BOI approvals reach P1.16 trillion

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s efforts to promote investment in the Philippines domestically and internationally have resulted in P1.16 trillion in investment approvals at the Board of Investments, Malacañang announced on Wednesday.

Malacañang, citing BOI data, said the latest investment approvals are the biggest in the past 50 years and exceed the P1.14 trillion pledged in 2019.

Additionally, this year's investment approvals increased by 59 percent compared to the P729.1 billion obtained in 2022.

Department of Trade and Industry Secretary and BOI Chairman Alfredo Pascual expressed optimism that the investment approvals would open up additional prospects for the economy to grow in 2024.

"The BOI hitting P1.16 trillion for 2023 reaffirms strong investor confidence in the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., their responsiveness to the policy initiatives of the President and the effectiveness of the aggressive investment promotion activities under the 'Make It Happen in the Philippines' campaign," Pascual said.

The total number of domestic investment approvals this year, or P398.76 billion, made up 34 percent of all investment approvals. Foreign investment approvals, meanwhile, reached P763.22 billion in 2023.

A significant portion of the authorized investments, which totaled P986.14 billion—a 14 percent increase from P409.03 billion the previous year—were in the electricity sector, particularly in renewable energy projects.

This year's surge in power sector investment approvals can be attributed to seven offshore wind projects totaling P759.84 billion in investments located in Cavite, Laguna, Dagupan, San Miguel Bay, Negros, and Northern Samar.

Investments in the information and communications technology sector also reached P96.16 billion this year.

In addition, the BOI investment approvals reached P22.03 billion in manufacturing, P20 billion in infrastructure, and P15.63 billion in real estate.

Additionally, the Investment Promotion Agency reported a 452-percent increase in foreign pledges totaling P763.22 billion.

Germany, with total pledges of P393.28 billion; the Netherlands, with P333.61 billion; Singapore, with P17.38 billion; and the United States, with P3.38 billion, were the top foreign investors at BOI this year.

Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo, for his part, said there are three more projects worth about PHP350 billion that are currently being assessed.

"If they are able to comply with both the substantive and transparency requirements, they may be able to make it to the BOI Board and ManCom (Management Committee) deliberations on December 28th—our last for the year," Rodolfo said.