MALAYSIAN low-cost airline AirAsia has pledged to invest $1 billion for the expansion of its operations in the Philippines, Malacañang said Friday.
Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said Capital A Berhad Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Anthony Francis Fernandes made the commitment in a roundtable meeting with the President in Malaysia.
“The Philippines is continuously reaping the fruit of the recently concluded three-day state visit of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to Malaysia after Air Asia’s Tan Sri Anthony Francis Fernandez pledged to invest $1 billion for the expansion of their operations in the Philippines,” Garafil said in a statement.
During the meeting, Marcos expressed his appreciation to AirAsia, the fourth-largest airline in Asia.
“Thank you. We’re all very happy that you have such good – you see such good prospects for the Philippines,” Marcos said.
Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said Fernandez signed a letter of intent, indicating expansion plans for his business in the Philippines, specifically for aviation and aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul operations, Air Asia super app, and logistics operations in the country.
Fernandez said Capital A Berhad has to bounce back and restructure its businesses to get back to the pre-pandemic levels.
“We’re excited about what we can do in the Philippines and really stimulate small, medium enterprises. We think we can bring a lot of value to the Philippines on logistics,” Fernandez told Marcos.
“So, over the next few years, we think we’ll invest about $1 billion into the Philippines. We have about $300 million so far. We want to grow our aircraft from 23 to 50, including wide-body aircraft. We are just applying for the license now,” he added.
Fernandez also said that doing business in the Philippines has always been a pleasure as he reiterated his commitment to the administration.
The President, who returned Thursday night from a three-day state visit to Kuala Lumpur, said that he secured some $285 million worth of investment pledges from businesses in leaders in Malaysia in the fields of food processing, multi-service digital platforms, aviation and aviation maintenance support services, logistics, manufacturing, infrastructure, and water and wastewater treatment, among others.
“I had the benefit of meeting a number of Malaysian businesses in the key sectors of agriculture, transportation, and technology,” Marcos said during a roundtable meeting with the business leaders.
He said the meetings provided insights that convinced him that the Philippines and Malaysia are moving in the right direction, with structural changes that will establish the Philippines as the ideal investment partner for Malaysian businesses.
The President said Malaysia is the fourth top source of foreign direct investments of the Philippines, which stands at $108 million.
He said this stood at the same level for “a fairly long time now” and it is time to increase the level of trade.
“The investments that we have agreed on so far will inject a total of about $285 million, serving as a robust and affirmative indication of the ongoing trust and keen interest of businesses and investors in the Philippines,” he said, thanking the businessmen for their trust and confidence in the Philippines.
The President also assured business leaders of his administration’s commitment to continue its support not only to prospective Malaysian investors, but also to the Malaysian companies doing business in the Philippines.
“We have made our system of corporate taxation more business-friendly with a lowered tax rate and improved mechanism for tax and incentives. We continue to seek ways to facilitate and expedite investments,” Marcos said.
“We have recently established what we refer to as green lanes for strategic investments as a means to establish a whole-of-government approach to facilitate at the highest level of government the critical investments necessary for the development and competitiveness of our economy,” he added.
