INVESTMENTS registered with the Board of Investments (BOI) hit an all-time high P1.14 trillion last year, as capital poured by foreign firms jumped over threefold to overcome uncertainties on the domestic and international fronts.
Data from the BOI showed its investment pledges in 2019 grew 24.67 percent to P1.14 trillion, from P914.96 billion in 2018. As such, the BOI hit its objective of registering P1 trillion worth of investments this year, marking the third consecutive year the agency posted a record high.
Foreign capital surged nearly 223 percent to P335.74 billion, from P103.96 billion, while those of domestic slipped 0.74 percent to P804.97 billion, from P810.99 billion.
Once operational, projects bankrolled by these investment pledges will generate an estimated 61,622 jobs.
The BOI in 2019 approved 376 fresh projects all in all, from 371 in 2018.
In an interview with reporters on Thursday, Trade Secretary and BOI Chairman Ramon M. Lopez said the BOI’s target for this year will be a 10-percent growth, although he admitted it will be now difficult to achieve such a number given the high base. The BOI is an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry.
“Plus 10 percent of [P1.14] trillion. It’s better to beat your target so let’s be conservative,” he replied when sought why only 10 percent when the BOI appears to be on a roll the past years. “The base is already large, although there are a lot of big-ticket items that can still be registered and encouraged.”
The investment promotion agency, however, has yet to release the detailed breakdown of its 2019 capital record, which should outline what sectors benefited from the jump and what region took the lion’s share of the project approvals.
The BOI overcame last year’s uncertainties, particularly the yearlong deliberations on the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act (Citira) bill and the global trade uncertainty caused by the trade conflict between the United States and China.
The surge in investments in 2018 was largely pumped by fresh projects in the manufacturing sector, according to Lopez. The country also attracted investments in key logistics, infrastructure and power projects that year.
Image credits: Alysa Salen