MANILA – Investment approvals in the Board of Investments (BOI) from January to March 2023 period increased by 155 percent to PHP463.3 billion from PHP181.7 billion in the same period last year.
The BOI reported Friday that these pledges came from 68 projects it approved during the period.
“With investment prospects being very positive, and as we continue to receive serious interest from global investors, we are definitely on track to meeting our new annual investment target of PHP1.5 trillion,” Trade Secretary and BOI chairman Alfredo Pascual said in a statement.
The BOI said these projects will generate 16,719 jobs.
Pascual said the bulk of the investment commitments are from local investors with pledges in the first quarter amounting to PHP297.9 billion, 68 percent up from pledges of PHP177 billion in the same period in 2022.
Investments from foreign sources surged by 3,722 percent to PHP165.4 billion from PHP4.33 billion in the same comparable period.
Top foreign investors in BOI in the first quarter of 2023 include Germany with PHP158 billion investments, Netherlands with PHP2.7 billion, United States with PHP1.2 billion, Japan with PHP524 million and United Kingdom with PHP293 million.
A big chunk of investment during the period were invested in sectors of renewable energy (RE), manufacturing, administrative services, transportation and storage, and agriculture.
The BOI said the largest investment came from an offshore wind project with equities from a German firm worth PHP392.4 billion. This is followed by a solar energy project with investment amounting to PHP36.9 billion.
“The number of RE projects coming in is concrete evidence that we are on our way to becoming a global hub for sustainability and green projects, aligned with the national government’s policy of promoting cleaner and more sustainable sources of energy. We aim to attract more RE players globally as full foreign ownership is now allowed under the amended implementing rules and regulations of the Renewable Energy Act,” Pascual added. (PNA)
