PEZA Director General Dr. Lilia De Lima presenting business opportunities

in the Philippines to potential investors from Austria.

26 October 2011 – Dr. Lilia De Lima, Director General of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), visited Austria from 23 to 25 October 2011 to promote investments in the Philippines and meet with Austrian companies.

The Austrian Federal Chamber of Economy (“Wirtschaftskammer Österreich” or WKO), led by Dr. Wolfram Moritz, Regional Director for South and Southeast Asia, organized an investment forum for Dr. De Lima on 24 October 2011 in cooperation with the Philippine Embassy in Vienna.  During the forum, Dr. De Lima introduced PEZA to the participants and discussed the many advantages of locating in over 200 PEZA zones in the Philippines.  She talked about the competitiveness edge of the Philippines as an investment location in Asia.

The event, entitled “The Philippines:  Austria’s Vibrant Economic Partner in Asia and the Pacific”, was attended by representatives of Austrian firms with business interests in construction and infrastructure development, pharmaceuticals, information technology, foam manufacturing, banking and finance, and paper production, among others.  Mr. Jose Antonio Buencamino, head of the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Berlin, and Mr. Arnold Gonzales of the Department of Tourism Office in Frankfurt, were also present in the investment forum.

Executives from Austrian companies Waagner-Biro and Tannpapier gave encouraging testimonials on their experiences in doing business in the Philippines during the investment forum.  Waagner-Biro has been constructing bridges in the Philippines while Tannpapier has its main manufacturing facility in Asia located in Batangas.

In her remarks, Amb. Lourdes O. Yparraguirre stated that the commendable performance of the Philippine economy has received the attention of international credit rating agencies, international financial institutions like the IMF and the World Bank, and the World Economic Forum (WEF). She said that now is the time for Austrian companies to take a closer look into business and investment opportunities in the Philippines.

Earlier, on 23 October 2011, Amb. Yparraguirre hosted a Working Dinner and Planning Session with Dr. De Lima and the Honorary Consuls of the Philippines in Austria, Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Philippine Ambassador to Austria Lourdes O. Yparraguirre delivering her Welcome

Remarks during the investment forum.

Dr. De Lima visited Graz on 25 October 2011 where she conducted a lecture at the Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), and met with Prof. Dr. Horst Bischof, the Vice-Rector for Research.  During their meeting, Prof. Bischof discussed the university’s areas of expertise and its strong cooperation with Austrian companies.  TU Graz is a recognized leader in Europe in such fields as architecture, materials development, information technology, biotechnology, and biomedical engineering.

Dr. De Lima and Prof. Bischof talked about the possibility of strengthening future links between TU Graz and institutions of higher education in the Philippines, and of establishing training and research opportunities for Filipino students in the fields of science, technology and engineering.

After her lecture at TU Graz, Dr. De Lima met with top executives of Austriamicrosystems at the company’s headquarters.  In the meeting, Dr. De Lima was informed of the company’s intention to expand its operations in the Philippines by the end of this year.  Austriamicrosystems plans to build a new manufacturing and testing facility in the Philippines with four times the production capacity and three times the employment capacity of their current facility.

Dr. De Lima addressing company representatives of top Austrian companies who attended the investment forum “The Philippines:  Austria’s Vibrant Economic Partner in Asia and the Pacific”

on 24 October 2011 in Vienna.

Amb. Yparragguirre and PEZA Director General De Lima chaired a Working Dinner on Philippine trade, investments and tourism priorities with Honorary Consuls of the Philippines in Austria, Croatia, Slovak Republic and Slovenia.  From left to right:  Mr. Elmer San Pascual of PEZA, Senior Commercial Counsellor Jose Antonio Buencamino of PTIC-Berlin, Mr. Arnold Gonzales of DOT-Frankfurt, Minister Counsellor Charlie Manangan, Dr. Lilia De Lima, Honorary Consul General Joze Kastelic (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Amb. Lourdes Yparraguirre, Honorary Consul General Pavol Konstiak (Bratislava, Slovak Republic), Honorary Consul General Davor Stern (Zagreb, Croatia), First Secretary Pete Raymond Delfin, and Honorary Consul Thomas Wagner (Salzburg, Austria).