Investment Approvals in Philippines Soar by 155 Percent in Q1

The BOI continues to push forward at full throttle to attract more investments into the country and hit its 1.5 trillion peso (roughly 27.15 billion US dollar) annual target as investment approvals rise by 155 percent, with foreign investment approvals soaring even higher by 3,722 percent toward the end of the first quarter 2023, the DTI said.

For the first three months of the year, the total investment projects approved by the investment promotion agency reached 463.3 billion pesos (roughly 8.39 billion dollars) based on the latest BOI figures.

Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said the BOI foreign investment approvals performed even better, accelerating to 165.4 billion pesos (roughly 2.99 billion dollars), accounting for nearly 36 percent of the aggregate total. Based on first-quarter BOI figures, most foreign capitals came from Germany, followed by the Netherlands, the United States, Japan, and Britain.

The renewable energy or power sector remains dominant. Manufacturing is also on the upswing, followed by administrative services, transportation and storage, and agriculture, which also make up the biggest sectors.

Pascual said the Philippine economy continues to perform strongly. He added the country's gross domestic product is expected to grow by 7.1 percent in the first quarter as the latest data on employment and national government spending shows positive signals, making the Philippines one of the fastest-growing economies in the Asia-Pacific.

"With investment prospects being very positive, and as we continue to receive serious interest from global investors, we are definitely on track to meeting our new annual investment target," Pascual added.

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