Investment approvals to hit P1T in Oct – BoI

THE Board of Investments (BoI) expects investment approvals to hit P1 trillion this month with some three-fourths of that having been achieved in September.

"[L]ast year, we hit around P729 billion in investment approvals," BoI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo said on Wednesday.

«This year, in September, we already hit around P740 billion. Now for this month, ideally by tomorrow, we will be able to reach 1 trillion,» he added.

The BoI chief said they were confident of hitting this year's P1.5-trillion target, noting that at least P300 billion in investment pledges were expected to be approved in the last quarter of 2023.

"[W]hat is important is the nature of these investments as these investments are mostly renewable energy and are foreign investments," Rodolfo said.

Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual also said he was confident that the BoI would reach its target.

"[While] there is still less than a quarter to do so, in fact, we have already exceeded last year's full-year investment approvals target already," he noted.

The increase in renewable energy investment commitments, Pascual pointed out, was due to the Philippines' having opened full foreign ownership for ventures in this sector.

Of the recent approvals, «more than 50 percent of the investment approvals were renewables,» he said.