Malaysia biz group seeks business-friendly policies, regulatory reforms under MOU with PHL

A Malaysian business group on Thursday signed an agreement with the Philippine government aimed at promoting business-friendly policies and regulatory reforms to attract more investors to the country.

Signed at the Malaysian Embassy in Manila, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (MCCI) and the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) also seeks to facilitate cross-border operations between Manila and Kuala Lumpur, share best practices, capacity building, and raise awareness on the Marcos administration’s efforts to  enforce the Ease of Doing Business Law. 

MCCI chairman Edward Ling said Malaysian investors are highly upbeat on the Philippines despite some challenges and concerns on bureaucracy, red tape, and taxation, noting the country faces bright economic prospects with its bullish economy, expanding market, and a young, highly-skilled, and talented workforce. 

“The Philippines is one of the attractive nations to invest in right now,” Ling said at a press conference. “The favorable 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.”

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s commitment to eradicate corruption, improve the business climate, and streamline the process for getting licenses and permits for foreign investors has inspired confidence among Malaysian businessmen, Ling said, but noted that more work still needs to be done by the Philippine government.

Security problems, including Muslim and community insurgencies, lack of infrastructure, and bureaucratic red tape and corruption have long been a concern among current and potential investors in the Philippines.

“It is not easy, but it is doable. The government is moving at the right direction,” Ling said as he praised the Marcos administration’s effort to address the issues, calling it a “very good and positive development.”

From a current membership of 70, Ling said MCCI aspires to grow the chamber into more than 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 9th import supplier.

MCCI president How Han Hui said he is optimistic that the current administration’s assurance to address concerns of foreign businessmen would usher in more investments from Malaysia and other countries and considerably expand two-way trade in all kinds of industries.

With an MOU in place, How said he expects the partnership with the government would “assist and help” in “promoting the Philippines to another level.”

“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.”

“More investments to the Philippines means you can create more jobs and more opportunities for workers as well.”—AOL, GMA Integrated News