Royal Berkshire Hall, Brunei Darussalam
May 29, 2024

Seeing the vast potential in the sectors of agribusiness, renewable energy and halal industry development, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. invited the business leaders of Brunei Darussalam to seriously consider the Philippines as a prime investment destination when he keynoted the Philippine Business Forum on the final day of his state visit.

The President shared positive developments that his Administration is pursuing to further strengthen business ties and advance collaboration with its Southeast Asian neighbor.

“I am pleased to highlight that the Philippines and Brunei are particularly focused on developing two key economic corridors: the West Borneo Economic Corridor, encompassing Brunei Darussalam, and the Greater Sulu-Sulawesi Corridor, covering Palawan and parts of Mindanao. These corridors are strategically designed to integrate production with supply chains, offering abundant opportunities for SMEs to flourish,” he said.

Given the significant opportunities in the global halal market and with Brunei’s established halal certification system, the President expressed anticipation in renewing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Strengthening Trade and Investment Cooperation in Food Products and Services.

“We have broadened the range of liberalized businesses and sectors, through the passage of key landmark legislations such as the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, the Foreign Investments Act, the Public Services Act, and the Renewable Energy Act. Through these measures, we have liberalized foreign ownership in sectors such as air transport, telecommunications, shipping, retail and renewable energy projects,” President Marcos Jr. underscored.

He cited Executive Order No. 18 or the Green Lanes Initiative for Strategic Investments that streamlines the process of investment approvals for strategic projects, proposed amendments to the CREATE Act through CREATE MORE (Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy) Bill, and the enactment of three (3) priority bills to further the country’s developmental goals — the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code of the Philippines, the Internet Transactions Act and the Tatak Pinoy Act or the ‘Proudly Filipino’ Act.

During the program, two (2) agreements were presented to the Chief Executive, namely the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a Joint Venture Initiative in Agriculture and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Development and the MOU on Economic Cooperation.

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