THE Board of Investments (BOI) is targeting to approve P1.75 trillion worth of projects in 2025, an increase of around 8.0 percent from 2023 results that with some two weeks left to the year have already hit a record high.
Trade Secretary and BOI Chairman Ma. Cristina Roque told reporters on Friday that that investment missions would help in achieving the target.
On Thursday, she reported that the investment promotion agency had already approved P1.62 trillion worth of investments as of Dec. 17, the highest in BOI history and exceeding the 2023 goal of P1.6 trillion.
Trade Secretary and BOI Chairman Ma. Cristina Roque. PHOTOS BY J. GERARD SEGUIA
BOI Director Lanie Dormiento said that renewable energy investments were again expected to dominate next year.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to bring in companies that are into mineral processing [and] those high-value manufacturing activities,” she added.
For this year, the energy sector accounted for the bulk of approved investments worth P1.38 trillion, up 40 percent compared to a year earlier. Majority involve renewable energy.
Other top-performing sectors include air and water transport (P121.20 billion); real estate activities (P37.26 billion); manufacturing (P31.67 billion); remediation activities (P16.28 billion); agriculture, forestry and fishing (P11.02 billion); wholesale and retail (P8.25 billion); and information technology and business process management (P7.34 billion).
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), another investment promotion agency under the Trade Department, also approved higher investments this year. These totaled P214.17 billion as of Dec. 17, a 21.89-percent increase from 2023 and the highest for seven years.
PEZA Director General Tereso Panga said they were forecasting a 10-percent increase to P235 billion for 2025 on growth prospects for the global electronics industry.
Roque said that she would be talking with other investment agencies about their goals for next year and how to achieve this.
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