President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has welcomed the plan of a Thailand-based company, SHERA Public Company Ltd., to invest at least P2.9 billion in the Philippines for the production of fiber cement building materials.

The announcement came after Marcos met with SHERA's top executives on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Laos earlier this week.

Marcos expressed hope that the Thai company would use the Philippines as a "center hub for export" to other markets.

"For the Philippines, of course, we are very interested in this because of the import substitution that it will provide," said Marcos.

The President also commended SHERA for its environmentally friendly approach to manufacturing.

"You started earlier and now you have products that I don't think I've seen anywhere else that can claim that kind of green credibility," Marcos said.

Once the investment is implemented, Marcos expects SHERA's operations to help address the Philippines' housing backlog with its ready-to-build materials.

SHERA will establish its plant inside TECO Industrial Park in Mabalacat City, Pampanga. This project, the company's first overseas operation, is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2025 and employ 120 to 150 full-time workers.

Aside from supplying the domestic market, the Mabalacat facility will also export products to Taiwan, South Korea, and parts of North Asia and Oceania.