PLDT Global lures US investors to Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The international arm of PLDT Inc. has partnered with a business group to entice American investors pick the Philippines as their next expansion site.

In collaboration with the US-Philippines Society. PLDT Global Corp. is planning to bring in US investors into the country.

PLDT Global vice president for Americas and Europe, the Middle East and Africa Roselle dela Cruz said the partnership aims to convince US firms to invest in the Philippines.

It aims to bring in fresh projects to create jobs and, in the process, grow the economy.

“Our collaboration with US-Philippines Society enables PLDT Global to engage and encourage US businesses to expand their presence in the country, as well as maximize the robust, compliant and resilient network of PLDT,” dela Cruz said.

Under the tie up, PLDT Global and US-Philippines Society committed to work on summing up the investment process in the Philippines to help potential investors set up shop here.

PLDT, for its part, hopes to become the business partner of these American investors when they decide to locate an expansion in the country.

The telco giant would pitch its portfolio of telco assets, such as its data centers, network infrastructure and subsea cables.

“This can boost the local economy, generate jobs and uplift the lives of Filipinos,” she added.

PLDT Global and the US-Philippines Society initially plan to collaborate on launching a business mixer in Washington within the year.

The event seeks to serve as a platform where Philippine and American investors can gather with the objective of building a network, exchanging ideas and exploring opportunities.

US-Philippines Society president John Maisto said PLDT could leverage its network investments to persuade US firms to work with it.

Maisto added it would be easy for the telco giant to convince new investors to locate in the Philippines with the growing opportunities in the digital space.

The US serves as one of the largest investment sources of the Philippines based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. Capital inflow from the US jumped by 32 percent to P5.06 billion last year, from P3.82 billion in 2021.

PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan sits as a co-chairman of the US-Philippines Society.