Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. was accompanied by Trade Representative Maria Roseni Alvero and Agricultural Attache Josyline Javelosa during the Economic Outreach in Florida.
JACKSONVILLE – A Florida-based Fortune 500 company that is one of the world’s leading provider of banking and payments technology services has expressed serious interest to expand its presence in the Philippines.
“We welcome the interest of Florida companies, particularly FIS Global, to collaborate and invest in Philippine businesses and institutions,” said Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. who led an economic diplomacy mission to Florida recently.
Ambassador Cuisia said FIS Global wants to tap the Philippines for Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) services.
“FIS Global Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Frank Martire has informed us that his company is considering to expand its present operations in the Philippines because of the favorable investment climate and other advantages, particularly the encouraging support that the government provides,” Ambassador Cuisia said.
Trade Representative Maria Roseni Alvero, who accompanied Ambassador Cuisia in the mission, said FIS Global, which is headquartered in Jacksonville, employs more than 37,000 people worldwide, including more than 1,700 in the Philippines.
Alvero said FIS Global, which has been serving bank clients in the Philippines for the past two decades, is No. 1 in the annual FinTech 100 list and 434 on the Fortune 500. It is a member of Standard & Poor’s 500® Index.
“We see this as a step forward in further developing our local industries as well as further strengthening economic ties with between the Philippines and the United States,” Ambassador Cuisia said.
During the business roundtable in Jacksonville, Aaron Bowman, Senior Vice President for Business Development of JAX USA Partnership, a regional economic development organization in Jacksonville, said there are local companies interested in doing business in the Philippines.
“There are various areas that we would like to explore – from agricultural research and food product testing to opportunities in aerospace and aviation, particularly on the maintenance and manufacturing side,” Bowman said.
“We want to be connected with companies in the Philippines,” Bowman told Ambassador Cuisia, Commercial Counselor Alvero, and Agriculture Attaché Josyline Javelosa.