The Department of Trade and Industry promoted investment opportunities for EV manufacturing in the Philippines at the ASEAN Investment Forum Session 2 on Sept. 2, 2023 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Trade Secretary Alredo Pascual emphasized the various opportunities of the Philippines during the forum with the theme “Global Supply Chain and Sustainable Investment”.
“Part of the development strategy of the Philippines to enhance economic performance and global value-chain participation is to work with global partners and to increase international engagements to create a more conducive environment for investments. We are engaging with several partners at the multilateral, regional and bilateral levels to pursue a framework that could mobilize sustainable investments to the Philippines,” he said.
Pascual encouraged businesses to invest in the downstream processing of nickel, particularly for companies and major conglomerates in the nickel power business.
He underscored the Philippines’ strength in the production of semiconductors and the highly-skilled Filipino workforce that can process raw ores into finished products.
“Part of our strategic approach is to leverage these resources and enable us to move to higher value activities by developing domestic mid to downstream processing of minerals, with high regard to sustainability. This strategically positions the country in the regional and global value chains of clean technologies and we will need reliable partners in investments to realize this,” he said.
The Philippines, he said, is taking a tailored approach to encourage more investments, particularly in the manufacturing of green metals and EVs as the country transitions to a greener economy.
Organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the ASEAN Investment Forum focused on “deglobalization” and its impact on global trade, the need to diversify production locations and find alternative materials to minimize disruptions in supply chains.
The ASEAN Investment Forum is part of the 43rd ASEAN Summit. It also hosted other sessions that centered around the sustainable development goals that affect strategies to attract foreign direct investments.
The investment sessions cited the importance of achieving SDGs in fostering economic growth, recognizing that sustainable investments can enhance economic and social resilience to future shocks.