BoI investments approval hit P1.07T

The Board of Investments is apparently close to hitting the assigned P1.5-trillion investment target set by Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, as the agency has already posted P1.07 trillion of approved investments as of October 2023.

In a statement, the BoI disclosed that the said figure translate to an 86-percent growth from last year's P576.21 billion for the same period.

In a separate virtual conference on Thursday night, BoI managing head, Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said the latest investment approval for 2023 was the new offshore wind power projects of Copenhagen Infrastructure New Markets Fund Corporation valued at P329.74 billion.

Premier investment destination

For his part, Trade and Industry Secretary Pascual, who also sits as BoI chairperson, stressed that the BoI hitting the trillion mark in investment approvals proves that the Philippines is heading in the right direction to become Asia's premier investment destination of choice. Foreign investment pledges are at a record high.

"But the job is not yet done. Together with our other Investment Promotion Agencies, we will continue to work to generate more investments into the country to provide more jobs for our countrymen," he added.

The BoI report stated that in the first 10 months of the year, foreign investment approvals of BoI reached P757.33 billion, a significant leap of 567 percent from last year's P113.49 billion.

In addition, domestic investment stands at P316.22 billion.

As to the sources of foreign investments in the Philippines, the BoI said that the bulk of foreign capital came from Germany at P393.28 billion, followed by the Netherlands (P333.61 billion), Singapore (P17.07 billion), the United States (P2.63 billion), France (P2.04 billion), and United Kingdom (P1.05 billion).

At the domestic level, investments in Western Visayas topped the list at P307.25 billion, with CALABARZON taking up second place at P167.11 billion.

Further, the Bicol Region (P162.92 billion), Eastern Visayas (P128.22 billion), and Ilocos Region (P122.18 billion) completed the top five regions.

RE significant factor

Moreover, the BoI said the renewable energy and power sector took center stage in the Philippines' investment landscape, amounting to P899.79 billion in investments, which represents a 187 percent increase from last year's P313.07 billion.

The substantial commitment to RE investments was primarily directed towards diverse projects in solar, wind, hydropower and biomass, highlighting the sector's growing prominence.

On the other hand, the Information and Technology sector demonstrated strong growth, securing approvals totaling P95.51 billion, followed by transportation and storage, particularly in water transport, with P21.27 billion in approved investments.

Additionally, the manufacturing sector featured projects valued at P16.37 billion, and administrative and support service activities, including the IT-BPM industry, received P8.94 billion in investments.