President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday, Dec. 14, secured a P4.7 billion investment from multinational consumer goods company, Unilever.

In a press release, Malacañang said the deal was secured during a meeting between Marcos and officials of Unilever on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-European Union (ASEAN-EU) Commemorative Summit in Brussels, Belgium.

Marcos thanked the British company for its strong commitment to the Philippines, saying it was good to see that Unilever is continuing with that trend over the years.

“I think that we have a good opportunity with some of the policy measures that have been taken from the previous administration and some of the policy changes that we have made at the beginning of this administration,” Marcos told Unilever officials at the Sofitel Brussels Europe Hotel.

Among these policy changes are the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Law, which will allow companies to provide competitive incentives and the removal of foreign ownership restrictions on undertakings aimed at harnessing renewable sources of energy that had been previously capped at 40 percent.

The President said forging strong partnerships is one of the centerpieces of the administration’s policies, focusing more on public-private partnerships (PPPs), joint ventures and all kinds of tie-ups to encourage investment in the Philippines.

He said he wanted to have a meeting with Unilever officials to listen to them and assess policy directions to make investment easier for the company.

Unilever Leadership Executive member and Business Group President Ice Cream Matt Close, for his part, described the multibillion-peso investment as “proof of their commitment to the Philippines, which they consider as one of Unilever’s important locations for investments.”

“Unilever officials said that in the last three years, they invested heavily in their Philippine factories, with an eye on using renewable energy and ensuring sustainability,” the press release read.

Despite issues on energy and labor, Unilever said it would recoup through automation and digital transformation, where Filipinos excel.PNA