DEPARTMENT of Finance (DOF) Secretary Ralph Recto urged global investors to consider the Philippines as their next investment destination, adding that Samsung has already expressed interest in investing in the Philippines.
“There seems to be interest in investing in the Philippines,” Recto said in a Bloomberg TV interview Wednesday, March 19.
He added: “Samsung is talking to us for a possible investment of more than P50 billion. They’re applying under the incentives for CREATE and many more.”
In his keynote speech at the Philippine Stock Exchange’s (PSE) InvestPH 2025 event in Bonifacio Global City on Wednesday, Recto said the government already dismantled barriers to ease of doing business to attract more investments.
InvestPH 2025 is the PSE’s inaugural Philippine investor conference from March 19 to 21.
The event is set to become the largest investor conference focused on the Philippine capital market and promoting the country as a prime investment destination in the region.
The three-day event is co-hosted by HSBC Philippines, in partnership with Bloomberg LP and Maybank Securities, Inc.
Recto said establishing Green Lanes has streamlined processes, while the Public-Private Partnership Code and the CREATE MORE Act have positioned the country as a prime investment destination.
“CREATE MORE is designed to bring you in, help you grow, keep you here, and give every reason for you to place your trust in the Philippines, again and again,” he said.
The Philippines’ exit from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) gray list, he said, also bodes well for the expected passage of the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA).
The CMEPA will reduce the stock transaction tax from 0.6 percent to 0.1 percent to align the Philippines with regional markets and make investing in the PSE more cost-competitive.
Recto said amendments to the charters of the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines would also enable them to publicly offer shares and access private capital.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue is also streamlining the registration of Master Securities Lending Agreements to make processes easier for participants of the PSE securities borrowing and lending program.
The DOF, in coordination with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), is also working on including peso-denominated government bonds into JP Morgan’s Bond Index to boost foreign investor participation in local securities.
Recto highlighted the Philippines’ strategic position as the gateway to ASEAN, adding that the country also has a strong and large consumer market.
He added that by 2030, the country is projected to rise from the 20th to the 13th largest consumer market in the world. (PNA)
