BOI investment pledges surged 64% as of April

The value of investment pledges approved by the Board of Investments (BOI) surged by 64 percent to P117.3 billion in the first four months of the year, reflecting the continued confidence of investors in the Philippines.

Trade Secretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. and Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo said in a briefing Wednesday that the significant growth in investment approvals was driven by infrastructure and energy projects.

Among the big ticket projects noted in the first four months of the year were the P16.7-billion project registered by Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. and the P15.2-billion project of Light Rail Manila Corp., Rodolfo reported.

Others include the 150-megawatt Bayog Wind Power in Ilocos, which will require some P14.7 billion; and the P4.9-billion, 25-MW biomass project in Negros Occidental.

Despite the stellar growth, the Department of Trade and Industry will keep its 5 percent investment growth target.

Meanwhile, Cristobal noted that the Philippines had maintained its strong position amid global economic volatility as the country’s recent performance demonstrated “remarkable economic resilience owing to vigorous governance and reforms.”

“The country is on the verge of economic transformation. Sources of growth have become more diversified, showing changes in the structure of the economy. First the growth of manufacturing has outpaced services in the past four years after more than a decade. Although services has been the main growth driver of the economy for the past decades, manufacturing has been contributing substantially since 2013,” Cristobal said.

A manufacturing resurgence, according to Cristobal, was also evident as the sector has consistently surpassed the growth of services for the past nine quarter. The manufacturing sector, he said, regained its strong position as it grew by 8.1 percent in the first quarter of 2016, the highest rate posted in the past even quarters.

“Another transformation appears to be taking shape as economic expansion is being driven by investments with capital formation accelerating by 23.8 percent, compared to the consumption and government spending which rose by 7 percent, and 9.9 percent, respectively. Underpinned by our new industrial policy, investor confidence in manufacturing has heightened as indicated by rising fixed capital formation expenditure,” he explained.