DTI: P2.73T worth of investments recorded so far under Marcos
Investment promotion agencies under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) have registered P2.73 trillion worth of new investments since the beginning of the Marcos administration.
At a pre-Sona (State of the Nation Address) conference last week, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said these were the combined investments from the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) from July 2022 to May 2024.
“These projects are projected to create thousands of job opportunities, demonstrating high investor confidence and a favorable investment climate in the Philippines,” Pascual told reporters, noting these covered 1,090 projects in various industries.The trade chief said 182,000 direct jobs were expected to be created from these investments.
He said a big chunk of the investments coursed through the BOI would go to the renewable energy sector, while those that went through Peza were mostly in manufacturing.
Pascual highlighted, however, the 342-percent increase in investments in the agribusiness sector from P6.6 billion in 2022 to P29.15 billion in 2023.
“This growth is attributed to the participation of major multinational and local companies, as well as the DTI’s investor outreach campaigns targeting sectors like biotechnology, animal vaccine manufacturing and high-level agriculture,” he said.
He also touted the 5-percent increase in the number of business registrations in 2023, for a total of 984,330 enterprises signing up to do business.
“The DTI’s Negosyo centers have played a crucial role in assisting [micro, small and medium enterprises], providing various technical services such as business registration assistance, advisory services, trade promotion and financing facilitation.”
Its lending arm, Small Business Corp., has released P8.16 billion in loans to 154,423 micro-entrepreneurs from July 2022 to May 2024. INQ
