THE BOARD OF INVESTMENTS (BoI) expects pledges to rise by 10% to nearly
P400 billion next year, driven by both local and foreign businesses
despite a sluggish global economy.
"The BoI ... is looking at P350 billion for this year and we are looking
to increase that by at least 10%. Our registration in BoI should
therefore amount to about P380-390 billion toward the end of [2012],"
said Cristino L. Panlilio, Trade undersecretary for investment promotions.
Drivers for next year's growth will come from sectors such as tourism,
energy, agribusiness, high-impact strategic projects, and ship building,
Mr. Panlilio told BusinessWorld, adding that most projects also expected
to be export-oriented.
The bulk of foreign direct investments (FDI), he said, will still come
from traditional trade partners such as Japan, South Korea, China, the
United States, the United Kingdom, and European Union members such as
Germany and Spain.
"We are very happy that in 2011, in spite of the Middle East crisis and
the western economic [downturn], our investment registration hit an
all-time high. That will set the tone for the coming year," Mr. Panlilio
claimed.
Aggregate investments hit P337 billion as of October, a 42.31% rise from
a year earlier, he noted. Last year's result of P302.1 billion,
meanwhile, was surpassed in August.
"We are not worried by the Western crisis, because what we're trying to
attract are companies looking for a low-cost destination. We also have
to consider that the world economy is still projected to grow by 4%,"
Mr. Panlilio said, referring to an International Monetary Fund forecast.
"We are also striving to become a replacement destination for displaced
companies in Japan and Thailand," he said.
"We've already identified a dozen Japanese companies in Thailand that
also have operations here in the Philippines, so it's just a matter of
expanding operations here."
Apart from setting an overall investment pledges goal for next year, the
BoI is also attempting to set separate targets for domestic and foreign
sources.
Ideally, said Mr. Panlilio, there should be an even "50-50" share.
Currently, local businesses take up almost three-quarters of investments
approved by the agency, he noted.
"We're hoping the FDI component will grow faster, because local
investments will not be enough to reduce our poverty levels," Mr.
Panlilio said.
"We have to hit around $3.5 billion in FDI and over P200 billion in
local investments. Combined, that should come out at around P400 billion."
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