There may be a long-term upside from a decade of underrated Philippine stocks, with more than 300 institutional and high net-worth investors, financial industry officials and top-listed companies in partnership with HSBC, Bloomberg, and the British Embassy gathered to validate Philippine economic and corporate fundamentals and resiliency and to raise the stakes on the country’s economic trajectory during the second Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE)’s flagship InvestPH conference held 17 to 19 March 2026 at the Grand Hyatt Manila in Taguig City.

PSE chairman Jose Pardo highlighted the growing investments in agribusiness that finally capitalizes on the country’s major agricultural sector to boost livelihood and modernize food and crops production.

Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Francis Lim discussed the updated implementing rules and regulations on Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) that expanded the terms of income-generating assets and investment periods to attract more listings. “Assets can now include energy and information technology, infrastructure assets, rental properties, data centers, and other real property rights,” he remarked.

Phl GDP outperforming global average

Despite prevailing governance and geopolitical challenges, Department of Finance Secretary Frederick Go stressed that the country’s GDP is outperforming the global average even as the Philippines maintains a stable investment grade by ratings agencies.

According to Go, the government is on the right track with fiscal discipline measures, regulatory reforms to liberalize and ease doing business, free trade agreements with the EU, Canada, India, Japan, Chile and ASEAN, transparency in customs processes, and audit digitalization to eliminate manual discretion and corruption in revenue collection.

“Investments are sound and safe with the country out of the grey list for money laundering and terrorist activities,” Secretary Go pointed out.

“Tourism itself is a service export,” he added, in reference to the recent privatization of the NAIA-Manila, Bohol-Panglao and Laguindingan airports to attract investments for their infrastructure critical to inter-country connectivity and travel and a globally-competitive tourism experience.

More than enough adequate safeguards

Meanwhile, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Zeno Ronald Abenoja of the Monetary and Economics Sector explained that the country has more than adequate safeguards against external headwinds, with gross international reserves sufficient to cover over seven months’ worth of importation and debt payments, or more than the three-month required buffer.

The resilient banking system can also continue to fund economic activity.

“The gap between international and domestic trade is narrowing,” Abenoja said. “And the electronics industry is the new export champion.”

Although consumer appetite has abated, the Purchasing Managers’ Index for manufacturing is more than 50 percent, which indicates expansion.

The panel of conglomerates composed of GT Capital Holdings chairman Francisco Sebastian, Ayala Corporation chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, and SM Investments Corporation Vice Chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson delivered observations from the private sector.

Shift to EVs, developing Phl mining industry

Sebastian expressed optimism about the country’s young demographics and expressed support for the shift in the automotive industry to electric vehicles to address the oil crisis. He called for the development of the mining industry, considering that the country is among the leading global resources for mineralogy which is in demand for chips used for digitalization and automation.

Meanwhile, Sy-Coson advanced reforms to speed up investments as foreign investors are hampered by bureaucratic governance and superfluous requirements. She pushed for local private conglomerates to partner with foreign oil companies to explore energy security.

For his part, Zobel de Ayala said, “We can also learn from the oil crisis to diversify our portfolio of energy sources and move towards renewable energy.”

He credited the BSP for the relatively stable currency and consumer demands to enable planning and management of enterprises, praising the government’s soft skills in establishing linkages with other countries.

“In case the BSP has to hike interest rates and stabilize inflation due to prolonged (Middle East) conflicts, it will serve as a signal to trim sales,” he said.

Local banking sector can provide capital

Sy-Coson responded that the government might be considering reducing government spending, but that there are funding needs, and “the banking sector here is very stable to step up and provide capital.”

Considering that the country relies on outsourcing human services, Zobel de Ayala believes that “it is right that the national government has prioritized health and education in its appropriations,” which, he said, ensures a healthy and skilled workforce, while needed “revenues for other sectors may be supplied by private-public partnerships (PPPs).”

“I am always a believer of PPPs as a framework to encourage private sector participation and to free up resources from the national budget to be allocated for education and health,” he said.

Rebuild trust in government

A constant theme during the conference was rebuilding trust in the government so that foreigners may see that their investments are used in smart ways.

Foreign analysts also gave their commentaries including Helen Li, HSBC’s Global head of Natural Resources, who cited the Philippines’ less reliance on fossil fuels and commitment to renewable energy.

British Embassy-Manila Deputy Ambassador Mike Welch hailed the Philippines’ role to champion capital markets as it assumes ASEAN Chairmanship this year and to hopefully tap the “most powerful tool for sustainable development — the public market, which must be transparent, regulated, liquid and trusted.”

The writer is a deputy director at BSP and an InvestPH participant.