THE Department of Trade and Industry is pursuing investors that would build data centers and renewable energy projects in the Philippines.
DTI officials led by Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez met with executives from the ENDECGROUP Inc. and Black and Veatch (B&V) on April 18 and cited the Duterte administration’s major economic reforms and investment promotion activities on high-tech-oriented projects.
“Among our priority sectors include those that promote Regional Equity, Digital Infrastructure and Skills Development, and Climate Adaptation, which can potentially be categorized under Tier III of the Strategic Investment Priority Plan [SIPP],” Sec. Lopez said.
“Building more data centers supports our strategy to build the country’s digital infrastructure needed for the hyperscalers in this age of growing e-commerce and internet and social media use,” he added.
Meanwhile, the United States Trade Representative (USTR), through the 2022 National Trade Estimate (NTE) report, has expressed concern over the electronic commerce situation in the Philippines since it was reported as one of the barriers to digital trade.
“The USTR has expressed concerns about the proposed Internet Transaction Act, which was introduced in June 2020 and still pending full congressional approval in the Philippines as of March 2022,” the report read.
In addition, the USTR also emphasized that: “While US cloud service providers are active in the Philippine market, they continue to face constraints that limit their participation, particularly in competing for government projects.”
On a lighter note, US cloud-based services providers back the Philippines’ plans to digitize public service functions. This, amid continuing concerns about government-mandated data localization requirements, apparently tasked to ensure cybersecurity or address latency issues as stressed by the USTR.
Sec. Lopez also pointed out during the meeting: “The setting-up of renewable energy projects would also benefit from the recent policy move to allow greater foreign equity participation in renewable energy projects.”
He added that the “DTI-Board of Investments [BOI] team has also been pushing for more green metals processing activities or the further processing of nickel, copper and cobalt as new efficient minerals for batteries and battery energy storage for clean energy systems,” he added. For his part, B&V Executive Director Martin Travers took note of the Philippine policies on electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy, and data centers which align with the priorities and strategic direction of the US firm.
Meanwhile, ENDECGROUP Chairman and CEO Mr. Bill Johnson recognized the country’s strategic location in the Asia Pacific region.
Johnson considers the Philippines’s existing infrastructure in telecommunications and submarine cables, strong business process outsourcing (BPO) hub, and ability to develop renewable energy as factors that make the Philippines an ideal location for their investments.
B&V is among the top 10 employee-owned firms in the US, with experience in installing a network of EV charging stations. It is also among the top data center developers in the world and a leader in climate-friendly data centers.