growasia.com broadens investment opportunities for Philippine SMEs

The Philippine Small and Medium Business Development Foundation (PHILSMED) has signed an agreement with growasia.com, a web site for the interactive sale, purchase and development of Asian business and corporate assets. This tie-up aims to open the door for over 1000 Philippine small to medium enterprises (SME) to sell business and corporate assets and to obtain funding from overseas investors.

Under the terms of the agreement, PHILSMED will be growasia.com's exclusive representative in the Philippines, whilst PHILSMED members will be able to use the online network of growasia.com to access the buyers, sellers and investors of businesses and assets.ááAccording to growasia.com, companies in industries such as technology, life sciences and manufacturing are in need of growth capital in the Philippines.

"Growasia.com has been looking for a springboard into the Philippines," says Ian Gibbs, CEO of growasia.com. "PHILSMED provides access to the SME community in the Philippines. The alternative is for growasia.com to go into the Philippines independently and cultivate the appropriate opportunities à PHILSMED provides growasia.com with immediate access to a large SME community." It is estimated that 99% of the total manufacturing and service establishments operating in the Philippines are SMEs.

PHILSMED was set up in 1992 to improve the technical and managerial skills in businesses while also providing access to target markets and information. Its aim is to promote and encourage the growth and development of SMEs, concentrating on the areas of agriculture, manufacturing industries, services and consumer products.

This tie-up follows similar deals with PT Holdiko Perkasa of Indonesia, HDFC Bank and ICRA of India, and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce.

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