BOI sees 10% growth in investment registration

The Board OF Investments is projecting at least a 10-percent increase in the investment projects that will be registered this year to about P443 billion from year-ago level, as it expects more robust activities from both local and foreign companies this year.

Last year, the investment pledges approved by the BOI reached P403.17 billion due largely to the rise in the number of capital-intensive power generation projects that sought registration and incentives.

“[A] 10-percent growth is a reasonable growth projection for approved investments. What we aim for, however, is its impact in terms of stable and decent jobs—for a more inclusive growth,” Trade Undersecretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. said in an interview.

To drive this growth in the domestic front, according to Cristobal, will be the strong consumption coming from the sheer size of the domestic market; reconstruction spending, and the expected increase in infrastructure spending (to include projects under the government’s public-private partnership program); and the country’s stable macroeconomic condition.

Cristobal added that the expected modest growth of the global economy, the improving economic performance of the United States, the continued recovery of Japan due to the so-called “Abenomics,” the strong growth of China and South Korea, and the fast growth expected in Southeast Asia were seen to help fuel the increase in investments in the country.

“In terms of sectors, [the growth drivers will] most likely be the construction, BPOs (business process outsourcing), telecommunications, wholesale and retail trade, consumer durables, housing, tourism and the whole manufacturing sector,” Cristobal said.

Consequently, foreign direct investments (FDIs) are expected “to continue to increase, while exports will also be on the road to recovery,” he added.

Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo earlier said he expected the country’s FDIs to grow by as much as 20 percent in 2014 to about $4.8 billion, on the back of foreign investors’ increased interest in the Philippines.

“Wherever we go, there is such a huge interest from foreign investors in the Philippines. We went to Europe earlier and just came back from Japan, where we met with representatives of various companies. There was evidently overwhelming interest (of these companies in the country). It was almost too good to be true,” Domingo earlier said.

For 2013, Domingo had expressed confidence that the Philippines could surpass the FDI target of about $4 billion, 43 percent higher than the actual FDIs in 2012 of $2.8 billion. As of the end of September 2013, FDI flows stood at $3.1 billion, which was 10 percent higher than year-ago level.

For exports, the Department of Trade and Industry earlier said it was expecting total exports (both merchandise and services) to grow by 10 percent in 2014.