MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday arrived in Manila after his nearly week-long trip to Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum.
In his arrival speech, the President said communications lines were opened between the Philippine government and international investors thanks to the Davos trip.
“I met with key executives of companies such as DP World, Glencore, and Morgan Stanley… who incidentally will open an office in the country due to investor confidence,” Marcos Jr. said.
“The business meetings held promise new investments in many of our economic sectors including mining and processing, digital solutions, logistics, telecommunications, and renewable fuel, among others, and will enable our companies to participate deeper in global value chains,” he said.
World Economic Forum (WEF) founder and chairman emeritus Klaus Schwab has also become a “dear friend of the Philippines,” he added.
“We discussed partnerships and collaboration to help the Philippines sustain equitable and inclusive growth and provide for a better quality of life for Filipinos,” Marcos Jr. said, referring to Schwab.
“I met with world leaders to discuss how we can further cooperate to ensure that lasting peace and prosperity for all are in the horizon,” he added.
Before returning to Manila, the President said that he is satisfied with the outcome of his administration’s expedition to one of the world’s most expensive destinations.
“Lahat naman ng ating nakakausap ay nakikinig at sinasabi naman, 'optimistic naman kami,' na sa lahat ng ating kinausap, sa ating sinubukang kumbinsihin, magpaliwanag, ay maganda naman ang naging pagtanggap sa mensahe na dala namin ng Philippine delegation dito sa World Economic Forum sa Davos,” he said.
There was also “great interest” in the Philippines’ plan to put up its own sovereign wealth fund, but legislators need to ensure that the Maharlika Sovereign Fund will be crafted based on the economic and legal conditions in the Philippines, Marcos Jr. said.
“Although the sovereign wealth funds around the world have the same name, they’re all very different. They’re different in purpose, they’re different in methodology and of course, they operate in a different context of law,” he said.
“So we have to design it very specifically to the Philippine condition and that’s what the legislators are trying to do now to make sure na babagay para sa atin and it will be a good thing for us.”
The Maharlika Investment Fund was passed in the House of Representatives in less than a month, but a counterpart measure has yet to be tackled in the Senate.
Meantime, Malacañang has yet to respond to inquiries as to how much the government spent for Marcos Jr.’s trip to Switzerland, as well as his 8 other overseas trips as Philippine president.