PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is keen on promoting the Philippines as an investment destination and his trips abroad form part of his efforts.
Speaking at the 24th Forbes Global CEO Conference on Thursday in Singapore, Marcos said his overseas travels helped in introducing the Philippines to prospective investors.
“I have also made a very, very big effort to go around the world and to reintroduce the Philippines in a very real way,” he said.
Asked what he had been doing in the past four years to make the country attractive, Marcos stressed the need to be receptive to investor needs.
“Part of our road show, if you will, in going around is that we do not always say that this is what we are doing in the Philippines, and we always ask our partners, our prospective partners, so what is it that you need?,” he said.
The Philippines has made it easier for global investors by restructuring the tax structure and the provision of incentives, he also said.
“We are doing everything that we can do to bring basically the Philippines into the 21st century,” he said.
In a Facebook post, meanwhile, Marcos said that investments must mean more than numbers on a balance sheet.
“They must create better jobs, strengthen our industries and give more Filipinos the chance to build a better future right here at home,” he said.
During his working visit to Singapore, Marcos also met with FedEx Airlines’ and International President and CEO Richard Smith to discuss the Philippines’ potential to become a regional logistics hub.
The meeting discussed the company’s rapid growth in the Philippines, now with close to 40 flights a week as it currently operates two main facilities in the country: at Clark in Pampanga and at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City.
“The Philippines is doing everything right,” Smith was said to have told Marcos.
