DTI woos 4 South Korean retailers
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is seeking to secure new investments from four South Korean retail companies, as it looks to close the year with fresh foreign capital and job-generating projects.
Trade Secretary Cristina Roque is scheduled to travel to Seoul this week for a three-day visit until Dec. 19, where she will meet with executives from four South Korean firms.
Roque declined to name the companies, citing ongoing negotiations, but said the talks involve new investments and not just expansion projects.
Some of the prospective investors operate in the restaurant and food segment, she said.
“We’re hoping to secure investments in the retail sector because in retail, investments are quick and easy to open, and the jobs they create are also important (translated from Filipino),” Roque told reporters on the sidelines of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) Investors’ Recognition Night 2025.
Roque said the investments may come as the Philippines seeks to diversify its sources of foreign direct investments, which are dominated by the manufacturing sector.
Japan remained the country’s largest source of equity capital in September and for the first nine months of 2025, followed by the United States and Singapore.
Still, South Korea is a major investment partner of the Philippines. It is Peza’s third-largest source of foreign investments so far in 2025, behind Japan and the Cayman Islands.
Among the largest South Korean investments in the country is the P50.7-billion commitment by the Samsung Electro-Mechanics Philippine Corporation, the local unit of the South Korean electronics giant.
