Massive investment commitments from the Chinese government and private investors secured during President Duterte’s state visit to the Asian giant is expected to significantly improve the Philippines’s prospects of joining top Southeast Asian countries with the most foreign direct investments (FDI) within the next few years.
Upon the arrival of Duterte’s delegation from its China state visit, Malacañang announced that investments commitments from the four-day trip has reached $15 billion—nearly three times the amount of the country’s 2015 total FDI inflows.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (Unctad) World Investment Report, total FDI inflows to the Philippines were valued at $5.23 billion in 2015, much lower than the FDI inflows to its Southeast Asian neighbors, including Indonesia ($15.50 billion), Vietnam ($11.80 billion) and Malaysia ($11.12 billion).
Clear economic gains
According to Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Secretary-General Cris Frianeza, while the Duterte administration’s rebalance to an Asia for Asians diplomatic policy have met opposition from several fronts, the $15-billion investment commitment coming out of a single state visit to China may just prove the government’s tack to be effective, especially on the economic front.