San Francisco, California
November 15, 2023
“By bringing conversations on the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals, policy roadmap and investment opportunities closer to the international business community, we aim to reintroduce the Philippines and jumpstart meaningful, concrete and mutually beneficial partnerships that will drive growth in the 21st century economy,” stated President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. when he keynoted the Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB) that provides the most significant updates and projections on the economic performance of the country.
Addressing all business leaders present during the briefing that was held in San Francisco, California, the President underscored that the PEB serves as deliberate and proactive way for the Philippines to generate feedback from its investor stakeholders. He reported some of the significant milestones and economic policies achieved and implemented by the Administration in its pursuit to sustain economic growth.
In 2022, the Philippines registered its highest full-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth in nearly five (5) decades. Just recently, the economy grew strongly by 5.9 percent in the third quarter of 2023, bringing growth for the first three (3) quarters of 2023 to 5.5 percent — said to be the fastest growth among major economies in Asia.
The Chief Executive noted that labor market conditions in the country remain strong and have been seeing consistently low levels of unemployment and improving quality of employment generated. Likewise, on updates on inflation, he expressed the government’s commitment to arresting inflation and maintaining overall price stability through supply-side interventions and demand-side management measures.
“My Administration has put a favorable business environment at the center of our thrust to promote high-value investments,” he further conveyed, citing a few of the economic reforms in place to attract both domestic and global firms to invest in strategically important sectors such as the Public Service Act, Foreign Investments Act and Retail Trade Liberalization, among others.
He also mentioned other priority investments, particularly in the digital space, where incentives are given to projects covering research and development and those adopting advanced digital production technologies like artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing, data analytics, cloud computing and nanotechnology.
Other than the implementation of 197 infrastructure flagship projects worth around US$ 155 billion, with focus on upgrading physical and digital connectivity, water, agriculture, health, transport and energy, President Marcos Jr. expressed optimism towards the operationalization of the Maharlika Investment Fund, the country’s first-ever sovereign investment fund that will serve as an additional source and mode of financing for priority projects.
“With a solid reform agenda and unabating growth amid headwinds, the Philippines is ready to take off as a leading investment hub in Asia. A wealth of opportunity awaits you in the Philippines, and we are ready to explore new horizons with your investments in the coming years,” President Marcos Jr. concluded in his message.
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