THE National Government is expecting that around $88 million worth of investments secured by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his trips abroad will materialize within the year, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual said Wednesday, July 12, 2023.
“The number that we expect to materialize in 2023 will total around US$88 million. Maliit pa ‘no. Iyon lang iyong up to June this year, and we expect some more to ripen and eventually lead to the inflow of investments,” Pascual said in a press briefing in Malacañang.
“Eighty-eight million. It is not so large as yet, but the potential is as we announced before, we have a pipeline that we were able to build up amounting to around US$ 70 billion,” he added.
Pascual said there were six classifications for investment pledges, which include confirmed investment not covered by memorandum of understating (MOU) or Letter of Intent (LOI) and still at the planning stages, signed MOU and LOI, with signed agreement and clear financial project value, businesses made or registered with Board of Investment or another investment promotion agency and registered businesses already commencing their operations in the country.
He said that so far, six projects that are included in the $88 million worth of investments have been registered with BOI or other investment promotion agencies.
Pascual said the reforms implemented by the administration of Marcos made it easier for the Philippines to entice more investors.
He noted measures such as the amendment to the Public Service Act; Foreign Investment Act; Retail, Trade Liberalization Law; the passage of the Create Act; and the relaxation of ownership restrictions for renewable energies.
“Iyon ang importanteng (That’s the important) message. And not only that, geopolitical developments are such that Europe is developing great interest in the Indo-Pacific,” said Pascual.
“Kaya tayo pumupunta roon kasi iyong mga kapitbahay natin sa paligid-ligid natin ay ginagawa iyon, ano. Kung hindi natin gagawin, kapag mag-iisip na iyong investor mag-invest sa Asean or Southeast Asia, sino ang unang maiisip? Siyempre iyong nakakausap nila,” he added.
(That's why we go there because our neighbors around us are doing that. If we don't, when an investor thinks of investing in Asean or Southeast Asia, who will come to mind first? Of course, you are the one they talk to.)
The trade secretary, who recently concluded his three-week European investment roadshow, noted that some European companies have expressed confidence in the Philippines as an investment hub in Southeast Asia.
Among the countries visited by Pascual were France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
“I kept on emphasizing, you want our labor, you might as well set up your factory here so that our workers will not have to leave the country, but do their work here for your companies and serve your export market, as well as cater to the Philippine domestic market for those that are producing consumer goods,” Pascual said.
“They are seeing the light, and it will mean also lower cost of operation. Because if you bring a Filipino worker, Filipino engineer, for example, to Germany, they will have to pay a Filipino engineer salary almost equivalent to what they are paying a German engineer. Whereas here, with the lower cost of living here, the wages can be lower,” he added.
Pascual said his Europe trip generated P73 billion worth of investment leads for the priority sectors in the Philippines such as manufacturing, high-value services, renewable energy, and research and development.
He said it is expected to generate 4,300 jobs.
“It became very clear that their main attraction to the Philippines includes the strategic location of our country; the large population that we have which translates to a good market for them; and, the young, talented and skilled workforce that we have in the country – not to speak of our natural resources,” Pascual said.
“We sought to foster strategic partnerships and collaboration with the European government, particularly the EU, as well as businesses in the region ... We recognize their interest in investing in the Philippines, and the support they can provide as we pursue our sustainable growth and development objectives,” he added.
Pascual said he also discussed with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen along with other officials the renewal of the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) for the Philippines and the resumption of talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and the Philippines “because many of our exporters to Europe depend on the tariff concessions given to us under the GSP+.”
He said discussions about the matter are expected to begin before the year ends.
The GSP+, which was granted by the EU to the Philippines in 2014, is a mechanism that allows the duty-free export of over 6,000 of the country’s merchandise provided that it complies with its obligations under 27 conventions on human and labor rights. It is set to expire in December 2023.
Earlier, a European lawmaker threatened to discontinue the provision of privilege to the Philippines due to human rights complaints in the country particularly amid the drug war of the former administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Pascual said the EU has already seen progress in the human rights situation in the country.
“Yes they have seen progress, it’s not as if nothing has happened to address the issues that they are concerned with. And you are all aware of this, you know they are well-published. They are actually the results of those matters that are of interest to the EU,” he said. (SunStar Philippines)