SM Investments' Vision for Filipino Brands in Asia

Philippine businesses need to make better use of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to get more Filipino products onto shelves across Asia, SM Investments Corporation economist Robert Dan Roces said at the inaugural RCEP Business and Investment Summit held in Manila recently.

Speaking during the panel “The Philippines in the RCEP Economy: From Participation to Competitiveness,” Roces said supermarket shelves provide a practical measure of how regional trade is working. Philippine consumers are seeing more products from neighboring Asian markets, but Filipino products remain harder to find in supermarkets elsewhere in the region.

“The proof of concept is how the grocery shelf is stocked. What we have to be able to do is to be present on all the shelves of the participating economies in RCEP,” Roces said.
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The summit, organized by the East Asia Business Council and the Management Association of the Philippines, focused on how businesses can turn the opportunities created by RCEP into greater participation in East Asian markets.

RCEP brings together the 10 ASEAN economies with Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, creating a market that accounts for almost a third of the world’s population and gross domestic product.

For Roces, the opportunity for the Philippines is not simply to bring more products into the country. Filipino businesses also need to make better use of RCEP to reach consumers elsewhere in Asia.

“What we need to do is shorten the trip and make the outbound journey easier,” Roces said. “Look at what our supermarket buyers see here. There are many Korean, Japanese and Thai products on our shelves today. But if we look for Filipino products in supermarkets in Seoul or Bangkok, they are much harder to find.”
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RCEP provides preferential market access and common rules of origin intended to make it easier for businesses to trade and source across participating economies. But lower trade barriers alone will not put Filipino products on supermarket shelves overseas.

SM Investments is the parent company of a Group whose retail businesses work with suppliers across the country, giving SM a practical view of what products need to compete at scale.

“RCEP opens the door, but Filipino products still have to earn their place on the shelf,” said SM Investments President and Chief Executive Officer Frederic C. DyBuncio. “Suppliers need to meet the quality, volume and consistency that larger markets demand. Businesses like ours can help them get there.”

SM’s retail businesses work with suppliers of different sizes, providing a market for their products and giving them experience in meeting the requirements of large-scale retail. For smaller businesses, that experience can help prepare them for opportunities beyond the domestic market.

Roces said the same regional trade that is giving Philippine consumers more choices can open larger markets for Filipino producers.
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“The real measure is not simply how many products come into the Philippines,” Roces said. “It is whether more Philippine products can make the journey out.”

RCEP was signed in 2020 and took effect in the Philippines in 2023. The agreement covers trade in goods and services, investment and other areas, with provisions intended to make regional trade easier and strengthen supply chains.