DTI eyes BOI to hit P1.5-T investment approvals target

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual is confident that the Board of Investments (BOI) will hit, and even surpass, its 2023 investment approvals target of PHP1.5-trillion.

In an interview, Pascual, who is the concurrent BOI Chairman, said the investment promotion agency has investment projects in the pipeline, some of which are from past foreign trips of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and the outbound investment missions of DTI.

The trade chief did not disclose the number of projects and its total value, but said the country has around USD71 billion worth of investment prospects coming from their outbound trip that could be implemented between now and the next five years.

BOI has green-lighted some PHP800 billion worth of projects to date, Pascual added.

“It’s a matter of time in realizing the investments,” he said. “We, in the government, should work on fast-tracking our processes so we can get them to invest.”

The BOI initially set a PHP1-trillion investment approvals target for 2023 but Pascual hiked the target by 50 percent, after the government, during Marcos’ past official foreign visits, received interests from investors expressing their intent to do business in the Philippines.

In 2022, the BOI approved some PHP720 billion worth of projects. (PNA)