BOI-approved investments up 24% in January-July

Investment commitments approved by the Board of Investments (BOI) posted a double-digit increase in the first seven months of the year versus the comparable period in 2018, data released by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Tuesday showed.

Total approved investments rose by 24% to P312.8 billion in the January to July, the majority of which are located outside Metro Manila.

Approved foreign investments rose by 348% to P69.6 billion, with most of the pledges or P35.4 billion coming from Singapore.

Investment pledges from The Netherlands totaled P9.2 billion, while those from Thailand reached P8.6 billion. Japanese investors pledged P5.8 billion, and investors from the United States committed P2.4 billion.

Approved local investments grew by 2.7% to P243.2 billion. Most of the commitments were for power projects, accounting for P195.1 billion and reflecting a 65.3% increase from P118 billion in 2018.

Increases were also recorded in commitments under the manufacturing sector at P46.1 billion (up 132.6%); information and communication sector at P33.2 billion (up 9,680%); tourism accommodation sector at P9 billion (up 618%); and hospitals at P1.3 billion (up 37%).

In July alone, among the notable project commitments were P1.7 billion from the Airbus plane project by Cebu Air Inc., P1.4-billion from the hydropower project of At Dinum Co., and P728 million from the hydropower facility of Coto Hydro Corp.

This also includes P410 million from Integrated Meat and Poultry Processing Inc.,  and P381 million from the low-cost housing project of Borland Development Corp.

Trade Secretary and BOI Chairman Ramon Lopez noted the “strong confidence” of investors in the Philippines, despite global tensions.

“This growth was still resilient enough to withstand the global demand downturn brought about by the lingering trade dispute between the US and China, the trade spat between Japan and South Korea, and other geopolitical tensions,” he said.

“We remain among the fastest growing economies in Asia and we are among the few countries to even register a 1.5% export growth in July,” Lopez added.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed imports fell by 3.2% to $6.93 billion, while exports grew by 10.4% to $5.28 billion in July.

“Our investments are still growing amid the international tensions. We still have a lot of pending projects that need thorough study and evaluation,” said Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo.

“We assure foreign investors that the Philippines is a safe haven for their investments and they should take advantage of our very strong domestic demand and commit to long-term deals,” he added. —VDS, GMA News