Philippines secures $1.25 billion worth of investment commitment from India
The Philippines has secured at least $1.25 billion worth of investment pledges from India, which could create some 105,000 jobs for Filipinos, officials said on Thursday.
President Rodrigo Duterte has been on a three-day visit to India for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India Commemorative Summit and India’s Republic Day.
"The truth of the matter is even before the start of the ASEAN?India (summit), DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) has already facilitated $1.250 billion in new investments in the Philippines and they are expected to generate 105,500 jobs," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press briefing in New Delhi.
Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez said bulk of the investment or about $1 billion would come from Andani Green Energy Limited, which signed a letter of intent to expand its operations in the Philippines.
Andani Green Energy is an independent power producer with core interest in setting up and operating renewable energy plants, mainly solar and wind based power generation.
There was also a memorandum of understanding between National Association of Software and Services Companies of India (NASSCOM) and the IT & Business Processing Association of the Philippines (IBPAP).
The MOU intends to extend the cooperation between NASSCOM and ITBPAP to promote the development and growth of the global IT BPM industry by rendering mutual assistance and cooperation for the promotion and development of the global Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry.
It expands the coverage of the original MOU by creating a joint NASSCOM-IBPAP IT-BPM apex council comprising four members each from the two associations that deliberate and facilitate actions to address common challenges in the IT-BPM sector.
A letter of intent was also signed declaring the intention of IBPAP to support the IT-BPM industry's growth, increase employment for the Philippine IT-BPM industry, which is projected to generate 1.8 million jobs by 2022 or an estimated $38.3 billion in revenue.
Other letters of intent signed include that of the Interglobe Air Transport, Interglobe Technologies; KG Information Systems Private Limited, The Farm of San Benito (Narra WellnessResorts Inc.), and Hinduja Global Solutions.
Duterte and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after their bilateral talk on Wednesday witnessed the signing of the MOU between the Philippine Board of Investments and Invest India.
The MOU aims to facilitate direct investment through the cooperation between the two investment promotion agencies by providing practical investment information to enterprises of both sides; assisting visiting investors; and promotion of investments.
During the bilateral meeting, Lopez said Duterte raised the possibility of Indian company to put up a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in the Philippines so that Filipinos, particularly the poor, could easily get medicine for the usual illnesses, such as hypertension, high cholesterol and cancer, among others.
"We're doing importation already. What we're saying, we would like to encourage more sourcing of cheaper medicine or affordable medicine from more sources in India. At the same time to look into manufacturing so that we will not just rely on importation," he added. Celerina Monte/DMS
