BIZ TALK President Marcos speaks before businessmen with (from left) Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Speaker Martin Romualdez and Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno. —MALACAÑANG PHOTO
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. returned to Manila on Thursday night after a state visit to Kuala Lumpur, bringing home $285 million worth of investment pledges from Malaysian businessmen.
The Malaysian investors were interested in the fields of food processing, multiservice digital platforms, aviation, aviation maintenance support services, logistics, manufacturing, infrastructure, water and wastewater treatment projects.
“The investments that we have agreed on so far will inject a total of about $285 million, serving as a robust and affirmative indication of the ongoing trust and keen interest of businesses and investors in the Philippines,” the President said after a meeting with Malaysian business leaders on Wednesday evening.
During the meeting, the Chief Executive emphasized that the Philippines has shown healthy signs of economic recovery amid the global challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He noted that the economy posted 7.6 percent growth last year, one of the best-performing economies in the Asia-Pacific Region.
‘Grow out of that debt’
“For the first quarter of this year, the Philippines outperformed its peers in the region by posting the GDP (gross domestic product) growth of 6.4 percent; that is the first quarter, which is within the country’s 6 to 7 percent target for the year,” Mr. Marcos said.
“The reason that we put such emphasis on the growth figures is that as all the countries have gone into debt, a higher rate of debt-to-GDP because of the pandemic and the costs of the pandemic response for all the countries. It is our fundamental theory that we should grow out of that debt,” he added.
Mr. Marcos said his administration continues to seek ways to improve the foreign investment climate.
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