INVESTMENT projects registered with the Board of Investments (BoI) in the four months to April rose 46.5% year on year to P286.7 billion, led by the power industry.

Investment by domestic entities rose 14% to P219.7 billion, the BoI said in a statement Friday.

Foreign-sourced investment proposals rose sharply to P66.9 billion from P2.9 billion a year earlier.

Power projects accounted for P185.4 billion in registered investments, up 78% from a year earlier.

The BoI is one of the government’s investment promotion agencies, and project proponents register with it in order to qualify for incentives.

Manufacturing accounted for P44.6 billion, from P15.9 billion a year earlier. This was followed by the information and communication sector where project registrations rose to P33.2 billion from P340 million a year earlier. Meanwhile, proposed investments in the accommodation and food service sector rose to P8.4 billion from P1 billion in 2018.

“With the government’s commitment to ‘clean and green’ infrastructure systems, successive renewable power projects were approved by the BoI,” Trade Undersecretary for Industry Development and Trade Promotion and BoI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said.

The BoI said such renewable projects include the P35.2-billion 506-megawatt (MW) natural gas power plant of Vires Energy Corp. in Batangas City; the 15-MW biomass plant of Cagayan Biomass Energy Corp. in Isabela and the P1-billion geothermal source project of Philippine Geothermal Production Co., Inc. located in several towns in Albay and Camarines Sur.

Calabarzon was the proposed location for P198 billion in new investment. Central Luzon followed with P26.7 billion and the National Capital Region was third with P7.9 billion. Rounding the top five are the Central Visayas with P5.7 billion and Cagayan Valley with P4.3 billion.

Singapore was the biggest foreign investor in the year to date with P35.4 billion, up sharply from P38.7 million a year earlier. This was followed by the Netherlands with P9.1 billion; Thailand with P8.5 billion; Japan with P5.5 billion; and the United States with P2.2 billion.

“Foreign investors remain confident in the country’s business prospects as foreign capital continues to surge into the country while domestic investors remain upbeat as domestic capital continued its steady growth,” Trade Secretary and BoI Chairman Ramon M. Lopez said.

He added that the Philippines’ recent credit rating upgrade from S&P Global, as well as the Asian Development Bank’s view of the Philippines as the second fastest-growing economy in Southeast Asia, will continue to bring in investment.

“I join the economic managers in attributing all these very positive economic developments, including the continued surge of BoI investment approvals in priority and strategic sectors, to the steadfast implementation of the 10-point economic agenda of President Rodrigo R. Duterte,” Mr. Lopez added.

The BoI has a P1-trillion investment target for 2019.

The investment promotion agency posted a record P907 billion worth of project registrations, with most projects from the manufacturing, infrastructure, transport and utilities sectors. — J.C. Lim

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