BOI reaches P616.7B investment approvals for 2017, highest in 50-year history

The Philippine Board of Investments (BOI) has hit P616.7 billion in investment approvals. This according to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.

Reaching P616.7 billion is the highest recorded investment approval in 50 years.

Last year, it was only P442 billion. Which makes this year’s reach over 39.5 percent more than last year’s.

The P616.7 billion record comprises of over 426 projects. It is said that all of these will create over 76,000 jobs for Filipinos when all operations are fully implemented. This is about a 12.5 percent from last year’s.

According to Sec. Lopez, this is proof that President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic programs are working.

“The influx of investments is definitely steamrolling, as we are expecting sustained higher investments for the next five years,” said Lopez.

Lopez explains that the momentum gained during the 3rd quarter has coursed through the 4th quarter as well. He also says that this may also be attributed to the fact that it was the holiday season as well.

“We were happy then to just reach our P500 billion target. But to blitz past the P600 billion mark is something we are definitely ecstatic as this only proves the continuing confidence of the investors in making their business grow in the Philippines,” Lopez added.

The high improvement they attribute to the 2017 Investments Priorities Plan (IPP), infrastructure, and power projects. This according to the Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo.

It is said that the top industries that can contributed to this success are the cement, sugar, and petrochem manufacturing industries.

There has also been a 3-fold rise in the investments that have poured into the manufacturing sector.

The increase being, from P49.259 billion in 2016, to P96 billion in 2017.

“The increase in infrastructure projects this year supports the BOI’s push for the growth in economic activities outside Metro Manila and the ‘Build, Buils, Build’ or the massive infrastructure program of the administration,” said Undersecretary Rodolfo.

The current administration has devoted a lot of effort into dispersing economic activities outside Metro Manila. There has been a 65% increase in investments in non-NCR areas because of this.

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Source: Interaksyon