Pres. Aquino looks forward to increased investment from Singaporean companies in the Philippines

President Benigno S. Aquino III said he is looking forward to an expansion of markets by Singapore-based companies in the Philippines.

President Aquino on Wednesday (Nov. 19) is scheduled to meet with officials of Temasek Holdings, GIC Private Limited, and Keppel Corporation. He said he will encourage them to increase their investment in the country.

Temasek, GIC, and Keppel are all multibillion-dollar Singaporean companies that manage investments, sovereign wealth funds, and shipping industries, respectively.

President Aquino said Temasek is helping the country in various educational fronts, while Keppel was instrumental in making the Philippines one of the best places to go to in terms of shipbuilding.

Singapore was the Philippines’ fourth major trading partner and its fifth largest source of investment promotion agency-approved foreign investments in 2013.

Meanwhile, keynoting Tuesday evening’s “The World in 2015” gala dinner hosted by the international business publication, The Economist, President Aquino reiterated his hopes for a ‘reverse migration effect’ to occur in the country.

He cited an experience in Dubai, while in transit to Davos last year, where he met a lot of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) at the airport. He said the OFWs were urging him to speed up economic reforms in the country so they could finally return home.

“Instead of trying to convince them to come back home, they are actually trying to egg me on to speed up all of the changes that will enable them to do so,” the President said.

On the end of his term in 2016, President Aquino said he is committed to meet all the targets he had set in terms of economic reforms before stepping down from office.

“We’re targeting five percent of our GDP (gross domestic product) in terms of measures for infrastructure by 2016. We’re almost at four—3.5 to 4 (percent) this year… At the end of the day, we are saying that government has been reinvigorated and is now in a position to empower the citizenry. And you can see that, again, in terms of our very heavy emphasis on education,” he said.

“We believe that our greatest resources are the people and the people now are exercising all of their freedoms and have belief in themselves, and belief in the ability of the country by the time we leave.” (PCOO News Release)