BOI reports surge in agri investment approvals

Makati City, Philippines — The Board of Investments (BOI) reported a surge in agricultural investments after the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) raised the investment threshold to P15 billion from only P1 billion.

Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) resolution No. 003-24, issued on Feb 2, 2024, empowers the BOI and other investment promotion agencies (IPA) to approve projects with an investment capital of up to P15 billion for registration and incentives.

Previously, IPAs could approve incentives only for projects with up to P1 billion in investment capital. Incentives for projects exceeding P1 billion in capital were handled by the FIRB, in line with the provisions of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act.

The FIRB resolution is in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to ease doing business in the country, according to a BOI statement.

The BOI said that from Feb 2 to June 11 it had already approved six projects with investment capital of between P1 billion and P15 billion. These projects represent a total investment of P13.38 billion, with the agriculture sector leading at P6.05 billion, followed by the transportation and storage industry at P3.95 billion.

Technology upgrade, food security

“Recent approvals with investments ranging from P1 billion to P15 billion highlight the benefits of increased investment thresholds for the agriculture sector. These projects, upon completion, will drive the adoption of new technologies and strengthen food security. This is crucial to meet the rising food demand, and sustain resilient agricultural systems despite climate change and other challenges,” said Trade and Industry Secretary and BOI Chairman Fred Pascual in the statement.

READ: Limited private investments in agri lead to low farm productivity — expert

Investments in agriculture include the registration of a new producer of dressed whole, further processed, or cut-up chickens; a dairy farm and milk-processing facility, and a cold storage facility project.

While IPAs now handle applications up to P15 billion, projects exceeding this amount remain under FIRB’s jurisdiction.

READ: Gov’t targets P1.3-trillion investment to boost rice output

Previously submitted tax incentive applications from IPAs for projects with investment capital up to P15 billion will be returned to the respective IPAs for processing and approval.

Granting IPAs greater authority to approve incentives, the FIRB resolution will boost their role in managing the country’s incentive regime. This ensures compliance among registered business enterprises (RBEs) regardless of the amount of investment capital.RB approval.