The timing is right for President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to woo investors to the Philippines during his ongoing participation in the World Economic Forum (WEF).
House Speaker Martin Romualdez had this to say Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 17, as he underscored the bright prospects for the Philippines and the rest of the Association of Southeast Asean Nations (ASEAN) at this stage in the Covid-19 pandemic.
Romualdez is part of Marcos's delegation to the WEF, which is taking place in Davos, Switzerland. The world's key heads of state and business elite are at the forum.
“President Marcos’s participation in the Davos meet this year is timely as favorable economic forecasts for both the Philippines and the ASEAN would serve him in good stead in his effort to secure more investments to allow our country to shake off the effects of the pandemic and protect us from global headwinds,” Romualdez said in a statement released to House of Representatives reporters.
The Leyte 1st district congressman went as far as to call these favorable economic forecasts as the Filipino leader's "leverage" to gain investments.
Romualdez cited the Jan. 14, 2023 article of Jo-Ok Lee, head of the Regional Agenda for the Asia Pacific region at the WEF, who noted that ASEAN is one of the few bright spots as the global economy continues to stall.
Lee noted that ASEAN economies enjoyed strong growth in 2022 amid a post-Covid-19 surge in activity.
He added that while the global chill will have some effect, overall growth forecasts for 2023 are pegged at 4.4 percent for the ASEAN-6, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Lee further said the pandemic prompted a huge update in online trade, giving several ASEAN countries a leading role globally in some sectors of digitalization, including e-commerce retail growth.
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According to the author, the Philippines and Malaysia are the two top countries in this respect, “registering growth of 25 percent and 23 percent respectively per year", aside from the fact that the Philippines is also continuing to serve as a steady source of online labor to the rest of the world.
“Taken together, these factors make a compelling case to showcase the Philippines as an investment hub during President Marcos’ interaction with global industry and government leaders at the ,” said Romualdez, president of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) party.
Marcos is the lone ASEAN leader, and one of only two leaders from Asia, attending this year’s forum.