BOI-approved investments as of May doubled to P 532.2B

The Board of Investments (BOI) approved P532.2 billion worth of investments during the first five months of the year—more than double the level last year—driven by the surge in investments in the country’s rapidly growing renewable energy sector.

The Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) lead investment promotion agency said that its total approved investments from January to May soared by 158.7 percent compared to the P205.7 billion it tallied during the same five-month period in 2022.

“[The growth was driven by investments in] renewable energy because of the shift in policy. You can see that, and it’s very clear when the President instructed and then the [Department of Energy] removed the ceiling for foreign equity participation in renewable energy,” Ceferino Rodolfo, trade undersecretary and BOI managing head, told reporters on the sidelines of a press conference last week.

The bulk of the investments during the period are from foreign investors looking to finance ventures in the renewable energy sector, particularly in wind and solar energy, accounting for nearly 76 percent of the total.

The share of foreign investments also soared by more than 7,000 percent, a stark contrast to investments made by local investors, which saw a decline of 35.8 percent. INQ