Thank you for the kind introduction.

Minister Malhotra; (UK Minister for the Indo-Pacific)
Ambassador Hulton; (Pronounced as “Hull-tun”; UK Ambassador)
Esteemed partners from the UK Government;
Distinguished members of the diplomatic corps;
Officials of the Philippine Government;
Partners from the private sector;
Special guests, good afternoon.

It is an honor to be part of the significant relaunch of the UK–Philippines Growth and Investment Partnerships.

In March 2023, this partnership—then known as British Investment Partnerships—was launched, reflecting a shared commitment to mobilize private capital in support of the Philippines’ development priorities.

Since then, the results have been concrete.

Through the GIP Toolkit, we have delivered approximately 18 million US dollars in official development assistance for technical assistance and project preparation. More importantly, this has catalyzed around 104 million US dollars in private sector financing.

These are not just figures on a slide. They represent projects structured more effectively. Risks mitigated more intelligently. And investments brought more efficiently.

The relaunch of the Growth and Investment Partnerships comes at a time of strong momentum in UK–Philippines economic relations.

In 2024, the United Kingdom is the Philippines’ top source of foreign direct investment, with placements reaching 9.44 billion dollars.

This reflects strong investor confidence in our macroeconomic stability, reform momentum, and long-term prospects.

Capital is flowing into sectors that directly strengthen our competitiveness, Among these are on renewable energy, infrastructure, and banking. For instance, the London-based investment house Actis has committed USD 600 million (PHP 34 billion) to develop the Philippines’ largest single-site solar power project, Terra Solar.

The UK has also expressed keen interest in supporting the development of the Luzon Economic Corridor. We thank the UK Embassy for hosting the LEC Mapping Workshop in November 2025. Together with like-minded partners, we are strengthening coordination on strategic investments across the Subic–Clark–Manila–Batangas corridor.

We also appreciate our continued close collaboration with the UK on the finalization of the Government-to-Government Arrangement and on identifying priority projects for potential financing through the JETCO Infrastructure Sectoral Working Group.

This disciplined, structured approach, aligning policy dialogue with project pipelines, ensures that cooperation translates into concrete, bankable investments.

At this point, I would like to assure everybody that the long term fundamentals of the Philippine economy remains intact and on solid footing – strong GDP growth, manageable inflation, a robust labor market, and prudent fiscal management.

Even with the extraordinary challenges in the second half – external shocks, war, tariffs, natural calamities, and the President’s flood control exposé – growth moderated to 4.4 percent for the year. This is well above the global average of 2.9 percent.

According to PSA and leading multilateral institutions like ADB and the World Bank, our economy is expected to regain momentum and bounce back to a 5 percent level of growth or higher in 2026.

Inflation remained controlled at 2.0% in January, within the government’s target range of 2-4%. This signals growing domestic economic activity.

National Government debt in 2024 is at 60.69%. General Government debt is 53.88%. Way below the 70% international threshold for general government debt-to-gdp ratio.

The country continues to receive triple B plus and A- credit ratings with stable and positive investment-grade marks from major international agencies.

At the same time, the three pillars of growth remain solid and reliable. In 2025, remittances from Overseas Filipinos totaled 35.63 billion USD. Export revenues in 2024 reached 106.7 billion USD and the business process outsourcing sector generated 32.3 billion USD. Together, these pillars continue to anchor the resilience and momentum of the Philippine economy.

And just recently, the Philippine Stock Exchange Index surged to one of its strongest levels in six months, fully wiping out losses since last year’s State of the Nation Address.

The benchmark index now stands near the 6,500 level.

Markets are forward-looking. That surge reflects strong confidence in governance, in policy continuity, and in the country’s economic direction.

The government has been putting together policies and programs to create an environment more conducive for businesses to thrive. Let me highlight five.

The Philippines now has the most open and liberal investment environment in its history.

We have implemented decisive, progressive reforms:

First, enacting the CREATE MORE Act, which offers up to 40 years of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives;

Second, implementing the new PPP Code to promote greater public-private sector participation;

Third, amending the Investors’ Lease Act, extending lease terms to as much as 99 years, giving non-Filipinos and Filipinos an option to secure land for long-term investments. This is a practice that is at par with the best in Asia.

Fourth, the Accelerated and Reformed Right-of-Way Act, which helps push critical infra projects forward. We had identified this as the main reason for delays in infra projects in the past, and have acted upon it.

Fifth, the implementation of CMEPA, which reduces the stock transaction tax (STT) from 0.6% to 0.1%. This practice is now aligned with Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia whose stock transaction taxes are either 0.05 or 0.1%, while PH was at 0.6%.

For strategic investments to enter the country, the government will continue to enhance the ease of doing business, reduce the cost of doing business, and promote greater predictability in doing business.

This means streamlining processes, shortening approval times, and giving investors clarity.

On my role in the DOF, let me discuss a few things:

Two weeks ago, the Registered Business Enterprises Taxpayer Service, or RBETS was launched—a key reform under the CREATE MORE Act.

RBETS gives registered businesses, under Investment Promotion Agencies, one place to go and one set of rules to follow. By centralizing taxpayer services, we remove confusion, ensure consistent interpretation of incentives, and make compliance easier for everyone.

When the rules are clear and predictable, businesses can focus on investing and creating jobs.

At the Bureau of Customs, we aim to make trade faster, simpler, and more efficient, with digitalization — the National Single Window – Integrated Trade Facilitation Platform (NSW-ITFP) PPP was signed last December.

This new platform will consolidate all trade requirements into a single digital portal, cutting red tape, reducing delays, and lowering costs. No more running from one agency to another because everything businesses need will be accessible in one place.

Countries that have implemented a national single window have seen a dramatic improvement in clearance times, export competitiveness and increase in government tax revenues.

Circling back to PPP, I’d like to highlight that the Marcos Jr. administration successfully awarded three major airport projects, including the main gateway—Manila International Airport, the New Bohol International Airport in Visayas, and Laguindingan International Airport in Mindanao.

When we first said we would privatize the Manila airport – nobody believed us. Today, we have done three in just the first half of the admin. I hope you are convinced. Despite the distractions, this government means business and will continue to pursue the right reforms and programs.

And the momentum continues. Several flagship projects are available for PPPs. At the last Economic Development Council, we just approved the 105.7 billion pesos PPP for public school infra projects aimed at closing classroom gaps and providing better learning environments for our youth.

Together, these investments will expand access to education, healthcare, ease daily commutes, and build a more connected, more resilient Philippines.

We have 209 infrastructure flagship projects and 49 of them are under PPP. We are actively inviting you to submit unsolicited proposals and participate in solicited bids. The PPP Center and DepDev have a complete list.

Last January 16, we held our flagship event–– the Big, Bold Reforms Philippines economic briefing with leading private-sector stakeholders, with the goal of inspiring optimism, strengthening partnerships, and renewing investor confidence.

At that event, several big, bold reforms and solutions were presented.

And just recently, the Government finalized a funding solution to ensure that government obligations under the CARS Program will be fulfilled.

This is proof that the Government stands by its commitments and remains fully supportive of long-term investments in the Philippines.

We have also relaxed visa requirements for India and China, two of the most populous countries in the world.

Indian and Chinese nationals may now enter Manila and Cebu visa-free for stays of up to 14 days, and up to 21 days for holders of valid AJACSSUK (America, Japan, Australia, Canada, Schengen, UK) visas.

This move is expected to strengthen tourism, trade, and investments in the country.

Let me now turn to some updates on trade and investment.

We are steadily expanding our economic partnerships. We have four bilateral trade agreements, eight ASEAN trade agreements, and we are exploring nine more free trade or economic cooperation agreements, including the much-anticipated EU FTA.

Our direction is clear. We are keeping Philippine trade policy open, relevant, and future-oriented.

We continue to see strong interest in the Philippines—from both domestic and foreign investors. IPAs and BOI approvals stand at 1.9 trillion pesos in 2024.

Today is therefore more than a ceremonial relaunch. This is a deliberate step toward a deeper, more results-driven economic cooperation.

To our colleagues in the UK Government, thank you for your continued partnership and confidence in the Philippines.

To our development partners, thank you for working with us to strengthen coordination and avoid fragmentation in infrastructure financing.

To our private sector leaders, both British and Filipino, we encourage you to view this platform as an entry point—to invest more, to partner, and to grow with us.

Thank you. Maraming salamat po!