BRITISH Embassy Deputy Head of Mission Nigel Boud fears that one of these days someone will make him eat balut as a challenge.
Arriving in the country seven weeks ago, Boud is also quickly getting acclimatized to the pace of life and traffic in the country.
“Manila is bigger than Kuala Lumpur. The jeeps strike me. They are different,” Boud said in differentiating his new assignment from his last posting, while adding that there is “more life in the city” here in the country.
Twice last week, he has experienced the gruesome traffic in Metro Manila, when he travelled from the embassy in Taguig City to Quezon City to attend a meeting.
But the easy going Boud shrugged it all off and said that all he has to do is to relax and try to do some work while being stuck in traffic.
Boud, who has been in Southeast Asia for the past eight years, described the Metro Manila traffic as comparable to those in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.
Still, according to Boud, traffic is not necessarily bad. He said it is a sign of a country’s economic growth.
Exciting times
Boud will be serving as deputy head of mission for the first time and he is very excited with his tasks at hand.
“It is a fantastic challenge,” Boud said.
Previously, he was the Political and Economic counselor for the British High Commission in Malaysia.
He was also the former head of Burma and Mekong Team for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and head of policy team covering Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao PDR.
Here in the Philippines, he will be handling a 200-man staff that will deal with visa issuance, politics and trade with a country, where the United Kingdom (UK) is currently experiencing a dramatic growth across all areas in its bilateral relationship.
“There is a buzz of excitement here. We see real opportunities in the Philippines. The growth rate is one of the highest in the region. Business sentiment and confidence is there,” Boud said.
The UK is the highest European investor in the Philippines with a net foreign direct investment stock of over $5 billion. UK exports were also dramatically up 44 percent for the first half of 2015 as compared to the same period last year.
The top exports include electrical machinery, pharmaceuticals, industrial machinery and equipment, road vehicles, transport equipment, and power-generating machinery.
Among the areas Boud believes there is a strong potential for UK investments include business-process outsourcing, health care, transportation and education.
Boud cited the Cebu-based Surface Technology International–Philippines (STI) as one of the success stories of British companies in the country.
STI initially started its Asian operations when it opened offices in Hong Kong and China. Afterward, they found a manufacturing base in Cebu where it has a 90-percent stake in its operations.
Its facility in Cebu employs more than 200 Filipinos and caters to its industrial and automotive clients. STI is also an electronics supplier to leading military and commercial aerospace companies for the past 25 years.
The British government is currently looking at more investment opportunities in the Visayas region.
Other British companies that have successfully started businesses in the country since January 2014 include Lotus Cars Manila, Tesco, Costa Coffee, John Lewis, Smith Detection, Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd., Cath Kidston, Skrill, David Brown, Joseph, Resdiary, Eurotalk Interactive, PTC Community, HUE Corp, TWIG World,Burton Menswear and AWW Inspired Environments.
On the education side, Boud said they are looking at school-to-school partnership where they could insert UK university programs.
“We are in discussion with the Commission on Higher Education to get a better understanding of the educational system,” Boud said, adding that the British Council will also be involved.
Boud also said they want to see partnerships with UK universities where its programs are accessible to a large number of people.
“UK degrees are world recognized,” Boud added.
Boud said there are signals that some educational institutions in the country are interested in their plans.
Open market
Even with all the economic growth, Boud suggested for the Philippines to see the benefits of having a true open-market system.
“We believe in open market. It is mutually beneficial. It will create more jobs and investments,” Boud said, citing Hong Kong and Singapore as prime models in the region.
He said the UK is the most open economy in the world and they are very much comfortable that other nations own companies in their country.
He mentioned, as an example, their auto industry which when it was opened to foreign investors not only preserved jobs but also increased the size of the industry.
At the same time, Boud said he would love to see the Philippines and the European Union (EU) finally sign a free-trade agreement (FTA).
The EU has signed an FTA with Singapore and there have been progress in the talks with Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
A piece of Malaysia
Well, make those four pieces of a band Boud formed in Malaysia. Named Uncommon Creatures, the members of the band are coming to the country this month to perform in a concert with Boud playing the bass guitar.
Influenced by Cream bass player Jack Bruce, Boud has been playing with the band for the past three years.
He said they play soul and funk music, along with a healthy dose of Motown music but they can go really loud and play music by bands, like AC/DC, while throwing some originals for good measure.
Hailing from London, Boud started playing with bands at the age of 16. It was a five-year adventure for him that he only restarted during his tour of duty in Malaysia.
He sees Radiohead as one of the best bands in the world while describing Oasis as very derivative.
Getting to know you
Boud claims that he has been in touch with the British community in the country who now number more than 15,000.
“It strikes me that a lot of them who have been here before initially on two-year contracts remain in the Philippines after 25 years,” Boud said.
Recently he visited the Manila Club and attended the Sailor Society gala dinner.
Boud said he loves to travel to new places and learn more about the country. He added that his job makes it impossible for him to get bored.
Here in the Philippines, Boud is looking forward to visit some of the popular trekking destinations.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano