Most investments flowing into the country are in renewable energy, contributing to a total of P4.2 trillion worth of projects last year, according to an executive from the Board of Investments (BoI) at a recent forum hosted by the British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.

As of 18 February, BoI executive director of the Investments Assistance Center, Bobby Fondevilla, reported that renewable energy projects had risen to 149, with total foreign equity for these projects reaching P1.3 billion.

These investments have been certified for expedited processing under the BoI’s green lanes or the One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments.

Fondevilla said he expects faster flows of RE investments into the Philippines as the government now allows full foreign ownership of businesses in this sector under the Department of Energy’s Circular 2022-11-0034.

In the second week, BoI approved two new wind power projects in the province of Quezon for speedy construction.

Green lane pass for solar deal

On 3 February, the BoI also awarded green lane certificates for the Cabangan Solar Project in Zambales and the Pontevedra Solar Power Project in Capiz which have a combined cost of P3.62 billion.

The Energy Department aims to expand the share of renewable energy to 35 percent of the country’s entire power mix by 2030 and to 50 percent by 2040.

BoI also recently awarded green lane passes to Upgrade Energy Philippines Inc. for its two solar power projects.

“Even with a limited budget, we really go down the ground and talk to the mayors about the importance of the projects and instill in them that whatever projects they will implement down the line should be aligned with the national projects,” Fondevilla told the British business leaders at Dusit Thani, Makati.

Fondevilla said he prefers that most investors support projects related to renewable energy, exports, and manufacturing.

“Through these projects, we can build something that will address gaps in the supply chain, taking off from our experience during the Covid-19 pandemic. For manufacturing, this is where we can realize better numbers in employment,” he said.

‘Even with a limited budget, we really go down the ground and talk to the mayors about the importance of the projects and instill in them that whatever projects they will implement down the line should be aligned with the national projects.’

Fondevilla said the government, with the help of the Asian Development Bank, will launch an investor guidebook that focuses on the three aforementioned sectors.

After renewable energy, digital infrastructure attracted the most investments for eight projects which cost a total of P352.1 billion and a foreign equity of P283.6 billion.

Food security placed third, with 23 projects amounting to P14.4 billion and a foreign equity of P10.9 billion.

Manufacturing placed third, with four projects amounting to P36.9 billion. Their foreign equity stood at P7.3 billion.