British Chamber, Philippine envoy discuss trade opportunities

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The British Chamber of Commerce Philippines (BCCP) paid a visit to the Philippine Ambassador to the UK Teodoro Locsin Jr. and discussed market opportunities to further advance the growing bilateral trade in areas such as agriculture, technology and services.

As of July 31, 2026, the UK-Philippine trade remained growing at £3.1 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q1 2026, an increase of 0.8% from the previous year. 

Despite global market uncertainties, leading to a slower GDP growth of the Philippines at 2.3 percent in the second quarter of 2026, BCCP Executive Vice Chairman Chris Nelson remains positive that factors such as the country’s partnership with the UK, the Philippine chairship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), preparatory talks on Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), remain key in achieving economic rebound in the remaining quarters.

Nelson also welcomed the decline in the inflation rate to 6.2% in July, brought about by the slower annual increase in the transport index and a steady rate in food inflation at 5.3%. 

The Philippine government also echoed the same sentiment, with Palace Press Officer Claire Castro stating that, "This slowdown is only temporary…As the government continues to speed up spending and release budgets more quickly, we hope the economy can start to pick up in the second half of the year as well." 

Additionally, the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan noted that, “We are now seeing some positive developments moving us out of the situation of low growth…I think a key factor here is our ability to move public investments because we see and we notice that private investment is also very sensitive to public investment. So as we are able to get public investments, you would expect the private sector response also to improve and further boost the confidence that the private sector has on the government.”

Nelson welcomed these statements as British investors continue to explore market opportunities in the country. He urged the importance of having a sound legislative agenda, prioritizing measures such as the Cybersecurity Act, Digital Payments Act, Open Finance Act, and the Blue Economy Act.

He said: “These are the areas where the UK already works together with the Philippines through its expertise. And we are only going to see more interest coming from British investors if those industries remain empowered and ready for business despite market uncertainties worldwide.”

Disclaimer: This is externally supplied material from a third party and is not a product of reporting or editorial work by the Philstar.com newsroom.