23 May 2012 – The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said today that Philippine Vice President Jejomar C. Binay will undertake a two-day Official Working Visit to Malaysia on May 28 and 29.

Vice President Binay has been invited to be the guest of honor and keynote speaker at the Philippines-Malaysia Investment Partnership Forum on May 29.

He will also have meetings with Foreign Minister Dato' Sri Anifah bin Haji Aman and Minister of International Trade and Industry Dato' Seri Mustapa Mohamed, where they will discuss ways of further advancing Philippine-Malaysian relations.

Vice President Binay will likewise pay a courtesy call on former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad.

During the course of the visit, the Vice President will also interact with Chief Scout Dato Sri' Dr. HJ Shafie B. HJ. Mohd Saleh and the members of the Scouts Association of Malaysia, in his capacity as National President of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, and concurrently as Chairman of Asia-Pacific Regional Scout Committee of the World Organization of Scout Movement, the umbrella organization of all Scout organizations in the world.

He will take time to meet and interact with the Filipino community at the Embassy premises, as well as inaugurate the newly-renovated chancery building.

"The Philippines and Malaysia are next-door neighbors and ASEAN partners. It is important that the national leaders of the two countries interact as frequently as possible, in order to fully tap the various potentials in the bilateral relations, starting with two-way trade and investments," Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya said.

The investment forum, which is co-organized by the Embassy, the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Alumni Association of Malaysia (Kelab AIM) and the Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI), will bring together various business leaders from the Philippines and Malaysia to exchange ideas how to further enhance economic and investment partnership.

Business guru and AIM founder Washington Sycip will give a lecture to formally inaugurate the Professor Gabby Mendoza Management Lecture Series during lunch.

The Genting Group is the main sponsor of the forum, while Petron Corporation is the strategic partner. AlloyMTD Group (formerly MTD Capital Berhad) is a corporate sponsor, and Resorts World Manila will host the luncheon lecture.

Identified priority sectors to be taken up at the investment forum include tourism and tourism infrastructure, mass housing, real estate development, business process outsourcing/information technology (BPO/IT) services, logistics and supply chain, transportation, Islamic banking/finance, energy/electricity, and agro-business.

Apart from being the second-highest official of the Philippines, Vice President Binay is also Chairman of the Philippine Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers' Affairs.

Before his election as Vice President in 2010, he served as mayor of Makati City, the financial center of the Philippines and one of the major financial, commercial and economic hubs in Asia, from 1986 to 1998, and again from 2001 to 2010.

The Philippines and Malaysia are experiencing a surge in two-way investments, as evidenced by the recent joint venture between PLDT Global and Axiata Corporation, investment of CIMB Bank in Bank of Commerce worth some RM1 billion (P196 billion), the expansion of operations of MTD Corporation and Genting Resorts World in the Philippines, as well as the entry of San Miguel Corporation in Esso Malaysia Bhd. through investments worth at least US$610 million.

In 2011, Malaysia was the Philippines' ninth largest trading partner, with total trade amounting to US$3.7 billion, while it was the Philippines' 11th largest export and eight largest import market. Total Philippine exports to Malaysia in 2011 were valued at US$1 billion, while imports from Malaysia during the same year amounted to US$2.6 billion.