MANILA – The Board of Investment (BOI) approved P39.3 billion worth of projects from foreign sources in the first 10 months of the year.
It reported on Wednesday that foreign investment pledges from January to October this year surged 156 percent,from only P15 billion worth of projects registered with the investment promotion agency in the same period in 2017.
Top sources of foreign commitments in the January to October period include Indonesia with P6.4 billion worth of projects, Malaysia with P2.9 billion, Japan with P2.8 billion, Australia with P1.1 billion, and China with P1.1 billion.
Significant investments were also registered by firms from the United States of America with listing P612 million of projects, Italy with P485.7 million, Singapore with P404.1 million, and Switzerland with P357.7 million.
“The latest BOI investment figure is a concrete testament to the continued confidence of the international investing community on the strong fundamentals of the Philippine economy and the policy reforms and infrastructure development under President Duterte’s administration,” Trade secretary and BOI chairman Ramon Lopez said.
The growth of foreign investment pledges supported the overall investment approvals during this period, with total approvals of P516 billion, a 26-percent increase from P409 approvals in the same period last year.
“After the record-breaking investment approval figure of P617 billion in 2017, the agency is working hard to breach its investment target of P680 billion for this year. The rest of the year should be exciting,” Trade undersecretary and BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo said.
He added: “There are several big-ticket projects undergoing strict evaluation process, to ensure that incentives are needed to realize their strategic impact.” (With a report from PNA/PN)
