The Board of Investments (BOI) and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. (HSBC) showcased the Philippines as a prime destination for Chinese green technology investments in a recent webinar.
The webinar “Unlocking Sustainable Growth in the Philippines: RE, Electric Vehicles, and Green Metals Processing” highlighted the country’s impressive achievements in building a globally competitive and sustainable economy, offering compelling opportunities for Chinese companies to participate in the Philippines’ green growth story.
The BOI, through Investments Promotion Services (IPS) executive director Evariste Cagatan and Industry Development Services (IDS) executive director Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa, shared with the attendees the updates on the country’s economic landscape, positioning strategy, advantages and investment opportunities in complementary key sectors for promotion to China.
HSBC Philippines chief executive Sandeep Uppal affirmed the immense business opportunities available to investors in the Philippines.
“For me, what really stands out in the Philippines is what I call the 3Gs. First is growing economy. It has been one of the fastest-growing economies in ASEAN and continues to do so with growth rates anywhere from 6 percent to 7 percent,” Uppal said.
“Second is the growing population. Its fast-growing population of 117 million has a median age of only 26, which is probably the youngest in ASEAN,” he said.
“The third G is growing liberalization. The country is continuously opening up for foreign investments, including the renewable energy sector,” he said in the webinar.
HSBC Philippines officials said they witnessed enormous, world-class opportunities existing in the Philippines compared to when they started in 1875.
Cagatan affirmed this by highlighting the country’s business-friendly investment climate, economic reforms, available government support and incentives.
“There are so many positive developments in the Philippines, especially in our renewable energy sector that the Bloomberg New Energy Finance [BNEF] Climatescope 2023 reported the Philippines as among the top-four emerging markets for RE, mainly due to our green energy auctions, feed-in-tariffs, net metering schemes, and tax incentives,” Cagatan said.
Cagatan also revealed the latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showing an 18.7-percent increase in FDI inflows into the Philippines in the first four months of 2024 to $3.5 billion.
The BOI said it also recorded a 36-percent increase in investment approvals in the 1st semester of the year, compared to 2023, valued at $16.70 billion, demonstrating a strong pipeline of inward investments into the country.
