The Makati skyline looms behind a slum area in Pasay City on January 28, 2021. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA - International business groups have a crucial role to play before more foreign investments pour in following the signing of the amended Public Service Act (PSA), British Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Chris Nelson said Thursday.
In an interview on ANC, Nelson said the chamber will now tell UK-based investors about the amended PSA, the passage of which they had always backed.
“We anticipate a lot of interest in public service... Our role now is to promote this and we’ll see these investments coming in,” he said.
“I think what British companies would be looking at is the opportunities the Philippines now presents,” he added.
The amended PSA redefined public utilities that are subject to a 40 percent foreign ownership cap.
Those excluded from the list will be liberalized including telcos, airlines and railways, among others.
The PSA is part of the 3 key economic reforms pushed by the Duterte administration before the end of the President's term in June. The first two are the amended Retail Trade Liberalization Act and the Foreign Investment Act.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretay Karl Kendrick Chua earlier said the three key reforms would help revitalize the pandemic-hit economy.
Economic managers have set a growth target of 7 to 9 percent this year. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.6 percent in 2021, slightly above the target of 5.5 percent.