THE Board of Investments (BoI) said it is confident it will surpass the P1 trillion target for investment pledges in 2019.
“With the excitement brought about by all the developments in the economy — GDP, investments, manufacturing, demographics, infra support, investment reforms — drivers would be manufacturing, infrastructure, transport and utilities,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in a mobile message.
In 2018, the investment promotion agency took in P907.2 billion worth of registered projects, up 47.1% from a year earlier and beating that growth target of 10%.
The biggest driver of 2018 investment commitments was the manufacturing sector, with projects totaling P409.3 billion or more than four times the investment pledges in 2017.
Other sectors also recorded growth, including transportation and storage, water and sewerage, retail, and the accommodation sector.
Majority of 2018 pledges derived from domestic investors who accounted for P803.2 billion of the total.
Investments from foreign investors surged to P104 billion from P21.7 billion a year earlier, with China, the British Virgin Islands, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and Malaysia as the top five sources of foreign investment. — Janina C. Lim
