will cut across a number of tech sub-sectors such as cyber security, AI and blockchain.

“The Philippines has favorable demographics, supportive economic policies and a thriving service-based economy that needs digital solutions to become more competitive, resilient and inclusive,” Rust told reporters during a media roundtable discussion at the ambassador’s residence in Makati.

Hae Kyong Yu, Canberra’s ambassador to Manila, said they are focusing on these areas since these are where they are seeing opportunities for Australian firms with cutting edge technology to look for local partners in the Philippines.

“And of course, when you are looking at digitizing your economy, cybersecurity is an important component of that as well,” Yu said.

Earlier this month, the Australian embassy concluded a two-day trade mission composed of representatives from 14 of their country’s key investment funds and corporations, including global financial services group Macquarie Group joining the two-day affair.

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According to the Australian embassy in the Philippines, two-way trade between the two countries stood at P378 billion in 2023, while two-way investment was valued at P321 billion.

Meanwhile, Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines president Benjamin Romualdez told the Inquirer that several Australian firms are already keen on new ventures here.