The Board of Investments (BOI) is recalibrating its expectations for 2026, setting a ₱1 trillion target for approved investments as the agency braces for a pivot away from capital-intensive renewable energy (RE) projects that dominated its portfolio in recent years.

In a statement, Trade Secretary and BOI Chair Cristina Roque said the investment promotion agency (IPA) expects the RE sector to no longer be the main driver of investments this year.

Roque said the BOI expects project registrations to be driven largely by mineral processing, high-value manufacturing, and infrastructure, including digital infrastructure.

“As these typically have lower investment costs per project than RE, we are therefore targeting a lower BOI registration this year,” she said.

The BOI approved a total of ₱1.56 trillion worth of investment pledges in 2025, four percent lower than the record-high of ₱1.62 trillion in 2024. Last year’s total fell short of the agency’s ₱1.75-trillion target.

The approved investments last year cover 322 projects, and are expected to generate 40,175 jobs nationwide.

The energy sector, which includes RE, accounted for the bulk of investments at ₱970.09 billion, or 62 percent of the total.

Roque said the BOI’s goal this year is to ensure that registered projects are fully implemented and move toward commercial operations.

Companies register projects with IPAs, such as the BOI, to access fiscal and non-fiscal incentives that help reduce costs, improve competitiveness, and accelerate growth.

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), another major IPA, aims to approve ₱300 billion in investment pledges this year, up 15 percent from ₱260.89 billion in 2021.

Roque, who chairs the PEZA Board, said the agency expects that more than half of its investments for the year will still come from the manufacturing sector, followed by ecozone development and information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) services.

Combined, these three sectors accounted for ₱238.08 billion, or 91 percent of total approved investments by PEZA last year.

PEZA expects that foreign investments for the year will come from Japan, United States, United Kingdom, South Korea, Singapore, China, and Taiwan.

Last year, foreign investments totaled ₱107.06 billion, with Japan leading at ₱32.6 billion.

After a record year for exports, Roque said the government is maintaining its target of between $116 billion and $120 billion in goods and services exports this year.

“We expect electronics, IT‑BPM, and key food exports such as coconut, banana, and pineapple products to continue driving growth,” she said.

Last year, the country’s merchandise exports reached a record-high $84.41 billion, while service exports stood at $66.08 billion in the nine months to September.

To sustain momentum, Roque said they plan to develop “new export winners” in garments, footwear, personal care, and unique Filipino flavors such as ube.

She said this will be supported by incoming free trade agreements (FTAs) to ensure exporters gain access to more markets.

“Together, these efforts reflect our commitment to strengthening the country’s export base, diversifying opportunities for MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises), and showcasing Filipino products to the world,” she said.