The country’s economic managers are meeting with Singaporean businessmen to promote the Philippines as a viable investment destination.
The Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Singapore and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will hold the 3rd Philippines-Singapore Business and Investment (PSBI) Summit on April 27.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez will be attending the summit with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and Central Bank Governor Benjamin Diokno.
The economic managers will discuss the monetary policy, tax reforms, improved economic climate, and bright economic growth prospects, along with specific investment opportunities.
In addition, Enterprise Singapore, a statutory body under the Singapore Ministry of Trade, will share how they back Singapore companies expanding in the Philippines.
Industry associations Fintech Philippines Association, Digital Pilipinas and Developers of Renewable Energy for AdvanceMent Inc. (DREAM) along with private companies like PLDT and Philippines Fiber Optic Cable Network will also share key insights in doing business in their respective sectors.
The same high-powered team of Philippine economic managers joined the second investment summit, which was conducted virtually in light of the pandemic last year.
About 400 participants composed of Singapore-based business leaders representing enterprises, manufacturing companies; multinational corporations, business organizations, micro, small and medium enterprises, chambers of commerce and members of the diplomatic corps also joined the investment forum.
To recall, the Philippine economic managers gave updates on the current economic climate in the Philippines, the economic stimulus measures and incentives implemented by the Philippine government to expedite the recovery of the local economy from the pandemic, as well as insights on investment opportunities during the virtual investment forum last year.
Following the 2nd PSBI summit in March 2021, a webinar hosted by DTI was held in August 2021 highlighting Singapore as being one of the Philippines’ major investment sources.
“In 2019, Singapore ranked as our top investment source, with total approved investments of $3.4 billion. Last year, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, investments still amounted to almost P10 billion or $201 million making Singapore our fourth top investment source,” Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Joseph Del Mar Yap said during the 2021 webinar.
During the 2021 webinar, it was emphasized that the oldest Philippine conglomerate also has strong ties with Singapore.
Telco giant Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) group is a major shareholder in Ayala’s telecommunication unit, Globe, where it owns 20.07 percent of total outstanding shares as of June 30,2021. In addition, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC bought a 17.5 percent stake in Ayala Corporation (AC) Energy, Ayala’s renewables unit.
In relation to economic growth, Singapore ranked as the number one source of the Philippines’ net foreign direct investment in the first quarter of 2021 at $492.4 million.
Image credits: Bloomberg