PGMA to Bring Home $1 Billion in New Investments After 3-day Official Visit to Qatar

DOHA, Qatar (via PLDT) --

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo winds up today her three-day official visit here confident that the trip has generated for the Philippines US$1 billion in new investments, and raised to another level the friendly relations of the Philippines with Qatar, a leading destination of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

She leaves at noon (Monday, Dec. 15) on her return flight to the Philippines with a three-hour stopover in Abu Dhabi.

The President held various meetings with chief executive officers (CEOs) of several private companies employing Filipino workers as well as government officials, including executives of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) whom she asked to look into the prospect of doing business in the Philippines.

A state investment arm headquartered in this sprawling Middle East metropolis, the QIA serves as the spearhead of Qatar's investment expansion binge backed by the emirate's huge wealth from Qatar’s natural resources.

Awash with cash from its oil and natural gas exports, Qatar has launched a strong investment drive abroad while pursuing a massive construction program at home.

"As a world-class investor, the QIA adheres to the strictest financial and commercial disciplines. It has a strong track record of investing in different asset classes, including listed securities, property, alternative assets and private equity in all the major capital markets as well as the new emerging markets," says a backgrounder on the investment authority.

But the biggest investment draw for the Philippines from Qatar, thus far, is the tie-up between Qatar Telecom QSC (Qtel) and San Miguel Corporation (SMC), the Philippines' leading business conglomerate. The joint venture was formalized during the President's visit to Qatar.

Senior Qtel executives met with the President on Sunday (Dec. 14) to discuss potential areas of cooperation in Qtel's undertaking to extend access to broadband internet technology in the Philippines.

After the meeting, Qtel and SMC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the expansion and consolidation of the group's Southeast Asia operation. Ramon Ang, chief executive officer and president of San Miguel Corp., signed the MOU on behalf of his company, while Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Bin Saud Al-Thani, Qtel chairman, signed for Qtel.

Under the Qtel-SMC agreement, SMC will own 60 percent of the joint venture to Qtel's 40 percent. Qtel will put in an initial investment of US$150 million, but this will be raised to US$1 billion after one year.

After the formal signing of the accord, Qtel issued an upbeat statement view on its forthcoming Philippine operations, saying it sees a huge growth and expansion potential for the advanced telecommunications industry in the Philippines.

"We are extremely grateful for the opportunity to meet with President Macapagal-Arroyo. Qtel has looked to increase its profile within the Republic of the Philippines and the environment appears increasingly open to external investment and the provision of communication services," said Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammad Bin Saud Al-Thani, Qtel chairman.

He added: "We see huge opportunities for growth and partnership within the Philippines and this meeting provided an important opportunity for Qtel to communicate its ambitions and its obligations to the people" of the Philippines.

Qtel, which is operating in 16 countries including in Southeast Asia, is vying for a slot among the top 20 telecommunications companies in the world by 2020.

A telecommunications service provider, Qtel is licensed by Qatar's Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology to provide both fixed and mobile telecommunications services in the state of Qatar.

San Miguel, on the other hand, is the largest publicly listed food, beverage and packaging company in Southeast Asia with more than 15,000 employees in over 100 facilities throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Qtel's tie-up with San Miguel is the biggest investment thus far by a Qatari company in the Philippines or in a Philippine-based business conglomerate. Up until the Qtel-SMC deal, Qatari investments in the Philippines were concentrated on human services, notably in the manpower supply sector, or the recruitment of Filipino workers for the Middle East.

But the President's meeting with Qatar business executives brought to the fore the untapped markets in Qatar and other Gulf countries for such Philippine products as mango -- a favorite fruit here -- fresh as well as processed Filipino food.

Photo from philstar.com