Investment approvals nearly double in Jan
Credit to Author: TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD| Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2019 16:20:00 +0000
Investment approvals grew by 91 percent to P97.9 billion in January from year-earlier P51.3 billion, the Trade department reported on Monday, with power development deals accounting for almost half of the total greenlighted projects.
“We are definitely off to a positive start in 2019 and it augurs well for the rest of the year as we aim to cross the uncharted trillion-peso mark in investment approval for the whole year,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said in a statement.
The Board of Investments approved P48.4 billion worth of energy development projects, with the 603-Megawatt Rizal Wind Energy Corp. accounting for almost the entire amount at P47.36 billion, the Trade department said.
The information and communications technology sector, meanwhile, is expected to benefit from a planned P33.1-billion broadband infrastructure project of Metroworks ICT Construction, Inc.
Also approved were a P12.5-billion project in Antipolo by Solid Cement Corp. and a P849-million hospital by Allied Care Experts in Dumaguete City.
Investments in the manufacturing sector, Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said, were up 34,559 percent to P12.5 billion in January from P37.3 million last year.
“We pick up where we left off as we continue to build and expand the manufacturing base on the back of a robust national industrial policy,” he added.
Region 4A (Calabarzon) recorded the highest investment approvals at P60.9 billion, a 213-percent hike from last year’s P19.4 billion, due to a wind power project.
The Davao Region (Region 11), Mimaropa (4B) and Cagayan Valley (Region 2) were among the top regions with approved investments of at least P500 million each.
Foreign investments grew 31,903 percent to P10.6 billion in January from P33.1 million in the same period last year.
Netherlands was the top foreign investor with P6.85-billion worth of investments approved, followed by Japan at P202.1 million and South Korea at P102.4 million.
“Breaking a record is getting to be a habit as we aim to set a new mark for the third successive year. And given the strong and sustained confidence of domestic and international investors in the Duterte administration, we hope to make it a yearly record-breaking habit until 2022 and even beyond,” Lopez claimed.
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