Ranking British official in Manila to strengthen economic ties with PH

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MANILA, Philippines— In line with efforts by the United Kingdom to strengthen economic ties with the Philippines, the Lord Mayor of the City of London Alderman Alan Yarrow will be in the country for a two-day visit, from his arrival on February 12.

The British Embassy in Manila said that the trip of the Right Honourable Lord Mayor, a ranking government official, aims to “strengthen UK-Philippine partnerships and promote British capabilities in the areas of public-private partnerships (PPP), and financial and professional services, as well as to promote inward investment into the UK for companies looking to expand into Europe.”

While in the Philippines, the Lord Mayor, who is the ambassador of financial and professional services industries based in the UK, will meet with key players in the local business and finance sectors; such as CEO’s of top UK and Philippine companies, the board members of the Philippine Stock Exchange, the heads of various government agencies (among them, Congress, the Department of Finance, the Bangko Sentral ng Philippines and PPP Center), as well as other administration officials.

The Philippine leg is part of the Lord Mayor’s mission to Southeast Asia, which includes stops in Myanmar and Thailand.

“As the Philippines continues to increase its openness to overseas trade and investment, these opportunities will only increase. We are working with a number of different UK firms, in different sectors, that are considering investments in the Philippines, and we hope to be able to announce some of these over the course of 2015,” Iain Mansfield, director of the UK Trade and Investment Manila, told reporters from the Inquirer.

Mansfield pointed out, as well, that the creation of the Asean Economic Community – targeted before the end of 2015 – is expected to greatly boost business opportunities between the Philippines and the UK.