Secretary of Finance
Mr. Hans T. Sy, Chairman of China Banking Corporation; Mr. Romeo D. Uyan, Jr., Chinabank President and CEO; Board of Directors; partners from the private sector; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen: A pleasant evening to all of you.
It is an honor to be with among the best minds in business and finance tonight—the men and women who help shape the future of this nation.
As they say: the economy, at its core, is a matter of trust. It is about the pact we make with each other: that when a Filipino dares to dream, there is a system strong enough to help him achieve it.
And with this, I thank Chinabank for being a strong partner of this nation over the past 100 years, helping generations of Filipinos turn their aspirations into reality.
Your longstanding presence is a powerful testament to the confidence you place in our country, our people, and the potential of the Philippine economy.
And as one of the country’s economic managers, it is our solemn duty at the DOF to make sure that your confidence is never misplaced.
We are doing this by building a strong Philippine economy that allows businesses like yours to continuously thrive.
And I can tell you that, right now, the Philippines is at its most promising economic momentum.
For our fiscal consolidation is on track, and game-changing business reforms are finally in place to drive investment-led growth.
We are one of the fastest-growing economies in the Asia-Pacific—not just when times are good, but even in the face of tough global challenges such as trade wars and high inflation and high interest rates.
Since President Marcos, Jr. took office in 2022, we have grown by an average of 6%. And international organizations continue to project above 6% growth in the coming years.
We have a refined Medium-Term Fiscal Program to ensure our country’s solid fiscal and economic foundation.
This aims to gradually reduce our deficit and debt in a realistic manner while creating more jobs, increasing incomes, and reducing poverty in the process.
And the good news is that we are on track with our fiscal goals, with revenue collections exceeding targets. We brought our revenue effort to 16.7% last year—the highest in the last 27 years.
Our credit ratings have been upgraded. And other credit rating agencies will likely upgrade the Philippines to an A-rating before the end of the Marcos, Jr. administration.
With these, our private sector will gain access to more affordable financing for expansion. This will translate to larger investments and more jobs for our workers, helping upgrade the lives of every Filipino.
And with our strong consumer demand, the Philippines is projected to rise as the 13th largest consumer market in the world by 2030. This will give your business boundless opportunities.
Helping fuel this demand is the reliable stream of remittances from overseas Filipinos, hefty tourism receipts, increasing BPO revenues, and our very vibrant labor market.
Our low-inflation environment also boosts consumer purchasing power and economic growth. This positioned us as the first in ASEAN to ease policy rates last year, with a total reduction of 75 basis points.
All these factors help us remain relatively resilient against trade wars, as we are not overly dependent on exports.
However, as with all countries, we are not spared from the impact of the expected decline in international trade and possible slowdown of global growth due to supply chain disruptions, high interest rates, and high inflation.
But we see opportunities arising, including strengthened engagement with our global trading partners. In fact, potential free trade agreements with the UAE, EU, Chile, and Canada are already on the table.
Nevertheless, our demographic sweet spot is our greatest advantage to sustain our strong economic momentum.
With a median age of just 25 years old, we have the youngest, most dynamic, and highly skilled workforce—not just in ASEAN but in the world.
The entry of millions of young Filipinos into the workforce will fuel our industries, drive innovation, and shape the country’s future.
And to fully harness these golden opportunities, we fully count on you—our strong private sector.
And rightfully so, as you generate about 80% of the economy and employ 91% of the workforce.
In fact, for every six wage and salary workers in the private sector, there is only one who works in the government.
That is why one of this administration’s first initiatives was the creation of the Private Sector Advisory Council or PSAC to bring business to the table, and not on the sidelines.
Today, PSAC meets twice a month, creating a vital platform where your strategic insights and industry expertise directly influence government policy.
This close collaboration has allowed us to dismantle roadblocks to clear the way for your businesses to grow.
For instance, this administration finally made into reality the Public-Private Partnership Code to ease your participation in our big-ticket infrastructure projects.
And a prime example of what great teamwork between the government and the private sector can achieve is the NAIA PPP deal.
This is the largest PPP project under the Marcos, Jr. administration and the fastest-approved PPP proposal in Philippine history at only six weeks.
We aim to act with the same dispatch on all PPP projects, especially the upcoming big-ticket ones where your involvement is very crucial.
And there is more to come. 43 out of the 186 flagship projects under the Build, Better, More program are primed for PPPs.
So I invite you to submit unsolicited proposals for these projects, respond to solicited proposals, or enter into joint venture agreements.
As part of our strategic approach to revenue generation, we are also putting idle public assets to productive use.
This year, we target to raise about 50 billion pesos in privatization proceeds to fund priority programs— not by taxing our people more, but by inviting you to do what you do best: to innovate, create, and operate.
The Privatization Council has recently released harmonized guidelines to ensure that privatization is more efficient, transparent, and inclusive.
And we are offering a range of valuable assets for you, including the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan hydroelectric power plant complex in Laguna. The complete list will now be published online, so I ask you to check it out.
We also introduced the Green Lanes for faster approval of strategic investments. This is our way of rolling out the red carpet for those who drive our economy forward.
Additionally, we have the Ease of Paying Taxes Act. This significantly simplified tax compliance procedures, reduced red tape, and embraced technology to make it easier for you to fulfill your obligations.
And just recently, we delivered the CREATE MORE Act. This is designed to boost domestic enterprises and attract more foreign investors to relocate to our shores and facilitate partnerships with you.
Under CREATE MORE, we give investors 4 to 7 years of income tax holiday, depending on the type of investment and location.
The Special Corporate Income Tax and Enhanced Deductions Regime are now extended to a period of up to 10 or 20 years.
Labor-intensive projects will be allowed to apply for an extension of another 5 or 10 years.
An additional 100% deduction on power expenses and an additional 50% reinvestment allowance await those in the manufacturing and tourism sectors.
To address investors’ pain points, export-oriented enterprises’ local purchases are zero-rated, while importations are VAT-exempt.
And for projects with investment capital of at least 50 billion pesos or direct local employment generation of at least 10,000 workers, incentives could be tailored or bespoke for up to 40 years.
Next, we have given an equal playing field between local and foreign digital service providers through the VAT on digital services.
And our retailers are set to benefit from the VAT refund on foreign tourists. Because this is not just a mechanism to invite foreigners to spend more by giving back some change in their pocket.
But because every peso spent by a tourist multiplies, creates jobs, supports small businesses, and uplifts communities.
The Maharlika Investment Fund is also moving well. It is now gearing for its third investment after recently gaining a stake in the country’s power grid operations.
And we are not stopping there. More reforms are underway.
We are proposing to reduce the tax on stock transactions from 0.6% to just 0.1% to make the Philippine capital markets more competitive.
We are also amending the charters of our state banks to empower them to tap into private capital and publicly offer a portion of their shares.
The rationalization of the mining fiscal regime, on the other hand, will allow us to fully harness the Philippines’ rich mineral resources through a straightforward and streamlined fiscal policy.
And I could go on and on—as the list of investment reforms in motion is very extensive. For all of these are direct results of the strong collaboration between the private sector and the government through the PSAC.
But to be clear, our growth-enhancing and business-friendly reforms are meant not only to create an economy that is ready to compete with the rest of the world.
They are designed to unlock the talents of our young workforce and build a nation where every Filipino can thrive, secure meaningful jobs, and improve their lives.
Because only then can we truly define our shared success—this means lifting 8 million more Filipinos out of the poverty line by the end of President Marcos, Jr.’s term.
With strong partners like Chinabank, I am confident that we can get there—even sooner than expected.
Rest assured, the government is here to help the private sector grow and prosper.
As what Chinabank says in its tagline: We are “Focused On You”. Because your success is the entire Filipino nation’s success.
So, I ask all of you to keep believing in the promise and potential of this nation.
And let us be steadfast partners in bringing the Philippine economy faster and farther on the road to inclusive growth for every Filipino.
Thank you at Mabuhay ang Bagong Pilipinas.
