The Board of Investments (BoI) reported that investment approvals in the country for the full year 2025 have reached P1.5 trillion, dominated by the energy sector, reflecting sustained momentum in power generation and related infrastructure projects.

In its official tally released on Sunday, total approved investments last year were at P1.56 trillion, said to be the second-highest level in 58-year history.

However, the BoI, the premier investment promotion arm of the Department of Trade and Industry, failed to hit its target for 2025 of P1.75 trillion.

The BoI’s investment approvals began breaching the trillion mark in 2023 at P1.26 trillion and P1.62 trillion in 2024.

As per next year’s target investment nods, BoI managing head, Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo, said, “they are still assessing based on priority sectors for development and promotion for 2026.”

“For 2026, our focus of promotion would be on mining and mineral processing, digital processing, among others,” he told reporters.

40K new jobs

According to BoI board chair, Trade Secretary Cristina Roque, the approved projects are expected to generate 40,175 jobs nationwide across 322 projects.

Aside from the energy sector, which recorded P970.09 billion in approved investments, industries that dominated the number of approvals were mass housing with P241.65 billion, and transportation and storage (P230.06 billion), highlighting continued investments in logistics, mobility, and connectivity.

Completing the top five sectors were manufacturing with P62.16 billion and information and communication at P26.56 billion, reflecting growing demand for industrial expansion and digital infrastructure.

Local investments dominance

Of the total approved investments, local investments accounted for P1.41 trillion.

The National Capital Region emerged as the leading investment destination, attracting P383.71 billion in approved investments, followed by the Cordillera Administrative Region with P373.39 billion, and CALABARZON (Region IV-A) at P257.83 billion, reflecting strong regional participation in large-scale and strategic projects.

The Bicol Region ranked fourth with P123.61 billion, while Central Luzon (Region III) completed the top five with P105.13 billion in approved investments.

Foreign investments approved in 2025 amounted to P149.45 billion, led by Singapore with P80.37 billion in approved investments. The Netherlands followed with P33.29 billion, while Thailand accounted for P7.75 billion.

The United States ranked fourth with P6.91 billion, and Switzerland completed the top five with P4.33 billion in approved investments.

Secretary Roque emphasized that maintaining investment approvals above the P1.5 trillion level for two consecutive years reflects policy credibility and strong investor confidence.

“Breaching the P1.5 trillion mark for two consecutive years and posting the second-highest investment approvals in BoI’s 58-year history highlights the Philippines’ growing competitiveness and the sustained trust of both local and foreign investors,” said Secretary Roque.

“These investments reinforce our commitment to building a resilient, innovation-driven economy anchored on sustainability and inclusive growth,” she added.

Looking ahead, Secretary Roque highlighted strong investment prospects in renewable energy, electric vehicle components, semiconductors and electronics, smart manufacturing, digital infrastructure, high-tech agriculture, and data center development, which are expected to anchor the country’s next phase of industrial growth.

“There are several big-ticket projects in the BoI pipeline that we are actively assessing even through the very last days of 2025. Unfortunately, we need more time to complete the evaluation process, especially as these are precisely large-scale and very strategic projects,” she said.