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ICT Update | December 6, 2019
Authors: Jamie Lim and Taylor Dumaine
LOOKING AHEAD
(Jakarta) – The US-ASEAN Business Council held its annual ASEAN Business Mission today, with six leading U.S. companies engaging key ASEAN stakeholders to further strengthen the public and private sectors ties across many spectrums of ASEAN cooperation. The Mission was led by Ambassador Michael W. Michalak, Senior Vice President & Regional Managing Director of the US-ASEAN Business Council.
Chief of the US-ASEAN Business Council for Indonesia L. V. Vaidyanathan was also present at the meeting.
At the meeting with some 50 businessmen grouped in the council, President Jokowi was accompanied by several Onward Indonesia Cabinet ministers comprising Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif, Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto, Communication and Informatics Minister Johny G. Plate, and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Mahendra Siregar.
In his address, the president stated that Indonesia’s economic growth is relatively better in comparison with that of other nations.
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Presiden Jokowi menerima delegasi US-Asean Business Council di Istana Negara pada Kamis, 5 Desember 2019. Wakil Menteri Luar Negeri Mahendra Siregar menjelaskan hasil pertemuan tersebut cukup positif.
Simak informasi selengkapnya dalam program Profit di CNBC Indonesia (Kamis, 05/12/2019) berikut ini.
WASHINGTON will begin negotiations for a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Manila next year in a move that will secure market access for Philippine exporters to the United States in the face of global trade uncertainty.
American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Executive Director Ebb Hinchliffe said the US government is prioritizing the conclusion of its regional trade deal with Canada and Mexico. As such, all efforts to negotiate a bilateral FTA with trading partners, including the Philippines, are suspended to make way for the North American agreement.
However, in his recent meeting with Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) executives, Hinchliffe said he was informed negotiations for an FTA with the Philippines will begin after the US finalizes its trade deal with Canada and Mexico.
Indo Pacific trade mission leads to new deals and deeper ties
Washington - In support of the goal of President Donald J. Trump to increase American commercial activity across nations in the Indo-Pacific region, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross led a business delegation including of 16 companies to Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam from November 3 to November 8. This mission spawned new partnerships as well as several business agreements, potentially representing billions in investments.
“The Trump Administration is building new relationships across the Indo-Pacific, creating a bright future, not only for the United States, but for countries across the region,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “Last year, trade between Indo-Pacific nations and United States increased to a record of nearly $2 trillion – tying our great countries ever-closer together.”
The Indo-Pacific region needs huge investment -- especially in sectors like energy and transportation -- to support and sustain its dynamic growth.
With 'significant' presence in energy sector in Bangladesh, the US companies are also interested in investing in the country especially in energy segment.
The US officials and business executives made the observations at the second Indo-Pacific Business Forum held on Monday in Bangkok, Thailand while highlighting a wide range of commercial deals and new efforts to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific.
They predicted that energy demand in the Indo-Pacific region would increase by 60 per cent by 2040.
The State Department and USAID invested nearly US$ 600 million since July 2018 in energy, infrastructure, digital, trade and governance programming.
Companies from the US are increasingly looking at the Philippines as possible alternative location for their existing operations in China amid trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.
John Goyer, executive director for Southeast Asia at the US Chamber of Commerce, said that US investors have noted the efforts of the Philippine government to further improve its business climate, The Philippine Star noted.
Goyer cited the latest Doing Business Report by the World Bank that showed that the Ease of Doing Business ranking of the Philippines jumped 29 notches to 95th from the previous 124th position.
“I think that demonstrates that you see an ongoing effort in the Philippines to improve the business climate, improve the investment environment and so I think that countries are paying attention and that there are business opportunities in that market for sure,” Goyer said.
November 10, 2019 – American companies consider the Philippines as a viable site in relocating operations from China amid the two superpower countries’ growing trade war.
The US Chamber of Commerce said that investors have seen the efforts of the Philippine government to upscale its business climate, citing the annual Ease of Doing Business Report by the World Bank. The report shows a big leap in the Philippines’s ranking from 124th to 95th in the 2020 edition.
“I think that demonstrates that you see an ongoing effort in the Philippines to improve the business climate, improve the investment environment and so I think that countries are paying attention and that there are business opportunities in that market for sure,” USCC Executive Director for Southeast Asia John Goyer said.
WASHINGTON, D.C. 11 November 2019 — “The Philippines has come a long way, but it is now recognized globally as among the fastest growing and most resilient economies in the world. Its prospects are bright. However, the transformation was a product of a long list of structural reforms. It did not happen overnight,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said in a forum held at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. on 16 October 2019.
The Philippine recorded its 82nd consecutive quarter of uninterrupted economic growth in the second quarter of 2019. “This shows that we have managed to sail through the toughest external challenges from the Asian financial crisis to the global financial crisis,” Governor Diokno also pointed out.