DTI slashes 2026 BOI investment target to P1T
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has set a significantly lower investment target for its top investment promotion agency this year, as it expects registrations to shift away from capital-intensive renewable energy (RE) ventures.
In a statement over the weekend, Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said the department has set the Board of Investments’ (BOI) investment target for 2026 at P1 trillion, sharply below the agency’s P1.75-trillion target in 2025.
The new goal also marks a step down from the P1.56 trillion in approvals secured by the BOI in 2025, when it emerged as the country’s top investment promotion agency, accounting for 81.25 percent of total approvals.
Roque said the lower target comes as the department projects a more diversified BOI investment portfolio beyond renewable energy projects, which tend to jack up approval figures due to their high capital requirements.
“We expect that BOI registrations will be driven more by mineral processing, infrastructure (including digital infra) and high-value manufacturing,” she said. “As these typically have lower investment costs per project than RE, we are therefore targeting a lower BOI registration this year.”
Renewable energy has been the BOI’s leading investment segment for the past three years.
In 2025, energy projects accounted for P970.09 billion, or 62.19 percent, of total BOI approvals.
This pivot away from renewable energy projects comes even as the Philippines is pursuing an ambitious plan to generate P25 trillion in investments in the sector under a 10-year auction program.
Meanwhile, the DTI set the Philippine Economic Zone Authority’s (Peza) investment target at P300 billion for 2026.
This represents a 15-percent increase from the P260.89 billion in approvals recorded in 2025, when the agency exceeded its lower-end target of P250 billion.
Peza Director General Tereso Panga earlier said the agency is confident the P300-billion target will be met, noting that its investment approvals grow at an average of 23 percent annually.
“For 2026, Peza investment growth will be driven by manufacturing (60 percent), ecozone development (25 percent), and IT- BPM (business process management) services (15 percent),” Roque said. “Best bets for FDI (foreign direct investments) country sources include Japan, US, UK, South Korea, Singapore, China and Taiwan.”
Roque chairs both the Peza and BOI boards.
Exports
Roque said the Philippines is targeting $116 billion to $120 billion in goods and services exports in 2026.
The target aligns with recalibrated goals that were downgraded last year amid an uncertain geopolitical and trade environment, following earlier ambitious targets under the Philippine Development Plan and the Philippine Export Development Plan 2023-2028.
Electronics, IT-BPM, and key food exports, such as coconut, banana and pineapple products, are expected to remain the main growth drivers. At the same time, the DTI is pushing to develop new “export winners.”
Garments, footwear, and travel goods and handbags posted strong momentum in 2025 and are seen as promising contributors moving forward.
Filipino flavors and the personal care sector are also emerging as potential growth areas, Roque noted.
