NANNING, China — The Philippines is seeking to attract more Chinese investment into advanced manufacturing, clean energy and technology industries as it looks to move up regional supply chains and build higher-value production at home.
The Philippine Board of Investments (BOI) made the case at an investment forum in Nanning on Sept. 17, highlighting the country’s growing investment pipeline and its position as a potential production and export base for companies seeking access to the wider ASEAN market.
Investment approvals by Philippine investment promotion agencies rose to 1.95 trillion pesos ($34 billion) in 2025, from about 760 billion pesos in 2021, BOI Executive Director Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa said during the Philippine Investment Forum held alongside the China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) 2026.
The Philippines is already an established player in electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, but the government wants to use new investment to develop more integrated domestic supply chains and attract industries with greater technology and export content.
“Why the Philippines, and why now? China has consistently been among the Philippines’ important sources of foreign direct investment,” Halili-Dichosa said.
“The greater opportunity now is not simply to increase investment flows, but to harness these investments to build integrated, technology-driven, and export-oriented value chains in the Philippines,” she added.
The BOI identified electric vehicles and batteries, solar and clean energy technologies, electronics and smart manufacturing, agrifood processing and digital commerce, and logistics and industrial infrastructure as areas where Philippine and Chinese companies could expand cooperation.
The push comes as manufacturers globally continue to reassess production networks and supply chains, creating opportunities for Southeast Asian economies seeking to attract new capacity.
For Chinese companies, the Philippines offers a combination of a large domestic market, a strategic location within ASEAN, a relatively young and skilled workforce and an established services and electronics industry. The government is also promoting the country’s growing renewable energy capacity and digital economy.
The Philippines, meanwhile, is looking to leverage China’s industrial scale, technology, capital and extensive supplier networks.
The investment forum also featured the government’s 2026 Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP), which identifies advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, renewable energy, digital industries, logistics, agribusiness, workforce development and emerging technologies as priorities for investment.
The BOI said the government has introduced measures aimed at speeding up investment approvals and improving the business environment, including a Green Lane for strategic investments, reforms to land leasing rules, one-day business registration for foreign enterprises and fiscal incentives under the CREATE MORE Act.
The forum also produced a business-to-business agreement, with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and CCPIT Hunan signing a memorandum of understanding aimed at expanding commercial links between companies from the two countries.
The event was attended by Philippine and Chinese government officials, business representatives and investors, including Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina A. Roque, Philippine Ambassador to China Jaime FlorCruz, Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro and Philippine Consul General in Guangzhou Iric C. Arribas.
For Manila, the objective is increasingly to attract not only more foreign capital but investment capable of creating new production capabilities, technology transfer and export opportunities.
As the government advances its industrialization program, it is pitching the Philippines to Chinese investors as a location where manufacturing and technology companies can establish operations while gaining access to the broader Southeast Asian market.
