MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. secured a P4.7 billion investment from multinational consumer goods company Unilever on Wednesday as the firm gears towards automating and digitalizing its operations in the Philippines.

During a meeting with the President on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-European Union (ASEAN-EU) Commemorative Summit in Brussels, Unilever officials, led by Matt Close, president of the global business group, pointed to 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.

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

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

“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 said.

The legislations and policy decisions the President was referring to include the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Law, which will allow companies to provide competitive incentives.

Another measure is the removal of foreign ownership restrictions on undertakings aimed at harnessing renewable sources of energy that had been previously capped at 40 percent.

According to the President, 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.

The President 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.

It complements the President’s thrust of attracting more foreign investment to prop up the country’s manufacturing sector considering its huge domestic market. (PND)