President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has brought home $23.6 billion in investment pledges from his foreign visits to various countries, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said in its accomplishment report Friday.
According to DTI’s year-end report, President Marcos’ visits to Indonesia, Singapore, the United States, Cambodia, and Thailand brought billions of pesos in investments as part of the administration’s campaign to attract more foreign businesses to come to the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) had combined approved investments of P402 billion, which could generate some 54,217 local jobs, the DTI said.
Under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act, the BOI’s approved projects as of August this year stand at P46.7 billion, with the investment board also assisting 1,994 investors wanting to do business in the country.
The BOI also generated 90 foreign investment leads worth P204.9 billion, which could result in 98,393 local job opportunities.
As a result of the administration’s active export recovery efforts, the DTI reported $17.7 billion in service exports, a 13.5 percent increase over the previous record.
The country also posted $58.3 billion exports in goods, which grew by 4.7 percent. The DTI said it assisted 3,922 exporters.
The department indicated that the country’s investment and exports are expected to rebound next year as a result of the passage of the Public Service Act (PSA) and CREATE Act.
The DTI also included in its accomplishment report the approval of the 2022 Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP) and guideline issuance last August through Memorandum Circular No. 2022-07.
The plan was approved on May 24, 2022, through Memorandum Order No. 61.
Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil, officer-in-charge of the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS), said the DTI report does not cover Mr. Marcos’ recent trip to Belgium, where he participated in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-European Union Summit.
The President, in his Dec. 15 speech after his Belgium trip, said the Philippines has acquired P9.8 billion worth of investment pledges from European business executives.
Mr. Marcos has repeatedly vowed to make the Philippines an “investment destination,” expressing confidence that the country’s economic resurgence will give foreign investors a favorable business climate.