MANILA – Investment projects registered with the Board of Investments posted a 25-percent increase in value for the first five months of the year compared with the same period in 2016, growing from P137.3 billion to P174.5 billion. The BOI said Friday this indicated the Philippines remains a preferred global investment destination.
The number of investment projects also rose by 70 percent in the January to May 2017 period, from 128 projects to 218. These projects are mostly high-impact, socially relevant and labor intensive – seen to generate 51,847 in new jobs once operational or an increase of 100 percent in employment generated.
Trade Secretary and BOI Chairman Ramon Lopez hailed the country’s sound economic fundamentals and sustained investor confidence, noting as well the agency’s thrust to further strengthen the country’s position as a preferred global investment destination.
’’It’s business as usual in the country,” said Secretary Lopez. adding that the current situation in Marawi and the recent Resorts World incident remain isolated cases and that the administration is in firm control.
Investment prospects in Mindanao remain rosy, Lopez said, given the significant investment projects registered with the BOI from January to May 2017 particularly in three Mindanao regions: Region 10 which recorded P1.382 billion worth of investment projects, Region 11 with P3.181 billion, and Region 13 with P1.350 billion.
Mindanao-registered projects include energy, housing, agriculture, food manufacturing, water supply and distribution, transportation and storage, and recreation. All of these are impactful, socially relevant and labor-intensive, and are seen to improve the lives and provide gainful employment to the people of Mindanao. “With the continued confidence of investors on the viability and profitability of doing business in Mindanao, we also send a positive signal on the stability of the peace and order situation in the island group,” Lopez said.
The biggest destination of investments overall for the January to May 2017 period was Region 4A which recorded P92.986 billion worth of projects, followed by the National Capital Region with P35.863 billion and Region 3 with P16.274 billion. There were also significant investments recorded for Region 1 with P6.457 billion and Negros Island Region with P6.118 billion in investments.
Top 5 projects
The top five foreign investments projects are from Singapore with P2.124 billion, USA with P483.25 million, Netherlands with P445.22 million, Denmark with P320.84 million, and India with P207.35 million.
The increase in the value of investments was attributed mainly to the approval of real estate projects with a combined investment amount of P68.743Billion, followed by construction and PPP projects with P48.467 billion, energy and power projects with P28.311 billion, manufacturing projects with P15.749 billion, and transportation and storage projects with P9.594 billion.
Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo meanwhile said the agency is on track to meeting its P500-billion investment target for the year, with more investment projects expected to register with the upcoming approval of the 2017 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) Guidelines.
“We are seeing a bullish first full-year local and foreign investment inflow with levels to reach at least P500 billion from P441 billion achieved in 2016,” said Undersecretary Rodolfo.
He added that the new IPP, designed to spread the benefits of the country’s fast economic growth to the countryside with emphasis on a broader segment of the manufacturing sector, innovation-driven, and job-generating businesses, will drive the robust growth of investments especially manufacturing investment projects. Projects adopting inclusive business models will also be qualified especially those sourcing from MSMEs.
The manufacturing sector generated a total of P49 billion investments in 2016 or 11 percent of total investments last year. In the first quarter of the year, the sector recorded an impressive 222.92 percent growth with investment projects amounting to P15.425 billion from only P4.776 billion recorded in the same period last year. Investments in the sector are expected to generate at least 3,038 in new jobs once these business projects are operational.
“The continued growth of the manufacturing industry is a clear indication of the efforts to boost growth of the sector through the Manufacturing Resurgence Program,” Undersecretary Rodolfo said, adding that the revival of the manufacturing sector is key to inclusive economic growth because it will generate much-needed employment and help the country tap regional production networks.
