Marcos to return with $21B US investments, job employment for Filipinos

Kimberly Capuyan

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that he will return to the Philippines from his visit to the United States (US) with over $21 billion in investment pledges on July 23, which are expected to create thousands of jobs for Filipinos.

In a video statement through a Facebook post by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), Marcos shared that he met with leaders and executives of leading global investment, health care, infrastructure, and semiconductor firms during his three-day official visit to Washington.

“Expanding our economic engagements to provide opportunities for building economic security and resilience was a key point in our discussions,” Marcos said.

“We return to the Philippines with over $21 billion in investment pledges that have the potential to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs for Filipinos within our country,” he added.

Marcos had business meetings with US investors on July 21, where he met executives of leading investment firms Cerberus, I Squared, and KKR & Co. Inc., according to a Facebook post by Radio Television Malacañang.

Cerberus is an established alternative investment advisor with approximately $65 billion in assets across complementary credit, private equity, and real estate platforms.

I Squared is a leading independent global infrastructure investor in energy, utilities, transport and logistics, digital, social, and environmental infrastructures.

Meanwhile, KKR & Co. Inc. is a global firm investing across private markets in every asset class.

On the same date, Marcos met with the executives of the Semiconductor Industry Association, an industry alliance that aims to advance US leadership in semiconductor manufacturing.

According to Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez, the semiconductor sector is one of the Philippines’ biggest industries with strong economic ties to Washington.

Marcos was on an official visit to Washington from July 20 to 22, upon the invitation of US President Donald Trump.

In his pre-departure speech on July 20, Marcos said he aims to reaffirm Philippine commitment to fostering its longstanding alliances during his visit.

“My top priority for this visit is to push for greater economic engagement, particularly through trade and investment between the Philippines and the United States,” Marcos said.

“I intend to convey to President Trump and to his cabinet officials that the Philippines is ready to negotiate a bilateral trade deal that will ensure strong, mutually beneficial, and future-oriented collaborations that only the United States and the Philippines will be able to take advantage of,” he added.

Marcos previously shared his expectations to meet with business leaders to explore business opportunities that will help to grow the Philippine economy even more.

According to Marcos, his visit was a first by a head of state from an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) country member to the US under Trump’s second administration. 

Aside from his engagements with Trump and US investors, Marcos said he also met key US government officials, including Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio and the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

“We exchanged views on key regional and international security issues, focusing on how the two countries could cooperate and contribute towards addressing common challenges and priorities,” he said.

Marcos added he looks forward to hosting Trump in 2026 during ASEAN meetings under the Philippines Chair, which also coincides with the 80th anniversary of the Philippine-US diplomatic relations and 75 years of the Mutual Defense Treaty.