Philippine, Bangla businesses to improve trade imbalance

05 Jan '21

2 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

Businessmen from Bangladesh and the Philippines are pushing to improve the balance of trade between their countries as they also explore more investment opportunities. Bangladesh-Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BPCCI) president Akber AI Hakim said the Philippines has ‘outshined’ Bangladesh ‘quite a bit’ in terms of exports and imports.

“In both countries, you will also notice that our imports are far greater than our exports so you know the trade, the balance there is not necessarily in our favor in the case of both countries,” he said in a webinar hosted by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).

AI Hakim said the two nations could also jointly explore areas like textiles and readymade garments, pharmaceuticals, processed food and tourism.

“Ninety-seven of our pharmaceutical needs of the country are produced by our own pharmaceutical companies that are actually world class, and we export to hundreds of countries in the world,” he added.

AI Hakim said the main industries of the Philippines are semiconductor and electronic products, automotive and aerospace, food manufacturing, shipbuilding, textiles and readymade garments, chemicals, business process manufacturing and tourism.

He said the Philippines can use Bangladesh’s digital infrastructure to establish or work from there, while the latter can use the former’s vast experience in the information technology and other fields. The Philippines could also benefit from setting up a skills training center in Bangladesh, he was quoted as saying by a Bangladesh newspaper.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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