Malaysian firms pledge $285 million investments for Philippines

KUALA LUMPUR – The Philippines has reaped investment pledges of at least $285 million from Malaysian companies, which are expected to generate tens of thousands of jobs for Filipinos, President Marcos said yesterday as he capped his three-day state visit here.

Marcos said Malaysian business leaders have expressed keen interest in investing in the food processing industry, multi-service digital platforms, aviation and aviation maintenance support services, logistics, manufacturing, infrastructure, and water and wastewater treatment in the Philippines.

“I’m talking at the very least tens of thousands if not more than a hundred thousand jobs here, especially during the construction phase. But then hopefully even during the operational phase – the upstream and downstream jobs will also increase and we’ll maintain that job employment rate,” the President told Filipino journalists who covered his state visit. Marcos was expected to arrive in Manila last night.

At a roundtable meeting with Malaysian business leaders at the EQ Hotel here yesterday, Marcos emphasized that the Philippines has shown healthy signs of economic recovery amid the global challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic as he noted the country’s 7.6 gross domestic product (GDP) growth last year.

The Philippines, he said, is one of the best performing economies in the Asia-Pacific region.

“For the first quarter of this year, the Philippines outperformed its peers in the region by posting the GDP growth of 6.4 percent, that is the first quarter, which is within the country’s six to seven percent target for the year,” Marcos said.

“The reason that we put such emphasis on the growth figures is that as all the countries have gone into debt, a higher rate of debt-to-GDP because of the pandemic and the costs of the pandemic response… for all the countries. It is our fundamental theory that we should grow out of that debt,” he said.

The Chief Executive assured Malaysian investors that his administration continues to seek ways to ensure a conducive business environment for foreign investors citing policies made to simplify procedures and shorten processing periods to ensure ease of doing business in the Philippines.

“The investments that we have agreed on so far will inject a total of about $285 million, serving as a robust and affirmative indication of the ongoing trust and keen interest of businesses and investors in the Philippines,” Marcos said.

“We have made our system of corporate taxation more business-friendly with a lowered tax rate and improved mechanism for tax and incentives. We continue to seek ways to facilitate and expedite investments,” he said.

Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said he expects five letters of intent (LOIs) signed by Malaysian companies to materialize in the coming months.

“It is important to understand, however, that investments are typically long-term commitments rather than immediate action. These often require careful study, planning, and legal processes before they can materialize. We at the DTI remain committed to assisting them in pursuing their investment plans,” he said.

Marcos recently launched the Green Lanes for Strategic Investments to significantly enhance foreign direct investments in the Philippines.

“We have recently established what we refer to as green lanes for strategic investments as a means to establish a whole-of-government approach to facilitate at the highest level of government the critical investments necessary for the development and competitiveness of our economy,” he said.

“We have created these green lanes to facilitate prospective investors in going through the process, going through the documentary requirements,” he added.

Railway project?

Marcos said the Philippines received a separate $3 billion investment pledge for a railway project in the Philippines. He did not elaborate.

Speaker Martin Romualdez, who joined the President’s state visit, said he learned during a private dinner here that the Manuel V. Pangilinan-led infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. or MPIC has entered into an agreement with a Malaysian group for a railway project in the Philippines. He did not name the Malaysian group.

“The President’s presence in KL hastened the progress of this agreement,” he said at a press conference with the President at the EQ Hotel.

Marcos stressed the member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, specifically the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area or BIMP-EAGA, have committed to increase physical connectivity such as roads and railways to boost economic activities in the region.

The President also met here with officials of Malaysian dairy company Farm Fresh Berhad, which committed to invest $20 million for cattle breeding intended for milk production in the Philippines.

The company is currently looking for 200 hectares to 400 hectares of contiguous farmland to lease to raise 2,000 milking cows.

Farm Fresh executives told Marcos they are considering Batangas and Laguna, specifically, the University of Philippines-Los Baños campus in Famy, as possible locations.

Farm Fresh aims to commence its operations by 2028 with an estimated employment of 200 local workers.

The company has a 6,000-square meter dairy processing facility in San Simon, Pampanga, under construction.

The $5-million facility is slated to be operational this year, with an estimated employment of 50 local workers.

MOU signed

In a statement yesterday, Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said two private sector groups representing Malaysia and the Philippines signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore joint efforts in agriculture development, focusing on palm oil, rubber and other agricultural commodities that may thrive in both countries.

The MOU was signed on behalf of ASEAN Business Advisory Council Malaysia and ASEAN BAC Philippines by their respective chairs, Tan Sri Nazir Razak and Concepcion during President Marcos’ visit.

According to Go Negosyo, the initiative will aim to replicate an agriculture model similar to Kapatid Angat Lahat sa Agri Program (KALAP) to achieve inclusive and sustainable agriculture through the integration of small farmers into the value chain of large companies, and allowing them to benefit from the transfer of technologies and economies of scale.

KALAP is an initiative of Go Negosyo to promote entrepreneurship and advocate sustainable development of Filipino MSMEs.

“Public-private partnerships are essential as we move toward regional economic integration and make our agriculture industries productive and competitive,” Concepcion said.

“We have already several of these big-brother models in the Philippines covering prime commodities like tobacco, coconut and rice, with large Philippine companies like Universal Leaf, Lionheart Farms and Yovel East successfully implementing their inclusive models in the communities where they operate,” he added. –  Catherine Talavera