INVESTMENT approvals in the Board of Investments (BOI) from January to March 2023 period increased by 155 percent to P463.3 billion from P181.7 billion in the same period last year.
The BOI reported yesterday that these pledges came from 68 projects it approved during the period.
“With investment prospects being very positive, and as we continue to receive serious interest from global investors, we are definitely on track to meeting our new annual investment target of P1.5 trillion,” Trade secretary and BOI chairman Alfredo Pascual said.
The BOI said these projects will generate 16,719 jobs.
Pascual said the bulk of the investment commitments are from local investors with pledges in the first quarter amounting to P297.9 billion – 68 percent up from pledges of P177 billion in the same period last year.
Investments from foreign sources surged by 3,722 percent to P165.4 billion from P4.33 billion in the same comparable period.
Top foreign investors in BOI in the first quarter of 2023 include Germany with P158 billion investments, Netherlands with P2.7 billion, United States with P1.2 billion, Japan with P524 million, and United Kingdom with P293 million.
A big chunk of investment during the period were invested in sectors of renewable energy (RE), manufacturing, administrative services, transportation and storage, and agriculture.
The BOI said the largest investment came from an offshore wind project with equities from a German firm worth P392.4 billion. This is followed by a solar energy project with investment amounting to P36.9 billion. (PNA)/PN
