PHL SMEs to be promoted in ASEAN

The Philippine section of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, or PHIL-BAC, has joined the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry in undertaking initiatives to promote small and medium enterprises business opportunities in the ASEAN region.

 

The new partnership, through the ASEAN Trade and Investment Center or ATIC, will initially be a platform which will help SMEs engage with the ASEAN market. Eventually, ATIC will be used to promote and facilitate SME engagement with various markets such as Japan, China, Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, and the European Union.

 

The ATIC will be linked with government agencies engaged in SME development, export and trade promotion and other private organizations such as the Trade Department and its attached bureaus, and the Philippine Exporters Confederation.

 

“We need to diversify our markets and increase our engagement with ASEAN.  ASEAN has a market of over a 500 million peoples.  There are opportunities for our SMEs and the ATIC will help them maximize these opportunities," said PCCI president Miguel Varela.

 

The Phil-BAC and PCCI, in consultation with DTI and other private entities, have started drawing up plans to promote the regionalization of SMEs, a further step towards the creation of an integrated ASEAN Economic Community by 2015. — DVM, GMA News