BOI registrations jump 28% in first half, says Lopez

MANILA, Philippines — Investment pledges approved by the Board of Investments (BOI) likely grew close to 28 percent in the first semester from a year ago, the country’s top trade official said yesterday.

Trade Secretary and BOI chairman Ramon Lopez, told reporters investments approved by the BOI posted close to 28 percent growth in the January to June period this year from last year’s P188 billion.

“This growth can be attributed to the country’s sound macroeconomic fundamentals, solid optimism, business confidence, [and] consumer confidence,”  he said.

He said the government’s Build Build Build program is also helping encourage more investments in the country.

The government is implementing the Build Build Build program as infrastructure development has been identified as a priority of the current administration.

Earlier, the BOI said it approved investment projects worth P207.5 billion for the January to May period this year, 19 percent higher than the P174.5 billion last year.

During the five-month period, registered investments from local sources rose 19 percent to P200.5 billion from P169.1 billion in the same period a year ago.

Investment pledges from foreign sources likewise went up 29 percent to P7 billion as of end-May this year from the P5.4 billion last year.

By country, Japan was the biggest foreign investor with P2.6 billion worth of investments for the five-month period.

Italy came in second with P485 million, followed by China with P472 million, US with P463 million, and Hong Kong with P206.82 million.

The BOI said the increase in investment registrations in the first five months of the year was due to projects in the following sectors: power and energy, transportation and storage, manufacturing, real estate, and water supply.