In photo, British Chamber Philippines Executive Chairman Chris Nelson with DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez
By Victoria “NIKE” De Dios
With the recent call of the Department of Trade and Industries Secretary Ramon Lopez to extend financial assistance to the Filipino entrepreneurs whose businesses are affected by the lockdown through the country’s Philippine Economic Stimulus Act (PESA), the British Chamber of Commerce welcomes the House’s approval of the Philippine Economic Stimulus Act (PESA) which aims to assist micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in ensuring business operations and job retention during the pandemic.
In the statement sent to THEPHILBIZNEWS by the British Chamber of Commerce Philippines, Chris Nelson, the Executive Chairman is delighted to know this development.
“We at BritCham is very happy to see the swift decision to approve the economic stimulus package for the MSMEs, and we commend Secretary Lopez for always having our MSMEs in mind and pushing for it. With more than 99% of the total enterprise, the MSMEs contribute to a significant portion of the PH’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with 36 percent and and employ around 60 percent of the workforce,” the Executive Chairman of BCCP explained.
“Having said this, we also hope that the passage of pending stimulus packages at the Senate, one of which is the proposed Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE), wherein corporate income tax is aimed to be reduced to 25% from 30% by July will materialize. The package of reforms introduced under CREATE will help businesses badly hit by the pandemic recovery,” Nelson concluded.
Currently, the British Chamber has more than 300 members comprising of multinationals and small and medium-sized businesses and continues to explore possible collaborations between Philippine and the UK companies.
Read related story: https://thephilbiznews.com/trade-chief-pushes-for-urgent-stimulus-package-to-assist-msmes/
