TWO United Arab Emirates (UAE) companies, a renewable energy (RE) developer and a port operator, are looking to invest in the Philippines, according to the Department of Trade and Industry.
In an online briefing on Monday, Acting Trade Secretary Cristina A. Roque said Masdar, also known as the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co., and DP World signaled their interest in the Philippines.
“I met with Masdar two weeks ago, and they are very aggressively wanting to come into the Philippines,” Ms. Roque said, with the company signaling an interest in an investment of about P600 million at minimum.
“Masdar’s minimum requirement for land is 50 hectares and the maximum is 500 hectares. And they want to do this as soon as possible,” she added.
She said Masdar wants to put up RE projects in the Philippines, particularly solar, wind, and battery storage, in partnership with local firms.
“Before I met with them, they were already … in talks with the big companies. And this week, Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla is going with these big companies to (sign) a memorandum of understanding (MoU) or memorandum of agreement (MoA) with Masdar,” she said.
She said DP World is interested in multiple port locations in the Philippines.
“They want to open more ports all over the Philippines because they want to adopt the new technology and new and advanced ways of handling port systems,” she said.
In particular, she said that the DP World plans to expand in the Philippines in partnership with Asian Terminals, Inc.
“They are willing to invest up to P25 billion in the Philippines. That’s the maximum amount they want to invest for port opportunities,” she added.
“DP World wants to look for local partners and also wants to (take an operational role),” she added.
Aside from investment commitments, she said retailers in the UAE have also expressed interest in working with consolidators to bring more Filipino products to the UAE.
She cited Al Maya Supermarket, Carrefour, and Filipino-owned importer and retailer Sari Sari Store.
“Aside from the large investments in renewable energy … we also want to push the food industry, because there’s really a huge Filipino population in the UAE, which is 1.2 million,” she said.
UAE retailers also indicated interest in halal Philippine products.
“(The food industry) is also another avenue where we can really look for foreign trade and investment,” she said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile