BOI Cebu expects total investments to increase

CEBU, Philippines - The Board of Investments office in Cebu is expecting an increase in the total amount of approved projects this year.

Government documents showed that the BOI Cebu registered a total investments of P5.5 billion for the first quarter of this year alone.

With such big value of investments totaled as of March 2014 yet, the agency has now projected a rise in the amount of all investments to be registered for this whole year.

In the first quarter, the DTI attached agency has listed projects such as renewable energy in Negros Oriental, cooling system in Cebu and hotel investment in Bohol province.

Renewable energy is one of the investment priority areas including business process outsourcing, electronics industry and shipbuilding.

The said projects in the first quarter has generated about 141 jobs for the local people.

Real estate

Last year, mass housing developments, which created around 2,151 jobs, accounted the big share of ventures recorded by BOI Cebu.

The nearly P8 billion worth of BOI registered projects in Central Visayas in 2013 produced a total of 3,382 of employment.

These real estate projects are mostly developed in Cebu and some are in Bohol and Negros Oriental.

In 2013, registered projects also included renewable energy, oil deregulation law and agribusiness developments.

The BOI said the potential big market for housing projects and real estate developments is one big factor that has encouraged investors to invest in the booming property industry.

The government has been expecting more property developments of real estate firms to be ventured in areas of economic activities this year and in 2015.— Carlo S. Lorenciana (FREEMAN)