LONDON – Mainit na tinanggap ng investing at business community ang katatapos na Philippine Economic Briefing na ikinasa sa Europa.

Kasunod ng katatapos na PEB series na ginanap sa London, UK at Frankfurt, Germany noong Enero 23-26, naselyuhan din ang investment deal sa pagitan ng ilang dambuhalang negosyong Briton at Pinoy.

Sinalubong ng magandang balita ang pagbubukas ng economic briefing sa London sa pahayag ni Secretary Benjamin Diokno ng Department of Finance sa lumalagong ekonomiya ng bansa.

Sa harap ng UK business leaders, inanunsiyo ni Diokno ang paglakas ng ekonomiya ng Pilipinas sa pagpalo ng Gross Domestic Product (GDP) sa 7.6 % noong 2022. Ito na raw ang pinakamataas sa loob ng 46-taon ayon sa datos ng World Bank.

“I am proud to announce that we beat our own target. In the fourth quarter of last year, our economy grew by 7.2%, bringing our full-year GDP growth rate to 7.6 %” pahayag ni Sec. Benjamin Diokno, Department of Finance.

Sabi rin ni Diokno sa kanyang keynote speech, hindi maitatangging isa sa fastest rising economies ang Pilipinas sa Asia-Pacific region: “Given the consensus that the global economy will slow down this year, the Philippines is still one of the highest growth rates in the Asia-Pacific region."

Kaya masigasig ang alok niya sa investing community na mamuhunan sa bansa.

“We invite the British investing community to explore in venture opportunities in the fields of communications, airports, toll roads, agribusiness, renewable energy, and shipping,” pahayag ni Diokno.

Interesado naman ang business community sa UK sa pagpapatatag ng relasyon at negosyo na may kaugnayan sa renewable energy, science and research, at trade policy.

Bilib rin sila sa pagtatanghal ng economic managers at sa inilatag na proyekto ng administrasyon.

“No one knows this country better than your president. He brings a huge amount of international experience and diplomacy to the task, which I think will see the Philippines rise,“ sabi ni Richard Graham, Member of Parliament for Gloucester and Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to the ASEAN, EC, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Samantala, naging pagkakataon din ito na ipakilala ang isinusulong na Maharlika Investment Fund ng Marcos administration.

“The country’s first event Sovereign Wealth Fund that will serve as an investment vehicle for funds from both private and public sectors,” sabi Diokno.

Pero tanong ng ilan, saan ba kukunin ang seed funds?

“We plan to privatize our gambling casino, we have a lot of government assets that can be privitized,” sagot ni Diokno sa tanong ng media.

Ayon sa mga eksperto, napapanahon ang pagpapalakas ng uganyang pang-ekonomiya ng Pilipinas, UK at European investors.

Masayang ibinalita naman ni Graham na selyado na ang £ 65-million investment sa pagitan ng ilang dambuhalang negosyong Briton at Pinoy.

“We are happy to celebrate the partnership of Diageo and Don Papa: Two pretty big investments actually in the last 2 weeks. The other one is the Inchcape and the automobile subsidiary of San Miguel. I’m very excited,” sabi ni Graham sa TFC News.

FRANKFURT, GERMANY

Positibo rin ang economic managers sa magiging resulta ng naunang Philippine Economic Briefing sa Frankfurt, Germany nitong January 23. Ngunit wala pa raw kongkretong investment mula sa Germany.

“There is no real commitment at this point. What will happen is the business aspect, especially on the PPP, the business case has to be studied,” sabi ni Felipe Medalla, Governor, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Tiwala naman si socio-economic planning secretary Arsenio Balisacan na magbubunga ang kanilang panghihikayat sa investors.

“We have to plant the seeds, wait for them to grow. If you’re not aggressively looking for investors, don´t expect them to wait for you. You have to do a lot of marketing, too“ sabi ni Sec. Arsenio Balisacan sa TFC News pagkatapos ng economic briefing sa Frankfurt.

May nagpahayag na rin ng interes na mamuhunan sa Pilipinas ang ilang kasalukuyan at dating investors na sa bansa.

“Our goal is to bring modern technology to the Philippines and produce it there so we create a lot of jobs,” sabi ni Jörg Michael, Reuther Director of Sales Materials, Innovative Gesellschaft, MBH.

“Marcos´s plan to encourage foreign investors through marketing or visiting the countries involved is a good move,’ sabi ni Andreas Klippe, President/ CEO, Asian Business Expert, Flood Control Asia RS Corporation.

“I´m quite amazed with the plan with renewable energy,” sabi ni David Marques Pereira ESG originator, Sustainability Bonds and Finance, Deutsche Zentralbank.

Panghuli, sa harap ng business community at sinusuyong investors, nag-iwan ng pangkiliting mensahe si Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman.

“The time to invest in the Philippines is now. We have a hard-working administration. We have high economic growth. We have peace in Mindanao and most of all, we have sunshine all year round. So we look forward to another BBM: the British Building Mar in the Philippines,” sabi ni Pangandaman.

Para sa mga nagbabagang mga balita tungkol sa ating mga kababayan sa Europa, Gitnang Silangan at Africa, tumutok sa TFC News sa TV Patrol.