MANILA, Philippines — Project approvals by the Board of Investments (BOI) are likely to fall short of the P1-trillion target set for the year, a ranking official said.
“I don’t know if we can meet (the target). We might not,” BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo told reporters.
He said the tally of approved investments stood at P905 billion as of the BOI’s last board meeting.
“So, we’re still short of P95 billion for the P1 trillion (target),” he said.
While the BOI still has one board meeting for the year scheduled on Dec. 28 to approve investments for projects that can qualify for incentives, he said the target is still out of reach.
There are projects in the pipeline awaiting endorsement from other government agencies amounting to a total of P68 billion.
Even if all these projects are approved by the BOI, Rodolfo said total investment approvals for the year would just reach around P970 billion, still below target.
“We were hopeful it would reach close to P1 trillion,” he said.
During the launch of the new marketing campaign “Make It Happen in the Philippines” aimed to position the country as an ideal destination for trade and investments held last month, Rodolfo said the BOI was optimistic of reaching the target.
If the BOI’s total approved investments this year reaches the P1-trillion mark, it would be the second highest level of project approvals in the agency’s history.
Last year, total investments approved by the BOI hit an all-time high of P1.14 trillion.
Rodolfo said most investment projects approved this year are related to infrastructure, telco towers, transportation and manufacturing.
Under the Make It Happen in the Philippines campaign, the BOI is pushing for the automotive, aerospace, electronics, information technology – business process management, and copper or nickel as priority sectors for foreign investment.