MANILA— Laws aimed at liberalizing the economy should be passed immediately to encourage more foreign direct investments, an official of the British Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines said Friday.
The Retail Trade Liberalization Act, which seeks to open up the country’s retail sector by lowering the minimum paid-up capital for foreign retail investors, would bring more opportunities in the country, British Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines executive director Chris Nelson told ANC.
“We’re very pleased with the progress. Obviously, it’s a certified urgent bill, it’s now with the President for his signature… Once that is signed into law, I think we’ll see a great opportunity,” Nelson said.
"We're very optimistic. We're looking forward to it being signed," he added.
The country can do much better than the previous versions dated as far back as 20 years ago, he said.
Duterte earlier signed as urgent several economic bills, namely the Retail Trade Lliberatlization Act, the Foreign Investment Act and the Public Service Act.
The pro-business bills were among priorities mentioned by the chief executive in his last State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Duterte’s economic managers have also spearheaded a tax reform program called the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP), which aims to raise funds for the government and streamline other tax laws to ease the burden of Filipinos as well as attract investments.
ANC, ANC Top, economy, British Chamber of Commerce, Retail Trade Liberalization Law, Foreign Investment Act, Public Service Act, foreign direct investments