DTI says Marcos’ overseas trips starting to ‘yield results’ amid growing foreign investments

Philstar.com

February 20, 2024 | 4:48pm

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s pitches to world leaders during his overseas trips have started to bear fruit, according to the Department of Trade and Industry.

In a statement, Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual cited the latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), which said foreign direct investments (FDI) inflows in November 2023 rebounded by 27.8% amounting to $1 billion, bringing the 11-month net FDI inflows to $7.6 billion.

“Indeed, we are making it happen in the Philippines. The pipeline of projects initiated during President Marcos Jr.’s presidential visits, along with the goodwill fostered, is starting to yield tangible results, as shown by the latest FDI report from BSP. From January to November last year, we observed a substantial rise in FDIs in manufacturing and a significant surge in FDIs originating from Germany,” Pascual said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) also reported last week that investment pledges from foreign sources surged 127.2% in the fourth quarter of 2023 to P394.45 billion.

The president earlier justified his overseas trips as an opportunity to attract investments to the country.

“My primary interest is to try and make our country an investment-friendly place,” Marcos said in an earlier statement.

Meanwhile, ING senior economist Nicholas Mapa said the recent laws passed by the Congress that ease foreign restrictions in investing in various sectors in the country has helped in bringing in more foreign investors into the country.

Meanwhile, ING senior economist Nicholas Mapa said that recent legislative measures, aimed at relaxing foreign restrictions in various sectors, have played a role in attracting increased foreign investment into the country.

“The Philippines just has a good story to tell in terms of growth outlook. The government should work ways to lower inefficiencies, infrastructure, lower power costs. I think all those will go hand-in-hand in bringing or increasing our attractiveness as an FDI destination,” Mapa said.

“Certainly, the presidential visits have been impactful for the Philippine economy, signaling to both local entrepreneurs and foreign investors alike the government’s commitment to fostering a conducive environment for economic prosperity. The Philippines has become a premier investment destination for foreign businesses in Asia,” he added.

The DTI chief earlier said that Marcos targets the Philippines to be the second top destination of FDIs in Southeast Asia by the end of his term in 2028.

“We will keep our momentum to make more investments happen in the Philippines by turning investment pledges from presidential visits into reality. Each presidential visit is important and sets a foundation for us to build a pipeline of investment opportunities that will translate to job generation for our countrymen,” Pascual said.

While Congress is still debating whether to amend the Constitution to further relax economic restrictions, the economist said addressing other challenges in doing business in the country can also drive the country’s attractiveness as destination for foreign investments.