Philippines clinches $1.53-billion Australian investments 

The Philippines secured $1.53 billion worth of investments from 12 business deals signed with Australia during a business forum on the sidelines of the Asean-Australia Special Summit held in Melbourne on Monday, according to a report by BusinessMirror.

According to a statement released by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. bagged 12 business deals comprising 10 memoranda of understanding (MOUs) between Filipino and Australian business leaders and two letters of intent (LOIs) from Australian business leaders who intend to invest in the Philippines.

Among the MOUs are the development, design, construction, commissioning and funding of a Tier-3 Data Center with a capacity of 30MW-40MW in the Poro Point Freeport Zone with a land area of approximately 16 hectares; and Expansion of Next-Generation Battery Manufacturing in the Philippines.

An MOU also entails the deployment of decarbonization solutions comprising orchestration of renewable energy, storage, and e-mobility to New Clark City Stadium and other Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) sites to reduce energy costs, reliance on grid power, improve sustainability and achieve progress on decarbonization journey, the Palace noted.

A Collaborative Partnership on the Development of an Electric Transportation Framework throughout the properties associated with BCDA in the Philippines MOU was also signed, along with the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH)/ Countryside Housing Initiatives (CHI) though the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).

Another deal sets up collection centers and a recycling facility for plastic waste in the Philippines using innovative organic recycling, synthesis of biomass and carbon utilization and material synthesis technologies from an Australian university and exports/distribution of the resulting transparent sustainable material for Australian food and beverage companies, the Palace said.

Another MOU covers the manufacturing of portable, affordable, and accessible Automated External Defibrillator (AED) solutions and Distribution of portable, affordable, and accessible Automated External Defibrillator (AED) solutions.

Meanwhile, Malacañang said the National Development Company (NDC), the Philippine’s leading state-owned enterprise investing in diverse industries, will partner with an Australian company through an MOU for the transfer of its waste-to-energy technology to the Philippines that converts biowaste to green fuel.

“The NDC aims to establish a globally recognized institute in the Philippines that would be called Southeast Asia Biosecurity Institute [SABI], focused on developing more biosecurity robust supply chains across Southeast Asia that will deliver significant economic, environmental and social benefits for the region,” the PCO statement noted.

The PCO said an LOI was sent for the Biomass Fueled (Thorium Pellets) Simple-high-Temperature Gas-cooled Power Plant (STGRY20 V) with a 40MW base load power to deliver a safe, sustainable, affordable, CO2 neutral, green base-load energy in the Philippines.

Another LOI is for the development of digital health services, with a particular focus on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to improve healthcare availability in the Philippines, an expansion of the company’s current Philippine operations providing telemedicine services to millions. This has a particular focus on tuberculosis and other respiratory illnesses.

Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said, “These agreements signify our unwavering commitment to excellence and fruitful partnerships spanning diverse sectors such as renewable energy, waste-to-energy technology, organic recycling technology, countryside housing initiatives, the establishment of data centers, manufacturing of health technology solutions, and digital health services.”

According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the bilateral trade between the Philippines and Australia breached prepandemic levels, reaching US$4.1 billion in 2023.

The Philippines recently signed “essential” policy instruments, such as the Second Protocol of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA).

Apart from the two-way trade, Pascual underscored the “mutual benefits” of bilateral investment flows, with over 300 Australian firms employing 40,000 Filipino workers in various sectors.

The business forum was also attended by heads of the Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Energy (DOE), and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza).

From the private sector side, key executives from the Philippine Nickel Industry Association, Victoria International Container Terminal, and Ayala-led ACEN Corporation also presented their “keenness to capitalize on the growing economic collaboration between the Philippines and Australia during the first part of the forum’s program,” the DTI said.