At the first Philippine Economic Briefing in North America, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. encouraged business leaders in New York to invest in "Asia's fastest rising economic star."

"The Philippines is a reliable host for international partnerships. The country's favorable business climate is shored up by the sound macroeconomic fundamentals and a clear roadmap for economic recovery and sustainable growth," the President stated.

The Chief Executive shared how the country is on its way to a strong recovery from the pandemic and a robust broad-based growth in the next six years. “It is our belief that the Philippines is the smart investment choice and the best time to do business with us is now,” he added.

The Economic Team, composed of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, BSP Governor Felipe Medalla, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, and Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman, also presented the key structural and budget reforms supporting the resurgence of the Philippine economy.

For the panel discussion on economic performance and outlook, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno underscored how structural reforms will establish a business-friendly environment for both domestic and foreign investors.

“Our economic liberalization measures swing the doors open for international firms to invest in previously protected sectors—I call this a 90-year project—and you can now form joint ventures with Filipino companies,” Diokno said, adding that enterprises employing advanced technologies will greatly benefit from the new laws.

These include the amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act which has simplified the requirements for foreign retailers, and the amendment to the Foreign Investments Act which provides flexibility and transparency in the review of Foreign Investment Negative List.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman also shared the priority budget reforms of the Marcos Jr. administration including digital infrastructure and digitalization of the public financial management system.

“We have an existing Executive Order No. 170 that will encourage all government payments and disbursements to be in digital format. As of now, we’re already preparing the implementing rules and regulations,” Pangandaman added.

Some of the major digitalization expenditures in the proposed 2023 national budget are the National Government Data Center Infrastructure and National Broadband Plan under the DICT, the Exports and Investments Development Program under the DTI, and the Investment Promotion Program under the DTI - Board of Investments for the registration and supervision of investment projects.

“We have provided a conducive regulatory environment and we will continue to do so. We are open for business so let us all grow together,” the Budget Chief concluded.

The PEB New York—the second international briefing of the Economic Team—was conducted in cooperation with Bank of America Securities, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, SMBC Nikko, Standard Chartered Bank, and UBS.

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