Australian officials calls on Philippines to fix 'bureaucratic maze' hampering mining
Source: 11-OCT-2008 Intellasia | GMA News
Oct 11, 2008 - 7:02:00 AM Australian officials Thursday called on the Philippines to fix the bureaucratic maze that has been hampering mining investments, saying a "central clearing house mechanism" is required if the country wants an influx of foreign capital.

Australian trade minister Simon Crean (AAP: Rob Hutchison)

Simon Crean, Australia's trade minister, said the Philippines needed to work on the process for mining license approvals as well as coordinate all local government requirements such as royalty shares.

A centralised process does not mean issues raised by local governments and residents in mining sites would be ignored, he stressed.

In a joint statement, both countries noted that Australian mining investments in the Philippines had become "substantial" and that Australian expertise could benefit the local mining sector, said to have exploited only 2% of the country's estimated mineral resources.

A 2004 Supreme Court ruling allowing foreigners to own mining operations paved the way for the entry of mining giants such as Australia's BHP Billiton, the world's biggest miner, but a host of constraints including security issues in mining sites and varying requirements imposed by local governments have turned off some investors.

The joint statement said the Philippines had proposed to streamline regulatory processes, without going into details.

"Obviously the aim is to encourage greater investments," Crean told a select group of journalists Thursday following meetings with Philippine officials.

Crean and other Australian officials were in Manila for a biennial summit with Philippine officials regarding trade, defense, development and other issues.

Both countries needed to work on boosting two-way trade, he said, pointing to a "decade of missed opportunities" following the Asian financial crisis in 1997.

Data from the Australian embassy in Manila showed that Australia's two-way trade with the 10 Asean members amounted to US$71 billion last year. The Philippines accounted for a measly 0.03%, or US$2.5 billion, compared to Indonesia's US$10.3 billion, Malaysia's US$12.8 billion, and Thailand's US$14.7 billion.

The balance of trade is in favour of Australia, which exports dairy products and crude to the Philippines. Major Philippine exports to Australia include electronics and radio equipment.

Thursday morning, Crean told members of the Australian and New Zealand Chambers of Commerce that the Philippines remained an important economic partner among Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) members and that opportunities abound in four key sectors: automotive, mining, agriculture and food, and services.

"The Philippines-Australia trade relationship needs to be viewed afresh. I think it has underperformed," Crean said.

He said the Philippines could take advantage of the newly minted Asean-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, which promises seamless trade in goods and services between the regional bloc and the two Pacific countries.

Philippine Trade Undersecretary Thomas G. Aquino, meanwhile, said a bilateral deal with Australia was also ideal to boost two-way trade, but it would have to wait until certain issues are addressed.

"There are snags that we have to sort out, particularly in agriculture and food access. I think the issue is how to ensure that some of our agriculture sub-sectors can be developed with aid from Australia, that's what we're asking," he said in a separate interview.

The Philippines' key issue with Australia has been the delay of the import risk analysis for Philippine bananas raring to enter the Australian market.