BOI seen to hit P1-trillion target

MANILA, Philippines — The Board of Investments (BOI) is confident it would hit its P1-trillion target for project approvals this year despite the coronavirus pandemic.

“We remain optimistic of reaching our P1-trillion target project approvals for 2020,” BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo said during the launch of the agency’s Make It Happen in the Philippines campaign.

He said investments approved by the agency have already reached P826 billion in the 10 months to October.

While the target is slightly lower than in 2019, Rodolfo said the agency is still on track to achieve the second highest level of project approvals in the agency’s history.

The BOI closed 2019 with approved investments reaching an all-time high of P1.14 trillion.

The investment promotions agency launched its new marketing campaign Make It Happen in the Philippines to position the country as a reliable place for trade and investments.

Under the campaign, the agency is pushing for the following as priority sectors for foreign investments: automotive, aerospace, electronics, information technology (IT) – business process management, and copper or nickel.

Rodolfo said the country offers a strategic location for investments in Southeast Asia.

In addition, he said the country has economic zones and IT parks, as well as an infrastructure program that is in full swing.

He said the country also has a labor force with wage rates that are among the most stable in the region.

“With these in mind, we are definitely pushing for a more proactive, targeted investment promotion strategy in asking foreign investors to relocate or expand their services and products with a set of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives tailor-fit to them in line with government efforts for an economic bounce back by creating more jobs under a post-quarantine scenario,” he said.

He added the agency is pushing for the passage of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act which  will reduce corporate tax rates and rationalize investment incentives to be more performance-based, targeted, time-bound and transparent.