SHANGHAI—Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has cited the government’s continuing efforts to open the economy to foreign participation, the country’s political stability and its young, dynamic workforce as among the key factors that would make the Philippines far more attractive to foreign investors.
Dominguez said the Duterte administration’s unprecedented spending on infrastructure to enable the Philippines to catch up with its Southeast Asian neighbors would also encourage more foreign investors to infuse fresh capital into the country.
Among these factors, the government is also currently reviewing its Foreign Investment Negative List (FINL) to increase the number of areas for 100 percent foreign participation, Dominguez said at a briefing on the Philippine economy here when asked what would make the country more attractive to Chinese investors.
“We have stable policies, we honor our contracts, and we have a young, growing population getting richer and very hardworking,” said Dominguez before Chinese business leaders at the forum organized by the Bank of China.
“There are many opportunities in the Philippines for a partnership with Chinese technology, Chinese know-how, some capital from Chinese enterprises, and we welcome joint ventures and investments from abroad,” Dominguez said.
Dominguez has consistently cited the Philippines as being in a “demographic sweet spot,” in which millions of young, smart, hardworking Filipinos are about to enter the global workforce at a time when the populations of some of the mature economies in Asia begin to age.
As for the FINL, Dominguez has said in earlier forums that he favors lifting the foreign ownership limits for certain sectors of the economy to generate more foreign investments, except for land.
The other Philippine government officials with Dominguez at the Philippine economic briefing were Secretaries Ernesto Pernia of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Benjamin Diokno of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr.
Pernia, for his part, said during the forum that “the Philippines has become an amazing investment destination,” while Diokno said investors are most welcome in “the fastest growing country in the fastest-growing region in the world.”
Espenilla, meanwhile, cited the country’s financial stability characterized by its low inflation and low-interest rate environment.
Dominguez also said the Philippines plans to “test the debt market” in China by issuing renminbi-denominated Panda bonds by around November this year.
“We are very happy that the Bank of China has come to our assistance. It’s a small issue—the first baby step we are issuing—a $200 million bond by around November of this year. This will be the first of many in the future,” Dominguez told Chinese businessmen at the forum.
The economic team proceeded here after meeting with Chinese commerce ministry officials in Beijing to, among others, hold a “non-deal” roadshow for the Philippines’ planned Panda bond issue.
The Philippine government is currently in the process of securing the necessary approvals and fulfilling the requirements to tap China’s bond market—largest among Asia’s emerging economies.’
Earlier, Dominguez assured China of the Philippines’ full cooperation with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Belt and Road program, both of which, he said, will “bring lasting benefits to all countries of this region” as these “will set the conditions for more comprehensive trade” in this part of the world.
Dominguez has also thanked China for its generosity in supporting the Duterte administration’s ambitious infrastructure modernization program, noting that “over the past few years, we have developed numerous bilateral mechanisms that will allow closer coordination between our two countries across a broad range of issues and concerns.”
Given the “great strides” that have been achieved towards building a common market among the Philippines and the other member-economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which will create a large enough market to make their industries achieve economies of scale, Dominguez said the Philippine economy can “perform as a gateway to a very large and increasingly prosperous Southeast Asian regional market.”
Dominguez also said he believes the comprehensive cooperation between the Philippines in China, while currently only in its early stages, will “function as a driver of growth in the region” over the next decade. (DOF)
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