The country’s finance chief has led government efforts in strengthening ties with the Italian business community as he encouraged industry leaders to seize new investment opportunities in the country, the Department of Finance (DOF) said in a statement yesterday.
“I invite all business leaders, entrepreneurs and investors here today to seize these new opportunities for growth and expansion here in the Philippines. We look forward to strengthening ties as well as forging new ones with our partners in the Italian business community,” Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said during the 2022 Italian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Leadership Awards held last November 18.
Diokno referenced the country’s strong gross domestic product growth of 7.7 percent in the first three quarters of 2022, mainly driven by strong domestic demand and improvement in labor market conditions.
“(We) are near certain that we will achieve our target growth of 6.5 to 7.5 percent for this year,” Diokno said.
He also assured investors that the government has the necessary tools to respond to current global headwinds.
The administration is working to steer the economy to a high-growth trajectory through an eight-point socioeconomic agenda. This aims to bring about higher investments in smart infrastructure, human capital development and digitalization, and will be guided by the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework to reduce fiscal deficit, promote fiscal sustainability and enable robust economic growth.
The DOF pointed out the government has also established a business-friendly environment for both domestic and foreign investors through economic liberalization measures that widen the space for international firms to invest in previously protected sectors and form joint ventures with Filipino companies.
“Enterprises employing advanced technologies will greatly benefit from these new laws. These game-changing reforms demonstrate our strong determination to be a prime investment destination in Asia,” Diokno said. – Angela Celis
