Marcos attends opening of World Economic Forum in Davos

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Tuesday attended the formal opening of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2023 at the  Davos Congress Centre in Switzerland.

According to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), Marcos is looking to promote several key priorities of the Philippines in Davos.

Marcos will speak before the WEF on Wednesday, January 18.

Before leaving for Davos, Marcos said the WEF is an event that provides an opportunity to promote the Philippines as a leader and driver of growth and a gateway to the Asia Pacific region.

He said he would introduce the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund at the economic forum.

Already, the Palace Marcos' investment pitch for the Philippines received "a very positive response" from some of the world's top chief executive officers and investment experts.

A dinner hosted by Grab chairman and CEO Anthony Tan for Marcos was attended by the following:

1. Luhut Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment Affairs, Republic of Indonesia
2.  Andy Jassy, CEO, Amazon
3. Jared Kushner, Founder, Affinity Partners
4. Patrick Foulis, Editor-in-Chief, Economist
5. Alan Jope, CEO, Unilever
6. Bill Ford, CEO, General Atlantic, one of the largest equity firms in the world
7. Molly Ford, Wife of Bill Ford
8. Bahlil Lahadalia, Minister of Investment, Republic of Indonesia
9. Dr. Bambang Susantono, Chairman of ID New Capital City Authority
10. Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, Minister of Thailand
11. Jaime Bautista, Secretary of the Department of Transportation
12. Arsjad Rasjid, Chairman, KADIN
13. Tony Blair, Executive Chairman, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change
14. Dolf van den Brink, CEO, Heineken
15. Rachel Lord, Head of Asia, BlackRock, one of the largest investment firms in the world.

Speaker Martin Romualdez, who was also present at the dinner, said "everyone was excited about the Philippine recovery story and agreed that it is the future investor haven for western capital."

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) secretary Fred Pascual also held bilateral meetings with the senior executives of companies with business interests in the Philippines such as Coursera, Chevron, Astranis, and She Loves Tech.

He also discussed with the WEF’s Executive Committee member and Head of International Trade and Investment the potential partnerships with the Philippines.

“We have met with several business executives and presented our country as an ideal investment destination in Asia,” Pascual said in a statement.

"Similarly, we shared with them our improved business climate, which was fueled by the recent economic policy reforms that facilitate ease of doing business. We see WEF as an opportunity to gather more FDIs that will complement our country’s economic recovery initiatives,” he added.

For Sabin Aboitiz, Private Sector Advisory Council lead conveyor and Aboitiz Group president, the private sector can partner with “the best in the world.”

He said this was to address problems and structurally change to work for the generations to come.

“I think [the] Philippines is really gonna be the next big thing in Asia. We are very excited to work with the government today because we see that they really appreciate, you know, the private sector,” Aboitiz said said.

“Digitalization, for example. You know, the government cannot do digitalization alone. It needs the private sector, you know from the talent and the knowledge that we gain from all over the world which is changing so fast,” he added. —Richa Noriega and JP Soriano/NB, GMA Integrated News