Investment pledges OKd up to P662B in ’15

The value of investment pledges approved by the Board of Investments and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority rose by 4.3 percent to P661.8 billion in 2015, reflecting the continued strong investor interest in the country.

In a briefing yesterday, Peza Director General Lilia G. de Lima said Peza alone approved a total of 598 projects, which could generate P295.085 billion in investments. This reflected a 5.58 percent increase from the P279.5 billion worth of projects it approved in 2014.

“Our figures showed that for (the approved) investments, we had an increase of 5.58 percent; for employment 7.73 percent, and exports, slightly down at 0.55 percent. But the figures for employment and exports covered only up to October as we are still collating the reports for the last two months. If it were not for the impact of the port congestion issue and concerns on the importation of chemicals, we should have had better figures,” De Lima said.

“Very conservatively, we are targeting this year a growth of 5-5-5 (5 percent growth in the value of investments, employment and exports). Please note that the base (figures) have been increasing,” the Peza chief added.

Trade Secretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. said the BOI approved last year a total of 358 projects, worth about P366.74 billion, up 3 percent from the P354.76 billion approved in 2014. These investments are also expected to generate 58,252 new jobs once the projects become fully operational.

Cristobal said the BOI was targeting a 5-percent growth in the value of investments this year, stressing that the agency’s new thrust was to focus on the number and the quality of jobs to be generated by registered projects/

Data provided by the BOI showed that the increase in investments was attributed mainly to the approval of big power projects including Olympia Violago Water and Power Ltd. Co. (P69.13 billion); San Buenaventura Power Ltd. Co. (P49.45 billion), and Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (P29.5 billion).

According to the BOI, the 55 energy- related projects, which will cumulatively have a capacity of 2,095 megawatts, are seen to generate P246.42 billion in investments. The investments were higher compared to the previous year’s record of P174.69 billion from the 37 power-related projects, which have a total capacity of 1,542.404 MW.

“The increase in power investment projects augurs well for the country’s goal to ensure energy security and independence. These investments support the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) 2010-2030 to search for, discover, and further develop energy sources,” BOI managing head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said.

Approved investments in the manufacturing sector reached P27.01 billion last year, from the P24.47 billion recorded the previous year.

“The continued growth of the manufacturing industry is a clear indication of the efforts to boost the growth and further development of the sector through the Manufacturing Resurgence Program (MRP),” Rodolfo said.

Other sectors that contributed to the increase included agriculture, forestry and fishing (P6.19 billion), and information and communication (P4.68 billion).

Investment commitments from domestic sources, meanwhile, reached P307.24 billion, accounting for about 84 percent of the total investment approvals from January to December last year, while the remaining 16 percent or P59.51 billion were generated from foreign sources.