Thailand-based stevia processing company is exploring potential investment opportunities in the Philippines as it mulls a USD30-million expansion for a plantation and processing facility, according to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).
PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga said the interest was raised during the investment briefing in Bangkok last March — organized by the Asian Consulting Group (ACG) and attended by 32 C-level executives representing a wide range of industries, including garments manufacturing, ceramics manufacturing, renewables, agro-processing, IT-BPM, and construction.
Aside from the Philippines, the stevia manufacturing firm is also in the process of selecting a 1,000-hectare site within ASEAN for its expansion plans.
As part of the investment briefing, existing investors in the Philippines also provided prospective Thai investors their experience in the country.
Ms. Arunee Piriyatanakankul, representative of the Thai World Group of Companies, also shared the group’s positive experience investing in the Philippines and urged fellow Thai executives to register their projects with PEZA.
Thai World Group is the parent company of PhilCo Food Processing, Inc., a new PEZA-registered locator engaged in coconut processing, including ultra-high temperature (UHT) coconut milk and frozen coconut meat. The company has established a newly constructed 5.5-hectare facility within the PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate Special Economic Zone, which is expected to generate up to 2,500 jobs at the height of its commercial operations.
During his presentation, PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga underscored the Philippines’ strong investment fundamentals and highlighted the country’s competitive fiscal incentives regime under the CREATE MORE Law, which further enhances the ease and attractiveness of doing business in the Philippines. He emphasized that these reforms strengthen the country’s value proposition for foreign investors seeking a strategic, cost-competitive, and policy-supportive location in Southeast Asia.
