April 1, 2019 | 12:20 am
THE Board of Investments (BoI) said
approved investment pledges in the first quarter of the year rose 60%, driven
by power projects.
In a statement over the weekend, the
investment promotion agency said project registrations in the three months to
March totaled P243 billion, after coming in at P152.1 billion a year earlier.
Domestic investors accounted for
P212.2 billion, up 40%. Approved foreign applications surged to P30.8 billion
from P792.8 million a year earlier.
Electricity and power projects
accounted for P148 billion worth of registrations, followed by manufacturing
and information and communications technology projects at P43 billion and P33.2
billion respectively.
The biggest projects approved for
the first quarter of the year are the St. Raphael Power Generation Corp.’s
P96-billion 2×350 megawatt coal-fired thermal power plant in Calaca, Batangas;
Rizal Wind Energy Corp.’s P47-billion renewable energy project; Metroworks ICT
Construction, Inc.’s P33-billion telecommunications infrastructure project;
Holcim Philippines, Inc.’s P12.6-billion Bulacan cement facility; Solid Cement
Corp.’s P12.4-billion cement project in Antipolo City; United Pulp and Paper
Co., Inc.’s P8.4-billion corrugated paper facility in Calumpit, Bulacan; and
Robinsons Land Corp.’s P2.3-billion hotel in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
The Netherlands topped all foreign
investors with P9.1 billion worth of investments. Thailand, Japan and the
United States followed with P8.4 billion, P5.3 billion and P2.2 billion worth
of investments.
The Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal,
and Quezon (Calabarzon) Region was the location for P162 billion worth of
investment, followed by Central Luzon with P25.9 billion and the National
Capital Region had P6.1 billion.
The BoI said this marks a “solid
recovery from its January to February performance which declined 22.71% year on
year to P101.72 billion.”
The Trade department-attached agency
is targeting 2019 investment pledges to hit the P1-trillion mark, after posting
a record P907.2 billion in projects registered in 2018.
“After generating a record-breaking
[total] in approved investments last year, we are still sustaining the momentum
this year due to steady, strong and positive investor sentiment here and
abroad,” Trade Secretary and BoI Chairman Ramon M. Lopez was quoted in a
statement as saying. — Janina C. Lim
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