NextGen Day

The bright economic outlook of the Philippines and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) amid concerns about a global slowdown, according to Speaker Martin Romualdez, supports President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s efforts to entice more investments into the country while attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

President Marcos’ attendance at the Davos meeting this year “is timely, as favorable economic forecasts for both the Philippines and the ASEAN would serve him well in his effort to secure more investments that would enable our country to recover from the pandemic and shield us from external headwinds,” Romualdez said.

Benjamin Diokno, the finance secretary, stated that the government anticipates a robust full-year gross domestic product (GDP) increase for 2022 and GDP growth of about 6.5 percent in 2023 during a luncheon hosted for President Marcos and his entourage at the WEF.

And that’s still one of the highest growth projections in the Asia-Pacific Region, if not the most, according to Diokno.

Romualdez also highlighted an essay from Jo-Ok Lee, who oversees the WEF’s Regional Agenda for Asia and the Pacific, in which Lee noted that ASEAN is one of the few bright spots as the world economy remains stagnant.

According to Lee, the ASEAN economies had rapid development in 2022 as a result of a post-Covid-19 upswing in activity.

Although the global freeze will have some effects, Lee stated that the ASEAN-6’s overall growth predictions for 2023 are set at 4.4 percent (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam).

Lee added that the pandemic caused a significant upgrade in regional internet trade, leading to numerous ASEAN nations taking the lead globally in a number of digitalization-related fields, including e-commerce retail growth.

In addition to the fact that the Philippines continues to be a reliable source of online labor for the rest of the world, Lee claimed that Malaysia and the Philippines are the top two nations in this regard, “registering a growth of 25 percent and 23 percent respectively per year.”

As a member of President Marcos’ official delegation to the WEF, Romualdez said, “Taken together, these reasons provide a strong case to present the Philippines as an investment center during President Marcos’ contact with global industry and government leaders at the World Economic Forum.”

The sole ASEAN head of state and one of only two Asian heads of state in attendance at the forum this year is President Marcos.

Seven of the country’s most successful businesses are in Davos to support Marcos’ inaugural attendance at the WEF 2023 meeting in addition to members of the Cabinet.

Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. (about 4:30 p.m. PH time), the address of Switzerland President Alain Berset is slated to begin the second day of the WEF.

The Philippines Country Strategy Dialog with the economic team, as well as individual bilateral meetings with Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and with representatives of the mining and commodities trading giant Glencore, are among the important events President Marcos is scheduled to attend.

President Marcos and First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos are slated to attend a private luncheon with WEF founder and Chair Dr. Klaus Schwab and his wife Hilde later on in the day.

During a breakfast encounter that took place in November of last year, outside of the ASEAN summits in Cambodia, Dr. Schwab was the one who extended Marcos an invitation to the WEF.

The encounter between Marcos and Schwab over breakfast was made possible in large part by Romualdez.

Positive reaction

Romualdez claimed that Marcos’ involvement at the WEF is off to a promising start as a result of “a very nice reception” from some of the most influential business figures in the world.

This is a fortunate beginning and portends well for the President’s aim at the WEF, which is to establish the Philippines as an investment hub and entryway to the Asia-Pacific region, according to Romualdez.

The enthusiastic reception took place during a dinner that Grab Chairman and CEO Anthony Tan arranged for the President on Monday at the margins of the WEF.

Everyone at the meal, according to the Speaker, “was thrilled about the Philippine recovery narrative and agreed that it is the future investor sanctuary for Western capital.”

As he explains the advancements made under his administration to make the Philippines more investment-friendly, I am convinced that the President will receive the same response, Romualdez added.

Luhut Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment Affairs, Republic of Indonesia; Jared Kushner, Founder, Affinity Partners; Patrick Foulis, Editor-in-Chief, Economist; Alan Jope, CEO, Unilever; Bill Ford, CEO, General Atlantic, one of the largest equity firms in the world; Andy Jassy, CEO, Amazon; Alan Jope, CEO, Unilever; Patrick Foulis;

Among them are Molly Ford, Bill Ford’s wife; Bahlil Lahadalia, Minister of Investment for the Republic of Indonesia; Dr. Bambang Susantono, Chairman of the ID New Capital City Authority; Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, Minister of Thailand; Jaime Bautista, Secretary of Transportation for the Philippines; Arsjad Rasjid, Chairman of KADIN; Tony Blair, Executive Chairman of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change; Dolf

At the WEF, Marcos is additionally anticipated to soft launch the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, also known as the Maharlika Investment Fund.

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