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Logo of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.
Businessworld / File
In a joint interview, the British Chamber of Commerce Philippines Executive Chairman Chris Nelson and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Deputy Director General for Finance and Administration Maria Veronica Magsino discussed the upcoming investment mission to the UK in June 2025, marking the Philippines as an investment-ready destination for UK companies.
The beginning of the year witnessed a positive growth at P30.156 billion worth of investments across manufacturing, IT-BPM, and domestic market sectors. Meanwhile, the UK emerged as its leading investors in January alongside other international partners such as China, the Netherlands, Australia, and Malaysia.
Nelson noted the previous engagements of the Philippine government to the UK, particularly the recently held Philippine Economic Briefing in London last Oct. 31, 2024, led by the Department of Finance Secretary Ralph Recto and the economic delegation team, comprised of PEZA, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and the Department of Trade and Industry.
This initiative alongside the upcoming investment mission and the recently completed acquisition of the $600 million investment by the UK-based company, Actis, for the development of the Terra Solar project will, “further increase the number of British companies already in PEZA and further increase those investments. We also use that opportunity to also highlight small to medium sized companies that there are opportunities in PEZA and emphasize how the Philippines is growing in terms of our bilateral trade,” Chris Nelson said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Director General Magsino mentioned that the UK ranked as the 4th biggest investment partners of the Philippines, with 64 companies in the country and a total investment amount accumulation of P211 billion from 1995 to the end of 2024.
Deputy Director General Magsino also noted that the objective of the mission will be to invite more UK companies and noted that, “We have to tell them to come and invest in the Philippines. Why? Because you already have well-known companies here and they have been here for around 30 years. We already have UK investments that have placed their manufacturing industry in some of our economic zones…”
She further added that, “We are bullish in the Philippines because of the new incentives regime that we have that is CREATE MORE. We are even looking at increasing by 10%, our projection for foreign direct investments in 2025.”
The recently signed economic legislation such as the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) will attract British companies.
In addition to this, the inaugural Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) meeting signalled a fast-growing trade relationship between the UK and the Philippines, with Chris Nelson noting that, “this reinforces how the relationship continues to grow and with the Philippines as the UK’s 60th largest trading partner, our aim is to improve that number up even more.”
