Philippines eyes Swedish investments in energy, digital technology

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is moving to draw in Swedish capital in high-value sectors such as clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and digital technologies in a bid to support economic growth and generate employment.

In a statement, the Department of Finance (DOF) said it met with the Swedish delegation on June 9 to discuss efforts to strengthen bilateral economic relations between the Philippines and Sweden.

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“What we are pushing for is job creation. We welcome manufacturing investments, for instance, because it has the capability to create many jobs for the country’s highly skilled labor force,” Finance Secretary Frederick Go said, noting that the Philippine government is looking to attract investments in renewable energy, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity solutions.

For its part, Sweden expressed interest in expanding cooperation in the energy sector, particularly given its experience as a largely fossil-free economy.

“We are working with the Swedish Energy Agency on various technologies, including floating offshore wind as well as integrated wind and solar solutions,” Trade Commissioner of Sweden to the Philippines Johan Lennefalk said.

“We hope to see some installations down the line, and there are already two or three companies involved in these initiatives,” he added.

Earlier in May, Sweden signaled growing interest in investment and technical cooperation in the Philippines, citing the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals.

The move comes as Sweden joins the Luzon Economic Corridor, a Philippine-US-Japan initiative to spur investments in transport, energy, logistics, and digital infrastructure./pai INQ