PH hits P1.4-T approved investments since start of PBBM admin

MANILA – The Philippines has registered PHP1.4 trillion in total approved investments since the start of the Marcos administration, Malacañang said on Wednesday.

The figure was presented by Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual in a sectoral meeting with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at Malacañan Palace in Manila on Tuesday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement.

“Pascual reported to President Marcos Jr. the significant increases in foreign investment approvals by BOI (Board of Investments) and PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority). The approvals were just USD1.1 billion in the first half of 2022 and rose to USD3.3 billion in the second half of the same year,” Garafil said, adding that the approvals ballooned to USD8.4 billion in the first half of 2023.

During the meeting at Malacañan, Pascual said the foreign investment approvals would be realized over time.

“Since the beginning of the Marcos Jr. administration, we have seen a substantial increase in approved foreign investments,” Pascual told Marcos, as quoted by the PCO.

“The future looks promising, Mr. President, given the rising trend in foreign investment approvals by the DTI’s investment promotion agencies – BOI and PEZA. In addition, we continue our efforts to promote the Philippines as an attractive investment destination.”

The BOI and PEZA, he said, are “building up a good pipeline of approved foreign-invested projects that will eventually be implemented as actual investments.”

From Jan. to Sept., the BOI approved a total of PHP734 billion worth of investments, higher by 102 percent from the PHP362 billion posted in the same period last year, DTI Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said in a Palace briefing Tuesday.

Rodolfo said about PHP427 billion of the PHP734-billion investments approved by the BOI are foreign direct investments (FDIs), while the remaining PHP307 billion are local investments.

He noted that there are many investments for renewable energy, telecommunications, mineral processing, and high-technology manufacturing projects that are in the pipeline.

In September, Pascual expressed confidence that the BOI would hit, and even surpass, its 2023 investment approvals target of PHP1.5 trillion.

The BOI initially set a PHP1 trillion investment approvals target for 2023 but Pascual raised the target by 50 percent, after Marcos’ past official foreign visits encouraged more investors in doing business in the Philippines.

In 2022, the BOI approved about PHP720 billion worth of projects. (PNA)