Combined investments approved by the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) reached P393.6 billion as of end-August, a contraction of 1.1 percent from the comparable period in 2013 as the BOI’s approved investments growth decreased on year-to-date in the first 8 months of the year.
Peza, earlier this month, reported approved investments have reached P134.891 billion, or a 21.72-percent growth from January to August in 2014, versus the same period in 2013.
However, since total investments of both agencies from January to August is at P 393.6 billion, the BOI contribution can be estimated to be P258.709 billion.
The said figure for the BOI is 10 percent lower than investments tallied in the same period in 2013, which amounted to P 287.48 billion.
“We noticed that there were no big ticket power items in energy this year and we’re also coming from a higher base so that could be a partial explanation of the mid-year approved investment figures. We also noticed most in the manufacturing sectors are going to ecozones in Peza. Export manufacturers are also growing,” said Trade Undersecretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. at the sidelines of the Philippine Economic Briefing on Tuesday.
The approved investments of the two IPAs were reported in the journal for the Philippine Economic Briefing.
Cristobal, however, cited that despite registering less projects, job generation is robust, especially in manufacturing and tourism, with over 107,639 jobs generated in the first 8 months of 2014.
Catherine N. Pillas