THE Board of Investments (BoI) said it expects to breach the P1.6 trillion upper limit of its target range for investment approvals this year due to the volume of big-ticket infrastructure and renewable energy (RE) projects.

On the sidelines of the Investment Policy Forum on Wednesday, Trade Undersecretary and BoI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said the project pipeline is fueling confidence at the BoI.

“We are confident that we will breach P1.6 trillion because there are infrastructure projects coming in,” he told reporters.

“And this is in addition to the RE projects that are coming in, as you can see in our pipeline for green lanes,” he added, referring to the system of granting expedited permits for strategic projects.

The BoI had previously set an internal target of approving P1.25 trillion to P1.5 trillion in investments this year. The upper limit of the target was adjusted to P1.6 trillion in August.

As of September, the BoI said it endorsed P4.3 trillion worth of investments to the One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments, which is set to evaluate 158 projects. 

RE projects still account for the bulk of the list, with P3.91 trillion of the green lane-certified projects. Such RE projects number 128.

Six digital projects worth P346.33 billion were also endorsed for green-lane treatment, while 22 projects related to food security worth P13.5 billion were also endorsed.

Meanwhile, two manufacturing projects worth P29.61 billion were also given green-lane status.

In terms of approvals, the BoI has greenlit P1.35 trillion worth of investment pledges as of mid-September.

This represents an 82% increase from the P741.98-billion approved investments in the same period last year and surpassed the P1.26-trillion full-year investment approvals in 2023.

He said the main driver for BoI’s investment approvals performance was the removal of the restrictions on foreign equity on RE projects.

“We are already at P1.35 trillion (investment approvals), but not all of that is because of promotions … the most critical piece of the puzzle that led to that was the removal of equity restrictions,” he said.

Investments in RE projects increased after the government allowed full foreign ownership in the sector, which was previously capped at 40%.

The event Mr. Rodolfo appeared at was the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)’s 16th edition of the Investment Policy Forum. The three-day summit aims to put together investment negotiators and policymakers from developing and emerging countries.

“It is the first time in the Philippines for this event. In terms of the number of participants, we have around 95 participants coming from countries from Latin America, Africa, and Asia, but we also have institution representatives,” IISD Director Suzy H. Nikièma said.

She said that more than 40 countries are represented at this year’s event.

“We created this event because we realized we didn’t have a platform where investment policy makers can meet together from developing countries and emerging economies to share the challenge to discuss ideas, strategize, and build coalitions,” she said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile