President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday touted the “exciting new phase” in the Philippine economy as he invited foreign business leaders to consider investing in the country.

Addressing global business leaders and decision makers who flew all the way to Manila to participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Country Roundtable on the Philippines, Marcos highlighted the stellar growth performance of the Philippine economy in 2023 “against great odds.”

“In 2023, the Philippines capped the year off with the highest GDP (gross domestic product) growth in all of ASEAN, including China – meeting or even exceeding the expectations of major multilateral organizations such as the IMF, ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office and World Bank…. It comes as no surprise that investments, particularly in durable equipment and public construction, emerged as a key driver of our full-year growth,” he said.

Marcos then cited the administration’s 185 flagship infrastructure projects amounting to over PHP9 trillion or about $163 billion targeting strategically important sectors such as sustainable development, physical and digital connectivity, agriculture, energy, health, and climate-resilient infrastructure.

“As of today, more than half of these projects are either already ongoing or approved for implementation, while around a quarter are seen to be financed through the public-private partnership (PPP) mechanism,” he added.

Marcos also cited key regulatory reforms the government has enforced to provide “a stable and an enabling environment” for public–private partnership (PPP) investments, such as the revisions in the Build-Operate-Transfer Law, signing of the landmark PPP (Public-Private Partnership) Code and various economic liberalization measures including the newly established Green Lanes for Strategic Investments, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises or CREATE ACT, and the Maharlika Investment Fund.

The Chief Executive capped off his message by extending an invitation to the WEF participants to join one of the world’s fastest-growing economies as it enters a sustained period of robust economic expansion over the coming years by forging new and stronger partnerships with both the public and private sectors.

“Clearly, the Philippines is in a prime position to enter into a sustained period of robust economic expansion over the next couple of years,” Marcos said.

“I extend an invitation to our partners and guests who are here today, to join us in this exciting new phase,” he added.

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Meanwhile, WEF 0resident Børge Brende said Marcos’ participation in the annual WEF meeting in Switzerland in January last year created a lot of interest and optimism in the Philippines, with numerous companies wanting to know more about its investment prospects.

“There is a lot of optimism in the Philippines but also around the Philippines globally. We had a dialogue there and it was very, very well-received and a lot of companies that are partners with the World Economic Forum said that they would like to have a roundtable, to meet with the Filipino secretaries, [and] also to meet with President Marcos,” Brende said in a press conference in Malacañang.

According to Brende, the Philippines could remain bullish if it continues its current policy reforms, upgrade infrastructure, as well as invest in renewables and other areas.

“I think that this can be in the coming decade, USD2 trillion economy if there are foreign investments in education, in infrastructure, and also able to draw on the great [competence] of the people of the Philippines,” he said. (PNA)