The Board of Investments (BOI) has approved a total of PHP734 billion worth of investments from January to September 2023, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Tuesday.

In a Palace briefing, DTI Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said the latest BOI-approved investments are higher by 102 percent than the PHP362 billion reported during the same period last year.

Rodolfo said PHP427 billion of the approved investments are foreign direct investments (FDIs).

“Kung ikukumpara ninyo ho iyon sa same period of last year, it’s actually a 4,150 percent increase [of FDI] (If you compare that to the same period of last year, it’s actually a 4,150 percent increase [of FDI]),” he said.

Rodolfo attributed the increase in FDIs to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s overseas trips where he met with business leaders.

He added foreign investment approvals expanded their share to 60 percent from the previous 20 percent, following the easing of government restrictions on foreign equities.

“Before, 20 percent ang foreign [investments], 80 percent ‘yung local [investments]. Ngayon, 60 percent ‘yung foreign, 40 percent ‘yung local. Tumataas [ang FDIs]. Hindi sa hindi natin binibigyan ng halaga ‘yung ating mga local investor. Ibig sabihin lang, tumataas ‘yung investments in general (Before, 20 percent was foreign investments, 80 percent was local investments. Now, 60 percent is foreign, 40 percent is local. FDIs are increasing. It’s not that we don’t value our local investors. It just means that investments in general are increasing),” Rodolfo said.

He said around 90 percent of the approved foreign investments will be allocated for the development of renewable energy (RE).

Rodolfo said about 80 percent of the BOI-approved FDIs will come from Germany, followed by East Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea.

He said the the investments from Germany were a result of Marcos’ visit to Brussels, Belgium in December 2022.

“Hindi siya nagpunta sa Germany pero nagpunta siya sa Brussels. Doon tayo nagkaroon noong ating tinatawag na roundtable discussions at saka mga forum kung saan mayroon tayong (He didn’t go to Germany but he went to Brussels. That’s where we had our so-called roundtable discussions and fora where we had) separate roundtable discussions with renewable energy projects,” he added.

Rodolfo said there are many investments for RE, telecommunications, mineral processing and high-technology manufacturing projects that are in the pipeline.

He said foreign investors are considering investing in the four sectors given their “capacity to really transform our economy.” (PNA)