New projects approved by the Board of Investments (BOI) reached P1.16 trillion as of Dec. 18, 2023, surpassing the previous record of P1.14 trillion in 2019 by 2 percent.
BOI officials expressed hope that the pending projects would enable the agency to hit the full-year target P1.5 trillion.
“The BOI hitting P1.16 trillion for 2023 reaffirms strong investor confidence in the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. – their responsiveness to the policy initiatives of the President and the effectiveness of the aggressive investment promotion activities under the Make It Happen in the Philippines campaign,” said Trade Secretary and BOI chairman Alfredo Pascual.
Data showed that this year’s investments climbed 59 percent from P729.1 billion recorded last year. This also marked the third time in four years the BOI surpassed the trillion-peso mark in investment approvals. The agency recorded P1.02 trillion in 2020, overcoming the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With this remarkable milestone, we are all-the-more optimistic about opportunities that lie ahead in 2024, with the BOI poised to further catalyze smart- and sustainability-driven investments in the country,” Pascual said.
“There are three more projects worth about P350 billion that are currently being assessed and, if they are able to comply with both the substantive and transparency requirements, they may be able to make it to the BOI Board and Mancom [management committee] deliberations on December 28th—our last for the year. While BOI is the private sector’s strongest partner in promoting Ease of Doing Business in the country, we remain a prudent administrator of fiscal incentives,” said Trade Undersecretary and BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo.
Total investments in 2023 came from 303 projects that were expected to open up 47,195 jobs.
The latest figures showed that the BOI surpassed its official P1.15-trillion program expenditure classification (PREXC) target in investment promotion agencies’ approved investments for fiscal year 2023.
Germany emerged as the leading source of foreign investments, contributing a substantial P393.28 billion, followed closely by the Netherlands with P333.61 billion, Singapore with P17.38 billion and the United States with P3.38 billion.
Among the domestic investments, Western Visayas was the top recipient of P316.89 billion, with Calabarzon taking up the second place at P211.89 billion. The Bicol Region received P162.92 billion worth of investments; Eastern Visayas, P128.62 billion; and Ilocos Region, P122.18 billion.
Domestic investment approvals amounted to P398.76 billion, representing 34 percent of total approved investments.
Foreign investments approvals jumped 452 percent to P763.22 billion from P138.18 billion in 2022. The renewable energy and power sector dominated with P968.14 billion in investments, up by 137 percent increase from last year’s P409.03 billion.
Among the biggest investments are the 7 offshore wind power projects in Cavite, Laguna, Dagupan, San Miguel Bay, Negros and Northern Samar with total amounting of P759.84 billion.
The BOI also noted the strong growth in the information and communication sector with approvals of P96.16 billion. Manufacturing made a significant impact with P22.03 billion in approved investments, while real estate activities attracted P20 billion, including P15.63 billion for mass housing.