The Philippines expects the creation of at least 22,000 jobs following government’s effort to secure $14.36 billion in investments culled from the state visits to Indonesia and Singapore.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual, who presided over two roundtable meetings with select business associations and chambers of the two countries, enumerated the potential trade and investment opportunities in the Philippines.
Pascual joined President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s on state visits to Indonesia and Singapore from September 4 to 7, 2022.
“These investments, if we put it all together, value $14.36 billion or P804.78 billion. This will support our country’s economic recovery efforts and create more jobs for Filipinos here in our country,” the President said of his state visits.
The President said the Philippine delegation managed to seal a total of 10 Letters of Intent (LOI) and 12 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with 22 Indonesian and Singapore investors in the sectors of renewable energy, data centers, e-commerce, broadband technology, start-ups, government housing, and agriculture.
On behalf of the country, Pascual signed the MOU for Cooperation in the Development and Promotion of the Creative Economy with Indonesia. Among others, the MOU was positioned to generate and develop more jobs in the Philippines’ creative sector.
In his speech at the Philippine Economic Briefing in Singapore on Wednesday, Pascual highlighted the Marcos administration’s vision of an economy driven by science, technology, and innovation.
“We will build a dynamic industry ecosystem that would generate quality and higher-paying jobs, advance environmental sustainability, and ensure shared prosperity for all,” Pascual told bankers and businessmen in Singapore.
He also underscored the DTI’s strategic economic priorities driven by industrialization and digitalization, citing measures that willfurther boost the Philippines’ foreign direct investments (FDIs) – the Corporate Recovery and Tax Benefits for Enterprises (CREATE Law), the potential ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the earnest negotiation efforts of DTI’s foreign-based trade service officers.
“The Philippines is open for business. Recent policy reforms, particularly on foreign investment ownership and other restrictions, as well as on incentives, have made the Philippines more conducive for foreign businesses. Together, we will make it happen in the Philippines,” Pascual said.
The state visits updated the international business and financial communities in Indonesia and Singapore on the Philippines’ economic performance, investment opportunities, and the administration’s socio-economic agenda.