Shanghai, 26 July 2021 – “Greater economic cooperation with Ningbo City and investments in the Philippines from its burgeoning SME sector”. This was the pitch of Philippine Consulate General Economic Officer Consul Conrado B. Demdem, Jr., and Commercial Vice Consul Mario Tani at the “SME, New Wave” event in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, on 21 July.

The annual financial technology (fintech) meeting, organized by Shanghai-based fintech startup XTransfer with the support of the Ningbo chapter of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) – China’s largest state-sanctioned institution for foreign trade -- saw the attendance of over 600 individuals representing over 100 SMEs.

The Consulate General’s officials used the event as a platform to identify and advance fresh avenues of cooperation with Ningbo and Zhejiang’s business community in fields such as cross-border e-commerce (CBEC). Vice Consul Tani delivered a presentation highlighting the advantages and attractiveness of the Philippines, with its young population, large labor force, stable manufacturing costs, and a huge domestic market. He underscored the government’s strong policy support for innovation and technology start-ups, as well as incentives such as those available under the recently enacted Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act.

“The rise of ‘digitalized’ trade and healthy e-commerce sectors in both the Philippines and China invariably contribute to bilateral commerce and opens new avenues for engagement”, Consul Demdem emphasized, during a media interview on the event’s fringes.

Earlier, Consul Demdem and VC Tani had a brief interaction with XTransfer CEO and founder DENG Guguo and CCPIT-Ningbo Vice Chairman YE Hua Yu, and made the same pitch. They were joined by Mr. LǙ Kejian, CEO of China Merchants Venture (CMV), an investment firm and subsidiary of China Merchants Group, the country’s largest state-owned company engaged in port management. CEO DENG committed to follow through on his company’s proposed expansion of CBEC operations in the Philippines.

Ningbo, a city of 9 million people in Zhejiang Province, has emerged in recent years as one of China’s international trading powerhouses, with a strong SME sector. Its economic strides, coupled with larger Zhejiang’s status as the Philippines’ fifth 5th largest trading partner in 2020 among mainland Chinese provinces carries with it the potential of greater economic cooperation with the Philippines. END