THE Board of Investments (BoI) said registered projects in the year to date hit P725.93 billion, with the total close to exceeding the P729 billion worth of investments tallied over the full year of 2022.
The BoI said the estimate for approved projects covered the January to Sept. 12 period, with foreign investors accounting for P426.04 billion.
Ceferino S. Rodolfo, BoI managing head and Trade undersecretary, said in a Viber message that around 80% of the projects involve renewable energy, while the remainder mostly have to do with telco infrastructure.
“What is really strong now are game changers related to sustainability and digitalization,” Mr. Rodolfo told BusinessWorld.
The electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning industries accounted for P557.84 billion of the total, while the information and communication industry generated P95.51 billion worth of investment.
Around 35,086 jobs are expected to be generated from the projects, 22,016 of which are in administrative and support service activities.
The Western Visayas captured the larger slice by project value with P307.14 billion worth of projects, while investments in Region 4A or Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon amounted to P165.5 billion.
The BoI said there were no approved projects in the Bicol Region or Region 5 which comprises the provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, Catanduanes and Masbate.
At the deadline, the BoI had not replied to a query regarding its confidence in achieving its investment registration targets for the year.
In February, Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual raised BoI’s investment target by 50% to P1.5 trillion.
Mr. Pascual told reporters last week that he is confident that the BoI will be able to achieve and even surpass its P1.5-trillion investment target. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
