Marcos foreign visits boost foreign direct investments
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s foreign visits boosted the Philippines’ foreign direct investments (FDIs) as evidenced by the government’s fourth quarter data last year, an official of the Board of Investments (BOI) said on Saturday.
BOI Director Sandra Recolizado said during a news forum in Quezon City that BOI’s outbound trade missions were complemented by Marcos’ foreign visits, aimed at enticing investors to put their investments in the country.
“Nagko-conduct tayo ng mga business forum, nagko-conduct din po tayo ng inbound missions. So iyong mga investors na nakuha na natin iyong interest nila, may mga delegations sila na nagpupunta naman sa Philippines to assess the Philippines as an investment location,” Recolizado said.
“So, iyon po basically iyong ginagawa natin aside from iyong ginagawa rin po ni President, iyong mga presidential visits po niya. Kasi ang number one salesman po talaga ng Philippines is the President. So, para po sa BOI, iyong mga presidential visits are also a good way to promote the Philippines as an investment location,” she added.
From July 2022 to April 2024, the BOI posted a total of P2.36 trillion in generated investments, comprising 157 projects, or equivalent to $42 billion worth of investments, excluding those generated by PEZA, Subic and Clark freeport zones, as well as other investment promotion agencies.
According to the BOI official, it’s important to note the Philippines’ FDIs recorded a 9.59 percent increase from October to November last year.
“So, para sa amin, good indicator ito ng realized investments. Kasi iyong commitment, nata-transform siya sa realized investments at nari-reflect as FDI. So, four consecutive months na po na increasing ang FDI natin,” Recolizado pointed out, noting it shows investors’ confidence on the Philippines.
“Iyong November to December, nag-increase po ang FDI by 30 percent; iyong sa January 90 percent; and then February 30 percent; cumulative growth rate po, comparison ng January to February 2023 and January/February 2024, mayroon tayong 48 percent growth rate.”
In terms of generating investments, she said the BOI is focusing on the Philippines’ priority sectors, with the main goal of positioning the country or to promote the Philippines to make it a strategic regional hub for smart and sustainability-driven industries.
Among the priority sectors include electric vehicle, renewable energy, smart manufacturing, smart agriculture, semiconductors and electronics, data centers, telecom infrastructure and cybersecurity.
“So iyon po ang mga pinagpo-focus-an natin ngayon. Iyong sa mga focused sector na ito, may mga target companies tayo at iyong mga target companies na iyon, iyon po ang iniisa-isa nating nililigawan ? iyong mga officials po natin, sila po, mini-meet iyong mga head ng companies na iyon,” said Recolizado. Presidential News Desk
