Gov’t urges US investors to look at PH agri, tech sectors

President Duterte’s chief economic manager on Friday urged American investors to take advantage of a recovering Philippine economy as well as tax perks to be made available not only to massive new investments but also businesses badly hit by the pandemic-induced recession.

“As we gradually reopen the economy with health interventions, our GDP (gross domestic product) performed much better. We had a smaller GDP contraction of 11.5 percent in the third quarter from a decline of 16.9 percent in the second quarter of this year. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy grew by 8 percent in the third quarter. This indicates that the Philippine economy is on the mend. This is also a strong signal that the worst seems to be over for the country,” Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III told a webinar organized by the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C.

“The path is clearer to a strong bounce back in 2021. We expect to see additional improvements in the last quarter of this year as we progressively reopen businesses and transportation,” Dominguez added.

Dominguez enjoined US businessmen to look into opportunities in agriculture, digital technology, manufacturing and medical research to help the Philippines in its economic recovery track.

“We are pushing the use of digital technologies to transform Philippine agriculture into a dynamic, high-growth sector. With the United States being one of the world’s greatest food producers, we see immense potential benefit in having American investments in this area. Manufacturing is another key sector that we will revitalize in the postpandemic era. This is a good time for US firms that are looking to diversify their supply chains to see the Philippines as a viable source of intermediate products and services,” Dominguez said.

“We also see great potential in partnerships with US companies as we accelerate our move to a digital economy. The COVID-19 crisis is also a time for renewed cooperation between our nations in the area of medical research,” he added.

Dominguez said that while some of the Philippines’ closest neighbors were grappling with aging populations, the Philippines has a very young workforce.

“We have invested a lot in preparing our youth for the competitive world that lies ahead. There is a great talent in our market ready to be unleashed. In particular, we have an extensive pool of highly skilled workers to assist in the development of the US manufacturing and innovative industries,” he said.