Philippines invites US firms to Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is encouraging global companies based in the US to  be partners of the government  in boosting the country’s economic growth, according to the  Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

In a statement, the DTI said President  Marcos  recently expressed gratitude to the US-based global companies that have made the Philippines their home for a long time.

Among these companies are Texas Instruments, MOOG, FedEx, Concentrix, JP Morgan Global Service Center, and IBM.

“The identified areas of partnership include improving the business climate, building the necessary physical infrastructure, and upskilling the workforce,”the DTI said.

For their part, the US-based firms cited the Philippines’ young, trainable human resources as a primary value proposition for the country in attracting foreign investments.

Marcos also underscored the recent strategic policy reforms and economic liberalization laws that will make it easier for foreign investors to do business in the country.

A series of business meetings was organized by its Trade and Investment Centers in New York and Washington, DC, and the Board of Investments.

Also present during the meeting were Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual and the country’s economic managers.

“Highlighting the strong and enduring ties between the Philippines and the US, the President emphasized his administration’s strategy to partner with the private sector for the country’s industrialization and economic transformation,” the DTI said.

The US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), in which the Philippines is participating, was also cited during the meeting as another platform by which US and Philippine business relations may be strengthened.

Moreover, Marcos encouraged the US companies to look at the Philippines equally as a valuable contributor to their global business growth and as a partner in rebuilding the economies of both the Philippines and the US.

During the Philippine Economic Briefing in New York, Pascual invited more US businesses to invest in the country, highlighting opportunities in the four clusters of its industrialization strategy.

Among these sectors are the industrial, manufacturing and transport; technology, media and telecommunications; health and life sciences and the modern basic needs and resilient economy cluster.

“Investors, particularly foreign investors, are key to accelerating economic development,”Pascual said at the Philippine Economic Briefing in New York.

“I, therefore, invite the US Business community to invest in our country. Let’s Make It Happen in the Philippines,”he said.

Pascual acknowledged the influential role of the US in boosting business confidence in the Philippines.

“The economies of our two countries have strong and synergetic trade and investment relations. The US is our top export market and our fifth import supplier. Our trade in goods consists of high-technology commodities such as semiconductors, integrated circuits, and wiring harnesses, and others,”Pascual said.

He said investments coming from the US for the first semester of the year have been more diversified compared to the previous year, explaining that approved US investments come from various sectors such as information and communication, and manufacturing industries.