BSP backs Mindanao industries with stable financial system

DAVAO CITY — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said a stable economy and sound financial system will be critical to developing new industries in Mindanao as the government seeks to translate national investment priorities into jobs, innovation, and broader regional growth.

For households and businesses, the push matters because sustained price stability, access to bank credit, and faster digital payments can lower uncertainty and help attract investments that create employment and expand economic opportunities beyond the country’s traditional growth centers.

“Future industries do not happen by chance. They are made today upon the right foundations of macroeconomic stability, a sound financial system, technological innovation, and strong public-private partnerships,” BSP Deputy Governor Zeno Ronald R. Abenoja said in his welcome remarks at the Philippine Economic Briefing in Davao City on Aug. 24, 2026.

Held under the theme “Make Future Industries Happen,” the briefing brought together key stakeholders to discuss the economic outlook and opportunities to expand investment and develop future industries in Mindanao.

Abenoja highlighted growing opportunities in Davao and the rest of Mindanao, particularly in agribusiness, manufacturing, logistics, digital services, renewable energy, and other emerging industries.

He said confidence that inflation will return to target, together with banks’ capacity to lend and support economic growth, could help create conditions for additional investment.

Abenoja also said faster and more secure digital payments could support investment, innovation, and job creation.

The forum featured two panel discussions examining Mindanao’s economic outlook and the macroeconomic conditions needed to support future industries.

Participants also discussed how national investment priorities under the 2026 Strategic Investment Priority Plan, or SIPP, could be translated into regional opportunities.

The 2026–2028 SIPP is the government’s investment roadmap identifying priority activities eligible for fiscal and non-fiscal incentives under the CREATE MORE framework. It expands support for sectors including manufacturing, agriculture, logistics, renewable and emerging energy technologies, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, critical minerals, and other future-oriented industries.

The Board of Investments said the SIPP is intended to direct capital toward projects that can generate quality jobs, strengthen domestic industries, promote innovation, and support more balanced regional development.

The Davao economic briefing complements the Department of Trade and Industry-Board of Investments’ regional rollout of the SIPP and the Department of Budget and Management’s civil society consultation on macroeconomic assumptions and the government’s fiscal program.

The BOI began the nationwide SIPP roadshow in Luzon on July 10, 2026, before holding its Visayas leg in Cebu on July 31, with the campaign aimed at turning national investment priorities into actual projects across the regions. The regional push comes as BOI-approved investments reached PHP 461.84 billion in the first half of 2026, up 21% from PHP 382.24 billion in the same period in 2025.

Those approvals covered 124 projects expected to generate 14,415 direct jobs, according to the BOI.

Philippine Economic Briefings are organized by the BSP’s Investor Relations Group in collaboration with the Department of Finance, DTI-BOI, and DBM.

The BSP said its Investor Relations Group, the Department of Finance, and the Department of Trade and Industry also organize Philippine Economic Briefings in major cities abroad.

The Investor Relations Group was created in July 2001 to help raise the Philippine government’s credit profile and promote the country as an investment destination by communicating the economy’s macroeconomic fundamentals, investment climate, policy reforms, and long-term growth potential to investors.