PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has secured over P6.2 billion worth of investment pledges from various European companies during his visit to Brussels in Belgium where he attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-European Union (Asean-EU) commemorative summit.
During his last day in Brussels, Marcos met with officials of Unilever, Ocea, Acciona and Semmaris where they discussed the current investment and expansion plans in the Philippines.
Marcos said Unilever, a multinational consumer goods firm, vowed to invest P4.7 billion in the country as they gear toward automating and digitalizing its operations in the Philippines.
Unilever officials, led by its global business group president Matt Close, said they consider the Philippines as one of their company’s most important locations for investments.
French shipbuilding firm Ocea, on the other hand, renewed its commitment to its planned P1.5-billion shipyard development in the Philippines that is eyed to create 500 to 600 direct and indirect jobs in the country.
The firm aims to build 15- to 120-meter boats for several markets intended for maritime safety and security, transportation and fisheries.
The plan was announced during the 9th Philippine-France Joint Economic Committee (JEC) meeting held in July 2021.
Ocea said discussions with potential associates and partners in the Philippines are already ongoing.
Among the identified locations for the planned shipyard are Mariveles, Bataan; Batangas; Sual, Pangasinan; and Subic.
At present, Ocea has new contracts under negotiation to build vessels for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA).
There were also the builders of BRP Gabriela Silang, which is being used by the Philippine Coast Guard.
Marcos thanked the company for its commitment, hoping that it could contribute in the training of potential Filipino seafarers.
Marcos said as he vowed to back the firm in its application process.
“Our seafarers are very important to us, especially as we start to recover and the training ship is going to be critical for the continuing [training] because I keep hearing now about the new technologies,” he said.
“And the training ship is very necessary so that they can get the proper credentials from whatever maritime academy they are attending, the potential seafarers. So that is going to be a big help,” he added.
Ocea also vowed to work with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to carry out a project aimed at assisting Filipino fisherfolk to enhance their operations and promote sustainable fishing.
Acciona, a global group that develops and manages sustainable infrastructure solutions, also vowed to invest in the country’s renewable energy sector, which coincides with the lifting of the 40 percent equity cap for foreign firms in renewable energy projects, particularly those for the solar and offshore wind sectors.
Acciona officials, led by its chairman Jose Manuel Entrecanales, are also looking at making Manila as its main hub in the Southeast Asian region.
Semmaris, a semi-public company managing the Rungis International Market, the principal market of Paris, expressed its intention to develop agro-logistics in New Clark City by building a wholesale market for fresh products with an organized and efficient food supply and value chain.
Benoit Juster, Semmaris executive director, said the hub also seeks to promote local production with fair prices to farmers and lower prices for consumers, improve logistics and decrease traffic congestion in Manila.
“In Clark, we have carried out feasibility studies, so we have a masterplan, we have the estimation of the cost of the works. And so we can start quickly in Clark,” Juster said.
President Marcos said the hub could serve as a facility that will link buyers and sellers of food or agri-products both locally and in the Southeast Asian region.
“Food supply is critical for everybody now. And so this kind of market, the concept, is going to be important as we continue to develop our agriculture sector,” Marcos said.
“The other side is the logistics because, as you have touched up on, the Philippines is in a very good location,” he added. (SunStar Philippines)