President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday touted the “exciting new phase” in the Philippine economy as he invited foreign business leaders to consider investing in the country.

Addressing global business leaders and decision makers who flew all the way to Manila to participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Country Roundtable on the Philippines, Marcos highlighted the stellar growth performance of the Philippine economy in 2023 “against great odds.”

“In 2023, the Philippines capped the year off with the highest GDP (gross domestic product) growth in all of ASEAN, including China – meeting or even exceeding the expectations of major multilateral organizations such as the IMF, ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office and World Bank…. It comes as no surprise that investments, particularly in durable equipment and public construction, emerged as a key driver of our full-year growth,” he said.

Marcos then cited the administration’s 185 flagship infrastructure projects amounting to over PHP9 trillion or about $163 billion targeting strategically important sectors such as sustainable development, physical and digital connectivity, agriculture, energy, health, and climate-resilient infrastructure.

“As of today, more than half of these projects are either already ongoing or approved for implementation, while around a quarter are seen to be financed through the public-private partnership (PPP) mechanism,” he added.

Marcos also cited key regulatory reforms the government has enforced to provide “a stable and an enabling environment” for public–private partnership (PPP) investments, such as the revisions in the Build-Operate-Transfer Law, signing of the landmark PPP (Public-Private Partnership) Code and various economic liberalization measures including the newly established Green Lanes for Strategic Investments, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises or CREATE ACT, and the Maharlika Investment Fund.

The Chief Executive capped off his message by extending an invitation to the WEF participants to join one of the world’s fastest-growing economies as it enters a sustained period of robust economic expansion over the coming years by forging new and stronger partnerships with both the public and private sectors.

“Clearly, the Philippines is in a prime position to enter into a sustained period of robust economic expansion over the next couple of years,” Marcos said.

“I extend an invitation to our partners and guests who are here today, to join us in this exciting new phase,” he added.

Upskilling workers high on admin agenda

In a question-and-answer session during the WEF roundtable, Marcos bared that aside from attracting more investments, among his government’s focus is the reskilling and upskilling of Filipino workers through the adoption of new technologies to sustain the country’s current growth momentum.

“Whenever we speak on investments, I always ask the prospective investor if we have, in fact, a training program, if there is a transfer of technology because this is going to be essential,” he said.

“This continuous training and upskilling of our workers is conducted not only so that they are able to work in the areas that are important in the new economy,” he said, noting that ”a very significant part of our economy is dependent on our overseas workers.”

‘PBBM puts PH on world stage’

Meanwhile, WEF President Børge Brende said Marcos’ participation in the annual WEF meeting in Switzerland in January last year created a lot of interest and optimism in the Philippines, with numerous companies wanting to know more about its investment prospects.

“There is a lot of optimism in the Philippines but also around the Philippines globally. We had a dialogue there and it was very, very well-received and a lot of companies that are partners with the World Economic Forum said that they would like to have a roundtable, to meet with the Filipino secretaries, [and] also to meet with President Marcos,” Brende said in a press conference in Malacañang.

According to Brende, the Philippines could remain bullish if it continues its current policy reforms, upgrade infrastructure, as well as invest in renewables and other areas.

“I think that this can be in the coming decade, USD2 trillion economy if there are foreign investments in education, in infrastructure, and also able to draw on the great [competence] of the people of the Philippines,” he said.

In other development, the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII) lauded the efforts of the Marcos government in promoting the country to foreign investors.

“I have been with the President in his two trips abroad China and Malaysia. The President is working hard to promote the Philippines and he is inviting investors to come in,” FFCCCII president Dr. Cecilio Pedro said in a media forum in Manila on Tuesday.

“‘Yan ang legacy na gusto nya ma-establish (That’s the legacy he wanted to establish) over his term — to bring in more people to help this country move forward and I give it to him,” he added.

He said the foreign trips of the President are good for the country as he enticed more foreign investors to come in to create more jobs.

“How many Presidents are traveling like him? Everywhere he goes, he brings in investments,” Pedro said. (PNA)

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