The German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (GPCCI) is optimistic that more German companies will be interested in investing in the Philippines given favorable market conditions here, the organization said in a statement on Friday.

"We have been receiving an influx of inquiries from German businesses who are considering the Philippines for new ventures. Reports such as this will definitely encourage them to seriously take a closer look," GPCCI General Manager Nadine Fund was quoted in the statement as saying.

Ms. Fund said the Philippines remains an attractive investment destination for German companies because of the skilled and highly educated workforce and a huge market of more than 90 million people.

Citing the recently released 2014 Doing Business report by the World Bank, she said governance and regulatory reform measures under the Aquino administration make the Philippines one of the most improved countries.

The report showed that the Philippines now ranks 108th out of the 189 economies covered, up 25 notches from 133rd last year, given regulatory reforms -- particularly in securing construction permits, obtaining credit and paying taxes.

Ms. Fund, however, said that more remains to be done in order to attract and sustain the inflow of investments.

"Bringing back investor confidence needs a lot of painstaking effort to weed corruption in the government and to make the Philippines a top investments haven," she said.

She said a lot of foreign investors continue to face roadblocks such as legal security and the 40% foreign ownership limit of private businesses provided by the constitution.

"In as much as we are delighted about the positive outcome of the government efforts in the past few years, and we do notice the positive impact, doing business here still includes many hurdles that need to be tackled by the government in order to position the country as a top investment location," Ms. Fund added.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs Web site, total trade between the Philippines and Germany stood at $3.4 billion as of the end of 2012.

Top sectors where German companies are engaged in the Philippines include freight forwarding, pharmaceuticals, automotive, and textiles, among others.

Some of the German companies present in the Philippines are pharmaceutical firms Bayer Philippines, Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim Philippines, Inc., and Merck, Inc. and energy firms Siemens, Inc. and Steag State Power, Inc.

By D.E.D. Saclag(bworldonline.com)

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