MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. invited Cambodian businesses Thursday to come to the Philippines particularly as the world recovers from the corona virus pandemic, highlighting the much-improved investment opportunities in the country.

“We would like to invite at the very least, for you, to have a look at the opportunities that are available and finally I supposed at some point, since we are not so far away, to come and we will explain to you exactly what we have done and why we have done it and where we have arrived in that process of transforming the economy,” Marcos said during a CEO roundtable meeting in Cambodia.

“I do not talk about recovery of the economy, I talk about transformation of the economy because the new economy is going to be different from everything that we did in 2019. And so this is what we are looking forward to and I hope to see you all in the Philippines soon,” he added.

As the Philippine economy emerges from the pandemic, the government needs partners from the private sector, Marcos said, adding that his administration changed many of the policies and procedures when it comes to public-private partnerships and even government-to-government partnerships.

His government, Marcos said, is working for direct investment into the country to boost its manufacturing sector and make it a significant contributor to the gross domestic product (GDP).

The other areas which are the basic economic drivers include the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), agriculture, and energy, according to the chief executive.

The President touted the recent Philippines’ economic achievements, particularly the drop in the unemployment rate for the 3rd quarter this year to 5 percent from 5.6, 5.7 percent.

“It looks like the route that we have taken is taking the economy in the right direction and as I was telling some of the Cabinet members, I think the Philippine economy, the important elements are in place and you can feel that our economy is trying to grow but is really being pummeled by the forces outside of which we have no control,” he told Cambodian businessmen. (PND)