The British Chamber of Commerce is optimistic that the passage of the amendment of Retail Trade Liberalization Act (RTLA), which is awaiting President Duterte’s signature, would attract more foreign investments in the Philippines, reversing an anemic amount of inflow in the past.
British Chamber of Commerce Executive Director and Trustee Chris Nelson said they have been closely monitoring the development of the RTLA and they have been pleased with progress since the legislative measure is now on the table of Duterte.
Nelson pointed out that various foreign groups and chambers see the passage of the RTLA as a “great opportunity” to boost foreign investments in the country, which he noted has been “very little” in the past two decades.
“I just want to emphasize that the previous retail act passed 20 years ago netted very little investments for the Philippines. We can do much better than that,” he said in a recent television interview.
“We are very optimistic [about this], we are looking forward to this being signed. It is a clear signal to investors that move on economic liberalization, which we think is very important. It is a great progress,” he added.
Nelson said his group would promote the RTLA once it is enacted into law in the United Kingdom and attract potential investors to the Philippines. He noted that the reduction in the minimum paid-up capital from $2.5 million to $500,000 is really enticing to foreign investors.
“What we will do with this, we have lined up and promoted it in the UK, [among] our partners there, to various chambers and international trade partners,” he said.
Last September, the Senate ratified a Bicameral conference committee report endorsing amendments to the RTLA and seeking to lower the capitalization requirement for foreign retailers from $2.5 million to $500,000, or from P125 million to P25 million.
Passing the remedial legislation for the 1991 Act, said Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, was intended to attract more foreign direct investments into the country, “thereby fostering competition, lowering market prices, and creating more local jobs.”
As one of its principal authors, Zubiri had pushed for keeping the capitalization level at P25 million, against the House version’s much lower proposal of P10 million.
“We did this to protect our micro, small, and medium enterprises,” Zubiri explained in an earlier statement.