The Philippines is poised to gain access to the United Arab Emirates’ multi-trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund following the expected signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), a key trade official confirmed on Tuesday.
Speaking at the “Doing Business in the Philippines” forum in Taguig City, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said CEPA would serve as a gateway for the Philippines to tap into the UAE’s sovereign investment funds, which are estimated at USD 2.39 trillion as of May 2025, according to Global Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) data.
The UAE currently holds the position of the world’s second-largest sovereign wealth fund manager, trailing only China.
“If you look at it, their sovereign wealth funds and private investors have been investing heavily in private equities,” Rodolfo explained. “The ones that you see abroad, in Western countries, and those are the ones that are investing in the Philippines.”
He added that a CEPA framework could be created to help channel UAE investment into critical Philippine projects.
“They place a high importance on the CEPA as a way of also unraveling the potential for more investments, particularly from the sovereign wealth funds,” he emphasized.
Just last week, UAE Ambassador to the Philippines Mohamed Obaid Salem Al Qatam Alzaabi and Philippine Special Envoy for Trade and Investments Ma. Anna Kathryna Yu Pimentel confirmed that both countries are targeting the formal signing of CEPA next month.
This would mark the Philippines’ first free trade agreement in the Middle East, aligning with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to expand trade ties and investment partnerships through international trade deals.