Secretary of Finance
August 7, 2025
My fellow Cabinet Secretaries and leaders of Filipino business companies; Our friends and partners in India: Good morning.
It is my pleasure to stand before the great visionaries of India—the leaders who have built the world’s largest democracy into one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
And today, I am here to invite you to do what you do best—this time, in a country that’s no stranger to yours, the Philippines.
Recently, I had the privilege of meeting His Excellency Harsh Kumar Jain, Indian Ambassador to the Philippines.
We began the meeting as statesmen and ended it as believers. Believers in the idea that among the rising stars of Asia, there is no partnership more promising than the one between our two nations.
For the Philippines and India are not just friends. We are natural allies.
Our economies complement each other. Our people understand one another. And our ambitions for our shared future are aligned.
That is why today, there is no better time to turn this friendship into a stronger force. A force for innovation and cooperation. A force for inclusive, shared growth in Asia.
The Philippines is more than ready to do business with you. And we are built to nurture your success.
Just last week, in his State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said it clearly: The Philippine economy is in a very good place.
Investor confidence is high. Businesses are thriving. Inflation has gone down.
In fact, despite two hot wars, a cold war, and a tariff war, the Philippine economy has grown at an average of 5.9 percent since the President took office.
That is nearly double the global growth rate.
Our people’s lives are improving. Poverty rate is declining. Revenues are strong. And our labor market is more vibrant than ever.
We are already following the footsteps of India’s booming consumer market. By 2030, the Philippines is expected to be the 13th largest consumer market.
And the IMF projects that by the same year, we will rank among the world’s top 26 economies in terms of nominal GDP.
And by 2051, projections show that we will become the 18th largest economy. Fast forward to 2075, we are poised to become the 14th biggest economy in the world—outpacing France.
To reap the harvest of prosperity, we are planting the right seeds: Sound policies. Smart investments. And right partners. And India is right at the top of our list.
We know India is a global leader in technology, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, and digital infrastructure and services. These are also the very sectors we are developing aggressively in the Philippines.
So to attract world-class partners like you, we have put in place some of the most modern, transparent, and investor-friendly reforms in Asia.
For instance, we now allow full foreign ownership of high-impact public services such as telecommunications, toll roads, airports, shipping, and renewable energy.
With our landmark CREATE MORE Act, we offer both fiscal and non-fiscal incentives tailored to your investment priorities.
You can enjoy 4 to 7 years of income tax holiday, depending on the type and location of the project.
The Special Corporate Income Tax and Enhanced Deductions Regime are now extended to a period of up to 10 or 20 years.
Labor-intensive projects are allowed to apply for an extension of another 5 or 10 years.
An additional 100 percent deduction on power expenses and an additional 50 percent reinvestment allowance are available to those in the manufacturing and tourism sectors.
To address investors’ pain points, export-oriented enterprises’ local purchases are zero-rated, while importations are VAT-exempt.
And for projects with investment capital of at least 860 million US dollars or direct local employment generation of at least 10,000 workers, incentives could be tailored or bespoke for up to 40 years. That’s long-term certainty that you can bank on.
Simply put, we carefully crafted CREATE MORE to make more money for you and generate more high-quality jobs for our people.
And there’s no better place to start relocating than in our Luzon Economic Corridor, which is the future logistics and manufacturing super hub of the Philippines and Asia.
To further ease your entry in this corridor, we have set up Green Lanes, which streamline processes for high-value investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, renewable energy, and technology.
In just two years since this has been implemented, we have already approved 211 projects worth 89.7 billion US dollars. 165 of them are renewable energy projects.
Meanwhile, our Private Partnership Code makes investing in our 207 infrastructure flagship projects easier and faster than ever before.
These big-ticket projects, worth 180.5 billion US dollars, range from physical and digital connectivity to renewable energy and transport systems.
49 of them are open for PPPs, and you can see the full list on the screen.
So I invite you to submit unsolicited proposals, respond to solicited ones, or explore more joint ventures with our local companies for these projects.
In fact, in 2024 alone, we successfully awarded three PPP airport projects, including the modernization of our country’s main gateway—the Ninoy Aquino International Airport—which was approved in just six weeks.
NAIA was the fastest-approved PPP proposal in Philippine history. This is a clear demonstration of how fast the Philippine government acts on investments.
In the next three years, we aim to award 12 more airport projects, each one a powerful growth engine for regional economies. Among them is the Puerto Princesa International Airport—your gateway to Palawan—one of the world’s best islands.
We are looking for more participation from top-tier partners in India, like the GMR, which has excelled in the development and operations of our Mactan-Cebu International Airport and the Clark International Airport.
We are likewise opening to private sector participation the development of the country’s first-ever Philippine Spaceport.
This bold initiative aims to position the Philippines as a strategic launch hub in the rapidly expanding global space economy.
To top it all off, we are making it easier for your capital to flow and grow.
With our newly enacted Capital Market Efficiency Promotion Act, we reduced the stock transaction tax from 0.6 percent to just 0.1 percent. This makes our capital markets leaner, more liquid, and more attractive for investors.
And we have more reforms to come. For investors keeping an eye on our vast mineral wealth, the rationalization of our mining fiscal regime is in the works. This will provide fiscal stability and certainty to current and potential mining investments.
Beyond these, the Philippines holds immense promise to become India’s next big digital partner in Asia.
We are the fastest-growing digital economy in ASEAN. This makes the Philippines the natural hub for Indian companies in IT, fintech, blockchain, AI, and BPO looking to expand their operations in Southeast Asia.
The Philippines is the world’s second-largest services delivery location, accounting for 16 to 18 percent of the global IT-BPM services industry by headcount.
We support a full spectrum of global services—from customer experience and healthcare, to finance and accounting, human resources, IT development and infrastructure, and other industry-specific digital services.
Today, there are already 22 Indian-registered business enterprises operating under the Philippine Economic Zone Authority. And 82 percent of them are in the BPO sector, like Infosys BPM Limited and HCL Technologies Philippines, Inc.
We are eager to grow this number even further as we shift to higher value-added BPO services.
And we have the right talent to make this happen.
The Philippines ranks among the global leaders in AI adoption—with 86 percent of our knowledge workers utilizing AI in their daily tasks. This surpasses the global average of 75 percent and the regional average of 83 percent.
This should come as no surprise. As Filipinos are one of the most sought-after workers in the world.
We have a young, tech-savvy, and English-speaking population with a median age of just 25 years old.
Our talent is abundant— whether it’s tech, science, finance, or service excellence.
And in our people, you will not only find workers. You will meet innovators, partners, and dreamers.
Beyond the digital economy, the Philippines is strategically positioned to serve as your gateway to one of the world’s most dynamic regions.
Plus, we now have a VAT refund for foreign tourists. This strengthens our position as a premier shopping and lifestyle destination in Asia.
And now that Air India is set to offer direct flights between Delhi and Manila this October, our people are bound to get closer.
Even better, Indian tourists can now visit the Philippines visa-free—a move that not only boosts tourism, but deepens the cultural and economic ties between our countries.
You can now visit us seamlessly, shake hands with your future business partners, and see the best our country and our people can offer.
Meanwhile, national security is economic security. And we are proud that India stands with us as a trusted partner in both. We are deeply grateful to India for supporting our efforts to modernize our defense infrastructure.
We look forward to deepening this partnership through joint manufacturing, technology transfer, and local production to help grow the Philippine defense industry and ensure long-term regional stability.
As you can see, there are a lot of complementarities and opportunities for both our economies to dream bigger together.
For when Indian capital meets Filipino talent and grit, there are no limits to what we can create.
Now I ask you: Let’s build something bigger than business. Co-create the future with us. Let us build a legacy of shared prosperity for generations of Filipinos and Indians.
And to jumpstart, we brought here with us Filipino business leaders from key industries such as BPO, retail, real estate, infrastructure, renewable energy, health, banking, manufacturing, and many more.
They can discuss with you first-hand about the predictability, stability, and sustainability of doing business in the Philippines.
And rest assured, I will personally do the hand-holding to make it easier, more rewarding, and more profitable for you to invest in the Philippines.
Thank you very much. And see you very soon in the Philippines! Mabuhay ang Bagong Pilipinas!