Investment blitz eyes UK capital

Economic officials visited the United Kingdom recently to court British enterprises to bring more foreign direct investments to the country during the Philippine Economic Briefing in London.

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto led the delegation, along with Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go, National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, Department of Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. to woo British investors to choose the Philippines and make their business growth and success happen in the country.

“We are very confident that our meetings left British investors with no doubt about the predictability, stability, profitability, and sustainability of doing business in the Philippines,” Recto said.

“And I trust that our dialogues here will open the floodgates of more opportunities for mutually beneficial partnerships — ventures that will not only help them make more money but also enable the Philippines to reduce poverty to single digits and secure a brighter future for every Filipino,” the Finance chief added.

Among the top-tier British companies engaged by the delegation were Actis, BP Plc, Global Infrastructure Partners, InvestCorp, Alexander Mann Solutions and Revolut.

Series of business meetings

The delegation also met with the British International Investment and the UK ASEAN Business Council.

Actis is a global investment firm focused on the private equity, energy, infrastructure and real estate asset classes.

In September 2024, it invested $600 million for a 40 percent stake in Meralco’s Solar Philippines New Energy Corp. to build Terra Solar, which is set to become the world’s largest integrated renewable energy and storage project.

The exposition features the largest foreign direct investment ever in a greenfield infrastructure project in the Philippines.

In addition, BP Plc is a global energy giant operating in over 70 countries and has a foothold in the Philippines through Castrol, which markets and distributes high-performance automotive lubricants.

Meanwhile, Global Infrastructure Partners is an investment fund focused on the energy, transport, and water sectors. It has approximately $170 billion in assets under management, comprising 300 active investments in over 100 countries.

Investcorp’s six asset classes include private equity, real estate, absolute return investments, infrastructure, credit management, and strategic capital.

Alexander Mann Solutions, a top global provider of talent acquisition services, including recruitment process outsourcing, total talent acquisition, managed services programs, and consulting services, also attended the mission.