MANILA - The British government is extending immediate and possibly long-term assistance to the Philippines in line with the national government's efforts to rebuild Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan)-ravaged areas.

In an interview with the BusinessMirror on Tuesday, Lord Jonathan Marland, the British prime minister's trade envoy, said this has been one of the important discussions he has had with the Philippine government during his visit to the country.

Lord Marland has traveled with three trade missions consisting of 25 multisector companies from various parts of the United Kingdom and a delegation of UK infrastructure companies from South Korea, both based in Manila and Seoul.

"The first point of discussion is the dreadful typhoon, Yolanda, and how the money the British government has given and, indeed, what the British people have given can be put to better use. The British public gave P3.5 billion just from appeals, which is a huge amount of money," Marland said.

Marland said the UK is going to link the Philippine government with companies that have the capability to help not only in rebuilding basic infrastructure, but also those that construct prefabricated homes.

Apart from the immediate needs for Yolanda, Lord Marland also said the British government in keen on assisting the national government in undertaking a wide array of projects and exploring sustainable solutions for the country's long-term development.

He said the projects included in the list are low carbon buses similar to those in Britain and other similar transportation solutions; and renewable energy, such as waste-to-energy solutions, wind and wave.

Lord Marland also said the UK-based businesses may also undertake projects in air traffic management, rail projects and the public-private partnership initiative of the national government.

"British companies are in a consortium, about five, are bidding for LRT [Light Railway Transit] 1 and then there'll be LRT 2, and we want to be in the forefront of that," Lord Marland said. "We're in consortium in the first, and we will probably have a British offering for the second."

Apart from these, Lord Marland also said British investors are looking at the Philippines as a possible location for their businesses or expansion projects. He said businesses in Britain are attracted to the quality and educated work force in the Philippines.

He added that the government's commitment to transparency and accountability, and the country's openness to explore new avenues of partnerships and linkages with the UK government, also make the country an attractive investment destination.

The UK is the highest European and fourth-highest overall source of foreign direct investments in the Philippines, and in 2012, total UK exports to the Philippines were up 13 percent at over £550 million.

"I think the Philippines is attractive and holds great potential for British businesses to operate," Lord Marland said. "I think the 7-percent growth of the Philippines and the openness of the government toward transparency means [there's a] great opportunity [for businesses here]."

In recent years more and more British companies are expanding and entering the Philippine market. Among the recent successes in terms of the increasing British activity in the Philippine market are the launch of clothing brand River Island and the opening of the new Bentley showroom.

Also notable are the entry of Rolls- Royce and the tender won by GlaxoSmithKline with the Philippines's Department of Health for the supply of pneumococcal vaccine this year.

Deliveries of new Airbus planes with major British components also followed the $7-billion deal with Philippine Airlines.

By Cai U. Ordinario, BusinessMirror

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