BoI investment pledges decline by 48%

The Board of Investments (BoI) has approved PHP 816.81 billion worth of investment pledges as of November, dropping by 48.3% from the PHP 1.58 trillion in pledges approved in the same period a year ago.

At the same time, the value of green lane-certified projects breached the PHP 6-trillion mark, it added.

In a statement, the BoI said it greenlit 261 projects, which are expected to create 32,864 jobs, in the first 11 months.

These investment pledges are mainly in the sectors of energy and electricity (PHP 479.78 billion), airports and seaports (PHP 195.69 billion), manufacturing (PHP 58.99 billion), mass housing (PHP 37.55 billion), and information and communication (PHP 21.27 billion).

“These figures reflect the strong inflow of high-value investments that strengthen our economy. But we will not slow down,” said Trade Secretary and BoI Chair Ma. Cristina A. Roque in a statement on Monday.

“The PHP 816.81 billion in approved investments to date sends a clear signal to local and foreign investors: the Philippines is an ideal, competitive, and future-ready business destination,” she added.

The top country sources of investments were Singapore (PHP 74.78 billion), Thailand (PHP 7.75 billion), and the US (PHP 5.38 billion).

However, the approvals for the first 11 months are far below the PHP 1.75-trillion target set by the BoI this year.

At PHP 816.81 billion, the agency is only hitting 46.67%, or less than half of what it projected for 2025.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the decline in investment approvals could be partly attributed to weather-related disruptions, which have reduced the number of working days for government offices.

“Another factor would be the recent political noise on the anomalous flood control projects that led to some wait-and-see attitude by some investors,” he said in a Viber message.

Allegations that lawmakers, officials and contractors have siphoned off billions of pesos from anomalous flood control projects have triggered protests and dampened investor and consumer sentiment.

“Furthermore, another external risk factor since early 2025 has been Trump’s higher tariffs, trade wars, and other protectionist measures that reduced the global economic growth… thereby leading to some wait-and-see attitude by some international investors,” Mr. Ricafort said.

However, Ms. Roque said that although the political environment is an important consideration for any investor, the BoI’s strategic projects typically have medium- to long-term gestation period.

“And as such, investors attach greater importance to long-term factors such as economic fundamentals and structure, market demographics, and direction of policy reform,” she said.

Despite the decline in approvals, Ms. Roque said that they are currently reviewing a strong pipeline of investment pledges.

“BoI is still assessing 10 more big-ticket, strategic projects worth over PHP 1 trillion,” she said. “It’s premature to make any definitive conclusions until those are finalized… These projects are registered with our green lane facility. Let’s wait and see what happens.”

These include three hydroelectric projects with 2.4-gigawatt (GW) combined capacity, four offshore wind projects with 3.7-GW capacity, two air transport service projects, and one transport infrastructure project.

“As we are a prudent administrator of incentives, we carefully evaluate these projects according to the requirements of the Strategic Investment Priorities Plan and its guidelines,” Ms. Roque said.

“While we are working double-time, we are unsure if all of these can be approved for registration this year. But what this signifies is that the pipeline of strategic investments remains to be strong,” she added.

The BoI will hold two more regular board meetings before yearend, which means there could still be an increase in investment approvals.

“But we cannot predict yet whether the increase will be enough to reach the PHP 1.75 trillion we targeted for 2025,” the Trade chief said.

Green lane approvals

Meanwhile, the BoI said that it has endorsed 78 projects worth PHP 1.92 trillion in the January-to-November period for green lane treatment to the Once-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments.

These projects are in sectors such as renewable energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, food security, pharmaceuticals, and digital infrastructure. These are expected to generate 161,325 direct jobs.

The renewable energy sector accounted for 60 projects worth PHP 1.42 trillion, followed by public-private partnership, infrastructure and water projects valued at PHP 416.08 billion.

Other projects are in digital infrastructure (PHP 49.56 billion), manufacturing (PHP 30.13 billion), food security (PHP 4.33 billion), and pharmaceuticals (PHP 45 million).

“Since its launch in Feb. 2023, the green lane has certified 229 projects worth PHP 6.06 trillion, projected to create 398,822 jobs, underscoring its key role in attracting strategic, future-ready investments,” the BoI said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter