The forum, held by the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), focused on the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE), which was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte on March 26 and takes effect on July 1.
The act lowers the corporate income tax rate from 30 percent to 25 percent for large corporations and to 20 percent for small businesses.
It also effectively overhauls and updates tax and fiscal incentives, which will now be granted on a strategic, targeted, performance based and time-bound basis, according to a statement issued by MECO's commercial affairs section.
Ceferino Rodolfo, undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry and managing head of the Philippine Board of Investments, delivered the keynote presentation on CREATE and how Taiwanese companies can take full advantage of the landmark legislation.
"With the signing into law of the CREATE Act, which will provide enhanced incentives that can position the Philippines competitively alongside other Asian countries vying for investments, we expect more manufacturing companies to follow suit," the statement cited Rodolfo as saying.
That is especially true "with the positive experiences and successes of established Taiwanese companies successfully operating in the Philippines," he said, according to the statement.
In his remarks at the forum, MECO Chairman Angelito Banayo commended Taiwan's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and said it resulted in a good economic performance.
"With experts projecting Taiwan's economic growth at 4.64 percent this year, I believe greater cooperation and partnership with Taiwan's businesses would be a good platform to launch a comeback as the pandemic hopefully subsides," the statement cited him as saying.
"We look forward to sharing golden opportunities with the Taiwanese business community, particularly in the fields of manufacturing, infrastructure investments and information communications technology."
Some Taiwanese executives with business and manufacturing operations in the Philippines appeared at the forum to offer testimonials of their experiences and how choosing the Philippines contributed to their corporate bottom lines and leading market positions.
James Wang, CEO of SERCOMM, shared how his company has been able to scale their operations from just over a year ago.
"Sercomm Philippines has become a crucial portion of Sercomm's global operations. We plan to continuously expand our operations to support future business growth in local and global markets," Wang said.
The telecommunications and broadband equipment manufacturer currently employs more than 2,000 Filipinos in the country and has a leading market share for their product segments in the U.S. market, the statement said.
Chairman Patrick Chiu of Hocheng Philippines, which has had a manufacturing facility in the Philippines since 1995, shared how the company has steadily grown its business in the Philippines and now has a 55 percent market share there.
The forum was also organized by MECO's commercial affairs section, the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Taipei (PTIC Taipei), which also represents the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry in Taiwan, to engage potential Taiwanese investors for the Philippines.
