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Philippines: BOI fails to meet 2021 investment target

Investment pledges approved by the Board of Investments (BOI) reached P655.4 billion last year, 35 percent short of its P905 billion year-end target.

In a statement on Tuesday, the BOI said the approved investment pledges during the period was also a huge decline from the P1.02 trillion recorded in 2020.

The BOI said this was due to the rise of Delta cases and extended investors’ timeline for finalizing studies, decisions, and registrations.

Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo explained that the primary reason for not reaching the initially targeted investment pledges boiled down to the implementation of stricter travel protocols globally, including in the Philippines.

“Because of the global surge in the Delta variant and now with the emergence of the Omicron variant, these resulted in global setbacks in economic recovery, which then translated to the implementation of stricter protocols in the country. We were hit hard during the second quarter and the early part of the third quarter last year,” said Rodolfo.

Total projects approved during the period reached 235, which are expected to generate 46,836 jobs.

Of the total amount, P151.8 billion were foreign investment pledges, up by 218 percent from the P47.7 billion approved in 2020.

The amount of registered domestic investments however fell by 48.1 percent from P970 billion to P503.6 billion.

Some of the significant approved projects in 2021 include Makati City Subway project worth P81.1 billion and Calatagan Cement Plant worth P25 billion.

Rodolfo said a big telecommunication project is coming up, amounting to P155 billion and now for the approval of the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB).

Some projects in the pipeline are a new domestic shipping operator; new operator of electric vehicle charging stations; three new operators of telecommunications infrastructure; a new producer of animal feeds; and a cement manufacturer, the undersecretary added.

Rodolfo said shifting to greener and sustainable projects, renewable energy projects such as hydro and solar plants are a priority of the BOI.

He also noted that the upcoming projects where investments were being generated are also leveling up, such as in hyperscalers in telecommunications, e-vehicles, and Covid-19 medicines, among others.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez for his part is optimistic that the agency will approve more investments this year.

“Buoyed by 2021 FDI (Foreign Direct Investments) results as well as the healthy pipeline of strong investment leads—both foreign and domestic, and with the reforms that we are anticipating to still be passed in the next months, we are confident of hitting P1 trillion in BOI approved investments this year,” said Lopez.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) earlier reported that FDI net inflows amounted to $855 million in October 2021, up from the $430 million in the same period last year.

“The data released by the BSP are consistent with the figures of the BOI, where a surge of foreign investments by 218 percent was recorded last year. This goes to show that the pandemic did not stop the flow of foreign investments into the country and we are looking forward to getting more in 2022,” said Lopez.

Source: https://www.manilatimes.net/2022/01/19/business/top-business/boi-fails-to-meet-2021-investment-target/1829856