BOI eyes P1.75 trillion investment approvals next year

MANILA, Philippines — The Board of Investments (BOI) is aiming to set a new record next year with its goal of approving P1.75 trillion worth of investments, following this year’s all-time high investment approvals.

“Initially we are targeting P1.75 trillion,” BOI director for International Investments Promotion Service Lanie Dormiendo said in a press briefing yesterday when asked for an outlook on investment approvals for 2025.

The BOI’s investment goal for next year is eight percent higher than this year’s P1.62 trillion, the highest level of investments approved by the agency since its establishment.

Investments approved by the BOI jumped by 28 percent this year from P1.26 trillion in 2023.

Dormiendo said the BOI still expects renewable energy (RE) projects to dominate the agency’s investment approvals next year.

“But we’re beefing up our promotional initiatives to be able to register manufacturing and other sectors that we are focusing on, such as semiconductors,” she said.

She said the BOI wants to bring in companies engaged in high-value processing.

The bulk of the investments approved by the BOI this year were in the energy sector, particularly, RE projects amounting to P1.38 trillion, 40 percent higher year-on-year.

Other leading sectors in 2024 include air and water transport (P121.2 billion); real estate activities (P37.26 billion); manufacturing (P31.67 billion); water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (P16.28 billion); agriculture, forestry and fishing (P11.02 billion); wholesale and retail (P8.25 billion) and information technology – business process management (P7.34 billion).

Of the BOI’s approved investments this year, P1.23 trillion were from Filipino companies, while P383.31 billion came from foreign investors.

Switzerland was the leading source of foreign investments this year, contributing P289.06 billion.

In the same event, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) director general Tereso Panga said the investment promotion agency is targeting a 10-percent increase in its investment approvals, to reach P235 billion next year.

Investments approved by the PEZA reached P214.18 billion this year, the highest in seven years and above the P200 billion target for the year.

PEZA’s investment approvals for this year are also 21.9 percent higher than the P175.71 billion approved last year.

Panga said the PEZA’s investment approvals target for 2025 is based on its historical performance and the prospects for the electronics and IT-BPM industry, as well the outlook on the country’s economic performance.

He said the bulk or 70 percent of PEZA’s investment approvals next year are expected to come from manufacturing, 20 percent from the IT sector and 10 percent from ecozone development.