MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday witnessed the signing of USD 185.7 million worth of investment agreements with Singaporean companies that is expected to generate some 1,920 jobs for Filipinos.
The signing of the agreements was done during sidelines of the 32nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Ritz-Carlton Millenia Hotel in Singapore.
In his speech, the President assured the Singaporean businessmen that his administration would be free from corruption.
“For as long as I am there, there will be no corruption in my government,” Duterte said during the signing of business agreements held at Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore.
“All you have to do is to make a call I said and I will grant you anytime especially about graft, about workers in government asking for money,” he added.
Duterte sad he would ask the departments of trade and finance to come up with measures that would make the process of doing business in the country “simpler and easier.”
He said their businesses in the Philippines will be protected for as long as they pay the rights taxes and follow the law.
“You just take care of the laws. There are set of laws to follow. If it’s followed, then we are okay and we can talk about business,” Duterte said.
In a text message Saturday, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said the investment pledges are in the sectors of aviation, solutions for sustainable urbanization, development of marine renewable energy, packaging, film manufacturing, information and communications technology, financial technology, water solutions, prefabricated projects, food, and blockchain technology.
Lopez said these investment pledges from Singapore will open 1,920 job opportunities in the Philippines.
“There are enormous opportunities for companies partnering with Philippines as the country is on economic breakout,” he noted.
The trade chief cited that the country’s 6.7-percent gross domestic product growth, increasing consumer base, highly-skilled and young workforce, various reforms and infrastructure programs of the government, and new policies enhancing business environment and competitiveness are the factors attracting global investors to come to the Philippines.
Singaporean companies submitted six memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and four letters of intent (LOIs) in the fields of urban development, renewable energy, aviation, manufacturing and economic and trade cooperation.
The MOUs signed are:
* An MOU signed between Filinvest Development Corp. and Keppel Corp. which aims to explore cooperation opportunities in development of projects in Filinvest City, edge computing data centers in Metro Manila, and urban solutions for Clark City.
It was signed by Andrew Gotianun Jr., Director of Filinvest Development Corp., and Cindy Lim, Managing Director, Keppel Urban Solutions.
* An MOU was signed by Filinvest Development Corporation with Hitachi Asia Ltd., which aims to provide the framework for the exploration of collaborative opportunities and determine business opportunities which include social innovation business, energy management, information and communication technology, water solutions, security and financial technology and urban development on existing and future developments and projects of FDC, its subsidiaries and affiliates.
This agreement was signed between Josephine Gotianum-Yap, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Filinvest and Kosuke Horiuchi, Managing Director of Hitachi.
* An MOU signed between Everhydro and OceanPixel for the development of marine renewable energy projects in Zamboanga.
It was signed between Marianne Eleanor Catanyag, Programme Manager of Everhydro, and Michael Abundo, Managing Director of OceanPixel.
* An MOU between Robin Village International Pte. Ltd. and ICSICT Support Services Corp. was also inked with an objective to explore collaboration in prefab projects for areas needing fast development.
The signatories were George Barcelon, President, ICSICT Support Services Corp. and Lim Chong Sit, Managing Director of Robin Village International Pte. Ltd.
* An MOU signed between Ascent Solutions Pte. Ltd. and Ascent Solutions Philippines Inc. which aims to provide framework for the investment of Ascent Solutions Pte. Ltd. into Ascent Solutions Philippines Inc. in cash, equipment and technology for the development of a blockchain technology platform for a national ID system, transport management system and trade financing.
* An MOU signed between the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and Singapore Manufacturing Federation.
The MOU hopes to promote, strengthen and expand trade, economic, scientific, technological cooperation and other business relations between concerned organizations and firms of both parties.
It also aims to exchange information about commerce, industry and economy in general, of their respective economies and to assist their members in establishing and strengthening business contacts through the organization of events such as conferences, seminars, study tours, exchanges of trade groups and participation in trade fairs with the objective of promoting the growth of trade between Filipino and Singaporean businessmen.
It is also expected to promote training programs and other projects that will benefit small and medium enterprises.
The following LOIs were also received by the Philippine government:
* LOI between Jollibee Woldwide Pte. Ltd. and Golden Beeworks Pte. Ltd. which aims to enter into a Development Agreement with GPBL for the development of 25 new Jollibee outlets in Singapore for a period of five years.
Ernesto Tanmantiong, CEO of Jollibee Foods Corporation and Jennie Chua, Partner/Shareholder of Golden Beeworks Pte. Ltd. signed the LOI.
* LOI between SIA Engineering Company Limited (SIAEC) and Cebu Air, Inc. whose purpose is to enter into discussion with Cebu Air on potential growth opportunities for its joint venture companies in the Philippines on the following initiatives:
Expand Line Maintenance operations at Clark with the Philippines Government’s drive to shift air traffic from Manila to Clark;
In line with the growth of its customer base and business volume, Parties expect planning on investment in expansion of its hangar facilities at Clark to commence in the near term; and
Expand Training Academy to serve beyond local aviation organizations, and cater to international students.
*LOI of Lepack Packaging Pte. Ltd. which aims to explore opportunities in the Philippines on Plastic Packaging and Film Manufacturing.
*LOI between the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and ASEAN Business Advisory Council whose objective is to jointly work on a feasibility study to identify a site that would be suitable to implement the SGConnect™ legacy project.
Also present during the signing were Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar and Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.