THE Board of Investments (BOI) is still 60 percent away from its P680-billion target this year, as commitments to the agency declined double digits from January to August.
In a document obtained by the BusinessMirror, investment pledges to the BOI fell 17.3 percent to P269.34 billion for the first eight months, from P325.78 billion during the same period last year. With only four months left, the BOI is still 60.4 percent away from its investment target of P680 billion for the year.
Likewise, investments applied to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) crashed 58.1 percent to P77.41 billion, from P184.74 billion last year. The Peza is suffering from depletion of pledges due to uncertainty brought about by the impending rationalization of
tax incentives.
Further, onshore investment pledges fell 34.7 percent to P287.8 billion in the eight-month period, from P440.67 billion during the same stretch last year. Foreign investments also slowed 15.6 percent to P58.95 billion, from P69.84 billion in the previous year.
The country’s top source of foreign investments also went down double digits. Fresh projects from Japan declined 33.5 percent to P14.85 billion, from P22.33 billion last year.
On the other hand, commitments from American firms grew 49.8 percent to P7.73 billion, from P5.16 billion last year.
Indonesia and Malaysia were the third- and fourth-largest origins of foreign investments at P6.44 billion and P6.22 billion, respectively. However, fresh projects from Singapore (12.5 percent), the Netherlands (65.5 percent), China (8.5 percent), the United Kingdom (52.4 percent) and Taiwan (83.4 percent) declined.
Electricity, gas, steam and air- conditioning supply remained to be the country’s top investment area. Investment pledges to the industry rose 64 percent to P129.68 from January to August, from P79.08 billion during the same period last year.
However, investments applied to real-estate activities fell 69 percent to P59.32 billion, from P191.42 billion last year. Manufacturing also suffered a slump by 40.2 percent to P45.89 billion, from P76.79 billion in the previous year.
The BOI is targeting to rake in P680 billion in investment pledges this year, following an all-time high total of P616.78 billion last year. The Peza, for its part, is looking to grow a modest 10 percent, from its P237.57-billion figure in the previous year.