Marcos trumpets overseas deals

PRESIDENT Bongbong Marcos Jr secured nearly $8.5 billion worth of investment pledges from his state visit to Indonesia, according to Press Secretary Trixie Angeles.

She said some $8.484 billion worth of memorandum of understanding and letters of intent were signed at the Jakarta Business Roundtable Meeting and among them is US$822 million in investments in textiles, garments, renewable energy, satellite gateway, wire global technology, and agrifood.

Angeles said the President’s trip also yielded US$7 billion in infrastructure for unsolicited private-public partnerships such as a C-5 four-level elevated expressway; and a US$662-million trade value for the supply of coal and fertilizer was also signed. 

She said these deals will generate at least 7,000 new jobs.

Marcos told reporters in Jakarta that business leaders from a wide range of sectors were very enthusiastic about doing business in the Philippines. He said Indonesian business people have not been able to come to the Philippines due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“So sabi ko nagbago na ‘yan. So come to the Philippines. So they all committed naman to… Many of them are already actually involved in the Philippines. So sabi nila palalakihin nila ‘yung kanilang involvement. Gusto nila mag-expand,” he said. 

Singapore

Marcos then flew to Singapore for another state visit and met with President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Presidential Palace.

After the bilateral meetings, Marcos and Lee witnessed the signing of several memoranda of understanding aimed at enhancing cooperation between the two countries in various areas. Among those inked were the memorandum of understanding between the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Ministry of Communications and Information of Singapore in the field of digital cooperation.

Marcos was able to convinced Singapore-based businessmen to invest in the Philippines with a total of US$ 6.54 billion worth of foreign direct investments. He encouraged businesses to seize the opportunities in the country and invited strategic investors from the international community to take part in the Philippines’ economic resurgence, which is grounded on a favorable investment policy environment, sound macro-economic fundamentals, and a strong and decisive economic team.

“We are presently on a steady path to a strong recovery from the pandemic and a robust economic expansion. In the next few years, our economy is expected to outperform our regional peers. My administration is committed to establishing an even more competitive business climate conducive to high-value investments,” he told foreign business leaders.

Topping the list of Singaporean investments to the Philippines is electronic tricycles valued at US$5 billion. This investment in the transportation sector is seen to lessen air pollution emitted by an estimated 3.5 million tricycles nationwide.

The next top Singaporean investment is in renewable energy, specifically the new technology of floating solar valued at US$1.2 billion. And the setting up of in-country Data Center valued at US$200million. This is expected to employ Filipinos especially in the IT (Information Technology) and creative industry.

Singaporean businessmen also expressed interest on the so-called “Blue Economy” where they are expected to invest from US$10 million to US$100 million in areas such as marine renewable energy, water production, desalination, electric boats as well as aquaculture.

Also inked was the Joint Communiqué between the Department of Migrant Workers and the Ministry of Health of Singapore on the recruitment of Filipino healthcare workers.

There was also an exchange of four memoranda of understanding which include the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Personal Data Protection between the National Privacy Commission of the Philippines and the Personal Data Protection Commission of Singapore, and the memorandum of understanding between the Bases Conversion and Development Authority and Enterprise Singapore, which seeks to enhance collaboration on business opportunities on the development of New Clark City.

A memorandum of understanding between the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System and the Public Utilities Board of Singapore on water collaboration was also signed. There were also arrangements between the Singapore Armed Forces and Armed Forces of the Philippines concerning the assignment of a team to the Regional Counterterrorism Information Facility in Singapore.

Angeles said Singapore Dendrobium orchid species was also named Marcos and First Lady Louise Marcos, signifying the strong diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Singapore. The new orchid variety was named Dendrobium Ferdinand Louise Marcos, after Marcos and the first lady arrived at the Singapore Botanic Garden.

The Philippine leader and the first lady also had a brief tour of the garden.

Whang Lay Keng, the curator of the Singapore Botanic Garden, said the orchid naming shows the close diplomatic ties between the two countries, adding that the garden will continue to grow and propagate the variety.

Dendrobium Ferdinand Louise Marcos is a robust and free-flowering orchid hybrid.

The botanic facility named orchid varieties after Filipino leaders and VIPs in the past, among them was former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, the President’s mother. The late President Corazon Aquino and former President Rodrigo Duterte were also given similar recognition. (OPS, The Mindanao Examiner)