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14 June 2006 – Philippine Ambassador to Berlin, Germany Delia Domingo-Albert reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that she visited the port city of Hamburg in Northern Germany in March to promote the Philippines as an investment destination for companies based in that region.
Ambassador Domingo-Albert explained, “Hamburg is the largest city in Germany after Berlin, and foreign trade generated by Hamburg-based industries account for 7% of Germany’s total import trade and 3% of Germany’s total export trade. A major partner of Asia in its economic relations with Germany is the Ostasiatischer Verein (OAV), or German Asia-Pacific Business Association which was established in 1900 and is based in Hamburg. It is the service provider for German companies doing business in Asia. OAV is also one of the founders of the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business, whose aim is to support the interest of the German business community in promoting bilateral economic relations between Germany/Europe and the Asia-Pacific region,”
The Ambassador met with selected important Hamburg-based companies currently doing business in the Philippines, namely Lufthansa Technik AG, CPL Unternehmensberatung and Hapag Lloyd AG.
Ambassador Domingo-Albert said that Mr. August Wilhelm Henningsen, Chairman of the Board of Executives of Lufthansa Technik AG, briefed her on the activities of the company in the Philippines.
“Lufthansa Technik AG is a global leader in aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service provider. The company’s strategic base in Southeast Asia is Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP) which is a joint venture of Lufthansa AG and MacroAsia Corporation. It started operations in 2000 and currently employs 2,575 Filipinos. The entire Philippine Airlines fleet of Boeing and Airbus jets are maintained by LTP, which also services other carriers such as Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa German Airlines,” Mr. Henningsen explained.
He also expressed satisfaction with the progress of LTP and acknowledged the presence of skilled employees as a major factor, and likewise asked the Ambassador’s assistance in spreading the word to other countries’ flag carriers traveling in the region about LTP’s MRO services.
Ambassador Domingo-Albert also met with Mr. Gerald Bagowski, Managing Director of CPL Unternehmensberatung, founded in Hamburg in 1979 as IBM Computer’s business partner.
The Ambassador explained that CPL Philippines, Inc. (CPLP) was established as a joint venture with SSI and has since then been successful in providing high quality and cost-effective outsourced software development contracts to European clients.
Mr. Bagowski cited the Filipinos’ inherent skill and creativity as contributing to the success of CPLP. He said that while India has invited CPL to relocate there, the company has decided to maintain its business operations in the Philippines because “Filipinos are good people to work with”.
Mr. Michael Behrendt, Chairman of the Executive Board of Hapag Lloyd AG, welcomed the Ambassador to the company headquarters, and mentioned the positive image of Filipino seafarers noting their skills and “good disposition”.
Ambassador Domingo-Albert congratulated the company for receiving the Ministerial Citation of the Second International Maritime Awards (SIMA) in November 2005 in Manila. The award is given by the Philippine Government to outstanding foreign employers of Filipinos.
The Ambassador also met with Dr. Hans-Heinrich Noll, Managing Director of the German Shipowners’ Association, which represents the common economic and socio-political interests of German shipowners at the national, European and international level.
Dr. Noll mentioned that the choice of employing Filipino seafarers onboard German ships was due mainly to the facility in the English language and trustworthiness. “Filipinos are highly trainable and are comfortable to work with, and have no problems when it comes to security issues in an increasingly dangerous world,” Dr. Noll said.
During Ambassador Domingo-Albert’s meeting with Bernhard Rothfos GmbH, she explored the possibility of introducing Philippine coffee to Germany. The company’s Managing Director, Mr. Bernard Cremieux, said that there was potential for sourcing coffee beans from the Philippines.
A highlight of the visit of Ambassador Domingo-Albert to Hamburg was the luncheon hosted in her honor by the Ostasiatischer Verein (OAV), or German Asia-Pacific Business Association. A major partner of Asia in its economic relations with Germany , the OAV was established in 1900 and is based in Hamburg. It is the service provider for German companies doing business in Asia. OAV is also one of the founders of the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business, which aims to support the interest of the German business community in promoting bilateral economic relations between Germany/Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
At the luncheon, the Ambassador discussed her intention to deepen economic relations between the Philippines and Germany. OAV representatives, headed by its Chairman and Member of the Executive Board, Mr. Ernst Komrowski, responded positively and committed the support of the OAV to this objective.
The Ambassador, together with other members of the diplomatic corps, was also a guest at the annual OAV event, the Liebesmahl, which gathers prominent figures of German business with a prominent German or foreign personality as guest speaker. This year’s event featured Federal President Horst Kohler.
Ambassador Domingo-Albert also toured the port of Hamburg and the Airbus facilities while she was in Hamburg.
The Ambassador explained, “My visit to Hamburg proved to be a channel to project the commitment of the Philippines to continue to build on existing relations. My meetings with major German businesses based in Hamburg highlighted the positive image of the Philippines as a business destination. German business also recognized the need to deepen economic relations with the Philippines, citing the tremendous potential that needs to be tapped for this purpose.” (Please refer to the accompanying photo release on this topic.) END
/epa