05 May 2015 - Representatives from a Teachers‘ Pension Fund from Canada called on Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Antonio A. Morales on April 28. Mr. William Anawaty, President of Anari Inc., a global investment strategy and sourcing firm based in Washington D.C.; and Mr. Kevin Zhu, Director for Strategy and Asset Mix of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund (OTPF) based in Toronto, Canada, were in Singapore from April 27 to 29 to explore the investment opportunities in the region.

Ambassador Morales briefed Messrs. Anawaty and Zhu on the general economic and investment climate of the Philippines. He noted the following stellar achievements and competitive advantages enjoyed by the Philippines, among others---the sharp growth trajectory of the Philippines’ GDP, the investment grade ratings by the major investment rating agencies in the world, its climb in the ease of doing business report, the large market of 100 million people, the very young population, and the continued inflow of remittances from overseas Filipinos.

He also emphasized the Philippine government’s focus on infrastructure development to support the growing economy and thus, calling attention to the various Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects on the pipeline needing foreign capitalization. He added “the PPP is just one of the many vehicles by which foreign investors can infuse capital to grow their business in the Philippines and penetrate the ASEAN region.”

Mr. Anawaty hinted at their plan to conduct a investment and business mission to the Philippines within the year.

Ambassador Morales thanked Messrs. Anawaty and Zhu for their interest in the Philippines and expressed his “willingness to facilitate linkages between their companies and key officials and business contacts in the Philippines.” END