Committed projects registered with the Board of Investments (BOI) as of May this year jumped 172.30 percent to P560.219 billion from only P205.734 billion in the same period last year even as the agency’s investment leads already reached almost P1 trillion, driven by strong foreign interest in the country’s renewable energy (RE) sector.

Trade and Industry Secretary Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo, who is also BOI managing head, noted that majority of the new projects approved by the agency are RE, largely offshore wind and solar ventures.

Rodolfo said the approved RE investments came from Europe, particularly Germany. There are also interest from Singapore.

Likewise, RE investments account for half of the almost P1 trillion worth of project leads the BOI is currently pursuing.

Since these are foreign technologies, most of these projects are owned by foreign companies.

In fact, of the P560.219 billion investments as of May 23 this year, foreign equity contribution reached P403.864 billion or a whopping 7,075 percent increase against a measly P5.628 billion foreign investments in the same period last year.

In contrast, Filipino equity contribution in these projects went down by 21.86 percent to P156.355 billion from P200.106 billion in January-May 2022.

As such, foreign equity contribution has almost reversed the usual 80:20 ratio in favor of Filipino investors to 60:40 in favor of foreign firms with the local businessmen left with the remaining 40 percent share.

Rodolfo rattled off the approved RE projects to include the WPD project worth P95 billion, two P146 billion, P95 billion in Cavite, Negros and Guimaras, solar projects in Pangasinan, RE hydro in Kalinga, and solar in Isabela.

He said the inflow of RE investments followed after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. instructed the Department of Energy to remove the ceiling on foreign equity participation on RE projects in the country.

Rodolfo also noted that the Department of Energy is no longer endorsing coal projects.