12 October 2004 - Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands Romeo A. Arguelles said that Dutch confidence in the Philippine Economy remains strong, as evidenced by indicators he presented during the annual reception for Dutch businessmen held at the Ambassador's residence.

"In 2003, The Netherlands remains the largest European investor in the Philippines, and the third largest foreign investor, after the United States and Japan," Ambassador Arguelles said. "Dutch direct foreign investments increased 14 times last year compared to the previous year, from USD 4.7 million (PhP 268.6 million) in 2002 to USD 55 million (PhP 3.8 billion) in 2003. During the first quarter of 2004 alone, Dutch direct foreign investments amounted to USD 5.14 million (PhP 288.1 million)."

The Ambassador also noted that the CEO of Philips Electronics recently announced that they plan to add USD 250 million in investments in the Philippines for the next 3 years.

Besides increased investments, Ambassador Arguelles also cited the continued growth of the Dutch market for Philippine exports.

"The Netherland remains the largest market for Philippine exports in Europe, and the fourth largest worldwide, after the United States, Japan and China (including Hong Kong)," said the Ambassador. "There was an increase of 15.42% in exports during the first seven months of 2004, compared to the same period in 2003. 85% of these exports were electronic items. This rate was larger than the rate for total exports to the world which was only 7.72%."

With regards to tourism, Ambassador Arguelles said that there was an increase of 14.39% in Dutch visitors to the Philippines during the first seven months of 2004, compared to the same period in 2003. The Netherlands is the fourth largest source of tourists from Europe, following UK, Germany and Switzerland, he said.

During the reception, Mr. Bert Talens, a retired businessman and now a printing and graphic arts technical consultant of PUM, the Netherlands Senior Experts Program, also shared his positive experience in doing business in the Philippines.

The reception for Dutch businessmen was organized in cooperation with the Philippine Netherlands Business Council and the Netherlands Council for Trade Promotion (NCH). Thirty-six (36) businessmen from various fields attended the reception. – END