The Board of Investments (BOI) on Friday announced that investment approvals for the first quarter of 2023 surged by 155 percent to P463.3 billion from the P182 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual, who’s also the BOI Chairman, said the investment promotion agency is “definitely on track” to meeting the new annual investment target of P1.5 trillion.
Of the total investment approvals recorded in the first three months of 2023, Pascual said BOI foreign investment approvals accelerated to P165.4 billion in the same period, “a remarkable 3,722 percent growth from just P4.33 billion in the same quarter in 2022.”
The BOI revealed that foreign investment approvals in the first quarter of 2023 accounted for nearly 36 percent of the total investment approvals, with domestic investment nods taking up the rest with P297.9 billion, 68 percent up from the P177.3 billion recorded in the same period a year ago.
As to the share of countries in the investment approvals pie, the BOI said the bulk of foreign capital came from Germany with P157 billion followed by Netherlands with P2.7 billion, the United States, with P1.2 billion; Japan with P524 million, and the United Kingdom with P293 million.
In terms of regional dispersion, the investment promotion agency said investments in Western Visayas “led the way” with P293.3 billion, while Calabarzon took up second place with P112.7 billion. This is followed by Ilocos Region with P38.7 billion, Davao Region with P3.6 billion, and Eastern Visayas Region with P3.6 billion.
Meanwhile, BOI noted that the renewable energy/power sector remains “dominant” with P440 billion in approvals, 156 percent higher than the P172 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Manufacturing is also on the “upswing” with P17 billion in approvals, 416 percent higher from the P3.3 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2022.
As to the share of other sectors in the investment approvals for the first quarter of 2023, BOI said Administrative services bagged P3.7 billion; Transportation and Storage with P1.2 billion, and Agriculture with P929 million.
The investment promotion agency also unveiled some of the top projects approved from January to March 2023. Among these are the German-owned Wpd Philippines Inc.’s P392.4 billion offshore wind farms in Cavite, Negros Occidental, and Guimaras, which the agency said would provide greener power solutions to local communities and businesses.
Coming in second place among the top projects is the Filipino-owned 3 Barracuda Energy Corp., with its P36.9 billion solar energy project located in the Ilocos Region, BOI said.
As the renewable energy (RE) sector recorded the biggest share in the investment approvals, Pascual emphasized that “this is concrete evidence that we are on our way to becoming a global hub for sustainability and green projects, aligned with the national government’s policy of promoting cleaner and more sustainable sources of energy.”
“We aim to attract more RE players globally as full foreign ownership is now allowed under the amended implementing rules and regulations of the Renewable Energy Act,” the trade chief added.
Moving forward, Pascual said, “We shall continue with our aggressive investment promotion campaigns as investments are also set to provide higher quality and better-paying jobs for Filipinos.”
The BOI said the P463.3 billion investment approvals recorded in the first three months of 2023 is expected to generate 16,719 jobs from the 68 projects it approved in the said period.
