BoI-approved investments up; PEZA declines in first quarter
INVESTMENT pledges approved by two government agencies in the first quarter rose 53.2% year on year to P182.83 billion, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.
Proposals approved by the Board of Investments (BoI) accounted for 83.2% or P152.12 billion, up sharply from P67.97 billion a year earlier.
The remaining P30.72 billion worth of investment proposals was approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), down 40.2% from a year earlier.
Filipino investors accounted for 92.5% of the approved investment proposals or P169.08 billion, up 73.2% from a year earlier. The foreign investors’ approved pledges worth P13.75 billion were down 36.5% from a year earlier.
The electricity, gas, steam and airconditioning supply segment had approved proposals worth P104.35 billion, accounting for 57.1% of the total and sharply higher than the year-earlier total of P4.8 billion.
Real estate investment proposals accounted for P27.24 billion or 14.9%; followed by manufacturing at P23.85 billion or 13%; water supply, sewerage, and waste management at P13.87 billion or 7.6%, and transportation and storage at P7.01 billion or 3.8%.
Japan was the biggest source of the approved foreign investment, with P7.86 billion or 57.2% of the total, up sharply from P0.61 billion a year earlier.
The UK was the origin of P1.54 billion worth of investment proposals, followed by the Netherlands at P0.88 billion; Singapore at P0.56 billion; and the US at P0.45 billion.
The Philippines has seven Investment Promotion Agencies authorized to grant tax and nontax incentives to investors putting up businesses or expanding existing ones in the country.
Aside from the BoI and PEZA, the other IPAs are Clark Development Corp., Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, BoI-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BoI-ARMM) and Cagayan Economic Zone Authority. —