At least 400 businessmen have signed up to join Mr. Duterte’s trip, according to Francis Chua, chair emeritus of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Chua said the business delegation would be a mix of small and big businesspeople looking for opportunities in what he expected would be a “reawakening” of trade and investment ties that went into hiatus due to rising tension in the South China Sea.
“We expect to have a bounty of business opportunities from this visit, especially with a President willing to explore the limits of a fruitful partnership with China,” he said.
Filipino executives are reportedly eager to talk with Chinese business leaders and government officials about deals in a range of sectors from rail and construction to tourism, agribusiness, power and manufacturing.
Big conglomerates from the Philippines, including those led by families with ancestral roots in China, are joining the delegation.
Business tycoons Ramon S. Ang of the San Miguel group, Manuel V. Pangilinan of Metro Pacific and PLDT Inc., Lucio Tan and son Michael Tan of the Lucio Tan group, Hans Sy of the SM group, Carlos Chan of the Oishi group, Alfredo Yao of the Zest-O group and Henry Lim Bon Liong of the Sterling Group of companies are among those who are joining the state visit to China.
Over a hundred officers and members of Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry will also accompany the President, according to industry sources.
Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) president Frederick Go said the trip would yield more business opportunities given prospects of closer economic ties between the Philippines and China.
RLC has entered China’s residential property market with a 1,300-unit master-planned township project in Chengdu.
In separate text messages, Ang and Yao replied in the affirmative when asked whether their groups would explore more business opportunities in China.
San Miguel’s beer unit, San Miguel Brewery, currently operates two breweries in China.
“We think stronger relations with any country, including China, should be good for the Philippines,” said Ozsen Chan, president of Liwayway Marketing (Oishi group).
The Oishi group, which has 16 factories in China, is among the top five snack-food producers in China in the whole sweet and savory snack food category.
For the SM group, its strategy is to build shopping malls in second- and third-tier cities at a pace of one mall per year, said SM Investments Corp. investor relations chief, Cora Guidote.
“China has always been open to partnering with the Philippines. In fact, here in the Philippines, we have a lot of Chinese suppliers and tenants. It’s just a matter of continuing to harness these relationships,” Guidote said.
“China looks forward to increasing mutual trust between the two countries, deepening practical cooperation and continuing the tradition of friendship via the visit of President Duterte,” Geng told a daily news briefing.
The two leaders should appropriately handle disputes through talks and promote a strategic, cooperative relationship that is dedicated to peace and development, he said.
“The Philippines is a traditionally friendly neighbor of China. The two peoples have a long history of friendship,” he added.