By Philippine News Agency
MANILA -- Investment pledges registered by the Board of Investments (BOI) from January to November increased by 35 percent to P324 billion as compared to the same period in 2015, as Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the BOI can exceed its investment approvals target for this year.
MB PHOTO/FEDERICO CRUZ
Lopez, who is also BOI chairman, is also hopeful to continue the high growth of investment approvals next year following government reforms that aim to enhance the business environment.
“Hopefully much more with infrastructure spending. They are doing a lot when it comes to ease of doing business, power, consumer, free trade agreements we are entering into. It encourages more investments,” Lopez told reporters at the sidelines of the Manufacturing Summit 2016 in Makati City on Tuesday.
During the start of the year, under the previous administration, the investment promotion agency eyes 5.0 percent growth of investment approvals by end-2016 from 2015 figure of P367 billion worth of commitments.
In August, Lopez hiked the projection to 10 percent growth, noting the high level of confidence among investors in the current administration.
"They can locate here to position themselves for ASEAN and FTAAP (Free Trade Agreement of the Asia Pacific) partners. That’s a bigger market, half of the world’s population," he said.