DOF urges US investors to explore infra investment in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Finance (DOF) has renewed its call for US investors to explore investment opportunities in the country, as it noted the lack of participation from US firms in the government’s infrastructure projects.

During a Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB) in Washington, DC, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the US business community had expressed interest in participating in the Duterte administration’s Build Build Build program, yet no US company has come forward to bid for any project.

“The US business community expressed interest in participating in this program on several occasions. But no serious offer has come, and this is to bid in an international bidding program,” Dominguez said during a roundtable meeting with representatives from the US government, various industries and sectors, economic think-tanks and the private sector.

He cited, for instance, the North-South Commuter Railway project phase 2 of the Philippine National Railways, which attracted five foreign firms from Indonesia, South Korea and Spain last Oct. 14, but none from America.

Nevertheless, Dominguez urged US investors to explore possible investment opportunities in the Philippines, particularly in New Clark City in Pampanga.

 “The centerpiece of our Build Build Build program thus far is the New Clark City in Central Luzon – about a hundred kilometers north of Metro Manila. This area has attracted new industries and promises to be a center of modern enterprise in the region. I believe FedEx has just signed a contract to locate in Clark,” Dominguez said.

“The rapid transformation of the growth corridor between Subic Bay and Clark should be of particular interest to US businesses. This growth corridor is anchored on what used to be American bases,” he said.

Going forward, the finance chief said he hopes to host more American business delegations who are looking for investment opportunities in the Philippines.

“Our alliance of long-standing should be strengthened even more by forward-looking business partnerships,” he said.

During the briefing, Dominguez said higher infrastructure spending under the Build Build Build program is part of the Duterte administration’s three-pronged approach to ensure high economic growth despite global headwinds.

“For the first time in our history, we exceeded five percent of GDP in infrastructure spending last year. This is double the average spending over the last 50 years. We expect to bring this up further to seven percent of GDP by 2022,” the secretary said.

He said the program is supported by multilateral financial institutions, as well as development partners in the region, including China and Japan, which have committed $9 billion in assistance each, and South Korea, which promised an additional $1 billion.