Investment pledges approved by the Board of Investments surged 139.6 percent in the first 10 months to P1.040 trillion from P434 billion a year ago.
“For the third successive year, the BOI has surpassed expectations in setting a new benchmark for investments. Setting records is getting to be the norm. This validates the country’s position as among the top investment destinations globally,” said Trade Secretary and BOI chairman Ramon Lopez.
Lopez said the country’s investment trajectory improved further with the recent 2020 World Bank Report in the Ease of Doing Business as the country improved its score from 57.7 to 62.8, representing a leap of 29 places from 124th to 95th position among 190 economies.
Local investments hit P709.1 billion, up by 78.2 percent, while foreign investments accounted for P330.9 billion, up by 818.2 percent from P36 billion in 2018.
Singapore was the biggest foreign investor with P170 billion in capital infusion. China was second with P84.9 billion, followed by South Korea with P39.1 billion.
The Netherlands brought in P9.1 billion; Thailand, P8.8 billion; Japan, P6.2 billion; and the United States, P2.5 billion.
Data showed that investment commitments in October reached P275.2 billion, up by 351 percent from a year ago.
“This historic-setting figure of P1 trillion is all the more remarkable considering we still have two more months left in the year. And yes, there are still pending projects to be thoroughly reviewed before we give the approval,” said Lopez.
Trade Undersecretary and BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo said investments from the information and communications turned out to be the juggernaut as it posted committed investments of P518.8 billion, nearly half of the total figure.
“We are playing catch-up with our Asian neighbors in upscaling our digital infrastructure as we build more cellular towers and improve our internet speed across the archipelago. As you know, internet traffic is going to grow exponentially since we are already the world’s top social media user according to a recent report,” Rodolfo said.
Manufacturing sector received P78.8 billion in investment pledges, up 29.2 percent from P61 billion last year.
“Growth in the power sector remained steady with P383.2 billion or a 119.3-percent jump from P174.7 billion a year ago. As we develop, demand for power continues to go up. Tourism remains a bright spot as the accommodation and food service sectors recorded P9.5 billion for a 187.9 percent increase from last year’s P3.3 billion,” Ceferino said.
Tourism is among the biggest job creators in the country along with manufacturing. The agriculture received P2.5 billion, up 19.04 percent from 2.1 billion a year ago.