House Speaker Martin G. Romualdez on Thursday described as “highly successful” and “very productive” the recent state visits of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to Indonesia and Singapore, which he said, produced more than $15 billion worth of investment pledges for the Philippines.
“I congratulate the President and all Cabinet Members who joined his official delegation for a job well done. The four-day trip turned out to be highly successful and very productive not only in strengthening our bilateral ties with our neighbor-countries but also in attracting much-needed investments for our people,” Romualdez said.
In Singapore alone, local business leaders who met with the President and his delegation pledged to invest a total of $6.54 billion worth of foreign direct investments in the Philippines.
The investments from Singapore, which are equivalent to P374.57 billion, are expected to generate jobs for an estimated 15,000 Filipino workers.
Singaporean business leaders who signed Letters of Intent to invest in the Philippines during the Singapore Business Round Table Meeting last September 7 expressed interest in the following areas:
* Renewable Energy (floating solar) – $1.2 billion
* Blue Economy (Marine renewable energy, water production, desalination, electric boats, aquaculture) – $10 million to $100 million
* Innovation Platform for Startups – $20 million
* Women in Tech – $20 million
* Data Center – $200 million
* Transportation (electronic tricycles) – $5 billion
“These investments mean thousands of new jobs for Filipinos here. Singapore officials also assured the Filipino delegation that their country is ready to roll out close to 10,000 new job orders for Filipino workers in Singapore,” Romualdez said.
In Indonesia, President Marcos concluded his visit last September 6 with $8.48 billion worth of investment pledges and coal and fertilizer supply commitments from local business leaders.
The MOUs and letters of intent signed at the Jakarta Business Roundtable Meeting on September 5, 2022, include the following:
*USD 822 million in investments in textiles, garments, renewable energy, satellite gateway, wire global technology, and agri-food
* USD 7 billion in infrastructure for unsolicited private-public partnerships such as a C-5 4-level elevated expressway
* USD 662 million in trade value for a supply of coal and fertilizer.
The investments from Indonesia are expected to generate at least 7,000 new jobs in the Philippines.
“Overall, it’s been a highly successful, very fruitful trip. Aside from the investment pledges, there have been several mutually beneficial agreements on bilateral economic, defense, cultural, and labor and employment cooperation with the host countries,” Romualdez said.
“Thanks to the President, the Philippines is back on the map for investments and may soon fulfill its goal as Asia’s fastest rising star,” he added.