BOI Optimistic on 2024 Investment Targets

The Board of Investments (BOI) is well-positioned to achieve its ambitious 2024 approval targets, Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo confirmed during a briefing in Makati City on Monday.

Rodolfo expressed confidence in meeting the BOI's approval goal of PHP1.3 trillion to PHP1.5 trillion this year, despite global economic challenges. He emphasized the critical role of official foreign visits by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and follow-up trips by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) officials in attracting new investment leads.

"Our engagements during the Secretary’s visits yield new investment prospects, and they also provide us insights into the challenges faced by investors," Rodolfo stated.

Earlier reports from the DTI indicated a significant pipeline of investment leads, totaling USD76.6 billion (PHP4.5 trillion) as of June 2024. Among these, USD17 billion (PHP998 billion) worth of investments are currently undergoing registration processes with either the BOI or the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.

From January to May 2024 alone, BOI recorded a notable 14 percent increase in approvals, amounting to PHP640.22 billion compared to PHP562.9 billion in the same period the previous year. Rodolfo highlighted this as the highest first five-month approval rate in BOI's history.

Addressing the need for a conducive business environment, Rodolfo underscored the importance of improving ease of doing business in the Philippines. He mentioned that the BOI's One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments (OSAC-SI) has granted green lane certificates of endorsement to 74 projects totaling PHP2.32 trillion in capital as of June 20.

Recently, the BOI issued green lane endorsements for notable projects like the PHP3.7-billion Calabanga Solar Power Project in Camarines Sur, set to generate 51.55 megawatts of clean energy under Calabanga Renewable Energy (CARE), Inc. Additionally, the BOI endorsed the PHP60 billion San Miguel Bay Wind Power Project by ACX3 Capital Holdings, Inc., aiming to produce 500 megawatts of renewable energy offshore.

Construction for the Calabanga Solar Power Project commenced in June 2023, while the San Miguel Bay Wind Power Project is scheduled to begin construction in the first quarter of 2026, with commercial operations targeted by 2028.