The Philippine Investment Promotion Team to South Korea, headed by DTI Undersecretary Cristino L.Panlilio, successfully concluded its three-day mission to campaign for more Korean investments to the Philippines. The team conducted meetings with eight companies in Seoul and outlying areas on 14-16 May 2012.

The highlight of the mission was the Investment Seminar on the Philippines, which was sponsored by the Philippine Embassy through the Philippine Trade and Investment Center and the ASEAN-Korea Center. During the seminar, Usec. Panlilio discussed investment climate and business environment in the Philippines. Other speakers discussed specific investment opportunities in the Philippines, such as upgrading Mega Manila’s water security by MWSS Chairman Ramon Alikpala; infrastructure projects under the Public-Private Partnership Program by Atty. Sherry Ann Austria of the PPP Center; investment environment and opportunities in the Laguna de Bay Region by Assistant General Manager Dolora Nepomuceno of LLDA; and opportunities in the energy sector by General manager Bong-Choo Choi of KEPCO.
The seminar attracted a total of 120 Korean businessmen. It was followed by one-on-one discussion among the participants and the five speakers. The immediate result of the seminar is the commitment made by some participants to conduct three investment missions to the Philippines during the next three weeks. Their interests are in the electronics industry, shipbuilding and electronic vehicles.
Last year, South Korea was the fifth largest investor in the Philippines, with a total of Php14.14 billion worth of approved investments.