FDIs seen increasing under Marcos
There will be a rise in foreign direct investments (FDIs) under the new administration, a board member of the Philippine National Oil Co. said.
There will be a rise in foreign direct investments (FDIs) under the new administration, a board member of the Philippine National Oil Co. said.
Michael Ted Macapagal said the overwhelming victory of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. during the elections encouraged foreign businesses to once again view the Philippines as a secure investment location.
"Foreign investors tend to be cautious as they prioritize finding stability in nations," Macapagal said, adding that FDIs surpassed $10 billion during 2017, with the majority of that amount coming from Japan, the United States, China, Singapore, Hong Kong and some member countries of the European Union.
He added that in the following year, foreign publications and companies identified the Philippines as "the best country to invest in" but the economic boom was short-lived because of the pandemic that struck in 2019. FDIs declined to $6.5 billion in that year, the lowest level in five years.
Macapagal said that apart from the energy sector, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, the Clark Development Corp. and other economic zones should also be able to absorb a significant portion of foreign investments.
"In order to get more FDIs, I believe that the government merely needs to market its potentials abroad" and also, "I think the key for the country's economic recovery will be to partner-up with the private sector," he said.
Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the administration's economic team can make the country's gross domestic product grow anew.
"To change the current trend will be President Marcos' challenge. Even with the rising cost of food and fuel as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, he and his economic team ought to be able to get the nation back on track. Under the new administration, I think the economy would grow by 6 to 7 percent annually," Diokno pointed out.
The Finance chief explained that is achievable because the country had already reached that level of economic growth before the Covid-19 outbreak.
He also dismissed concerns about the country's current indebtedness, saying that the country's debt is easily "manageable" since a bigger part is domestic and not foreign.