BoI investments break P1 trillion mark

By country, Singapore remained the country’s biggest investment source with P170 billion in pledges to date, followed by China at P84.9 billion, replacing South Korea which now ranked third with P39.1 billion in capital infusion.

Investment pledges approved by the Board of Investments (BoI) hit P1 trillion in the first 10 months this year. This was two months ahead of the government’s full-year target.

Buoyed by commitments in the information and communications (IT) sector, the BoI said pledges as of October surged 139.6 percent to P1.04 trillion from just P434 billion in the same period in 2018. Local investments comprised over half at P709.1 billion, up by 78.2 percent, supported by foreign investments which jumped 818.2 percent to P330.9 billion.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) attributed the rise in investments to the improvement in the country’s ranking in the World Bank’s ease of doing business report, anchored in its efforts to impose regulatory reforms to improve the local business environment.

By country, Singapore remained the country’s biggest investment source with P170 billion in pledges to date, followed by China at P84.9 billion, replacing South Korea which now ranked third with P39.1 billion in capital infusion.

Netherlands (P9.1 billion), Thailand (P8.8 billion), Japan (P6.2 billion) and the United States (P2.5 billion) were also top investment sources.

“This historic-setting figure of P1 trillion is all the more remarkable considering we still have two more months left in the year. And yes, there are still pending projects to be thoroughly reviewed before we give the approval,” DTI Undersecretary and BoI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo said in a statement.

By sector, IT pledges topped the list with P518.8 billion to date, complemented by commitments in the power sector at P383.2 billion, a 119.3 percent jump from last year.

The tourism sector (accommodation and food services) booked P9.5 billion in investments. Pledges in the agricultural sector, while on a rebound of 19.04 percent, stood at P2.5 billion as of October.

Among the projects approved in October were third telco player Dito Telecommunity Corp.’s P210 billion project based in Clark Freeport Zone and the P33.4 billion 250-megawatt hydro project in Apayao by Pan Pacific Renewable Power Phils. Corp.

All of the approved projects, upon the start of its respective operations, are seen to create 52,554 jobs, the BoI said.

The Calabarzon region is seen to benefit from the projects the most, with investments amounting to P372.8 billion. Central Luzon accounted P253.3 of the total, followed by the Cordillera Administrative Region (P33.4 billion), National Capital Region (P19.4 billion) and Central Visayas (P10.5 billion).