The incoming administration has the opportunity to pursue P450-billion worth of investment leads from 250 foreign companies engaged in modern industries and services, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said over the weekend.
The Department of Trade and Industry said foreign investors were encouraged by improvements in the business environment brought about by major economic policy reforms.
“As this administration draws to a close, we shall be leaving behind a stronger Philippine economy despite the pandemic. We have a legacy of sound policy directions, reforms, roadmaps, strategic plans, partnerships and programs that will help steer the country’s trade and industry sector toward sustainable and accelerated growth,” Lopez told investors at the general membership meeting of the Semiconductors and Electronics Industry of the Philippines Inc.
The DTI expressed optimism the economy would grow beyond 7 percent in 2022 following a higher-than-expected expansion in the first quarter and barring surges from COVID-19 variants and escalation of war-induced economic volatility.
It also underscored the game-changing policy reforms recently approved and signed to help position the country towards a stronger post-pandemic recovery, leading to a more vibrant trade, investment and industry sectors.
It said these reform measures, including the Ease of Doing Business Act, Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Law, the amended Foreign Investments Act Retail Trade Liberalization Act and Public Service Act were expected to contribute to faster and more resilient economic recovery.
“The Duterte administration is passing on a legacy of major policy reforms and programs that should strengthen the Philippine economic fundamentals moving forward, with blueprints for priority industries and MSME development that can drive the growth of our economy for years to come,” Lopez said.
He said the dwindling COVID infections is a sign that the Philippines found the delicate balance of protecting lives and livelihood.
“As we finally see the end of the pandemic, we are confident that the Philippines remains a prime investment destination as several international firms have already expressed strong interest in investing in new technology-based industries in the country. These are certainly exciting times,” Lopez said.
He highlighted opportunities in building data centers for hyperscalers that comes with corresponding investments in renewable energy projects and plans to make the Philippines the hub of electric vehicle manufacturing in the region.
There are about 30 data centers scattered in 10 strategic sites in the county offering services to big companies and hyperscalers.
The government positioned the Philippines as the next hyperscaler hub in the Asia Pacific region to handle the expansion of technology giants such as Google and Facebook or Meta, whose massive capacity requirements require larger data center facilities.
Lopez also highlighted the contribution of the electronics industry to the Philippine economy with over 500 global semiconductors and electronics companies operating from the Philippines. Exports of the sector accounted for 62 percent of total exports in 2021.
The DTI expects to attract P1 trillion investments in 2022, rebounding from the 35.7-percent drop in 2021 to P655.4 billion.
