THE aggressive investment promotion activities of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in the Philippines and abroad has earned a Php1.16 trillion in investment approvals for 2023, the highest in the last five decades, the Board of Investments (BOI) reported on Wednesday.
In a statement, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary and BOI Chairman Alfredo Pascual expressed optimism that this development will create more opportunities for the economy to further expand in 2024.
“The BOI hitting Php1.16Tn for 2023 reaffirms strong investor confidence in the administration of President Ferdinand R. 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’,” Pascual said.
“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,” he added.
Domestic investment approvals totaled Php398.76 billion, accounting for 34 percent of all authorized investments. Foreign investment approvals increased by 452 percent, or PhP763.22 billion from Php138.18 billion in 2022.
This year’s Php1.16 trillion investment approval comes from a total of 303 projects that is expected to generate more than 47,000 local employment, greatly benefitting the sectors of renewable energy and power, Information and Communication, real estate, manufacturing, and infrastructure.
Germany emerged as the main source of foreign investment with a considerable contribution of PhP393.28 billion, followed closely by the Netherlands (PhP333.61 billion), Singapore (PhP17.38 billion), and the United States (PhP3.38 billion).
Western Visayas received the most investment at PhP316.89 billion, with CALABARZON coming in second at Php211.89 billion.
The top five regions were completed by the Bicol Region with PhP162.92 billion of investment, Eastern Visayas with PhP128.62 billion, and Ilocos Region with PhP122.18 billion.
The Renewable Energy and Power industry continues to dominate the Philippine investment approvals scene, with investments totaling PhP968.14 billion.
This amount translates to 137 percent growth over previous year’s record of PhP409.03 billion.
From January to December, seven offshore wind power projects totaling PhP759.84 billion were authorized in Cavite, Laguna, Dagupan, San Miguel Bay, Negros, and Northern Samar.
This developed as the Information and Communication industry grew rapidly, with approvals reaching PhP96.16 billion.
Manufacturing had a substantial influence as well, with PhP22.03 billion in authorized investments.
The infrastructure (Toll Roads) sector included projects worth PhP20 billion, and Real Estate Activities, mass housing in particular, got investments of PhP15.63 billion.
DTI Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo said there are three more projects worth about PhP350 billion that are currently being assessed, which will be included in the BOI Board and Mancom deliberations on December 28 if they were able to comply with both the substantive and transparency requirements.
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