President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has secured 22.8 billion US dollars in investment pledges from Chinese investors during his two-day state visit to China.
A big chunk of the deal will be coming from the renewable energy sector, which will amount to 13.76 billion US dollars.
It is followed by pledges from strategic monitoring such as electric vehicle and mineral processing, at 7.32 billion US dollars; and by investment commitments from agribusiness, at 1.72 billion US dollars.
In a roundtable discussion with Chinese business leaders from the agribusiness industry in Beijing on Thursday, Marcos secured deals that are primarily focused on the signing of the protocol on market access for Philippine durian to China.
Pledges were also made for coconut and food processing; development of durian production and its processing and marketingl as well as alternative green technology for animal feeds and other agriculture related products.
To ensure a sustainable supply of agriculture inputs, especially fertilizers, two cooperative agreements were reached.
Encouraging the business leaders, the President said the Philippine agricultural sector possesses a huge potential to drive economic development with its thriving agribusiness ecosystem, abundant land, and fishery resources.
He also cited the country's rich pool of competent manpower, local availability of raw materials, favorable policy environment, as well as strong government support.
He then welcomed the intention of some Chinese companies to invest in coconut, durian production, and the Philippine livestock sector, which he said could generate much-needed employment, enrich the sector’s research and development activities, enhance domestic and international trade, and ensure food security.
Meanwhile, pledges for Philippine renewable energy were also made as Marcos took pride of the rise of investment in the sector due to the lifting in December 2022 of foreign ownership on renewable energy generation projects.
Business interests mainly focused on solar and wind energies, although they also include manufacturing of equipment, such as wind turbine generation towers, foundations, and also blades, and other wind turbine parts.
In his remarks, Marcos assured the Chinese business leaders of favorable opportunities as energy demand in the country continues to grow and keep pace with the country’s projected strong economic growth.
"We look forward to more Chinese investments in renewable energy pursuits such as in solar and wind, as well as in related sectors including battery energy storage systems and off-grid power supply systems," he told them.
Marcos also pitched for investment in photovoltaic, onshore and offshore wind turbine generation, waste-to-energy, and other renewable energy projects. He invited businessmen to explore investment opportunities in mineral processing and battery precursor production, in the assembly of EVs (electric vehices), and in the manufacturing of EV parts and components.
But at the same time, Marcos pushed for ventures in green development and in green technology and technological innovation platforms, such as Research and Development (R&D) centers, innovation centers, laboratories and incubators.