28 July 2022, Los Angeles – The Philippine Consulate General and Philippine Trade & Investment Center in Los Angeles (PTIC-LA) participated in the U.S. Asia Business Forum (USABF) held from 25 to 27 July 2022 in Anaheim, CA. The Consulate General was represented by its Economic Team, Consul Francis Maynard S. Maleon, Trade Commissioner Eric C. Elnar, and Information Officer Mary Grace D. Leaño.
The three-day Conference began with welcome messages from Secretary to the Government of India National Policy Advisor, Dr. C V Ananda Bose; and India National Chief Advisor for Finance, Mr. Priyabrata Pramanik.
On the second day, the Conference featured Affinity Partner Manager of Energy Professionals LLC, Dr. Jorge “Jerry” Perez De Tagle, a Filipino-American. His presentation focused on various technologies and strategies that could be adopted by companies or organizations to reduce energy consumption.
On the third day, Trade Commissioner Eric Elnar provided a snapshot of the country’s economic climate, underscoring the country’s resilience amidst the impacts of the CoViD-19 pandemic. He also outlined the major reasons for choosing the Philippines as an investment destination, such as the country’s demographic sweet spot, strategic geography, and sustained infrastructure development under the “Build, Build, Build” program. The Trade Commissioner also enumerated business laws and regulations that are meant to protect foreign investors and help them expand their businesses in the PHL, including the Public Service Act, the amended Foreign Investments Act, and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, and the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act.
On the event sidelines, Consul Maleon met with Mr. Pramanik; CEO of UE Lifesciences, Inc. Mihir Shah and Executive Editor of the Global Forum newspaper, Mr. Michal Jacquot. Led by its Chairperson, Mr. Kevin Kaun, USABF has endeavored to hold an annual conference since its inception in 2006, except during the height of the CoViD-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. ♦
Date of Release: 28 July 2022