BOI, PEZA investments down slightly in Jan-Aug

MANILA, Philippines - Investments approved by the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) declined slightly in the January to August period this year compared to a year ago.

Government documents released at the Philippine Economic Briefing yesterday showed that total investments approved by the BOI and PEZA reached P393.6 billion as of end-August this year, down 1.1 percent from the P398 billion in the same period in 2013.

Trade undersecretary Adrian Cristobal, Jr. attributed the slight decrease to the lack of big ticket projects this year.

“We are also coming from a higher base. That is the partial explanation of the mid-year investment figures,” he told reporters.

The total approved investments for the period were made for 541 projects which are expected to generate 107,639 jobs once at full operations.

The bulk or 83 percent of the investments came from domestic sources amounting to P328 billion, while those from foreign sources reached P66 billion.

Among foreign sources, Japan topped the list of investing countries here with P13.6 billion worth of committed funds or 21 percent of the total.

By sector, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply got the biggest share of 41 percent or P162 billion.

Real estate ranked second with a share of 25 percent or P98 billion, while manufacturing placed third with its 14 percent share or P55 billion.

The government is aiming for total approved investments by the two agencies to grow 10 percent each year from this year until 2016.

For 2014, total approved investments by the BOI and PEZA are targeted to grow 10 percent to reach P790.3 billion from last year’s P718.5 billion.

By next year, total approved investments are projected to rise to P869.3 billion and increase further to P956.3 billion by 2016.