The Department of Trade and Industry encouraged Malaysian companies to invest more in the Philippines after five of them infused $1.66 billion worth of capital in the Philippines from 2018 to 2020.
“From five major investments from Malaysia alone, IPA [investment promotion agency]-approved investments between 2018 and 2020 is already valued at $1.66 billion,” said Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Charles Jose at an investment forum.
He said the investments were made possible by the DTI in Malaysia through Philippine Trade and Investment Center-Kuala Lumpur, the Board of Investments and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.
PTIC-Kuala Lumpur reopened in 2016 and hosted the first Philippine Investment Forum 2018 in Malaysia.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez assured Malaysian investors that the Philippines is open for business. He said despite the pandemic, there is a strong appetite among Malaysian companies to invest or expand their businesses in the Philippines.
“Malaysia remains to be the top trading partner and investment source of the Philippines. In 2020, Malaysia ranked as the 10th trading partner of the Philippines, with balance of trade in the favor of Malaysia,” Lopez said.
“In terms of investment, Malaysia was the 12th source of IPA-approved investments, registering a growth of 43.90 percent from previous year,” he said.
He said that in the first six months of 2021, Malaysia ranked as the sixth top source of foreign direct investments in the Philippines.
Lopez expressed gratitude to Malaysia for its continued confidence and interest to invest in the Philippines, while encouraging more business transactions.
Lopez said among the priority sectors of investment specific to Malaysia are manufacturing (semiconductor and electronics, food and beverage); agribusiness (upstream and downstream industries, such as value-added processing and manufacturing of agricultural products); services (high value and value-added services, especially in IT-BPM); infrastructure projects, property development, and construction services; and energy (renewable energy).