The Philippines convened a high-level business dialogue with Dutch investors in the Netherlands on January 27, 2025 to showcase the nation’s promising growth potential and pro-investment reforms to attract more foreign investors into the country.

The dialogue brought together over 30 leaders from the Dutch business and financial sectors. It was organized by the Department of Finance (DOF) in collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC), the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and hosted by the leading European bank ING.

On behalf of Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto, the Philippine delegation was led by DOF Undersecretaries Maria Luwalhati Dorotan-Tiuseco and Domini S.D. Velasquez. Representing Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Cristina Aldeguer-Roque was Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo, while Monetary Board Member Rosalia V. de Leon represented the BSP.

“We are very proud to host today’s event talking about a country that’s growing so swiftly with so many attractive opportunities. Despite all the uncertainty that we’ve seen over the past couple of years, the Philippines continues to grow,” ING CEO Steven van Rijswijk said.

“And we see that because many companies are investing from all over the world there, just as ourselves. Currently, from a Dutch point of view, there are over 100 Dutch companies that have invested in the Philippines together comprising over USD 5 billion in export revenues and employing about 350,000 Filipinos. And growing. So that’s very good and that also has inspired us in the past to go to the Philippines. We’ve been to the Philippines for 35 years,” he added.

DOF Undersecretary Velasquez presented updates on the Philippines’ economic progress at the dialogue, emphasizing its key investment advantages.

These include the country’s exceptional growth driven by a large and dynamic consumer market; a tech-savvy and highly skilled labor force; and the ongoing infrastructure development that is fueling robust economic expansion.

According to Undersecretary Velasquez, the Philippines is also making strides to become more open, liberalized, and globally competitive than ever before especially with the recent enactment of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act that will ensure the long-term success of businesses.

On the part of the DTI, Undersecretary Rodolfo showcased the Philippines’ investment priority sectors, including electric vehicles, smart manufacturing, semiconductors and electronics, green metals, food and agriculture, tourism, renewable energy, and data centers or telecommunications infrastructure.

An open forum followed the presentations, providing Dutch companies with a platform to address concerns and gain deeper insights into their areas of interest.

In particular, Monetary Board Member de Leon underscored the country’s forward-looking approach to promoting long-term economic opportunities, citing the BSP’s modernization of the payment system, deepening of the capital markets, and its exploration of a central bank digital currency.

On financial stability, she added that efforts are being made to remove the Philippines from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.

Meanwhile, Undersecretary Dorotan Tiuseco highlighted the key features of the proposed rationalization of the country’s mining fiscal regime that aims to simplify the tax system, ensure the government’s fair share in mining revenues, and establish good governance in the mining industry.

For the past five years, the Netherlands has consistently been the Philippines’ second-largest trading partner and export market in Europe.

It also consistently ranks as a leading source of foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the Philippines among European Union countries. The Netherlands likewise ranked first among the top sources of foreign investments approved by Philippine Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) over the past 12 years.

Currently, around 130 Dutch companies operate in the Philippines, including ING Bank, TNT Express Worldwide Philippines, Heineken International, Royal Philips, and East West Seed, among others.