President Ferdiand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. | PHOTO: INQUIRER.net / Ryan Leagogo
President Marcos’ foreign visits have resulted in P427-billion worth of foreign investments, with Germany as the leading foreign investor and the bulk of investments going to the renewable energy sector, a senior Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) official said on Tuesday.
“We are happy and we told the President that his presidential visits have been resulting in actual investments,” Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said.
Rodolfo, who briefed the President on recent investments at a sectoral meeting in the Palace on Tuesday, said 90 percent of the foreign-funded projects were in the renewable energy sector and most of the investors came from Europe, particularly Germany.
Local reforms and preparations done by the government prior to the President’s visits were vital to the foreign investments, according to Rodolfo.
Policy initiatives
For instance, in November last year, the policy initiatives carried out by the administration included the removal of foreign equity restrictions on renewable energy projects and the President’s hosting of various leaders who visited the country.
Rodolfo said the European investments reflected the trust and confidence of the European Union (EU) member-countries in Mr. Marcos’ policy reforms. The recent visit of the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Manila and the resumption of negotiations for a PH-EU free trade agreement also helped, he said.
“In the past, we were not the darling of EU countries because of some reasons. But now, we see that when the President said, ‘we are open for business’ and they see the policy reforms here in the Philippines, they are now coming in [to invest,]” Rodolfo said.
Among the EU member countries, Rodolfo said Germany had the biggest investment pledges with 80 percent of the P427-billion foreign investments generated during Mr. Marcos’ foreign trips.
He added that a lot of Germany’s investments were already in the pipeline, particularly the renewable energy projects.
Rodolfo said that foreign investors now see the Philippines as a good investment hub because of the government’s policy-related reforms and the removal of foreign equity restriction on renewable energy.
The increased foreign investments in the Philippines have also been noticed by noninvesting countries, which have started considering putting their money in the country. INQ