MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is eyeing possible investment from Vietnamese conglomerate VinGroup Company, especially in battery production for electric vehicles.
This came after the country in gearing toward modernizing the public utility vehicles (PUVs), through the government’s PUV modernization program (PUVMP).
According to the Palace on Tuesday, Marcos met with executives from the company during his state visit in Vietnam.
The President noted the Vietnamese company’s interest in operations in the Philippines.
Specifically, Marcos noted VinGroup’s interest in electric vehicle battery production.
“We are in the middle of our modernization program, essentially meaning we are going to replace all our conveyances, buses, and we have (a) particular type of transport… jeepneys,” Marcos said during the meeting.
“We are very much aligned of what we would like to do in the future in terms of electrical vehicle battery production,” Marcos added.
Marcos told VinGroup executives, Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong and Vice Chairman Nguyen Viet Quang, that the PUVMP is still ongoing, with the specifications to the vehicles being finalized and the franchises being consolidated.
The Presidential Communications Office also said that Marcos wants to keep the market open for suppliers in order to complete the PUVMP as soon as possible.
READ: Marcos takes firm stance on deadline for PUV consolidation
Jeepney drivers and operators have slammed the PUVMP, saying that many jeeps could be taken off the road because they could not afford the vehicles that meet the government’s standards.
In December 2023, the month of the consolidation deadline, Marcos stated that the PUVMP will continue regardless of what groups may say, reiterating that the program could not be delayed by minorities.
The Palace, however, would extend the PUVMP consolidation deadline by three months in January.