Reforms, prospect of FTA keeping EU firms upbeat about entering PHL market

EUROPEAN BUSINESSES remain confident about setting up operations in the Philippines due to recent reforms and negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA), the European Union-Association of Southeast Asian Nations Business Council (EU-ABC) said.

- By Justine Irish D. Tabile Reporter

“European businesses remain confident... in the direction of travel under the Marcos administration,” EU-ABC Executive Director Chris Humphrey told BusinessWorld.

“And they remain confident because we do have those ongoing FTA negotiations with the European Union,” he added.

He said that the reform agenda of the Marcos administration will help improve the ease of doing business, an ongoing concern for European businesses with operations in Southeast Asia.

“T think there’s always room to improve the ease of doing business in any economy in Southeast Asia. That is true in the Philippines as well,” he said.

“But the reform agenda that the Marcos administration has been undertaking makes life easier for European businesses,” he added.