P340-B committed projects to buoy PH

The total value of investment pledges that may be approved by the Board of Investments (BOI) this year is expected to reach at least P340 billion on the back of sustained investor confidence on the country’s sound fundamentals.

The amount is comprised of P286 billion worth of investment commitments that were already approved by the BOI by the end of September and the P52 billion worth of proposed projects that the agency is anticipating to approve during the last quarter of 2016.

“The continued growth of the investments is a testament to the country’s sound economic fundamentals and sustained investor confidence. What we are seeing in the real sector that relies on fundamentals of the economy, the fundamental strengths of the economy, is that growth is being sustained or even accelerated,” said Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo.

Data from the BOI showed investments approved in the first nine months of the year comprised of 255 projects, which are expected to generate 46,716 new jobs at full operation.

Between January and September, data showed the sector with the biggest investment pledge is in power, with P137 billion; followed by construction, with P62.27 billion; real estate, P36.68 billion; manufacturing, P21.02 billion; and transportation and storage, P14.31 billion.

For September alone, approved investment pledges surged by 193 percent to P51 billion.

The increase in investments for the month was due to the approval of two big ticket projects: Light Rail Manila Corp.’s P30.37-billion public-private partnership project for the operation and maintenance of the Manila Light Rail Transit 1 Integrated Railway System-Cavite Extension; and the Energy Development Corp.’s P16.42-billion wind energy project in Iloilo.

Up for approval this remaining quarter are comprised of 44 projects, the bulk of which are energy projects (P29.57 billion). The value of manufacturing-related projects that have yet to be approved is worth P7.77 billion; while the agricultural projects on the pipeline are estimated to be worth P6.58 billion; real estate activities, P6.37 billion; logistics or water transport, P1.07 billion; and other sectors, P665.3 million.

The value of the investments to be approved by the BOI may further balloon should a portion of the commitments that the Philippine government secured during the state visit of President Duterte in China and Japan will materialize. The government secured offers for investments and credit line pledges worth more than $40 billion.