Canadian firms keen  to invest in PHL

CANADIAN PENSION FUNDS and other financial institutions are keen on investing in the Philippines, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.

“The Philippines has a very interesting story to tell. The meetings we had in New York and Toronto gave us the opportunity to share with current and potential investors the country’s robust growth outlook and the engines that will drive this growth, such as the recently reopened mining industry, the rebound of tourism, and the ambitious ‘Build, Better, More’ program,” Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said in a statement.

Mr. Diokno and the rest of the economic team were in the United States and Canada last week where they met representatives from fixed-income and infrastructure funds, institutional investors, development finance institutions, mining companies, and asset management companies.

The DoF said several funds such as FinDev Canada, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, OPTrust, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, as well as investment management firms Black Creek and Vanguard were looking at investing in the Philippines.

These firms showed “keen interest in the Philippines’ public-private partnership (PPP) opportunities in infrastructure, investments in sustainability and energy transition, and sovereign issuances in the pipeline,” it noted.

During an economic briefing in Toronto on July 13, Mr. Diokno noted the government is pushing for Congress’ approval of the proposed Public-Private Partnerships Act before the end of the year.

“This measure provides a unified legal framework for all types of PPPs at the national and local levels and will make the policy environment for PPPs clearer, more predictable, and more competitive,” he said.

Mr. Diokno also highlighted the Philippine economy’s robust growth, as well as recent structural reforms to accelerate trade and investment in the country.

“Canada, a global leader in clean energy, may benefit from the recent liberalization of the Philippines’ renewable energy (RE) sector. Foreign enterprises may now participate in the country’s RE sector, particularly in solar, wind, hydro, and tidal energy — that’s 100%,” he said.

The Philippines had previously limited foreign ownership of RE projects to 40%.

Meanwhile, the DoF said Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) Head of Government Affairs David Clarke presented the Philippine economic team with opportunities “to deepen capital in mining” amid the presence of TSX-listed mining firms in the Philippines.

In a Facebook post last week, the DoF said that B2Gold Corp. is also interested in expanding its operations in the Philippines.

B2Gold is a Vancouver-based low-cost international senior gold producer that currently operates a gold mine in Masbate. — L.M.J.C. Jocson