BOI misses 2025 target as investments drop 3.7%
Investments approved by the Board of Investments (BOI) fell 3.7 percent to P1.56 trillion in 2025, as foreign commitments dropped by more than half, leaving the agency short of its full-year target.
This figure covers 322 projects approved in 2025 and is second only to the BOI’s 2024 total of P1.62 trillion, which remains its all-time high. It also marked the second consecutive year that approvals surpassed the P1.5-trillion threshold.
The total, however, was P190 billion short of the BOI’s P1.75-trillion target for 2025.
These planned investments are expected to generate 40,175 jobs, the agency said.
“These investments reinforce our commitment to building a resilient, innovation-driven economy anchored on sustainability and inclusive growth,” said Trade Secretary Cristina Roque, who also chairs the BOI.
Local investments continued to dominate approvals, reaching P1.41 trillion in 2025, or 90.38 percent of the total. This was up 14.63 percent from P1.23 trillion in 2024.
Share among regions
Metro Manila accounted for the largest share of approved investments at P383.71 billion, followed by the Cordillera Administrative Region with P373.39 billion, Calabarzon with P257.83 billion, Bicol Region with P123.61 billion and Central Luzon with P105.13 billion.
Foreign investment fell sharply to P149.45 billion, down 61.01 percent from P383.31 billion in 2024.
Singapore topped the list of foreign sources with P80.37 billion, followed by the Netherlands with P33.29 billion, Thailand with P7.75 billion and the United States with P6.91 billion.
Switzerland, previously the BOI’s top foreign investment source, registered just P4.33 billion in 2025, a 98.5-percent drop from P289.06 billion the year before.
Despite the decline, Roque said the BOI is entering 2026 with a strong investment pipeline, as big-ticket projects that failed to secure approval last year are expected to be carried over.
“There are a number of big-ticket projects in the BOI pipeline and that we are actively assessing even through the very last days of 2025. Unfortunately, we need more time to complete the evaluation process especially as these precisely are large-scale and very strategic projects,” she said.
As in the previous year, energy projects continued to account for the bulk of BOI approvals, totaling P970.09 billion in 2025, or 62.19 percent of the total. This, however, was significantly lower than the P1.38 trillion recorded in 2024.
Mass housing, which accounted for P241.65 billion of approvals, came in second, followed by transportation and storage with P230.06 billion, manufacturing with P62.16 billion and information and communications with P26.56 billion.
