5 EU telcos eye PH

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Four to five telecommunication companies from UK, Germany and Denmark are readying their investments to the Philippines as ownership barriers on public services are dismantled, according to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.

This statement validates the expectations of the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) that vast amount of foreign business opportunities await the Philippines as soon as the amendment to the Public Service Act (PSA) is signed into law.

Lopez told a radio interview on Wednesday in telecommunication alone, a team in the Department of Trade and Industry has been talking to the “four to five” European companies ever since.

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“But they were concerned (then) on the limited equity participation,” Lopez said in a text message yesterday. “Now they can go beyond 40 percent, there will be no more restrictions.”

Lopez said these companies are bringing new technology and will introduce competition that will in turn benefit consumers through lower cost and better services.

Earlier this month, the House of Representatives ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the measure proposing amendments to the PSA.

Lopez expects the amended PSA to be signed by the President in the next 30 days.

“Companies not only from Germany, but also all over Europe, already see immense opportunities once this reform is signed into law,” said GPCCI president Stefan Schmitz in a statement.

The amendments to the PSA seek to ease or lift restrictions on foreign investments in Philippine public utilities by amending or repealing provisions that limit foreign participation in certain economic activities. The bill also seeks to distinguish between the definitions of “public utilities” and “public services.”

The proposed law entails that any industry not classified under public services — such as air carriers, domestic shipping, expressways, railways, subways, and telecommunications — will be liberalized and/or be open to 100-percent foreign ownership. Irma Isip

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