The Board of Investments sees more investments in the coming months with the expected approval of about 44 more projects worth P52.03 billion.
“More investments mean more jobs, ensuring economic development from the bottom of the pyramid,” Trade Secretary and BoI Chairman Ramon Lopez said.
Projects evaluated and check-listed by the BoI will come from the energy sector worth P29.57 billion or 57 percent of total investments; manufacturing, P7.77 billion or 15 percent; agriculture P6.58 billion or 12 percent; real estate activities, P6.37 billion or 12 percent; logistics or water transport P1.07 billion or 2 percent; and other sectors at P665.3 million or 1 percent.
“What we are seeing in the real sector that relies on fundamentals of the economy, the fundamental strengths of the economy, is that growth is being sustained or even accelerated,” said Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo.
The BoI reported last month that investments registered with the agency reached P51.03 billion in September 2016, up 193 percent from just P17.41 billion in the same month in 2015.
The BoI attributed the increase in October investments to the approval of two big ticket projects—Light Rail Manila Corp.’s P30.37-billion public-private partnership project for the operations and maintenance of the Manila Light Rail Transit 1 Integrated Railway System-Cavite Extension and Energy Development Corp.’s P16.42-billion wind energy in Iloilo.
“The mass transport project, for example, will be a big help for the commuting public while the renewable energy projects will improve and sustain the quality of life of the people,” Rodolfo said.
BoI-approved investments in the first nine months increased 49 percent to P286.44 billion from P192.39 year-on-year.
The investment pledges were from 255 projects with total estimated job generation of 46,716 at full operations.
The largest share of approved investments from January to September 2016 were from the power sector, which accounted for 48 percent of the approved investments.
Other sectors that topped the list of investment approvals were construction with P62.27 billion or 22 percent; real estate activities including the mass housing sub-sector with P36.68 billion or 13 percent; the manufacturing with P21.02 billion or 7 percent; and transportation and storage with P14.31 billion or 5 percent share.
Major manufacturing sub-sectors, based on their respective shares to total investment approvals from January to September 2016 include food products with P8.99 billion or 43 percent; motor vehicles/trailers, P7.80 billion or 37 percent; fabricated metal products, P1.98 billion or 9 percent; wood products P1.48 billion or 7 percent; and other manufacturing sub-sectors, P763.18 million or 4 percent.
Topping the list of foreign country investors in the first nine months of 2016 is Singapore with investments worth P12.9 billion or 26 percent.
Netherlands was in second with investments amounting to P8 billion, followed by Japan with P6.83 billion; South Korea, P6.42 billion; and United Kingdom, P2.34 billion.